Derek L. McCoy

While we had our final football game of the year [conference champs!] I noticed this young lady finishing her math homework. As most teachers do, I became intrigued by her attention and drive to finish. It appeared that she wasn’t really working that hard but more energy went into completing the task.  She had borrowed […]

     This year our school has committed to really honing in on and implementing what we consider impactful learning strategies. This goes beyond our ever developing and growing understanding of rigor, relationships and relevance.  These are all shared strategies and observances from visiting other classes and schools wherein educators are making a huge difference in […]

     I recently ran EVAAS Data reports for some of my teachers. EVAAS is North Carolina’s customized program that provides all kinds of data for teachers, schools and school systems. Data is a great conversation starter and this information helps teachers with planning, decision making and  forecasting areas of high need. I wanted to highlight […]

        We’ve started having regularly scheduled meetings with our new teachers as a way to provide some dedicated, singular-purposed support.  Our first meeting went great, we had a lot to share about anticipated and unanticipated joys and stressors.  As one of our new teachers was talking/reflecting on her first days everyone in group could […]

At the July 2010 Montgomery County Schools Board of Education meeting, I was appointed principal of West Middle School! What an honor! I’ve served the school since April as the interim principal and thoroughly enjoyed the staff. Everyone is very supportive and focused on student achievement and promoting and protecting the positive image of the […]