Hello!  I'm sure you'd like to learn more about the teacher with whom your child will spend his or her fourth grade year.  Allow me to tell you a bit about myself. . .

I'm from Clarksville (actually born at Ft. Campbell) and attended Clarksville-Montgomery County schools, graduating from Northwest High School quite a while ago!  I'm married to Mike Howard, who works for TVA at Cumberland City.  We have four children--Katie, Diana, James, and Scott.  The oldest three have graduated from college.  Katie is a BSN/RN and Diana is a high school Latin teacher.  James is a graduate student at Emory University where he is pursuing a doctorate in English Literature. Scott attends Northwest High School.

I went back to college to become an elementary school teacher when my oldest three children were in elementary and middle school.  I've been at Burt School for all of my teaching career, which has now reached 13 years.  I love the small school atmosphere of Burt School where I'm able to get to know most of the fourth graders in other classes by sight, if not by name.  I work with wonderful colleagues, especially my fellow fourth grade teachers.  We share ideas and work together to make learning the number one goal for Burt fourth graders.

At Burt, I serve on the Leadership Team and the Support Team.  I am a mentor teacher, and I am a former Distinguished Classroom Teacher and Teacher of the Year for Burt School.   My classroom is technologically wonderful.   I have a ceiling-mounted projector, 4 speakers, a document camera, an audio system with microphones, and a VCR/DVD player.  I am now able to teach while fully integrating the internet with my lessons; I can toggle between the document camera and my laptop.  The document camera allows me to display picture books and textbooks on a large screen, or I can simply use it like the overhead projector this technology replaced. 

I believe fourth grade is a pivotal year for your child.  This is the year where children must apply knowledge of their multiplication facts if they are to succeed.  Students cannot learn how to do the long division or fraction concepts taught without knowing multiplication facts.  Your child should have learned these facts in third grade; if s/he hasn't, please use flashcards and internet web games to help her or him learn them.

Another reason fourth grade is a pivotal year is the necessity of having good reading skills.  Students are expected to read to learn in fourth grade, especially in Science and Social Studies.  One great way to become a better reader is to read a lot; I have a well-stocked classroom library in order to encourage as much reading as possible.  Additionally, Burt School has a 90 minute block for reading instruction where we focus on fluency, comprehension skills, and vocabulary. 

I want each of my students to succeed not only in fourth grade, but in the future as well.  Since a well-disciplined class means everyone is able to learn without distractions, I insist upon good behavior.  I am a mom, though, so I'm not without compassion, and I rarely have to send a child to the principal for disciplinary reasons.  If your child is ever sent to the principal, please believe it is not something I do lightly.  It usually means your child has made a poor behavior choice (hitting, chronic name-calling, cursing, stealing, or cheating) that I feel warrants a strong disciplinary action.

I look forward to having an enjoyable year with your child.  Please email me if you have any questions or concerns.

Margaret Howard

Margaret.Howard@cmcss.net

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