Erin Sykes

I am including the most recent details in my career that convey leadership opportunities and responsibilities, as I have been at my current job for 29 years. It is these opportunities that have led me to pursue this degree.

-Attended MS Literacy Conference in Biloxi during the 2023-2024 school year. I was introduced to the Science of Reading (SOR) and then presented my findings to my staff during my PLC meeting along with three other staff members in attendance.

-Chosen by my district as a SOR (Science of Reading) lead teacher in the 2024-2025 school year. Our school is comprised of third-fifth graders. We have six ELA sections in third grade, seven ELA sections in fourth grade, and five sections of fifth grade. I was the only ELA teacher chosen along with our school's literacy coach. We were trained once a month for eight months. Each training day was a full seven-hour workday. I was trained on how to implement Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA) which is the new High Quality Instructional Material that all of Desoto County Schools uses in grades K-8 for ELA. CKLA was approved by our school board for the next three years.

-I then shared what I learned with my ELA coworkers as we implemented CKLA in 2024-2025, working closely with our current ELA Literacy coach. (A new literacy coach was hired, so I was technically the only one who had been trained in CKLA. I was able to collaborate with our literacy coach when helping our staff navigate through CKLA. I worked closely with the fourth grade ELA staff while also implementing the curriculum in my classroom)

-I was chosen to attend the Core Knowledge conference in Orlando in June of 2025. This was their first conference in ten years. This is the company who created CKLA that we currently use in our school and in our district. I will be presenting the information and research that I learned during this school year in our PLCs. I was again, the only ELA teacher in attendance. There was an EL teacher, a gifted teacher, and our ELA administrator at the conference.

-