Teacher Appreciation Week: Chris McCloud at the Middle School

Glens Falls City School District recognizes national Teacher Appreciation Week by highlighting committed and enthusiastic teachers from every one of our schools each day of the week! Read on for an inside interview with Chris McCloud—one of the most dynamic teachers around our district.

Mr. McCloud is a 7th grade math teacher at Glens Falls Middle School. He grew up locally, having graduated from Saratoga Springs High School before earning a BS in Business Administration from Villanova University and an MS in Adolescent Education from Pace University. He worked for two years in finance, and then entered the teaching profession in 2008 via the New York City Teaching Fellows (alternative certification pathway for career changers). He has been a middle school math teacher ever since (18 years). He held a Math for America Master Teacher Fellowship while teaching in New York City public schools and is currently part of the New York State Master Teacher Program. This is his 7th year teaching at Glens Falls Middle School. 

“Chris is an invaluable leader at Glens Falls Middle School, serving with distinction as both a Team Evergreen math teacher and the Math Building Leader,” says Principal Carrie Mauro. “He is currently leading the charge on embracing our Core Values of Character, Excellence, and Community.  He focuses on enhancing student engagement and deepening math comprehension while consistently finding innovative ways to make complex concepts accessible. Chris is the ultimate team player, deeply committed to the success of his colleagues and students alike. His positive, supportive and flexible nature makes him a cornerstone of our faculty, while his sense of fun ensures that his classroom is a place where students feel both challenged and welcomed. Chris exemplifies the dedication and spirit of Glens Falls Middle School!”

What do you do to engage your students? What makes your teaching and learning style or environment unique?

In a post-observation conference early in my teaching career, an administrator asked me: “If your class was a performance or game, how many of your students would be performers and how many of them would be spectators?” This question completely transformed my approach to designing and delivering lessons. Spectator is the default position held by many students in the classroom. It is my responsibility to move students out of this position to become active participants in the learning process. No small task. This doesn’t happen unless each student views themselves as an integral contributor to our classroom community. One of the most powerful strategies I use to foster this idea is random calling. I use a playing cards strategy to call on as many students as I can throughout a lesson. At first, many students are apprehensive about this system; spectators are called to the stage. Underlying this apprehension for students is a fear of making mistakes in front of their peers (particularly potent in math class). I try to rebrand student mistakes as growth opportunities – a chance to clear up misunderstandings held by others in the classroom. I tell students their fear of not taking risks should be greater than their fear of making mistakes. I incorporate a lot of student discussion (“turn-and-talks”) to help students tease out their thinking and prepare responses before calling on them. Students get random seating assignments each week (I use the playing cards to do this) so that they consistently have new discussion partners. I find that frequently mixing up seating arrangements helps to strengthen our learning community by establishing connections between all students in the classroom. I keep a brisk pace while facilitating lessons – transitioning quickly from one activity to the next so that no momentum is lost. Overall, I feel that classroom engagement reflects classroom culture. Culture building around the learning process is nuanced and difficult. I provide some thoughts about that process in my response to the next question.

Why do you think it's important to teach the way you do?

I have found that the most effective way to get students to demonstrate the behavior and demeanor necessary to create the classroom culture I’m trying to build is to show them what this looks like – to lead by example. This is how I try to gain credibility with students. I bring joy and enthusiasm into the classroom because I want students to have positive dispositions towards learning – willing to engage, persist, and grow. I hold myself accountable to high performance expectations because I can’t ask students to work harder than I’m willing to work myself. I show empathy and kindness towards each student because I want to create a learning community where each student feels like they belong – accepted and respected. All of this is easy enough to type but can (at times) be difficult to implement as it requires a day-to-day vigilance of the mind. Consistency is, perhaps, the most important trait I try to showcase as a teacher. Students are incredibly perceptive; any inconsistency in your approach can (and most likely will) be exploited.

Describe your best lesson ever, or one you and students really enjoy.

I’ve yet to teach my best lesson – I’m still chasing it down. I say this half-jokingly. Although I feel that I’ve taught many lessons that I’m proud of, I try not to think that I’ve ever “arrived” at great teaching. I'm in constant search of new ways to improve my pedagogy. This mindset has been vital in helping me to avoid complacency and to meet the evolving needs of the students I teach. That said, I was nominated by a previous principal to participate in the filming of a Teaching Channel television episode. I taught a lesson to a group of seventh graders in New York City on how to derive the formula used to calculate the surface area of a cylinder. It was professionally filmed, edited, and analyzed by experts. The episode aired on PBS (in the middle of the night, ha) and has been used as a component in professional development workshops across the country. I’ve received a lot of positive feedback from this lesson over the years. I was quite proud of that episode.

What's the best thing about GF Nation?

There is much to love about GF Nation, but I think that our strong sense of community distinguishes us. As a teacher in New York City, there was almost no chance that I would see any of my students or colleagues once I left the school building. We were all disparate parts that came together for 7 hours each day. When my wife and I moved up to Glens Falls to start our family, we sought out the opposite experience. We had the idea to live in the same town we worked in – to keep everything close and to immerse ourselves in the community. This has turned out to be one of the best decisions we’ve made together. My wife has been a nurse at Glens Falls Hospital, The Pines, and is now a school nurse at GFMS. Together, we have three daughters (two at Jackson Heights, one at St. Mary’s Noah’s Ark). Whether at East Field for one of my daughter’s ball games, an event downtown, shopping at the grocery store, or as they whiz by my house on their bikes shouting my name, I love seeing my students outside the school building in our community. I feel connected. I feel personally and professionally invested into the well-being of Glens Falls. Teaching in the same district I live in and where my daughters go to school has been highly motivating. What I have come to understand and appreciate about GF Nation is that my story is not particularly unique. There are many people and families living parallel lives here – residing and working in Glens Falls. I feel this fact contributes to a strong sense of pride in our community. I feel lucky to have landed here among all of you.

A fun fact about Mr. McCloud:

I was awarded a Heart Saver Award (given by the American Heart Association) while in my role as a varsity baseball coach for using CPR and an AED to save the life of an athlete in cardiac arrest after being hit in the chest by a pitched baseball.