Spotlight 4 Success
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Spotlight 4 Success
Why Tools Matter When Passion Meets Practice
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Bright lights, fresh ideas, and real classroom wins—our trip to LACUE in New Orleans brought all three together. We sat down with fifth grade science teacher Brayondra Allen from Ferriday Upper Elementary to talk about what truly moves the needle for student learning: clear standards alignment, a smart resource mix, and the joy of those “aha” moments when a concept clicks. From the first minutes, her focus is practical and purposeful—learn more to be more for her students.
Website: spotlight4success.com
Welcome to Spotlight for Success by American Book Company. I am Devin Pentosi, your host. We are here in New Orleans, Louisiana, at the at the wonderful Lekew Conference. We're so excited to be here with our special guest, Breondra Allen, otherwise known of as B Allen. Hello. Thank you for joining us.
SPEAKER_02:No problem, no problem. All right.
SPEAKER_00:B Allen, uh, she comes to us. B comes to us from Faraday Elementary, Upper Elementary. Yes. Um, over there in Concordia Parish. And we're so happy to have here on the show with us.
SPEAKER_02:Yes, yes, yes. Happy to be here.
SPEAKER_00:That's great. B, uh, tell me what brings you here to LaCue.
SPEAKER_02:Um, I came to Lacue to learn more, to be more for my students. Um, I've always wanted to teach, I love my kids, and I have a good passion for it, so I just came here to soak up all I can learn. Be a sponge.
SPEAKER_00:Be a sponge. That's a great way to be. No kidding.
SPEAKER_01:Thank you for watching Spotlight for Success. I am Devin Pintozi, the chief operating officer of American Book Company. We are located here in our headquarters in Woodstock, Georgia. All of our materials are originated in the USA. We have original materials. You can get free samples of our materials either in print or in electronic format at abc12.com. We look forward to hearing from you.
SPEAKER_00:Um, is there anything in particular you're hoping to learn more about while you're here?
SPEAKER_02:Um, to be able to use the curriculum better than what I am using it for, to make sure that my lesson plans are aligning with the standards for Louisiana, to make sure that we keep growing our students and making sure we're flourishing upward in excellence.
SPEAKER_00:Oh, that's awesome. Yes, yes, yes. That's awesome. Uh, what grade do you teach?
SPEAKER_02:I teach fifth grade science.
SPEAKER_00:Fifth grade science. Yes.
SPEAKER_02:Oh wow.
SPEAKER_00:Have you used uh that's awesome. Have you used American Book Company materials?
SPEAKER_02:I have, and we also use Amplify. Okay. And I talked with the vendors earlier, so I'm fine, and it's growing and we're spot on.
SPEAKER_00:That's great. So since you've used American Book Company, have you seen score increases?
SPEAKER_02:I have. Okay. We do our Amplify, then we go back and we pull from those books and we use it as resources to re not refine, but make sure that we're growing them in their standards that they're lower in where they're kind of weak. So we're using it as a resource tool.
SPEAKER_00:Oh, the ABC. Okay, fantastic.
SPEAKER_02:Oh, look at that!
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, look at that, right there. In all ways that we can. That's awesome. That's awesome, Brianna. So, um, Sabia, uh, tell me a little bit about your journey. Like, um uh when you're in the classroom, is there a special moment where you're like, wow, that's why I got into teaching?
SPEAKER_02:Um, let's see. I like the aha moments. So I like when they have the discoveries that go along with our lists. So it shows me that they're engaged, they're actively learning, and I love to see it.
SPEAKER_00:That's wonderful. Um, do you have anything you'd like to share with the Lakue uh conference family here?
SPEAKER_02:Um, I would like to say that this is a great experience. Keep doing it. I know that we're past the 25-year mark. I think we're like at the 37th year mark, something like that with Lacue. So keep it going. It's great for new teachers like myself, and just keep doing what you're doing.
SPEAKER_00:Oh, that's so awesome. Well, thank you so much. This is B. Allen uh with uh Concordia Parish in a wonderful uh uh Faraday Upper Elementary. Thank you for joining us today.
SPEAKER_02:Yes, yes, yes. Thank you for having me.