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The Shift is On
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August 31, 2010, at 06:00 AM
Seymour Principal Brian Ferguson
Marlon A. Wright
by Jessica Hill
“There is a shift happening right now in schools all over the country,” said Brian Ferguson. “It is a shift that pulls away from focusing so much on the teacher’s strategies or methods and pushes more toward a focus on the students' learning.”
The theme of a “shift” seems to be a recurring one in Ferguson's life these days. He has recently “shifted” to a new school and has now completed his first couple weeks as the principal at Seymour Elementary.
Ferguson has been working in education for 14 years and began his career as a science teacher at Platteview Junior High. He taught there for six years before transferring to Peter Sarpy Elementary in Bellevue. It was there that he first transitioned into the role of “lead teacher.”
Overseeing a staff and student body for the first time informed his educational philosophy there and later at Two Springs Elementary, before he became principal at Westmont Elementary. With each new assignment and each new challenge, Ferguson grew and matured in his work, just as did his students and faculty.
He’s now ready to lead Seymour Elementary in introducing new "shifts.”
“Regardless of how a teacher chooses to teach their students,” he said, “the main concern should be on the way a student is responding to that teacher’s methods. I am seeing more (of that kind of) attention and emphasis being put into student learning in schools today and I intend on bringing that philosophy to Seymour.”
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