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Teacher/coach improves student learning at LCES
Tami Wallace runs instructional program for schools teachers
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Tami Wallace is the “Instructional Coach” at Langston Chapel Elementary School. - photo by ROGER ALLEN/special
    At Langston Chapel Elementary School, Principal Karen Doty said she has has assembled a top-notch team of teachers around her. Some three years ago, she instituted a pilot program for Bulloch County: the "Instructional Coach."
    In order to fill the position, she said she found the perfect person for the job right in her own school: Tami Wallace. Wallace was no stranger to the school, having already taught there for the previous six years.
    Wallace has focused on education ever since she first graduated from Georgia Southern with a Bachelors in Elementary Education. She first went on to earn her Masters from GSU in Early Childhood Education with an emphasis in reading.
    Next, Wallace earned an Educational Specialist degree in Curriculum Instruction from Nova University, and is now currently working on her Educational Doctorate from Walden University.
    Dr. Doty said: "Tami is one of the most motivated teachers I have ever known. She has the ability to look at a problem and almost immediately figure out a solution for it. She bridges the gap between knowledge and application better than almost anybody I know."
    Doty added, "On top of that, our staff here at Langston is young and energetic, and they really enjoy learning and then using all of the new tools and tricks that Tami brings to the table."
    Wallace is married to Toby Wallace, who runs a franchise that has several shops in the area. They have two sons, both of whom are enrolled at Langston: Thatcher, who is in Kindergarten; and Turner, who is in second grade.
    Wallace said her primary job at Langston Chapel is "to develop and then expand the professional excellence of our teaching staff."
    "I go to regional, state and even national workshops," Wallace said. "After I have learned how to use many of the new technological innovations in the field of education, I come back and assist the teachers as they incorporate those technologies into their daily classroom activities."
    A teacher herself for 11 years, Wallace said, "All this new technology has completely changed the way teachers go about their daily routine. It makes teaching much more fun and exciting for the teacher as well as their students."
    Wallace said that the program has run long enough now that they were able to develop a "co-hort," or a track record of a particular student's progress through several grade levels.
    Studying the data allows Wallace and Intervention Coach Amber Price to examine how successful or not earlier attempts to help struggling students have been.
    Wallace said, "With this data, getting it right isn't guesswork anymore. We don't feel like we're just spinning our wheels anymore, because we can see what works and what doesn't."
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