Morrow County’s Elementary school teachers welcomed special guest Dr. Anita L. Archer to Irrigon Elementary School for an exciting session in professional development on March 7th, 2025.
Anita Archer is a renowned author and consultant who collaborates with school districts on explicit instruction and literacy. Throughout her career, Dr. Archer has earned 10 awards honoring her contribution to education, earning her spot as a beloved teacher of teachers and educational leader who offers school districts and teachers guidance that can be useful in all stages of their careers.
Throughout the session with Morrow County, Dr. Archer offered insights from her 40-year career of teaching and educational research. Anita kept the teachers fully engaged by modeling best practices including a blend of video, choral responses, and small group discussions. The objective of her presentation was to affirm, remind, and polish the hard, yet rewarding work Morrow County School District has undertaken over the past two plus years with their dedication to deepening their individual and collective teaching craft and fostering student achievement. Dr. Archer reviewed her explicit instruction principles with a focus on opportunities to respond and provided key aspects of effective practice.
In true teacher fashion, Dr. Archer immersed herself into the audience, hoping to offer insight to our teachers as they discussed their own ideas and observations with one another. 
Our elementary school educators walked out of the session with one of Archer’s books, Effective and Efficient Teaching, along with a host of different strategies to try in their very own schools.