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Personal Reflection/Anecdote

Portfolio as Evidence

After four consecutive semesters of hard work, I realized I learned a great deal about myself and what
it means to be literate in this world. As I recently completed the final phase of my graduate work, I had
time to review and reflect upon my final portfolio. The process of developing that portfolio was priceless.
In the beginning, I didn’t believe that I would or could finish what I had started. The few years leading up
to this final semester were some of the toughest in my 25 years as a veteran teacher. When I looked at the
final collection of standards I had to meet, proving evidence of my accomplishment seemed impossible.
My greatest fear was that I didn’t have the necessary artifacts to show that I knew what I was doing. After
all the work, time, and energy, would I let myself down?
After a meeting with my professor, I had the clarity that I needed about what components to include in
my portfolio, and one Saturday afternoon in mid-February 2023, I was ready. To get comfortable, I brewed
a cup of coffee, opened my online files, and began analyzing and selecting my evidence.
As the self-proclaimed pack rat that I am, I found that what I needed was there. I had saved years of my
work. I was thrilled to see a wide variety of documents, lesson plans, recordings, spreadsheets, slideshows,
essays, projects, and summaries that were worthy of uploading into my final portfolio. This realization
helped me regain my confidence and affirm that I could indeed demonstrate my achievements. I worked
hard that entire day.
First, I created seven electronic folders, one for each of the seven standards as determined by the
International Literacy Association:
Standard #1: Foundational Knowledge
Standard #2: Curriculum and Instruction
Standard #3: Assessment and Evaluation
Standard #4: Diversity
Standard #5: Literate Environment
Standard #6: Professional Learning and Leadership
Standard #7: Practicum/Clinical Experiences. (2023)
Next, I created cover sheets for each folder. The most challenging part of the process was remembering
how I had named my pieces in my online files. To make my search easier, I decided to go back to my
original time of inspiration, June 2020. From there, I looked at each item that had anything to do with
reading. As I analyzed each piece, I compared what I had to what the standard specified. If it qualified, I
listed the name of the artifact on my standards table. Next, I made a copy of the online artifact and moved
it into my electronic folder. My artifacts were lining up with the standards, and many pieces overlapped to
meet the goals of more than one standard.
I repeated this process in one 8-hour sitting, only stopping to refuel and push on. I reviewed all items
that I had created from June 2020 until February 2023. I then proceeded to color code each of my online
folders and to label them in this manner: my full name, Alethea Ellen Sumbry-Cetnarowski; project name;
International Literacy Association standard number; standard goal and description; and the date. I went
back and double checked that each artifact was in the right place, and I ensured that my professor had
access to my work.
My final portfolio contained 52 artifacts that showcased my knowledge and understanding of literacy.
I included examples of lessons to support phoneme and grapheme correspondence, syllabication, and
identification of initial, medial, and final phonemes in words. I also included self-created video tutorials to
support my colleagues as they navigated technological resources to support virtual learning. In addition,
I included my qualitative research project that analyzed a variety of formative, diagnostic assessments
to determine a reader’s word count per minute, vocabulary acquisition, fluency, reading comprehension,
prosody, and instructional reading level. Last, my portfolio included certificates I had earned from four
educational platforms that demonstrated my proficiency in the ability to assess and instruct students,

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