Songs about math, reading aloud, and drawing pictures for notes has become the norm in some Issaquah classrooms as teachers use the Guided Language Acquisition Design, or GLAD, program to make stronger connections with their students.

GLAD is a training program supported by the Issaquah Schools Foundation that helps teachers reach different types of learners.

“It makes learning come alive through a mix of auditory and kinesthetic practices,” said Robin Callahan, executive director for the foundation. “We’re training teachers to teach in a way that reaches all students, no matter what their learning style is.”

About 300 teachers in 24 schools in the Issaquah School District are currently trained under the GLAD program, and the foundation is hoping to train 100 more, especially in the middle and high schools — and the training spots are coveted.

“I actually heard someone liken getting a GLAD training spot to getting tickets to a Stones concert,” Callahan said. “There’s just such a finite number of spots.”

The foundation held a phone-a-thon Wednesday, Feb. 11 in hopes of raising $180,000 – the cost of training 100 more teachers plus follow-up workshops for those already trained.

Student volunteers manned the phones and called about 3,300 previous donors, asking each to give $60 to support the program.

The event replaced the usual Calling for Kids phone-a-thon, which in the past has raised as much as $165,000. That fundraiser called on all families in the district to donate, but Callahan said the economic climate convinced them to pull back a little.

Training costs cover the salaries of the trainers and coaches, and the substitute teachers who fill in while teachers are at the workshops.

Those who have been trained say the process is completely worth it.

“It truly has been the best professional development I have ever done, and I’ve been teaching for 13 years,” said Jenny Schaffer, a fifth-grade teacher at Cascade Ridge Elementary. “It’s fun to see the kids excited to learn, and to see that spark. It’s hugely motivating for me. I can definitely see a difference (since GLAD training).”

Schaffer spent a week training in 2007; two days were dedicated to learning the teaching strategies, and the other five to watching demonstrations and working in groups with other teachers to practice them.

In the first month after her training, Schaffer had already implemented about 15 techniques — much to the delight of her students.

She said one of the strategies they enjoy most is using “pictorials,” a method of drawing what she’s talking about. In a recent lesson about Inuits, she drew the clothing they wear, homes they build, tools they use and more, and left the poster up for the length of the unit.

“My windows have even been covered at times with posters,” she said. “It’s amazing how much more (the students) enjoy learning with GLAD methods.”