By: Wendi Singletary
We have reached the point in the year where the beginning of school is a distant memory. Many of us find ourselves longing for the next break or even May. It’s that stretch in the fall when the goals and dreams we had for the school year can get lost in the minutiae of daily tasks. It can be so easy to just lower our expectations, to decide our current trajectory is good enough. How do we stay focused on what we believed we could achieve in August?
The Power of Adaptive Challenge
For me, it’s the work of the adaptive challenge. In the BCSL, we work with schools on improvement cycles. School teams identify a particular adaptive challenge on their campuses, one that isn’t easily solved with something like a new master schedule or professional development on a new curriculum. School teams choose a measurable improvement goal, and then work in 90 days cycles to address the steps they want to take towards meeting that goal. Over 90 days, teams collect data, reflect on it, adjust and make a plan for the next 90 day cycle. In my own classroom, the focus on a 90 day goal gave purpose to the daily work of getting my students where I knew they needed to go. Data collection and formative reflection kept me on track, rather in the weeds that can sometimes plague the fall slump.
Listening to Students in Mississippi
As a PhD student this year, I have the privilege of working with schools on improvement cycles. In early October, I traveled to Mississippi as part of BCSL’s Thriving Learning Communities grant. If you want to get a true picture of what is happening in a school, is there any better way than to hear directly from the students themselves? Over the course of 3 days, my colleague Hannah and I met with school leaders and student teams at 8 different schools. We shared their recent school survey data and facilitated their reflection on the story that data tells. What does the survey tell us going well? Are student-to-teacher interactions positive? How about student-to-student interactions? What do you love about your school? How can we make sure each student has a deeper sense of belonging on our campus? What needs to be better? And the all important question: what should we do to address this?
The vulnerability and honesty of students in sharing their school experiences is so many things: joyful, brave, thoughtful, hopeful, and often a call to action. The way school administrators and teachers received and valued student feedback is another act of vulnerability and bravery. We listened to important, actionable ideas from students that were met with openness from school leaders. Administrators asked questions, offered suggestions, clarified focus and often had a shift in perspective that changed their goals for how to address the adaptive challenge on their campuses. These conversations heavily influence the improvement cycles on these Mississippi school campuses. In our monthly meetings, we get to hear updates on their improvement work, and in January we will get to visit these schools in person and meet with student leadership teams again. I know we will hear the same school pride and be trusted with their honest experiences as students.
Catalyzing Growth in Central Texas
The work of school improvement teams is just as vital here in Central Texas. Each month, I get to work with five different school teams as part of BCSL’s Catalyze program. Teams of teachers and administrators work through the 90 day cycles of setting goals, taking action, collecting data and using it to inform the next steps for the new 90 day cycle. These school leaders are asking essential questions that address vital issues.
- How do we improve academic outcomes for our special education students?
- How do we better align our interventions with the needs of students?
- How do we improve our PLCs to facilitate deeper teacher understanding of student data?
- How can we engage our students in more meaningful ways?
- How can we use feedback to help our students set measurable goals?
I love hearing the steps schools take each month to meet their goals. This looks different at each campus, but each step is intentional. One school is involving special education teachers in PLCs for more effective collaboration, and another is using data to inform how they provide intervention. Others are using teacher self-assessment to make PLCs more collaborative. Some are using strategies to increase student engagement, giving feedback that helps students identify and share their goals and develop student portfolios and celebrate growth.
In a season that sometimes leads to a loss of momentum, what a gift it is to see these schools doing intentional work through improvement cycles! I can’t wait for May, not because of the fall slump, but because I know growth is on the horizon.
