Since November, we have shared stories of school teams who confronted Adaptive Challenges through the Baylor Center for School Leadership’s (BCSL) Catalytic Improvement Community process. Our previous features highlighted the transformative work at Grace Prep and NorthStar Academy. Today, we present the work of Patti Goforth and Robinson ISD.
If you’re facing an adaptive challenge and seeking meaningful change, we invite you to join Catalyze in July of 2025.
By Patti Goforth
“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up..” (1 Thessalonians 5:11). As educators, we are called to serve students and staff. “Teachers spend a lot of time with students, and in the complexity of instruction, relationships with particular educators are of course key to the flourishing of individual students.” (Swaner and Wolfe, 2021, p.200). The question then becomes, instead of educators assuming full responsibility for this, how can we expand the scope to include everyone in the educational setting to create a place where all students and staff can foster relationships with each other and increase the well-being of everyone?
Dig a Little Deeper
After hearing about the unique opportunity presented by Catalyze, our campus signed up a team of teachers, the counselor, and me. We met with the team in the summer of 2023 to determine which adaptive change we wanted to address using their improvement science tools in the Adaptive School Framework. We spent three days with phenomenal facilitators working through a problem area identified on our campus. At first glance, our team landed on discipline as the area that would make the biggest impact through the adaptive change cycle.
As we dug deeper into the issue of behavior related to well-being and making or breaking connections with others; however, we realized that it wasn’t only students with discipline referrals who struggled with feeling connected. We identified other groups with the same concerns, three of which were students who received most of their services in self-contained settings (Functional Academics), students who struggled academically, and students who were not “born and raised” in the local area. This is when we realized that collective ownership of inclusive belonging or inclusion would impact students’ well-being which, in turn, would yield a decrease in discipline, an increase in valuable interactions and relationships as well as an overall positive effect on the social, emotional and mental state of students and staff.
Seeing how this aligned with the well-being connection in the adaptive change framework, we were excited to set a goal of connecting all students and giving them a sense of belonging at our campus. Our team planned to be inclusive in unifying our students and staff with a primary focus on students in self-contained special education classrooms.
Making it Happen
Last year our district mirrored the Ron Clark Academy structure and implemented a “House” system for all campuses The intent was to connect every staff member and student in every grade on every campus to a “team/house” based on the team’s color, team name, team crest, and team motto. Each student in the district was strategically placed in a “house” based on staff insights about them. In this system, there are 8 different houses. This was the catalyst for facilitating connections and belonging. Little did we know what a huge impact this would have on the culture of our district. As part of this process, the district coined the phrase, “8 Houses, 1 Rocket Family”.
At the campus level, our administrative team was passionate about creating ways to integrate this into all aspects of life as a Robinson Elementary Rocket! We gave house points to our students who exemplified our Robinson ISD learner profile and values. We started a monthly house meeting and celebration that included each house meeting together to learn about their house (chant, crest meaning, motto, and actions for their mascot) and each other before going into the gym with the entire school for a friendly chant competition and fun activities to celebrate students who displayed the “Characteristic of the Month” such as Critical Thinking, Resilience and Acting with Integrity.
We also implemented house lunches every Thursday where students got to sit with their house instead of their class. This has been one of the most dynamic ways collective ownership of inclusion has evolved. Students in all instructional settings (Functional Academics included) have connected and new, authentic friendships have been formed.
Another way meaningful interactions and relationships have been fostered is by creating and hosting clubs based on specific topics students have shown an interest in, such as lunch bunch, gardening, robotics, and handbells. This has proven an efficacious way to connect students who may not have had a strong sense of belonging at school. Staff voluntarily sponsor clubs as they collaborate to connect our students and, as a result, new relationships have been formed among adults. The clubs have become an integral part of our programming and we are adding more clubs as we learn more about student and staff interests.
Outcomes
Informal surveys and conversations with our students continue to provide feedback affirming that we are on the right track. Students look forward to house lunches, celebrations, and clubs. Additional evidence of positive outcomes is the smiles on the faces of students who, in the past, may not have been included in these events and activities. Our priority group was students in self-contained special education classrooms and the joy they display, the new friendships they have formed, and their increased participation with peers are all indicators of success. Another outcome is the enhanced relationships among staff; we have gotten to know each other better, and we spend time together collaborating about additional ways to intentionally foster a sense of belonging for all students and having fun.
We are pleased that what we anticipated would be an outcome came to fruition regarding discipline. Office referrals for discipline have dropped by 66% (from 57 to 19 from the start of school until November 10th for 2023 and 2024) and our attendance has increased from 95.49% to 98.90% thus far this year. We have had 39 positive office referrals submitted this year. Students are excited about being at school and that tells us that our efforts are working. An outcome that was not expected but delightfully evolved was living what research says: the better we know our students and staff, the more effective our support, interventions, and care become, which has led to a stronger sense of family, belonging, and an overall significant, positive impact on the wellbeing of students and staff. While the quantitative data is notable, these examples of qualitative data showcase the progress in the areas of mental health, social and emotional learning, and staff efficacy.
Reflections
Using the adaptive change protocol from Catalyze enabled us to stay focused and reflect on our growth in some areas and lack of progress in other areas monthly. We learned that being intentional in both planning and implementation was foundational to success, which we defined as an increase in connections and the well-being of students. An additional insight included that our teachers and staff must take responsibility and ownership for forming relationships with students to perpetuate a sense of belonging that permeates our campus culture which reflects the scripture, “Let each of you look out not only for his interests but also for the interests of others” (Phillippians 2:4).
As a part of continuous improvement, we are now digging deeper into our next area of focus. We will be using the processes to guide us as we work on effective feedback and are eager to see the magnitude of adaptive change in this area.
Patti Goforth is in her third year as an elementary Principal for Robinson ISD. Prior to that, she served public education as an Assistant Principal for seven years, an instructional coach for two years, and a science teacher for six years. Using her knowledge and experience from these 18 years, Patti understands the value and impact of connection in education and thus consistently seeks ways to create and maintain effective relationships among students, staff, and families. She prioritizes creating a space where students feel connected and part of a family.
Patti participated in the Principal Institute through ESC Region 12 in 2024 and has been accepted for the second year beginning January 2025.
