Purpose Driven Data and Collaboration

Stacks of writing, mounds of math papers and a plethora of checklists, but now what?  As an educator it always seems that you have more data than you know what to do with, but the big question is, “What now?”  What purpose will the data serve other than to use as a grade?  How can this help me with my instruction?  These are precisely the questions asked at Jones Elementary, and the answers we have found, have been pivotal in our students’ success.

 So the first question we asked ourselves is what was the purpose of this data collection, what were we looking for?  We found that the best practice was to identify the standard we wanted to focus on and develop a grade level assessment that would target such skills.  We also maintained consistency by administering the assessment on the same day.  Once the assessment was given it was then our responsibility to grade the assessments and record our findings for each student on our data collection sheet.
Then we worked to find the purpose of the assessment as well as the data we had collected.  We met with our grade level team and analyzed the data, looking not only at the students’ results but our results as teachers.  We had an open and honest conversation about the areas of the standard we felt comfortable teaching, as well as those we weren't so comfortable with.  After a deeper analysis of the data we began to group kids according to the gaps in their understanding.  We placed them with the most qualified teacher to help close the gap.  We also utilized our math instructional facilitator; she helped us develop our skills and provided us with various techniques to strengthen our teaching abilities.  Our 4th grade team then had an extremely focused and purposeful intervention time, where the students were immersed in the content that was specifically designed for their needs.  At the end of our intervention period we re-assessed our students and were pleasantly impressed with the results.  Not only had our students made significant growth after our first intervention, but as a grade level we became stronger as teachers.

At Jones Elementary we have found that collecting data for a purpose, analyzing what the students are doing as well as our teaching strategies, and intervening to close the gaps for our students have been pivotal in our success.  Each student receives an education that is personalized for them, while the teachers are receiving valuable techniques and strategies to perfect their own craft.  We tell our students each day we are life-long learners; it’s our journey of data collection and collaboration that make that very statement the truth.

Teaching Them All

    As a new student entered a second grade classroom, a beginning English Language Learner ran up to his teacher, Mrs. Barnes. “I know what to say. I am going to say, ‘Hi, my name is Yair. What is your name?’” Mrs. Barnes is thankful Jones Elementary has a program that focuses on language development instruction.  “Students are feeling more empowered in the classroom setting. They are taking chances, raising their hands, and engaging in conversations more than I have seen before.  Previously, I would get blank stares,” Mrs. Barnes stated. 

     Systematic English Language Development (ELD) is a systematic program with targeted instruction centered around language learning for our English Language Learners in grades Kindergarten through five. The program is designed to engage students in academic and real life situations with an emphasis on oral and written language in relevant settings. Students have opportunities to interact with others on the same language level each day in a language rich environment.

     The goal is for students to use the language skills learned through ELD instruction in the regular classroom.  Teachers are beginning to see the skills transfer in an academic environment. “I have seen social skills improve as well as the confidence with my lower level English Language learners. My students are beginning to transfer what they are learning into their writing,” said third grade teacher, Amber Stout. Ashley Kasnicka is a fifth grade teacher that has taught for 10 years. She has a student that is new to the United States and can correctly write short sentences quicker than any other newcomer she has had before. Ms. Kasnicka says it usually takes longer for students to get comfortable with writing but having a systematic program has helped. “Focused Instruction on language development is what we have always needed for our beginning learners. It gives them a chance to be successful,” added Ms. Kasnicka.

Setting Goals for a Bright Future

The end of winter break always comes too soon...or at least that is what I read over and over again on my Facebook feed the night before winter break ended. I found myself joining the masses and even finding humor as my co-workers and I shared some back to work groans. I didn't want to drag myself out of my warm bed early in the morning, kiss my one year old daughter good bye for the day, and come to work. The end of break seemed utterly dreadful until 7:30 a.m. That is when students who had been standing in the cold for a good 40 minutes got to finally enter the building. Suddenly, getting up in the cold early morning, on little sleep, after a late night of baby cries immediately had purpose and being at work suddenly seemed like the only place I could be. Before I could utter a simple "Good morning", I was being hugged by a student and I was being given the detailed rundown of his Christmas break. The best part about it all? He isn't even a student in my class. I only get to see him for 45 minutes a day for language instruction and yet still there he was telling me how much he missed me and how he was happy to be back at school. Then came my own classroom full of students. There were a good handful of students who came with a light jacket, and some with no jacket at all despite the below freezing temperature. As I surveyed my first grade classroom and received my hugs and joyfully listened to Christmas tales, my heart could not help but hurt for the quiet students, the ones without smiles, and the ones with dark circles under their eyes from lack of sleep and hungry bellies from lack of nutrition over the break. This is why I let my daughter spend the days with her Grandma instead of me, this is why I stay up late perfecting lesson plans, and this is why I drag myself out of bed no matter how tired I am.

With a renewed sense of purpose I began to feel excited about the day ahead of me. I knew we would be setting new goals for the semester today and reviewing our progress from our previous goal. In August our class had set a big, audacious goal of having 17 friends on grade level in reading by December. Now 17 out of 24 students may not seem like much until you consider the following facts. We began the year with only six students on grade level in reading as measured by the Measures of Academic Progress or MAP assessment. Many of the students were reading at or below a kindergarten reading level. Of these 24 students, 19 are English language learners and all but 3 qualify for free or reduced lunches. These students and their families have barriers that so often get the blame for stopping student progress, but these kids didn't let those barriers get in the way. Although the goal was lofty, my students were determined and by December we were able to raise that number to 13. 

I was so proud looking at the data. I could not wait to show the students. We graphed the class scores and celebrated our growth. When students were asked what our goal should be for the spring semester my sweet Jonna quickly raised her hand and suggested our goal should remain at 17. Since we were creating a class goal I asked the other students to weigh in on Jonna's suggestion. Most students agreed with her. Then suddenly from the back of the room Kenneth raised his hand, "I disagree.", he said respectfully with a smile. When I asked him why, he simply said, "I think all of us should be ready to read." I could not resist the urge to test Kenneth's enthusiasm and so I asked, "Are you sure? That will be a lot of friends to help get ready to read." Not only did Kenneth hold to his opinion strongly, but all students, even Jonna decided to join Kenneth. When I asked them why it was so important to them that we all know how to read they answered with responses like, "So we can get a job." and "So we can go to 2nd grade." This wasn't our first talk about the importance of being a good reader.

We wrapped up our goal setting with talking about individual student goals that would help us reach our lofty class goal. Each student met with me or my intern to discuss their MAP data. They were given multiple choices for their individual reading goals. When I asked Jamie to come and sit with me she said, "Well, sometimes I have trouble you know, stretching out words. So which one will help me with that?" We quickly decided that she would choose blends and digraphs as her goal to help her improve her reading. All of my students were not only eager to pick a goal but they were also excited to share their goals with others. 

Remember those barriers I was talking about? Setting our goals high and working together as a class and as a school chips away at those walls. Suddenly 24 out of 24 kids being on grade level in reading did not seem so unrealistic. Not only am I teaching my students to celebrate little successes even if our goal wasn't met, but my students are starting to realize the importance of goal setting. This is a skill that will help them break down even more barriers as they get older. The lessons I learn from them daily about perseverance in a world that expects to see them fail will never cease to amaze and inspire me.

Parent University of Jones

As educators, we focus a lot of effort in what we are going to do to ensure we are meeting the diverse needs of our students. Occasionally, we even have discussion about their post-secondary education. We talk to the students about what they want to be when they grow up; we talk to them about why it's important to learn to read, write, and do math. We've written vision statements, mission statements, and defined core beliefs for how students should learn and how teachers should behave. As all good vision, mission, and core belief statements have, we included terms such as life long learners, data driven instruction, and the list goes on and on. I'm not undermining the importance of the work we'd done, but there was a key piece that was missing.

I am of the firm belief that overall, parents love their kids. They do the best they can with what they know how to do. The problem becomes when parents have an empty tool belt and do not have the resources to be the parents we know they should be. This became glaringly apparent one day as I was having a conference with a parent. As we were discussing why her student was not succeeding in school, the solution seemed apparent. The parent just needed to read at home with the child. Simple enough, right? Just. Read. With. Your. Child. That should be happening in every American home as far as I was concerned. Then something happened....I started listening to the parent....I started asking probing questions.....I removed my judgmental glasses. What I began to realize was this parent did not understand what it meant to "read at home" with your child. 

I started interacting with parents through a different set of lenses. I started talking about what concerns they had; what they wanted to know more about; what dreams they had for their child; what fears they had; what concerned them. 

The key piece missing was we had not been serving the needs of the whole family. I began to realize how important it was to fill the parent tool belt with the hammers, wrenches, nails, and glue of life. I began to realize their dreams would not be built if not given the proper tools to do so.

So began this crazy idea of the Parent University of Jones. A parent committee (made up of parents, teachers, and administrators) began to meet and create the vision for this program. We studied the eight sectors of the community and brainstormed classes our parents could take. They ranged anywhere from basic banking skills, basic technology skills, gang education awareness, setting up a neighborhood watch program, health and nutrition, parenting classes, helping your child with reading and math, Pathways to Graduation, dealing with hurts/habits/hangups, immigration topics, post secondary opportunities, etc, etc. A survey was given to all the parents and the data was analyzed to see what classes our families were most interested in. We worked with partners within the community to provide classes for our parents to attend. With each hour a parent attends classes, they will receive 1 college credit. At the end of the year, parents with more than 4 college credits will have a "graduation."

Is this a lot of work? Yes. Does it take a lot of community involvement to make this happen? Ask and you shall receive. Jones Elementary is all about serving kids to the highest level. We feel honored and blessed to be able to serve the families to the highest level as well. 

Mindset

I get asked a lot of questions about our school. They include questions such as why do people work at Jones and never want to leave? How do you get to a culture of transparency? How do you get teachers to collaborate together to meet the demanding needs of high poverty students? What makes your school have a culture of excellence? These questions do not have simple answers; they are not easy to answer. I have reflected upon these questions many times....and I keep going back to one word....MINDSET.

 In the world our students live in, it's easy for them to get caught up in a grueling fixed mindset state of mind...I can't do this; It's too hard; I'm not smart enough; I've been dealt the hand I've been given and nothing is going to change for me now. As educators, we have to help our students move towards a growth mindset. A growth mindset exists when a person believes that your basic qualities are things you can cultivate through your efforts; everyone has the ability to change and grow through application and experience (Carol Dweck).

It is my personal belief if teachers are going to help students transition from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset, they must examine their own mindset about the students they teach and mentor. We begin every year by examining our own mindsets. Do we truly believe every child can learn at high levels with the right scaffolds and differentiated instruction? When a child hasn't learned a concept, do we throw blame at the student (I taught it but you don't care)? Or do we point the finger back on ourselves and reflect on what we did right, what we need to change, and what are we going to do differently to ensure what we are teaching is getting learned? The question we ask often is "If I taught it and they didn't get it, was it ever really taught in the first place?"

 I ask teachers at the beginning of the school year to think of a special child in their life. It could be their own children, grandchildren, nieces/nephews, friends, special student, etc, etc. I ask them to think about the school and educational experience they want for that child. Do they want a teacher that is going to have high expectations for him/her? Or do they want the teacher that is quick to blame others and make excuses as to why the child isn't learning? As the mother of two young children, I know which teacher I want my child to have; one that can help grow my child into a 21st century learner despite any obstacles she brings. I want a teacher to help develop my daughter's growth mindset to instill the belief she can do anything if she works hard enough. I also know which school I want her to attend...a school where teachers embrace the concept of growth mindset and make it part of their day to day work. I want a school full of educators that focus on 95% solution and 5% problem. I want a school full of teachers that understand best teaching practices are cultivated through effort and a lot of hard work, and working together is better.

I challenge every person reading this blog to pick up a copy of Carol Dwek's Mindset. I encourage anyone in education to take a close, heartfelt look at their own  mindset. What do you truly believe about kids and their potential? Are you the kind of teacher you want your own child to have? If we could all shift our mindset from fixed to growth....then we could begin to help our students do the same. Wouldn't our world be a different, better place?

Breakfast in the Classroom

Any person that has ever been hungry knows how terrifically impossible it is to focus on anything but your growling stomach. I have been on long car trips with my husband (anyone who knows my husband knows he only stops when the car is on empty), and have been consumed by hunger pains. The radio fades to the background....his mouth is no longer making noises.....the arguments coming from the back seat no longer exist. I can only focus on one thing....how many more miles until I get food in my belly? Never mind the fact I had eaten three square meals the day before and breakfast that morning. We've all been there, haven't we?

For many of our students, hunger is their reality. Asking students to learn to read, write, and do math is an impossible feat when they are consumed by hunger. Many of our students rely on the two meals they receive at school as their sole source of nutrition. We know that 100% of our students eat lunch, but we only had a 50% rate of children eating breakfast. The reasons fewer students eat breakfast were many.....social time with friends, arriving at school too late, the stigma of being the kid that ate breakfast in the cafeteria. Trips to the nurses office from the start of the day to lunch time were great. Many students presented with belly aches; the cure being a package of crackers and a small container of juice.

When we were approached about a program called Breakfast in the Classroom, I was super excited. Upon entering school, students grab a breakfast and take it to their classroom. Regardless of their lunch status, all students eat without a charge. When the tardy bell rings, students open their breakfast sack and eat breakfast in their classroom. Students are no longer hesitant to eat breakfast in school. It is now socially acceptable to eat breakfast; it's part of the community and culture of their classroom. The process only takes 10 minutes from start to finish, but a lot is accomplished during that short time. Most importantly, we have increased breakfast participation to 98%; teachers are building classroom communities; table manners are explicitly taught; fraction lessons are occurring (cut your french toast stick into thirds). The nurse has reported a drastic decrease in the number of students being seen in her office for hungry bellies.

There was a small initial set up cost to get the program up and running; but within a year, it was 100% self sustaining. With over a 98% poverty rate, our nutrition department can bill the federal government for reimbursement of meal costs for students on free and reduced lunch. The other 2% of the meal costs are absorbed.

Breakfast in the Classroom was a relatively easy and cost efficient way to remove a large barrier from the learning of our students.

Removing Barriers to Learning

When people learn about the demographics of our school, they tend to draw conclusions. When they hear 98% of our students come from poverty and 80% of our students are English Language Learners, they shake their head and say "I'm so sorry." It's apparent to me the public holds no expectations for our students. They believe poverty is their life of destiny. I quickly continue to talk about our students and how awesome they are. We talk about their academic successes, rigorous and relevant lessons being taught, and how our teachers and students are using technology as a tool for learning. People are always taken back by the positivity our faculty and staff have for our students. Nine times out of ten, people want to know what we do to have the culture of excellence that exists at Jones Elementary. One of the things we do is think outside the box in how we need to remove the barriers to student learning. We know that for our children to succeed, we have to serve the whole child, not just the academic child. Here is Jones Elementary's list of ways we remove barriers to student learning:

1. School Based Health and Wellness Center - students can receive free medical and mental health services. These include vaccinations, acute care, chronic care, well child checks, acute mental care, individual therapy, family therapy,crisis management, and long term mental health services.
2. Parent University of Jones - we want to help parents become better resourced to support their families. Through various partnerships in the community, we offer a variety of classes for parents to attend throughout the school year. These include, but are not limited to: setting up a neighborhood watch program, basic banking skills, internet safety, gang education, health and nutrition, pathways to high school graduation, post secondary education, how to support your child at home with reading and math skills, dealing with life's hurts/habits/hangups.
3. Springdale Family Literacy Program - non-English speaking parents attend classes 4 days per week. They learn English in context of what their child is learning in the classroom. They spend 30 minutes per day in their child's room practicing the language they've learned in their class. They also have Parent Time twice a week which allows them to learn about topics they are interested in.
4. Breakfast in the Classroom - 100% of the students in our school eat a breakfast in their classroom free of charge. We have increased breakfast participation from 50% to 98% the last three years.
5. Systematic English Language Development - we know students need to have fluent, proficient control of the English Language in order to be productive citizens. 100% of our students receive ELD 30-45 minutes daily.
6. Home Library Program - books are not a priority when parents struggle to provide the basic needs for their families. Through some creative efforts and grant writing, our school will take our current home library project to scale. 100% of our students will receive 20-30 books to keep at home. Students choose books based on interest and levels.
7. Community Partnerships - it takes a village to serve the demanding needs of our students. Through multiple partnerships (business, non-profit organizations, civic, religious) we have a wealth of resources for our students. The most valued resource through these partnerships is human....our partners in education spend a lot of time in our school mentoring students, reading with students, and supporting the classroom teacher.
8. Quality after school program - Many of our students face empty houses when school is finished for the day. Through partnerships with the Walton Family Foundation and Camp War Eagle, 100 of our students attend a high quality after school program. The students engage in character building activities, service learning projects, and receive homework help. Before going home, each child is served a meal.
9. Food/clothing - we work with area agencies to provide weekend food bags to go home with the most needy students. Our school district also keeps a clothing closet we can access at any time for students that need clothing and shoes. A non-profit organization called Community Kids Closet holds two clothing drives a year for our most needy students. We keep a resource book handy to help families access rent, utility, legal aid, homeless shelters, and domestic abuse assistance.