By Christine Smith

March 21, 2021

As the 2020-2021 school year opened, the principal and staff of Jackson Elementary in Elmhurst District 205 near Chicago knew what they didn’t know.  They didn’t know how parents would respond to their children learning remotely from home.  They didn’t how they were going to be able to keep up with changing schedules from remote, to hybrid, to in-person, and back again through the cycle according to the pandemic infection metrics.  They didn’t know how to keep focused on student learning, knowing that teacher and student health might preclude academic achievement.

Like other educators in the world, the Jackson Elementary staff worked harder and employed much more creativity than ever before.  They faced the pandemic adversities head on and refused to wallow in excuses.  The use of technology in new ways to engage students seemed to be the first order of business.  The teachers and staff worked through their Professional Learning Communities to create a new model for remote learning, as well as hybrid learning. It all seemed to be working.  However, literacy data from the first quarter benchmarks were disappointing.

The Problem

The results from the Fall literacy benchmarks indicated 33% of the students were below grade level in reading.  These data were alarming.  Staff could have placed the blame on the myriad of issues caused by the pandemic: Teacher shortages due to illness, lack of planning time necessary to create engaging lessons for remote and hybrid models that seemed to change every few weeks, and teacher morale squashed by a divisive political structure within the school district.  However, instead of chalking this year up to a “lost year”, the Jackson staff rolled up their sleeves.

The Solution

Principal Christine Trendel led her staff in a deep dive through instructional practices.  They examined amount and quality of time spent on instruction.  They looked at how students were engaged in learning.  They studied how learning was or wasn’t targeted to those 33%.  They found fixable problems.

First, Christine realized the curriculum schedule created by district leadership didn’t allow enough focus on literacy. Realizing she was responsible for her students’ achievement, Christine assumed control.  She proposed that the District focus on literacy first, creating more room in the schedule for targeted literacy instruction. District leadership agreed, and the curriculum schedule was modified. With more time available to focus on literacy, PLCs unpacked priority standards in literacy, and provided students with clear learning intentions, success criteria, and relevance.  The PLCs met regularly and examined data from quick, formative assessments to inform instruction.

 As she visited classrooms, Christine observed that targeted, small group instruction in literacy was not what is was like pre-pandemic.  Jackson teachers are well-trained and effective with regard to small group instruction.  However, all of them had not successfully transferred the level of quality to the remote and hybrid models.  Christine asked teacher leaders who had successfully transferred effective small group instruction using technology to provide guidance to other teachers.  Christine observed that one grade level was highly effective at small group instruction with Social Emotional Learning.  They used breakout rooms, interactive tools, and other technologies to meet the needs of individual students. However, the teachers were hesitant to use such creative methods on high-stakes learning.  Christine gave them permission to fail.  Teachers began to use technology in ways they had never dreamed.  During the hybrid model, for example, they grouped students by location (in person or remote) to maximize engagement, participation, and opportunities for feedback. Teachers let go of grouping students according to readiness.  Instead, students were grouped according to those who were learning remotely and those who were physically in the classroom.  Principal Trendel gave her teachers autonomy to organize learning groups in ways teachers could best maximize learning.

Jackson PLCs began to take advantage of the opportunity for creativity.  Teachers used interactive technology tools and digital literacy platforms, but also focused on getting books in the hands of students, even during remote learning periods. They built in student choice through the use of independent choice boards, and students were given choice in texts for small-group learning whenever possible.  Students designed their individual reading choice boards.  They soon realized that capitalizing on students’ interest was more important than ever. Principal Trendel remarked, “We have been in relentless pursuit for student engagement.”  She clarified, “If we lose them during remote learning, then it’s very difficult to get them back.”

Perhaps the most important intervention Christine and her staff employed was to let go of everything over which they had no control.  They couldn’t control when the School Board would decide when to use which model.  They couldn’t control the district leadership’s responses. They couldn’t control the parents’ reactions to the School Board’s decisions.  They did, however, control the quality of instruction.

The Result

The Winter benchmark data indicated a spike in student achievement.  Students meeting or exceeding grade level expectations in literacy jumped from 68% to 92%!  Principal Trendel cites five reasons for this improvement:

1.      Laser-like focus on literacy

2.      Creative ways for student engagement

3.      Using technology in different ways for small group, targeted instruction

4.      PLCs using data to inform instruction

5.      Letting go of what you cannot control

Christine and her staff have every reason to celebrate.  They have taken advantage of the opportunity to be creative, to experiment, to fail, and to take control over that which they can control.  The biggest lesson they’ve learned so far this year is intentionality.  They understand that time is limited.  When learning is intentional all the time, achievement soars.

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