Griggs Road Elementary School principal Nicole Thompson and innovation coach Joy Dillon talk about their school's journey towards personalizing learning for students. Hear more about how they got started, what support looks like for teachers as they implement personalized practices at varied paces, how they are helping parents understand the PCBL shifts happening in classrooms, and how students overall are taking more ownership of their learning journeys!
Q: Tell us a little bit about how you got started with your journey towards personalizing learning for students at Griggs Road.
Joy: Back in 2018 is when we first started going to the cohorts that they were offering with the state department and then we started sending more teachers. We were bringing back all sorts of great stuff. Once we kind of felt like this was really something that would fit Griggs Road and was something that was really important to us, we started with school-based PD for the teachers. We used our October professional development days and then our spring PD day also to introduce it and help teachers buy in and try something at that point. We realized if we have teachers who were willing to take that chance and try something to show others how it could work, then that really helped those teachers who were not really sure if this was something they could do. Teachers can have a fear of failure when they are worried that they are not doing something right for students. So this gave them an opportunity to hear from a colleague.
Nicole: From the leadership standpoint, it allowed us to see the hurdles that were happening and where we needed to back up, punt, and say, “Okay, we may have thrown too much at you and let's take baby steps.” It's more about the journey and the way that we express it. Now we know it's not a sprint; it is definitely a marathon. We also know that every day looks different depending on what you're trying in every classroom.
Q: Let’s focus on that buy in piece. When you got back from the cohorts, excited to try this out with your staff, was everybody on board? What was the response? If people were not excited, how did you persevere through that?
Nicole: I would say that not everyone was on board. Not because they were naysayers, if you will, but if you've been in education for any length of time, there's always a new thing. So that was the feeling: “How long are we going to be on this train until it wrecks? Are we going to have the support? Is this just a fad?” Some teachers may say, “If I don't do it, it's going to go away.” So it was really more from that standpoint of, “Is this real and is there support behind it? What longevity does this have? Do I have your support? What does the district say about it?” Those were the kinds of thoughts and questions that we still get. Everyone had to understand there are all kinds of components of what it takes to have a personalized learning school and not everybody starts at the same place. That was huge for us; making sure that we help everyone understand that it might be flexible seating, or student choice, or pathways, but you must start somewhere.
Q: What does support look like for teachers at Griggs Road, and how have you been able to build that capacity of teachers, regardless of what their entry point is?
Joy: I would say the culture here has always been very supportive since Mrs. Thompson came. This feeling of “just jump in and try something” is there. She's very open to trying things, so that culture was there already. She's very supportive with what time she gives them, because we all know that’s the main complaint. Teachers ask, “How am I going to plan for this? How am I going to have time to learn about it, plan it, and implement it?” Because time is such a factor, she's really listened to that. The teachers are supported with extra planning. Once a month they get two extra hours of planning with their team. Sometimes it's vertical planning time or with their grade level. They use the time to get ready for whatever pathway they're working on or whatever else they are implementing at the moment. We're starting to work on competencies, so that'll be the next piece that we focus on planning during these two hours.
Nicole: I think as a leader that there's never going to be enough time to give them. I want to give them more time. I'm not resting on the idea of, “Well, I've given them this time once a month.” Because if they're truly innovative, students are growing faster than that timeframe. Also, I need to personalize the time for staff because whereas some staff may only need two hours, I have to be cognizant that other staff might need additional time. Some staff may be implementing something completely different than anyone else in our building or they just need that extra support and more time than others. Some may need to go see it in action and then come back and see what that would look like to make it fit into their classroom, keeping their students in mind. Being flexible with time is always something that I'm looking at. It’s not showing favoritism. It’s meeting learners where they are. You have to meet teachers where they are in order to get the students where they need to be.
Q: Talk a little bit more about providing time for teachers to go and see things. What value do you find in providing that dedicated time for them?
Nicole: I think in order to keep students growing, we have to keep growing. I think that's where classrooms become stagnant because we're so focused on the content. A teacher is the one who knows the standards, so we have this feeling of we need you and only you in there. Especially if it is difficult to get substitutes or there are no instructional assistants that can cover a classroom. That goes back to the idea of time that teachers are talking about. I think if we're asking teachers to move mountains in the classroom, then we have to move mountains as leaders and it starts there. Because if we are leaving the mountain in their way, they're not going to move it in their classroom. So we move mountains together. My assistant principal covers classes. I cover classes. We've had Joy cover classes. My secretary has covered classes. You utilize all people and I think it's really important to make sure that it's a culture of learning. Even my lead custodian has covered a class before so that a teacher can go and see another teacher in action.
It's about everyone in the building as a part of a student's learning journey and it's not just the status quo of that teacher only. Our teachers are the leaders in their classroom, but we also have to give students that opportunity to see that sometimes it's about learning from others.
