“The core philosophy behind the pillar it’s never too late to learn is a presumption of competence.” (Kindle loc.1580, Fisher et. al) As a public school educator of a title 1 school, we receive a diverse group of students from diverse backgrounds that results in diverse learning abilities. With that said, under the Professional Learning Community model we have implemented, we have created common assessments at every grade level, adopted the motto “our students” as opposed to “my students” to help achieve a common goal of student achievement, intervention schedules, the hiring of intervention aids/teachers and the practice of consistently reviewing student data to decide next steps. With these important pillars that are currently in place, student failure is not an option.
If not, what structures have been put into place to accomplish alternatives?
Students do not fail at our school, we have empowered students to monitor their own progress so even if they’re not achieving the grade level standard at times, they are taught to consistently improve and celebrate small steps toward the bigger goal. They don’t compare themselves to other students, they compare themselves to the student they were yesterday. In my class, students keep their own data folder where they track their own progress such as their reading rate score, spelling test scores, math scores and goals they have set for themselves.
What conditions exist that make never too late to learn and reach competency in your school?
Can you give an example? In addition to the PLC process, we’ve also implemented “WIN time” (What I Need Time) and this where we as teacher review student data on a certain standard, group students based on ability level such as students that showed mastery go to a teacher/class with other students that mastered as well and students that did not master go to another teacher with a smaller class size where they can be retaught the standard in hopes to see improvement. There is also teachers/classes for the students that nearly met or met as well. WIN time is normally 35 minutes in length and 5 teachers/5 classes.
What would you do, if anything, to introduce/enhance “never too late to learn” structures in you school if you were the school leader?
I truly believe our school is already functioning at a high level with the PLC process which incorporates the philosophy of “never too late to learn” so I wouldn’t change much except to consistently improve the model year to year. I would also ensure that staff and grade levels are consistently implementing
What can you do in your present position to create “never too late to learn” structures into your current practice and those of your peers?
Are those things in your sphere of influence? What I can continue to do in my current position to help create the “never too late to learn” structure is to continue modeling the practice of empowering students to track their own progress. Not all of my teammates implement a data folder where students set goals and track their progress. I believe it’s a huge game changer as we track our own progress every single day in adulthood. We track our nutrition, health, finances, education, etc. To continue having an open mind of sharing any resources I may find that will benefit the collective and not just myself.
Commit to 5 things you are willing to do this semester that will make your school a increase learning opportunities:
- Continue researching and sharing strategies and resources that will help my team and beyond.
- Give certain students additional computer learning time after school.
- Ensure students are allowed to fail yet instill the importance of learning from failure.
- Implement more collaborating learning environments for students and as teachers.
- Consistent formative assessments to help guide instruction (next steps).