Lab School for Systemic Change

I will be developing and implementing innovative professional and community development structures that put teachers and students in the lead for creating curriculum that engages, enriches, and prepares students for success in the 21st century. I will create opportunities for dialogue among stakeholders that asks the question, “What do our graduates need to succeed?”, as well as the opportunity to examine schools that are already undergoing successful transformation. Based on the ideas and energy generated from these conversations, I will work with the SBHS community to create school innovation that works!

Students and educators will experience a culture of inspiration, innovation, excitement, and collaboration. O.W. Holmes said, “A mind stretched by a new idea never regains its old dimensions.” While the projects will be generated by conversations with staff and students, here are some ideas of possible projects to create that culture:

1. Utilizing Big Picture South Burlington as a lab school: As a lab school, BPSB would be explicit about our desire to continually innovate and learn, giving SBHS faculty an opportunity to be critical friends to our work and test out new ideas of their own, all in partnership with local colleges (we have a teacher whose passion is cycling and he could teach an interdisciplinary term around cycling.).
2. Setting up Innovation Tours: intensive trips for faculty, students, parents, board, and community members to see other innovative schools and have time to reflect on how that can affect SBHS (This would look like taking three days to visit four schools in New York City or Vermont and then intense debriefs in between each site visit. These have proven highly effective for reform with the Institute for Democratic Education in America – IDEA).
3. Setting up school-wide professional development structures (like Japan’s lesson study process where groups of teachers develop an innovative lesson or strategy together, observe each other implementing

UPDATE

My fellowship has been incredible as many of my projects came to fruition. It was amazing to see the shift both in the structures and in the culture around innovation at SBHS. Some of the projects that came through this semester are:

• Neighborhood Learning Conversations that rallied the community around new graduation requirements
• South Burlington High School Creating Proficiency Based Graduation Requirements (PBGR)
• Connecting Eagle Rock School and SBHS for assets based Professional Development Plan that is continuing
• PBGR Grad course for teachers to teach them and give them credit for the work they’ve done
• Communications Planning Around School Reform so SBHS can message well
• Innovation Tour to NYC and School visits (Colchester, Mt. Abe, CVU…) for the teachers that went to NYC and did local visits there was a significant shift in thinking

In February 2014, South Burlington High School took 30 teachers, students, administrators, school board members, and community members to New York City to visit innovative schools. The trip was a great catalyst for conversation about the innovations we want to bring to SBHS, focusing specifically on graduation by proficiency, and every participant spoke of the experience as transformational. The group had two major takeaways from the trip. The first was a great sense of appreciation for the community, culture, and innovation that we already have at South Burlington High School, and the second was a better understanding of the value of bringing difference constituencies together to talk about school innovation. We found that constituencies were more aligned than individuals had previously thought. After the trip, the group broke into small groups to create projects. By the end of the school year, five of the seven projects came into fruition.

I was also struck by the incredible impact of the Community Learning Conversations. Community members engaged in thoughtful discussions about school change and expressed appreciation for being invited to play a role in developing graduation requirements, rather than merely being notified of change without a sense of buy-in or understanding. Most people walked away from these conversations feeling excited and supportive of the changes happening at South Burlington.

Creating a graduate course for math teachers to receive credit for developing proficiencies helped me to gain a better understanding of where people were at in terms of individual understanding, while also giving credit to teachers for the hard work they are doing.

Based on my experience this year, it is clear to me that one of the key leverage points to having the process go well is focusing on assets, what we are already doing well. Then, as Pat Burke, our principal, likes to say, focus on what is the next logical step. We came up with some useful indicators of proficiency:

• Schools are explicit about the knowledge, skills, and dispositions students need and to make sure they have them.
• Students progress when they can demonstrate what they’ve learned.
• Excellence is the constant. Time is the variable.
• All students can achieve at high levels with the appropriate mindset and conditions.
• When we are very clear about our goals/expectations, then we can allow flexibility and personalization in the means.
• Proficiencies must be chosen to meet the demands of the future in our ever-changing world.
• There is substantial evidence that this type of learning works well for all students.

While circumstances have moved me out of Vermont physically, I have Rowland in my blood. In spirit and in action, I plan to remain involved in my Rowland Work, SBHS work, and education transformation in Vermont. I will be working with Eagle Rock Professional Development Center to create and run South Burlington’s Professional Development program.

In reflecting on where my fellowship and South Burlington High School are at the completion of this year, and in talking with the administration, we’ve decided the following are the key projects that will move the initiative forward:

• • YES Term
    Year End Studies (YES) Term is a great way to build community and create high interest, deep learning. These two week non-traditional, project-based, and experiential courses are designed to apply and expand what students have learned during the school year using students’ and teachers’ own interests and passions. Each learning course includes opportunities to learn outside the school walls with community partners, and to use writing as a tool to reflect on what and how students learn. YES courses mix students from all grades and backgrounds to enhance enthusiasm for learning and to strengthen relationships within SBHS and the larger community.

• • Affinity Based Advisory or
    Single Period Project / Big Picture
    Both SBHS and Big Picture would benefit greatly from a more symbiotic relationship. After visiting schools and talking with many folks, I have identified two ways to create that symbiotic relationship. Affinity based advisory would invite teachers outside of Big Picture to run in depth interdisciplinary blocks around a specific theme. Examples might be a government block that spends every other day in Montpelier getting Social Studies, English, and Math Credit or a Tech Block based in My Web Grocer that studies engineering, science, math, and programming. The single block advisory would allow students to complete interest-based projects and/or internships without spending their entire high school career in Big Picture.

• • Neighborhood Learning Conversation (NLC) Continuation
    Neighborhood Learning Conversations are where a group of 4-12 people convene (they can be in a home, coffee shop, school) to talk about the future of South Burlington education. These conversations culminated in one large Community Learning Conversation, at which the data collected from individual conversations was presented. Over 300 people ranging from 10 years old to 93 participated, generating great enthusiasm and buy in from the community. Participants appreciated being asked for their thoughts on the future of South Burlington schools, instead of being sold a structure. Our future plan is to have a 1-2 rounds of these a year, which will be focused on PLP plans and continuing to define our PBGR’s.

• • Structure for Continuing Site Visits
    Seeing successful, innovative models at work is one of the most powerful ways to move people forward in a common direction. Taking time to travel and learn together builds relationships across constituencies, and those relationships form the critical foundation for shared work here in our own communities. In addition to visiting schools in NYC, we also brought groups to visit BHS, CVU, Colchester, Mt. Abe. These local visits prompted real movement in our initiatives and forged great connections. Ideally, these local visits will continue.