A homegrown model of teacher (and student) support
Martinez and a team of district and school leaders spent a year working with a coach from Thrive to explore what strategic staffing could look like in Kernville. During model school visits in Arizona, they were impressed by classrooms where, in lieu of the traditional one teacher/one class model, teams of teachers and support staff worked collaboratively to meet student needs in dynamic groups that leverage each teacher’s strengths and expertise.
The Kernville team decided to test two new staffing strategies in their district. First, they would move toward co-teaching across grade levels and, eventually, looped grade spans. Second, they would create an Achievement Leader position for each grade span (TK-1, 2-3, 4-5) to provide timely support to new teachers, strategic interventions to students and coaching for the whole team. The new position—designed through what Martinez describes as a “a very positive, collaborative process” with union leadership and reallocation of funds previously dedicated to more traditional mentor teacher and grade-level leader roles—would also provide a rewarding career path for experienced teachers.
Principal Burgess sees team teaching as a strategy to develop instructional cohesion, consistent routines and stronger relationships across classrooms—and ultimately, to improve student engagement with learning.
“Our teachers work really hard at building relationships,” Burgess explains, but the district’s many inexperienced teachers lose precious months to getting to know their students and often experience burnout trying to solve challenging behaviors on their own. “This teaming model provides opportunities for our teachers to look at things from a team lens,” Burgess says.
Wallace Elementary planned for an intentionally slow rollout of their new staffing design beginning this fall. First, they created common planning time at every grade level and a weekly “family time” hour to build student and teacher relationships across each grade level. The Grades 4/5 team volunteered to test out co-teaching too. After establishing common routines during the first weeks of school, they began rotating students, with one teacher in each grade specializing in math and science, and the other teaching reading and writing. During a 45-minute daily literacy intervention period, nine adults (including a special education teacher, two paraprofessionals, and the Achievement Leader) work with groups of students, differentiated by their learning needs.
Eventually, the Grades 4/5 team aspires to move students more dynamically throughout the day based on their learning interests and needs. “I’m excited about them not having doors, no boundaries, truly teaming all the way,” says Stacey Sanders, the Grades 4/5 Achievement Leader.
A palpable change in student behavior and teacher morale
By mid-October, Wallace Elementary staff were already reporting significant improvements in student behavior and many more good days for themselves. Students seem to benefit from the change of scenery and from having multiple adults to turn to for support. The Grades 4/5 teachers, meanwhile, were reporting that some parts of their job had already become easier.
“When you have kids all day and you’re struggling but they don’t have anyone else they can go to, it doesn’t always end well,” Sanders explains, “But if in 45 minutes, I can have a restart, it’s okay.”
Sheila Gallis, the Achievement Leader for Grades TK/1 agrees. “Many of our teachers are new to the profession, so they don’t have a lot of tools in their tool belt,” she says. “When we’re alone, we’re trying all these tricks because we’re trying to keep kids engaged… But in sharing students, it’s kind of like a family environment where … we have more of a partnership in working with that child.”
There are still hard days and some apprehension about changes yet to be implemented. Sanders finds her to-do list daunting at times, but she enjoys her new position and believes her team is headed in the right direction. “I had a teacher tell me last Wednesday that she had a ‘10’ day (the best possible)… She said she’s finding her joy again,” Sanders says. “When I see that my teachers are effective, my kids are happy and I can help them, those are great days.”
Looking ahead with Thrive
Thrive coach Courtney Ochi continues to meet monthly with the Wallace Elementary Achievement Leaders and a team of Kernville administrators as they design the structures and processes they need to make the new staffing model work.
“Courtney’s been a great sounding board,” says Principal Burgess. “It’s nice having a process that other people have found success in, and then taking that and being like, how do we make this work for us?”
Currently, the Kernville team’s focus is on developing effective Tier 1 instruction for all students. Building on the monthly sessions with Ochi, the Achievement Leaders are working with their teacher teams to identify the academic, behavioral and social emotional supports they will use to meet the needs of all students. Their goal is to have consistent Tier 1 instruction in place by the end of the school year.
Recently, a second group of Kernville educators took a trip to Arizona that heightened their optimism about what strategic staffing decisions could do for their district. “There was a feeling of, ‘We can do this.’ It’s not unachievable,” Sheila Gallis says. “You don’t have to have the perfect building or the perfect curriculum. You can adjust this model to work for your school and with the personnel you have.”
Courtney Ochi is impressed by the Kernville team’s progress and buoyed by their positive outlook. “I’m excited to see people be excited about their jobs again,” she says. “To speak with educators who are energized, inspired, smiling, and joyful during a time of year that is often tough, is inspiring. It tells me that our schools can be places that people want to be.”
