A K-8 School’s Path to Student-Centered Learning
A large, comprehensive K-8 school in a major urban school district in Philadelphia has become a notable example of educational transformation. Beyond its dynamic environment, the school has made substantial strides in becoming more responsive and engaging, addressing the unique needs of its student population.
From the start of their collaboration with Partners in School Innovation (PSI), this school had clear priorities to improve classroom teaching and the overall school environment. Within one year of collaborating with PSI to support their vision, they achieved 95% of their school vision goals according to our partnership implementation tracking tool. They stand as a testament to what focused collaboration in teacher teams and commitment can accomplish.
Demographic overview of a K-8 school in Philadelphia showing their location, staff size of 23 teachers and admin, and their population of 760 students.
Laying the Foundations for Change: Key Focus Areas for Coaching
At the start of this school year, the leadership team at this Philadelphia school worked with Partners in School Innovation (PSI) to strategically review the current state of instruction.
This partnership, grounded in mutual respect and shared goals, aimed to build on the school's existing strengths. It was noted during initial walkthroughs that, while previous issues with school climate had significantly improved, there was a golden opportunity to enhance the delivery of student-centered instruction.
With a strong sense of the current strengths and opportunities, the site-based team and their Partners coach identified four key areas for improvement:
Stabilizing classroom climate to support student-centered learning
Executing the district's math framework with fidelity
Building foundational skills in English Language Arts (ELA)
Using data to inform and guide decision-making processes
Visual representation of 'Four Focus Areas for School & Leadership Coaching' at a K-8 school in Philadelphia, emphasizing classroom climate, math framework, foundational ELA skills, and data-driven decision-making.
Implementation and Actions
Setting Clear Priorities for Transforming Learning
Reflecting on the previous year’s challenges, the school had already set clear, actionable priorities aimed at urgent school climate improvement. These priorities were supported by strategic investments in leadership roles, including the addition of three School-Based Teacher Leaders (SBTLs).
School-Based Teacher Leaders (SBTLs) are teachers that have stepped out of the classroom to support a specific part of the school system, often curriculum adoption, coaching, testing, data monitoring, or a specific content area. In the case of this Philadelphia school, SBTLs supported coaching and data monitoring of classroom instruction.
Moving the Needle Through Tailored Coaching
Aligning professional learning with school priorities, Partners in School Innovation worked closely with school leadership and SBTLs to tailor coaching strategies, effectively driving practice changes in the classroom.
A Partners coach worked with SBTLs in Math and English Language Arts, observing classrooms to notice success and decide on new strategies. Following these observations, they held debriefs to create customized coaching plans. These plans were implemented through either personalized coaching or larger professional development sessions.
Quote from a K-8 Philadelphia school teacher expressing gratitude for the positive impact of the School-Based Teacher Leader on their professional development. “The School-Based Teacher Leader at my school is extremely helpful! She has helped me develop into a better teacher!”
Coaching concentrated on enhancing student-centered teaching by targeting these key areas for improvement:
Balancing student vs. teacher talk time
Implementing techniques for checking student understanding throughout a lesson
Ensuring equity in voice and appropriate pacing in lessons
To support these goals, classroom observations and coaching continued in order to monitor the effectiveness of strategies used by teachers to engage students and manage classroom dynamics.
An infographic displaying four observation areas for classroom instruction: Checks for Understanding, Equity of Voice, Pacing, and Percent of Students Actively Engaged.
Celebrating Collaborative Achievements
The partnership between this Philadelphia K-8 school and PSI proved successful, with the school achieving 95% of their school vision goals and PSI's coaching efforts reaching a 97% success rate.
Teachers also made significant progress in setting student learning goals, creating plans for their own professional development, and putting those plans into action.
These achievements highlight the impact of the strong support from PSI and the school's dedication and hard work.
Infographic displaying 'Results and Achievements' for a K-8 school in Philadelphia, highlighting high percentages of yearly and strategic goals achieved in education management and teacher coaching.
Additionally, school leaders at this Philadelphia School stated in their executive summary report that PSI's greatest contribution was helping them maintain a laser focus on their defined priority areas, which included creating opportunities for transformational learning for students.
Results from the School Transformation Rubric (STR)
To support the leadership team with assessing and showcasing even more progress towards change at their school, Partners in School Innovation used the School Transformation Rubric.
This rubric was created with research-based best practices in instruction, teacher professional learning, and leadership. It provides a roadmap for assessing the success of the work that school leaders and teachers undertake to improve their instructional programs and accelerate student learning.
The leadership team at this Philadelphia school made notable progress in all areas assessed by the School Transformation Rubric (STR), including in Results-Oriented Leadership, Systems for Professional Learning, and Core Instructional Programs.
The school leadership team’s most significant improvements were in the following areas:
Collaboration with the School Community
They enhanced their ability to work with their school community to identify how the current system impacts student learning inequities, improving their score from 2 to 4 on a 6-point rubric.
Setting Yearly Goals
They improved in setting annual objectives to refine teaching strategies and foster a stronger, more equitable school community culture, also increasing their score from 2 to 4 on a 6-point rubric.
Focus and Follow-through
They showed better focus on prioritized areas and execution of their plans, raising their score from 2 to 4 on a 6-point rubric.
These improvements reflect the comprehensive effort by the leadership team to address educational inequities and enhance teaching and learning at their school.
Moving Forward
School leaders at this Philadelphia School acknowledged PSI's instrumental role in maintaining focus on priority areas, which created transformative learning opportunities for both teachers and students.
Looking ahead, both the school’s leaders and PSI are committed to sustaining this dynamic partnership, aiming for even greater successes in empowering every student.
Inspired by This School’s Journey?
If you're interested in learning more about how Partners in School Innovation can support your district’s and school's path to transformation or want to explore how our staff can empower your team to achieve exceptional outcomes, contact us today.
