In times of change, learners inherit the earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists. — Eric Hoffer
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Literacy coach Bonnie Salhany (left) observes as Nancy Torres conducts a vocabulary lesson at Gratts Elementary. |
Nancy Torres' fifth-graders are playing vocabulary games with homophones, words that are pronounced alike but differ in spelling, meaning or origin, such as 'pair' and 'pear.' To keep their competitors from overhearing, teams clustered at each table speak in hushed voices before writing down their answers.
They're so focused, many don't hear Torres the first time she calls time. When they present their answers to the class in sentence form, Torres praises them for their creativity in using such words as "thyme and time" and "clothes and close."
Observing the activity is the school's literacy coach, Bonnie Salhany, who collaborated with Torres on planning the standards-based lesson. After dismissing the students for lunch, the teachers take time to debrief.
"It was a great lesson," says Salhany. "But I think they are probably ready for a bit more, and you could push them a bit more." Torres, a second-year teacher, nods in agreement. When the literacy coach suggests inviting other teachers to observe as Torres "demos" a similar lesson, Torres is obviously pleased.
This type of professional development — teachers working collaboratively to improve instruction — has been instrumental in raising student achievement at Evelyn Thurman Gratts Elementary School, located in one of the poorest sections of Los Angeles. With nearly 100 percent minority students and many English language learners — a third of them on bilingual waivers — the school has doubled its API score from just over 300 to 600 and tripled the number of students moving from basic to proficient.
Unlike many inner-city schools, teacher retention is not a problem at Gratts. United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) members who work there report that very few teachers leave, mostly because they feel so supported. When Torres, for example, was unexpectedly switched from teaching kindergarten to fifth-grade due to enrollment changes, she was given a week's worth of intensive training with coaches and fifth-grade teachers before she went solo.
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Presenting to the class are students Brenda Trujillo and Jennifer Guox. |
"At Gratts, young and inexperienced teachers benefit from working closely with experienced teachers," says Salhany. "And experienced teachers are benefiting from being exposed to fabulous ideas from new teachers. We are all learners here, and we want to learn together. We instill that in our students. We can't impart love of learning to the students if we aren't doing it ourselves."
Four teachers have received National Board Certification, and six are working toward it.
Things weren't always so rosy at the year-round campus. The school, which opened a decade ago with mostly brand-new teachers, had some of the lowest test scores in the state. Five years ago a team of state auditors told the faculty that just about everything they were doing was wrong. Teachers were demoralized and frustrated.
"We were working hard, yet we weren't getting results," recalls Sandra Fernandez, who has taught kindergarten and other grade levels at Gratts for 10 years.
"In other schools facing stress because of test scores, administrators come down on the principal, the principal comes down on the teachers, and the teachers blame the parents," says Fernandez. "But instead of blaming each other, we came together as a team. We could not have survived any other way."
Gratts staff chose to engage in some soul-searching rather than shift blame. While they were working hard, they were not always working in the best way possible. Teachers and administrators decided it was time for a drastic overhaul, especially in the area of professional development. Fortunately, they had a principal who encouraged teachers to take the lead in this area.
At first teachers brought in experts of their own choosing to conduct workshops. They sent colleagues to workshops they felt would be beneficial if the colleagues shared what they learned. Soon they began implementing the new strategies, sharing what worked and cultivating their own "experts" within the ranks. Some were hired to be literacy, math and English language development (ELD) coaches at the school, supporting their colleagues on a full-time basis.
The coaches, all of whom are UTLA members, do not evaluate fellow teachers. Instead, they offer support and collaboration in a supportive environment.
In addition to opportunities to work one-on-one with coaches, teachers are given full days throughout the school year to collaborate with other grade-level teachers and coaches and plan six weeks of lessons at a time. On those days their classes are handled by substitutes. Every Tuesday, students leave at 2 p.m., and the entire faculty gathers to discuss schoolwide instructional strategies. Currently the emphasis is on improving ELD instruction. Occasionally, professional development sessions are held on Saturdays.
"Everybody has input," says Salhany. "Coaches do not tell people what to do or decide what will be discussed at meetings. People come to the table and say, 'I'm having this problem, or this worked last year, but not this year.' Teachers are not just thinking about their own class, they are looking at ways to improve learning for all students."
"In these meetings, we share our struggles," says Monica Solis, a second-grade teacher at Gratts for the last seven years. "It's very supportive. I think it benefits our students when we're more prepared. When we as teachers are clear about what we need to teach, our students get a clearer picture of what they need to do."
During the school's revamping, teachers decided they also had to change the way they viewed its challenging student population. "Before, we would blame the socioeconomics of the community for why our kids weren't achieving and sometimes think there was very little hope for our kids," says Fernandez. "But that is no longer acceptable. Now, nobody has low expectations for our kids. We believe now that if our kids aren't learning, it's because we're failing them. We believe in our kids and in our community."
Gratts, like all schools in the district, uses the Open Court curriculum, but teachers do not follow an exact script and are not expected to be on the same page on the same day, just reading along. Teachers are constantly deepening their understanding of the curriculum through creative collaboration to better meet the needs of their individual students.
"A lot of our success has to do with support from our administration," says Jose Salgado, a first-grade teacher who has been at Gratts for four years. "It makes a big difference when you have that."
Unlike many urban schools where there is a revolving door of administrators, Gratts has enjoyed consistency by having the same principal, Luis Valentino, for six years.
"We couldn't have achieved what we have without an atmosphere of trust — and without believing that all of us have something to contribute," says Fernandez. "People get a good vibe here. There is interaction and a positive attitude. We're very proud of what we have accomplished."
"Collaborating has definitely made me a better teacher," says Isaac Diaz, a fourth-grade teacher. "It has made me reflect on my teaching and what I need to do to meet the needs of my students. It's made all of us question many of the things we do. I definitely believe that two — or more — heads are better than one."
When he began teaching at Gratts six years ago, Diaz initially viewed Gratts as a "stepping stone." He figured he would earn some experience and then move on. "But I couldn't be happier anywhere else," he says. "I like the makeup of the staff, the rapport that we have built up here, and the way we are here to support each other and help each other out as much as we can. The main thing that works here is that we have wonderful professional development. But it's not true professional development unless you have respect for each other, are willing to listen and try out new ideas."
