All Means All

We would like to thank Southeast Polk staff for their engaged participation during district professional learning on Monday.  The reflections on key learnings and ideas for next steps are truly inspiring.  The commitment to meeting the needs of ALL learners is quite evident, and your collaborative work to make this happen is very much appreciated.

Below are proposed commitments to ensure high levels of learning for all at Southeast Polk.  These commitments are adapted from the work of Mike Mattos and Austin Buffum and were generated following the PLC Institute last summer.  As you work with with your collaborative teams to implement your actions steps, these commitments can provide additional guidance for your work.

High Levels of Learning for All

At Southeast Polk we believe all students can learn, and we commit to the following outcomes:

1. All students must leave Southeast Polk with the skills, knowledge, and dispositions necessary to succeed in their postsecondary path, so all students must have access to coursework and 21st century skills that prepare them for a path beyond high school. Schools must remove tracks of core instruction focused exclusively on below grade-level expectations.

2. Because all students do not learn the same way, develop at the same speed, enter school with the same prior knowledge, or have the same academic supports at home, students will be provided additional time and support to achieve these rigorous expectations.  Learning is the constant--time and support are the variables.

3. Because a single teacher could not possibly meet the diverse needs of all their students, schools will create a systematic intervention process to ensure that struggling students are guaranteed to receive additional time and support for learning that go beyond what an individual classroom teacher can provide. Achieving this goal will require staff members to work collaboratively and take collective responsibility for each students’ success.

4. The best first step of a systematic intervention process is strong core instruction. The key to improved student learning is to ensure more good teaching in more classrooms more of the time. This includes strong content knowledge on the part of the teacher, the use of flexible grouping, effective instructional techniques, and appropriate pacing.

5. The best approach is one of teachers working together rather than in isolation. This means schools need to focus on building and sustaining highly effective and efficient collaborative teams.

6. Some students will need extra support from time to time, while others will enter school with profound gaps in their foundational skills. To meet this diverse range of needs, schools will provide both supplemental (Tier 2) and intensive (Tier 3) interventions.

7. Teachers will provide interventions in addition to core instruction, not in place of it. Students will not miss new essential core instruction to get extra help.

8. Extra support will be available to all students who demonstrate the need. Because some students cannot come to school early or stay late, school will embed this help during the school day, when students are required to be at school and all staff members are available to assist.

9. Some students will not choose to voluntarily take advantage of this additional support. This should be expected as some will lack the maturity, self motivation, parental support, or vision of what is necessary to succeed as an adult. Because success or failure in school is life altering, students will not be given the option of failing. Interventions, when necessary, will be directive.

10. Some students will enter school already meeting grade-level expectations, and other students learn new material very quickly. Additional time and support should not come at the expense of these students. Just as schools establish extra assistance to help at-risk students reach grade-level expectations, they will also provide all students with additional time and support to help them succeed in the most rigorous coursework.