Page 15 - EdViewptsSpring2019-web

As I stood in front of the of all their upcoming labor would be. At The true aha moment
room on a February 2017 the following faculty meeting, teachers and thus the turning
were broken into their PLC teams and
afternoon at our faculty asked to unpack the same standard. As point of our journey
meeting to introduce the a group, we decided what we thought came as staff began to
were the Student Learning Objectives
Brookside staff to the (SLOs) that best mirrored the standard unpack the standards
Connected Action Road- addressed and to set the expectations during half-day release
for unpacking the remaining standards
map (CAR), it was easy to at each grade level. time with their grade-

see that not one staff mem- The true aha moment and thus the turn- level teams. As teachers
ber had any clue what was ing point of our journey came as staff continued through the
began to unpack the standards during
half-day release time with their grade- process of unpacking,
to come. This can probably be level teams. As teachers continued
said about the following three or four through the process of unpacking, they they soon realized that
times we discussed CAR as well. As soon realized that on some grade levels, on some grade levels,
you might imagine, there were many the interpretation of the standards was the interpretation of
parking-lot conversations in the begin- quite different. The conversations that
ning, as I was not doing a very good followed were rich and collegial, as each the standards was quite
job identifying the why of what I was grade eventually came to an agreement different.
asking the staff to do. and understanding of each. The teach-

After a long conversation with our ers continued to unpack the standards, This was done intentionally to ease
pilot study coach, we determined that then looked at where the SLOs fell staff into the writing process and give
the first assignment was to work as within the course of the school year. them an easier view of how the broken
a faculty and complete the PLC CAR This was also eye opening as teachers down standards would be utilized
survey. Staff were broken into grade- saw that many prerequisite skill sets within their daily instruction.
level teams and asked to “rip the ban- were being introduced later than was Working within that framework, we
dages off,” by completing the survey as necessary. The adjustment in these ended the year with all grade levels,
honestly as possible. The result was a sequences allowed for a more aligned K–5, completing all our math units and
real eye opener, as everyone was able and consistent delivery of information creating two reading units. The read-
to really see the many areas in which building-wide. Webb's Depth of Knowl- ing units, much more comprehensive
the building was deficient. Looking at edge and “I Can” statements completed than our teachers were used to pro-
the specifics of each “conversation,” the unpacking-standards conversation ducing, took more time to create. The
we decided to continue our journey by and gave us exactly the momentum we staff’s work generated such an amaz-
creating a new mission statement. This needed as we spent the remainder of ing feeling of ownership that they left
shared statement gave value to teach- the year in PLC Conversation 6: Design- for the summer in a wonderful place
ers’ voices and allowed us to continue ing the Learning Experience. with the work they’d created!
to create new PLC structures and new When September 2017 came, staff
“Norms” for each of our PLCs. worked within the CAR framework So how do we know this vehicle
works? We reviewed our Grade 3
As we were preparing to move on to from the beginning of the school year, class and their PARCC performance
the next steps, we met as a faculty to jumping right into the work we began for three years — the same amount of
discuss PLC Conversation 1: Unpack- the prior spring. The staff’s enthusiasm time we participated in the pilot proj-
ing the Standards. At this point, the light was infectious, and we began giving ect. English Language Arts (passing)
bulb moment hit and the decision was our PLC grade-level teams half-day scores were, in 2016 – 59%; in 2017 –
made to provide staff an example of the release time to work with school 73%; and in 2018 – 84%. Mathematics
question they had asked most often: administration on the formulation of (passing) scores were, in 2016 – 67%;
“What is this going to look like?” Utilizing CAR Units. We elected to work with in 2017 – 63%; and in 2018 – 78%.
the models provided through the Blend- math first, since our current program
ed Online Learning Modules (BOLM), lent itself to an easier unit creation. We feel we are finally in the driver's
the staff were able to see what the fruits seat.

About the Author
Tom Conroy is currently the principal of Brookside Elementary School in the Westwood Regional
School District. He has been in Westwood for the past five years. Prior to serving in his current position,
Tom held both teaching, and administrative positions on the elementary, middle, high school, and district
levels. Tom serves on the FEA Board and is entering his fourth year on the NJPSA/FEA Leadership
Academy Development and Presentation Teams. Tom completed both his undergraduate and graduate
work at Montclair State University.

Educational Viewpoints -13- Spring 2019