Colorado Academy - Independent Not for Profit School, Co, USA
Background:
Colorado Academy is a K -12 independent school
located near the city of Denver and situated on 95 acres. The school is over
100 years old and started out as a church based school, then became a Military
Academy and has been in its current independent school format since the early
1970s. The school has 950 students with 23% of students of colour, 75% of
students are receiving some form of financial support.
The school features small class sizes of between 16
– 21 students. They also provide on-site child care for staff, free lunches for
students and staff and private music tuition, of which 47% of students take
advantage.
The school has a Board of Governors who are
nominated to the position, an overall Head of School and then three Principals
who run the three levels in the school – Lower, Middle and Senior schools.
My host for the day was Principal of the Lower
School (elementary level), Lisa Ulsh. Lisa has been in the role for three
years and is responsible for teaching and learning programmes in the K – 6 area
as well as being a member of the overall leadership team.
The school is extremely well resourced and its
extensive grounds are well maintained.
One feature of the school is its focus on quality
professional development for staff. The school puts $239 000 into professional
development/ year. The school 100% funds individual teachers workshops or
conferences etc. If a staff member wishes to complete their masters, the school
will cover 85% of the tuition costs.
Innovations:
Project X – traditionally, the school had operated as three separate schools but
staff felt more collaboration between each “school” would be beneficial for
continuity for students and good support for teachers particularly at
transition years. In Project X teachers from each ‘school’ do a tour of each
area. For example 8 teachers visited maths at 9th grade, 6th Grade
and 3rd Grade. This gives these teachers an overview about what
the subject looks like at each level.
Below is a copy of the invitation Eric Augustin,
sent out to teachers inviting them to join a Literacy tour:
"All,
You are invited to spend an afternoon, December 9 (F day), witnessing first-hand how students experience literature at CA. This is open to all, not just English teachers!
We will spend an afternoon beginning in a LS classroom, move onto a MS class and finish with an US Literature class. At the conclusion of the tour, we will gather to toast the teachers who opened their rooms to us, share and discuss our observations. See below and the attached for details.
We request you participate in the entire tour, not just select one class to observe. Therefore, this may result in missing a class of your own and if so, let me know how we can help provide coverage for that class.
Please email me if you are interested in joining the tour. Dependent upon response we may have to limit the number of attendees.
Schedule: Dec 9 - F Day."
12:55 - 1:30 4th Grade - Suzanne Kolsun-Jackson 1:35 - 2:20 8th Grade - Liz McIlravy 2:20 - 3:30 10th Grade - Stuart Mills 3:40 - 4:30 Debrief in Project X Room
To add a bit of fun to the concept, Eric makes up
tour posters to advertise the tour and create a bit of interest and discussion
amongst staff. See the example below:
Another idea in this project was more radical. ‘Student for a Day,’ in
this programme teachers spend a day in a classroom in different areas of the
school as a student. The teacher does everything the student has to do
including any homework.
At the end of the day Eric poses some reflective questions to assist the
teacher think about their experience. Here are a selection of questions from a
recent 'Student for a Day' experience: (Taken from an email from Eric to
the teacher)
"For the reflection I encourage you to be descriptive rather than judgmental
How would you describe the student's day?
What was it like to be a student here today?
How interesting were the classes from a student's perspective?
How much input did the students have in the learning?
How much 'air time' was controlled by the student’s vs the teacher?
How active were the students?
What did you find most challenging throughout the day?
What did you wish a teacher did to make the learning more accessible?
In terms of your own practice, what takeaways do you have?"
Below is the teacher’s honest response to the questions:
"Eric,
Thanks so much for setting this up! I did find it incredibly valuable, thanks.
I would describe the students day as fragmented. Inserting a transitions into a student's schedule every 45 - 15 minutes, makes it tough to create a state of flow and deep exploration. The longest time a student is in one particular place is 60 minutes during the first period of the day, but every other class, advisory, break, lunch and sports are a maximum of 45 minutes. It takes the average kid at least 5, maybe 10 minutes, to re-engage in a new subject and classroom, which leaves about 35-40 minutes of actual work.
I really enjoyed being a student and feel like the majority of classes are taught well, in the sense that teachers provide meaningful and relevant lessons. From a student's perspective, I get the impression that they feel supported, care about and generally enjoy themselves.
My personal benchmark for 'interesting' is a class that compels kids to investigate a topic further on their own. I would say that Math and Photography met that benchmark. It’s honestly hard to say how engaged students are in a given class, because they are so complicit and obedient, most of the time. Many of the classes felt didactic and didn't leave a lot of room for self-expression or investigation, but I also understand that some kids are acquiring basic mastery of subjects, so direct instruction may still be appropriate.
In math, students were allowed to solve algebraic expressions in several ways, which left room for choice and also cultivated a real understanding of the material, rather than plugging numbers into an equation. In science, students had just finished a unit on Mendelian genetics and were asked to create a hybrid creature that (octopus and cat) took into consideration dominant and recessive allele's to figure out which characteristic of each animal would show up in their offspring. The photography class showcased student's portfolio's focused on the concept of 'reflections'. Students gave one another feedback on their composition, angles, frame of reference, etc. It was a really cool project and allowed lots of room for student voices.
The photography class was especially student driven followed by input by students in English as they reviewed and analysed essays from previous Wrap tests. It’s clear to me that student engagement is directly correlated to their participation and voice in the class. The more they are given direct instruction, the harder I found it was for them, and me, to concentrate.
I found the transitions most challenging and the lack of time to sink my
teeth into a topic. When I read a great book, magazine article, Khan Academy
video, etc. in order to gain a deep appreciation or understanding, I usually
need a minimum of 1 hour to tinker with the material, process the information
and reflect/synthesise the things I've just learned. I like the idea of
creating longer blocks of time, but don't know how to achieve this with all of
the other competing demands.
I wish more teachers allowed students to teach their peers and learn from one another, create opportunities for personal choice and we're responsive to student interests, rather than arbitrarily completing a lesson in order to 'stay on schedule'. When students are forced to explain a concept to a classmate, their learning is deepened in a way that cannot be achieved through direct instruction. When kids are allowed to take a concept and investigate it further on their own, they gain a sense of ownership and agency to be active and engaged learners. Lastly, when a teacher can realise that a concept needs additional explanation or a conversation goes in an interesting, and relevant tangent, a good teacher will cultivate this exploration, rather than cutting a rich conversation short in order to finish a lesson.
My take away from today is that kids want to be joyful and when they
feel joy, it opens their minds to learning. When a room is an anxious,
stressful and rigid place, those same habits of mind are cultivated, which
stunts growth and learning. I realise that I need to make an effort to be more of
a student of teaching by seeking input colleagues and looking to others for
examples of excellent teaching. I am a better teacher as a result of frequent
and ongoing dialog with Dani and Adrian, and I believe this approach should be
duplicated across the school. It’s more time consuming than planning lessons
alone, but the outcomes from many thoughtful and intelligent minds is always
better."
The teacher made some real insights that can only strengthen themselves
as teachers. These insights were not about subjects and content but more about
the sort of environment they experienced first-hand that was conducive to
learning. The "Student for a day" concepts sound quite out there but
when you read the teachers response you release how powerful such an experience
could be.
Buddy Project
Next week was going to be senior launch week. This
week is post exam week where senior students do some college orientation but
also spend some time with their junior buddies. This would include in class
help but also attending a zoo trip together. Throughout the year these student
support their buddy. This buddy project is part of a larger pastoral approach
across the whole school around positive behaviour and respect. Both Maggie and I
noted how friendly polite and respectful the students were.
I attended a global perspective class (Humanities) where
these students were really engaged in their learning and were doing a project
where they were developing a new city anywhere in the world. Students had to
understand why the host country was the best location for the city. It was a student-led
project and one student even commented he enjoyed the level of student
agency in the Global Awareness class. They said it allowed them
the time to gain a greater depth of understanding of the topics.
Facilities:
One of the special features of the school grounds
is in the junior Science lab. This lab is an old observatory that sits on
pontoons in the middle of a lake. The lake has just been dredged and
surroundings replanted so that it will become a living habitat that students
can study from the science room.
As mentioned earlier, the school is incredibly well
resourced. The innovation lab is a new feature of the school. It replaces the
old technology rooms we would have at intermediate and high schools and could
be something a Primary school could look at. It incorporated the best of
technology rooms in terms of wood and metal working equipment but featured many
high tech machines such as 3D printers, Laser printers, robotics and computing.
The emphasis is very much design and build. As well as normal class sessions
the school also runs an engineer’s club for students who have a passion for
this area. Their latest project is to convert an old school bus into a camper
van!
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| The High tech Innovation Lab |
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| The Learning Centre a feature of each of the three "schools." Features the traditional library and a suit of desktops for student research. It also manned by a full time teacher who is available to assist students. |
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| Sets of iPad in junior classes |
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| Robotics in the Lower School - Lego Mindstorm |
Around the High School block was a number of
breakout spaces for students to use in study periods. They were being well used
and some were collaborative spaces and other quiet spaces. One of the features
of them was whiteboard walls where students could do problem solving for
science, maths etc. These were also a feature of many of the classrooms.
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| Student collaborative work space with whiteboard table and wall |
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| Quiet zone student work space with blackboard wall. |
Staffing:
Independent schools typically don't pay as well as state schools but it
appears the conditions are excellent. As mentioned earlier the school has a
commitment to professional development and in supporting their teachers to
Masters level qualifications. Because they are independent they have the
opportunity to carefully choose staff to suit their schools strategic direction
and Head of School, Mike Davis, emphasised this is a really important area for them.
Teachers are provided with lunch daily, they have a gym and weights room at
their disposal, there is onsite childcare from babies to pre-k (5Years) and
staff have plenty of release time to allow for planning and studies. There was
a genuine positive 'buzz' amongst the staff.
Finally a neat idea for literacy. Called Literature
Circles, the teacher previews a number of novels/ books. The preview would be
done in an exciting way to create interest. The students then choose a book
that interests them. You may need to limit the number of children in each group
(4-5 would be ideal). The children are then grouped according to their
book and work together as a book club. Coming together to share their
thoughts on the book and could collectively decide how they would present their
book.
The school has 1:1 iPads for students in the Lower
School and 1:1 devices in the Middle and Senior school. Most seniors had both a
Macbook Air and a iPad Air. Students used these extensively to assist their
learning.
My Reflections:
This was a beautiful school with a passionate
staff. There is lovely tone right down to the children and staff sharing the
same lunch room. Like so many schools they are transitioning into a new
pedagogy that is more student led and takes the teachers off the “stage.” The
very positive thing at Colorado Academy is, after talking to all the leadership
team, the change taking place is shared vision from all school leaders and all
had an excellent understanding of the big picture and the direction the school
was heading. They could then provide the quality PD opportunities to support
staff through the transformation as well as focusing their appointments process
on the type of teacher they need to support their pedagogical changes.
The Project X is an innovative way to open up the various areas of the school and create some consistency of practice. It was interesting to note that the teacher who was a student for a day focused on how the teaching happened and what the class environment was like as opposed to what is taught. This is interesting as secondary subject areas tend to focus on content. I believe a project X type programme could be a valuable part of our new Nelson City COS.
The culture of the school was something that stood out to me. The students were articulate and focused on learning. As I walked around the school they were friendly and polite. The school was clean and tidy and both staff and students were very proud of their learning environment. This doesn't happen by accident and, the Community of Learners Schools, at Colorado Academy School values are clearly articulated and reinforced. Students appreciate the level of trust and self-responsibility the staff provide them. This is emphasised from a very early age.
Once again the role of the teacher and the student in the class was a big discussion point. Students talking about student agency and emphasising that they like to drive their own learning and being given time to delve deep into their topics and get it completed. The teacher stepping off the 'stage,' putting away the text books and being the activator of learning. It is easy to say Colorado Academy can do amazing things because it has heaps of money but the reality is that what it does well doesn't cost money - student engagement, quality teachers, quality professional development in school, and a positive school culture.
Again I saw the importance of providing real opportunities to present to an audience. Not just in topic but while we were there all areas of the school were preparing for a school-wide art exhibition for parents. They also had an art studio where individual senior students run their own Art Exhibitions.
The school facilities were well thought out and very much kept pace with changes in education. Use of devices by students, innovation labs, breakout spaces, whiteboard walls, and robotics all very much embedded in programmes.
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| Innovative furnishings in Lower School |
Implications for HSS:
The Project X concept needs to be part of our
Nelson City Community of schools if we are to really understand each other and
work together successfully.
We must continue down the path of student led
learning and as a cluster of schools we must look to ensure this model is
consistent at all levels.
Once again the presentation of work to an audience
is emphasised and as a school we must seek these genuine opportunities to
present to an audience.
As part of our cluster we could look at some organic ways to develop buddy programmes across the schools; whether it be in-class, use of students on camp, music or cultural exchanges.
Colorado Academy reinforced the importance of appointments and ensuring we are choosing teachers for our school and our direction not just "Good Teachers." Every teacher should be a literacy or numeracy specialist but if that's what makes you good then you are missing the big picture. We need people who can build relationships with children, engage them, allow students to take the reins and drive their learning and who feel they don't have to be 'in control."
Their emphasis on professional development also goes along with this. Quality PD available to address teacher’s needs and the strategic direction of the school. Ensuring staff stay attuned with changes in pedagogy. Also giving financial support and encouraging staff to extend themselves academically by supporting teachers through their Masters. The school was focused on building the capacity of their staff.
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