I set out in education, knowing I was well prepared and yet feeling clueless due to what I was certain I didn’t know. I was overwhelmed at the responsibility of helping students reach expected outcomes. As well educated and prepared as I was upon graduation; I was a ball of nerves. I wanted to do this well. I found my copy of the First Days of School by Harry Wong. I followed every checklist. When thinking about what would happen after “the first days of school,” I was still feeling a sense of unreadiness. It was then I knew I had to move beyond the checklist and follow my heart.
First Days of School and its helpful tools set the tone for the way the classroom would run. That was me setting the foundations for what would happen for all children in my classroom. For some reason, this did not feel like the way to make a difference. I didn’t start understanding the difference I was seeking to make until I simply resolved to do what I knew was best. I understood my work beyond the checklist to be helping students to meet the standard. If there was a barrier to meeting the standard, I had to build the ladder for them to be able to climb over it. Yes, there were barriers, personal, social, academic and especially institutional. For this reason, some “ladders” were the same, but some needed to be different. All students could not climb the same ladder to reach the standard. Much to my surprise, my first year of teaching, every child experienced success. I know now it was because each child had their own "ladder." Yes! All students can learn. It is only when we move from ALL to EVERY that we secure and ensure each student has the opportunity to learn.
“All” is the notion that, “This is what I do for a group of students,” or “This is what is implemented to help this group succeed.” Once we get past the banners and broad stroke implementations that support our feel good mottos and mission statements declaring, “All Students Can Learn!,” how do we explain away the persistent achievement gaps between ethnic subgroups, economic subgroups, ability subgroups, and any other subgroup we can define? All students CAN learn, yet when we, as educators, focus and find rest in all, we fail to acknowledge that every student in the group may not have the same needs. Equity occurs when we move our focus from “all” to Every.
Focusing on Every is when we begin to focus on each student. Realizing that each student has their own needs. The difference comes when we are intentional about meeting these needs. How do we move from “all” to EVERY?
Start with the Data
We have so much data, that there are very few things we actually have to guess. Under an “all” lens, data can tell us what groups of students learned the material and provides insight into the effectiveness of instructional practice. Scores indicate students reaction to the instruction provided; however there is another lens. For EVERY student, we want to identify if there was anything that hindered students from accessing the curriculum and instructional outcomes expected. When using data to support equity, we identify and examine multiple data points. These data points include: attendance, discipline, classroom walk-through, formative assessments, and other data describing factors that are a part of the school culture.
Identifying Each Instructional Narrative
Equity driven data discussions extend beyond the student’s performance on paper to include the student’s experience within the classroom. This requires looking beyond the whole class performance to identifying challenges for each student. We often look at data to identify which students scored below a certain percentage and then develop next steps. The difference between “all” and EVERY is looking at the data from the perspective of “This student performed at…,” or “This student did….,” then naming their challenges and brainstorming how to address them within the classroom. This approach ensures our support for the student is based upon THEIR NEED verses their apparent similarities with their peers. The process of naming challenges, includes all of the factors that impact their ability to access learning. Every student has an instructional narrative that tells the story of their performance, not their potential. Using their narrative we can support each student in reaching their potential.
Plan and Implement The Appropriate Reaction
Meeting student needs means planning and implementing the appropriate reaction to their needs as identified. From an equity lens, this happens instructionally and personally as educators.
*Instructional Reactions are key. Our data can stir emotions depending on what story it tells. It is personal. Sometimes data conversations, no matter how well crafted or intended, cause teachers to feel “called out” or perceived to be bad teachers. As educators, our response is instructional, not emotional. Looking at data as a narrative of experiences, we can identify the appropriate strategy to change the narrative for each student.
*Addressing Perceptions and biases are a must. Including multiple data points, will identify trends in how “all” and EVERY student is engaged within the context of the classroom. This is a result of perceptions manifesting within the environment. As the data begins to tell the story, the adults must be willing to identify and address the beliefs they are carrying that impact their interactions with students and ultimately impact the students ability to access the learning opportunity. These access limiting perceptions often manifests as follows: natural barriers, messaging of policies and practices, lack of instructional relevance, implicit biases, lack of resources provided and reluctance to change practices.
Helping EVERY learner succeed is the lens that has allowed me to support students, teachers and administrators throughout my career. Since “the first days” of my teaching career, it is ensuring equity and access that has yielded the strongest outcomes and opportunities for those I have served. Utilizing data to construct the instructional narrative, developing the appropriate reactions, instructionally and internally, ensures equity for each student. When we do the work to ensure EVERY student is able to learn, we establish equity so that ALL students can and will learn.
Dr. N. Chaunté Garrett is the Head of School at Rocky Mount Preparatory School in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. Chaunté can be found on Twitter @drncgarrett.
