{"id":3579,"date":"2015-09-28T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-09-28T04:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/aurora-institute.org\/blog\/cw_post\/innovation-springing-up-in-springdale\/"},"modified":"2020-02-05T12:56:06","modified_gmt":"2020-02-05T17:56:06","slug":"innovation-springing-up-in-springdale","status":"publish","type":"cw_post","link":"https:\/\/aurora-institute.org\/cw_post\/innovation-springing-up-in-springdale\/","title":{"rendered":"Innovation Springing Up in Springdale"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Dr-Megan-Witonski\"
Dr. Megan Witonski<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When you talk to Dr. Megan Witonski, Associate Superintendent in Springdale School District (AR), it feels like she is just about to jump out of the phone, she is that full of passion, insightfulness, and the all-important we-are-going-to-make-this-happen-ness. I couldn\u2019t but help imagine her with a superhero cloak.<\/p>\n

Springdale, based in Northwest Arkansas, has 23,000 students, half of whom are English Language Learners. The district is entering their second year of implementation of a new 8-12 School of Innovation. The strategy doesn\u2019t end with a new school \u2013 Springdale is personalizing their school district by having six of their schools approved (and the waivers that come with it) under the Arkansas Department of Education School of Innovation<\/a> initiative. These six schools all provide students to the School of Innovation, led by principal Joe Rollins.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve all seen districts start up new innovative schools but leave the others to stagnate. Not so at Springdale. For example, they found that advisories have been instrumental in the new School for Innovation in lifting up student voice, ensuring strong relationships are built with students, and helping to personalize instruction and support so they can be confident students are learning. As a result, they\u2019ve already introduced advisories into the other middle and high schools.<\/p>\n

What Inspired Springdale to Personalize: <\/strong>Witonski explained that there were several forces at work leading them to personalization. First, they wanted to make sure they were fully preparing their students for life after high school. They wanted to reach beyond the basic requirements for graduation. Second, with half of their student body learning English and needing help to fully build up their strength in the academic use of English, they needed a model that would ensure every student was fully engaged and able to get the support he or she needed.<\/p>\n

Witonski said, \u201cWe were doing a great job for most students, but there is a population we need to seek out new approaches to reach and help build a wider set of skills. We began by looking at the most important ingredients for what students needed to be ready for college and careers. We wanted to make sure they had all the tools in their toolbelt to be successful. From there, we looked at what a structure could look like that would help them build those skills.\u201d<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s Create a School of Innovation<\/strong>: As described above, Springdale is doing a both\/and strategy, creating a new secondary school while also transforming their current schools.<\/p>\n

\"8th<\/a>
8th and 9th graders at School of Innovation<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

With the introduction by the Arkansas State Department of Education Schools of Innovation initiative in 2013, Springdale saw an opportunity. They wanted to move beyond seat-time requirements (they are very precise in AR, with credits based on specific minutes of instruction) so the emphasis would be on students learning the content, not sitting in the chair. They also wanted to open up the ways that students could learn to create more personalized learning opportunities. With their application approved for a new school, they opened up the School of Innovation (8-12) starting with 200 eighth graders in the 2014-15 school year and onboarding an additional 200 eighth graders this fall.<\/p>\n

Witonski explained, \u201cIt was a stretch for everyone to begin to think in a personalized, competency-based model.\u201d In fact, this year they\u2019ve introduced an Innovation Boot Camp for parents so they know what to expect and how to support their students. (See Carri Schneider\u2019s wonderful piece on learning how parents can support students in a competency-based environment<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

Springdale began to map curriculum starting a year and a half ago in ELA and math<\/a> in an iterative process to identify what students need to know as compared to what it is nice to know. Teachers have the autonomy to build out courses that include the \u201cneed to knows,\u201d with \u201cnice to knows\u201d as optional. This recognizes that if competency-based schools are going to be held accountable for student learning that includes higher order skills, it is important to narrow the expectations so students have both time to learn and opportunity to apply their skills. Witonski described this as \u201cfinding the happy medium\u201d so teachers can have autonomy in designing curriculum and also accountability that students will definitely master the most important things (as compared to traditional schooling with its effort to cover curriculum regardless of how well students learn it).<\/p>\n

At SOI, assessing progress is based on a four-part scale of emerging, developing, meeting (i.e., proficient), or exceeding. Their rubric for explanatory writing for grades 6-12<\/a> is one of the best I\u2019ve seen in differentiating between what is proficient and what is exceeding proficiency. They obviously still have to calibrate the differences between the grade levels and the difference between proficiency and exceeding by looking at and discussing student work.<\/p>\n

According to Rollins, in addition to competency-based education, other elements of the SOI design include:<\/p>\n