In our last retreat session on 2/10/20, I worked with the help of my colleagues to identify an emerging  guiding question or focus of inquiry to continue with my self-study. I reflected on what has been most successful and most challenging so far, what has been helpful in overcoming challenges, and the obstacles with which I’ve been confronted. 

The main question I constructed was: How do I find a balance between listening and observing without expectation, or letting teachers and students lead me to the support they need, AND also pulling more teachers and students on board in a proactive way to make learning support in the middle school relevant, meaningful and destigmatized?

I also identified what areas of the redesign of my role have been most successful so far. Discussions with Judith, my learning specialist partner, and with Ana, have been the most helpful in terms of reflecting on how things are going, strategizing next steps, and tweaking the redesign where necessary. In terms of the learning support coaching cycles with teachers, I have found that the most success has come from when I have approached the work with little to no expectations about what I think they should focus on or what I think would support their students most. Instead, I have found that just listening, observing and letting the teachers guide the work has sometimes resulted in an unexpected collaboration and a moment in which I’m able to truly offer insights and support. 

Through ongoing reflective conversations with Judith and Ana, we recently extended the length of time for each cycle to 4 weeks rather than 2 to allow for more in-depth work to unfold with each teacher. As the second part of the year gets underway I have also been thinking about professional development. In my role as learning support department chair, I brought an evaluator in to do a workshop with our department on evaluations, what the tests measure and how, and how to interpret them. We were all able to ask her many specific questions, and the workshop left all of us better equipped to interpret and discuss evaluations with parents and teachers alike. Additionally, Judith and I will attend a NYSAIS workshop on professional coaching this spring. I am hopeful that this can provide us with ideas for how to make our learning support coaching cycles with our colleagues more effective and successful. 

In the learning lab, keeping the space light, fun and positive for the students has gone a long way. There have been many moments when the space is a supportive, focused, productive atmosphere and kids feel accomplished there. It continues to be a challenge to keep middle school students both engaged and productive. Eighth graders are still not utilizing the drop-in center. I’d like to work with the eighth grade team to talk about how to “sell” this more effectively to the eighth graders. There is a small group of regular attendees from the fifth through seventh grades, and Judith and I are brainstorming how to draw more students in, while also ensuring that we are meeting the needs of the students who regularly come and advocate for themselves. 

Overall, I am finding that it’s most helpful to continue to remind myself that this is the first stage of our redesign, and to some extent it is an experiment. Pausing to reflect regularly on what is successful, and what challenges need to approached more creatively, has been essential to me. My goal in the coming weeks is to be more intentional and explicit in this reflection, both by journaling on my own and setting up regular meeting times with Judith and Ana to discuss.