Alone we can do so Little, Together we can do so Much

By: Leah Turner

I am no stranger to education. I grew up the daughter of an assistant superintendent and high school guidance counselor, and the granddaughter of an elementary teacher. I have spent 23 1/2 years in education, first as an aide and then spending the last 22 years in the classroom. I hold several leadership certificates, including a K-12 principalship. I am currently serving as a seventh grade writing teacher.

My style of leadership lends itself to the phrase "it takes a village". One person can have a great idea but if your staff doesn't buy in, then it is just an idea. Education is a collaborative effort among all members in a school. In order for everyone to be successful within a school, all have to contribute. My home school has done just that this past year. We have pioneered an RTI program complete with monitored data to support our efforts to bring our students to proficiency.

Our students begin their preschool years behind students in urban areas. This deficiency is not easily overcome. We are providing every student in our building with an extra 25 focussed minutes in reading and math each day. The fall and winter MAP scores reflected that our efforts are making a difference. Every teacher in our building has become a leader this year to facilitate this change.

The idea of teaching two more classes met with some opposition at the beginning of the year, but teachers soon found that the students’ needs were great and the teacher spirit kicked in to help our students. Our job is to make a better way for our students and to that end, we set our course. Even though the Enrichment and Tier 1 classes tend to be large, the teachers for those groups find ways to challenge their students. Tier 2 and Tier 3 teachers have found ways to make each child feel valued and accepted, and those students reciprocate by giving their best in class, and on assessments.

Our school purchased grade level materials at the beginning of the year for us to use, but when your students aren’t on grade level, you must find or develop resources. Those of us who teach Tier 2 and Tier 3 have sought out resources to help our students be successful. It has been quite rewarding to see students’ scores improving from fall to winter. We hope to see that trend continue with the spring scores and students’ attitudes toward their learning continue to shine.

I hope that I always remember that education never pivots around one person but around our colleagues and most of all our students. This experience reminds me of a meaningful statement from Helen Keller: "Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much."

This is a guest blog written by one of the teachers in our Innovative Teacher Leader cohort to share about an innovative teacher or practice from their area of the state. To learn more about the work happening in the Commonwealth from these Innovative Teacher Leaders, who are working to redefine teacher leadership in Kentucky, check back throughout the month of March. We’ll be sharing guest blogs all month long.