Team of Glen View third grade teachers collaborate to
drastically improve achievement
Gilroy – The odds appear stacked against Glen View Elementary School.
At least 77 percent of the student body participate in the federal free or reduced-price lunch program – the district’s measuring stick of low-income families. And 47 percent of the students who attend the westside school, fit into the English language learner category.
But in the face of all that adversity, a five-member team of teachers has managed to concoct the perfect potion to address the shortcomings of that specific group of students.
Four years ago the third grade teachers decided to make the idea of collaborative teaching – a concept that district officials had touted – a reality. The team, comprised of Jody Childers, Kathleen Taylor, Sue Perino, Vince Oberst and Barbara Siep, developed a plan that’s based on one simple ingredient: trust.
“After a certain amount of time you start building up trust,” Childers said.
That trust is a necessity because the main element of their team is that every day for an hour and a half the teachers swap students, something they call “flex groups.”
The first week of school, the team meets and – using a variety of assessments from last school year, such as the California Standards Tests and the CAT 6 – group the students into four levels: far below grade level, below grade level, approaching grade level and grade level.
Every morning from 8:30 to 10am, students regroup, leaving their classroom if their teacher is not their flex group leader. For that chunk of the day, each group works with the teacher at their current level, for example, lessons for students categorized as below grade may be asked to write one complete sentence, while those at the top are writing three to five paragraph passages.
Students decide when they’re ready to move up to the next level. The rest of the school day students are back in their normal classrooms and are all taught at grade level.
Every Wednesday the team of teachers meet to discuss individual students and strategies that are working.
“It sounds like a lot of catering to students who aren’t at grade level, but the truth of the matter is that’s why we have these groups,” Oberst said. “You don’t have to water down your program. You just teach third grade.”
The team’s add-no-water approach has helped their third-graders make some dramatic leaps in both math and reading assessments. On the CST English language arts section in 2004-2005, 27 percent of the third-graders performed at the proficient or advanced level, compared to only 8 percent in 2003-2004.
Also, 57 percent of the students moved up one or two levels, such as jumping from far below basic to basic. In math, 66 percent of students reached the proficient or advanced level, compared to 6 percent last year. A total of 88 percent of the students moved up one or more levels in math and 63 percent of students learning English scored proficient or advanced.
Many would agree that the numbers are impressive, but don’t ask these five teachers to explain the magic touch, their secret is that there is no secret.
“Things that work for one group may not work for the next group,” Childers said.
What works for the Glen View teachers is mixture of constant communication, consistency, complete trust, regular tweaking and tailoring to ensure the lessons fit each unique student and attention to data.
Trust is necessary because the teachers have to be open about what works and what doesn’t. They have to trust one another to help educate their students even though the standardized test scores they receive will only show the results of their specific class.
The teachers don’t view the classes as separate entities, instead they regard all the of the third-graders their responsibility. Because the educators are familiar with all the students, they’re able to discuss individual weaknesses and strengths.
Another element of their plan, is that students aren’t kept out of the loop. A chart covered with colored dots and divided into far below basic, below basic, basic, proficient and advanced, indicates anonymously where each student stands.
Teachers meet with their students individually to talk to them about where they are, what it means and help them set realistic goals. When teachers pass back graded papers, students are told the level of that work according to the CST scale, instead of just receiving a letter grade that doesn’t let them know where they stand.
Keeping the lines of communication open with a third-grader does make a difference because the students really want to achieve and move up a level, the teachers said.
Glen View Principal Marilyn Ayala said she’s impressed with the upward trend the third-grade teachers have made a reality. One reason the team of teachers are a success is because they’ve immersed themselves in data and are not scared of change, she said.
“They’re always looking to improve,” she said. “They’re never satisfied. They’re always eager and open to modifying and changing.”
In November the Glen View team became the first group to be honored as part of Gilroy Unified School District’s new recognition program. Superintendent Edwin Diaz has asked principals to nominate teams of teachers based on data that shows their students have improved for the monthly Examples of Excellence award.
District officials then select from the pool of nominees. Community groups and parents will also be recognized.
The reward will be presented at one meeting a month throughout the school year.
Diaz said Glen View’s move in math from 6 percent proficient or advanced to 66 percent is “amazing progress.”
Although he said the teams of teachers who have been honored all have different strategies there are common threads including setting high expectations, collaboration, monitoring goals and a “relentless focus on improvement.”
