Leaders in the Wayne-Westland Community School District, located outside Detroit, Michigan, have a vision for what their schools can achieve. But to realize that vision, they had to dispense with some old ways of doing things.
The district is made up of 9,500 students. All receive free or reduced lunch, and nearly 90% are identified as “at risk." Typically, educators rely on the Response to Intervention (RTI) model to match each student with the right support. Instead, the district is flipping that three-tier intervention model on its head to combat low achievement scores and graduation rates.
Students attend Wayne-Westland
Of students are identified as “at risk”
Of students receive free or reduced lunch
We sat down with teachers, coaches, curriculum directors, and the superintendent of schools to show how Wayne-Westland could look at data differently and use it more frequently to drive instruction. A big challenge for the district was to convince everyone to take a hard look at practices that had become habitual but weren’t leading to student growth. The barometer should be, as Superintendent Dr. John Dignan puts it, “Would you want your own children to go here?”
“Every decision that we make should be based on what's best for our kids and our community,” Dr. Dignan says. “I think people are starting to buy into that mantra.”
A Partnership That Works for Teachers and Students
Digging into Student Data
HMH partnered with Wayne-Westland to take a closer look at student data and come up with creative solutions for catching students up and challenging them to go further. The data showed that there were more students who needed intervention than there were district staff to provide it. Some were several years behind.
One solution was to make Read 180 and Math 180 intervention software available to all students in Grades 6–8 core classes. Students used the software for 20 minutes, three times a week. For the most at-risk students, the district implemented a full intervention program.
“Our plan is to eventually pull back on the intervention software in core classrooms as our students are growing and working through the program,” says Kim Pawlukiewicz, director of state and federal programs. “But for the first two years, all of our students will get the intervention software piece.”
Using the Read 180 and Math 180 intervention software in core classrooms has solved the staffing issue, giving teachers the flexibility to work with students one-on-one, and provide targeted enrichment to students who are ready for it.
Robin Tuberville, an instructional coach at Franklin Middle School in the Wayne-Westland Community District, says the mix of ability levels in a single classroom can be a huge challenge.
“You might have a special-education student in your general-ed classroom, alongside a student who is working two grades above grade level,” Tuberville says. “So you almost have to turn into a one-room schoolhouse teacher to be able to meet the needs of every learner.”
But for Tuberville, the right mix of programs at students’ fingertips can work wonders. Take a math classroom that uses the core program Into Math along with Math 180 intervention software, and Waggle for gamified practice.
“These programs are all on the same platform,” she says. “Students don't have to go somewhere else to be able to pull this learning together. It's all in one place. The student working on the first-grade level can still do meaningful work in that classroom to address their needs. And the student working two grade levels above is not missing the opportunity to be exposed to material they need to grow.”
Seeing ‘An Uptick in Students’ Scores’
The improvement in students using the Read 180 intervention software quickly became apparent to Laura Calleja, an ELA teacher at Adams Middle School, in the Wayne-Westland Community District.
“We've seen an uptick in students' scores, and we're attributing it to their use of Read 180,” says Calleja. “I see that my students are more confident in their other classes because of what they're able to do in their foundational reading class.”
Calleja says the wide range of choice in reading topics has made a big difference. It helps that the topics are relevant to students’ lives. Calleja points to the book Water Fight as an example of a timely topic. Students were hearing about the California drought in the news.
Teachers are also seeing a positive impact from their use of Math 180, and not just in their test scores. Students have a newfound confidence and joy for learning. Their competitive side comes out when they are tracking their data, and seeing how they’ve improved. They also get excited about the chance to play math games in the app’s Brain Arcade.
For Melody Jacklin, a math teacher at Stevenson Middle School, the Math 180 software allowed time to do number talks once a day, as opposed to once a week. She says that when students get consistent practice in explaining their thinking, it changes the conversation. Jacklin asked a student how she came up with an answer on ratios. The student “worded it beautifully,” Jacklin says.
“In the beginning of the semester, she would’ve said, ‘I just figured it out,’” Jacklin says. “But now they have the tools and vocabulary to explain their thinking. I don’t think anything makes me more proud than that.”
Of students using HMH’s Math 180 intervention moved up a proficiency level in one year
Of students using HMH’s Read 180 intervention program moved up a proficiency level in one year
Coaching Is Key to Success
During the implementation in Wayne-Westland Community School District, HMH coaches were on hand, observing instruction and sharing feedback on where teachers could maximize learning time and utilize all the different components of a program. The coaches were also available through text or email.
“Having coaches there to answer questions in an implementation year was huge,” says Tuberville. “They were going into classrooms and talking with the kids. And we could text each other back and forth, or email. For me, as an instructional coach, it was like they duplicated me two times.”
Melody Jacklin, the math teacher at Stevenson Middle School, appreciated that coaches were not there just to share ideas, but to problem-solve. Whenever Jacklin ran into a problem, the coach would ask: What do you need and how can we make that possible?
“Teachers are so student-centered,” says Jacklin. “We're focused on our kids. So it’s nice to have partners who are teacher-centered, who are focusing on us and making sure we’re successful.”
Hear About the HMH Coaching Experience Firsthand
Educators in the Wayne-Westland Community School District describe what it's like to work with HMH coaches.
Kim Doman: “Coaches were coming into classrooms to work with teachers and students, which made a huge difference.”
Caitlin Griffith: “Coaches provide support every step of the way, from brainstorming ideas to tweaking lessons.”
Robin Tuberville: “Coaches give feedback on where teachers can maximize time, make use of program tools, and interpret data.”
Advice for Districts Adopting New Curricula
Don’t get caught up in the latest education trends, or as Dr. Dignan calls it, “the flavor of the year.” Have patience when you’re implementing a new curriculum. Dr. Dignan suggests looking at implementation in three-year and five-year blocks, to allow the initiative to really take shape.
“Too often, we pull the plug and move to something else,” says Dr. Dignan. “We lose staff, because they aren't going to buy in if we keep changing our minds. They think, ‘I swear, every time I turn around, they're switching the direction we're going.’ So stay the course.”
Dr. Dignan’s other piece of advice is to find a partner you can count on when things get tough. “There are going to be bumps in the road,” he says. “That's when you'll see the value of partnership. You're going to be able to collaborate and come up with solutions together.”
Tuberville, the instructional coach at Franklin Middle School, also advises patience. She says to remember that the first year of adopting a new curriculum is a transition period. Try not to worry too much. What’s important is that students are growing, even if they don’t achieve the scores you imagined in the first year.
“Be patient, watch the data, talk to the students, and rely on their formative assessments,” Tuberville says. “On a day-to-day basis, it’s not so much about where kids start, but where they're going, their growth, their movement. Talk to the kids about the struggles they're having, and encourage them as they navigate through the program.”
Expectations for the Future
The goal for educators in Wayne-Westland is no different from that of their colleagues in districts across the country. They want to build strong schools that prepare students to achieve their goals and live the life they choose.
“We want to set students up for whatever their next step is, in the best possible way,” Pawlukiewicz says. “So if we can do some intervention, if we can give them a little boost, I think that's essential for them in their progress and whatever their next step is when they leave here.”
Students can achieve, Dr. Dignan says, as long as they have a strong academic foundation. That’s how they’ll compete with any kid in Michigan or the country.
“We need to prepare our kids for their journey, their passion, whether it’s the skilled trades, the military, college—whatever they want to do,” Dr. Dignan says. “Our legacy as a school district will be defined once kids leave us.”
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