Note: The following blog is the first of a three part series on my adventures in launching a schoolwide enrichment cluster program.

Sometimes, you just get lucky.    

I was looking for a way to expand an enrichment cluster program that I had piloted the previous school year.  With the help of some dedicated parents, I was able to offer three different clusters-Legos, journalism, and strategic gaming—to 45 students, mainly those from the ranks of the school’s gifted program.    

The goal was to offer this program to all elementary students at the school, where I work. The challenge was that I needed at least 10 adults to serve as coaches for the program, and though I attempted to recruit more parents, I wasn’t finding success (I also did not want to ask already overburdened teachers to help).

Then, I hit the jackpot!

At the time, I was mentoring an intern from the local university.  One day, she said “why don’t you contact professor so and so (I’m paraphrasing here)? She does a lot of community service projects with her students.”

I sent her an e-mail, and the rest is history.

The professor committed 40 university students to the program. I had more coaches than I knew what to do with. Little did I know the challenges still ahead.

Before I go any further, I’d like to explain the concept of enrichment clusters, for those of you unfamiliar with the term.  An enrichment cluster involves a group of students with the same interests or passions coming together during a designated time to develop a product and or service for a real audience. The concept was articulated by Dr. Joseph Renzulli at the University of Connecticut as part of his Schoolwide Enrichment Model.  The idea behind the cluster is that you are providing opportunities for children to become creative producers rather than only consumers of knowledge—people who use their knowledge to solve problems and create new products, which have an impact in the world.

Enrichment clusters do not rely on predetermined lesson plans or units, rather all student activity is guided by a series of questions, including: What do people in this area or profession do? What tools and resources do they need? What methods do they use? What products and services do they create or offer?

Now, back to my story. After I found enough coaches to support a schoolwide program, the next step involved surveying the kids to see what type of clusters they would enjoy (it’s important to note at this point, that you may not have a nearby university to partner with for this program, but may have a large group of supportive parents that could help or you may have afterschool program funding that could be used to pay teachers to coach).  The survey was a simple list of 10 to 12 areas, such as animation, journalism, sign language, Legos, web design, law enforcement, and leadership. Students were asked to rank the list in order of most interested to least interested. I then used the survey results to build a schedule of clusters that would be offered. Those with little interest were struck from the list.

Next, the professor from the university and I paired coaches with clusters they were interested in teaching. We looked for experience first. For example, if a student had been studying yoga for years, he or she would be a natural fit to coach the yoga cluster.

With a solid schedule, I began looking at my campus and how to best house the different clusters. Some needed computers, like web design; others, like yoga, needed wide open, carpeted space. Since the school where I worked is sandwiched in a downtown area, it has a very compact campus. Boy, did this make finding space for the program fun!

Stay tuned to the next blog, where I will tell more about overcoming space challenges and training coaches to be ready for the task at hand.

Thank you,

Steve