Schoolwide Programs--Lessons Learned from Going Big

" Go big or go home. Because it's true. What do you have to lose?"
Actress Eliza Dushku

This school year, I implemented a school wide enrichment cluster program---and boy, did I learn a lot.

Anytime, you roll a program out to the entire school population, you better be ready for some things to go wrong. In fact, after I expanded this enrichment program, the problems seemed to grow exponentially.

The good news is that the benefits to students and the school also increase. The bottom line is by offering the program to the entire student body, I am reaching more students and providing them an opportunity to engage in much-needed enrichment.

The program is called the Talent Development Institute (T.D.I.) and involves about 240 students participating in 10 enrichment groups- or clusters, a term coined by gifted education researcher, Joseph Renzulli, who pioneered the enrichment cluster model. Students elect to take part in journalism, web design, computer programming, law enforcement, yoga, and other areas in which they have an interest. During their cluster time, which happens once a week before school, students develop a product that is shared with an audience. For example, the yoga cluster is choreographing a video that will be shown to other students.

During this blog, my goal is not to further explore the cluster model but rather share some lessons learned from implementing a schoolwide program. Regardless of what schoolwide program is offered, whether is a character development program or Response to Intervention, hopefully you can benefit from some of my mistakes and successes.

1. START SMALL
One decision that really helped me get this program off the ground was to start small then expand once I had a solid foundation. I began the enrichment cluster program last school year with about 45 students, mainly from the schools gifted program. During this time, I recruited parent volunteers, located classroom space, discovered resources, and perhaps most importantly, proved to my administration that the program would work. Once my principal saw the potential of the program, I proposed expanding T.D.I. to all elementary students on campus.

2. TEACHER SUPPORT IS NOT A GIVEN
I wrongly assumed that since I believed in my program, that all educators on campus would also see it as valuable. This is not true. Teachers have their own goals and agendas, and if something is going to affect their schedule, they are going to question or criticize it. I understand this reaction; as teachers, we are constantly asked to do more and make adjustments, and this can really wear you down. Without going into specifics, I had some challenges getting classroom space for the program, and mistakenly believed it would be provided in the name of serving students. What I learned is that you really have to sell your program and get buy-in, by stressing the academic benefits and how it will benefit everyone.

3. BIGGER MEANS MORE SPACE IS NEEDED
Probably the biggest challenge for T.D.I. has been finding space for the clusters. When you start serving hundreds of kids, you are going to need plenty of room, which can be difficult to find when you are in tightly-packed campus. To solve this problem, we had to combine clusters in several classrooms and utilize every inch of space, including teacher planning rooms, the media center, and tables located outside. A suggestion that I am considering is to schedule the program over a few days as opposed to one day per week and have half the students attend the first session and the other half the second. We could then use the same rooms for different clusters since they would not be meeting on the same day.

4. PARTNER UP
T.D.I. would have never been a reality without the help of the University of Tampa and Dr. Patricia OGrady, a special education professor at the college. U.T. provides about 40 students to serve as coaches for the program. In return, the college students gain teaching experience and recommendations. OGrady has also been an invaluable resource and expert to bounce ideas off and to help with the implementation. Dont do it alonefind people who share your passion and vision
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5. TRAINING PEOPLE IS HARD WORK
The U.T. students had to be trained in the enrichment cluster model. I visited the college and walked them through the model, using a PowerPoint, and provided examples of how to launch the cluster and keep the students progressing. However, to effectively train people, you need to get them to experience the model firsthand. I later learned of a simulation that has you participate in a cluster model, so you experience it firsthand. I believe this would have worked much better and saved time later.

6. SCHEDULING- BE FLEXIBLE
T.D.I. happens from 7:30 to 8:15 a.m., before classes officially begin. In all honesty, the program would not occur during the school day due to R.T.I., standardized testing, and other district and state demands. While I believe the program offers academic benefits, the reality is that you have to remain flexible and work with existing goals at your school. Some programs may have to be offered afterschool or like T.D.I., before school. However, the positive is that these services are being offered to children and enhancing the great things that already occur on campus. While working morning cafeteria duty, I realized that many students were coming to school as early as an hour before homeroom began, which gave me the idea to start enrichment clusters as a way to keep them engaged.

7. BE READY FOR THE UNEXPECTED
When starting a school wide initiative, there is no way to be prepared for every challenge that you will face. The best you can do is recognize what needs to be fixed and fix it. For example, although students received a schedule of their enrichment cluster, many on the first day of the program lost the schedule and forgot what cluster they were assigned to. While program coordinators had schedules of the clusters, it took a long time that morning to locate the information. Later, I realized that we should have built a master list in alphabetical order of all the students in the all clusters and then could have quickly located the information. During debriefings with program coordinators, I make lists of improvements for the coming week, and we work on making the changes. Thats the best you can do.

Implementing a school wide program is challengingbut worth it. Whenever you go big, you can expect bigger problems. However, I hope you benefit from this lessons learned list and realize that you will face many of the same challenges, regardless of what program you start. Nevertheless, you can achieve your goal of a school wide initiative, and remember, school wide means reaching and enriching the lives of all your students.


Best of luck,
Steve