Enumclaw Case Study
The Challenge
Our primary “challenge” from the beginning was to “frame” this work as an instructional project, rather than a technology project. At every opportunity, we have sought to communicate this message with our staff and community. In addition, we wanted to operate with two major principles in mind:
- Once a student has the advantage of learning with a device in our system, we want them to always have it for the rest of their schooling
2. Before any teacher “receives” a core classroom of students with devices, we want them to have had the instructional support to be prepared to teach in a new connected classroom with connected students.
The Solution
In order to have “live experiences” in our own system of how instruction changes by having 1:1 devices available in the classroom, we created the Connected Classroom Teacher (CCT) format. These 15 teachers in the original cohort represented core content in grades 8, 9, and 10 (the grades of our first student device deployment in the coming year). These teachers served as “learning laboratories” for us to understand and better support the learning at different levels across different content areas. This structure not only built in natural leaders with staff and students, it also generated unimaginable enthusiasm and excitement in advance of our deployment of 1:1 devices with our students. Finally, this structure has created a model that we will follow as we expand and prepare to support new groups of “receiving” teachers as our deployment of devices expands.
I’m both excited and terrified at the same time. I can’t wait to get started and I wish we could launch the 1 to 1 for 5th graders today.
I love to see how we are embracing these changes. The students coming to us in the fall will benefit from our willingness to stretch ourselves and adopt a growth mindset. Great CHAOTIC day!
Blended learning combines the best of teacher instruction and computer based instruction. It personalizes instruction for students. Kids take ownership and school becomes more of an active experience versus a passive experience.
I loved today’s training. I’m so excited to get started! Any chance we can get our Chromebooks tomorrow instead of next year? (I’m kidding of course…. sort of) 🙂
I am so excited to get chromebooks for every student next year! I look forward to using blended learning strategies and building a more collaborative, self-directed learning community in my classroom. Looking forward to my own continued learning journey as well…..
To quote Bob Dylan, Times are a changing. Been a great day of learning but the journey is ahead of us. It kind of feels like the first time you’re on a roller coaster and you’re nearing the top of that first hill, little bit of nerves, fear, and excitement all at the same time. Can’t wait for the ride! Lots of twists and turns lie ahead but it will be well worth it for all involved.
Looking forward to beginning the next school year! Getting started is going to be an adventure for everyone.
It is so exciting to see the possibilities the chromebooks will open up. I’m nervous about my ability to pull it off but Jeff has done a great job of helping us to not “fear the struggle” and be willing to FAIL!
A lot of good things to think about, need to build some time into my plan sessions to design blended classroom activities, use of chromebooks, apps, extensions, etc it pertains to spanish teaching.
Number of students impacted by training through 2018
Students 1:1 take home in 17-18
students 1:1 at school in 17-18
Number of PD hours each CCT Cohort receives with Jeff
Working with Jeff
We are picky about who we bring into our system! We wanted to identify a support colleague that would partner with our district over the long-term and serve as a visionary to help inform and communicate our vision, to help inspire and equip our staff, and to challenge our thinking as we develop our project over time.
We sought out the support of someone who could bring the technical expertise and experiences with students using devices, BUT who filtered and delivered this content through a purely instructional lens. Our goals for the project are long-range and support the desired outcomes we have for students as a result of this work. We wanted an excellent “teacher” who could work effectively with staff in an adult-learning situation, but who could also easily walk into a classroom and model excellent instruction with students. We required someone who could help to inspire in a whole-group setting, who could effectively communicate with community and staff, and who would continue to bring the most recent practices and research to light in our work.
You simply have the communication, instructional, technical and interpersonal skills to help us lead this project with success!
Chris Beals and CCT Teachers
Number of teachers
Total Hours of Teacher Training
The Results
The results of this project, so far, have been simply incredible. Every professional development opportunity with Jeff in our system has been inspiring, challenging, and instrumental in influencing positive change for learning. Our staff members in the original CCT group have created a huge “ripple” across our schools, as a result of this work. The examples of student learning work that have come out, as a result of our learning times with Jeff, are excellent examples of what we hope to see spread across our entire system. Students are challenged, motivated, and re-energized about learning as a result of this project.
The relationship that Jeff have forged with our staff members has challenged and inspired our staff to embrace a growth-mindset and to explore and re-engage the passion for teaching that is easily lost in the current environment of public education. As opposed to staff members not yet impacted “dreading” when it “happens to them”, instead we have staff members who can hardly wait for their turn for PD, for the devices to arrive in their classroom to start learning, and for learning to transform as a result of this project.
State of Education Address
In January of 2015, Superintendent Michael Nelson invited Jeff to be a part of the State of Education Address. This address is held every year to inform the community on the district’s progress towards their own goals and where they are headed in the future. The video below is from the State of Education Address to the Enumclaw community. Along with this keynote, Jeff has also been the opening keynote for the school district for the 2015-2016 school year and again to start the 2016-2017 school year. By involving all stakeholders and having a consistent message about the work being done, this ensures that the technology the school district has invested in is being implemented in a way that truly changes learning experiences for students.
Enumclaw School District
Located approximately 40 miles south of Seattle, WA
225 Teachers
Serving 3800 students
Enumclaw School District
Engaging the Whole Community
The video to the right is from a parent night hosted by the Enumclaw School District for families in understanding the new digital connected classrooms in which students in Enumclaw find themselves. This evening event was presented in a blended learning environment using both technology, traditional tools and face-to-face strategies for the evening’s activities. This evening was hosted near the beginning of the second year of their 1-to-1 program and helped to launch the important conversation for families, students, and educators about growing up, learning, and contributing in a digital world. What I love about this presentation is that families are able to make connections to their own experiences in the past while seeing things through a new lens that we now all experience each day.
The learning does not stop for community members as we continue to help students thrive in the innovation era!
Parenting in a Digital Age
This project has been a true collaboration between myself and the Enumclaw School District. With the support of Superintendent Michael Nelson, who has joined in on many of the trainings himself, and the leadership of Deputy Superintendent Chris Beals and his team, we are able to do the work that truly matters every day to students.
This project is an excellent example of the power that comes when a project has a sustained focus over time, an intentional emphasis on learning and teaching, dedicated and passionate teachers, and the expertise of a trusted outside partner in learning.