An item from a K-12 blended learning organization.

Reflections from our spring conference season

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Conference Reflections: Atlanta or Bust!

Over the past two weeks, our Throughline Learning leadership have made multiple trips to Atlanta, GA to thought partner, network, and share best practices from our SY24 work with certified teachers and community educators.

From Shawn Rubin: This was Throughline Learning’s second year attending the National Community Schools and Family Engagement Conference CSxFE. I absolutely love the conference’s focus on parents, families, community members, and community based organizations as solution-oriented co-designers, capable of contributing so much to student and school success. During our session, we discussed strategies and models for supporting our schools to hire, train, and retain more educators from our community. The research is clear: when we engage the funds of knowledge and assets of our families and community members, we can dramatically improve the school experience and academic outcomes for our students who need the most support.

From Malika Ali: Last weekend, EdLight hosted their Math Summit, where I was grateful to present strategies designed to improve student access to rigorous, high-quality material. I framed the talk around the premise that facilitating this access is justice work. Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi, the father of Algebra, entitled his treatise, “Al-jabr wal muqabbala,” or ‘the science of restoring what is missing and balancing.” When we talk about mathematics and justice, we must consider two things:

1. An understanding of what it takes to restore what is often missing in mathematics education: an emphasis on the thinking required – the head work. Students should be reflecting on the required cognitive skills like problem solving and effective reasoning. We practiced a thinking routine and discussed a process for scaffolding, developing, and reflecting on thinking skills.
2. An emphasis on the feelings required for engagement – the heart work. We discussed critical consciousness and explored standards-aligned anchor problems that invite students to apply thinking skills to issues related to justice within their communities.

The group discussed connections to their contexts as teachers, school and district leaders, and higher education professionals. One attendee kindly noted, “the work you are doing will shake up the world.” Thank you to EdLight and all of the thoughtful, brilliant, justice-oriented participants!

Training special educators to strengthen student mindsets and confidence

Partnership Example
Since SY23, the Throughline Learning Team has worked with special educators across the district of Johnston Public Schools. 17% of Johnston students qualify for special education services. The partnership began with a focus on building persistence and data-driven differentiation practices in special education learning environments. Year 2 centered on thinking routines and student goal setting to increase ownership and agency.

Core Services

• Strategy-Based PLCs: instructional focus areas selected by school partner
• Student Experience Survey

Impact
“Many of my students progressed at least 10 levels in reading this year, which really empowered them to want to read more. Their parents are telling me ‘they want to go to the library, they want to read books at home, we’ve never experienced this before.’” — Special Educator, Johnston Public Schools

94% of participating teachers implemented a new strategy

The percentage of students with IEPs in the high growth category on the STAR interim assessment increased 16 points.

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From Other Organizations

Virtual Reading Program for Grade 6-8 Students

Reading Reimagined’s mission is to eradicate illiteracy by unlocking the
great reader in every child. We want to understand how an established reading program that supports skills for reading complicated words works with older students. To do this, we’re looking for students in grades 6 through 8 who could use some extra instruction and practice to strengthen their reading skills. Each student will receive a $100 gift card for participating. We will provide 6 weeks of reading instruction online with a trained tutor, as well as get students’ feedback on the experience so that we can improve the reading program. Please help share with the students and families in your network!

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