What is your child doing in school today? An interview with some of Nassau County’s finest about Common Core

Submitted by Kim Taylor
January 15, 2015 1:00 a.m.

Education has always been and will probably always be a topic of debate among those who try to define it. The newest implementation of educational standards is the Common Core Standards, a nation-wide initiative which further exemplifies No Child Left Behind. In its very essence, Common Core Standards is a government effort to standardize learning across the country so that each student entering kindergarten will leave the public school system prepared for college, career and life. The standards are meant to be consistent across the states so that students living throughout the country would, in theory, be learning the same subjects to mastery at the same grade levels. So what does that look like in Nassau County?

With any federal education legislation, it is handed to the states to interpret and put into action. They, in turn, hand it to the school districts to further interpret and put into action. Nassau County school administrators at the district and school levels grappled the challenge and thoughtfully disseminated it to the schools where the teachers were ultimately responsible for delivering it. Kristi Simpkins, Director of Elementary Education, was integral in this change. Having been the principal at Hilliard Elementary School for nine years, she was able to take a “C” rated school and turn it into an “A” rated school in a remarkable amount of time. It isn’t difficult to see how – with a zeal for education, a love for teachers and an incredible amount of energy, she radiates excitement about the transformation that took place in schools across the district.

According to Mrs. Simpkins, Common Core Standards are simply “less standards with a richer in-depth understanding of the topics”. Students are taught several ways to find answers with a “more thorough understanding” of the topics. What does this look like in a classroom? Mrs. Kristan Greeson, a third grade teacher at Yulee Elementary School, was gracious enough to allow me to visit with her students and ask.

The students arrive at school each day and are immediately engaged. Not a moment to waste! During the course of each school day, elementary students attend a reading “block”, a math “block”, and are also taught science, social studies, and other peripheral classes such as music, art, character education, and physical education. During instruction, the emphasis is placed on self-efficacy, an age-old theory of educational psychology made well-known by Bandura and Vygotsky. By making children responsible for their own learning at times and facilitating the learning process rather than implicitly leading students as passive participants, children learn to actually think about the tasks rather than drone them out or re-recite concepts without fully understanding them. The tenet is that children learn a concept from the teacher and then learn different methods for engaging that topic from various center activities and from each other.

During the math block that I attended in Mrs. Greeson’s class, the students were unaware of my impending visit yet went about their learning activities with ease, completely uninterrupted. They knew what their expectations were and executed those tasks skillfully. Six students were learning from direct interaction with Mrs. Greeson at her center; another group was learning with a Para using verbal/manipulative activities at a table; another group was independently playing a math “game” and teaching each other concepts that had already been learned prior to this lesson (scaffolding the lessons is a major component) and another group was actively engaged with math technology at a center.

As with any change, it wasn’t easy. Mrs. Simpkins spoke intently about the change, explaining that students at centers were learning the concept in different ways (engaging different learning styles so that instruction is differentiated to meet the needs of all students) and that the main goal is for each student to receive small group instruction – one on one contact with the teacher – every day. When I sat with the students on the floor group and asked what they thought about it, they couldn’t refrain from sharing their enthusiasm. “We love it!” There are no ‘back pew church members’ in the classroom.

Mrs. Greeson was just as enthusiastic. I asked if she was nervous about the new state standardized assessment and she replied with a grin, “I’m not worried at all!” She went on to say that the teachers at each grade level meet weekly, each one bringing something to the meeting, all willing to work together in support of each other. Mrs. Simpkins called the weekly meetings at grade levels “cheerleading sessions”. Mrs. Greeson also praised her parent volunteers who she said she relies heavily on. I commented about the overall air of happiness and ease that was immediately felt upon entering the school and about being personally greeted and escorted by Principal Scott Hodges and her reply was simple; “I’m happy because I work for happy people!”

In a mouthful, she was able to prescribe the true secret to the success of this or any initiative. Staff members at other schools could certainly also attest to the paramount importance of having a happy and supportive administrator – and it is obvious that it trickles from the top. The climate of any school (or any institution, for that matter) is directly influenced by its administrators. Mr. Hodges was gracious and professional, greeting students along the way in the hall by first name (despite the fact that there are over 800 students in the school) and then coming and going in the classroom while I was there. He spoke about the changes in education with optimism as well as high expectations for his students. That expectation is what drives everyone around him to go above and beyond their personal best and strive for greatness.

Mrs. Simpkins was adamant about the support that teachers need. The school district has proactively made several changes to enhance this level of support. Each Wednesday, students are released one hour early for teachers to plan. Teachers visit other schools to talk with and share ideas with peers. Each grade level at each school meets weekly with each team member expected to actively participate and contribute. District teams comprised of teachers from each grade level from all of the schools help to plan the activities for all of the students.

A well-matriculated, collaborative system is in the works. At this point, to an outside observer, the system is working. When I observed, for example, the third grade students at YES, they were learning a division concept from the teacher and at centers. When I arrived home, my third grader who attends ELH pulled out his homework, the same division concept. I asked about his centers’ activities for that day and they were exactly the same as they were at YES. He was learning the same concepts in his classroom that his peers were learning in another elementary school classroom entirely across the county.

When Mrs. Simpkins was asked if she could change anything, she quickly replied, “More support for the teachers!” In an ideal world, there would be a paraprofessional in every classroom to assist with the daily tasks of supervising and implementing all of the centers. Each teacher each day delivers instruction in math in three-four centers, in reading in three-four centers, and centers in science and social studies as time permits. That’s a lot of work.

Mrs. Simpkins went on to say that the change is a work in progress. Technology, already clearly evident in the classrooms, is a major focus with emphasis being placed in each subject. The students aren’t just passively playing computer games; the technology programs available to students are all prescriptive and capable of providing specific information about each student’s instructional level. Teachers are busy each day prescribing educational materials to each student based on that student’s demonstrated abilities and needs. And, despite the appearance of a mandated way of teaching, Mrs. Simpkins was very clear about the most important thing of all – “Don’t take professional judgment away from the teacher.”

As an academic educator of sorts, it’s much simpler to stand back and analyze this new development with some skepticism. In a glance it may appear to be a “cookie cutter” classroom with teachable moments no longer being available. However, this is entirely incorrect. This paradigm of education allows the teacher to individually engage each student daily to assess any needs and address them in a smaller setting. It is, in fact, facilitating independent learning for all students. Rather than just learning concepts, students are learning to question those concepts and apply them with confidence to other situations.

Students love this change, teachers are actively embracing the change and school scores and grades are showing the positive results. But we can’t and must not forget the teachers who work diligently every day to see all of these aspirations to fruition. Without them, this would be a beautiful theoretical idea. Instead, we have inspired, engaged students for whom the ‘spark of lifelong learning’ has been ignited. We can never forget that it really does ‘take a village’.

(A special thanks for Kristan Greeson, YES 3rd Grade Teacher, Principal Scott Hodges, YES, and Kristi Simpkins, Director of Elementary Education, NCSB, for their gracious hospitality.

Editor’s Note: Kim Taylor was born in Texas, but after fourteen years she calls Fernandina her home. Kim has a bachelor’s degree with a double major in English and psychology, a Master’s in Education and an Ed.S. in Education Leadership. She is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Previously, she worked for fourteen years at the Nassau County School Board in a variety of roles. Kim is the mother of five children and five stepchildren. Two are attending FSU, three are still at home.

Kim is taking time to pursue her love of writing and to complete a book. We thank Kim for her contribution to the Fernandina Observer.