Invitations to Opportunity

            Never would I have labeled myself a leader.  Yes, I cheered in high school and upon graduation received the “I Dare You” leadership award, but I didn’t realize (or even recognize) my own potential until much later.  Not until I connected with some special friends and the NWP. 

            I entered the teaching field in 1975 with 36 first graders, no air conditioning, and my 2^nd baby due in November.  Needless to say, ignorance was bliss (if you could call it that).  With no reference point—no benchmark—I didn’t know what I didn’t know.  For 15 years, I went through the motions of teaching.  Minus a couple of school and grade level changes, it was status quo for me. Straight rows, worksheets, silence, boredom, many left behind…  That was a given.

            My new principal, Wayne Devine, saw glimmers of promise in me that he proceeded to mine.  Opportunities regularly appeared in my mailbox: a weekend writing retreat at Rough River (which I attended), a grant for an extended visit by poet in residence (She came.), an application for the summer institute at Western Kentucky University… (I went.).  One pattern that emerges as I reflect on my professional past is my initial need for nudging and invitation that later morphes into my self-initiated quest for professional growth.

            My first growth spurt hit me in 1990.  That was the year that the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA) passed revamping our entire educational system (in a best practice kind of way, I might add).  Luckily that same year, I attended the NWP summer institute at WKU. This is where I discovered my professional self.  I found that there are teachers who think like I think.  I learned that thinking outside the box should be valued, not scorned.  This became my single most nourishing professional experience ever, preparing me for the instructional changes my state was asking everyone to make.

Prior to the summer of 1990, the only professional reading materials I’d experienced had that “textbook” voice I’d avoided at all costs.  The summer institute introduced me to new friends like Donald Graves, Nancie Atwell, and Lucy Calkins from whom I’ve learned so much.  Even now, 14 years later, folks like Kylene Beers and Harvey Daniels beckon me from my laundry and vacuuming.  (It would be rude to ignore a houseguest, right?)  My appetite for these kinds of books is now insatiable and that professional reading, along with my hands on classroom experience spurs me on.

            Using reading and writing across the content areas turned out to be my niche.  (It’s ironic that my principal knew this about me before I did.  Maybe I’d already been doing more of that kind of thing than I realized.)  The summer institute gave me permission to bring my talents and insights into the classroom.  I had permission to chuck the worksheets.  Textbooks became resources on the shelf.  My state had issued instructional mandates that allowed me to implement my natural tendencies toward reading, writing, and thinking with my students.  I was driven to learn as much as possible. 

Between 1992 and 1996, many professional development opportunities arose.  I was asked to serve on local, regional, and statewide writing advisory boards.  I joined KCTE/LA, NCTE, and The NWP.  I attended conferences.  I PRESENTED at conferences!  Why, I even coordinated a state conference!  Certainly, if anyone had asked me if I was capable of orchestrating such a massive undertaking, I’d have been the first to say, “Gracious, NO!” but I did it and did it well! You just never know what you can do until someone invites you to try.  I served my state as president-elect, president, and past president of the Kentucky Council of Teachers of English/Language Arts.  I became the elementary co-director of the NWP Summer Institute at Western Kentucky University.  Before attending the summer institute, I’d not even heard of professional organizations such as these.  My timelines blur regarding these new professional memberships because everything happened so fast, but the benefits from my joining are immeasurable with networking topping the list.

Other teachers were not so comfortable with our new state mandates.  They didn’t see themselves as writers and didn’t believe their students could learn to be, but in my classroom, whether the assessments were quantative or qualitative, my students were all excelling.  I was teaching fifth grade language arts.  My instruction became genre-driven.  I still followed the sequence of skills presented in my textbook, but I did it through mini lessons.  Students then knew that I’d be looking for their correct usage of skills we’d covered as they wrote personal narratives, short stories, etc. during writer’s workshop.  At the end of that school year, percentiles went through the roof. It was a kind of Lake Woebegone effect.  We were all above average. 

Because our academic team won all six language arts awards in a regional meet that year, Frankfort called our academic coach at Central City Elementary to see how we’d done it.  She deferred to me.  Gave me the credit.  I DID have many more students who could have done just as well, and I gave credit to the new approaches and techniques that I’d learned in my summer institute.  Yes, three of those awards were for writing, but the OTHER three were for correctness!  I’d proven that writer’s workshop helps all students acquire an understanding for capitalization, usage, punctuation, and spelling, as well as focus, support, and transition! Frankfort invited me to present at the statewide gifted conference.  That was my first.

Talk about opening a world of opportunity!  Mr. Divine brought me another application: a writing grant.  This grant was funded, releasing me from my classroom to model the teaching of writing in other classrooms in my building.  On Fridays, I went to other schools in my district to work with those teachers.  My responsibilities were (and still are) to provide job-embedded, on-going professional development that include follow up in a National Writing Project kind of way.  Once the grant period ended, letters were written by my colleagues to persuade our superintendent and Board of Education to create a permanent position for me to continue my district-wide consulting.  I created my own job description as elementary writing resource teacher.  The board paid for it out of general funds.  I’m performing these services district wide, today.

Muhlenberg County’s elementary portfolio scores improved dramatically.  Teachers became more comfortable with the characteristics of different genres and the strategies young writers need to become proficient writers.  Frankfort called again.  They were sending two regional consultants to do a study of the growth that our fourth grade writers were demonstrating.  They randomly selected portfolios to analyze for purpose, audience, idea development, support, and organization.  They interviewed teachers and students to learn how said learning was taking place.  Their findings indicated that my input was significant.  Many teachers experienced a paradigm shift thanks to student success.  Because of the prewriting and revising strategies that I brought to the classrooms, teachers promoted better writing opportunities and students wrote with more focused purpose, elaboration, and organization. A rise in portfolio scores proved it.  These findings were shared in writing with The Kentucky Department of Education, The Kentucky Writing Program and Kentucky’s legislators. I was then invited to help present their study at the NSDC conference.

In 1996, Frankfort had an opening for statewide primary writing consultant for which I was invited to apply.  While on-loan to the state department, I shared what I’d found to work (and not to work) with elementary teachers across my state.  I visited schools, brought teachers together regionally for demonstrations, and wrote a document called, BUILDING THE FOUNDATION THE WRITE WAY, which was distributed to every elementary school in the state.  It’s full of graphic organizers, strategies, student samples, and anecdotes regarding successful techniques I’d employed. I was able to scaffold teachers in their zones of proximal development at all distances of time and space.  Not all teachers felt as secure about implementing writing in their classrooms.  Their confidence soared with strategy lesson they tried.  Student work improved.  Teachers were grateful.  They began to succeed, too.  I was and continue to be gratified by this opportunity to serve.  (A couple of publishers have contacted me for a submission, thanks to tips from influential friends.  It’s next on my list of to-do’s.)  Starr Lewis, my boss when I was with the KDE, was very good at pulling me out of my shell.  She recognized that I had much to say and made the speaking easy for me with her warmth and sincere acceptance.  

Once I returned to my district in the same consulting position on an extended calendar, I continued to grow.  Having the time to reflect on the writing approaches I was employing, going from room to room experimenting with best practice application, and tweaking my techniques along the way… I’ve been able to accumulate twenty years of experience each year.  Districts from across the state continue to call for me to provide follow up sessions and new teacher trainings. 

WKU has an excellent outreach program.  Dr. John Hagaman engages my services often and once the word goes out that I’ll be sharing my latest instructional findings, teachers sign up in droves.  Recently, what was intended to be a Saturday workshop for about 40 turned into 5 separate workshops!  Calls just kept coming.  It continues to amaze me, even though I realize that thanks to my passionate commitment to understand just how kids learn, I have a lot to offer.  I’m still getting used to groups collectively leaning in to hear what I have to say.  I’m still not much of a chit-chatter, but if you want to talk shop, just try and stop me.

Somehow, the folks at The Kentucky Educational Network, KET, got wind of my contributions.  (I suspect Starr Lewis to be the culprit.)  To date, I have planned, presented in classrooms on camera, and narrated 12 instructional videos.  Again, Starr was at my side.  She scaffolded me through the live narration of the footage in the studio with her gentle lean-forward-and-look-into-your-eyes sincerity as she prompted my next transition between clips.  It’s a collection of which I’m most proud.  Even-out-of-state teachers have called to purchase these tapes.

National opportunities that have been afforded me include the teacher exchange initiative.  I spent two weeks in Southwest Georgia’s Writing Project.  While there, I hooked up with a likeminded elementary teacher, Alisa Daniel, who’s experiences with instructional mandates were not as positive as mine.  Because her district was forcing them to use a canned phonics program that my district was considering, Alisa and I had a lot to talk about.  With her anecdotes and data, I was able to head off the purchase of this program.  Alisa and I are still talking.  Pat Fox and Joye Alberts offered us a mini grant to continue discussing our professional concerns.  Without this nudge, we might have parted ways, but thanks to the leadership of TEX, Alisa and I remain in contact for professional (as well as personal) reasons.  In fact, this past summer Alisa had me come and do a demonstration for the Georgia Southern Writing Project that she now co-directs.  Also, Alisa’s new job description in her district is very similar to mine and that drives our electronic discussions, as well.  Recently, her district sent her to Kentucky to shadow me for a week.

A NWP TEX Leadership Team formed that I’ve been a part of since 1997.  We put our heads together to consider how teacher exchange is progressing and what changes are required.  At least twice a year, 6 or so of us spend a weekend pouring over data, analyzing feedback, and revising the program. 

Having had such a wonderful experience with teacher exchange, I had to apply to attend the NWP Writer’s Retreat in Santa Fe, New Mexico.  Twenty of us were selected to spend a weekend together writing, revising, sharing… We were to generate professional articles and we had deadlines.  (I do function best on the cusp of a deadline.)  I’ve always considered myself to be a writer.  I’d been published in The Kentucky English Bulletin.  My Building the Foundation the Write Way document and videos had been well received.  I didn’t realize that the pieces we submitted at the end of the retreat would be considered for publication in The Quarterly, until I received my own copy with my article included!  That same month, I’d written a teacher exchange piece that was published in The Voice.  One of the editors told Pat Fox that they thought that was the first time that had ever happened!

In June of 2003, with protocols being the buzzword in Kentucky, I jumped on the chance to spend another week in Berkeley.  This time with the LETSWork Institute.  We fishbowled different tuning protocols each morning and then broke into small groups to apply what we’d observed.  Once the week ended, we were instructed to go forth and analyze student work.  I now have all my elementary schools experimenting with tuning protocols.  Two exemplary schools from a neighboring county with whom I’ve consulted have recently been recognized at the state level for their long range planning that’s being informed by student work. 

Our district has recently hired curriculum specialists for each building.  I train them once a week.  From brain-based learning to analyzing student work, we apply best practices in an effort to best understand how to continue to affect change.  (When we studied Marzano’s teaching strategies, I realized why my things work: analogy, graphic organizers, non-linguistic representations…) 

Another state initiative that has staged opportunities for me to play a leadership role in my district is what we call the ongoing Consolidated School/District Improvement Plan.  It’s an effort that ensures that monies from different programs are blended to best impact learning.  Supervisors meet to study district data and brainstorm ways to best spend money to benefit students.  Again, this is an area that I’ve found myself to be good at… Though I’m a supervisor in name only, I’m highly regarded when time comes to generate new district initiatives for this document that are success driven and solidly grounded in research.  It used to be that one hand didn’t know what the other hand was doing: Title I didn’t communicate with Special Education.  Head Start was alienated from Title VI. I came up with the idea to have professional study groups where teachers select books to read from a list I provide, read, apply what they learn, and come together with me to discuss what works and why.  This has been very popular with teachers from all grade levels and content areas.  We apply the NWP premise as we ponder these practices together: we write, we share, we question, we read and try again.

Last year, because our elementary schools seemed to be more confident with the incorporation of writing into the classrooms and because it was still a struggle at the middle school level, my services have been shifted to meet their needs.  Initially, I carried the baggage of elementary that some questioned, but once I’d done professional development for them followed up by modeling in their classrooms with their content and their students, most have warmed up to me.  Being a leader is a delicate thing.  It’s not my nature to boss, which is a good thing, I think.  Bossing as a consultant/colleague will get you nowhere fast.  I remember when I attended KERA Fellows in 1991.  We engaged in activities that showed us the best way to affect change—success with students.  Last year’s portfolio scores helped me earn my stripes at the middle school level.  Our number of novice writers was cut in half. (In Kentucky, we have to continue to reduce the number of novice each year.  You know… no child left behind?)  Now, I know that many factors contributed, but I believe that success along with the student engagement during and after my lessons helped to sell my services.  When my schedule won’t allow me to model in all the classrooms, teachers come during their breaks to observe my lessons in similar grades/content areas. 

Me? A leader?  I still find it laughable.  Unless you saw me in action, you might never recognize many leadership qualities in me: I’m a quiet listener in small groups, my respect for others sometimes prevents me from entering into a conversation for fear of interrupting someone, I’m rarely comfortable with all eyes on me.  Sometimes I’m quiet because it’s difficult for me to retrieve that perfect noun in mid sentence.  (I’m told it’s hormonal.  It’s as though my noun drawer in my head has been dumped and I have to scramble through every noun I’ve ever stored.  Common.  Proper.  It doesn’t matter.  By the time I find it, many times I’ve lost my audience.)    But ask me about my passion for words and learning… Ask me about how I teach writing, and I feel my gears engage.  I never stammer.  I’m very reflective about my work.  Many times I hear my audience saying, “I never thought about it THAT way.”   

If there had been no National Writing Project…  If the Kentucky Education Reform Act hadn’t coincided with the convictions I’d acquired through NWP… I’d probably still have folders on the corner of my desk labeled Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday…  They’d still be filled with a week’s worth of worksheets and most of my students would mindlessly trudge through them without much learning to show for it.

Thanks to Wayne Devine, Pat and Joye, and John Hagaman.  Thanks to Starr Lewis who’s a writing project person who’s now a deputy commissioner of education in our state.  Lucky Kentucky.  Thanks to all for seeing in me what I didn’t see in myself and providing me the venues and support that proved it to all of us (myself included.) Now, if I could just find someone to recognize the dieter, housekeeper, financial wizard in me.

--Donna Vincent, Project V