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We must be the change we wish to see in
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Gandhi |
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Building a Positive, Creative Learning Environment
for Barrington Elementary
Client Organization
Barrington Elementary, an 11-year-old public school in growing suburban
St. Louis, Mo., has a uniquely diverse student population with 49%
Black, 46% White and 5% Asian and Hispanic students. Special Education
students are mainstreamed into regular education classrooms. For
example, in PE class, the children in wheelchairs score with four-foot
basketball hoops while playing with (and against) other students
who score with regulation height basketball hoops. Barrington sets
high standards for every student – helping each child reach
his/her fullest potential. Their overall goal is to provide a nurturing
environment, a strong academic and social foundation, the tools
to communicate ideas effectively, and the skills to make responsible
choices.
Unique Challenge
Due to personnel changes, many of Barrington’s faculty and
staff were brand new to both teaching and to the school. Others
had been at Barrington since its inception and retained a strong
history and solid traditions. The challenge was to bring the entire
team together to share, learn from each other, and build a unified
environment where everyone supports each other to provide the best
education for the children of Barrington.
Client Objectives
Barrington turned to Paradigm Shift Studio with two main goals:
- To accelerate the development of all educators and administrative
staff into a supportive and high-performing team; and
- To explore and build on a successful foundation to create a
positive learning environment: An environment where every student,
faculty and staff member feels supported and is able to excel.
What We Did
After initial consultation with the Principal and Instructional Specialist,
Paradigm Shift Studio conducted one-on-one “winning teamwork”
interviews with a core leadership team comprised of 10 educators.
These educators represented a diverse staff that varied by gender,
race and levels of teaching experience. Once completed, interview
training was provided to this group, who then interviewed all 60 remaining
faculty and staff members. We collected the interview data and analyzed
it to pull out common themes and identify strengths for areas of possible
innovations.
Paradigm Shift Studio then designed a one-day workshop that was collaboratively
planned with the core leadership team. Each person contributed ideas
and took responsibility for follow-through. Participants engaged in
a structured process of facilitated dialogue, inquiry, storytelling,
strategic visioning, and action planning. Although time considerations
limited the workshop to just one day, the team was able to begin building
deeper relationships and working together by proposing concrete ideas
and projects that would help them create the positive, supportive
learning environment they collectively envisioned.
Outcomes
As a result of this project, faculty and staff find a stronger sense
of “team” at Barrington. Sixteen initiatives were explored
that enhance the learning community. Most are being implemented, including:
- A teacher’s resource of “success stories”
to describe high-points in education at Barrington;
- After-school aerobics for faculty/staff;
- Teacher-initiated appreciative interviews of students as a way
to help design next year’s curriculum;
- Principal-initiated appreciative questions to introduce discussions
in regular staff meetings.
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