Opening our Doors, Sharing our Practice

Working at The Creek is exhilarating! One of my job roles includes hosting visitor groups who come from all corners of our globe to learn about standards-based education. Chets is a Cohort 2 America's Choice School, meaning only one cohort of schools entered the school reform before we did. We went through some intensive whole school design changes in a three year roll out and became an America's Choice Demonstration Model School. Now, through word of mouth, school leaders call from near and far to schedule observations.

The visitor groups usually spend the day with me, the School Standards Coach, observing workshop lessons, focus walking classrooms, analyzing student work on bulletin boards and in student portfolios, asking countless questions about our culture, our traditions, our professional development, our unprecedented results. They come to see our work in action, to get the big picture in one day. Or, for a few, who have begged their way into my heart, they return multiple times to collect all the minute details that make us tick.

Last week was a busy one. We hosted visitors from China and New Mexico, and visitors from within our district. Our teachers graciously opened their classroom doors, as they always do, to provide the opportunity for other educators to learn about their instruction, their assessment, their student work, their classroom artifacts. I'm sure at times our CCE teachers may duck when they see me coming, it is not uncommon that one of them has 20 educators standing in the perimeter of their rooms hanging on their every word! But, you wouldn't know it because on visitor days, it is always business as usual.

Though these days are difficult to build into an already jam packed schedule, they are also some of my favorite. I get to observe classroom instruction from Kindergarten through Fifth Grade; I get to go in all teacher's classrooms on focus walks; I get to analyze student work from throughout the building; I get to share our vision, mission, and learner expectations. It doesn't get any better than that!

Virtual Tour of Chets Creek Elementary

At Chets, one of my roles as the instructional coach is to host visitors. Visitor groups tend to include a mix of teachers, administrators, coaches, business leaders, school board members, and/or parents. They come from near and far. In fact, this year the majority have come from distant states including Texas and Arkansas. One visitor this year even came from China!

I enjoy hosting visitor groups and sharing our learning journey. The experience gives me the opportuntity to articulate our work, reflect on our practice, visit an assortment of classrooms in a focus walk, and answer visitor questions. The part of the day I most anticipate is lunch. No, not just because I love food, but because this is a time that the group relaxes and we enjoy good conversation. These are the times that I listen carefully, because often times they offer unique suggestions that can make our work even better. And, we are always embracing new ideas.

Of course, nothing is quite as good as an actual visit, but if you haven't had the opportunity, you may enjoy this virtual tour of our school hosted by Principal Susan Phillips. In a particular part of the movie, Susan invites you into a kindergarten classroom--that is not yet loaded into the movie. During an America's Choice Conference presentation when Susan got to this point in the movie, Mrs. Mallon's Kindergarten classroom videostreamed a live Writers' Workshop lesson from Jacksonville, Florida to Hollywood, California. The experience was inspiring! As soon as we (or should I say Melanie and Eric) figure out how to get it on blip.tv, I'll be posting the taped version of the live lesson. Stay Tuned... And, enjoy your virtual visit to Chets Creek Elementary!

Compliments to the movie creators: Melanie Holtsman and Eric Blair.

Be Our Guest

Throughout the year, Chets Creek hosts hundreds of visitors. Educators and business people alike come from near and far to capture a glimpse inside our magical kingdom. These go-getters spend the day with us in hopes of capturing the essence of what we do and replicating best practices in their own schools.

The day consists of a focus walk, lesson observations, and debriefing. We also spend time sharing artifacts and showing blog posts or video clips in the conference room. Visitors walk away enthusiastic to implement some of their new ideas, and we benefit when they bring suggestions to the table for how best to improve our own practice. Another benefit to us comes from the reflective nature of explaining our work to others and clarifying when they ask specific questions. At the end of the day, when we bid goodbye to the visitors, you can commonly find the host team chatting away in the conference room about the day's experience.

If you are a Chets Creek teacher that would like a bird's eye view, drop me a comment, and I'll be sure to invite you to help host a visiting group. If you are an educator that would like to visit our magical kingdom, drop me a comment, and we'd be delighted to have you Be Our Guest.