Education Week - February 24, 2016 - S29

LESSONS FROM A LEADER

>> Show Up in Classrooms

The real work happens in classrooms.
Great ideas may be generated by district leaders,
but if it's not collaborative with teachers and
families, it will not succeed or last.

>> Trust Those You Lead

Ensure the people you lead have the tools
to be successful-a clear vision, quality
professional development, organized team
structures, useful metrics-and then trust
them to get the job done.

bring his district's classrooms.
Existing research on early learning points to the conclusion that young children learn more, and retain far more,
when they are physically moving and engaging in activities
ranging from pretending to run a store to figuring out that
using bigger blocks at the base of a tower works best for
building.
"Play builds the foundation that children need for their
cognitive development, self-control, ability to pay attention, problem-solve, and think critically," says Geoffrey
Nagle, the president of the Erikson Institute, a graduate
school for early educators.
Making a tower of blocks with another child, for
instance, can hold lessons about geometry, physics,
and cooperation all in one. Plus, the fine-motor control
developed while smooshing Play-Doh at the art table,
buttoning a frock coat during dress-up time, or snapping together Lego bricks to build a house feeds directly
into the delicate academic task of holding a pencil in later
years, according to Susan Friedman, the senior director
of content strategy at the National Association for the
Education of Young Children.
Studies have also found that learning by play keeps children engaged and helps them retain new information longer.
Oates, as a longtime teacher of 1st graders, is well-versed
in that research as well as its in-classroom applications,
and that allows him a valuable perspective as he tries to
persuade teachers and principals to follow his lead in making big changes.
"It's really not just about play," Oates says. "It's about
designing highly engaging learning environments for
children that are guided by developmentally appropriate
instruction."

Making Schools Ready for Children
The state of North Carolina recognized the need to improve its kindergarten classrooms and make them interactive places for children to arrive on their first day of school.
In 2007, the state board of education endorsed an initiative
known as Ready Schools that had at its center the idea that
schools should be made ready for children, rather than
insisting children be ready for school.
That meant creating welcoming environments, especially in the early years. Competitive grants were offered to
districts that wanted to pursue such changes.
Winston-Salem/Forsyth County applied for one of
the grants but did not win, says Sharon Ritchie, a senior
scientist at the Frank Porter Graham Child Development
Institute at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill,

>> Build Quality Early-Learning
Environments

Without highly engaging learning environments
based on child development and brain research,
it will be difficult to close the achievement gaps
so evident in American schools.

who was involved in reviewing the applications. Despite
the loss, Winston-Salem officials pushed ahead with their
improvement plan, "which I completely respect them for,"
says Ritchie, who has worked with many districts to create
high-quality early-learning environments.
Ritchie says Winston-Salem was among a handful of districts she knows of that have pursued the work so diligently.
First, she says, there was a small collection of educators
and community members, and especially one hardworking kindergarten teacher, who were pulling for the change.
Then the district hired Oates.
"When districts are behind something, then that's when
real change happens," Ritchie says. "And they're not giving
up. Steve is just dedicated to making this happen."
Oates has helped the district pursue outside funding for
teacher training and materials from the Kate B. Reynolds
Charitable Trust, a local foundation. He's also attended
meetings with principals and teachers, worked to bring
experts like Ritchie in to conduct trainings, and talked with
community members about the importance of making
these changes.
"He has no doubt received some pushback for it, and he
has stayed the course," Ritchie says.

Play vs. Worksheets?
For Oates, it all comes back to that moment when you
can see a child has learned something new.
From his time as a teenager at the YMCA volunteering to
work with younger children, Oates knew he wanted to be
involved with helping children learn. He's seen engaging
environments and hands-on activities work for so many
children, that for him, there is no conflict between the ideas
of play and learning.
"The classrooms I'm talking about are very rigorous
classrooms," Oates says. Content does not need to be
sacrificed, he says, but rather worked into the day in an
organic way that allows children to explore new concepts in
an engaging way.
So far, there are no concrete district data to show
whether the more play-based kindergarten program
is improving academic achievement as measured by
standardized state tests. The shift has been gradual, so
that only a few students old enough to have been tested
actually experienced a significantly different kindergarten
environment. But those students are showing a strong
array of traits that contribute to long-term academic success, Oates says.
"What we know is that these children have better selfregulation and executive function and are able to control

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Education Week - February 24, 2016

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