Ignacio School District teachers and administrators are using every trip to various districts across the state to identify ways to help better the classrooms and hallways.
The district is currently in its third year taking part in the Student-Centered Accountability Program as a way to add something new or addressing something that may have gone overlooked.
Any and all ideas are on the table, and every trip to a different school has presented Ignacio School District with the chance to observe and form ideas.
“That for me has been really invaluable,” said Ignacio Middle School Principal Dayna Talamante-Montoya.
Teachers and principals have ventured out to other sections of rural Colorado like Dolores, Buena Vista, La Junta, Aguilar, Ellicot and Hanover as part of a collaborative effort between the districts. S-CAP features 19 rural Colorado school districts.
Ignacio School District officials learn from their counterparts as to what they’re doing well and how those areas of focus can help.
“I really thought it was very beneficial. I got to see the difference between how a school climate is run, how they do things and how we do things,” said Suesan Davis, a fifth grade teacher at Ignacio Elementary School.
The district provides transportation and covers hotel costs for educators whenever they go to another part of the state, and S-CAP handles meal expenses.
When Davis visited Ellicot this past February, she was struck by a “calmer” environment.
“Just even walking down the hallways, the kids were quiet and whispering, even when they were alone. Nobody’s running down the hallway screaming and yelling. They were quiet, everybody was calm. In the classroom, the way they talked to each other was in a polite, calming manner,” she said. “They created an environment where everybody talks to each other in a way that is kind and caring … the children understand, ‘This is how we act at school.’”
Davis informed Ignacio Elementary School officials about doing little things to help create such an environment, and officials were receptive to that approach. In the months that followed, Ignacio Elementary School Principal Shauna Branch said the school’s leadership team established guidelines – such as walking in a straight line on the right-hand side, not being disruptive when walking by another classroom – for the students to follow, posting signs in the hallways.
“We taught that explicitly to the kids. So, each teacher took their group of kids, and they went to each of those areas and said, ‘These are the rules,’” Branch said, adding it helps with student safety and in teaching them to be mindful of others. “It all blends into learning. It is more efficient, they can get in and out.”
Davis said because the guidelines are universal, any teacher can show any student if something is being done correctly.
Branch said there may occasionally be a student that’s found running in the hallway, but it’s no longer common.
While visiting Aguilar around mid-October, Branch said she noticed students in a mathematics class discussing the material to help build problem-solving skills. During a writing class, students shared topics they chose to put on paper, but such topics had to be evidence-based.
“We’re at a place at (Ignacio Elementary) where that’s what we’re working on, having kids learn those skills to discuss and how to write … (saying), ‘This is why I know the answer,’” she said.
When she went to Hanover this past April, Branch said she noticed the “value of student voice,” and hearing their needs was an area that district appeared to struggle with.
She said it reminded her “how valuable” it is to listen to students and acknowledge changes they feel need to be made.
“Students have a voice, and they have a part in the process to improve,” she said.
During her visit to Aguilar in early October, Ignacio Middle School seventh grade teacher Breana Talamante-Benavidez said she noticed teachers formed mentorships with students in grades five through 12 and became their point persons of contact. That experience also showed her that maintaining continuity for those mentor-student relationships matters.
During a previous session in La Junta, Talamante-Montoya said she was drawn to the premise of having an independent building space specifically for career technical education students who want more relevant learning material to build key job skills.
“We can open doors,” she said. “I think any time we can provide kids with opportunities, that’s awesome.”
Ignacio Middle School has its eighth-graders partake in introductory Career and Technical Education courses at Ignacio High School, including woodshop and agriculture, rotating every nine weeks.
Talamante-Montoya said it would help to incorporate a future building that is comparable to Big Picture High School in Durango.
“Having a place for kids like an alternative setting would be a big deal,” she said.
While in Aguilar, Talamante-Benavidez was drawn to a platform the middle school formed for students to create career readiness portfolios.
“I thought that was super helpful for kids to have everything from their middle school career in one place,” she said, adding students can refer back to the platform upon starting high school.
For staffers like Talamante-Benavidez, every trip is a chance to add on to what Ignacio School District is already doing. S-CAP also reminds her that other districts “are in the same boat” and have their share of areas to improve on.
She said seeing how other districts put together curriculum on their website or set up their classrooms is helpful.
“Going into someone else’s classroom is a great opportunity for any teacher,” she said.
mhollinshead@durangoherald.com
