The Launching Pad

Volume 3, No. 1                       Winter/Spring, 2009                       Exclusively online at www.EducationHall.com
 

Bring on the Whole Child! A conversation with Deirdra Grode
Editorial Staff

In 2008, Miss Deirdra Grode from Hoboken, New Jersey was honored as the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) Oustanding Young Educator Award (OYEA). She is the 6^th recipient of the prestigious international award, which comes with a $10,000 check and the recognition of a) a job well done and b) promise for a bright future in education. The Launching Pad caught up with Miss Grode for a conversation.

LP: Tell us about the success that earned you the OYEA honor.

DG: I think that my background really suited the theme of “Reinventing Schools: Courageous Leadership for Positive Change” as well as the setting of New Orleans for the the 2008 Annual Conference. New Orleans has had to be so inventive with the rebuilding of its educational system since Hurricane Katrina. There has been an explosion of charter schools there, and from what I hear they are having a significant positive impact on the city. I have been working in an urban charter school for the past six years as a teacher and the middle school facilitator and our school has received a lot of recent recognition for academic progress. Also, I am very passionate about the infusion of service learning and character education into the curricula and finding inventive ways as a school to teach the whole child. The combination of these factors made me a strong candidate to present at the Opening General Session, especially alongside the inspiring Alma Powell. Some people asked me afterwards if we had spoken beforehand and picked common themes; i.e., prison education and service learning. We hadn't at all. The committee must have just really worked hard to select individuals who believed deeply in the theme and strands of the conference.

LP: What did you think when you first heard you were a finalist? The winner?

DG: The whole experience has been wild. My principal stopped me in the hallway in the Fall of 2007 to tell me that he had nominated me for an award, and I said, “Wow, thanks.” That was pretty much it until I got the phone call months later asking me to be interviewed in New York City via teleconference for the ASCD Outstanding Young Educator Award. I realized then and there that this was a really big deal. I looked into what the award was and I was blown away. Honestly, when my principal had stopped me in the hallway, I envisioned getting free pizza at the Elks Club with some other teachers in town. Little did I know that months later I would be meeting with educators from around the country to share ideas on reform and speaking publicly to large audiences about issues that matter the most to me.

LP: Give us some specifics about how you advocate for and educate the Whole Child.

DG: I am fortunate to work in school that has a strong sense of community. It is a K-12 school with a cap at twenty-two students per grade. As a result, there is a special closeness among staff, children and families. Through school-wide service-learning projects, the infusion of character education and responsive classroom strategies into the curricula, a successful inclusion program and active communication among all parties, we are able to teach the whole child effectively at the Hoboken Charter School. In my own classroom, I try to create a sense of community on a daily basis, especially with my homeroom. We set class goals, raise funds as a class and then take trips when we have reached the goals. Some of the trips have included college tours, ice skating in Central Park and even an overnight trip to Washington, D.C. Being good to one another and encouraging one another are essential behaviors in a safe classroom in which students can grow and learn. If there is ever teasing or hurtful actions in the classroom, I immediately address it with the class because learning doesn't occur when students are uncomfortable. History and literature also provide great sources of wisdom and important role models for students to learn how to be citizens with integrity. I also find it important to always keep multiple intelligences and differentiated instruction strategies in mind when lesson planning and creating assessments. This way all children are supported and challenged as they gain confidence and progress in reaching their independent goals.

LP: You mentioned that you work in a school that has a strong sense of community. How did that come about? Was it close-knit before you arrived? What intentional steps are you taking as a school community to remain close, involved, and connected?

DG: The school is very small which plays a significant role in the closeness of the school community. HCS serves students in grades K-12 and has a cap of twenty-two students per grade as per our charter. Since it is so small, it is easy for faculty to meet across grade levels and disciplines to discuss needs of students, potential gaps in the curricula, etc. Teachers are very tight with one another as a result. With our school-wide service-learning events and the many opportunities for families to come and celebrate student achievements throughout the school year, parents and faculty build a strong rapport in their efforts to help each student and the broader school community as a unified team. The service-learning events have also connected HCS to the community of Hoboken more, and many residents associate important community improvement projects with our school and its students. Every year, numerous HCS alumni return to participate in school events because these events played special roles in their lives.

LP: Can you see the results of the close-knit community in the academic achievement of the students? Have you been able to definitively link the service-learning projects with the students' academic success?

DG: What I have found is that the students who have been with us the longest are typically the students who are most successful academically at our school. I believe this is due to several factors, but one very important one is that a strong relationship has developed among faculty, students and families. Over the years, teachers who have been at the school for a while have built relationships with families as they have earned their trust with siblings or cousins. Many parents begin to feel more welcome in the school environment after a few years of positive experiences, I have found as well. This relationship with families is essential in student success. Students begin to recognize that an entire team of people cares about them and wants to support them in all ways possible. In addition, teachers can learn more about the students from parents, and parents can learn ways to support their children academically at home from teachers. Service-learning projects engage students in ways I haven't seen with any other approach. Since such projects are empowering and often student initiated and developed, there is a great enthusiasm that accompanies the work. Student learning is at its best when there is passion, curiosity and depth of study and these go hand-in-hand with service-learning.

LP: What is the biggest challenge you see in your field of work? What is an obstacle you experienced in your profession?

DG: The biggest challenge I believe we face in our educational system is the disengagement and around education among many students and even many parents in our country. Sometimes I think about the money that is going into education nationwide and wonder how test results of our students are not higher. Years ago I taught in a public school in the central mountains of Costa Rica which served sixty students in kindergarten through sixth grade. My students were children of coffee pickers who made $2 a day. We had no books and no computers in the two-room schoolhouse. Kids arrived with a notebook, pencil and an eagerness to learn, and they did learn. There were no special education services, there was no differentiated instruction, there were no field trips and there were very few hands-on activities, but again the kids learned. I know this situation is typical for children around the world and that so many children don't even have the opportunity to attend school. I can only imagine the amazing outcomes that would result had those kids in that Costa Rican village who care so much about learning and whose parents were such advocates for their children's education had access to the resources and services the students even in the lowest performing schools in our country receive. Yes, there are flaws in our educational system. There are teachers who do not inspire and who should not be in the classrooms and there needs to be more extensive training and assistance available for teachers who are struggling but have a great deal of potential.  The greatest reform, however, would be achieved, in my opinion, if communication among parents and teachers was improved, if all parents spoke with their children on a daily basis about the importance of a strong education and if there was greater accountability demanded of teachers, students and parents.

When I first began teaching, I received very little support. Because I had majored in education in undergrad which included student teaching and because I had a teaching license, I did not get supervisory help when I was really struggling in my first job. Classroom management was difficult for me as was differentiating instruction. It felt like a sink or swim philosophy at that job, and I was sinking more than swimming. I pushed through the challenges while thinking of quitting daily for that first year. I spoke with strong teachers and found a school that suited my needs better. I was able to improve upon many of my weaknesses, but such opportunities don’t arise for everyone.  Too often I have seen this situation in schools. Starting teachers with great potential are often ineffective and then leave the profession within a few years. With more mentoring, team work and needs-based professional development, I believe instruction and teacher retention would improve dramatically.   

LP: So what’s next for the outstanding Deirdra Grode? You’ve got a platform to share your message, you’ve got several years of experience under your belt…where will you go from here?

DG: I am really not sure what is next for me. I love teaching and I love the school in which I teach, so I could see myself doing the same thing for quite a while. Currently I am in an Urban Educational Leadership M.A. program – supervision and administration appeal to me, plus I’ve seen so many amazing teachers leave due to poor administrations. I doubt I’d work as an administrator forever, though – I think I’d like to create a charter school at some point. Public policy is another arena in which I have always hoped to become involved in some capacity. Working in a charter school with a leadership role (that of the middle school facilitator) has afforded me many of these opportunities while continuing to teach. I have also greatly appreciated the opportunities to share my experiences with the larger education community as the OYEA recipient. For example, I will have a monthly column in ASCD’s Education Update beginning in May. Who knows? This OYEA thing really makes you feel like you can do anything, right? It’s wild!
 

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