Relentlessly Removing Barriers

By Melissa Barlow, Yukon High School Principal

As we begin a new school year, it is vital that we not lose sight of where our students have been, while we prepare to lead them forward to success. Oftentimes we categorize students based on their test scores, graduation progression, or their negative behaviors. However, we must see them for their potential, provide them opportunities that overreach their situations. Educator James Vint encourages us by stating, “You must see in kids what they don’t see in themselves. See them for what they are, and then teach them accordingly. You may be the only hope in the lives of many of your students. Believe in every single one of them every single day.” This dedication, in the form of a vision and mission, propels our work in education as we must re-establish the “why” behind the work we love.

Teams at Yukon High School (YHS) consist of administrators, faculty and staff who have committed, through their vision, to sustain high academic and behavioral standards for all students by removing barriers and recognizing the value in every individual. Our commitment to being relentless in removing barriers, begins with the dedicated work that we do within our Professional Learning Community (PLC).

Student-Focused Data Analysis and Intervention

During weekly team collaboration time, teachers and facilitating administrators discuss the four critical questions that guide PLC work, placing emphasis on the collection of data on essential standard mastery of every individual student. In the current educational climate, where student learning gaps are deeper than ever, it is critical that we determine the specific areas of deficiency for every student. Student understanding and classroom success, in the form of qualitative and quantitative data, drives team conversations regarding interventions for struggling students. Collaboration leads to focused data analysis, which in turn leads to the development of intervention geared towards individual students.

Intervention, our systematic response to identified deficiencies, requires the removal of multiple barriers for students. Identification leads this process, followed closely by the components of adequate response. Twice a week YHS offers Rethink, thirty minutes of intervention built into the school day. This intervention is often leveled and the instructional responsibility is shared by all members of the teaching team, on a rotating basis. With all teachers having the same commitment to the goal of student success, all students have an advocate to ensure they are being given the best opportunity to learn.

Academic Behavior Focus

Teamwork extends beyond the collaboration mentioned and is a component of the assistant principal and counselor pairings at YHS. Every student is connected to an administrator-counselor team, based on their last name, removing the barrier of disconnect and providing students and families with a single link within the school community. During weekly collaboration, administrators and counselors identify students who are at-risk academically, behaviorally or emotionally. There are resources available for each of these areas in which students are struggling, including Reboot our intervention for students struggling with academic behaviors. These teams select a total of 20 students, who are often failing multiple classes, to attend a three-hour morning session where they are given specific task lists containing such items as missing assignments, assessment retakes and additional learning opportunities. Reboot has allowed educators in our school to display our commitment to removing barriers for these students by facilitating dedication to increasing learning and improving academic behaviors.

Equitable Grading

In recent years, Yukon Public Schools implemented 50-based grading at the secondary level. Countless educators at YHS committed themselves to developing a school-wide grading system that supports this initiative and yields a grading system focused on learning. The grading guidelines require educators to build practice assignments that directly correlate to essential standards and mastery assessments that provide valuable feedback on teaching and learning. Students may earn no lower than a 50 percent on a practice assignment. However, mastery assessments are exempt from this requirement to ensure the score reflects the mastery level of the individual student. Removing this uneven scoring differential builds capacity in students to see the value in practice to reach their mastery goal.

Relevant Relationships

Building relationships has proven to be a key component in reaching all students, increasing their engagement in school and the learning process. In addition to teachers providing critical insight into student understanding of the content, they also play a key role in identifying the social and emotional needs of individual students. Josh Shipp, former YHS student and motivational speaker, says, “Every kid is ONE caring adult away from being a success story.”

This quote is the cornerstone to the most valuable work that we do, building relationships with the students we encounter each day. At YHS, this dedication translates into a process called the SOS list, which asks educators to identify the students they are connected to through an analysis of their level of individual personal understanding. Teachers are asked to place their name next to student names based on facts ranging from knowing something about a student outside of their classroom, knowing a student’s academic performance outside of their subject, to being able to communicate with a student regarding their behavior triggers. This identification allows educators to claim and build stronger connections with students.

The Result is Hope

Over the past several years, our work at YHS has yielded an increase in our graduation rate and a significant decrease, from 3.4% to 1.52%, in the number of F’s earned each semester. We continue to strive to fulfill our vision through our dedication to removing barriers by providing intervention during the school day, communicating academic expectations, and connecting every student with a caring and supportive adult. However, at the core of our work we focus on providing HOPE. Every student deserves to be successful, regardless of their current or past situations. The hope we lay out for our students, allows them to see the light of success in their educational journey. ■