Q&A with Jason Crader

Q&A with

CRADER JASON

Meet Jason Crader! A native of Little Rock, Arkansas, EAST facilitator at Carver Magnet Elementary School and one of four individuals selected as Little Rock Family’s 2020 Amazing Educator! We sat down with Jason and learned that he is a graduate of Arkansas State University, he recently ran his 16th marathon, and when he stepped into the role of facilitator, his first thought was “I don’t think I can do this!” With a quote he lives by guiding him, ’All of our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them’ stated by Walt Disney, he has no doubt succeeded!

Q

What was the mose memorable project/ moment in EAST you'd like to share

A: A project we worked on last year was the Book Bracket Battle (www.bookbracketbattle. com). The students working on this project wanted to help improve the love of reading at our school. They had noticed that both students and teachers weren’t reading much, so they wanted to do something about it. They contacted local celebrities to partner with them in filming ’read alouds’ at our school. They recorded and edited 16 different stories that were shown to students over the course of three months in a tournament-style game. Two books/readers battled each other weekly, and students voted for their favorite books. At the end of the competition, students selected an overall book to be the Book Bracket Battle Champion. The kids working on this project learned many technical things in regards to shooting videos and editing them, but they also saw growth in reading at school. They calculated a 112% improvement in students reaching their Accelerated Reader Goals after the project was implemented. The students who created this project are in middle school now. I heard from one student recently that she used her audio and editing skills she learned while doing this project to help with a summer theater production.

Did you know Little Rock Family is a magazine that was started to help busy parents be more successful at work and home by providing a resource for family news and kid-friendly activities?

If you could creatively compare your growth to a plant, animal, vegetable (anything that grows really), what would it be, and why? Q

A: I’ll relate my growth to an oak tree. I’m still in the seedling stage...meaning I have much growth ahead of me. I’ve learned a lot this past year as a new facilitator, and I’ve grown a great deal since the beginning as a seed a year ago, but it will be quite a while before I consider myself an "adult tree." It takes an oak years of growth before it matures. My growth has been slow and steady, but I’m forming a strong taproot now that will hopefully allow this tree to be strong.

Q

Do you believe EAST has helped you grow as a person?

A: Yes. Stepping into this unknown role pushed me out of my comfort zone. I didn’t know anything about EAST until my principal asked me to consider taking this position. It’s much different from teaching in a regular classroom. I’ve had to adjust, readjust, and adjust some more, but it’s been a great move for me. It really is the ideal job for me right now.

What advice would you give to an educator considering becoming a facilitator? Q

A: In the words of Nike, JUST DO IT! The ex Dallas Cowboy head football coach, Jimmy Johnson, once asked this question, "Do you want to be safe and good, or do you want to take a chance and be great?" I’d probably ask them this question and then encourage them to "take a chance" with EAST.

Do you believe EAST has helped you grow as a facilitator? When you're not shaping the young minds of tomorrow, where can we find you? Q Q

How do you plan to continue being an amazing educator?

A: Yes. The folks at the EAST Initiative all do a great job in not only preparing but sustaining facilitators through outstanding professional development opportunities. These meetings are always well planned to help all of us grow.

A: I’m usually putting in miles on the road or at the gym..always training for my next marathon.

A: Building relationships is key to having success in all walks of life, but especially in education. I plan to continue building relationships with my students, parents, colleagues, and community partners.

What advice would you give to EAST Students that are graduating soon?

Q

What would you like to see happen with EAST in the future?

Q

What's next for Jason Crader?

A: Follow what you’re passionate about. If you’re not passionate about anything, find out what excites you and then do it. Pursue these areas of passion, and they will lead to a full life.

A: What would you like to see happen with EAST in the future? I’d love to see EAST expand into every school in Arkansas. All students need exposure to this type of class, and many flourish inside EAST while they flounder elsewhere.

A: I just signed up for the Florida Ironman, so I’m going to be doing a lot of swimming, biking and running. If I wasn’t an educator, I would definitely be an outdoor adventure athlete!

SUPERINTENDENT GROWTH PERSPECTIVE

Batesville, Arkansas, is the oldest township in the state. A place that is known as “The Christmas City” of Arkansas and recognized for its natural beauty, outdoor recreation, and historical site seeing and is now becoming a place known for an excellent education. Meet Michael Hester. Current Superintendent of the Batesville School District, an avid supporter of EAST, and most importantly, a believer that equity in society starts with investment in education. Batesville, one of 10 school districts in the state of Arkansas that has EAST at every level (elementary, intermediate, junior high, and high school), has been a part of the EAST network since 2009. When asked about the growth of the district and the role EAST played in its expansion, Superintendent Hester was more than happy to share his mission and passion for EAST and the students of Batesville.

As he serves his third year in the role of superintendent, Hester shared that he and the district allow the motto ‘students first’ to guide them as they strategize for success. The district outlines its goals for student achievement, attracting and retaining staff, efficiency and innovation, and better networking with partners. With Arkansas being a state that implements school choice’, school districts look for ways to remain competitive by using programs like EAST to attract and retain students and staff. Hester expressed that EAST is the cutting edge of innovation that the Batesville School District is looking for in their teaching pedagogy. “EAST is student-centered, and that puts STUDENTS FIRST! You always win as a school district when you are student-centered with teaching and learning.”

Research shows that when teachers are student-centered, students form deeper connections inside and outside the classroom. Once students feel connected, educators can help them maximize their potential and facilitate customized individual learning to the students’ interests. “Putting students first is what is happening at Batesville. EAST is a natural driver of that agenda, which has grown our district an additional 245 students in the last three years,” according to Hester.

Growth has been an essential part of the district’s success. Even with the additional students, Hester and the district leadership continue striving to create an environment where students feel safe and empowered to take a responsible risk with learning. That is why they believe programs like EAST are imperative to continued improvement. “Cultivating the climate of responsible risk-taking is a science and art much like teaching. Our mission in Batesville School District is to ‘Empower Today’s Students For Tomorrow’s Challenges.'' If students and teachers don’t see responsible risktaking modeled in their schools and community or are not empowered by their leaders, then we’ve missed the most significant opportunity we have in education, to influence the future.”

When Hester moved to Arkansas nearly four years ago, he had heard of EAST but had never experienced the program up close. He shared that his past experiences with other innovative programs made him excited about EAST. He describes himself as an instant fan of EAST because it is student-driven, and he was elated to learn that the district has been a member of

DID YOU KNOW? Arkansas is one of 21, soon to be 22, states with ‘school choice’? School Choice giving parents the power and opportunity to choose the schools their children attend based on their needs, interests, and learning style rather than their address. www.edchoice.org

the EAST network for 11 years. “Our Batesville Junior High School was the first EAST program that implemented in our area in 2009-2010, and we have continued to expand due to the excitement exemplified by students and parents. We believe that all students should have access to the ‘good stuff ’, and EAST is the good stuff,” said Hester.”

Superintendent Hester recalls visiting with students to get feedback on how to improve the school district and set a strategic plan when he first stepped into the role. He expressed that he would reach out to EAST students first because they were known for problem-solving and taking risks in their daily learning. “They have become the leaders of our campus because of their innovation and independent learning skills. Creating a culture of responsible risk-taking is contagious once you empower students and staff.” The EAST students were not only helpful in developing the strategic plan but served as community liaisons and allies when changes were met with resistance from the adults in the community. Their message was to give the new thinking a chance and listen to all the details before judging it. Hester valued their tenacity and attributed the district being able to move the community forward because the students convinced the adults to take a risk themselves.

Two projects that the EAST students of Batesville school district have completed that have significantly impacted the community have been in partnership with the Chamber of Commerce and Pioneer Cemetery, the oldest cemetery in Arkansas. Because of these student-led projects, Batesville now has extensive bike trails and signage and has become a big economic development factor for the city in tourism. Pioneer Cemetery holds a lot of Arkansas history that is now more efficiently and creatively documented via a map. From past governors to civil war veterans and native Americans, the cemetery is now more visitor-friendly in efforts to preserve Arkansas’s history for generations to come.

“EAST has international projects where we network with other students and communities across the globe. These projects create networks and opportunities outside the state of Arkansas that students never knew where possible before they enrolled in EAST. The projects are handson learning with real-world experiences; it doesn’t get any better than that.”

• Strong Instructional Leadership • Clear & Focused Mission • Safe & Orderly Environment • Climate of High Expectations • Frequent Monitoring of Student Progress • Positive Home-School Relations • Create Opportunities to Learn & Time on Task

RESULTS THUS FAR: • Maintained the best district student achievement test scores in the area. • Progressed from last place to first place on teacher salary in the Independence County area because we found money in our innovation and efficiencies. • Implemented a 1:1 Chromebook initiative in grades PreK-12 and grades 6-12 is a 24/7/365 day initiative to close the digital divide in our rural community for higher student achievement. • Batesville has the state’s first solar energy project and are pursuing a “Net Zero” utility bill status as a district to free up budget funds for teacher salaries. • Implemented the state’s largest energy efficiency project to help find money for teacher salaries.

EAST WAS SUCH A SUCCESS AT THE BATESVILLE JUNIOR HIGH THAT THE DISTRICT WANTED ALL SCHOOLS TO HAVE THE ‘GOOD STUFF’ SO THEY EXPANDED TO ALL FIVE CAMPUSES. • Batesville High School - 2010-11 • Sulphur Rock Elementary School - 2013-14 • Eagle Mountain Elementary School - 2014-15 • West Elementary School - 2017-18