โ๐ ๐ ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ฑ ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ธ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐ถ๐ณ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐๐ฐ๐ต๐ผ๐ผ๐น ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ? ๐ง๐ต๐ฎ๐โ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ฒโ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐น๐ผ๐ผ๐ธ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ.โ
The words lingered, accompanied by a patient but determined stare. I didnโt know quite what to sayโI had come to the modest apartment in southeast Denver unannounced and uninvited, knocking on doors of families of 5th graders with the promise of a new school for their children. We had an eager staff, boxes of supplies, and a beautiful building space. We were just missing one thing โ the kids.
So when the bright eyes turned up at me, confident of her own potential that was waiting, quite simply, to be unlocked by the โbestโ school, I said all that I could in that moment. โYes โ weโre going to have the best school. And we need you to be a part of it.โ
Her family, leaning heavily across the table, listened as the message was relayed back in careful Tigrinya. After a moment of silent contemplation, beaming smiles spread slowly across faces and hands were extended in gratitude. A promise had been made. It was a special day, indeed.
From there, it was simpleโwe had a promise to keep. There was no going back.
Over the coming years, the talented teachers, leaders and students of DSST: Byers (later Cedar) built something special and kept that promise, immediately becoming the #1 school in Denver and earning the prestigious National Blue Ribbon Award from the U.S. Department of Education in the โExemplary High Performingโ category in our first year of eligibility in 2019.
Today, thousands of students have experienced years of the trajectory-changing culture and instruction that have produced โraving fansโ from kids and families alike, and the building continues to attract journalists, researchers, politicians, and educational leaders eager to learn and replicate the results.
Through all of this, Iโve become an evangelist for excellent schools and the structures and people that underpin their results for kids. After years of studying, innovating and building in my own classroom, itโs now my privilege to study excellent literacy classrooms and connect top-tier teachers from different contexts to each other and to the lessons and practices that really work.
This blog is an arm of my venture, A-Team Education, which is dedicated to the art of excellent teaching.
My goal? To document and elevate classrooms that donโt just feel good, but actually drive learning and achievement. I canโt wait to share with you what I find along the way.
