September 15, 2022
Timely Systems to Enrich, Intervene, & Remediate at Roxbury Village School
By: Beth Kellogg
Throughout the summer, our school gardens were bursting with all sorts of vegetables such as kale, swiss chard, zucchini, and more. Other things that have been planted, like tomatoes, corn, and potatoes needed a little more time in the Vermont late summer sun before they were ready to harvest. Every plant has its own timeline and unique needs in order to grow.
In our garden, seeds are planted at the same time of year. As they grow into plants and eventually blossom into vegetables, they have access to sunshine, water, and regular garden maintenance they need to grow. However, those of you who grow zucchinis, will notice that some are ready to harvest earlier than others. Some zucchinis need a little more time on the vine before they are ready. In the meantime, we continue to water and take care of those plants until the other zucchinis are ready to be picked. A parallel can be drawn to learning at school. Let’s look at first grade math as an example. In 1st grade, our priority standard is for these students to add and subtract within 20, demonstrating fluency for addition and subtraction within 10. This means that a first grade student should be able to quickly know 8+2, 7+3, 10-4, 10-8, etc. Some students learn these facts quickly and are ready to move on while others may need a little more time to master fact fluency. Teachers then work with students who need more time by offering more targeted instruction and opportunities for additional practice. We have a system of support and intervention in place that provides every student the opportunity to demonstrate measurable growth and success. Within the MRPS district Theory of Growth, this represents the pillar for “Timely System to enrich, intervene, and remediate.”
Timely – We are looking at data on a frequent and regular basis to assess where students are in their learning and their mastery of standards. Keeping our fingers on the pulse of student understanding provides the opportunity to move quickly when students need support to move forward.
System – We have a framework in place where teachers work together to evaluate data and collaborate to improve instruction and student learning. We have systems of intervention in place wherein students are provided additional time and support for learning.
Enrich – Enrichment is provided for students who have mastered a particular priority standard and are ready to go deeper in their learning. This is typically done with small groups of students and may provide additional instruction at a higher level.
Remediate – Remediation is provided for students who need additional lessons, support, opportunities, and time to master their learning. This is typically done with small groups of students who may benefit from reteaching and need more time to practice and master the skill.
Intervene – Intervention is provided for students to need even more support and focused instruction will be provided to close knowledge gaps. Intervention is a more formal process for helping students who struggle. Specific skill deficits are identified and progress is formally tracked.
This year, throughout Roxbury Village School, every student will have a WIN block (What I Need) – a 30 minute session with a teacher to get instruction tailored to their needs as a student. In guiding our students toward mastery of our proficiency based learning standards, the guaranteed and viable curriculum is the constant and time is the variable. This means that every student will have access to the same learning within their grade level, but those who need more time to master the standard will have the time (and the additional instruction) to do so.
At Roxbury Village School, we believe all means ALL! Every single student who walks through the doors of Roxbury Village School (or any MRPS school) has the opportunity, instruction, and support to achieve our priority standards and show measurable growth throughout the school year – every year. We have a relentless focus on student learning as the primary mission of our school. All students have an equal opportunity to learn. To that end, we hold instructional minutes sacred to ensure enough time is provided for teachers to teach and for students to learn. We know higher levels of learning has the potential to transform student lives by creating opportunities our students may never have imagined as they leave Roxbury Village School, transition to Main Street Middle School, then Montpelier High School where they will graduate and head into their future. Their high school diploma must represent a quality standard of readiness for college, career, military, or whatever the future may hold for any one of our graduates. We are ever mindful of this as we build a limitless future for every learner.
