Case Study: Arkansas Middle School Unlocks Student Potential and Improves Teacher Efficacy

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Urban
100% FRL
Middle School
NWEA
AR

Cloverdale Middle School

Little Rock, AR

In 2020, the teachers and administrators at Cloverdale Middle School were fully committed to transforming what was once among the lowest-performing schools in the state to a high-achieving, healing, and resiliency- centered community. The leadership team at Cloverdale adopted MindPrint in conjunction with their commitment to developing a Wellness School that would effectively support the whole child.

Overview

In 2020, the teachers and administrators at Cloverdale Middle School were fully committed to transforming what was once among the lowest-performing schools in the state to a high-achieving, healing, and resiliency- centered community. The leadership team at Cloverdale adopted MindPrint in conjunction with their commitment to developing a Wellness School that would effectively support the whole child.

Challenge

Cloverdale teachers and administrators recognized the impact of trauma and toxic stress on their community, their students, and themselves.

Cloverdale set a goal to foster a healing environment for all learners and educators throughout the school. As such, relationships between teachers and students were key. To ensure all learners truly developed learning partnerships in the classroom, Cloverdale educators not only needed to know who they are as teachers and learners, but also who their students are personally. This knowledge is foundational for creating culturally responsive teaching practices. Cloverdale set out to find solutions that could help them achieve their goal.

Solution

Cloverdale began using MindPrint, with both teachers and students, in 2020. The first stage of implementation was for all Cloverdale teachers to take the MindPrint assessment and review their own results. Teachers had to examine their learner profiles and consider how their own learning preferences and strategies might influence their teaching practices. They had to consider whether they were only reaching students who look like them or learn like them, and what they need to do differently so all students can learn to their potential. The MindPrint data gathered from teachers taking the assessment highlighted that Cloverdale needed to embrace teacher variability as much as they needed to embrace learner variability.

Next, all students took the MindPrint Assessment.

The teachers participated in regular PLCs that incorporated MindPrint reports to enable them to make data-informed decisions about how to best support students. In the PLCs, Cloverdale teachers and MindPrint coaches looked at the students’ MindPrint data and NWEA MAP achievement data as a team.

The MindPrint data shed new light on students and how they learn best. For some teachers, it was hard to go beyond the narrative they had about certain students. The data showed capable students weren’t succeeding, and the educators asked themselves what they as adults needed to do differently to change that. Cloverdale teachers took this to heart and they took the time to see each student’s strengths.

Assistant Principal Crystal Green-Braswell explained why she thinks MindPrint is a valuable resource for her school:

MindPrint is many things but above all else MindPrint is a new lens. A new lens on our students. A new lens on our teachers. A new lens on ourselves. The only thing I can compare it to is, stay with me, going to the eye doctor. You go in because everything is fuzzy. Sure, you can see but it’s all fuzzy. And then the doctor puts on those lenses, “Is it 1 or 2, 1 or 2, 1 or 2?” And then, “Boom it’s all clear.” It’s like that with MindPrint. You wonder about your kids and then you get the MindPrint and it’s like putting on the perfect pair of glasses. Seriously, this is game changing.
Result

Cloverdale administrators stated that MindPrint was the tool that united their teachers in understanding and empathy. Many Cloverdale teachers never had professional development like this before and although some were initially resistant, it was vital to changing the culture at the school. MindPrint laid the groundwork for teachers to truly believe that students can live up to high expectations. Following the first MindPrint professional development session, teachers expressed enthusiasm for the approach and confidence in their ability to begin to implement new strategies with their students.

MindPrint unlocked what students are capable of versus what they were achieving academically. This knowledge shifted teacher expectations. Understanding what learning blocks are there, what things we need to put in place, helped us make informed decisions about what we could do based on what students do well and helping them to connect more with those deficit areas through what they do well.
Crystal Green-Braswell - Assistant Principal  |

Her comments were echoed by Assistant Principal Don Porter:

Imagine how empowering it is for a teacher to say I know my kids can learn this, and now I know what to give them to get them there! Yes I know you can do it, and I know your strengths, so now I’m going to play on those strengths to really get you where you need to be so your possibilities are endless! That’s strength-based learning! MindPrint is going to help us see how they learn so that we have a roadmap for what to do to deliver on our promise.
Don Porter - Assistant Principal  |

Cloverdale administrators and educators analyzed the MindPrint data in the context of the school’s NWEA MAP Growth scores.

Perhaps most impactful was the unmasking of the strong STEM potential of Cloverdale students. Cloverdale NWEA MAP Growth Math scores lag far behind the students’ reading scores with only 10% of students performing at grade level. Even with weaker attention, 60% of students were in the middle to well above average range on MindPrint’s Abstract Reasoning task, the greatest predictor of math potential. This chart reinforced teachers’ confidence in the potential of their students despite their scores on the standardized math test. It also highlighted the importance of using a math curriculum that is more visually based so students would not require as much high-effort reading in math class while still following a rigorous math curriculum.

Looking Ahead

In year four of implementation, Cloverdale Middle School teachers are committed to using the MindPrint results and strategies to enhance their approach to whole class instruction, including:

+ Continued emphasis on Wellness given its high potential impact on behavior and academic outcomes. They brainstormed ways to encourage students to put away devices, go to sleep earlier, and improve healthy eating habits.

+ Building in opportunities for students to recharge at regular intervals so they can be fully present and focused during lessons. They discussed opportunities for regular breaks during and between classes. Some grades agreed to use common checklists at the beginning of all classes to help students develop good habits and behaviors (e.g., turning off devices, removing distractions).

+ Providing more visual and spatial activities (and less reading) in STEM classes to enable students to demonstrate their full conceptual knowledge.

+ Continued commitment to the use of MAP Growth and other standardized measures to track student progress.

+ Implementation of MindPrint’s BOOST Yourself study skills course to build student self-awareness and ownership of their learning.

We were stuck in a rut with our academic data and our SEL data. It kept telling us what our students couldn’t do. We were just almost stagnant. MindPrint allowed us to understand what our students were really capable of. Those complex reasoning skills were there, but we couldn’t see that because of the learning blocks that were happening due to executive functioning skills. MindPrint gave us an opportunity to decide what skills we needed to build.
Crystal Green-Braswell - Assistant Principal  |
Don Porter
Assistant Principal
Every child deserves to learn at deep levels. We need to be intentional about doing what it takes to ensure every kid can succeed. MindPrint helps us see how they learn and gives a roadmap for what to do to deliver on our promise

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  • Urban
  • 100% FRL
  • 33% ELL
  • 97% minority enrollment
  • Middle School (Grades 6-8)