The "House" Concept - Our Journey of Becoming the "Change."

As a principal of an elementary campus, I am always looking to improve student performance in the classroom.  Through the years, I have been involved in different forms of transformation from incorporating multiple types of technology into every classroom to encouraging flexible seating for students.  I believe there is a need of transforming classrooms to relate to the way our children need to learn to be successful.  Let's face it, children of this generation are used to being entertained all the time.  Most have technology at their fingertips.  They are growing up in an era where the expectation is constant gratification.  What I have learned is that students will not stay engaged in instruction unless it is relevant to them.   In order for our children to be ready for the workforce and college  after graduation, educators must prepare them for the world in which they will work and live.  In my opinion this means that educators must have a growth mindset to step outside of their comfort zone and adapt instruction to engage all students in learning that is relevant to them.  This requires ongoing staff development on methodology and best practices that are constantly changing.  As educators, we know that "change" is a constant that we must keep embracing in order to reach our 21st Century Learners. 


So, I began my journey of seeking a new and innovative way to transform my campus.  I wanted an environment where all children could make relevant connections while engaging their minds in an instructional environment that is comfortable and relational.  I began this process by forming a Transformational Leadership Committee of teachers and administrators.  I charged this committee to begin researching new ideas and concepts that would transform our campus.  But first, I knew that we had to begin with looking at the way we think.  We started by reading the book, Mindset by Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D.  The philosophy and explanation of growth mindset vs. fixed mindset gave us a foundation to begin.  We learned that "we as educators" have to change our mindset in order to grow.  The next year, our campus did a book study on Move your Bus, by Ron Clark.  Ron Clark is famous for his "Outside the Box" ways of teaching.  The characters in the book are fictional based on real life types of teachers/employees.  Ron Clark describes different scenarios that he has witnessed as a Principal of his teachers personalities and differences in work ethic.  He goes on to differentiate the "Runners" from the "Joggers, Walkers, and Riders."  Even though there were moments in the book that offended some of my teachers, the overall perception was understood by all that we must keep "Moving the Bus" in order for our students to be successful.  We simply cannot be complacent because it's comfortable for us and expect to have success with our students.  We must keep changing and growing our mindsets and the way we deliver instruction.  Our most recent book study was on a book called Above the Line, by Urban Meyer.  Urban Meyer is a football coach for Ohio State.  Throughout his book, he shared lessons he has learned as a football coach that can be applied to any type of business or organization.  The book was very inspiring and motivating with lots of scenarios of how to lead an organization to success and go Above the Line.  These three books, by three very different authors, provided a foundation for us to build upon in our philosophy of our core beliefs.


I knew that we were moving in the right direction.  Then something magical happened!  Last Spring, the principals in my district had an opportunity to visit Coppell ISD, a suburb of Dallas, to tour their elementary campuses.  We were each encouraged to bring a few staff members with us.  Coppell is a high performing district in Texas that has been known to be transformative and innovative in their instructional practices, structures, and product based learning.  We each chose two campuses to tour.  The campus my group decided to visit had successfully implemented The School Wide Enrichment Model, created by Dr. Renzuli; a guru on gifted education.  This is a model that we also had implemented on all of our campuses in our district, so we wanted to see what they were doing differently and how it was going at their school.  The second campus we visited had implemented the "House" concept.  They were in their third year of implementation.  The campus itself was magnificent!  It was brand new, and looked more like a Google Corporation for kids than an elementary school.  We were wide eyed and in awe as the principal toured us around her campus showing us the design of the open concept two story building.  The building was truly something to see, but the new building wasn't the magic that inspired us so much.  It was the infrastructure of the way classes were grouped together in "Houses" that enthralled us so much.  The school consisted of 5 "Houses" of children.  Each "House" had Kindergarten through 5th grade classes in their own section of the building that they called home.  The teachers or aka "Designers of the Instruction" were all part of a "House."  Within this "House," students or aka "Learners" built relationships with all of their "Designers" because they were all on the same instructional schedule.  This meant that all classes within the "House" went to lunch together, Recess, P.E., Art, Music, Library, etc.  This enabled the "Designers" to get to know all students in the "House" as well as plan instruction together for vertical alignment.  As the principal talked to us about so many of the positive aspects of this concept, one thing resonated with me the most.  The word Relationships.  This concept lends itself to teachers and students building strong relationships.  The teachers and students stayed in the same "House" year after year.  So, students know their teachers well.  There is a comfort level between teacher and student.  Students don't have the anxiety of getting to know a new teacher and new classmates at the beginning of each year because they just move with their class within their "House" from one year to the next.  We witnessed happy kids who were all engaged in their learning.  Older students were modeling as they demonstrated a science experiment that both the younger and the older students were studying in Science.  We all know that research shows that the best way to retain a skill is to teach it to someone else.  Another powerful piece that we learned about the "House" concept is the power it gives for teachers to vertically align the curriculum and instruction.  The "Designers" in the "House" all plan together weekly to vertically align their instruction so that students can learn the same skills simultaneously at their own level.  This enables "Designers" to move "Learners" to different classrooms to work on skills that are on their level.  Ultimately, it is the best way to individualize instruction for every child. 


I left Lee Elementary that day with my head spinning of excitement of how the implementation of the "House" concept on my campus could ultimately change the way we design and deliver instruction to meet the needs of all students.  I absolutely loved the relationship piece of the "House" concept.  We believe that content should come after relationships.  The idea of students being together in one "House" for all of their elementary years seemed perfect for developing life long relationships. 


I knew that if I decided to move forward that is would not be easy.  In fact, it would most likely be the most challenging experience of my career.......