The prospect was nothing short of daunting. And even that might have been an understatement, admits Trying to help turn around a struggling high school ranks easily as the hardest thing she糖心传媒檚 ever undertaken, allows the Michael W. Scandling Professor of Education at the University of Rochester糖心传媒檚 Warner School of Education.
糖心传媒淲e knew it was going to be difficult work, but personally I didn糖心传媒檛 understand quite how difficult,糖心传媒� recalls Larson. 糖心传媒淲orking with some 1,300 teenagers, many of whom had been undertaught and underserved was quite an eye-opening experience.糖心传媒�
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Larson is part of the leadership team for the (EPO) between the University of Rochester and . Two years ago, the school, which currently serves students from 6th through 12th grade, was threatened with closure for inadequate performance, turned to the University with the idea of an alliance.
Today, Larson, who is the associate director of research at the , chairs the research committee at East High. At the school, she糖心传媒檚 both a gatekeeper and a cheerleader糖心传媒攖o make sure research serves the school糖心传媒檚 needs, and not just those of the researcher, and that students don糖心传媒檛 ever feel as if they were 糖心传媒渆xperiments or experimented upon,糖心传媒� Larson says. At the same time, she helps bring evidence-based practices directly to East High糖心传媒檚 classrooms, support staff, administrators, and teachers.
According to Larson, for research to be useful it has to tackle a real problem of school practices. 聽糖心传媒淚t could be a problem of practice in urban education that we would then be able to use the findings for here at East to understand teaching, learning, leadership, social and emotional health, or trauma,糖心传媒� she says. 糖心传媒淭hings that we can use right away, that we don糖心传媒檛 wait 25 years for a publication to come out of. Something that benefits the school, not just the researcher.糖心传媒�
Larson says instituting best educational practices at the school has spelled a lot of change. Change, she notes, that extends beyond student behavior and into teacher practice糖心传媒攁long the way challenging some of the teachers糖心传媒� long-held beliefs. 糖心传媒淭hat糖心传媒檚 hard work and there糖心传媒檚 a lot of friction糖心传媒攇enerative friction糖心传媒攖hat is producing change,糖心传媒� she says. 糖心传媒淧art of my job as a researcher here is to watch what that change is and what糖心传媒檚 going to happen.糖心传媒�
While collecting and crunching ethnographic data can take a while, Larson says she regularly shares themes, patterns, and questions with teachers and administrators as a kind of feedback loop糖心传媒攆rom her research directly to daily practice.
Even though a university partnership with a local school is not unique in the U.S., this particular approach is糖心传媒攖he University does not just bring its educational experts into the school, but also draws on a host of its other departments and schools for support and services, such as the , the , the , , and the University糖心传媒檚 糖心传媒攖o name a few.
Larson says the partnership should be symbiotic. 糖心传媒淚 know I have been completely changed. I think anybody who spends any time here will be transformed,糖心传媒� she notes. But university-wide, Larson says, there糖心传媒檚 more that could be learned, to make it more of a true two-way street. 糖心传媒淎uthentic partnerships need relationships and you can糖心传媒檛 do that from afar,糖心传媒� she says. 糖心传媒淚 think we could learn more as a University about how important those long-term relationships and commitments are. You can糖心传媒檛 just come in, do a study and leave, and then the problems are still there but you get a publication. That糖心传媒檚 just not enough anymore.糖心传媒�
Meanwhile, a recent school-wide climate survey conducted by Larson clearly showed positive change in the two years since the EPO. Asked to describe the climate at East High prior to the partnership, Larson minces no words: 糖心传媒淔irst word that comes to my mind is 糖心传媒榙ysfunctional.糖心传媒� I think it was fearful, embattled, and there were factions.糖心传媒�
She says now the school feels 糖心传媒�180 degrees different.糖心传媒� Granted, there糖心传媒檚 still work to be done. 糖心传媒淚糖心传媒檓 not going to say we are close to being finished, but the respect people have for each other, even in disagreement [is important].糖心传媒� Larson points to a surprising finding in the survey that placed the trust in teachers at 98 percent, and in staff and administrators at a whopping 100 percent. 糖心传媒淭hat糖心传媒檚 just unheard of,糖心传媒� she notes.
The growth in trust seems driven by many factors. The two that stand out to Larson are the introduction of family group and the move away from disciplinary to restorative justice practices, which use conversations and peace circles instead of punishment.
Each student now belongs to a small family group of typically just ten students assigned to two adults, either teachers or administrators, so-called 糖心传媒渃arents糖心传媒澨切拇綌a word mashup of 糖心传媒渃aring糖心传媒� and 糖心传媒減arent.糖心传媒� Family groups meet daily for 30 minutes and conversations range from the mundane to the personal. By all accounts it糖心传媒檚 become a relaxed gathering where students learn to take turns listening to differing viewpoints, and a chance to get to know each other, but also an opportunity to talk about concerns and worries. Several students in Superintendent糖心传媒檚 Shaun Nelms糖心传媒檚 group say their 糖心传媒渃arent糖心传媒� has become a father figure to them. The sentiment is echoed by Nelms, who is also a faculty member at the University糖心传媒檚 Warner School. 糖心传媒淎fter a while they really feel like your kids,糖心传媒� he says.
The second cornerstone to building trust is what are is known as peace circles. The idea of the peace circle is to restore a relationship that糖心传媒檚 been damaged by an argument or a fight. According to Larson, anyone at the school can request one. She says she糖心传媒檚 sat in on peace circles among students, as well as between staff members and administrators. Larson credits the peace circles, and the other initiatives to build and restore trust, with dramatically changing the school culture.
In fact, Larson now describes the school糖心传媒檚 climate as 糖心传媒渋nspirational糖心传媒� and 糖心传媒渄eveloping.糖心传媒� One of the best things about being at the school, she says, is seeing students walk the stage at graduation who under the old system weren糖心传媒檛 likely to graduate. 糖心传媒淲e want more of them, definitely, but we糖心传媒檝e certainly had more than ever before,糖心传媒� she says.
But for Larson, the most important success is building positive relationships and earning trust. 糖心传媒淢y research doesn糖心传媒檛 end,糖心传媒� she says. 糖心传媒淭he relationships here are for life.糖心传媒�
