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The trustees of Determination Day School, a K–8 school in rural New England, were deliberate about being inclusive. They gained input from administration, teachers, parents, students, and even members of the extended community, before adopting a performance-based instructional approach. Trustees also provided an opportunity to pilot the new approach among a team of teachers and selected a diverse group of students for this pilot program. Their aim was to know with certainty that the model worked for each student. It was not meant to be a mandate but, instead, a collective agreement about what is best for each student.
Like many schools, Determination struggles to gain full faculty buy-in. The most frequent question posed by skeptical teachers was, “What does it look like?” The administration, teacher leaders, and professional staff, respond by making it possible for naysayers and those interested in learning more about the new instructional approach to be released from teaching responsibilities to visit classrooms. The hope is that, by allowing teachers to observe performance-based learning in action, they would embrace the concept. The intent is to spread the movement by way of the students and faculty. Still, there is resistance.
Teacher leaders again responded by offering professional-learning-community topics on a weekly basis so that faculty members can choose a topic each week to enhance their understanding of the model and gain skills, methods, or resources to help them implement the change. The administration addresses the pushback by relocating staff to work in pods with students in grades five through eight so that students can cross grade levels to meet their academic goals. The culture is pushing from all sides encouraging faculty to get on board, yet some faculty remain reticent and unwillingly to change.
The warning signs are clear that an “us vs. them” divide is forming, with the performance-based enthusiasts on one side. These faculty are willing to embrace the unknown, and in the process have learned that performance-based classrooms take the best of all practices, giving teachers the freedom to use them all in a connected way.
On the other hand, some faculty, still use the traditional model. They struggle to let go of what is comfortable, and seem unable to see the benefits — only the inherent challenges that come with moving to a performance-based classroom, specifically the large amounts of front-work that such a classroom often requires.
Although frustrated, the trustees and administration treat this as a right vs. right dilemma — or, more specifically a “justice vs. mercy” dilemma. Determination Day School has decided that it is a performance-based school. It will continue to support the majority of faculty who are moving in the direction that is agreed to be best for each student. They also continue to show compassion to the few teachers having a hard time coming to terms with the shift in pedagogy.
But has the time come to draw the line with the resistant teacher?
Resolution
The administration decided that it does not want two camps because it creates unhealthy tension and undermines that newly stated goals of the school. Determination’s trustees issued a warning to the resistant teachers that they will need to leave the school if it becomes clear that they do not fit the new model. When some refuse to change their approach to teaching, the school follows thorough on its warning. However, out of respect for the reluctant teachers, the trustees present the departures as retirements rather than noncompliance with new strategy and policy, hoping that this will of make it easier for the more traditional teachers who may want to seek teaching jobs in the future.