Teachers from Olive Drive Elementary told the Norris School District Board of Trustees on Tuesday that professional development at the Visible Learning conference is already shaping classroom practice across the campus.

The teachers said the conference reinforced teacher clarity, visible success criteria, temporary scaffolds and focused intervention blocks. Kaylee Bourne, a first‑grade teacher at Olive Drive Elementary, told trustees that the conference emphasized both relationship building and accountability: "The magic we hold as educators is our words and our actions," Bourne said, later adding that schools should "put the fans first" — meaning students are the priority.

Why it matters: board members and staff said the district expects these instructional strategies to help accelerate student growth in one year of learning in one year’s time. Presenters described taking specific, low‑cost tactics back to classrooms: visible learning success criteria posted for students, chunking lessons, immediate feedback, and brief spiraled review for math interventions.

Teachers outlined classroom practices they are implementing. Melissa Willis, a first‑grade teacher, described a five‑day writing cycle that can be extended for younger students; Lizette Elizondo, a fourth‑grade teacher, described using a structured peer feedback routine called "writer’s walk" with sentence starters and Post‑its to build positive peer critique. Courtney Conley, Olive Drive’s reading teacher, summarized scaffolding principles: provide temporary supports when students cannot complete a task independently and remove them as competence grows.

Presenters also described district practices being aligned with visible learning. Staff said Universal Learning Time (ULT) is being used to deliver targeted intervention blocks and that schools are working to make learning intentions and success criteria more explicit for students. Teachers reported practical classroom changes: exemplar work samples, explicit success criteria, small‑step writing instruction and short, predictable review tasks for math.

Teachers closed with district‑level requests for continued leadership support to align coaching and evaluation with these practices and to provide time for staff collaboration. A trustee complimented the presenters and said the session reinforced the district’s emphasis on a family and team approach to schooling.

The presentations were given during the reports section of the meeting and did not require board action.