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Carroll Hill coaches highlight restorative practices, student-led conferences and targeted instruction
Summary
Carroll Hill staff told the board the school expanded restorative practices and a daily community block, reported higher math and ELA proficiency for some classes, and said it is implementing targeted small-group instruction, student-led conferences and implicit-bias training for all staff.
Carroll Hill staff presented classroom and schoolwide practices the school says are driving improvements in behavior and achievement.
A school leader introduced the school’s mission and equity goals and noted goals to increase proficiency and reduce behavior referrals. Kara Zimmerman, an instructional coach at Carroll Hill, described a new schoolwide community block in which the whole building participates each morning and said restorative practices and relationship strategies have been expanded. "The most exciting thing we have done this year is expand some of our restorative practices and we created a school wide community block," Zimmerman said, explaining the block runs roughly from 7:30 to 8:25.
Zimmerman described specific classroom strategies including a "Carroll Hill Cool Kit" (practices for giving and receiving compliments) and a 2-by-10 strategy where teachers spend two minutes with a single student for 10 consecutive days to build rapport. She said instructional coaches support teachers with coaching cycles and data-driven planning.
Erica Jerwitz, an instructional coach who said this is her first year at Carroll Hill, outlined a focus on targeted small-group instruction using iReady and other assessments and described student-led conferences, noting more than 60% family participation in December. Jerwitz also said the school expects 100% of Carroll Hill staff will complete implicit-bias training by the end of the school year.
Presenters pointed to falling behavior incident counts and modest gains in ELA and math proficiency at Carroll Hill, and they credited mentoring, community circles and coaching for the improvements. The presentation concluded with an invitation to families to attend upcoming "lunch and learn" events and curriculum celebrations.
