Implementation Description
Tillery Charter Academy (TCA) primarily serves Montgomery County, but their students come from six counties in total. When Tillery opened for the 2019-2020 school year, they became the first charter school in the area, and they were met with skepticism as people incorrectly assumed that they were not equipped to offer as much as the area’s existing schools (Galloway, 2019). While working with the community to effectively communicate their offerings and change this perception, the school was also faced with a pandemic in its very first year of existence. But in the true sense of their core values - courage, respect, and a spirit of adventure - they took on these challenges and have striven to prove themselves devoted and dependable for their community.
One of the ways TCA supported its community last year was by developing and implementing a transportation program, a requisite step toward effectively serving educationally disadvantaged students and families. The school recognized the paradox that “Charter schools have the potential to expand families’ tuition-free options, closing the gap in school choices between wealthier and poorer families…[but] a family can’t choose a school if their children can’t get there” (Valant, 2018). In 2019 they purchased two buses with NC ACCESS grant funding, which reduced this barrier and enabled them to better serve more families in their rural community. As they transitioned into virtual learning in spring 2020, these busses were not used by students as frequently, but they were available to serve another much-needed role. While students learned at home, families were able to come by the school every Friday to pick up printed instructional materials their children would use during the following week. Just as there was a need for school transportation before COVID-19, some families were unable to come to the school to pick up these packets. This gave school staff the idea to use their buses to deliver instructional packets directly to families. As the months of virtual learning continued and even during the transition to a hybrid model in fall 2020, school leadership and staff had the idea to also assemble and deliver kits to enrich their students’ at-home experience when it came to their art, music, and physical education. The administration decided to utilize buses for this project, because as a key staff member noted, “[using buses] seemed to be the best option because they had a regular schedule and therefore, parents knew when the buses would arrive and where. Also, this was the safest way to distribute material without a lot of cross-contamination regarding COVID. There were a few times when teachers or other staff would deliver necessary items directly to student homes. But the parents really seemed to appreciate the option of the bus, since they do cover the entire area that we service and would be heading in those directions anyway. Families who lived further away wouldn't have to come all the way to school to pick up supplies and staff that doesn't live near a student wouldn't have to drive all over distributing materials” (B. Powers, personal communication, April 23, 2021). Once a transportation plan was in place, supplies were needed to make this project a reality.
School staff visited local, discount retailers in search of the supplies needed to make kits for every student. Kits included curriculum-specific instructions as well as exciting and educational items such as jump ropes, paint, bubbles, and sidewalk chalk. For example, if the art lesson was about landscape paintings, families would receive instructions for painting a landscape outside their home and the materials with which to paint it. Every Friday, the school met families at their regular bus stops, picked up the kits - by bus where needed - and - carefully sanitized them with Lysol wipes, and then switched them out with new kits for the next week. Each kit would correspond with the weekly lessons and special items were introduced periodically to keep students engaged, learning at home, and learning through play. Tillery staff endeavored to support their students and families any way they could during the difficult transition, and they certainly found a creative and practical way to do just that by leveraging their newly-developed and NC ACCESS subgrant supported transportation program.
Results
Providing and delivering kits with art, music, and physical activities may seem like a simple idea, but it made a huge impact on overwhelmed families who said that these kits seemed to normalize at-home learning for their children. It provided hands-on activities, which the children were used to having in school, and it even gave students the chance to see their bus drivers, who were an important part of their pre-COVID routine. The bus delivery system also took the pressure off of parents to plan and purchase these activities and it gave children something to look forward to every week. Research shows that “when infants and toddlers are part of familiar activities and routines, they develop relationships with the people they interact with and gain a sense of belonging and self-confidence. As older toddlers and young children grow, they can follow routines, demonstrate emerging independence, and adjust to change more easily” (Hemmeter, 2020). TCA’s teachers have witnessed this growth in student confidence firsthand.
Since returning back to school primarily in-person, students have been much more engaged, excited, and have even had higher scores on achievement tests. Brandi Powers, a 1st grade teacher at the school remarked, “It’s just really interesting to see a kid who on day 120 last year had been to the office almost every single day, refusing to do work…. [is now] sitting on the front row of your class [because] that’s where they want to be. [They’re] doing their work. They’re trying. They’re active. It’s like ‘who is this child and where did they come from?” (B. Powers, personal interview, March 22, 2021). The school has seen the largest impact in their educationally disadvantaged student population. This difference has mostly been attributed to the consistency with which school staff has adhered to their core values and have continued to connect with and support their students and families. The value of maintaining these relationships is highlighted in a recent study showing that “with consistent student attendance now being jeopardized by remote or hybrid-learning in many districts, it has become increasingly imperative that school systems not let up on staying connected to students. They must remain focused on creating and maintaining learning environments, whether in-person or remote, that support and strengthen relationships, trust, and respect between teachers and students” (Trauma and Learning Policy Initiative, 2020). TCA staff accomplished this during virtual learning with bus-delivered educational kits, and they are continuing to accomplish this now that students are back in the classroom.
Challenges
The main challenge Tillery staff faced was finding sufficient supplies to make academically-enriching kits for all of their students. They had to visit multiple stores in order to obtain the materials necessary to create these kits. Additionally, it was somewhat difficult to find high-quality items that fit within their budget, so some of the items were not very durable, necessitating a backup supply to replenish broken items.
TCA staff commented that they have only experienced one or two breakdowns since purchasing the buses in 2019. The bus drivers and their excellent maintenance of the vehicles are credited with the buses’ consistently good working order which aided in the success of this particular project.
Future Modifications
It is unlikely that they will need to utilize their buses for sending home classwork and activity kits moving forward, but such a strategy may continue to be useful and deployable in the event a large number of students miss school due to future and potential health concerns.
As students continue to attend TCA in-person, the school has plans to continue emphasizing the importance of art, music, and physical education classes. They will integrate more outdoor instruction and play-based learning by adding items to their playground such as a clear, washable art easel and a set of steel drums. “Play-based learning helps engage elementary students in their education and has cognitive, physical, social, and emotional benefits” and is a key focal point in TCA’s education plan (Arrow, 2019).
They also plan on investing even more in their students’ social and emotional health by seeking out targeted professional development in their area for teachers, and, as applicable, pursuing grants that would allow them to hire a full-time mental health counselor for the benefit of both students and staff.
Critical Components
Getting Started
Developing a transportation program based on best practices from other schools.
Purchasing buses and establishing strategic bus routes and stops.
Implementing the program and considering different uses as outlined in this strategy.
Ongoing Supports
Now that TCA has found that they can easily deliver schoolwork to families when large numbers of students are absent from school due to society-wide events, including public health crises, they will be able to deploy this system more easily as needed in the future.
Equity Connections
According to research, socioeconomically at-risk families - including those who were furloughed, out of work, or have jobs that they are unable to perform from home during the shutdown - are potentially less able to give as much attention or help with remote learning as an elementary-aged student requires (Spinelli, 2020). TCA’s curation and delivery of age-appropriate activities and materials was most helpful for families from low resource environments.
The Trauma and Learning Policy Initiative has found that “developing and nurturing trusting relationships between students and teachers is central to building a trauma-sensitive learning environment” (Trauma and Learning Policy Initiative, 2020). TCA’s commitment to connect with and support families, built trust and provided a sense of security, which in turn improved student outcomes, both academically and emotionally, specifically within their educationally disadvantaged student population.
Research
1. Arrow, J. (April 11, 2019) How to Use Play for Learning. Edutopia. Accessed on April 13, 2021. Retrieved from https://www.edutopia.org/article/how-use-play-learning
2. Galloway, Jon. August 9, 2019. First County Charter School. Montgomery Herald. Accessed May 4, 2021. Retrieved from https://www.montgomeryherald.com/news/article_644afa70-bad6-11e9-836c-87ea1b9abcc8.html
3. Hemmeter, Mary Louise; Michaelene Ostrosky, and Lise Fox. (2006; updated July 13, 2020).
4. Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning: A Conceptual Model for Intervention. School Psychology Review 35(4) (2006): 583–601. Accessed on April 13, 2021. Retrieved from https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/about-us/article/importance-schedules-routines
5. Spinelli, M., Lionetti, F., Setti, A. and Fasolo, M. (2020), Parenting Stress During the COVID‐19 Outbreak: Socioeconomic and Environmental Risk Factors and Implications for Children Emotion Regulation. Fam. Proc. Accessed on March 25, 2021. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1111/famp.12601
6. Trauma Learning Policy Initiative (November 23, 2020), Teacher and Student Relationships: The Power of Trust. Accessed on April 13, 2021. Retrieved from https://www.massadvocates.org/news/teacher-and-student-relationships-the-power-of-trust
7. Valant, J., Lincove, J.A. (March 16, 2018) The Barriers that make charter schools inaccessible to disadvantaged families. Brookings. Accessed on April 13, 2021. Retrieved from https://www.brookings.edu/blog/brown-center-chalkboard/2018/03/16/the-barriers-that-make-charter-schools-inaccessible-to-disadvantaged-families/
8. United States Census Bureau, Quick Facts North Carolina, Retrieved from https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/NC/PST045219
Click on the links below to learn more about this school and to download the complete Best Practice Implementation Strategy.