“This Work Is too Important to Wait”: How One District Grows Teachers to Grow Students

Originally published by the Arkansas Association of Educational Administrators in "The Administrator"

Strengthening observation and feedback skills at the administrative level is making a real difference in Dardanelle Public Schools, and Superintendent Dr. Jamie Burris believes districts across Arkansas can reap the same benefits.

“This work is too important to wait,” Superintendent Burris said about his team’s work after joining the Arkansas Teacher Evaluation and Support System (TESS) rubric training pilot led by NIET in partnership with the Arkansas Department of Education. “If you can opt in, do it now.”

After 26 years in his district, Burris has worked at nearly every system level: from science teacher and instructional facilitator, to high school principal, and now district leader.

“When I became superintendent, I realized I had the opportunity to help grow four principals who impact 300 staff members and 2,000 students,” Superintendent Burris said. “If principals grow, teachers grow - and as teachers grow, kids grow.”

In his efforts to grow Dardanelle Public Schools at every level, Superintendent Burris recognized the need to strengthen observation and feedback practices, and they entered a pilot training. Through NIET training and collaborative observation, district and school leaders began focusing more on student evidence - what students say, do, and produce during lessons. As a result, Superintendent Burris said his team was “changed.”

“I’ve had our team say, ‘I saw the classes different today than I saw them before,’” Superintendent Burris said. “That was when I knew I needed to see and hear what they had experienced.”

Following the pilot, Dardanelle Public Schools is excited - not afraid - to ask, “What now?”  Superintendent Burris plans to focus on building consistent and sustainable coaching practices across schools, ensuring that Dardanelle continues to grow teachers to grow students.