Leading Innovation in Rural Elementary Schools
Welcome to the Modern Classrooms Project Podcast. Each week we bring you discussions with educators on how they use blended, self-paced, and mastery-based learning to better serve their learners. In this episode, Toni Rose Deanon is joined by Sara Bennis, a school principal in a rural district.
Sara discusses her experience with the Modern Classrooms Project Virtual Mentorship Program and its impact on her leadership. She emphasizes the importance of prioritizing tasks, creating reusable resources, and modeling best practices for teachers. Sara also highlights the challenges of implementing MCP in rural schools, such as teacher retention and access to resources. Despite these challenges, she remains committed to providing a safe and supportive learning environment for her students.
Here are three key takeaways from this podcast episode:
School leaders can benefit from virtual mentorship. The program offers practical strategies for improving time management, teacher support, and instructional practices. Sara believes: "Every student can learn, every kid has genius, every kid is special in some way."
Rural schools require careful planning and consideration of unique challenges. Rural schools may face difficulties with teacher retention, access to resources, and finding specialized teachers. These caveats can create unique problems that urban and suburban educators do not face.
School culture is essential for student success. Sara emphasizes the importance of safety, well-being, and building a strong team of staff members, “You’ve got to focus on the positive and look at what's going well, and look at what you're doing right, and build on that."
Discussion questions for PLC and PD:
Given the unique challenges faced by rural schools, what strategies can educators employ to successfully implement the Modern Classrooms Project in these environments? How can school leaders address issues like teacher retention and access to resources?
How can educators effectively prioritize their tasks to maximize efficiency and productivity? What are some practical strategies for creating reusable resources that can be shared among teachers and students?
What are the key components of a positive and supportive school culture? How can educators foster a sense of belonging, safety, and well-being among students and staff members?
Our Host
Toni Rose taught MS English for 10 years and will forever identify as a teacher. Toni Rose strives to be the teacher that they never had growing up, so they focus on anti-bias, anti-racist work and wants to create a brave space for everyone around them. As a queer Filipinx, they understand just how important it is to be represented, be valued, and belong. They especially love being a thought partner for and celebrating teachers.
Our Guests
Sara Bennis
Sara is a passionate educator that believes in the potential within us all. It has been an honor to grow in her leadership as a PK-2 principal at Cardinal Elementary in Maquoketa, IA. She greatly values and appreciates the connections that she is able to make with students, staff, families, and the community as she and her staff works to bring out the best in themselves and others. Her philosophy of learning is that we grow best by learning from our mistakes, valuing the unique gifts we have been given, and utilizing our own strengths as well as the strengths of those around us, to accomplish great things for all. Her mission is to continue to build leadership opportunities for others to lead.
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