The Art of Collaboration: An EAST Student Perspective

At EAST headquarters we may not get the day-to-day interaction with the amazing EAST students right now, but we definitely love to hear the stories of how they impact each other, community partners, and facilitators. Ella Layton, EAST alumna, and Ashlea MacAlister EAST facilitator, of Valley View High School, shared a little bit of their unique journey and how collaboration and support helped them be successful!

How it all begin...

Let me start by explaining what was going on in my life when I was hired as the Valley View High School (VVHS) EAST facilitator. It was the end of Summer 2020, and the world as we knew it was drastically changing. After ten years as an on-again-off-again college student, I virtually graduated with a Bachelor of Science, Engineering degree in English, and a minor in Writing Studies. I planned to stay at home with my two-year-old and continue my college journey with a Master’s of some sort. My friend and mentor teacher told me about the EAST position opening - but I had no clue what EAST was, or what the class was about. One Zoom interview later and just like that, I became the VVHS EAST Facilitator. I don’t think I had time to stop and be scared or nervous, because everything happened so quickly. It was a whirlwind experience, to say the least.

The former EAST facilitator and I met to discuss the job and he informed me there was one person I could count on, Ella Layton. I wrote her name in my notes and immediately felt relieved when I learned this would be her sixth year in EAST. It was like a weight being lifted off my shoulders learning there was someone who had that much experience, but to then find out how dedicated Ella was to EAST was the greatest surprise. I can confidently say our EAST program would not be what it is without Ella. Her commitment and passion let me know that she would always be a friend of EAST. Ella was much more than my Student Champion, she was my biggest supporter, confidant, right-hand woman, and friend when I needed it. I was learning along with my students every day, and Ella made that special.

When Ashlea met Ella...

I’m very proud to say I’ve been in EAST for six years. During my time in EAST, I had five different facilitators, and three of them were brand new. Being experienced in EAST, it was a goal to share things I’d seen be successful, and things that were not so successful. For example, at the beginning of the school year, some students are also new to EAST and still need to get an understanding of what EAST encompasses. Outside of helping the facilitator figure out what an average day in EAST looked like, I made sure to help them plan for events like the EAST Conference. I suggested introducing projects very early to the class. Students are more interested at the beginning of the year and want to start something fun or new. Next was the brainstorming period; team-building activities helped us as students become closer to each other and the facilitator. Once projects start to pick up, the facilitator is typically less handson.Then I’d begin helping them become familiar with the class inventory and teaching them about some of the technologies. The first semester of EAST can be a challenge, but it is smooth sailing once we get a rhythm.

I first met Mrs. McAlister at the open house meeting before school started, and I said I would be there to help with whatever I could. Once the year started, I learned that she was only hired a few weeks before then and had not had any training or even knew what EAST was. She was the first facilitator I had worked with that was not familiar with EAST. Along with learning what EAST was, we together had to find a way for students who were virtual to have an EAST experience. It was a challenge at first to find the balance between virtual assignments and projects in class and to have some uniformity with students who opted to do virtual school. We worked together to tackle the strangest school year ever.

The most important thing I have learned is that new facilitators will have many questions, and being there as a resource for all things EAST had to be my goal. My advice to any new facilitator reading this is to take things one step at a time and find a student with experience in EAST to guide you through your first year. Having someone by your side will make things much easier.

In the classroom…

Ashlea: The classroom was definitely strange this past year - with mandated masks, social distancing, and smaller class sizes due to virtual learning - but I don’t think that hindered the community aspect of the class. We were all learning and growing together. A lot of the learning and growing I did was with my veteran students, especially Ella. I came into this role without much knowledge and zero experience, but what I lacked, Ella made up for, and then some. She taught me everything she knew and supported every crazy idea I had. It is my duty and pleasure to support all of my students, but to also be supported by your students is the icing on the cake.

Ella: The biggest thing we did to support each other was getting to know each other as friends, basically having a deeper relationship than just a student facilitator relationship. We would discuss and help each other out with things going on outside of Valley View. If there was any new project request or message from EAST headquarters, we always made sure both of us knew what it was and we made a plan together to accomplish our new task. Being there for each other was key to our relationship.

Ashlea: The development of projects this past year was kind of all over the place. We had projects that were ongoing from previous years (Ella’s Bone Builder), projects that came from entering a competition, projects that came from the school, and projects that came about organically. Some projects would come from discussions about community problems, team-building activities we did, or from a student being passionate about something in particular.

Ella: The hardest aspect of developing projects was designing an EAST-like curriculum for virtual students. We made sure to talk about things important to EAST such as learning soft skills and some technologies. When Valley View started the eco-home project, the virtual students did assignments about sustainable living and types of other eco homes. For in-class activities, we would use some of the same activities from facilitator Phase training. Doing these activities allowed Mrs. McAlister to know the desired outcome of an activity in a class she was not very familiar with. Ashlea: I would check in with Ella daily to find out what she thought about this and that, or ask her “has anyone tried this,” etc. She was my right-hand woman, and I bounced everything off of her. I constantly picked Ella’s brain to maximize our relationship, especially since last year was her Senior year. I knew my most valuable asset would be leaving me, but I couldn’t be happier to have her on my side during the last year. It was also amazing that she was in my 7th period, so everything was fresh on my mind from the day.

Final thoughts:

Ashlea: I had no idea what it meant to be a facilitator when I was hired and with a year’s experience I still have much to learn; however, I am privileged to have Ella in my corner to support me. I can only hope my students feel the love and support I have for them. Lastly, I want to congratulate Ella on everything she accomplished last year in EAST as the VVHS Student Champion, EAST Day of Giving captain, winner of the 3D Print It Up competition at EASTCon21, and now the recipient of the Dr. Mary Lowe Good Legacy Scholarship! Ella is such a hard worker and has the most humble heart - I truly lucked out being her teacher.

Ella: After many years in EAST, I have gotten to work with many different people on many different things. I have learned so much that will help me in the future. Working with Mrs. McAlister my senior year allowed me to pass on my knowledge and skills gained through EAST to someone who will hopefully stay with Valley View EAST for many years. I plan on keeping in touch with Mrs. McAlister and still being available to answer any questions she or her new students may have about EAST.

Ella Layton, EAST Alum

Ashlea McAlister, Facilitator