House of Warriors: We’re All In This Together

Like an opening tip off, J-Term jump started the spring semester with high energy endeavors. High school arts, academics, and athletics were going strong as the basketball Homecoming theme was set as Disney’s “High School Musical”. Less than a month after senior Marisa Kuhn was crowned queen, the movie’s hit song “We’re All In This Together” seemed to be more than a spirited halftime dance, but also a deeply felt mantra for our school, our community, and our world.

Monitor and adjust is a common phrase in education that rings true for LRCA as faculty and leadership work to continually observe the state of things and seek proactive ways to adapt successfully. The world situation in early spring called for swift but meaningful adjustments. Dr. Justin Smith, Head of Upper School, explains, “We worked together to maintain excellence through innovation and resilience.”

Jennifer Byrd, BSE, MA, teaches AP English Language and Composition, and concurrent college credit Comp I and II. She shares in her own words how academic rigor as well as relationships were maintained and flourished during AMI.

HB: How did you approach AMI with academic excellence in mind?

JB: I wanted to keep up the rigor of my courses as much as possible while also figuring out different ways to connect with my students and meet their needs. Each of my courses has a specific end goal. For example, my AP Language students still needed to be ready for the AP exam in May. It helped for me to focus on this end goal as much as possible.

HB: In what ways did you continue to challenge students?

JB: My students were still required to produce the same end goal work, but I tried to eliminate anything that wasn't specifically connected to this outcome. For example, since my AP Language students would only be required to write one essay for their exam instead of three, I focused mostly on preparing them for that essay. My Comp II students needed to produce a novel analysis research paper, so we focused on refining the skills needed for that paper.

HB: What philosophical changes did you have to make?

JB: I had to rethink the way I connect with students so that I could help them. For example, I usually have one-on-one writing conferences with each of my Comp students as they're refining their research papers. I had to come up with a new way to accomplish this. I set up individual 10-minute Zoom conferences for each student, after I had a chance to read their rough drafts, and I went over three things each student could do to improve their papers. Even though this gave me a limited amount of time to work with each student, it required me to be laser-focused to make the best use of my time.

HB: What were the challenges you experienced? Creative solutions?

JB: One of the biggest challenges was trying to conduct class Harkness discussions over Zoom. The format is really difficult for oral discussions, and many of my attempts fell flat. I found that if I modified the traditional class discussion for a digital discussion board, the outcome was more positive. One added benefit was that a few of my quieter students who struggle in Harkness discussions participated more in the online discussion boards.

"Brave New World" Photo Essay by Anna Maack

HB: How has the ability to pivot as a teacher been beneficial?

JB: I took a course just last year for my masters program called "Online Writing Instruction." I honestly didn't think I would get a chance to use it, but I used almost everything I learned in that class! One thing we discussed quite a bit was the need to be flexible and change based on student needs. I tried to remember this and learn from it throughout our AMI instruction time. I will definitely change quite a few things if we have to revisit AMI in the future. I am learning some new methods and programs over the summer that will hopefully help even more.

HB: Please describe any positive, beautiful outcomes?

JB: I received several sweet and encouraging notes from my students that I will treasure for a long time. The kids usually surprised me by letting me know that something I thought wasn't working had actually helped them. Two notes from students were particularly encouraging. One young lady told me she found herself looking forward to the novel we were reading, even though she didn't think she enjoyed reading. Another student really blossomed in her writing abilities when we were able to eliminate the extra assignments and focus on one style of writing.

Congratulations to all of the high school students, faculty, and staff for persevering together and finishing the school year in true House of Warriors fashion!