Chicken Salad for the Soul

IT’S well known in Wolfe City ISD that Superintendent Anthony Figueroa loves to cook. That’s why it came as no surprise when on the first day of a three-day Reading Academy training, he rolled up his sleeves, threw on some food prep gloves, and prepared lunch for everyone, including the staff from Campbell ISD who were also participating in the training. On the menu were chicken salad sandwiches, carefully assembled on croissant rolls and topped with fresh lettuce.

“Our superintendent wants to be involved. He wants us to feel appreciated and cooking is his way of doing that,” Angi Anderson, Wolfe City ISD reading specialist explained. “No one really wants to get up before school starts and come to Reading Academy, but when we know there will be something special for lunch, it takes some of the pressure off.”

This simple, yet thoughtful, act of preparing a homemade lunch for three consecutive days set a positive tone for the Reading Academies, which was further reinforced by the campus principal, Ginger White, who sat side-by-side with her teachers even though principals are not required to attend the in-person training sessions.

“I want them to know that we are all in this together. We are a team and I want to learn and review right along with them,” White said. “I need to be as current as they are, so that when I am in the classroom I can say, ‘Oh, that’s a strategy from the Reading Academies!’”

The “we are all in this together” approach has since extended beyond the borders of Wolfe City ISD. When Anderson found out that the new reading specialist in Campbell ISD, Jessica Cummings, needed some support, she stepped in to help.

“I spent time with Angi and she showed me the resources she uses, how she makes and formulates her schedules, and the processes she uses to work with teachers. She showed me how she collects data, what she collects, and how she builds her spreadsheets. It gave me a great starting point, and it was a great springboard for me to implement this work in our district,” Cummings explained.

It’s that collaborative spirit between these two school districts that has continually impressed Region 10 Reading Academy Cohort Leader Linda McElreath. She has been working with the kindergarten through third-grade teachers and campus leaders in Wolfe City ISD and Campbell ISD since they began the Reading Academy this past summer. She says their all-in approach has had a positive impact on their campuses.

“When you approach Reading Academies with a positive attitude, rather than looking at it strictly as compliance, it can be very valuable and everyone can gain something from it. When leaders are invested, it sets the tone for the rest of the team.”

This investment has paid off in these two neighboring districts. Even though they are only a few months into the 2021-2022 school year, they have already seen academic growth among some of their youngest learners.

“Reading Academy has been so good about helping us learn the best practices that naturally activate those parts of the brain to create those pathways for reading,” Anderson shared. “I’ve noticed that even at the kindergarten level, I am seeing more writing happen than I saw in the past. As a campus, we have embraced it, and I am excited to see where our kids will be before this year ends.”

“I was recently working with a student who had very limited reading skills. She told me that she couldn’t read, and I told her we would work on it together. The other day she read an entire book to me and I was in shock! She read every word. She used her context clues and she looked at the photos. I was so proud of the progress she has made in such a short amount of time,” Cummings said.

Even though Reading Academy is required by House Bill 3, Cummings and Anderson agree the content is valuable for new teachers and seasoned educators alike.

“Reading Academy is not one more thing, because this is how we should be teaching reading. It’s rethinking how you are teaching reading, or refocusing if this is how you are already teaching reading. It gives teachers another resource or another connection to help us be successful,” Cummings said.

Connections between educators and their students can improve a child’s reading comprehension and writing skills. Connections between educators in neighboring districts working together can benefit all students. Teachers connecting with their campus principal to learn together and from each other can only lead to more success. And perhaps just as important, never underestimate the connections a thoughtful superintendent can make because he understands the power of chicken salad for the soul.