1 of 21

Garfield STEM Magnet School

Albuquerque Public Schools

“Making Things Work”

Accelerate to Excellence A to E

Insert your school logo

2 of 21

At Garfiel want...

3 of 21

Daniel Gutierrez, Principal

Joshua Laclair, Assistant Principal

Erin Chavez, Restorative Practices Coordinator

Melanie Lucero, Teacher

Rebecca Carter-Keesling, Teacher

Joseph Varela, Teacher

Pam Campos, Community School Coordinator

Abel Abeita, STEM Coach

Sonya Troncoso, Educational Assistant

Our Story…

4 of 21

Accelerate to Excellence – A to E

Access

Current �Status

Bolster

Strengths

Collective Impact

Deep Learning

Engage ALL

Cycle of Innovation

Continuous Improvement

5 of 21

Accelerate to Excellence – A

Access

Current �Status

Magnet schools and programs will conduct a readiness assessment against the Magnet Schools of America Standards of Excellence. Each school’s assessment will provide an intervention pathway for school teams to address challenges and barriers.

Magnet Theme Integration

Shared Leadership

STEM Coach

Joshua

The magnet theme is integrated across the curriculum. Through Pillar Pals and weekly collaboratives, there has been an intentional focus on defining the theme and developing common language across the curriculum. Professional development focuses on theme aligned instruction and research-based design through several aspects, including Project Lead the Way, Project Based Learning, Learning and Engineering Habits of Mind, peer observations, use of Kagan structures to promote student-centered learning, developing thoughtful global citizens through restorative practices, as well as curriculum mapping with a specific focus on unit and project planning. The Garfield staff has also been involved in the NIMSL/MSA training and coaching, and have directly participated in self-evaluation tied to our WestEd rubric as well as their bi-annual monitoring. Though we believe our content-wide approach to STEM education provides students with an equitable learning experience, there are structures in place to specifically target the needs of a diverse student population, including special education, ELL, and Native American students. There is strong evidence of shared leadership within the school. The leadership team includes the principal, assistant principal, Implementation Coach, and the Instructional Council. Pillar Pals and staff cadres have been formed to address the MSA Pillars and Standards of Excellence, are actively involved in the decision-making processes regarding school direction, and are required to report to the staff periodically concerning their work so as to gain consensus. The implementation coach plays a major role in providing professional development and instructional support to teachers. A professional development plan supports theme development and research based instructional practices including Habits of Mind, Project Based Learning, the Design Process, and the NASA based program.

6 of 21

Access Current Status

Refine recruitment systems for targeted outreach
Continue to build structure for teachers to write project and curriculum mapping to ensure STEM theme fidelity, support professional growth in Domain 1, and build opportunities for cross curriculum development

Joshua

The staff indicated a need to refine systems and metrics that targeted recruitment efforts (i.e., digital recruitment tools, showcases, enhanced feeder school recruitment). We continue to incorporate recommendations of WestEd to refine a formal/written data plan that includes the effectiveness of outreach and recruitment including when, how, and by whom data will be collected and monitored. Currently, we are developing and implementing processes to continue curriculum mapping through unit and project planning, expand the use of project based cross-curricular activities to promote more diverse student collaboration, and facilitate a peer observation and feedback system using an in-house Habits of Mind mosaic tool. These actions, in our opinion, specifically help our organization fulfill the recommendations provided by WestEd at our most recent review to “implement a written plan to gather data on the progress, extent, and quality of theme-infused standards-aligned, cross-curricular units; as well as, detail how instructional practices will be observed and monitored.” Finally, we will soon begin to determine how teachers can receive feedback about students’ experience as it relates to the Design Process, Habits of Mind, and Project Based Learning to help us improve our recruitment systems for more targeted outreach across the district.

7 of 21

Accelerate to Excellence – B

Bolster

Strengths

Through intentional focus on exemplar practices, schools or programs will be guided to leverage their strengths to serve as models and/or lighthouse schools for research and evaluation of the identified Pillar.

The MSA Pillars

The Strength

The Linchpin

8 of 21

The Strength

Garfield STEM “makes things work and makes things work better” and it has taken many different iterations of our work to get there. We want to help our students “change the world.”

9 of 21

The Strength

When we started using the Core Mindset graphic, everyone seemed to start understanding the theme better. As we all implement the theme, students and families start using it as well in all their classes and activities… not just the science or math classes.

10 of 21

The Strength

Staying true to our theme of Engineering the Future, aligns directly with Standard 5 (teaching and learning focuses on theme) and the MSA Pillar of High Quality Instructional systems.

11 of 21

Accelerate to Excellence – B

The Challenge

Reimagine Garfield as Vibrant and Viable School of Choice

Increasing the Student Population

12 of 21

The Challenge

-Opened in 1951, serving families in north Valley of Albuquerque.

-In the 2010s, student enrollment began to decline.

-Enrollment dropped to below 300.

-2015-became Garfield STEM, with a focus on PBL.

-2017-Garfield became a part of the Engineering the Future Grant to create a STEM pathway in the North Valley.

13 of 21

Accelerate to Excellence – B

The Thinking

Data:

Low Enrollment
Low Test Scores
High Teacher Turnover

Weakness to Strength:

Starting Fresh with STEM theme - “Making Things Work and Making Things Work Better.”

14 of 21

The Thinking

Low Enrollment, Low Test Scores, and High Teacher Turnover Rates led to staff embracing the need for change in curriculum for engagement.
STEM classes and ETF strategies became common practice across all classes at Garfield.
With a supportive administration, Instructional Council, staff, and parents, beginning with “building scholars and compassionate citizens,” the school revised its Mission Statement and Vision.
The spirit of “making things work and making things work better” became the rallying cry for the school.

15 of 21

Accelerate to Excellence – B

Lessons Learned

Barriers:

Teacher turnover

Low family engagement

School’s reputation

Linchpin: �“Making Things Work”

Opportunities:

Training/PD for staff

Instructional Council

Community School Council

16 of 21

The Lessons Learned

Transitions take their toll: loss of staff, new admin, changing to block schedule , student behavior are all issues that have impacted our success
Training for staff and PD for teachers ensure buy-in: PLTW, Project Based Learning, & Restorative Practices are all opportunities for growth
Instructional Council is a high-functioning decision making body that values collaboration and equity of voice… characteristics of a great Magnet school
Alignment of the Community School work and pillars & Magnet school work and pillars ensures that our students and families have the best opportunities for success
Crucial infrastructure investment for equipment will benefit the school for years to come.

17 of 21

Accelerate to Excellence – B

The Impact

Program Impact:

Increased enrollment

Project Lead the Way

Restorative Practices

Student Impact:

Student pride in school

Preparation for college and career

Increased academic achievement

Potential for Others:

Similar community

At-risk population

18 of 21

The Impact

Increased enrollment for last four years.
Exceeded recruitment goal by over 100% in latest West Ed evaluation.
Reputation of School has transformed-PLTW, Habits of Mind and Restorative Practices.
Staying true to the theme has set a common focus for all staff, students, and families.

19 of 21

Bold next steps: Transformative PBLs

Main Point: Making Garfield Work, Making Garfield Students, Teachers, Admin., Families, & Community work better.

Linchpin: Core Mindset Adoption

Key takeaway: Shared leadership

Transforming a community takes time, patience

Next Steps and Conclusion

1 of 21

2 of 21

3 of 21

4 of 21

5 of 21

6 of 21

7 of 21

8 of 21

9 of 21

10 of 21

11 of 21

12 of 21

13 of 21

14 of 21

15 of 21

16 of 21

17 of 21

18 of 21

19 of 21

20 of 21

21 of 21