In rural southern Iowa, the town of Leon is home to 2,000 people, a popular annual rodeo, and a school system that has emerged as a beacon of teacher leadership.
Under Superintendent Chris Coffelt, Leon鈥檚 public schools鈥攌nown as the 鈥攕et out in 2012 with a multi-faceted plan to recruit and retain teachers and improve student achievement under some especially challenging circumstances.
In a small, economically vulnerable area, such a plan requires vision and determined leadership.
Coffelt, a forward-thinking local who is deeply invested in the community, has by all accounts brought both, even as he has divided his time heading up Central Decatur and another smaller district nearby.
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The challenges, he admits, are many: 65 percent of Central Decatur鈥檚 750 students are low-income, receiving free and reduced-price meals. There are few resources in the area for low-income families that are not provided by the schools.
Leon, which sits about an hour south of Des Moines, is not an easy sell to prospective teaching talent, despite the miles of nature trails and lakes. Holding onto teachers when larger cities and bigger salaries beckon has also been difficult.
But, over the last four years, Central Decatur has made major strides in improving its teacher workforce and has become a destination for educators from across Iowa who want to learn from the district鈥檚 work.
And after years of struggling to meet academic goals set by the state, the district has seen student achievement improve in certain measures鈥攁lmost all grade levels showed positive growth in reading and math on 2015-16 state tests.
- Take Action: Work with your team to identify what specific actions at the district, building, and classroom levels are necessary to achieve your goals. Be persistent and positive, embracing high expectations for yourself and others.
- Know and Nurture Your Culture: Clarify core values, beliefs, and behaviors, creating opportunities that give people time to invest in and contribute to the collective identity and purpose of the system.
- Define Expectations: Use an articulated framework to clearly define the desired levels of performance, and allow everyone to assess their own performance and understand what is necessary to grow their skills and achieve at the highest levels.
Coffelt, 46, says the district is on track to accomplish the first of two major goals that he set: that every student would make a year or more of academic progress annually. A second goal鈥攏arrowing achievement gaps between poor students and their more affluent peers鈥攈as proven harder to reach.
Putting the District on the Map
Still, observers say, the district鈥檚 culture has changed significantly, and that would not have happened if not for Coffelt鈥檚 refusal to settle for the status quo. He has a lot of big plans for the district that he works tirelessly to accomplish鈥攚hether that鈥檚 through spearheading new initiatives or spreading the message of teacher leadership to state policymakers and superintendents across Iowa.
His colleagues call him a go-getter, and say that he has been instrumental in putting the small district on the map.
But Coffelt is quick to credit his team鈥攚hich he addresses as 鈥渇amily鈥濃�攚ith the success so far, and with any progress still to come.
鈥淚f it鈥檚 going to happen, it鈥檚 going to because people are working together to find out what the problem is,鈥� Coffelt says. 鈥淲e鈥檙e not where we want to be yet. We want to have higher levels of success for our kids, we want more of our students to be measured as proficient as readers, writers, and in math as well.鈥�
But, he says, 鈥淚f we stick to the plan and continue to execute that plan, it鈥檚 going to get us to where we want to be鈥攅very one of our kids experiencing success.鈥�
The centerpiece of Coffelt鈥檚 work has been . Central Decatur is one of two districts in Iowa implementing this system through a $9.5 million federal grant in partnership with the National Institute for Excellence in Teaching.
The system has four components to improve teacher effectiveness: continual professional development, multiple career paths, an observation-based evaluation system, and performance-based compensation.
鈥楨nergizing and Supporting鈥� Teachers
Central Decatur began implementing the system in the 2013-14 school year after an initial year of study, and after 90 percent of the district鈥檚 staff voted to move forward with the system. Coffelt says it has been exciting to see his team of educators develop a shared vision of what effective teaching looks like. Coffelt is also the superintendent of the nearby Lamoni Community Schools, a 360-student district five miles from the Missouri border which faces similar challenges.
鈥淚 think we鈥檝e always had good things happen in pockets, but it hasn鈥檛 been systemic throughout our district,鈥� says Coffelt, the son of two teachers who grew up in Decatur County, left to teach in Missouri and Puerto Rico, and returned to his home to be an elementary principal. After three years in that role, he became superintendent, a job he鈥檚 had for eight years.
Now, Coffelt coordinates quarterly district leadership team meetings and meets with teacher leaders from the district鈥檚 three schools on a monthly basis to help them develop skills to work with adult learners.
鈥淚 can support teacher leaders in the same way they support teachers,鈥� he says.
There are also weekly grade-level meetings for teachers to come together to look at students鈥� work and discuss their learning.
鈥淲e never had that before鈥攖here was never that avenue for support or reflection or refinement,鈥� Coffelt says. 鈥淣ow it鈥檚 just a part of who we are and how we do business on a weekly basis. Our classrooms and classroom teachers are no longer isolated. They feel energized and supported.鈥�
Central Decatur, located just north of the Missouri stateline, is in one of the most geographically isolated parts of Iowa, and the district has continually struggled to find qualified teachers. In 2012, the district had to bring a science teacher out of retirement to fill a vacant position.
Nowadays, new teachers aren鈥檛 necessarily flocking to the district, Coffelt says, but the district receives more candidates who are aware of鈥攁nd attracted by鈥攖he teacher-leadership work. District hiring officials tout the robust support that helps rookie educators avoid feeling like they are alone in their classrooms.
The TAP system is a major selling point, Coffelt says: 鈥淟ook at teachers brand new to the profession, who are coming out of college. You鈥檙e not just coming into a classroom and maybe being supported鈥攜ou鈥檒l be supported on a weekly basis. [Experienced teachers] will model a lesson for you, observe your lesson, and reflect [with you] afterwards. 鈥� We can provide a higher level of support for new teachers than what we鈥檝e ever done before.鈥�
Retaining teachers has improved, too.
鈥淧eople feel supported, and I think when people feel supported, they don鈥檛 experience burnout鈥攖hey stay longer,鈥� Coffelt says.
Igor Takacs, the president of Central Decatur鈥檚 board of education, says he has noticed a shift in teacher satisfaction since the TAP system was implemented. 鈥淚 always thought that teachers were like nomads鈥攖hey come in and work for a few years and then leave,鈥� he says. 鈥淪o far, they鈥檝e kind of stayed here.鈥�
Each Central Decatur teacher receives four observations a year. Teachers can earn performance bonuses based on their classroom observation scores, their students鈥� growth scores, and a schoolwide growth score.
Teachers in the TAP system can apply to two formal leadership roles: master and mentor teachers. To varying degrees, those teachers provide peer coaching, conduct evaluations and observations, and help implement curriculum.
Tricia Applegate, who has been teaching in the district for 16 years, is now a master teacher in the junior-senior high school.
鈥淲e are much more focused on common goals together,鈥� she says. 鈥淚n the past, teachers were often siloed into their rooms. There wasn鈥檛 another person to connect with. ... [The program] really brought teachers together.鈥�
Developing Capacity for STEM
The focus of Central Decatur鈥檚 grant has been on strengthening their science, technology, engineering, and mathematics teaching staff.
鈥淔irst, we鈥檙e going to develop people,鈥� Coffelt says. 鈥淥ur work was never about implementing a program, never about getting the right textbook. It was about investing in people and developing that capacity.鈥�
Indeed, Coffelt says that ever since teachers began collaborating more across departments, there has been more project-based, inquiry-based instruction.
In Central Decatur, increasing opportunities for STEM learning has been centered in the district鈥檚 agriculture program. Coffelt says teachers work to show students that agriculture is 鈥渕ore than just sitting in a tractor and farming鈥濃�攖hey draw connections to technology and science.
鈥淎 lot of our kids have had their eyes opened,鈥� Coffelt says.
The district has partnered with Graceland University on professional development for teachers on effective practices in STEM, and support on how to implement the coursework in the classroom, Coffelt says.
Our classrooms and classroom teachers are no longer isolated. They feel energized and supported.
Central Decatur is in its last year of the federal grant, but the teacher-leadership work will continue with state funding, Coffelt says. He鈥檚 also planning to develop a similar teacher-leadership system in Lamoni, the other district he leads.
In the 2014-15 school year, Iowa began its three-year implementation of the . The state has since allocated $150 million a year to the initiative, and all 333 school districts have agreed to participate.
Leaders from Central Decatur and the Saydel school district, which also received a federal grant to implement the TAP system, were consulted by state policymakers and superintendents for advice on building the teacher-leadership infrastructure.
鈥淐entral Decatur served as an outstanding example as a pioneer in teacher leadership that helped the rest of the state understand what a teacher leadership system could do,鈥� says Linda Fandel, the special assistant for education to Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad.
Takacs, the school board president, says Coffelt鈥檚 years-long commitment to the school district and his ambition to improve and build up the educator workforce has made a lasting impact.
Coffelt has also spearheaded physical improvements for the district, like a new athletic complex and a bus barn.
鈥淲e鈥檙e a small school district in a depressed area, it鈥檚 hard to keep good superintendents,鈥� Takac says. 鈥淗e鈥檚 taken the bull by the horns, he really gets things done. He鈥檚 kind of brought [the district] out from the doldrums鈥攊t鈥檚 really vibrant.鈥�
