Advanced Learning Opportunities

For the latest updates, please check the district Advanced Learning webpage

At West Woodland Elementary, we conduct regular Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) meetings to determine goals for individual students based on their individual needs. We assess the strength of our Tier 1 instruction; differentiate instruction; provide interventions; and hold high expectations for all students. Our MTSS grade level teams meet every 6-8 weeks to align instruction, analyze data, and target students who need interventions to meet grade level standards; or students who are exceeding grade level standards and would benefit appropriate differentiated learning experiences. In addition to our goal of ensuring that every Black male 3rd grade student can read; our academic focus also extends to creating inclusive, differentiated instruction that will challenge our all learners. Data grounds our instructional choices.

Additionally, our school is a pilot school for the next phase of the district-wide advanced learning model. Beginning in January, the grade 4 team will focus on developing a talent enrichment cohort and the 2nd grade team will focus on developing a robust math program. The goal of the pilot is to see what we are capable of as staff and students and then to scale up what we have learned to the whole building in 2023-2024.

During the last year, 8 staff members and me, participated in the Talent Development Institute led by Dr. Kristina Collins, grounding ourselves in research on how best to support the development of talent for advanced learners in a way that is not embedded in a system that has often led to exclusionary and inequitable outcomes.

We are also taking a deep dive into Dr. Muhammad’s book, Cultivating Genius. Dr. Muhammad created a framework for understanding literacy as more than just being able to read or write, but also literacy as action. The hope for all West Woodland students is that they will carry with them a foundation for self-advocacy, a real sense of their own intellectualism, and the ability to evaluate and reason and communicate about power, oppression, and inequities. To me this is the core of not just advanced learning, but essential learning for all.

Every student in SPS deserves the opportunity to access high level instruction in a culturally responsive environment that meets their needs. We are doing that well and have challenged ourselves to do even better.