Hillsboro Elementary School was one of two Kansas schools honored this year as an Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Distinguished School for positive educational advances and outstanding academic achievement.
I've been visiting successful schools to see how their efforts match the State Board of Education's Kansans Can vision, outcomes and design principles. The vision is to lead the world in the success of each student, with three "quantitative" outcomes or measures: high academic achievement, higher graduation rates and more postsecondary success, supported by four "qualitative" outcomes: kindergarten readiness, social and emotional learning, civic engagement and individual plans of study.
To learn what Hillsboro Elementary is doing to get the results recognized by the distinguished school award, I met with parents on the school site council, local board members, administrators and teachers. At a time of considerable controversy in education over learning levels and standards, curriculum and services, and parent and teacher rights, the single theme I heard over and over in Hillsboro was the idea of trust.
Hillsboro, a town of 2,700 people in Marion County, is on the north edge of the Flint Hills. It is home to the only elementary and middle/high school in the USD 410 Durham-Hillsboro-Lehigh district, with a total K-12 enrollment of under 600 students. It's also the home of Tabor College, a Mennonite college, and 12 churches.
It's a place where conversations regularly include personal blessings and church relationships. People are modest and a bit reluctant to say anything that seems like bragging, even about a national award. Like many smaller towns, communities and traditions have a high value. Expecting a stable population, I was surprised how many people had recently moved to, or moved back to, this community, but all were happy to be there.
School counselor Autumn Hardey, a former teacher who earned her counseling degree, didn't grow up in Hillsboro but heard praise for the district before working there. "Even before coming here, I always heard when people talk about Hillsboro, the expectations here are higher. In some schools, people may be OK to be in the middle of the pack. That is never the understanding that I've gotten from people who talked about Hillsboro. There is a belief that if you put those higher expectations on a person and give them the tools to meet them, they can and will. That was one of the big reasons when I went back to looking for a job after having kids, and this counseling position opened up; I wanted to be here," Hardey expressed.
They reflect these expectations through “quantitative” measures available for an elementary school. While state assessments in reading and math have been declining over the past five years, especially after the 2020 COVID pandemic, Hillsboro Elementary has cut the percentage of students at the lowest level (Level 1 or “limited”) in both reading and math and over 50% of students' scores in the two higher levels, indicating they are on track to be prepared for college, while the state average has dropped to about 30%.
Teachers: freedom with accountability
Educators in Hillsboro say those results justify giving teachers the flexibility to reach them.
“One thing that we have going here is our principals and administration respect us as professionals,” said kindergarten teacher Aimee Hennigh. “They see we teach the curriculum exactly how it's supposed to be, but they're also willing to let us recognize where kids have different needs. I think that that lends itself to having successful students because then we can tailor our instructions specific to the student, rather than just teaching the curriculum exactly as it's written and then not doing anything else.”
School leaders say the system's success is rooted in the concepts of the Multi-Tier System of Supports (MTSS), which superintendent Clint Corby said Hillsboro was one of the first districts in the state to adopt. MTSS has several components, but it is based on a solid core of standards in reading, math and other subjects for all students, frequent assessments of how students are doing based on these standards, then quickly giving students individualized attention based on those assessments.
Like many using the MTSS approach, Hillsboro Elementary sets side blocks for individualized support and relies on staff members like federally funded “Title” teaching positions to support it.
“We go down to the individual student level and look at the specific skill and figure out where we need to do instruct that student,” Hennigh said. “It's very individualized, and I think every teacher in this building is willing to do what it takes to get there. I've never heard a teacher say, and there's nothing more I can do. We're constantly fighting to figure out what it is, even if that means doing more research, pulling more resources, or pulling out whatever instructional materials we need to get there.”
MTSS also means using data to adjust support for individual students continually and adjusting the educational program constantly. First-year principal Nathan Hiebert, who freely admits the work to earn the school award was done before he took over, credits the teaching staff. We trust our teachers as professionals to know what is not connecting with students and try something different. We can see from the results that they are meeting the kids where their needs are and understanding how some curriculum is not meeting those needs. We want to empower teachers to try to be able to do that.”
But Hillsboro leaders note that providing extra, individualized attention to students takes more time and is more staff intensive. Hiebert says the school concentrates efforts on the younger grades because of limited staff and would like to do more for intervention or opportunities for smaller groups in the higher grades if resources allowed.
Another part of the state’s push to improve academic results is to make sure all districts are implementing reading or literacy programs based on the "science of reading:" the latest brain-based research on the most effective ways to teach reading – methods not always included in reading programs that have been used. But Hillsboro teachers say they are already using the approach called “structured literacy.”
"The research guiding the science of reading is already being implemented in this building and has been since before I came,” said kindergarten teacher Aimee Hennigh. "In our K-1 for sure, which I'm a part of, what we do in the classroom, in small group reading instruction, is based on the current research and gives a solid foundation for the upper grades.”
Supporting students in the classroom and beyond
One of the four Kansans Can design principles is to give students both a solid academic background and support to address social-emotional issues. This term includes both development of personal and interpersonal skills and supporting students with mental health issues. Hillsboro Elementary tried to address both.
“I think our teachers have a whole lot of high expectations for their kids,” said fifth-grade teacher Amanda Jaworsky. “We can teach to the kid, but we also find ways to reach them outside of academics, to let them know that we are on their side and we're there for them and in their corner and helping them to know who they are and know what they can do.”
I had a strong sense of that blending of academic learning with a supportive community. My visit fell on the district’s annual Reading Extravaganza Day. The highlight is when fifth graders prepare skits based on a favorite book, which is now captured on video and enhanced with special effects shown to the lower grades. Students in the younger grades begin thinking about what they will do when they reach fifth grade, and the students remember for years the story they presented.
You see that blend of academic and social skills in the “character traits” displayed on the lunchroom walls and in each classroom. You hear it in the site council discussing the approach of spring weather and the “walking school bus,” where the principal starts each day walking from the west side of town to the school on the east side, collecting student walkers along the way, building some community and burn off some energy before school. The school has also added a range of projects, from the Project Lead the Way STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) learning to the Farm to School community garden.
Hillsboro educators say they want children to feel welcome, supported and connected to learning because it will produce both educated students and better community members: key Kansans Can goals.
“We've got kids that believe they feel safe here,” Principal Hiebert said, “and they feel loved, and they feel that they can be successful. We talked about those high standards. We have to help our kids believe they can achieve them.”
The parents I talked to agreed that the school’s efforts to connect with each child are vital, and while this approach is not unique to Hillsboro, it is also not universal. Andrea Sneed, parent of a kindergartener and a fourth grader, moved into the district in 2020 from out of state. “I don’t have a lot of experience with schools, but here there was a definite difference right away, from the principal knowing the kids' names and smiling and interacting with all the children. It was the opposite at our previous school. We were just blown away at the friendliness and the genuine interest in the children. That was just our first impression, and it's grown ever since.”
Dionne Loewen, a parent with three kids in the school system, said she echoed that feeling. "Most of our teachers are all invested in the community as well,” she said. “They take an active interest in our students inside the classroom but as well as outside, coming to ball games and school events, just invested in a lot of different ways.” She made a point I often hear in highly successful schools: that their students are motivated not just for themselves but for the school community. “The kids want to do well and want to perform for those teachers because they have a personal relationship. That's across all levels, not just elementary school.”
Building parent and community trust
Parents say efforts to support students beyond the classroom – and being part of the community – have given the school a level of trust that seems to be lacking in some places.
Leah Remboldt, parent of a kindergartner, preschooler and future preschooler, has recently returned to Hillsboro after several years. She previously lived in the community for 13 years after growing up in a much larger district and says it's a blessing to be back. “Here, we can go out in our community on a walk and see six people we know from school and talk to them,” she said. “You don't just go to school and see your teacher; you see them at church and in the community. I think that really helps build trust and reputation. I feel like I would know quite a few of the teachers and even if I don't know them personally, I would know their reputation or I would know someone who knows them, and I could go talk to that person if I had a concern.”
When I asked how parents feel about how the school addresses academic and non-academic issues, parent Dionne Loewen replied that goes back to trust. “Hillsboro, in general, is not a very transient town. A lot of people have been here for a long time. There's also a still a predominantly Christian culture, I know that is shifting, but there are some cultural values that are kind of mainstay we believe are still in the schools,” she said “So there is trust, we trust that if they're doing the social, emotional things in school, it must have some value. We know the core values they have, so we're not going to question it. Even with something controversial, there's that element of trust that we can hold to, or we can have that personal conversation with the teacher and then even go all the way to the school board.”
I talked to two school board members, the president and vice president, who could not have more different personalities. Rod Koons is an outgoing, talkative tire store owner who has served on the board for 20 years. Jared Jost is a quiet, mild-mannered funeral home director and owner whose father served on the school board 30 years ago. But both agree on how the board has operated to support successful students: hire strong leaders, let them work without micromanagement from the board, and keep students' needs first.
“We’ve been blessed with tremendous leaders,” said Koons,” and that's maybe a tribute to the school board because our board understands its role is to hire the right people to do the job. We've also been blessed here with some long-serving board members that aren't serving for a personal agenda.”
“From as far back as I can remember, there’s always been trust with the superintendents,” said Jost. “That makes it easy for the board and the superintendent to work together. And because of that trust, we know that the superintendent will represent the board and the school district in the best manner. Like Ron, I don't see any boards in my tenure that have micromanaged. It seems like everyone's agenda is always the kids first.”
Both agreed the school had balanced academics and student support well. “I like that idea of balance,” Koons said. "In everything in life, you have to find a balance.”
Challenges: staff, students and families
With all the positives, I also asked about challenges.
Like most schools, finding personnel tops the list. “Most teachers love it here, and almost the only ones who leave are when they retire,” said superintendent Corby. “But the challenge is getting them to come.” He noted the district doesn’t currently have a single applicant for an open “Title” teacher – a position funded by the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act that can provide individual assistance to support students in addition to regular classroom teachers.
The community’s size can also be a challenge at times. “It brings so many assets because we are such a small and intimate community,” said parent Lynette Hiebert. “But at the same time, when we do get students, maybe whether they're ESL (English as a Second Language) learners or students with disabilities, we don't always have all the resources for those students. We try really hard to provide for those families, but maybe we can’t help to the extent that we could if we lived in a larger city with more services.”
Those challenges are growing. Districts across Kansas have more students with disabilities and other special needs, including more severe emotional, behavioral and mental health challenges. To reach students earlier and address issues more quickly, one of the Kansans Can goals is to increase kindergarten readiness. Malloy Sheway, a parent member of the site council and the district’s Head Start Family Advocate, works with other district staff. “We try to catch families when they have young children to see if there are needs like speech delays, developmental delays, anything that they need before they enter the school system. Those are all being met by a team of people before they step foot in preschool or even kindergarten.”
The school provides a Parents as Teachers Program, works with the county Head Start program, and provides a district at-risk preschool program. But superintendent Corby says the available slots don’t meet all the needs.
The school also provides mental health support for what educators agree is a growing problem. The school has a full-time counselor, Autumn Hardey, and partners with Prairie View mental health services in McPherson to provide a licensed therapist twice a week and at least one caseworker daily. Hardey says placing those services in the school helps parents who can’t get their children to services because of transportation needs or conflicts with work. The case workers can provide on-the-spot help to students who may be struggling.
One positive for Hardey is that many students and families seem more willing to seek help for depression, anxiety and other issues, but there are still barriers. Once more, the key concept is trust.
"Coming here (to Hillsboro), I feel like they’ve embraced that shift to be more open about mental health, but it’s been hard,” Hardey said. “It's taken time and a lot of explanation. When we talk with parents, I tell them I won’t force your kid to tell me anything. I keep reiterating to parents that we're just another person in their corner. We work on that relationship where they feel trust is built and they feel comfortable coming and talking to you. My goal coming into the setting was to really support the teachers and show them ways that you can do that and supporting the students and just being visible to students and parents, in the hallways and being out the pickup line, at ballgames.”
Wrapping up
I explained to everyone I met that my goal is to learn what successful schools are doing so others can consider following their example. A Hillsboro parent asked me to share what I was seeing. Here’s my quick summary of successful schools.
Students feel safe and valued; teachers feel trusted and supported by the administration; the administration by the school board; and the school board and district by the community. They build those relationships through intentional strategies involving everyone in the school or district.
They believe they can and must get better academic results, from test scores to graduation rates and postsecondary education. They use objective data to measure student progress and quick intervention if students aren’t where they need to be. Teachers and all staff work together and constantly look for ways to improve. They blend academic learning with personal and interpersonal skills students need to be successful when they leave school, whether called character traits, workplace skills or social and emotional learning. They involve students in their own education and help them want to succeed.
They are working to support families with early childhood programs to get kids ready for kindergarten, to identify and address individual student needs and goals, and to connect the school and students with the community. They feel like happy places, where people want to work, and children want to learn.
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