In Part 2 of the Spy’s interview with KCPS Superintendent Dr. Karen Couch and facilitator Gina Jachimowicz, director of teaching and learning, Gina Jachimowicz discusses the mission of the Learning Walks and how they were constructed.
“We’ve really been mindful of putting together a comprehensive strategic plan, and one of the things important to Dr. Couch was not just putting together a laundry list of activities but that we are very intentional in understanding what it is we want to achieve as a system and how we’re going to get there,” she says.
Jachimowicz says those goals focus on achievement, professional development of the KCPS workforce, including recruiting new teachers and retaining the teachers they have, and a focus on social and emotional wellness.
To better understand the learning environment at KCPS, the Learning Walks were implemented. The teams were comprised of content experts made up of instructional specialists from the district office as well as current teachers and administrative personnel. The teams visited each of the county schools to determine the efforts teachers were making to meet the instructional goals they have set for themselves.
After a day’s visit, the Learning Walks team and the teachers, staff, and principal from the observed classroom discussed the day’s teaching goals and additional ways to better achieve that goal. Jachimowicz uses a day at Garnet Elementary School and one teacher’s goal to overcome obstacles in math comprehension. Through these classroom experiences, the Learning Walks team and teachers can assess the day’s activity to determine additional pathways to success.
Here, Gina Jachimowicz discusses the structure and implementation of the Learning Walks along with Professional Development Day, how parents and other county residents can help, and how you might become a provisional teacher yourself if qualified through alternative licensing training.
This video is approximately seven minutes in length.
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