Vicky Spear recently shared this letter with Joellen Killion, her former coach from the Learning Forward Academy. We are sharing her inspirational story here, with permission, as a testament to the power of professional collaboration.
It seems like a very long time ago that I attended Learning Forward’s Academy XVII with Marilyn Bowen, Tim Yeoman, Beverly Smith, and others. Isn’t it true that sometimes you really can’t appreciate the magnitude of what is happening to you until it’s long in the rear-view mirror?
I remember our phone interview. I was a nervous wreck, but you made me feel comfortable. I had never heard of professional development standards or Innovation Configuration maps. I was definitely in a bubble. It was a comfortable bubble, but still a bubble.
I remember the first meeting in Chicago. I’ve traveled my entire life, but during that trip I was a bundle of nerves. I had no idea what to expect, and I think I stumbled through everything that week just pretending to know what everyone else seemed to know and understand. But I knew I wanted to learn more.
I couldn’t wait to get back to Cullman County Schools (Ala.) and tell people what I had learned. But, as is the case so often, they didn’t care about ME; they wanted to share what they knew. After that experience, I was determined to send as many people as possible to the Academy because I wanted to share that experience with someone.
I’m not sure how many people from Cullman have gone through the Academy by now. Some of the ones who did have retired or moved to other districts, but those of us who are still in the trenches reminisce about our times and how valuable the Academy was to us.
I left the central office three years ago. I had been there for twelve years, and I didn’t want my career to end without hanging out with the kids and teachers again. People told me I was crazy for wanting to leave the central office, but I haven’t regretted it all.
My school is a small middle school with a 68% free- and reduced-lunch rate. We have our fair share of obstacles to overcome, and we are doing that by looking forward instead of back. Our faculty shares the belief that all students can learn.
Our test scores, thanks to some wonderful teachers, have trended up. We offer guitar, robotics, wellness, financial skills, arts and crafts, and archery as extracurricular activities. We used to have to make do with two limping-along computer labs, but now there are three state-of-the-art computer labs, and seven Chromebook carts, each with twenty-five devices.
Our teachers have embraced technology as a teaching tool, and several of them now present at our local technology conference. I’ve tried to get them to present nationally, but they mistakenly think they aren’t ready for “the big time.”
We are a data-driven school, and on any given day, teachers are having meaningful discussions about student learning.
I am very happy to be here.
I’m telling you all of this to say that participating in Learning Forward and the Academy opened my eyes to possibilities. I want to thank you for making an impact on me, which, in turn, makes an impact on my teachers. When it comes to student learning and changing lives, that impact simply cannot be quantified.
We don’t have a lot of discretionary funds, and, unfortunately, in the past three years, funding has not been earmarked to continue sending leaders to the Academy. My goal is to bring a couple of teachers with me to Orlando. We will have to get creative, but I’m pretty sure I can pull it off! I hope to see you there.
Thanks again,
Vicky Spear, Ph.D.
Principal
Vinemont Middle School
Cullman County Schools
