TORRINGTON – Trail Elementary recently had fantastic news proving their new programs have been effective with the staff and students.

Tyler Floerchinger, school principal, shared some highlights this school year, including Leader in Me, Professional Learning Communities (PLCs), WTOPP scores, leadership, Orton Gillingham, and other celebratory things. 

Starting with Leader in Me, Floerchinger said the staff and students have taken to the new program. He hears students speaking about it, he sees students display leadership skills, and he really sees the benefits when it comes to behaviors. 

“Staff has really embraced and students have really embraced is the work we’re doing with Leader in Me. It’s been really, really good. Starting to see a lot of transfer from class to class when we bring up the language about Leader in Me and the kids like, ‘Oh yeah, that’s putting first things first, you know, that’s synergy.’ They’re using the language,” Floerchinger said. 

He shared how the teachers have set aside time in their schedules to do these Leader in Me lessons. They have a conversation about it with the kids. The kids learn a module a week. There are a little over 30 modules including around 140 lessons. Each year, they learn the same habit structure, but at a deeper level as they get older, in order to really reiterate the importance of the habits and to really understand them better just as they would any other topic in school.

The staff really like the program as well. They are surprised by the number of students responding to the topic. The kids find it empowering. It helps those who are struggling, it teaches them to be a model of improvement to their peers, and it helping the kids learn to be better versions of themselves every day. They are learning to be leaders and good people, and they are learning regulation skills. 

Floerchinger read the book the program is based around. He finds it to be good life advice. He said the things they are learning are not only benefitting the students, but the staff are learning great habits as well. The staff always want to improve, and this is a fantastic way to do so. 

“One thing I know about the staff at Trail, is they’re always wanting to reach the next level. You know, so that they’re going to embrace where they’re at, but never have it be complacent. Where are we going next? How do we achieve more? How do we make it better for our students? Like, it’s awesome to be here, but we don’t want to live here all the time. We want to keep moving forward so that’s really positive thing about the staff,” Floerchinger shared. 

He shared how some of his staff may be attending a Leader in Me conference to get even more training than the district provides, in order to better support students and other staff in their learning. 

Next, he discussed their PLCs. Floerchinger shared how they’re taking a “slow to fast approach” to build a strong foundation for the structure of this program. They really want to get a solid idea of what it is they want to do, and they are working out a three-year plan for this. They want to continue to improve the program through the years. 

He is working on a guide for each year. This helps him get an idea of what it is he needs to share with his staff to build a plan to set things in place. He then takes in input from his staff to make sure the plan can work out appropriately for everyone involved. 

Floerchinger believes as soon as they can get their meetings really organized, they can be sure their work will be “efficient, effective and targeted”. Then, they can add more steps in the PLC process. 

October 10, they met to discuss WYTOPP scores. This is where they can see their work is paying off and a celebration was in order. These scores finally came public to discuss on the 17. 

In their meeting, they were informed their ratings have gone up immensely. Their state accountability rating has risen through the past few years, but last year’s scores changed it significantly. 

When it comes to these ratings, 1.4 and below does not meet the state’s expectations. 1.4 to 1.8 is partially meeting expectations. 1.8 to 2.6 is meeting expectations. And anything 2.6 or above exceeds the state’s expectation. They have a specific formula to calculate these scores. They are based off of growth, equity and achievement. 

For 2017-2018, their rating was 1.0, which did not meet expectations. For 2018-2019 and 2019-2020, they were at 1.7, which is a partially meeting expectation score. There was a year they did not take the standardized test due to COVID-19. 

Last year was also a 1.7, still not quite meeting expectations. All of those years, they were one point away from meeting the expectations. This year, their score was a 2.3, which is not only meeting expectations, but 0.3 away from exceeding. 

In regard to this information, the staff of Trail Elementary had a huge celebration around their PLC and instruction work. Floerchinger found it very important to celebrate this achievement. It was huge for them. Another thing he found important was to ensure the celebration was not tainted by discussing what is yet to do. 

“I mean, the thing was, I didn’t put any emphasis on ‘we still have work to do’. I said, ‘Let’s celebrate today and then Monday, let’s get back to the grindstone’. I just didn’t want to say ‘Hey you guys are doing awesome but, we still need to do this and this, let’s soak in the moment. Let’s celebrate and then on Monday, we’ll get right back to the hard work.’ It was really neat that in my time here, this is my 11th year, this would be the first time that we’ve met expectations,” Floerchinger explained. 

Another thing he noted, outside of what is going on at the school, was about how important it is to have consistent leadership. Discussing the amount of time he has been in this leadership position, he shared how he believes consistent leadership can be a huge key in success. 

“[What] I tell my staff is, I’m not the best leader. I’m not the best principal. I try hard and I try to move us forward, but consistent leadership. It goes a long way. Because you can build on that,” Floerchinger shared. “I mean, because, you know, you can have a great principal for a year and then all of a sudden you get someone else, or for two years, it all kind of starts over. But consistent leadership, whether it is phenomenal or mediocre, is what I’d say about myself, it’s consistent and you can build on that. To me, it is important.”

This is a valuable thought process when considering he is a guiding light for incorporating leadership into the children of the school.

The thing he is proud of most is the improvement of his staff and students. He is impressed by their results, and he is so proud. With the concern of the education of our youth lately, especially due to the COVID-19 era of education, this can be a proving point showing this generation of kids is coming out of the concerning range. 

Floerchinger discussed how there was an impact on the kids from COVID-19. Socially and emotionally. They lacked the original structure of public education. They were struggling behaviorally and academically. Learning online at one of the most developmentally important periods of a child’s life had many concerns of lasting effects. 

This huge improvement may show proof of the deficiency wearing off. These new programs may be effective in turning the issue around. However, it is important to understand, it will be a lengthy process. Damage is rarely instantly reversible. These programs will take time to set in place in their most effective level.

“People need to really realize that it’s a process. We build things, put things in place, we monitor them, we see the effectiveness and and then we just build from there. It’s not something that, just in one year, all of a sudden everything’s great. And it is a huge process, and it takes a big commitment by staff and by the administrators, to commit to the process and see it through. And I think we’re starting to see some of that impact, that positive impact, in our reading instruction around our foundational skills of Orton-Gillingham. It is a staple, like this is just how we operate and we’re starting to see a great impact of it. Which has been good,” Floerchinger said. 

The three main things going really well for them overall, is their Leader in Me, PLCs, and their WYTOPP ratings. They are seeing progress in all of them. He said they still have work to do, but they have to start somewhere. They see growth and they build from there. 

Floerchinger said he thinks he saw growth quicker than they expected. Despite having high goals, they were overwhelmed by them meeting the goals. He was hoping for at least mid or lower levels of the “meeting expectation” range for WYTOPP ratings, so almost reaching exceed was really gave them more “drive” and a “fresh breath” for the year. 

Floerchinger is excited to see more growth, he is proud of his staff for really sticking with it, and he is so proud of their effectiveness.