From the Classroom to Coaching: The Time is Now for Reimagination by Naomi Wilfred

For many educators who taught during the 2020 and 2021 school years, words like “remote learning” and “asynchronous” will forever evoke a memory. A period of life where so much was uncertain, and as a result, the educational landscape drastically shifted.  In addition, the grave inequities for BIPOC students, specifically those who identify as low-income, became even more prevalent. The anti-Blackness and systemic racism the pandemic magnified, showed us that now (more than ever), is the time to truly reimagine education. 

Along with many other educators, I knew my approach for the 2020-2021 school year had to be different. The virtual learning space was uncharted waters for many of us. From bitmojis to breakout rooms, we were all doing our best to figure it out. The daunting task of engaging with black screens and teaching students online was anything but easy. In addition, thinking about the student population I served (majority Black and low-income); what other obstacles might they have? (Mitchell, 2020).  That year brought on a whole new meaning for the words compassion and community. How did I need to show up for my kids in that moment? What were their social-emotional needs? What were mine?  That year I found unique opportunities for engagement, redefined meaningful work, and centered their voices (Fernando, 2021). This included receiving and implementing student feedback, community activities, opinion-based debates on challenging topics, and a lot of joy. I ended that school year feeling such a deep connection with them. And as one of my students put it, “Ms. Wilfred – you are a whole vibe.” I had a renewed sense of optimism and was hopeful I would be able to build on that for the upcoming school year.

The start of the 2021-2022 school year, Chicago Public Schools staff were walking into the unknown. Over the past eighteen months, we had gone through the longest teacher strike in history, were in the midst of a global pandemic, and many students had just spent more than an entire school year learning remotely. Looking back, I realize I had not fully processed what we had and were currently experiencing. With that, came a “business as usual” approach and many of the priorities I was able to center the previous year were pushed to the back burner. Understandably so, schools were tasked with supporting students in “learning how to do school again.” While much of the past two years represented loss, it was also a time of reimagination and possibility. I frequently asked myself, is this what my students need? What does school look like for the students in front of me? How do I capture the essence and feeling from last year being back in-person and all that entails? After much consideration and personal difficulties, I fully transitioned out of the classroom after the 2021-2022 school year.

When I started working as a coach for the Middle Grades Network in September 2022, I was deeply intrigued by its premise. Developing students’ sense of belonging by focusing on specific learning conditions. Their focus on qualitative data and social-emotional learning is work I deeply believe in. The opportunity to contribute to a network and coach schools around the same areas I had been focusing on the past few years felt like a great fit. How can I support teachers as they navigate this new normal? How will schools “buy-in” when there are countless initiatives and other priorities? What my time as classroom teacher and now as a coach have taught me are the following:

• The social-emotional needs of students, teachers, and school staff (Zakrzewski, 2014) should always be a priority.
• Do not assume that educators have the resources or strategies to effectively implement classroom environment and culture work – how can you best support them? What might they need? What are their strengths? 
• Explore unique ways to build student-educator and peer to peer relationships (Allen, 2022).
• Teachers are asked to do the impossible. Make sure they are given the time and space to prioritize building their classroom communities, relationships with their students, and joy.

To sum up, I encourage schools to explore what meeting the social-emotional needs of the students and educators in front of them looks, sounds, and feels like. This could include new professional development opportunities and learning strategies to develop unique student-educator and peer-to-peer relationships. Be open to the different ideas that teachers and students have in making their classroom and school environments better. Lastly, this work must be a priority. Do staff and students feel joy? Are school and classroom environments spaces of community? Are teacher strengths invested in? Asking and answering these questions is a great first step in truly reimaging education.    

About the Scholar

Naomi Wilfred (she/her) is a visionary, a dreamer, and a disruptor. A Boston-born transplant turned proud Chicagoan who has worn multiple hats as an educator over the past decade. She currently works as a Middle Grades Network Coach for the University of Chicago’s To&Through Project.

In her role, she works closely with a cohort of schools in CPS to improve the middle grades experience for their students. With a focus on qualitative and quantitative data analysis, increasing students’ sense of belonging, and implementing change ideas, students are able to thrive. In addition to her coaching responsibilities, she leads the MGN Student Fellowship. A program that focuses on amplifying student voice and leadership skills. Prior to her work at To&Through, she was a Chicago Public Schools teacher where she taught, created, and designed for almost every grade level and subject area. Her classroom space was dedicated to providing identity-centered, antiracist, healing, and joyful learning experiences. She has a Bachelors of Science in Education from the University of Kansas and a Masters in Special Education from Loyola University Chicago.

References

Allen, K-A (2022). The Power of Relationships in Schools, Psychology Today https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/sense-belonging/202201/the-power-relationships-in-schools

Fernando, R., King K. (2021) Centering Student Voice to Meaningfully Change the System, Knowledge Works https://knowledgeworks.org/resources/systems-thinking-transformative-centering-student-voices/

Mitchell, F. (2020)  COVID-19’s Disproportionate Effects on Children of Color Will Challenge the Next Generation, Urban Institute https://www.urban.org/urban-wire/covid-19s-disproportionate-effects-children-color-will-challenge-next-generation

Zakrzewski, V. (2014). How Social-Emotional Learning Transforms Classrooms, Greater Good Science Centerhttps://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_social_emotional_learning_transforms_classrooms