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Classroom Practice/Program

Cynthia Prather Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Night; a Mother’s Day program; and
has taught reading and
writing in individual, a Father’s Day barbecue. We reestablished the Parent Teacher Organization (PTO),
small group, and giving parents more of a voice within the school.
classroom settings, A second challenge was just getting students acclimated to being back in
and developed school, with its structured days, classroom routines, and social interactions. The
teaching and school’s core values—Safe, Organized, Accountable, and Responsible (SOAR)—
learning materials were emphasized in the morning announcements, posted in the halls, and reviewed
for local, national,
and international by teachers, with student performance rewarded via ClassDojo [an online
audiences. A application that allows teachers to give incentive points to students and to share
member of DKG points, comments, photos, and video with parents]. In addition, counselors led
since 2016, Prather classes through Second Step, a program that fosters social-emotional development
is the immediate among young children and helps them build relationships. We were heavy with
past president of Second Step, especially during the first 6 weeks. In general, I encouraged teachers
Delta Chapter in DC
State Organization. to give lots of positive reinforcement and praise.
scsprather@aol.com We also introduced new reading strategies and techniques through professional
development and coaching. Tailored, targeted training was embedded in the staff’s
LaCondria instructional schedule.
Beckwith, principal
at Ketcham Elementary Q: What did you actually achieve?
School in Washington,
DC, holds a bachelor’s A: Our beginning of year (BOY) performance was sobering: 21% at or above
degree from Howard benchmark—or grade level—on DIBELS [Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early
University and a Literacy Skills] ELA indicators (i.e., letter names, letter sounds, phonemic
master’s degree from segmentation, and decoding) and 60% significantly below grade level in those
Trinity University. same DIBELS indicators
She was a member In our most recent end of year (EOY) assessment, 75% of our students met
of the Georgetown
Leadership and their DIBELS reading proficiency goal, 75% of the students met their Scholastic
Innovation Program Reading Inventory growth target, and 71% of our students met their IREADY Math
for Aspiring Principals growth target. Improvement for progress monitoring was the highest in the city.
during the 2020 In addition, our most recent Panorama results [a survey used in DC public schools
school year. lacondria. to measure affective outcomes] showed that students at Ketcham felt loved at a
beckwith@k12.dc.gov rate that was 12 points above the DC average. These results are very meaningful
because they show that our students feel loved and are learning. Our school
environment and the family connections that we shared contributed to this year’s
success.

Q: What key strategies contributed to this success?
A: Creating a school vision, with goals to achieve that vision. At the beginning
of the year, I worked collaboratively with the staff and school leadership team to
create a school vision that valued academic success but began with love and was
supported by parent and family connections. Then, I provided support to teachers
in reaching those goals.
Support for students’ social/emotional needs. Making students feel loved and
respected was a top priority. A full-time social worker and counselor provided
wrap-around services and responded to emergency crises. The Second Step
program introduced and reinforced self-management strategies. In addition,
staff members were encouraged to do four things to show love to their students:
call each child by name; give each child a second chance if things went wrong;

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