Our middle school students are learning about self-direction and self-management, facing challenges head on, and finding success – both inside and outside of the classroom. Distinctive Schools teachers and leaders recognize how mentoring is beneficial for both their students and their practice, “Being a mentor has impacted my practice, it has given me a whole new insight into learning from a student lens.” says Rachael Beucher, Assistant Director of CICS Prairie, “Mentoring has changed the way I hold students accountable in my class.”

Did you know that January is National Mentoring Month? We asked Distinctive leaders to nominate mentors who have made an impact on the teaching and learning in their schools. We’re excited to celebrate the impact of these mentors, and share a few keys for implementing a mentoring program in your classroom.​

“You have to build trust and a strong relationship with students before anything else. Most of my beginning sessions don’t focus on academics as I get to know the students better. They need to know that, as their mentor, they can come to you about anything, not just schoolwork,” shared Frank Cademartori, music teacher at CICS Irving Park. Mentoring has allowed students to see a new side to Mr. Cademartori, “It’s totally different from my job as an enrichment teacher, and has allowed me to connect with students in a new and meaningful way. It allows them to see that I am more than the content that I teach.” 

Building trust is an important component to mentoring. “It takes time to set a solid foundation of trust. Authenticity, transparency, and consistency in my actions helps students to identify who I am as an educator and mentor,” shared Le’Ka’le Darden, sixth grade science teacher at CICS Bucktown. “Starting the year with questions about who they are, what's important to them, and what support they think they will need allows me to learn more about them as well.” 

When asked about her approach to mentoring, Traci McCullough, eighth grade teacher at CICS Bucktown, shared “My strategy is to help my students help themselves. I help them to build on their strengths, so they gain self-confidence to chase the challenge.” Being a mentor has impacted Traci’s classroom and the way she teaches; the relationships built through mentoring time deepens her understanding of student learning. It has changed the way Traci communicates with her students and families, and made it easier to assist students in meaningful goal setting. 

If you are considering a mentoring practice for your classroom, we have three keys to help you get started: 

1. Start small. Building relationships by taking a few intentional minutes with your students each week has incredible benefits. Students love having a specific person they can talk to and trust at school, and when they feel safe and cared for, it leads to increased attendance and academic performance. The amount you gain is exponentially more than what you put in!
   
   
   
2. Be patient and understand that mentoring is a process. It takes time to get to know your students. A great entry point in your conversation is to focus on goals that students set for themselves. Once you've identified personal goals, you can strategize with them to meet their goals, identify their strengths and areas of growth, and build a foundation of trust. With time and trust, you can start to peel back the layers and help them identify areas outside of school that might affect their performance. Once you're both ready, you can begin to dive into some social-emotional work that will not only help them academically, but in their life outside of school as well.
   
   
   
3. Focus on your students as individuals and problem solvers. Mentoring helps to satisfy so many needs that learners have today. In addition to the incredible insights you can gain as a teacher, meeting student needs for academic and social-emotional learning allows you to help students grow in immeasurable ways. Your role is not to solve problems for your students; mentors equip students with the tools they need, and remind students of the tools they already have to problem solve. By focusing on individual needs and problem solving, mentors help students to become more self-directed and successful in their education and beyond.
   
   
   

Self-direction, self-awareness, self-management – they’re qualities that so many adults struggle with, and so deeply embedded on the path to success. These complex and individualized concepts can be difficult to teach, but as a network committed to the value of student voice and self-directed learning, we recognize that students need someone in their corner to help students navigate. 

The students and staff at CICS West Belden are so fortunate to have this Trailblazer teaching alongside them. Please join us in congratulating a Trailblazing Teacher, Ms. Kasey Lewis! 

​Trailblazer teachers and staff hold a vital role in developing school reform, and we are grateful for their innovation, commitment, and dedication to our network! This month we are featuring a Trailblazing Teacher from CICS Bucktown.

This month's Trailblazer has fully embraced personalized learning in her classroom. She takes the time to get to know each students' strengths and needs, both personally and emotionally. She sets high expectations for all and truly believes that, with ongoing and personalized support, all learners can achieve. This Trailblazer truly embodies what it means to be "Distinctive"! She worked tirelessly over the summer, partnering with the Academic Team, to plan and facilitate multiple sessions during New Teacher Institute. Her participation and natural leadership were instrumental in ensuring that our new teachers feel prepared and excited for the year ahead. 

The International Society for Technology in Education, more popularly known as ISTE, held their annual conference in Chicago, Illinois this past summer. This conference is known to be the epicenter of everything edtech, and included powerful ideas, inspirational speakers, and networking events to connect with fellow innovative educators who share a passion for transformative learning. ​

​From robots to 3D printers to maker spaces, as a teacher I hear a lot of trendy tech integration being pushed these days. The innovations that exist in education through the deeper integration of technology is truly exciting but I find myself needing to sift through and find what I can integrate into the classroom.

At ISTE the first trend I noticed was a larger focus on STEAM for early learners. The expo featured many coding products that incited problem solving at early ages. My favorite of these products was a “bee-bot” it allows for children to program the robot by pressing a series of buttons and then pressing play. With it’s easy set up of just the robot and a pictorial grid it’s an easy activity to integrate into any kinder or first grade classroom. If you’re like me and concerned about having a cost effective way to do the same type of thing, consider making your own pictorial grid, and having students “program” each other to certain spaces. This will help them later apply the skill to programs like code.org.​

The integration of virtual reality goggles into classroom settings is another trend that is on the rise. Virtual reality goggles can be used for virtual field trips and experiential learning opportunities, but the idea of every child in the classroom having access to them seems like a bit of a far fetched idea. Again, if you’re like me and want to expose kids to virtual field trips and virtual learning consider this idea, create a National Geographic account, or simply go on YouTube and look up “National Geographic 360 videos” then turn off the lights in the room and create a rectangular prism that can be placed on the outside of the screen. This will give children the experience of virtual reality through 360 videos while experiencing it on their own terms as they cut off the world around them for a while.​

Terrell previously served as Network Chief of Staff for the past year. In her new role, she will be responsible for overseeing Distinctive Schools’ partnerships, development, school growth, and strategic initiatives. In bringing these components together, Distinctive Schools sees the opportunity to share best practices and leverage skills across the organization. ​

With experience as a management consultant at Deloitte and an Education Pioneers fellow, Terrell brings a new perspective to Distinctive Schools through valuable resources and best practices in organizational development and planning. ​

This month's Trailblazer is passionate about opening the minds of his students. He works to integrate the arts, to develop students' critical thinking, and works to make the world a better place. This trailblazer is always looking to improve his practice, and is always willing to share and learn from his experiences. He has developed partnerships within the CPS Arts Community, hosted and presented district-wide professional development opportunities at CICS Irving Park, and recently earned his masters in Teaching and Inquiry. He listens to his students, and adapts his instructional practice to meet student needs. He provides real-world experiences in the arts, and has truly made an impact on our community! 

Follow up with Frank! Read more about his work on his blog, A Sound Mind.

Chicago, IL (April 4, 2018) Distinctive Schools announced the establishment of its National Board of Directors that will help guide Distinctive Schools as an educational practice leader committed to social justice and the elevation of access and achievement for all students. ​

Distinctive Schools began its journey in May of 2011, with the mission to ensure successful futures for all of its students. Today, in partnership with Chicago International Charter School (CICS), Distinctive Schools currently manages four K-­8 elementary schools in Chicago: CICS Bucktown, CICS Irving Park, CICS Prairie, and CICS West Belden. In the northern region of Minneapolis, in partnership with Innovative Quality Schools, Distinctive Schools manages Minnesota Excellence in Learning Academy (MELA), and at the start of the 2017-­2018 school year, Distinctive Schools proudly partnered with Central Michigan University in the opening of its newest school, Distinctive College Prep – Harper Woods, a K-­3 charter school, adding grade levels each year through grade eight.  ​

As national thought leaders in the area of personalized learning, Distinctive Schools fosters learning environments that honor each individual and nurture the whole learner, and through a highly personalized model of instruction and supports, students develop a strong sense of agency and confidence and consistently exceed national norms on both growth and attainment targets.

“We believe our National Board of Directors represent the apogee of education today. We are very fortunate to learn and work with them, and to utilize their unique skill sets and expertise to continue to strengthen Distinctive Schools,” stated Scott Frauenheim, President and COO at Distinctive Schools. “The new board will strengthen support in all areas of the organization while continuing to positively impact student achievement. It is an exciting step for Distinctive Schools.”​

​​We feel so fortunate to have her at DCP - Harper Woods, please join us in congratulating a Trailblazing Teacher, Ms. Ciara Cox!

​Trailblazer teachers and staff hold a vital role in developing school reform, and we are grateful for their innovation, commitment, and dedication to our network! This month we are featuring a Trailblazing Teacher from CICS Prairie. ​

This month's Trailblazer is leading the way for personalized learning at CICS Prairie. She serves as a thought partner with the LEAP Learning Network, participates in the Frontier pilot for second grade, and was featured as the very first Frontier All-Star teacher in February! This Trailblazer incorporates student choice and voice in her daily practice. Her students use a variety of menus and surveys to explore how they want to learn and demonstrate their learning. Her leadership is helping to trailblaze a strong personalized learning path for everyone at CICS Prairie. ​

We feel so fortunate to have her at CICS Prairie, please join us in congratulating a Trailblazing Teacher, Ms. Keona Roberts!

We feel so fortunate to have her at CICS Bucktown, please join us in congratulating a Trailblazing Teacher, Ms. Rachael Beucher!

We feel so fortunate to have her teaching at CICS West Belden, please join us in congratulating a Trailblazing Teacher, Ms. Kelly Pollack!