BOCA RATON, Fla. — When teachers at AD Henderson School, one of Florida’s highest-performing schools, are asked how they succeed, one answer is universal: They have autonomy.
Nationally, most teachers report feeling stressed and overwhelmed at work, according to a Pew Research Center survey of teachers last fall. Declining job satisfaction over the past two decades has been accompanied by a decline in teachers’ sense of autonomy in the classroom, according to a recent study from Brown University and the University at Albany.
But at this South Florida school, administrators allow their staff to demonstrate high levels of creativity in the classroom — and it works.
A public school of 636 students in grades K-8 located on the campus of Florida Atlantic University, Henderson scored in the top 1 to 3 percent in every subject and grade level on the latest state standardized tests, at the exception of sixth grade mathematics, where students ranked among the top 7%. In almost every subject, 60 percent or more of Henderson students perform significantly above the state average.
“A lot of our individual contribution is allowed in doing the activities we want to do in class,” said Vanessa Stevenson, a middle school science teacher who is finishing her third year at the school. She plans to start an equine medicine class next fall, even though the school doesn’t have stables — she thinks she’ll find a way.
“It’s a little bit of trial and error because nothing is handed to you to say, ‘Do it this way.’ You just have to understand it,” she said.
Joel Herbst, superintendent of Henderson and its sister FAU High School, calls the faculty his “secret sauce” and maintains that the school’s success can be replicated anywhere — if administrators cede some control.
When that happens, he said, teachers create hands-on programs that help students “not only show understanding, but also gain more depth.”
“Give (teachers) the freedom to do what they do best, which is impart knowledge, teach beyond textbooks,” he said.
Madhu Narayanan, an education professor at Portland State University who studies teacher autonomy, said independence is closely linked to teacher morale and success. But autonomy must go hand in hand with administrative support.
“It can’t be, ‘Here’s the classroom, here’s the textbook, we’ll see you in six months.’ These teachers enjoy immense autonomy, but feel lost,” he said.
Henderson emphasizes science, technology and mathematics, using the arts and humanities to facilitate these courses. About 2,700 families enter a lottery each year for 60 spots in Henderson’s kindergarten class and available spots in other grades. There’s no screening: Some kids entering Henderson are prodigies, most are average learners, and some have learning disabilities like dyslexia.
The only adjustment is to comply with a Florida law requiring that the student population of university-run “lab” schools match the state’s demographics in terms of race, gender and income. Because families apply to attend, parent participation is high — an advantage Herbst and his team concede.
Selected kindergartners are tested months before their arrival so that any needs can be immediately met.
“Some of them come in reading and some of them know five letters – and it’s not just reading, but all subjects,” said Lauren Robinson, assistant director of elementary curriculum. “We’re going to give every opportunity to close these gaps before they get worse, instead of waiting until a certain grade level and saying, ‘Now we’re going to try to close them.’ It’s the first day.
In Jenny O’Sullivan’s art and technology class, kindergartners learn the basics of computer coding by steering a robot through a maze. Fourth and fifth graders make videos celebrating Earth Day. Students learn design by building cardboard arcade games like Skee-Ball for their classmates. Legos teach engineering.
Although her new classroom is equipped with the latest technology, she insists that such lessons can be taught anywhere if the teacher is allowed to be creative.
“My grandmother is from Louisiana and there’s a (Cajun) saying: ‘Lagniappe,’ that little something extra,” O’Sullivan said. “I can be the lagniappe in (the student’s) education. Could you do without it? Yes. But would you want to? No.”
Working in small groups while wearing white coats and safety glasses, the sixth graders in Amy Miramontes’ medical detective class solve a mystery daily. They examined strands of rabbit muscle under a microscope, using safe chemicals to determine which neurological disease each animal suffered from. They tested fake neurotoxins to determine what illnesses afflicted their imaginary patients.
Miramontes hopes the course will not only spark students’ interest in medicine, but also allow them to gain the necessary knowledge in two years when they take the state’s eighth-grade science exam.
“They always learn by getting their hands on something,” Miramontes said. “If they make a mistake, it doesn’t matter: we start again. But then we learn a great life lesson: we must be very diligent.
Marisha Valbrun, 12, hired medical detectives because she might want to become a doctor. She learned that although science is challenging, by asking for help, she can overcome obstacles.
“I feel like if I ask any person in this room for help, they can give you the right answer,” she said.
Even at a school where teachers exude enthusiasm, elementary school art teacher Lindsey Wuest stands out: She can’t sit still while describing how her classes are science-centered.
This afternoon, in his science as art class, Wuest and a guest artist are showing third graders how to make clay dolls depicting endangered species — while also teaching chemistry about why glazes change color in the oven.
“I hope that students who love art can also develop a love for science,” she said. “Project-based learning stays with children longer. »
Third-year student Maximus Mallow said while working on his leopard figurine he learned how the animal’s camouflage worked.
“We’re having fun while creating science stuff,” the 9-year-old said.
Henderson’s success is leading to grants — and nowhere is that better seen than the college’s drone program, which recently won a national competition in San Diego.
Henderson’s drone teams have a room to practice flying the 75-millimeter (3-inch by 3-inch) four-rotor devices through an obstacle course, as well as flight simulators donated by the local power company.
The drone program is a chance to compete while using physics and aeronautics learned in the classroom, teacher James Nance said. Although expensive equipment is an advantage, Nance said, drone courses can be conducted on a shoestring budget. At a previous school, he had done a flight lesson with PVC pipes and balloons.
Eighth-grader Anik Sahai takes out his cell phone in Stevenson’s science class, an act in Henderson that usually means a trip to the office. But he’s showing off an app he created that uses the camera to diagnose diabetic retinopathy, an eye disease that’s a leading cause of blindness worldwide. It won first place at the state college science fair and is being considered for commercial use.
The 14-year-old credits his success to his years at Henderson, starting in the preschool program.
“The teachers here are amazing,” he said. “They were trained to take us to the next level.”
___
Sharon Lurye contributed reporting from New Orleans.
___
Associated Press education coverage receives financial support from several private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropic organizations, a list of supporters, and funded coverage areas at AP.org.
ABC News
