During an initial classroom visit I recently had with a principal, I observed a group of 5th graders labeled “behind” quietly filling in blanks on a worksheet. The students’ heads were down, pencils moving, but their eyes looked vacant. Across the hall, meanwhile, another group of students, also considered struggling, were elbow-deep in a science experiment. They were not quiet. They were not perfect. But they were asking questions, jotting notes, and laughing through mistakes.
The difference between those two classrooms was not the students; it was the approach. And it was through this observation that our school leaders began to see those differences and begin the work to make sure all students were receiving the same rigorous instruction.