The Unique Ways Technology Supported Social Emotional Learning at Grover Cleveland Charter High School
By: Tina Papazian, Instructional Coach at Cleveland Charter High School, L.A. Unified, Local District Northwest, Cleveland Community of Schools, Board District 3
Pictured above, Left to right: Ms. Ellen Yuen, Ms. Tina Papazian, Mr. Howard Stern, Ms. Robin Cheyne, Ms. Rita Hall, Ms. Danny Pulley, Ms. Annette Curi -Morton, Ms. Ami McColl,
Mr. Bill Smith, Ms. Janet Frnzyan, Ms. Lori Howe
The Monday Mixer “All Stars,” June 2021
- “Thanks. I couldn’t figure this out on my own. Not feeling like myself.”
- “Most nights, I am working until 10 at night. I am drowning.”
- “I wish I could be in my classroom again.”
- “I feel so exhausted all the time and I get nothing done.”
- “I miss seeing you every day and our impromptu planning sessions.”
- “I am so distracted. I can’t get work done...so overwhelmed.”
- “I am home alone all day. I miss my colleagues and the students.”
- “Sorry for being emotional. This year has been hard on me.”
As the instructional coach at Cleveland Charter High School, I heard teachers of all ranks express these feelings of sadness time and again during the 2020-21 school year. Professionally, most teachers had become adept at navigating the nuances of distance teaching. They had successfully pivoted their instruction and were utilizing various digital tools daily to implement the International society for Technology (ISTE) Standards. They were managing their work flow and hitting their stride.
On an interpersonal level, though, expressions of isolation became a pattern in my coaching conversations with teachers. These feelings were understandable. Most teachers are extroverts who are accustomed to interacting with dozens of students and colleagues daily. Additionally, Cleveland Charter High School is a special campus. This twice-honored California Distinguished School is the largest comprehensive high school in LAUSD with a student population of 2,900 and over 120 teachers and staff, two highly-regarded magnets, SAS, and numerous academic and career pathways. There is a sense of history on campus where many faculty and staff members have been at “The Land,'' as it is lovingly called, for years, even decades, and cannot imagine working anywhere else. In addition to the caring and collaborative administrators and staff, students are assisted by a cadre of counselors, school psychologists, and support staff who are committed to the academic and social-emotional needs of students, many of whom have been funded by TSP and Title I funds.
One can feel the interconnectedness of the teachers and staff. On campus, people regularly greet each other, and there is always someone there to help if you need it. There is a sense of unity and camaraderie, as well as a feeling of shared purpose and pride. Teachers and staff from various parts of campus regularly collaborate, whether it be for lesson planning, professional development, Open House, or a WASC visit. Teachers and staff also regularly convene to have fun during monthly Staff Association events and the annual Cleveland Family faculty luncheon when retirees are honored, which we were able to restart this year! To raise spirits during the 2020 holiday season, a small group of staff gathered donations and assembled gift baskets for teachers, distributing them in a festive drive- through event, all while maintaining Covid safety protocols.
Faculty Luncheon 2021, organized by Staff Association
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Holiday 2020 Cheer Train
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The most exciting, unique, and collaborative of campus events, however, involves dance. Annually, during Celebration, and semi- annually during Homecoming week, the legendary Ms. Hall empowers and entrusts Cleveland cheerleaders to choreograph and teach dance routines to teams of teachers and staff schoolwide. Every corner of campus is abuzz with activity, and everyone is consumed by dance practice at nutrition and lunch. Hours of practice culminate in a gathering for the school community where the routines are presented; stakeholders gather to celebrate each other as well as Cleveland itself. These collaborative events are time-honored institutions on campus, such that during a job interview, a prospective candidate is often asked, “How do you feel about dancing?” Additionally, former students nostalgically inquire, “Is Ms. Hall still there?”
A Few Memories from Celebration, May 2019
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A Few Faculty Parents and their Cavalier |
The Legend herself, Ms. Hall (center) |
Just a Few Scenes from Homecoming Pep Rally, November 2019
Fast forward to March 13, 2020. After weeks of speculation and conjecture, Covid-related school closures abruptly deprived Cleveland staff from these traditions, supports, and daily social interactions. Little did we know that we were about to embark on an unprecedented journey with many twists, turns, and growth.
In my capacities as an instructional coach, I sought to lend a listening ear, hoping that by allowing my colleagues to vent, they may gradually unburden themselves. Yet, my concerns for the well-being of our teachers eventually began to match my concerns for our students. Teachers and staff were struggling: isolation from colleagues, revamping their pedagogy daily, processing the dangers of the pandemic, and wrangling childcare and work-life balance. Teachers were gently and regularly reminded to practice self -care, encouraged to seek out relaxing pursuits. To most of the exhausted teaching staff, however, this was received like a new task added to their growing “To Do” list.
Social emotional support for our students was a priority; teachers were asked to display more empathy and grace, and rightfully so. Yet, as we know all too well, we cannot fill from an empty cup. I wondered how long teachers could proceed in this way, overwhelmed and isolated, and remain effective. Teachers needed time to decompress and socialize with their colleagues to feel whole again so that they could, in turn, be responsive and caring towards their students. I began to ask myself what I could do to assist the Cleveland teaching staff specifically with their social and emotional needs. During the school closure, might technology allow me to maintain and even strengthen teacher relationships, I wondered?
I devised a rather simple idea to facilitate a casual weekly social gathering for faculty and staff during lunch via Zoom, which is in alignment with ISTE Standard for Educators 1b: Learner: Educators pursue professional interests by creating and actively participating in local and global learning networks. Teachers could drop in, chat, and visit for as long as their schedule allowed. One might argue that teachers could easily congregate this way on their own. However, I knew that their exhaustion and isolation were roadblocks to their self care. Teachers needed a helping hand. They needed to socialize and have fun with their colleagues once again.
I proposed my idea during an Instructional Lead Team meeting. Department chairs, magnet coordinators, and Principal Cindy Duong felt that this would help our teachers, giving them a relaxed, open-ended space to reconnect. Next, I created a digital invitation, and the following week, Principal Duong started to share the invitation in her weekly update emails to the entire staff. I posted the digital invitation to my Schoology group Distance Learning Toolkit, which I had already put in place during distance learning to support teachers.
And the Monday Mixer at Cleveland Charter High School was born. The Monday Mixer started small. Over time, the gathering grew as more teachers and faculty members joined. They found joy in various activities: visiting with each other, having a few laughs over lunch, and showcasing their pets. We also played online games such as Scattergories and thematic Kahoot games, such as football trivia during the Super Bowl week, female scientists during Women’s History Month, and golf trivia just after the Masters Tournament, for example. Shop talk was kept to a minimum, not by design, but by a tacit understanding in the group.
A cadre of teachers and staff, whom I refer to as the Monday Mixer All Stars, attended. Other faculty and staff dropped in between meetings and other obligations. Despite the ever-present stressors, uncertainties, and screen fatigue, teachers and staff in attendance are remarkably positive and lighthearted. Attendees left the Monday Mixer feeling refreshed and a bit more prepared to manage their professional obligations and the wellbeing of their students. I received numerous texts and emails of thanks to have the regular opportunity to see their colleagues.
Worth mentioning is the fact that the attendees represented a cross- section of the campus: teachers, paraprofessionals, counselors, and coordinators from various departments and parts of campus who would not likely have socialized otherwise. Unexpectedly, despite the physical distance and school closure, technology was actually bringing us together in new ways, and it was beautiful to see happy faces of engagement and connection once again.
After a few weeks, I extended the timing of the Monday Mixer at the request of the staff to accomodate more attendees between various department meetings. A colleague approached me with an idea to do a “fun PD” with the Monday Mixer crew on how to use Zoom filters. On other occasions, if I was a few minutes late to start the Monday Mixer, and would receive numerous texts… “Hi. Are we “Mixing” today?... I am looking forward to seeing everyone. I hope we are gathering today.” I could see that facilitating this seemingly simple online gathering was helping to fulfill the needs of teachers, and that made me immensely happy.
Distance learning taught us so much about technology, our students, and ourselves. Prior to school closures, our faculty exhibited a full range of technology readiness, from tech averse to full implementation, with most landing somewhere in the middle- ready to adopt new tech practices if coached and supported. When technology moved to the forefront of our work, we had to set aside any assumptions, negative attitudes, and fixed mindsets to reshape our best practices as a faculty. Teachers embraced new information and strategies in schoolwide professional development sessions that I led via Zoom. Topics included Google Suite for Beginners, Google Chrome Extensions, and Digital Tools for Formative Assessment & Social Emotional Learning. Next, teachers collaborated to build their own capacity with the new tools and strategies they acquired in professional development, a practice which is recommended by ISTE Standard for Educators 4a: Collaborator: Educators dedicate planning time to collaborate with colleagues to create authentic learning experiences that leverage technology. Teachers began to utilize Kami and Nearpod. Google Suite use took flight, and students were collaborating online daily. Schoology became the primary mode of contact for materials between teachers and students schoolwide.
Students were responsive to assist classmates and even their teachers if technology glitches arose. This new nexus between students and teachers around technology use made it clear- digital citizenship had officially come of age. Students had already been using technology comfortably as digital natives, but not necessarily for academic purposes. When issues of digital citizenship emerged, teachers were reflexive, seizing opportunities for teachable moments schoolwide. Long gone are the days of the computer teacher being tasked with instruction in isolation. We realized that, in a sense, we are all teachers of digital citizenship, which should be incorporated in all classes as part of our school culture.
As a sort of technological final frontier, teachers found that they were able to engage with their students online for daily social emotional support in a variety of ways: daily check- ins via Jamboard, Google Forms, as well as the Zoom Chat. Mostly, these preventive daily check-ins solicited standard responses- tired, sleepy, happy, content, etc, but sometimes, students revealed that they needed support or were experiencing hardship at home. And just as always, teachers were quick to alert counselors and other support staff, as needed, to assist these students, even in this new online landscape. It stands to reason, therefore, that in this same way, the social emotional needs of teachers could also be met online. That is why the Monday Mixer took hold. Not surprisingly, ISTE has a standard in place to address social emotional needs: Standard 3a: Educators create experiences for learners to make positive, socially responsible contributions and exhibit empathetic behavior online that build relationships and community.
Now, we have a different perception of technology, with positive connotations and associations. Technology use does not need to be impersonal or cold. Conversely, we have also learned that technology will never replace the teacher. Empathic and visionary teacher leaders breathe life into technology, and will continue to do so into the future.
Moving ahead into the new school year, teachers will continue to need the social and emotional support of their peers. When we return to campus, perhaps we can continue the Monday Mixer in-person, but outdoors and socially distanced, if needed? Maybe we can maintain virtual options for teachers and staff to include more people? Time will tell, but the skills, friendships and relationships forged during distance learning will definitely carry over when we return to campus. And I will be there, happy to continue fostering teacher wellness at Cleveland Charter High School as part of our schoolwide approach.