Martin Sortun Elementary: “Every Day is Training Day”
Students’ success at Martin Sortun Elementary is not a flash in the pan. Every year for nearly a decade, the Kent school has been honored with academic achievement awards, recognitions, and grants (over 70 and counting, since 2007). In 2015, Martin Sortun became a STEM Lighthouse school, one of six in the state to serve as STEM mentors to other schools in Washington.
Perhaps the biggest accolade came early this year, when the school was named a National Title I Distinguished School, one of the top 100 schools in the country for student achievement. Title I schools are those in which at least 40% of students enroll in the free and reduced lunch program.
“The success we’ve had over the last ten years — it’s like the New York Yankees,” said Principal Greg Kroll, who has served at the school since 2001.
Unlike a professional sports team, however, Martin Sortun was and is constrained by limited resources and challenging circumstances. The awards and recognition are the result of years of hard work, dedication, iteration, and grit.
It took a “coalition of the willing” in 2002 that created a school improvement plan. It took coaches working with classroom teachers and students to move learning forward. It took a bottom-up school structure in which the problems, ideas, and solutions came from the classroom — not from the principal. And it took leadership creating a culture where growth and success are celebrated.
We sat down recently with Principal Kroll and three coaches at Martin Sortun — to dive deep on the school’s approach to student learning and development.
The Coaches
According to Principal Kroll, the first key to the school’s success was the coaching. Kroll decided early on to keep coaches at all costs. The coaches work together, and with the classroom teachers, to track each student’s performance, using research and data to strategically intervene when needed. Meet the current crop of coaches at Martin Sortun — the first three sat down to be interviewed for this post:
Stephanie Bolinger — Math Intervention Specialist — Stephanie went through the Kent school system herself and came back after college to work as a classroom teacher. After eight years in the classroom, she took interest in math coaching. When a spot opened up, she was selected. Stephanie, named the 2015 Kent Teacher of the Year, is the longest-tenured coach at Martin Sortun, having served in her role for the last 10 years.
Kristen Heineman — Literacy Coach — Kristen came to Martin Sortun from Hawaii. She brought a strong background in the Common Core State Standards. Kristen works with Stephanie to maintain a robust data management system that tracks student performance on dozens of key performance metrics.
Doug Ferguson — STEM Integration Specialist — we first met Doug through CORElaborate, a group of Washington State Teacher Leaders blogging and tweeting about Washington’s K-12 Learning Standards and assessments. Doug was hired as a 5th grade teacher in 2010 and moved into his current role in 2014. As it turns out, Doug’s transition to STEM coaching came at just the right time. Check out this video we created in 2016 featuring Doug and some of his students.
Michelle Matlock — School Success Coach — Michelle didn’t join us for this interview, but Principal Kroll and the other coaches referenced the importance of her role multiple times. Her emphasis is on academic and social emotional success for all students. She leads student intervention groups for practicing and applying positive behaviors. She also leads professional development for teachers about how to teach and integrate social emotional learning lessons.
“The Standards Define Success”
The second key to success at Martin Sortun is standards-based instruction. “The standards define success,” said Principal Kroll. “We bought into the idea that Washington state has a standardized test. This is what we’re going to measure success by.”
To do that, all the teaching must be aligned to those standards. “Standards,” he said, “allow for a common vision schoolwide and common conversations. We’re constantly looking at the standards, and then we’re taking the curriculum and fitting it to the standards.”
“Every Day is Training Day”
Martin Sortun, and all Washington public schools, are measured on those standards through the Smarter Balanced assessments (SBA), adaptive online exams that are aligned to the Washington State Learning Standards. For students at Martin Sortun, the test is a celebration — an event students look forward to each year. Assessments begin in the third grade, and, quite often, second graders can’t wait to take the SBA.
At Martin Sortun, “Every day is training day.” The school aims for 200–300 repetitions on any given skill and on any given vocabulary word used on the SBA. Because the school teaches to the standards, the spring assessments don’t require additional instruction outside the curriculum. The tests assess exactly what the students have learned throughout the year, with the same strategies, tactics, and problem-solving methods.
It’s not “teaching to the test,” which Kroll says is cheating. It’s more like drivers ed.
“We don’t teach to the test. But we teach the kids test-taking strategies, and we teach the standards in such as a way that you will be successful on the test,” said Kroll.
Brain Olympics
The spring assessments are treated less like another standardized test and more like a sport — like the Olympics (only once per year).
In fact, the school doesn’t even use the term “Smarter Balanced assessments.” Martin Sortun, instead, holds the “Brain Olympics,” complete with all-school opening and closing ceremonies. Ferguson wrote about the event on CORElaborate here, and it’s worth a read.
About the opening ceremonies, Ferguson wrote:
“The kids marched in with posters. They had classroom cheers. There were balloons. There was confetti. My principal inspired students and brought in a guest speaker. He pumped them up and showed inspirational videos of Olympic athletes. Mr. Kroll talked mindfulness and calming strategies. He emphasized that we were brainletes training for our Brain Olympics.”
The school has monthly spirit assemblies celebrating the three school rules: be safe, be kind, be the best you can be. The following video highlights a parent rapper celebrating reading a monthly assembly:
Once the scores come out in the fall, Martin Sortun holds the closing ceremonies. The event is so important to the students that many seventh graders come back to participate. The highest performers deliver speeches that bring students and teachers to happy tears.
And growth is celebrated as much as high performance. A student who goes from a 1 to a 3 on the SBA (out of 4 possible scores) is praised by teachers, coaches, administrators, and Principal Kroll as much as a student who scores in the top 5 percent. No matter where the students start and where they end up, “these kids want to aim for higher, bigger, better,” said Bolinger.
Sustained Motivation
After a decade of success, including awards, grants, and other recognition, the coaches and principals seemed as motivated as ever to help their students reach a higher level. Martin Sortun isn’t blessed with limitless resources and school funding. In fact, district budget issues may force the school into eliminating several of the coaching positions beginning next year.
We asked what keeps them motivated to continue pushing day after day, year after year.
“We haven’t hit 100% yet. We’re still aiming,” said Bolinger, referring to the percentage of students who earn a level 3 or 4 on the SBA. “Until we hit 100%, there’s always room to grow.”
Thank you to Martin Sortun, Principal Greg Kroll, and coaches Stephanie Bolinger, Doug Ferguson, and Kristen Heineman for allowing us to sit down and interview them for this blog post. Learn more about Martin Sortun here. And watch the video, released in 2016, which captures Doug Ferguson’s work in the school’s STEM&M Lab:
