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Teachers and staff from Snyder Junior High School learned about the curriculum they would be using at the school next fall as part of Snyder ISD’s partnership with Responsive Ed.
On Friday, a group of Snyder ISD teachers and administrators traveled to Responsive Education Solution’s headquarters in Lewisville to tour the headquarters and one of the charter school’s campuses.
Snyder ISD is partnering with Responsive Ed to operate Snyder Junior High School after years of poor test results put the campus in the Texas Education Agency’s crosshairs.
Snyder ISD Public Information Officer Valerie Morris said that one of the Responsive Ed campuses, iSchool High, is across the street from their headquarters. The Snyder teachers split into four groups to see Responsive Ed’s curriculum as it was used in classrooms at the school.
“They were able to tour that and see their curriculum, just their system in action,” Morris said.
Current Snyder Junior High School Principal Rebecca Mebane said that the Responsive Ed representatives and iSchool High teachers were very welcoming to the group, and they were excited to see how Responsive Ed operated.
“While we were at one of the schools, we saw students and teachers in the classroom using their system of operations,” Mebane said. “We saw an overview of their teaching and learning foundation and their idea of leadership.”
Mebane said that Snyder teachers visited with teachers who taught the same subject as they did and got input on how the system works for them.
“It was nice to get to build those relationships and get to know people on more of a personal level as we start to work on this partnership,” Mebane said.
Morris said that what sets Responsive Ed apart from most charter schools is that they write their own curriculum.
“That’s something that’s new to the district, because with most school districts you purchase curriculum from different vendors, but (Responsive Ed has) a whole department dedicated to writing curriculum for their kids,” Morris said. “The teachers were eager to see what that looked like and how it was applied in the classroom.”
Morris said the trip was the first step for Snyder ISD getting to know Responsive Ed. She said she expects there will be additional trips for those who were unable to go on this one.
“It was just a ‘getting-to-know-you’ type of visit,” she said. “I think what teachers are afraid of is they’re afraid it’s going to be something just so different from what they’re doing, and it’s not. It’s just a little different delivery and information. Just a different technique that they teach.”
Mebane said that because Snyder ISD and Responsive Ed are still in the negotiation process, it was difficult to say exactly what parts of the Responsive Ed system would be implemented at Snyder Junior High School.
“It will definitely be us working together,” she said.