Saint Columbkille Partnership School (STCPS) has a more than 15-year relationship with Boston College (BC) and is now into its fourth year as a lab school with the Lynch School of Education and Human Development. With this partnership comes mutually beneficial research to strengthen Saint Columbkille’s curriculum and the professional development opportunities for teachers, thus creating more robust learning opportunities for students.
Dr. Jon Wargo, Assistant Professor, Teaching, Curriculum and Society, Lynch School of Education and Human Development at Boston College, is a veteran researcher and a familiar visitor to Saint Columbkille. Through consultation with Head of School, Ms. Jennifer Kowieski, Dr. Wargo developed a research study for the 2021-2022 school year to study and support anti-bias education. Five Saint Columbkille teachers of various grades are partnered with a Lynch School doctoral student for mentorship and guidance surrounding social justice and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). Each pair meets once a month together, as well as each month in the larger group with Dr. Wargo.
“As our school’s mission states, our school community is committed to the education of children of all backgrounds in an environment that cultivates respect, mutuality, and care,” says Ms. Kowieski. “We saw a need to provide additional support for our teachers in how to address issues of justice and equity, and the work of Dr. Wargo and his doctoral students at BC advances our school’s mission.”
“It’s important to cultivate rich conversations about race, power and opportunity,” says Dr. Wargo. “Teachers and students are developing a similar, shared language to talk across and about difference. It’s important to start early, for children to be able to see something unjust on the playground, for example, and name it as such.”
Each of the doctoral students is also a former teacher, and can provide practical and applicable suggestions, such as responses to classroom questions, age-appropriate books for the new English/Language Arts (ELA) curriculum, and how to think broadly about the teachers’ own experiences in relation to a student’s experience. The five teachers in the study are able to share and help guide their fellow teachers on their social justice journey, personally and in the classroom.
“My overall goal is to have more resources to help me lead conversations about DEI in my classroom and throughout my grade level,” says Ms. Carly Hoyer, a Grade 1 teacher at Saint Cols. I want to help others feel empowered to teach for justice and have tough conversations in their classrooms, too.”
During the fall semester, the group focused on developing a shared vocabulary to teach towards justice and promote anti-racist thinking. For younger grades, this can mean talking about being a supportive community member. For older grades, it’s much deeper, including a scaffolded reading experience with questions and student-teacher interaction and meaningful participation before, during and after reading a passage, story or novel.
“I think it is important to build a strong foundation about diversity, equity, and inclusion topics as early as possible,” says Ms. Stephanie Yandow, a pre-K teacher at Saint Cols. “As children are learning about themselves and others, it is important to teach acceptance. Even in pre-K, we have begun to introduce what it means to help and be an ally for others.”
“I am grateful for this research group because it provides educators with a foundation of how to lean into the discomfort of this work,” says Ms. Erin Flanagan, a Grade 3 teacher at Saint Cols. “One of my biggest goals for my third graders is that they leave this year as critical thinkers. Curious students who ask questions and think about why things are a certain way or whose voice might be left out of a particular narrative are students who will cause positive change in our world.”
Saint Cols teachers are also utilizing video recordings of themselves teaching to be able to go back and review their overall style, body language and verbal content. Specifically in the realm of social justice, being able to see the full picture of one’s instruction is critical to greater understanding and growth, as well as meaningful improvement.
“This project has provided me with strategies, examples, resources, and the confidence to have difficult, but important, conversations with my students,” says Ms. Maggie VanSlochem, a Grade 2 teacher at Saint Cols. “We are working together to give our students at Saint Columbkille a richer education and an open mind.”
This joint study was immensely popular for Saint Columbkille teachers, and both Ms. Kowieski and Dr. Wargo hope to expand further in the coming school years to provide ongoing support to additional Saint Cols teachers and mentorship opportunities to additional Lynch School doctoral students.
Photo below: Saint Columbkille Partnership School teachers and Boston College Lynch School of Education and Human Development doctoral students participate in Dr. Wargo’s learning for justice and anti-bias education study. Back row: Kyle Smith, Kierstin Giunco, Jordan Henry, Erin Flanagan, Stephanie Yandow, Jon Wargo and Carly Hoyer. Front row: Siubhan Foley, Jen Kowieski, Marisa Segel and Maggie VanSlochem.
