Building Bridges Within a Community

King Kennedy Center/Ravenna Schools/

Kent State Graduate Students

Purpose
The purpose of this presentation is to facilitate a shared vision
within the Ravenna community to support student growth.

Instructional Leadership Teams

Tonya, Jay and Ken
Lauren, Samantha, and Kristy
Barb, Michelle, and Liz
Kim, Amber, and Cindy
Melissa, Joe, and Waleed
Kelly, Mariel, and Wafa

Field Excursion Reflections

We visited several schools to deepen our understanding of instructional
leadership in diverse contexts. As a cohort, we visited the following schools:
Lawrence School - Students with distinct learning styles
Waldorf Spring Garden School - Instruction focused on child development
and integrating the arts
Our Lady of the Elms - Gender-based schooling
STEM Middle School - Project and problem-based learning
STEM High School - Project and problem-based learning
Akron International Institute - Meeting the needs of refugees and
immigrants

The Relevance of Historical and Community

Context
Jay, Ken, and Tonya
digital short of the community

Assessing How Children Understand Their

Learning Experiences at the Center
Tonya, Jay, Ken
In speaking with an individual who is a student and a tutor at times, she expressed an understanding of her
learning experiences at the center as two-fold. She expressed the importance of not only having the ability to
have a tutor (one who represents the Centers ability to convey an educational experience therefore clarifying its
importance) be there to support her, but that the role of a tutor at the center is to be able to teach a particular
concept if a learner expresses a misunderstanding of an area in their educational learning process.
While speaking with a second-grade student who comes to the Center for the Summer program and occasionally
for after-school tutoring, he said that he likes the King Kennedy Center a lot, that he plays with his friends, and
learns how to do stuff from the tutors and people who help run the Center.
While speaking with a seventh-grade student, she said that she likes coming to the Center because she can talk to
people about her problems. She also really enjoys the books she gets from the Center. Shes read a lot of those
books and theyve helped her find a passion for reading.

Assessing How Children Understanding Their

Learning Experiences at School
Tonya, Jay, Ken
According to a survey given to 100 sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students at Brown Middle
School, 48% of students at least feel listened to by policy makers, teachers, and parents. This
outweighs the 34% who feel as though nobody listens to them.
Seventy percent - (70%) of students usually or occasionally feel apathetic about school.
Twelve percent - (12%) of students feel excited or motivated when they walk into the school
building.
Fifty-Two percent - (52%) of students feel like their community is not a very safe place.

How Do Tutors Understand Their Role?

Cindy, Kim, Amber

Community members serving as tutors:

The director serves as a mentor. She has taken advantage of teachable moments. For
example, if a student has a cell phone out during tutoring and it is interfering with the
session, she will ask the student to put the phone away.
One tutor is a freshman in high school. She has lived in this community her entire life.
She takes the role of tutor seriously. She is proud of the work she has done. She has
also been the recipient of the tutoring services provided at the Center. She shared
positive experiences that she had of the KSU tutors that worked with her.
The people who serve in a tutor role from the community have a genuine understanding
of their role as instructional tutors as well as life coaches.

Assessing How Tutors Understand the Intersectionality of Their Identity in

Promoting Culturally Responsive Instructional Practices

Cindy, Kim, Amber

Hiram tutors:
According the staff from the Center, the students from Hiram are unaware of the
contextual framework of the community. It was necessary to provide this population
with a tour of the community to gain a better sense of the diversity of the needs present.
This emphasizes the need for those in educator roles to become more culturally
responsive.
All groups associated with the King Kennedy Center tutoring program shared that there
is no formal training preparation for the tutoring role.

Assessing How Tutors Understand the Intersectionality of Their Identity in

Promoting Culturally Responsive Instructional Practices

Cindy, Kim, Amber

Kent State tutors as well as community member tutors:

There is an understanding of the social/emotional needs of the students who participate
in the Center tutoring sessions. The depth of the understanding has often been through
learning about personal lived experiences of those students. Four out of six tutors
interviewed felt there was value in the service they were providing because they have
been there, done that with regard to the students who receive tutoring. The tutors all
shared the notion that the work they were doing, while perhaps receiving some pay,
was more about the service they have been providing to the Center and the students.

Assessing How Families Understand Their Childrens

Learning Experiences at the Center
Lauren, Samantha, Kristy

A lot of parents that we talked to have had their children signed up with the program
for a long time, while some have just started their relationship with the Center and
commented on what they want their experiences to be like.
When asked the question How do you view your childs learning experiences at the
Center?, most answers involved them telling us what they work on at the Center
and what they want them to work on. A common answer was that their children get
help with their homework at the Center. Parents and families recognize the
homework help that is given, but feel there is a lack of valuable experience outside
the walls of the Center.
The families and parents had positive things to say about the Center and could
answer what they wanted their child to learn, but did not necessarily comment on
what types of experiences their child has educationally, other than mentioning they
get help with homework.

Assessing How Families Understand Their Childrens

Learning Experiences at the Public School
Lauren, Samantha, Kristy

Families and parents are fully aware that the children in this community
are bused to an elementary school on the other side of town. They do not
see this as a positive experience with the public schools.
Grandparent - My granddaughter is in 1st grade and she likes to go to
school.

Assessing the Director and Assistant Directors

Understanding of Childrens Learning at the Center
Kelly, Mariel, Wafa
The understanding of the environment that we gained from our experiences at the King Kennedy Center was
very insightful. It is apparent that meaningful and trusting relationships have been built between the directors,
staff, students, and families that work within the Center. The families feel a sense of comfort when they come to
the King Kennedy Center, and seem to use it as their bridge to reach out to the schools and teachers in the
district. The team at the Center act as liaisons for the families at times in order to communicate effectively with
members of the school community. The directors have made the effort to provide educational opportunities for
students in both after-school tutoring and summer programming. These efforts clearly show the passion and
understanding that students need those learning experiences to achieve at a higher level in school and in life. We
found out that they provide the services and experiences that the community desires, which is supported by the
families and their continued support and interest in the Center.

Assessing the Director and Assistant Directors

Understanding of Childrens Learning at the Public School
Kelly, Mariel, Wafa
After spending time at the Center and meeting with members of the Centers community, we have taken away
that there is a lack of current text and technology resources within the school to support the learning of the
students. While the teachers and administrators in the school district want to do what is necessary to support the
children, like the Center, the school does not always have the funds to do so. The King Kennedy Center would
like to see the gap in collaboration and communication be diminished in order to create a shared vision and
common goal. In closing that gap, the directors at the Center have worked to communicate with the school on
sharing students grades and attending IEP meetings. The directors have passion for the students success in the
schools and want to support that growth, although we do see a gap in whether or not the students experiences in
schools reflect how they learn best. The directors at the center are advocates for all the children in the
community, an example being contacting the transportation department in order to have bus routes changed to
pick up children in the safest way possible. We discussed the ways in which to approach school staff or the
board in a way that most likely leads to partnership and having your voice heard.

Assessing Faculty Understanding of Teacher Preparation for Tutors and

Student Teachers to Include Working with Culturally Diverse Communities

Melissa, Joe, Waleed

The faculty see a lot of value in the services provided at the KKC. Students in the MAT program at Kent spend
time at KKC working with the director and students to understand how the Center functions and get a better
understanding of high-needs areas within a school district. Todd Hawley, the director of the MAT program at
Kent, noted that many students at Kent are White and middle class, and have little to no experiences with
students outside the majority culture. Their experiences at the KKC and other similar sites prepare them for
teaching in areas of need and also has the added benefit of putting to bed any unfounded fears about working
with students from areas of need. Student reflection after working with the King Kennedy Center is always very
positive and students find it to be a very meaningful experience.

Assessing Vision and Mission of the Center

Michelle, Liz and Barb

King Kennedy Centers Mission

The Centers mission in part is to better the Portage County community by volunteering at the
King-Kennedy Center and working with area residents to improve overall living conditions.
Goals
To facilitate educational and social programming at the King-Kennedy Center.
To work with MIC in their struggle to clean up the community and fight the illegal dumping
and junkyard business.
To help provide children with an alternative to drugs and violence by supporting and creating
recreational activities.

Ravenna School Districts Mission Statement

Michelle, Liz and Barb

The Ravenna School District, in partnership with the community, is dedicated to

providing an enriching educational experience to all students, within a safe and
stimulating environment and to promoting the ideals of individual responsibility,
civility and academic excellence as the foundation for both personal growth and
honorable citizenship.

Kent State Students for the King Kennedy Center

Michelle, Liz and Barb

The King Kennedy Centers mission and goals come from a website created by
students for the King Kennedy Center.
This website has not been updated for an undetermined amount of time.
The contact email on this website is no longer active.
Several Kent State professors are working on recreating a website for the King
Kennedy Center.
This is part of rebuilding relationships and involvement of Kent State University.
The King Kennedy Centers vision does focus on improving the learning of students in
the goal to facilitate educational and social programming.
The King Kennedy Centers vision does align with the Ravenna School district partly
with the goal to facilitate educational and social programming. This aligns with
Ravennas mission to provide enriching educational experiences and promote
responsibility and civility.

Policies and Practices

Michelle, Liz and Barb

Through conversations with the liaison, school district and tutors:

The King Kennedy Centers policies and practices are not
aligned with Ravenna Public Schools policies and practices.
The Ravenna School District has a policy of working with
community organizations in general.

Strengths of King Kennedy Center

The Center builds and maintains relationships with the
members of this community.
For approximately 45 years, people in this community have
been devoted to keeping the Center open.
The Center provides a sacred, safe, warm, and nurturing place
to learn and grow.
The Center has the capacity to meet the diverse needs within
the community.
Wafa

Continued Strengths of King Kennedy Center

The staff are caring, committed, and compassionate.
There is a rich history within the King Kennedy Center that
needs to be celebrated.
The staff are also part of the community.
The services offered are aligned to the needs of the
community.
Kim

Challenges
The Center needs additional resources for technology in
order to improve access and increase opportunities for
engagement.
There could be increased alignment between what students
are learning in the schools and the Center.

Research-Based Solutions
Technology
Technology is a critical component for adequately preparing students in a competitive
global market.
"In addition, the students who took part in the study expressed quite positive attitudes
towards the use of educational technology. According to the analysis conducted with
the mean results of the performance of students, the use of educational technology had
a positive effect on their performance, and the impact of the use of technology can be
seen in the students progress results" (Eyyam, 2014, p. 39).

Research-Based Solutions
Technology
Researchers have found that students studying language arts in multimedia environment
gained more auditory, language, decoding-in-context, and story composition skills than did
students in a control group that did not use computers (Downey, 2009, p. 113).
They stated as well that, Technology deployed in education can help remove inequities
between schools of the inner city and the suburbs, between cities and rural districts . . . . .
Technology can become the force that equalizes the educational opportunities of all children
regardless of location and social and economic circumstance (National Academy of Sciences
& National Academy of Engineering, 1995) (Downey, 2009, p. 110).

Research-Based Solutions
Collaboration
Aligning current supports to the common goal of student achievement for the student
learners who are shared between the King Kennedy Center and the Ravenna School
District.
"Sound curriculum management takes steps to eliminate activities that are unrelated,
irrelevant, or unnecessary in terms of accomplishing the system's defined learner
objectives (Downey, 2009, pg. 85).
The simple act of sharing assessment results with tutors and showing them the goals
for each of the students can immediately double the impact of tutoring efforts
(Bambrick-Santoyo, 2010, p. 85).

Plan of Action
The students in the cohort from Kent State University developed an innovative
professional learning series focused on how to build bridges to improve
student learning. A compilation of the series is available to assist in creating a
plan of action that aligns with the strengths and needs of both communities (i.
e., the Center and Ravenna School District).

Scholarly References
Bambrick-Santoyo, P. (2010). Driven by data: A practical guide to improve instruction.
San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Downey, C. J., Steffy, B. E., Poston, W. K., & English, F. W. (2009). 50 ways to close the
achievement gap (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.
Eyyam, R. & Yaratan, H. (2014). Impact of use of technology in mathematics lessons on
student achievement and attitudes. Social Behavior & Personality: An International
Journal, 42, S31-S42.
Knight, J. (2007). Instructional coaching: A partnership approach to improving
instruction. Thousand Oaks, CA: NSDC.

Reflections from the Cohort Members

Each graduate student was asked to reflect on the experiences obtained
throughout the project of working with the King Kennedy Center, the
community, and Ravenna School District.

Tonya
My experience with regards to engaging in this inquiry-based project in working with the King Kennedy Center to help create some bridges
within the Ravenna School District has opened my eyes even more to some of the disparities that exist beyond the disparities that most
instructional leaders are cognizant of. It seems that there is a very general knowledge of the socio-economic status issues that affect all school
districts in any location. I really feel that this experience has opened my eyes even more to the point where it goes even further beyond that
knowledge base of the very general disparities of very low poverty stricken families, to middle class, to upper class. When it comes to lowincome and poverty stricken individuals, they have several more layers to their lives and the lived realities of their lives. Being given the
opportunity to work with the King Kennedy Center allowed me to look even deeper within myself as a person as a future inspiring
instructional leader to establish and develop even more compassion than I already had demonstrated and felt in the realms of my teaching
capacity. I feel that this experience would be important for anyone going into a leadership position to be able to get into the minds and the
lives and the communities of those who we do not see daily in our lives. We do not encounter these types of situations in our daily schedules.
These are situations that are trying to be put to the side and be hidden for the general public to not see the conditions in which some of these
individuals have to live their lives because of generational poverty. It is extremely important to be able to see the situations in which every
child is coming from when they come into a school district. It is imperative that we be able to gauge the level of need from all different
aspects of families and know how those individuals are living based on what they have already and what they do not have. Therefore, school
districts need to try their hardest to provide something beyond the educational scope because education is not just about academics. Education
is about providing an environment in which learners feel safe and nurtured because they may not be getting that at home. We are finding
more and more today, that this is what is happening. So, as instructional leaders we need to gear our focus to see to it that it moves in the
other direction. We need to be more culturally-responsive ourselves in our leadership practices and need to promote a culturally-responsive
model of teaching in our schools. To the point that there are no blinders on and we stop grouping our students based on pre-developed biases.

A poem by Cindy Wieland, KSU Graduate Student, Educational Administration

Cindy

An Intersection
Who I am
Where I am educationally
Has intersected with many who are great
Who strive for knowledge
Who aspire to teach
Who search for meaning
Whove imparted this knowledge to me
Whove extended this teaching to me
Whove shown me the meaning
Of the importance of supportive community

Reference:
Marshall, C. & Oliva, M. (2010). Leadership for social justice: Making revolutions in education, 2nd ed. NY: Allyn & B

Mariel
audio/video
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5

Samantha
This project has been such a great experience. During graduate school, it is not often
that you get a chance to actually impact a community of learners in a truly meaningful
way. We get inquiry-based projects and assignments and provide schools with
information and ideas on how to improve but we dont get a chance to be completely
immersed into the school community. I think a major part of being an administrator is
making appearances and being visible within the community you serve. This project
has demonstrated just how important that is. I loved being able to see and interact with
the members of this historic community. By talking with families and community
members you get a unique opportunity to gather valuable information that can help
impact student learning. Being able to work with people and facilitate communication
and collaboration in a manner that can positively affect the community and the school
within it has been an honor and a privilege.

Michelle
Engaging in this project has shown me the importance of an instructional leader
becoming a part of the community in which they serve. Even if the leader does not live
in the community, it is crucial for him/her to get to know the people in the community
they serve and become embedded in its culture. Leaders must address their own sense
of self and their life experiences in order to understand how it will impact their
understanding of the community they serve, especially when the two are not similar. It
is also important for leaders to not assume they know what is best for a community and
instead take on a facilitation role. Listening and reaffirming a communitys strengths
are key components of instructional leadership and can allow for identification of
struggles and build bridges with which to address those challenges. It has been
inspiring to speak with people of the McElrath community and the King Kennedy
Center and see their passion for the success of people who live there.

Kristy
I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to work with the community of
Ravenna. I strongly believe the best way to make true positive change for
people is to know what kind of change they really desire and need, not just
what is told to us in a book. I also enjoyed learning about Ravenna School
District and finding there are so many good things that are being done at both
the Center and the schools. I hope we have started to build a bridge between
the schools and the Center that will result in a long-lasting relationship within
this community. I look forward to seeing the many good things that will
continue to happen in the community of Ravenna.

Liz
Through this work with the King Kennedy Center, it has opened my eyes to
what it truly means to be an instructional leader. Everything I do as an
instructional leader impacts more than society thinks. As an instructional
leader, we must be fully aware of our communitys needs and wants. As an
instructional leader, we cannot be stationary inside of a school building. We
must be out in the community and immerse ourselves in their culture and lives.
When you focus on your community, all work for the students becomes more
meaningful and authentic. Everything we do is for the students.

Wafa
Even though it was a very short and busy time working in the King Kennedy Center, I learned a lot and I can say it was a great
opportunity. The Center is special because of the workers there and all the effort they put into connecting with the community to
help every person.
I believe this is a great work and cannot be done well in a short time. Changes cannot be made in one shot. I really appreciate what
the director and assistant director are doing in this Center. LaJoyce is the heart of this Center. She is trying to help this community
as much as she can. I personally learned from her experiences that we need to go beyond looking at our work as a job and try to
help as much as we can. She built meaningful bridges among children, families, and the Center. Unfortunately, there is no direct
connection between the Center and the school and between the school and the families. So one hand cannot clap. Also, I believe
that dialogue is important to enable people to think together. The important bridges need to be built between the school and the
Center and between the school and the families. I believe that this community can be better. Everyone needs to collaborate. They
will be better when their kids get their education and align it with their needs. Learning can be enhanced when we provide
numerous opportunities to consider how what were learning might impact what we have done in the past, what we are doing now,
and what we will be doing in the future. The Center has proven that it is possible to connect with the families, the schools should be
willing to do the same thing to benefit everyone in the community.
Reference:
Knight, J. (2007). Instructional coaching: A partnership approach to improving instruction. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

Melissa
I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with the King
Kennedy Center and learning about the Ravenna School District. I loved
having the opportunity to meet with the people that are immersed in this work
including LaJoyce, Conni, families, and students at the Center. This
experience has taught me the importance of being visible in the community
and having a strong partnership with the community and those that you serve.
The staff working at the KKC are truly inspirational and committed to the
Ravenna community. There are already so many good things that the KKC is
doing for this community. The Center not only helps with the academic needs
of students but also the social, emotional, and overall well-being of each and
every child, which is what I hope to do as an aspiring school leader.

Jay
Impact on my understanding of leadership, and its role in shaping how an entity functions. First, I
take away the importance of fully understanding, and effectively communicating the values, goals,
and philosophy of each entity involved. I have observed that entities that are grounded in this
manner function more effectively, are healthier places to operate in, and are better community
members in general. This grounding also allows for a second emerging theme, which is authentic
collaboration, to occur more frequently, effectively, and readily. Only when entities are clear about
who they are, who they serve, how they serve, and why they serve can there be true authentic and
honest collaboration. I encourage both the King Kennedy Center, and the Ravenna School District
to think about these themes as they embark on a process directed towards serving the children of
their shared community in a more effective manner.

Ken
Being a true instructional leader in a community means a person is completely
immersed in the community and understands them. As an instructional leader, I need to
know my people. Plain and simple. Wherever they hang out, I hang out. Whatever they
do, I do (as long as its not illegal, immoral, or involves a skill I couldnt possibly be
good at, such a knitting). Working with the King Kennedy Center has taught me that
creating a relationship between the community, the city, the school, and the Center is
no simple task. It needs to be carefully constructed, considering all integral factors,
with research used to guide practice. We cannot simply say its a money problem or a
curriculum problem. We have to look at the issue holistically and allow for time for
reflection and interpretation from stakeholders.

Joe
The most intriguing and exciting part of working with the King Kennedy
Center is the level of excitement that those involved with the Center have
about making a change for the better. Too often, institutions are slow to adapt
to the climate as it changes around it. But LaJoyce and Conni seem to
genuinely want to improve the quality of the education the students they serve
receive. I know that originally technology was a focus for the center and I
think that it can be again. Technology can help collect and harness data that
shows how impactful the services are at King Kennedy, and this data can in
turn be used to persuade donors to fund King Kennedy. Through the collective
will of those involved, King Kennedy can improve, change, and shine.

Waleed
Being a part of this inquiry-based project is a great experience which enriches my knowledge about
instructional leadership. Getting the chance to be exposed to the community atmosphere (King Kennedy
Center) foster my confidence to better serve the community (as King Kennedy Center). I learned that the
leader should be patient when dealing with community issues.
I learned from this project that the instructional leaders duties are not limited to only direct and
supervise workers. His/her duties should go beyond that to get the real sense of what actually the
community need and to cope communitys problems. For example, getting in touch with this community
is essential to understand their needs and cultural values. In addition, encouraging the community to be
involved in the community center by advertising the provided services.
Working with such a community that has low income, homeless, and low education helped me to
understand how to serve people in a successful manner. I learned that having good communication skills
with this community is important to maintain a trustworthy relationship. Also good communications will
help to expand the chances of partnership with other agencies such as King Kennedy Center and Ravenna
Public School.
Therefore, building a bridge between both the community and services providers based on community
needs will be the ultimate goal.

Barb
My experience engaging in this inquiry-based project has been very meaningful since I work in the Ravenna
School District. It has been great to help a Center that students from my district attend. I have learned a lot about
how much respect teachers and administrators have for the Center. The survey that was sent out to teachers had
all positive things to say about the Center. Teachers who didnt know about the Center would like to learn more
about it.
I have also learned a lot about trying to align what the school is doing with the Center. I think as a cohort we
have come up with a lot of great resources and solutions for the Center to improve a relationship with the school
district. I hope the Center and the school board are able to enter into a partnership to work together. I think even
if we can get better communication between the Center and the students teachers it will make a huge difference
in helping students.
This project has helped me to understand how to be an instructional leader because it shows how important the
community and families play into the school district. If we, as teachers and administrators, arent
communicating with families and the community we serve, then we cant help all students be successful. The
school district can make a larger impact on student success when we have support from childrens families and
build a relationship with them.

Lauren
Being a consultant for this process has been a great way to see potential within
the district that I teach. There are populations of students that are not served as
well as others and some of those students are residents of this community.
Finding and exploring ways to meet the needs of kids in this community has
been invaluable. I am glad to have engaged in conversation and built
relationships with people like LaJoyce, because I hope to continue this
relationship beyond the scope of this project. As an aspiring school leader, it
was a good experience to explore the instructional side of leadership and how
that goes beyond just scores on a standardized test. I was able to see how
curriculum has just as much connection to community relations as other parts
of leadership. It is often an ignored aspect of instructional leadership.

Amber
This experience was very meaningful to me as a future leader. I think often as graduate
students working to improve our practice as future leaders, we can easily get caught up in the
detail oriented work with numbers, test scores, that surround us in our daily work and tasks in
public schools. This experience has allowed me to see the big picture of the type of work I
want to accomplish as a future leader in my community. As an instructional leader who wants
to improve learning for all students, the work I do has to often go beyond the walls of the
classroom. As teachers, we often use the excuse, But, I only have these kids for so much time
each day, I cant possibly.. but we need to remember that we also have the power to impact
them beyond the time we spend with them during school hours, and I think that is important to
remember. As a future leader, one of my top priorities is school-community relations, and this
experience has really helped to build my confidence in understanding that this type of work
can be done. And I am capable of doing this type of work It takes leaders, teachers,
community centers, and community members that are passionate about children and their
success and a strong vision and mission- but it can be done!

Kelly
The experience of working on this project involved taking in an extensive amount of information in a
short period of time. Beginning with field excursions to various schools in order to see different
leadership styles, to working at the King Kennedy Center and learning about the community of Ravenna,
it has all been a great experience for me as an aspiring leader. One of the biggest takeaways I have from
this experience is that there is not one correct leadership style, nor one way a school or community
should be run. A leader must truly know the people they are working with and what styles of leading
will best suit their populations strengths and challenges. A second idea I have taken from this work is
that it is important for leaders to understand the art of collaboration, not only with other leaders, but
anyone they are serving, or anyone that can help them serve more efficiently.
I hope the Ravenna School District and King Kennedy Center are able to take our ideas and collaborate
to combine their leadership styles and create one shared vision to best suit the needs of the children in
their community. It has been a wonderful experience exploring ways we can help enrich the partnership
between the schools and Center, and I would love to see the partnership continue to grow and thrive.

Kim
Working through the elements of this project allowed me to gain a deeper understanding of the sense of community. Prior to this
experience, the concept of community was too far-fetched for me to really understand what it meant to be a part of a community.
Listening to the directors, students, and tutors speak about the community in which they spend so much of their time, was
incredibly heart-warming. When I was first introduced to the King Kennedy Community Center, the words sacred space were
used to describe the climate. What an attribute to those who created the center, maintained its core values, and those who have
been blessed to continue to experience the sacred space for what it is today.
From the research I have been doing as part of this project, there has been a constant thread of the theme caring. From the
textbook, Instructional Coaching, there was a section that summarized this experience best for me. Human action is based on a
theory, or principles, and to fully understand what we stand for, we should think deeply about what principles we embrace for our
work and personal lives. This textbook also defines best practices for instructional coaching. Those emerging concepts are
equality, choice, voice, and dialogue. Using these techniques, it would allow the opportunity for more collaboration for those
invested in the students within the community of the King Kennedy Center. Furthermore, applying those four areas into our daily
practices would foster better relationships.
Downey, C. J., Steffy, B. E., Poston, W. K., & English, F. W. (2009). 50 ways to close the achievement gap (3rd ed.). Thousand
Oaks, CA: Corwin.
Knight, J. (2007). Instructional coaching: A partnership approach to improving instruction. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.