Author archive

Shawnya Tolliver

In general, I believe educators become educators because they have a strong passion for helping young people grow, develop, and become productive members of society.  These educators spend countless hours matriculating through an educational program at a university or college with the hopes of molding youngsters.  Little do they know that the task at hand will require a much broader skill set than may have been taught in their college courses.  Though these educators may graduate with a solid knowledge of educational theory that knowledge might not be enough to mold the children that enter their classrooms. 

During my 21 years as an educator the biggest change I have seen has been in the students.  Over the years more and more students come into our schools with emotional or mental challenges.  I have seen children as young as 4 and 5 diagnosed with emotional disturbance, bi-polar disorder and/or obsessive-compulsive disorder.  In addition, some students’ ability to process day-to-day emotions are ineffective and can be extremely disruptive to the learning environment.  Teachers, administrators, and districts are ill prepared to handle the severity and magnitude of this growing concern. Though districts, administrators, and teachers have a strong desire and go above and beyond to support the children and their families the bottom line is that schools and districts are filled with educators not mental health professionals.  Facing these challenges coupled with the primary focus of providing standards-based education to students leaves many teachers burned out. 

Developing programs that prepare teachers for the mental health aspects of today’s children could improve overall teacher effectiveness.  Additionally, the development of partnerships between school systems and mental health agencies could increase the availability of support that is offered to students and their families.  Considering the evolution our students and their families are going through, our educational system needs to evolve also. Our teachers can do a lot but they cannot do it all. 

Shawnya Tolliver

Collaboration Among Teachers

Over twenty years ago I stepped into a classroom for the very first time as a new teacher. I remember the excitement that I felt being able to set up my very own classroom. I was a bit nervous being a newbie but soon found out my entire team was made up of newbies. Two teachers were beginning their second year of teaching and the other teacher was beginning her first year. I just knew this would be a great opportunity for us to share and grow into the profession together.
By October of that first year, I realized that team spirit, cooperation, and collaboration were foreign terms to two members of that team. Instead, competition, sabotage and backbiting were the modus of operation for my year two colleagues. One of my most vivid memories was seeing a great bulletin board idea at a workshop that I just had to use. I rushed back to school and shared the idea with my instructional assistant who began working on it. I was so excited to see the board up and couldn’t wait to see what the students thought of it the next day. The next morning, much to my shock, I came in to find the bulletin board had been taken down. When I asked my assistant, she told me the teacher next door wanted to use the idea and told her to take mine down. At that point, “the fur started flying!” That teacher along with the other teammate took materials out of my room and made that first year of teaching less than enjoyable.

Collaboration Among Administrators

Fast-forward twenty years; I am entering my second year as a principal. Over the years I have witnessed similar types of scenarios as the one described above on various levels of education. At times, there has been so much competition and a lack of teamwork. This has always baffled me, considering educators dedicate their lives to working with young people. We strive to teach them to get along, cooperate, share, and be kind to one another. I can even recall reading an article about 4 years ago about how school leaders across the nation would be more successful if they were willing to collaborate more.
Well, I am glad to say twenty years later, the anticipation and excitement of working with other educators has been realized. Of course, I have had other experiences of working with fantastic teams, but the experience I am about to share demonstrates cooperation in its ultimate form.
Over the past year, the superintendent of the school system I work in has encouraged schools to host Community Priority Workshops (CPW). These workshops are aimed at bringing all stakeholders together to work collaboratively to chart a course for each school. Schools began hosting their workshops individually and gathered beneficial information from these sessions. This model of school-based workshops was working and schools continued utilizing the structure.
Innovation is the idea of doing something new and different, trying a different method. Well that is exactly what Dr. Dana Bost had in mind. Dr. Bost was the principal of the middle school that my elementary school feeds into. Dr. Bost had the idea to host a CPW that pulled together all the schools that fed into the high school her middle school students would attend (She is now the principal of that high school). The idea was risky because it stepped away from the mold that had already been cast from the previous CPWs hosted in our county. However, all of the principals in our zone were on board.
We began meeting monthly and solicited input from central office staff members to ensure we were maintaining the spirit of what our superintendent wanted to achieve with the CPW. The experience of collaboration and cooperating with the other 8 principals was an amazing experience. It was quite evident that we were all striving to achieve the same goal. No one was trying to out shine anyone else and everyone wanted to do their part. The idea of “together we can do more” is what permeated through the entire experience. The event was successful! We were able to identify what we needed for our individual schools as well as what we needed as a feeder pattern zone. Based on the positive feedback, I am sure this is just the beginning of future collaborations.

Click this link to learn more about our CPW.
Community Priorities Workshop

Collaboration Among Cohort Members

Pulling all of these experiences together brings me back to this Ed.D. Program. Over the past five semesters, I am again feeling the sense of true teamwork and collaboration. It is truly amazing to work with people who have a vested interest in your success. I can tell that we are all in this together. Together we can do more!

Shawnya Tolliver

An issue that is near and dear to my heart is the “one size fits all” premise behind No Child Left Behind (NCLB). Most of my 20 years of experience in the field of education has been in Title 1 schools. I have worked with children in Kindergarten through fifth grade. Seeing a child come to school who appears to have never held a book, a pencil or a pair of scissors while in the same class having the fortunate challenge of keeping the 5 year old engaged that came to school reading speaks volumes in demonstrating that students have varied educational needs, therefore it has always been a challenge for me to embrace that a one shot deal assessment is not fair and adequate to assess a child’s growth and it is certainly not fair to judge a whole school. As we explored this topic of high-stakes testing and marginalized groups, we discussed low-income, ESL, transient populations and special education students. The common issues for all of these groups is that it is impossible to ensure that each of the students starts at the same place, receives the same resources, and is able to reach the exact same goal at the end of the year. Each child may make tremendous gains by the end of the year but it will not look just like everyone else. In fact, IDEA is at odds with NCLB to some extent. Students with disabilities are expected to have and Individual Education Plan so how is it that they are all to be assessed the same way. This line of discussion and thinking supports the idea of individual growth targets and alternative measures for assessment. Allowing each child to measure along their own growth curve seems to really put the needs of the students at the forefront of any discussion regarding accountability. Many states have chosen to pursue a growth model as a method of assessment. There appears to be growing support for this approach from educators, parents and lawmakers. It had become very apparent the NCLB is leaving behind more and more children all the time.

Shawnya Tolliver

I was so excited to find out last spring that I had been accepted into the Ed.D. Program at VCU.  I had longed to go back to school for quite sometime and had been waiting for the program to begin a new cohort.  The program model was exactly what I was looking for.  I plan to continue my career in the elementary school setting until I retire.  I love being in the schoolhouse where teaching and learning occur in its most basic form.  A practical verses philosophical program was exactly what I was looking for.  My joyful excitement was short lived.  Soon after being accepted to the program I discovered my principal was leaving to go to another district.  It was the unspoken expectation that I would then pick up the reigns to continue to guide my school on the road of success.  With a great deal of trepidation, I accepted the position of principal.  So not only was I starting an Ed.D. program but I was also going to be a first year principal.  I did contemplate passing on school but after all it was something I really wanted to do for myself.  I decided to move forward in both ventures.  In fact, I have found that the VCU Ed.D. Program is serving as a good resource and training program for my 1^st year as a principal.  I truly believe the program as equipped me with skills that have allowed me to successfully navigate through situations that most first year principals would bumble through.  This program has allowed me to side step many of the pitfalls that I believe first year principals would naturally befall.  I have learned a lot this first year and I look forward to continuing to grow as a student and a leader.

Shawnya Tolliver

Today marked the end of our first year in the Ed.D. program at VCU.  It was great to have the three sites back together again.  The most enjoyable part of the day was sharing our culminating ethical projects with one another.  I was truly impressed by the sheer talent, creativity and intellect displayed by my classmates.  It is clear to see why my colleagues are part of this doctoral program.   The quality of analysis and synthesis of what we have learned during this semester came through loud and clear.  The scenarios created and presented by my classmates demonstrated our understanding of the content in a highly compelling manner.  I am extremely honored to be part of the Class of 2014 Ed.D. Cohort. Keep up the amazing work everyone.