Following our Compass to Success

Stacey Abbott • Cahn Fellow 2021

Elementary school is all about building literacy skills. Garden Hills Elementary leadership and staff realized after returning face to face from the global COVID-19 pandemic virtual/hybrid schooling that we needed to redefine our “True North” when it comes to teaching reading and writing. Our project was a journey from extreme empathy and gratitude for being present at work through the harsh realities of learning loss and, finally, accountability with tempered compassion to shore up pedagogy and implementation of literacy instruction.   

All stakeholders determined the need to adjust our S.A.I.L.S. (Strategies, Assessments, Individualization,  Learning, and Student Achievement) to ensure success for our precious passengers-Garden Hills’ students!