Arlington School & Family Magazine June/July 2015 | Page 20
Campus News
Pearcy Elementary
In Joan Swann’s kindergarten classroom, using the whole
brain to learn has led to 100 percent of students completing
kindergarten above the grade-level expectation in reading.
Last summer, Swann attended a conference in Louisiana on
whole brain teaching. She increased her knowledge base on
whole brain instruction, which she has since used with her
entire team.
Pearcy Elementary earned all three distinctions from TEA
in 2013 and five out of six TEA distinctions in 2014. Under
the current state standards however, maintaining schoolwide academic success over multiple years is not easy to
attain. The teachers and leadership at Pearcy Elementary
realize that it can require nontraditional approaches to
succeed in this educational climate.
As academic expectations become increasingly more
challenging, and college and career readiness becomes
a major focus for students across the state of Texas, it
is no secret that the key to success begins with a strong
foundation. Research shows that setting this strong
foundation in early childhood is a key component to overall
academic success. The challenge is to increase the number
of students who are performing on or above grade level,
starting in kindergarten.
One way Pearcy is helping every child succeed over the
last few years has been focusing on brain research and
how students learn best. Whole brain teaching produces
orderly fun in the classrooms; if a student’s whole brain is
involved in learning, there is no mental area left for zoning
out or misbehavior. By using the entire body including
hand gestures and reading secrets, students are developing
an in-depth understanding of language and reading that is
enjoyable and engaging. Not only are students learning at
amazing rates and retention levels, they are having fun.
18 Arlington School & Family - June/July 2015
Shellie Williams, counselor at Pearcy, attended a conference
last summer at Harvard University on executive functioning
to gain a greater understanding of students with learning
differences. Now, Williams more deeply understands how
to use these differences as an advantage rather than a
disadvantage, as they are often portrayed in a traditional
educational setting. Among many other things, she learned
that students who struggle in school can be taught how
their brain works and use this knowledge to overcome their
personal academic struggles. She has used this information
to motivate all of the students to want to figure out their
brain patterns in order to be more academically successful.
This approach is especially helpful as the AISD moves
toward an inclusive education model.
Also last summer, Pearcy’s math and science teachers in
grades 4 through 6 attended a nationally-renowned STEM
conference in Houston, Texas. The week-long conference
highlighted how to implement STEM-based lessons into
classrooms to increase student engagement and success in
math and science.
Pearcy boasts some of the highest scores in math and science
in the district. Much of the reason for this is the exponential
increase in the level of student engagement since the fifthand sixth-grade teachers have begun integrating STEMbased lessons into everyday instruction. Using hands-on
learning also contributes to high levels of success with
students with learning differences. On a daily basis, students
are exploring and determining how to solve problems
using engineering and technology, followed by creating
presentations and sharing their problem-solving processes
with one another.
The focus at Pearcy Elementary is to continuously look
for ways to increase every student’s love for learning.
Ultimately, this is the only way to make academic gains and
prepare students for success at college and in their careers. †