Start Small, Stay Focused: Leading Schoolwide Implementation That Centers Students
When I started this work, I wasn’t looking for a program. I was looking for something that would truly meet the needs of our students. I took a hard look at where they were struggling and what was getting in the way of their success. At the same time, I was thinking about our staff. I knew that for anything to stick, it had to be something they could believe in and rally around together.
OBJECTIVES
- Create a unified school culture that centers student success
- Build trust and ownership among staff through inclusive implementation
- Establish sustainable systems that last beyond individual leadership
That’s what led me to AVID, Advancement Via Individual Determination. I had heard about the way it supported students who were often underrepresented in college pathways, and I wanted to learn more. I began visiting schools where AVID had already been implemented and paid close attention to how it worked in different contexts. It was important to me to observe schools with similar student populations, since I was leading at the middle school level. I wanted to see what real success looked like for students who were similar to the ones we served.
That’s where the journey began. From there, I knew it couldn’t just be my decision. If this was going to work, it needed to be something we built together.
Building Buy-In and Selecting the Right People
Once I had a better sense of what AVID looked like in practice, I didn’t move forward on my own. I pulled together a team of teachers to help explore whether this could work in our building. I was intentional about who I invited. I brought in teachers who were well respected by their colleagues and known for strong instruction. I also made sure to include the skeptics, the ones who were likely to ask tough questions or resist change.
It was a little bit of a coalition of the willing with, as a friend of mine said, a couple foxes in the hen house, so that you can make sure you’re meeting the needs of everybody. I didn’t want those concerns to come up later in a large group setting where people might feel defensive. I wanted to hear them early, in a small space where we could have real conversations. That committee became a place where every staff member had someone they could connect with. Whether through trust, shared experience, or common concerns, it gave people a voice in the process.
The pessimist complains about the wind. The optimist expects it to change. The leader adjusts the sails.
-John Maxwell
This wasn’t about getting everyone to agree right away. It was about creating the space to build understanding and trust over time.
If we were going to do this, we had to do it well. That started with selecting the right teachers for AVID classrooms and schoolwide implementation efforts. I chose educators across grade levels who were strong instructionally and had built strong relationships with students, families, and their peers. They were open to learning and always looking to grow.
While those teachers focused on AVID classrooms, I focused on the schoolwide strategy. My role was to help the rest of the staff see how AVID aligned with our existing goals. If people didn’t see how it connected to what they were already doing, it would feel like an add-on. I wanted it to feel like a natural extension of their work, something that helped them, not something that added pressure.
Learn about addressing the root causes to change.
Check out this toolkit.
Training with Intention and Shared Leadership
When it came time for training, I was very intentional about how we prepared. We met as a group before we left, reviewed expectations, and made sure everyone felt ready to represent the school and bring something back. I made sure we had a variety of grade levels and content areas included. I even selected a few teachers who were still growing in their practice because I wanted to see how the training might impact them.
The AVID Summer Institute ended up being some of the best professional learning our team ever experienced. Staff came back energized and ready to implement what they had learned. What stood out most was that the training gave them something they could use right away in their classrooms.
Those same staff members became our professional development leaders when they returned. They helped us select strategies to focus on, modeled them for colleagues, and provided support throughout the year. This made the implementation feel like it came from within, not something handed down. As more people got involved, it created a strong sense of collective ownership. Teachers who had been trained became grade-level leaders and helped shape our professional learning plan. They also became the connection points for other staff, listening and responding to what was working and what needed adjustment.
This approach helped ensure that the work continued, even when leadership changed. Long after I left, much of what we started remained in place because the staff had taken it on as their own. They had seen how students responded, and they believed in the change.
Keep It About the Kids
AVID helped us address the needs of students who had historically been underserved. Many of our students were the first in their families to consider college. Others were learning English or navigating poverty. AVID gave us a framework to support those students in ways that were concrete and consistent.
We also worked to help students understand the strategies they were learning and how they applied across different subjects. We wanted them to recognize that what they learned in one classroom could support their success in another. That consistency gave students confidence and a stronger sense of belonging.
There were challenges along the way. Some staff had concerns about the time and commitment the work would take. I listened and acknowledged those concerns, but also shared that this was the direction our school was moving in together. When it wasn’t the right fit for someone, we had honest conversations and explored what would best support them moving forward.
Leadership isn’t about avoiding hard conversations. It’s about standing firm in your values and doing what’s best for students. Our staff culture became one where we held each other accountable. We understood that every student deserved the same opportunities, no matter whose classroom they were in.
Want to learn more about navigating hard conversations?
Check out this toolkit.
Looking back, there were a few things that really helped us stay grounded in the work and move it forward.
What Made It Work
Here are a few things that truly made a difference for me and my staff during schoolwide implementation. These lessons came from experience and a lot of listening:
Start small and start strong.
You can’t do everything at once, especially if you’re new in the building or still building relationships. Choose one thing to do really well. That early success gives people something they can believe in. That’s what gets momentum going.
Build a coalition of the willing, with a couple foxes in the hen house.
I always brought in teachers who were respected, but I also made sure the naysayers were at the table. You need them. They’re the ones who will surface questions others are too afraid to ask. When they come on board, it pulls the rest with them.
Find your people and lean on them.
I had mentors I could call and say, “Hey, here’s what I’m thinking. Am I way off?” You need that. Whether it’s someone who’s been down the road before or a peer who sees things differently than you, it helps keep you grounded.
Find your people is one of Inflexion’s Five Shifts. They guide school leaders in achieving meaningful transformation and success.
Read more about the five shifts in this toolkit.
Let your team lead.
When our staff came back from AVID training, they didn’t just go back to their classrooms. They became our PD team. They led the work. They knew what their colleagues needed, and they helped shape how we rolled things out. That kind of ownership matters.
Don’t ignore the data. Just get help with it.
I’m not a numbers person, but I knew some of my staff needed to see the data. So I found people who could help me gather it, break it down, and make it meaningful. That helped us tell a story both in numbers and in impact.
Street data can help with telling the story outside of attendance, test scores, behavior referrals, graduation rates, and more. It is the qualitative, human-centered insights gathered directly from those closest to the classroom experience—students, families, and educators.
Read more about street data.
Make sure your team fits together.
When you’re hiring or forming teams, don’t just go for who you like or who thinks like you. Ask yourself, “What does this person bring that we don’t already have?” You want a full team, not just a room full of visionaries or skeptics. You need balance.
Collaborative leadership requires assembling a team.
Get started.
What I Learned, and What I’d Tell Any Leader
Our AVID implementation wasn’t just about introducing a program. It was about shifting the way we worked together as a school. It centered student needs, invested in teacher leadership, and created systems that outlasted any one person. We took the time to do it right. We built trust. We stayed focused. And we stayed grounded in the reason we started in the first place: our students.
If you’re starting this kind of work, my advice is simple. Start small. Start strong. Bring people with you. And never lose sight of who the work is for. The students will always show you the way forward.
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