It Takes One Caring Adult with Ian Earley

Interactive Transcript

spk_0 Hello and welcome to R-O-E-17 pod. My name is Molly Allen and I am the assistant regional

spk_0 superintendent of schools for R-O-E-17. Today on the pod our guest is Ian Early, the principal

spk_0 at the regional alternative school Livingston County campus. Welcome Ian.

spk_0 Thanks for having me. Glad to see you. One of the things we like to talk about in education is

spk_0 what led you to become an educator and then why alternative ed? I don't have this long lineage of

spk_0 educators like some people might have. My mom was an teacher. My dad was an teacher. You know,

spk_0 I had some here and there. So being an educator really was never a plan from the beginning. As a kid

spk_0 I always wanted to be in the radio business like my father in the infancy of his career. However,

spk_0 as I got older and learned more about that business, I decided to shift my focus towards something else.

spk_0 My mother, she was a drug and alcohol abuse counselor when I was a kid and I really saw that she

spk_0 helped people throughout her job. So I shifted my focus to kind of the helping field. Initially,

spk_0 I landed on nursing. I was all set to go to a four-year university with some good scholarships.

spk_0 But then by the end of senior year I kind of decided it wasn't for me to be a nurse. I don't really

spk_0 like blood. I don't really like shots and I'm too stylish to wear scrubs every day.

spk_0 So I ended up reflecting and going to my local community college undecided for my freshman year.

spk_0 I took a class in social work introduction and an introduction to education. I kind of narrowed

spk_0 on those two things both in the helping fields. At the end of that first semester, I decided,

spk_0 hey, I think I like this education route. In high school I was a really good student in social studies,

spk_0 so that's why I wanted to do. I wanted to teach high school social studies.

spk_0 Just kind of a shameless plug for community colleges. I wouldn't be where I am today without a

spk_0 community college. And especially for kids out there in high school that don't know what they want

spk_0 to do. It's a great place to start. I wish my teachers in high school would have been more

spk_0 encouraging for kids to go to community college. So just wanted to throw that in there.

spk_0 So I ended up transferring to the mech of education. I SU started my student teaching.

spk_0 And I always wanted to teach kids like me in high school. Kids who were in the advanced classes,

spk_0 who were in the AP classes, who were in the international baccalaureate classes, a very niche program

spk_0 that I was in in high school. That's what I wanted to do. And that was the plan.

spk_0 Until about three-fourths of the way through student teaching, I kind of had an epiphany.

spk_0 I was subbing an AP Psychology class one day, and my cooperating teacher and I had a

spk_0 conversation afterwards. And he said, you know these kids don't need you, right? And I kind of

spk_0 paused and asked him when he meant by that. He said, these are the smartest kids in this school.

spk_0 These kids could take this class on their own without a teacher. You're more of a guide for

spk_0 these kids in AP Psychology. And that just really confused me if I'm being honest. I thought about

spk_0 that for a really long time. So fast forward a little bit. You know, I've graduated. I've been

spk_0 applying for jobs, going to interviews. I even had a couple of job offers, one that I turned down,

spk_0 just because it didn't feel right. They were kind of halfway through the summer and I saw this

spk_0 job posting for the Regional Alternative School in Livingston County. I thought back to that

spk_0 conversation with my cooperating teacher when I was student teaching and I thought, I think kids

spk_0 like this might need me. This might be a place for me to go. And like many ISU students, I had a

spk_0 opportunity to go to the RIS in Bloomington to observe for a clinical experience. And I landed

spk_0 on that. So I've been at RIS my whole educational career. I really enjoy working with kids that I know I

spk_0 can make a difference in their lives, especially because they're overlooked by traditional schools

spk_0 most of the time. And I really don't plan on looking back. I enjoy my time in Alternative

spk_0 and I could see myself continuing to do that for the rest of my career. Ian, can you tell us how your

spk_0 previous experience as a teacher in the Alternative School shaped your perspective and approach

spk_0 when you became the principal? Yeah, so stepping out of the classroom into the administrative role

spk_0 in the same school I've been in has both challenges and benefits. I've already been at the school.

spk_0 I don't have to take a lot of time to sit back and observe what's happening. Most new administrators

spk_0 when they go into a school they haven't been in, they might spend that first semester, even that

spk_0 first year watching, observing different classes, observing the climate and the culture.

spk_0 I'm very familiar with the climate and culture of our own school. In fact, I've helped shape that

spk_0 over the past few years doing different things like changing the vision and the mission and creating

spk_0 a motto statement. And I think the most beneficial thing of having been a teacher is I understand what

spk_0 it's like to be a teacher in the school that I'm the principal of now. I think it helps me lead with

spk_0 more compassion and awareness of the day-to-day struggles, challenges, joys of being a teacher in

spk_0 alternative school. I often think to myself, if I was still teaching how would I feel about a

spk_0 particular change or feel about a particular incentive or something that I'm trying to create,

spk_0 right? And then the last thing I think having been a teacher in that school already helps me

spk_0 anticipate potential challenges that might arise. With the staff that's there, I've worked with

spk_0 them already. We have a level of mutual respect and a level of credibility and trust already.

spk_0 I understand the school dynamics. I understand the unwritten rules within the school. I've already

spk_0 built relationships with some of the students that are returning, some of the families, and a lot

spk_0 of our educational partners. Shifting roles can be difficult. Expectations might change.

spk_0 Relationships might change, but the goal remains the same, which is serving the students.

spk_0 That's fantastic. And when you think of serving the staff and students, are there any goals or

spk_0 initiatives you hope to implement at RAS this year? Yeah, there's kind of three main goals that I

spk_0 want to focus on or initiatives that I want to focus on. First is maximizing student engagement.

spk_0 That kind of breaks down into two different categories. One, getting kids to school,

spk_0 to attend school every day, and second, engaging them in the classroom and then they're learning.

spk_0 This school year, we're launching some attendance incentives to get kids to school. We're

spk_0 being to getting kids to school. Are there barriers to healthcare? Are there barriers to clothing,

spk_0 hygiene products, food? Any insecurities like that that we can work together with our partners to

spk_0 help alleviate? The second is getting kids to be engaged while they're at school. A lot of

spk_0 problems we had in the previous school years were kids not being in class enough. So one of my goals

spk_0 this school year was to keep kids in the classroom as much as possible. And that's huge when you're

spk_0 only at school for three hours a day and a half day setting like this, right? So we've totally

spk_0 redone our check-in process. For example, students now keep all their belongings. It'll lock

spk_0 office throughout the day. So there's no need for a student to go into the hallway throughout the day

spk_0 to go check their bag or get materials or snacks or that kind of thing. Like many schools in Illinois,

spk_0 we've kind of grappled with phones. The school year, we're doing an initiative where we have

spk_0 a lock box that each kid's phone goes into and they don't have access to it while they're at school.

spk_0 While that was a challenging change to make, it has increased student engagement so much more

spk_0 because there's not even the nature to be tempted by a phone, let alone being on the phone or

spk_0 checking social media in class while you're supposed to be doing other things. These small tweaks have

spk_0 made big results just in engaging kids over the first quarter of school. The second initiative,

spk_0 I want to undertake at RAS is implementing more vocational exploration opportunities. I think

spk_0 a lot of administrators at the high school level would tell you that across the board, right?

spk_0 We have a new vocational curriculum that we're exploring. Our current one is going to be up in

spk_0 the spring and we really want to captivate kids when they leave our building and we want to prepare

spk_0 them for the real world. We're trying to do more college visits than we have before, more visits to

spk_0 trade schools, more visits to local employers, internships. For example, last school year, we had a

spk_0 student really interested in automotive, so we paired that student up with a local body shop.

spk_0 So one day a week she did a working internship at that body shop. We would love to

spk_0 implement that more wide scale with our students. More guest speakers just last week, we had a guest

spk_0 speaker from a local trade school come talk to our students and then we have a renewed and

spk_0 reinvigorated partnership with the Livingston area Career Center. My goal is to get as many

spk_0 juniors and seniors in their next school year as possible to take classes in trades or

spk_0 partake of their careers so they can build that portfolio when they're done. And then the last thing,

spk_0 it's more of an agency goal, I think, in both of our regional alternative school campuses is we

spk_0 want to be the best. We want to be the best alternative schools in the city, in the state,

spk_0 nationally throughout the world. I know that's big and lofty and may seem kind of ridiculous,

spk_0 but big goals create results. We want to showcase the things that we're doing. We want to collaborate

spk_0 with our sister campus in Bloomington. And we want to continue to work with outside partners like

spk_0 our local universities, colleges, our state and national alternative education associations.

spk_0 That's really exciting and we appreciate your leadership with these initiatives.

spk_0 Next, given the unique environment of an alternative high school, what do you see as the biggest

spk_0 strengths and the main challenges? Let's start with the strengths. I think there's four

spk_0 strengths that I've really identified in an alternative school. The first is strong relationships

spk_0 with students and families. The environment in our school is small and it provides a platform

spk_0 for students to develop trusting connections with staff. All the staff know each student by name,

spk_0 called them by name when they walk in the door, know where they live, know their job, just know more than

spk_0 a student in a traditional high school. You might just know that kid's name and class of your class

spk_0 of 35 kids and you might know what sporty plays. But beyond that, I would say we have that edge

spk_0 because we really know a lot about their family too. So each student and their family has an

spk_0 orientation with us at the beginning of the school year before they start. So getting to know the

spk_0 family helps us to get to know the student. When you get to know them outside of the school,

spk_0 it helps you better serve them while they're inside the school. And this creates a foundation for

spk_0 student growth, especially for kids that struggled in the traditional setting. A second strength would

spk_0 be an individualized approach. We have really small class sizes, extra time for interventions.

spk_0 Each of our students creates a student's success plan. It's a way for them to work through goals

spk_0 and interests and be prepared for the real world once they leave us. And lastly, we meet kids where

spk_0 they are. So meeting kids where there are helps us meet that individualized approach. We look at

spk_0 academically, socially and emotionally. Another strength is we're flexible. Due to our small

spk_0 nature, we can adapt easily. We provide wraparound supports like social service agencies,

spk_0 counseling, SEL initiatives, do a lot of project-based learning. Staff can be creative in this setting.

spk_0 There's not as many constraints as traditional high school.

spk_0 Lastly, we have staff that really believe in the mission of vision of what we're doing at the

spk_0 Regional Alternative School. Staff choose to show up every day for students. They believe in second

spk_0 chances for the students. They believe in making a difference and making a change. We're a tight

spk_0 knit group of staff. We have a family-like culture that helps us stay student-centered.

spk_0 Now, some challenges to alternative education. The first and probably the biggest one is just the

spk_0 stigma of the word alternative or the phrase alternative education. I often get questions from people,

spk_0 oh, alternative school. That's like where the bad kids go, right? I always hate having to start

spk_0 at a deficit to explain on the great things that we're doing. So it's kind of hard to overcome

spk_0 that stereotype sometimes. I wish we could just start with, hey, these are all the amazing things

spk_0 we're doing. This is where the bad kids go, right? I know as an agency we're moving forward to kind

spk_0 of address that and kind of think about how we can change people's perception. The second is

spk_0 students' needs can be complex. Students often come to us with academic gaps inconsistent

spk_0 attendance behavior challenges and or trauma. These students need continued support outside of school

spk_0 too. They're only with us three hours. We're doing as much as we possibly can. So we are trying to

spk_0 provide them with those wraparound supports, but it can be difficult to do that. And last, we have

spk_0 sometimes have unique or limited resources. Our programs are mainly grant funded. Those

spk_0 extracurricular activities to engage students in. Sometimes you need that to get a kid excited

spk_0 about coming to school. We also have a lack of shared staff or specialized staff. So many of our

spk_0 staff do have to have different roles and where different hats. While these are all challenges,

spk_0 they're not roadblocks. We can overcome them. We can adapt and we can still get through them to

spk_0 educate our students. And obviously there's been a lot of excitement at RAS Livingston County.

spk_0 How will you and your staff continue to support and advocate for the students and families in your

spk_0 unique school community? I think the first thing we have to do is show up every day for these kids

spk_0 and be welcoming. The saying goes that it just takes one caring adult to make a change in a kid's

spk_0 life. And if one of our staff can be that caring adult on any particular day, I think that

spk_0 advocates for students and families. We want to continue to build strong relationships with

spk_0 our students and family. Connect them with the resources they might need, whether that be health

spk_0 care resources, food banks, counseling, career mentoring, or other social services. And more on

spk_0 a broad scale, we want to model advocacy beyond our school walls. We want to represent our program

spk_0 positively within our agency to our local school districts and the community. Beyond that, we want to

spk_0 continue to show how our program is making strides both at a state level to our state level

spk_0 alternative education association and on a national level to our national alternative education

spk_0 association. The more we can show people what we do as an alternative school is how we can

spk_0 advocate for students and their families. And thank you so much for being here today and sharing

spk_0 with us all the wonderful things that are happening at the regional alternative school Livingston

spk_0 County campus. And I think our audience would agree you do actually have a voice for radio,

spk_0 but we're glad that you chose education. I've also heard of the face for radio too, so that's why

spk_0 I might be an education. Well, I wouldn't agree to that, but thank you so much for all you do for

spk_0 our students. And I would encourage our audience if they ever have questions or want to learn more about

spk_0 alternative ed to reach out to either of us because we both are strong advocates for what alternative

spk_0 education does for our students and our communities. Thank you for joining us for another

spk_0 episode of ROE17 pod. To learn more about ROE17, please visit www.roe17.org or follow us on our

spk_0 social media channels. We hope that you join us for our next episode.

It Takes One Caring Adult with Ian Earley

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