Staff Development
Increasing Achievement and Fostering Collaboration
I never realized how essential the mission, vision, and core values are of a school. Prior to this training, hardly anyone knew what our mission was or where it was posted. We were just doing our own thing and hoping for the best. Now we have clarity of focus and as Mr. Wynn said, "Every strategy must be measured by the question, 'Is this consistent with our mission?'"High School Teacher
I will have to admit that I wanted Mr. Wynn to go straight to the data, but I allowed him the leeway to begin with conversations about the school's mission, vision, and core values. He did a masterful job and the staff felt valued be being included in the process of developing their guiding documents. When they began analyzing the data, they did so with the context, "Is this consistent with our mission?"Superintendent of Schools
I have to admit that this far exceeded my expectations. Usually the coaches sit in the back of the room and tune out the speaker. However, Mr. Wynn is amazing. He made the coaches essential to the process of increasing achievement in our school by focusing on the data. The coaches and the band director touch 85 percent of the students in our school. They must become part of any proposed solutions.>i/>High School Teacher
Unlike previous staff development where we just talked, I felt like we got something accomplished. We developed concrete plans, assigned responsibilities, and created a living, breathing document.Middle School Teacher
What We Believe
We believe in cultivating ‘Conversational Communities’ guided by conversations that are research-based, research-responsive, and strategy-focused. Educators, parents, mentors, counselors, coaches, and community partners are provided with the tools, strategies, and materials to effective. We believe that the conversations must be focused on increasing student success and all of its related components, i.e., teaching, learning, safe schools, expanding college access, and meeting the social, emotional, and intellectual needs of students.
What We Do
Our trainings are designed to provide teachers, counselors, coaches, parents, and mentors, with practical hands-on, and commonsense strategies in such areas as:
- Expanding college access
- Opening pathways to avoiding student debt for students from lower income, first generation, and marginalized communities
- Differentiated and culturally relevant instruction
- Curriculum-based mentor training
- Increasing literacy through enabling texts, narrative writing, and self-reflective conversations
- Increasing parent involvement and student engagement
What We Achieve
Mychal Wynn’s Increasing Student Achievement: A Guide to School Improvement Planning provides a research-based framework to guide staff development in K-12 schools. We have successfully trained thousands of teachers, counselors, mentors, and community leaders in working hands-on with students, building relationships, using enabling texts, and cultivating high performing classrooms, schools, and mentoring programs.
We have increased parent involvement and engagement in schools and school districts throughout the country. We have also assisted parents in developing college planning cohorts and book clubs in faith-based and and community organizations.
We have inspired students to ‘Own the process,’ enroll into more rigorous classes, set personal goals in such areas as grades, test scores, leadership, service, and behavior. Consequently, we have inspired students to dream big and to align their effort with their desired outcomes.
Outcome Data
Our outcome data is remarkable. Student testimonials, posted across our website, provide clear evidence as to how students respond to our engagement. Listen to how they are setting goals, dreaming bigger, and pursuing admission at the country’s most selective colleges and universities. Through a process of ‘Backwards Mapping,’ students begin at the end and work backwards. For example, students who have aspirations of entering into STEM-related careers, begin with the career aspiration and work backwards, identifying the postsecondary institutions and majors; then identifying the needed coursework, grades, and test scores; then identifying the leadership and service needed to become competitive candidates to be offered admission by their top choice schools and for top scholarships. As such, students ‘Own the Process.’ Whether in the primary, middle, or secondary grades, students plan the trajectory needed to arrive at their career aspirations. This process consistently results in higher grades and test scores, deeper levels of learning, fewer discipline infractions, and more engaged students.