Crafting the recipe for student success with Lowell Elementary School

When discussing students’ needs at Lowell Elementary School (LES), Principal Stephen Bowman says the conversations no longer include descriptors like “mine” or “yours.” He applauds his team, from classroom teachers to support staff, for uniting around the commitment to ensure the success of “our students.”

Like all schools, he notes that post-COVID has been a challenging transition as educators up their efforts—and often their expectations—related to student learning. Principal Bowman believes LES was fortunate to have a strong foundation, which he refers to as the “crucial ingredients” to support kids within and outside the classroom. However, he acknowledges that his team did not always have the “recipe” to deliver consistent results.

That’s no longer the case. During Phase I of the LeARner Collective, LES did a deep dive into its existing systems, structures and protocols. Through this process, led by 2Revolutions with support from Forward, Principal Bowman said the team aligned around the need for a complete overhaul. Today, they feel “empowered to make changes as a team” and adopt best practices. The staff are dedicated to holding each other accountable, a shift that has led to greater leadership capacity and an improved culture.

As part of the LeARner Collective’s schoolwide transformation pathway, Principal Bowman says LES continues to “live out its mission every day” to serve students. It recently completed its visioning process, where it heard from those within its community to pinpoint additional areas of improvement and close gaps. With this feedback as a guide, LES is building a “cookbook” of sorts. As the school enters its “learning loops,” a period marked by implementation, refinement and reflection, Principal Bowman looks forward to sharing more about how others can follow LES’ recipes—even if just as a base—to improve outcomes for their students.