HOUSTON – For 11 years, Lyndsy Mason has been inside a classroom teaching students at her own pace. This year, though, things are a bit different.
Pre-planned lesson plans, cameras recording her instruction, and constant timers - the first-year Fleming Middle School teacher said the changes took some time to get used to.
“It’s been a huge transition. A needed transition,” Mason said. “In the beginning, there were literally changes every day. It was almost like, wait! Hold on! Stop!”
Mason is working under the structured New Education System (NES). She’s also working as a “teacher expert,” hired to review and modify the middle school math curriculum on NES campuses.
“NES is new to HISD. It was a very heavy flip, but it’s something that if the right teachers are in it, it’s going to work,” Mason said. “We’re going to see growth, we’re going to see that change. And I do think that we will have the same consistent ability to grow these schools.”
This school year, KPRC 2 is embedding into a local Houston ISD school to document the educational reforms happening. We are calling the series ‘Focus on Fleming.’
We chose Fleming Middle School because of the school’s demographics and because many of the students continue on to one of the district’s lowest-performing high schools.
While each campus, teacher, and student in HISD has unique experiences with NES, our goal is to give you an up-close, unfiltered look at the impact of the changes.
We’re going inside the classroom with Mason to see her perspective on the new system firsthand.
Mason said the biggest challenge for her has been the pacing of the lesson plans.
“The big challenge was changing what you were used to -- pacing because it’s quick,” Mason said. “It goes fast. We have the autonomy and the freedom to, when they give us the information, adjust it as we need it. You know, you got to season it to make sure they get the meat of it and then they can show mastery.”
She says although the lesson plans are standardized, she’s all about making them enjoyable for her students.
“It’s like, okay, if they suggest six minutes on this, but we know our students can get it done in four, I’ll change it down to four minutes. So, it’s about the pacing and ability to adjust that lesson to make sure they get the meat of it in 45-55 minutes, and then they can show mastery immediately from what they just learned,” she explained.
But that’s not the only hurdle. Mason said students are given assessments every three weeks over the lessons they have learned.
“Our first assessment we had low numbers. It was disheartening,” Mason said.
Now, after making the needed adjustments, Mason said students are seeing major growth.
“There are still some people in the red, and that’s expected. The red does not mean failure. It just means not mastered. Mastered is anywhere from 70% and higher. So, if you look at this, I have 14, 21, 41 percent at 75% or higher, Mason explained. “So, I went from non-mastering to 41% in three weeks, and we take an assessment every three weeks.”
Mason believes her progress is coming from the structure, not only in her classroom but also at Fleming.
“In Fleming, we’re doing some wonderful things. We’ve got some great kids,” Mason said. “Our kids strive in structure, so they have a more structured environment, and if it’s consistent throughout, then it’s fine. It’s new education, but it’s still education.”
On Friday, Click2Houston will explore how Houston ISD is helping teachers master the curriculum through weekly teacher and administration lesson rehearsals.
As for her vision for Fleming Middle School, the district and its students?
“To have a different taste left in the community mouth. I don’t want them to think that because of this zip code, they can’t learn, they aren’t learning, they aren’t capable. They don’t choose their zip code and their zip code doesn’t determine their altitude,” Mason said.
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