Cultivating Classroom Excellence: Insights from Vimenti Schools' Wanda Hall

One World helps educators around the world implement solutions to the complex challenges they face so that classroom learning can thrive.? Our work gives us unique insight into how dedicated leaders inspire and develop others to build systems that endure.? In this monthly series, we interview leaders at the classroom, school, network, and system level of education to share their best practices. We begin with Wanda Hall, the founding middle school principal of Vimenti Schools in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Wanda Hall grew up playing around her grandfather’s coffee shop and her father’s bar in Old San Juan. She learned in those moments that the smiles that their customers walked out with every day didn’t begin with the familial banter they were greeted with as they entered.? The joy her father and grandfather brought to people’s lives started with meticulous training of their staff in early morning huddles to practice and share feedback on the previous day's service and check in with each employee. Above all, they were present every day in the bar and café supporting their staff and ensuring their vision of providing a stress-free space from morning to night for hardworking Puerto Ricans was coming to life.

From this upbringing, Wanda decided to also dedicate her life to serving the Puerto Rican community as an educator in New York City and now back in San Juan.? In her tenure as a school leader she has learned that ensuring that her students receive the quality of education they deserve, requires the same focus, planning, and presence that her father and grandfather put into their businesses. ??

After 12 years in school leadership in New York, Wanda was drawn back to the barrios of San Juan by the vision of Vimenti Schools. Vimenti believes that eradicating poverty in Puerto Rico requires a multigenerational approach so that as children are gaining the academic skills they need for a life of choice and opportunity, their families are simultaneously creating a stronger financial and socio-emotional safety net under and around them.? The model has yielded phenomenal results thus far with 26 cohorts of families participating in its Employability and Careers Program and its elementary and middle school program surpassing its post-pandemic goals of 70% of students meeting grade level standards.

“We are proud of the advances we see in our families and our students,” Wanda relates. “As an administrator, however, it can feel like we are continuously playing tug of war with our most limited and valuable resource—time.”?

“As the founding principal of Vimenti’s Middle School, it is important to me that we don’t lose sight of ensuring that our students have not just foundational but competitive literacy and numeracy skills.

“In my first year, I struggled to find the balance between my role as instructional leader and building administrator. I realized after much trial and error that to guide my staff in the level of rigor and consistency in instruction that our students deserve, I needed to protect my time in the classroom above all else.?

Sometimes we think that because we said it and everyone nodded “yes” in a training that this means everyone is ready to do it. It’s in the classroom that you can see what support your staff needs and you can be strategic about how you provide it.

I would say to leaders that are struggling with “doing it all” that prioritizing your role as an instructional leader takes a lot of time at first but saves a lot of time in the long run.? By being present in the classroom, we have been able to build community and sense of trust on our team.? Our staff knows why we are doing what we’re doing and that we are there to iron out any issues along with them. They trust in the process of their development and growth and are more invested in working collectively as a team.

My One World coach helped my team and I to see that though it was always our intention to do this, we were allowing people to distract us with small requests and interruptions to sign a document or call a parent or get a snack for a child. The biggest change for us was getting everyone on staff to understand that our observation times are sacred. Now everyone knows that if they see me in a classroom, they should act like they didn’t see me at all. Nothing is so urgent that it can’t wait until my observation is done because the most important part of my job is supporting teachers.

This has helped us to recenter our mission and focus on student learning.”

For leaders, who are looking to achieve the same refocusing and become stronger instructional leaders like Wanda, we recommend:

1.??????? Set a clear focus for your observations. This allows you to be intentional about who and what you are observing. Remember that an observation can be as short as 5 minutes if you know what you are looking for. ?

2.??????? Black out your observation times a week in advance. You can better account for predictable barriers and delegate tasks as needed if you plan in advance when you are going to the classroom.

3.??????? Assign others to respond to unpredictable occurrences during this time. It helps everyone adhere to your expectation of sacred classroom time if they know with whom or how to communicate if things come up.

4.??????? Get an accountability buddy. Share your calendar with your manager or another leader in your school who will hold you it!

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