Heather Darrow brings over 25 years of experience in education, including more than a decade in site leadership. She began her career as an elementary classroom teacher in 2000 and transitioned to leadership roles as a teacher on special assignment (TOSA) in 2014, assistant principal in 2015, and principal in 2016. At Olive Elementary, Ms. Darrow led a successful schoolwide AVID implementation, transforming teaching and learning through WICOR strategies and collaborative professional development. Under her leadership, Olive became an AVID Elementary Showcase School. Now principal of Newport Coast Elementary, she continues to champion AVID, fostering a culture of academic rigor, opportunity, and equity.
How has being part of the AVID community strengthened you as a leader?
Being part of the AVID community has given me the tools necessary to guide the instructional leadership and focus at each of my elementary schools. Using the CCI to reflect on practices and set goals has helped us maintain a specific focus each year, which has been welcomed with excitement and seen as an opportunity rather than compliance. It has helped us develop the systems necessary to review data with a growth lens, as well as set priorities as a school. Educators want to do it all, and we want to do it well. AVID allows us to determine where to focus and helps to build vertical articulation of instructional practices. It also helps us align the site work with the district focus areas. Because AVID puts the best instructional strategies and tools in the hands of educators, we are able to use these tools to meet the goals of the district through the site work.
Working with AVID has also helped in the development of teacher leaders across each of the campuses I have led. Through the AVID Site Team, teachers are empowered to lead the decision-making for the site. This builds their leadership capacity and creates collective educator agency throughout the school.
As a leader, my goal is to support a school in creating a collaborative culture with systems that support the overall instructional practices of the site. This is what will truly impact students. I am proud that Olive Elementary continues to be an AIVD Elementary Showcase School without me. They are on their third principal in 4 years, and they continue on their AVID journey. The teachers believe in their impact and continue to build the collective educator agency throughout the school. The benefit of the work that was done while I was at Olive continues to impact their students today. I am excited to see how our AVID work will impact the community of Newport Coast Elementary in the coming years.
What has been key to successfully implementing AVID in your school?
The key to implementation is extending participation as an opportunity more than an expectation. As leaders, we have to be strategic with how we get teachers to lean into the opportunity, but I never put up a barrier for anyone who is interested. Once I have a few who are interested and have started the work, we bring some of the key strategies to the whole staff through staff meeting structures. The strategies are modeled but not necessarily called out—at first. Before you know it, numerous teachers are asking more questions and their interest is sparked. That spark, in both of my schools, has easily caught fire! I have to say, without the support of the district, in both cases, the expansion of our implementation would not have been as successful. I am grateful for the support of the district directors for helping me include as many teachers as possible when we are attending AVID Summer Institute™.
What impact has AVID had on your school community—from staff to students?
Staff begin to let their walls down and are excited to collaborate with colleagues outside of their grade level! Teachers have become more excited about their teaching and they are happy to meet with each other to share successes along the way. Because AVID is so multifaceted, there is room for teachers to become leaders in different instructional capacities when implementing AVID. When we celebrate this leadership and connect teachers with each other, the fire grows and learning is fun (and impactful) again!
Students are the truest beneficiaries of schoolwide AVID implementation. When AVID strategies are used schoolwide with vertical articulation and fidelity, students begin to develop the skills they need to advocate for themselves; to organize their thoughts, materials, and time; to collaborate in a respectful and scholarly manner; to think more critically while using creativity to solve problems; to believe that they can and will achieve their goals in life. These benefits will repeat, year after year, in elementary school so that students are ready to succeed at the secondary level. If they have the opportunity to participate in AVID at the secondary level, their agency will continue to grow. Students, in the end, have better opportunities for college and career readiness because they have the skills necessary and they believe they can succeed.
