On the morning of Sept. 25, more than 100 experienced teachers from across the DSST network came to the Tivoli Student Union at Auraria Campus for Accomplished Career Teacher (ACT) Day. They came from different schools, different content areas and different chapters of their careers, but they shared something essential: at least five years in the classroom. Research consistently shows that effective teachers are the single most powerful in-school factor in student achievement, capable of generating 1.5 to 3 years of academic growth in a single year.
The morning opened with keynote speaker Mark Heffron – one of DSST's longest-serving educators, a veteran math teacher and former school director at DSST: Montview, who now teaches at DSST: College View High School – wearing a Cat in the Hat costume. He recently wore it at a senior morning meeting, where he told students Dr. Seuss had his first book rejected by 27 publishers and asked whether their dreams were worth 27 setbacks. They gave him a standing ovation. Now, in front of a room full of career teachers, he was hoping for the same kind of impact.
“When I was asked to speak, I asked what I should speak on and was told to ‘share my secret sauce,’ and I laughed,” Heffron shared in his speech. “I thought about it through the lens of the teachers that I’ve had the opportunity to observe throughout the years. Jeff Desserich is an amazing tactician and a humorist. Molly Lepore teaches through LOVE. Hilary Walker’s is care and concern, deep content knowledge and just enough goof to keep it fun and interesting. And you all have your sauce too. If you didn’t, you wouldn’t be great and you wouldn’t be here today.”
When it came time to share his "secret sauce," Heffron told a story instead. Last year was his first time teaching AP Physics. Scores weren't great, but he wasn't worried until he overheard a student on the way out say, "I didn't study, and I bet the curve will save me." He called his mentor that week, compared assessments and discovered his students were significantly behind. He realized his own expectations had helped put them there.
He dropped the curve (retroactively), for three assessments. Grades collapsed. Students were grounded. He got what he called "constructive feedback." But he held the line, offered a retake with no cap and no curve, and shared two stories with his students about what's really at stake when preparation falls short.
The two stories he shared cut to the heart of what's at stake. The first was his own: a young graduate student told by his major professor that his performance wasn't good enough and his funding wasn't guaranteed, a moment that made him feel, in his words, like a scholastic imposter. The second was harder. A former student who had dreamed of becoming a civil engineer arrived at college underprepared, was told by an instructor she was "another one not ready for engineering," and eventually left.
Heffron told his students what he'd learned, what he'd gotten wrong, and what he believed they were capable of.
"Your predicament is my fault, that I own," he told his students. "But it's your problem. … Now you have two choices. One, you can mope and cry and how unfair things are, or two, you can get to work preparing for a retake.”
The first student to retake the assessment went from 61% to 92%. Others followed. By the end of the year, AP scores had improved nearly fivefold.
"When we get this right, our students have a real commodity," Heffron told the room. "If we don't, we help create scholastic imposters and loans without degrees. It's tough work, but it's good work if you can get it. And we have it."