📚 Principal’s Corner: A Full-Circle Moment

By Natasha Brady, Head of School

Sometimes being a principal gives me moments where I realize just how quickly the years have passed. This week brought one of those moments!

I am currently taking a graduate course in Reading Assessment & Intervention at International Baptist College and Seminary, and one of my assignments required me to interview an elementary teacher about how they teach reading, assess student progress, and use what they learn from those assessments to guide instruction.

I chose Miss Spurlock—who also happens to be my second-oldest daughter, Haley. ❤️

There was something especially meaningful about interviewing her for this particular assignment. I have been teaching children to read for 20 years, and 18 years ago, Haley was one of those children. I taught her to read using the Abeka curriculum, and today she teaches our first- and second-grade students to read using that same curriculum.

Talk about a full-circle moment!

As I interviewed her, though, what fascinated me wasn't simply that she uses the same curriculum I used with her. It was hearing the intentionality behind what she does with it.

At BHCA, we believe a good curriculum is important—but simply having a good curriculum isn't enough. A curriculum cannot know a child. A teacher can.

Miss Spurlock teaches reading primarily in small groups of just 1–3 students, grouped according to their current reading ability. That means she isn't simply teaching “first-grade reading” or “second-grade reading.” She is able to listen closely to individual students, identify what they have mastered and where they need support, and provide instruction at the level they actually need.

That's one of the tremendous benefits of our small-school environment. Students can be known.

Miss Spurlock also works hard to protect students' confidence while they are learning. If a student needs to move to an easier reader, she doesn't present it as, “This book was too hard for you.” Instead, she gets excited about trying a new book so the student doesn't become discouraged. She wants them thinking, “This is the book I read with Miss Spurlock each day. I wonder what our story will be about today.”

She teaches her students to give one another time to work through difficult words rather than immediately correcting each other. She encourages them to celebrate one another's successes. You might hear students clapping when a classmate accomplishes something that has been difficult or simply encouraging one another with, “You can do it!”

Because learning to read isn't only about developing skills. We also want children to develop confidence and see themselves as capable readers.

Perhaps my favorite part of our conversation, though, was hearing how closely assessment and instruction are connected in her classroom.

When we hear the word assessment, we often think of a test. But some of the most valuable assessment happens while a teacher is sitting beside a child and listening.

Miss Spurlock is assessing her students every day during reading groups. She listens to them read, asks questions to check comprehension and retention, monitors whether the material is too easy or too difficult, and uses one-on-one reading during phonics assessments to monitor individual progress.

And here's the part that matters:

What she learns from those assessments changes what she teaches next.

Students don't simply move on to the next skill because the lesson plans say it's time to move on. If a foundational skill hasn't been mastered, she can reteach it. If a student needs additional practice, she can provide it. If a different reading group would better meet a student's needs, she can make that adjustment. And when a student demonstrates fluency and mastery, she knows that child is ready to be challenged further.

The goal isn't to finish the book. The goal is for the child to learn to read.

As someone who has taught children to read for two decades myself, that is something I care deeply about.

I've learned over the years that even an excellent curriculum is still only a tool. Effective reading instruction requires a teacher who knows the child using it—a teacher who explicitly teaches foundational skills, listens carefully, recognizes when something isn't clicking, celebrates growth, and is willing to slow down, reteach, or move ahead when the student is ready.

That's the value of intentional instruction.

That's the value of small groups.

And that's the value of having teachers who truly know their students.

Of course, there was also something incredibly special for me personally about sitting on the other side of an interview listening to my daughter explain how she now does for her students many of the same things I once did for her.

Eighteen years ago, I was sitting beside a five-year-old Haley, teaching her how to put sounds together and read words.

↓

Today, she's sitting beside another generation of six and seven-year-olds, teaching them how to read.

And someday, perhaps one of those little readers will grow up and teach someone else.

Full circle. ❤️

Building Disciples. Preparing Leaders. Honoring Christ.