
This episode explores the transformative blended pre-K program at Prosper Independent School District in Texas, championed by Michelle Scogin, Director of Early Childhood and Learning Services. Discover how this program successfully merges special and general education along with joy, wonder, and compassion. Machelle and her amazing team are committed to building a developmentally appropriate environment where every child can thrive. Through purposefully designed spaces and a commitment to play-based learning, the Brenda Calhoun Early Childhood School stands as a model of innovative and intentional educational practices.
Michelle shares her inspiring journey from her early memories as a Head Start child to becoming a leader in early childhood education. Her story illuminates the universal challenges in early education and the vital role of visionary leadership in overcoming them. You’ll gain insights into how strong leadership and community support have been pivotal in shaping this district’s early childhood programs, encouraging a collaborative community that includes educators, paraprofessionals, administrators, school staff, board members, and parents.
As Machelle’s commonly used hashtag reminds us, #allmeansall.
You can now also find Not Just Cute: The Podcast on Spotify and Amazon Music!
Notes from the Show:
(*May contain affiliate links.)
The Brenda Calhoun Early Childhood School has an *amazing* team. Reach out through the links below to connect with Machelle Scogin at the district level or with the principal of Calhoun, Ashley Gannon.
Calhoun Early Childhood School (Website)
Check out this amazing series of videos about Calhoun School.
(If you watch only ONE video, watch Dylan & Hollis’s Story .)
Contact Machelle Scogin to connect with the Brenda Calhoun Early Childhood School to inquire about tours or collaborations.
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Transcript
This transcript was created with Podium.
Highlights:
(00:02) – Innovative Blended Pre-K Program
(03:34) Inspiring Stories of Education and Purpose
(08:03) – Enhancing Early Childhood Education Success
(11:20) Recognizing Excellence in Early Childhood Education
(14:54) Family Engagement in Public Education
(19:22) – Educational Leadership and Early Childhood Integration
(21:28) Global Professional Growth and Impact
(28:58) The Importance of Early Childhood Environments
(32:27) – Advocacy for Play-Based Learning Program
(36:52) Advocacy for Play in Education
(39:59) Advocating for Play in Learning
(42:34) – Building a Community for Early Education
(43:53) Investing in Paraprofessional Development
(49:56) Inspiring Vision for Children’s Education
(51:32) – Promoting Play-Based Learning Programs
Transcript:
00:02 – Amanda Morgan (Host)
Hi, I’m Amanda Morgan, and this is Not Just Cute the podcast where we discuss all kinds of topics to help bridge the gap that exists between what we know and what we do in early childhood education. We’re starting conversations with academics, authors, decision makers, educators and parents so that together, we can improve the quality of early childhood education while, at the same time, protecting and respecting the childhood experience. What if you had the opportunity to rethink early childhood education in a way that would better serve all children? Today’s guest did just that, and we’re diving deep into how one district’s innovative approach is changing the future for their children and families. Michelle Scogin, the Director of Early Childhood and Learning Services at Prosper Independent School District in Texas, took on the challenge of creating a new, dynamic pre-K program for her district. Her bold vision led to the implementation of a blended model that integrates students with special needs alongside their typically developing peers, led by passionate educators with expertise in early childhood, esl and special education. We’ll talk about how this program is not just making a difference in the classroom, but also shaping a whole new approach to early childhood education in their district. When Michelle’s district first rolled out this blended model, it was spread throughout existing schools across the district and she and her team learned how to rearrange and rethink elementary school environments to fit the needs of their program. Today, the program and support for the program has grown so much that it’s now housed in the Brenda Calhoun Early Childhood School.
01:58
I was able to visit the school last year for a training and I’m telling you that it was a child development nerd’s dream come true for a training and I’m telling you that it was a child development nerd’s dream come true. It was amazing to see a school that was clearly designed and built with young children and holistic development in mind. While it’s a large building, each wing of the school was organized into a pod of six or so classrooms, giving a small school, tight community feel and encouraging social engagement without the overwhelm. Along the textured and engaging hallways that connected the pods were themed playrooms, teacher planning stations, specialist rooms and, one of my very favorite features, the school was built around this fantastic playground so that any child who tried to run away from the playground could only run into the school and not away from it. Now, that right there tells you that they know who they’re building this for. And, on top of it all, everything about the school was child-sized and accessible to all abilities, and the physical building was just the start to all abilities. And the physical building was just the start. Inside, I met a team with an energy and a passion that is hard to replicate.
03:12
While about half of the students attending the school are identified as special education students, many of them are able to integrate into gen ed classrooms when they move on to kindergarten. And the special ed students aren’t the only ones who benefit. One teacher who taught pre-K previously said she sees more growth in her students in this blended model than she did in her regular classroom settings. As Michelle told me, at the end of the day, your goal is to do what’s best for children. You want to meet the needs of the students you’re serving and you want to be great at it, and it’s clear that that’s exactly what they’re doing at Calhoun.
03:50
I’m sharing this episode for several reasons. One I want you to see and be inspired by what they’re doing. Whether you literally reach out to Michelle and go to Prosper, texas to see the school, or just go to the show notes to see the videos and the images of the school, I want you to be inspired by what’s possible. I want you to see what happens when you start small but dream big and when you build a team around a passion and a purpose. And number two, I want you to hear Michelle’s full circle story and consider your own. She shares an experience she had as a young preschooler herself and how that impacts the work she does today. I hope you’ll take a moment to think about the big and small moments that have shaped you and consider how what seems like a small moment in the work that you’re doing today may truly be shaping big moments for the future. You can find this episode’s show notes, which are always full of links, tidbits and resources, at notjustcutecom forward slash podcast. Forward slash episode 79.
05:02
Before we jump in, a quick reminder that you can share the importance of play through the why we Play parent letters. You can check them out and grab a free sample letter by going to notjustcutecom forward slash why we play. As I’ve said over and over, people don’t value what they don’t understand, so let’s do our best to help others understand and value play. The why we Play letters were written to help you do just that. Grab your free sample letter today at notjustcutecom. Forward slash why we play. Working with the team at Brenda Calhoun Early Childhood School was definitely a 2024 highlight for me and I am so excited to share a little bit of their story with you. If you want to learn more about the blended pre-K model or how to advocate for change in any program, this episode is for you. Let’s jump in, michelle. I am so excited for you to share your program and your journey with listeners today. Thanks so much for joining us.
06:06 – Machelle Scogin (Guest)
Thank you for having me, Amanda.
06:08 – Amanda Morgan (Host)
Well, I wanted to start out by letting people know a little bit about your program and its mission. So if you could tell a little bit about that, I found it so just amazing. It gives me goosebumps to think about it. So if you could summarize it, share it with people, I would love for them to learn about it as well. So if you could summarize it, share it with people, I would love for them to learn about it as well.
06:25 – Machelle Scogin (Guest)
We have started a blended pre-K program and what has just been fascinating is to see the growth over just these. We’re in our year four of this program. It’s comprised of teachers who are triple certified, so they are early childhood certified, special education certified and ESL certified, and so students in the state of Texas who are four by that school year can attend and who are eligible by one or more of the eligibility criteria set forth by TEA. So that means students who have a parent who is in active military or disabled vet, who are economically disadvantaged or qualify for our national school lunch program, possibly a foster child, texas star award given by the governor. And the majority of our students qualify as emergent bilingual, meaning that another language other than English is spoken in the hop. Our program also does have 66 students who are staff students, and so that is part of our superintendent’s recruitment and retention and it’s our. Our staff love it for their children. In the program. With the triple certified teacher, we also have two paraprofessionals that serve our students, so three total adults that are in the classroom of the blended model. The blended model, in the instance of blended, is that no more than 49% of those students have a special education eligibility, but then the 51% of the students are general education students, meaning they’re just typically developing four-year-olds.
08:24
In the program, our mission is to basically cultivate a sense of wonder and joy in exploring, understanding a world through play-based learning experiences and developmentally appropriate practices. Our commitment is to foster a safe, nurturing, supportive environment and helping students develop that executive functioning and self-regulation skills which we know are essential for learning. What we love seeing in this program is that children, whether they’re general education or special education students, they are gaining and benefiting by learning that wow, this is how Johnny learns, this is how I learn. I have areas of growth in this area, I am really strong in this area and they really learn so much empathy and that differences are a good thing and that we’re all unique in so many different ways. So that has been our model and it’s evolved.
09:43 – Amanda Morgan (Host)
It’s a process. It would have to be a process to build what you’ve built. So when I got to come work with your team, I was just blown away to see not only you know, first and foremost, the team that you’ve created and, like you said, that retention and recruitment is a focus and you can tell because you have really high quality teachers there who are really engaged and passionate about what they were doing but then also the facility that you had built was clearly built for young children, right? I’ve talked on this podcast before about the problems that we run into with pre-K programs that are just kind of squished in and expected to be elementary school light and that it doesn’t serve children the way that we know they need to be served. And so to walk into your building and see not just the physical design, which was amazing everything was preschool sized, right and just the the architecture, every single piece was so thoughtful and and focused on meeting the needs of young children and providing these um, oh, do you call them pods, like cohorts, the groupings that you? Yeah, so that there was this big school but it had a small feel because they had these teams and just in the way that it was organized, but also the architecture, and then to see also all of the holistic resources so that just every single piece had been thought of, like you said, from the triple certification.
11:06
But then there are also specialists throughout the building that don’t just I think we talked about it they don’t just have the corner of a closet, but they have an actual space with play, things to do real play-based therapy and assessment, just the whole piece. I tell people this frequently when I have the opportunity to go and visit different programs, and every now and then I get a place like yours where I walk in and look around and think, oh, my goodness, they’re actually doing it. We’re taking all the things that people talk about and say I wish we could do this, I wish we could do that, and it just looks like you’re doing all the things. I mean, there’s always room for growth and I’m sure you have your eye on more things, but it literally gives me goosebumps to see people who take all the best information and all the best research and they get together as a team and a community and they make it happen for children, rather than just wringing their hands and saying I wish we could, but oh well.
11:59 – Machelle Scogin (Guest)
I do. I do think we’re we’re very blessed and I will say this um, basically, you know, this never could have happened without. It starts at the top, it starts with the leader.
12:11
And we’re fortunate to have an amazing superintendent and Dr Holly Ferguson, because she truly believes and understands that, while most superintendents might look at, oh, we’re focused on the K through 12, because that’s the continuum of elementary, middle and high school education. But pre-K has been a hot topic for many years and people still don’t really understand it. But she gets it and she understands that. That’s the very essence and foundation to really it. Not every parent has the ability to either qualify through this way or to afford to pay the high costs that pre-k centers or early childhood you know facilities charge. That being said, when we look at the mission of our own district, you know we not only the principal at Calhoun, but my goals have to be aligned to go after the same initiatives that our superintendent and that’s what’s so great is that you know her. Her goals are innovative learning and providing, you know, a supportive foundation for all students to learn at high levels, right. So that’s why we have this blended model that’s innovative learning for all students. It’s not expecting that our special education students will all just be with other special education students where they don’t have peer models to learn from right. Have peer models to learn from right. Her second goal is empowering and equipping educators. Now more than ever we have got to make sure our staff feel supported and understand and feel there’s a sense of community within their own planning and that they have that time to plan and they have that time to have PD, like after you left. You know, the survey that we sent out showed they were so thankful because it wasn’t just a PD that could have been provided to a K through 12. It was specifically designed because you were focused on the work that they do day in and day out and they appreciated that and they’re like can she come back again? Can we have more of this?
14:54
And then, third initiative and things that we’re going after is partnering along with engaging our families in the community, because for most of our families, this is their first experience in public education, so many of them don’t understand.
15:09
Maybe they didn’t go to a public school, Maybe they didn’t even go to a school in the United States or Texas. We are growing at such a rapid rate that you know we have a lot of IT and industry here in the North Dallas area, so we’re one of the fastest growth districts currently, and so we are having lots of families who don’t feel connected until they come to school, and our goal is to say hey, we’re here for you, we want to help, partner with you. We provide parent trainings, we provide family engagement activities and we bring them in. And this year, because it’s our second year in having all of our facilities under one roof which has been a game changer, by the way, we’ve been able to, in each of our pods of six so there’s six pods of six we’ve been able to put families in feeder patterns so that they’ll be learning. When they come to the family engagement nights, they’ll meet other people.
16:18
Oh your child’s going to go to kinder at this school. My child’s going to go to that school. So last year we were opening the school and we didn’t have the foresight to do that. But that’s just another layer in helping to engage our families and many of them, you know, post pandemic, they’re just now getting out and going into parks and being more social.
16:51
But let’s say they moved there when their child was born and they pretty much didn’t leave their house and so they might not know the person three doors down whose child also goes to Calhoun. But now they will know because coming to the family engagement nights and their learning activities, and they’re learning through play, because what we do is we have the children show their mom and dad how they’re learning and the parents are like oh my goodness, this is so fun. I thought y’all were just playing, but that’s how they’re learning.
17:22 – Amanda Morgan (Host)
Yeah, I think that’s just another example of that, that holistic approach that I saw, that you see in every little detail, just that thoughtfulness and recognizing, like you said, that comes layer upon layer. It doesn’t all happen all at once, but to say how else can we better build connection and meet all of these needs, and that those parents have needs as well, that they need to feel connected and supported with one another. I want to, in a minute, talk a little bit more about how you built that, that support throughout the community and through your, your school administration. But I want to start with your own journey, because I know that my understanding is you haven’t been in early childhood your whole career, so I would love to see what your journey looks like.
18:03 – Machelle Scogin (Guest)
Well, first and foremost, I actually was a Head Start child. So I got to go to Head Start and that was pivotal. I had my mama was a stay-at-home mom and I was the oldest of four. I had my mama was a stay at home mom and I was the oldest of four, and so I remember getting it was like Christmas when I learned that I was getting to go to Head Start. I had no idea what that meant, why I got to go to school, but I knew I my life and my how I viewed school, because I, you know, I didn’t go to a daycare, I pretty much just went to church and then played outside, that’s. There was no technology. And so I remember being the third little pig in the three little pigs play, and I remember my teacher telling me that I was the third little pig because I was the wisest and I cared for others around me.
19:08 – Amanda Morgan (Host)
And.
19:08 – Machelle Scogin (Guest)
I. I’d never had someone speak to me that way and I never thought of myself as a leader or someone who cared for others in my charge. Right, and I still think about that time and fast forward. I was a student. I always knew I loved children. I babysat from the age of nine, so early childhood was always in my blood.
19:32
And I went to UTSA and ended up graduating from UTSA and got my early childhood through sixth grade and began teaching in San Antonio at a true Title I campus and I taught second grade, then became a mom of two girls at that time and could afford to stay at home and did so. I stayed at home and did all the things you do you don’t really stay at home and did all the things you do you don’t really stay at home. I volunteered at different things and I did lots of different things at that time. But then our world we moved from San Antonio with my husband’s job to the North Dallas area and I had this desire to come back to work because my daughter was going to start kindergarten and I was like, what would I do with my time? So I started teaching kindergarten and then taught first and then second and Dr Ferguson was my principal at that time and she said you really need to go get your master’s and get your administration. And I was like I love teaching, I don’t want to do that, I don’t want to be someone’s boss, or she’s like no, it’s more than that. We’re growing and we’re going to need leaders. So I went and got my master’s and during that time of getting my master’s I started mentoring new teachers. So, as we were growing, mentored teachers for one year. Then I became an assistant principal for one year and before that year was over, I was named principal of the school that I had started teaching at and so I was at that campus and then I opened another campus. So I was a principal for about 10 years.
21:28
Then, during that time, I got my superintendent certification because I was still wanting to learn During the times of me being a principal, because I was still wanting to learn During the times of me being a principal through Dr Ferguson she had recommended. You know, my world was so small. My view was our district and at that time we had like a thousand to two thousand students, so we were very much small town. And she said I really I, I, I was able to go through raise your hand, texas, harvard, which is now Charles, but foundation, she said you might want to apply. It might be a great experience if you get to go. And I thought Harvard I I couldn’t even imagine being able to go to Harvard and walk the streets where brilliant people go to school.
22:17
But I did and I interviewed for it and wrote and I was able to go actually three times and different principal institutes and be put in a cohort with other principals who either the first time it was principals who had been only a principal for less than three years, and then the next time it was about an evolving vision and broadening. And I was in cohorts with people who were principals from Australia to India to California, all over the world, right, and I thought that the issues and the struggle that I was dealing with as a principal in Prosper, texas was so unique and being in this cohort and visiting with people from all over the world, all walks of life and all levels of experience, I realized we all want the same thing for our children and children are having these struggles and families and dynamics were happening all over the world. Children are children, so they still have these same needs and it it’s so opened and broadened my world that I kept finding myself growing and stretching and wanting to impact and make a difference, because I used to think things happened to me but I didn’t realize I was the one who could impact and make a difference. And it brought me back to my pre-K teacher, who made two sentences, made a difference in how I viewed myself as a person, and so that kind of was my journey.
24:14
Our early childhood numbers and our demographics are changing such that the median age in our district is about 32 to 36 years old, and so people are having children and we’re having young families come to prosper. We need to grow this program and we need to be serving our children, not in isolation and not in a centralized classroom while the gen ed students are in another classroom, and so I’m always up for a challenge and, of course, I’m always up to do something that I know I’m going to be supported by in our district, and it’s something that I hit the ground running. I was focused on a K-5 campus because I had been a principal and that had been my jam, and I could tell you the ins and outs of all the programs that have been on my class and all the research. But I had to dig in and start really educating myself on early childhood and all the dynamics that there are in there. And you know how are we going to start? From the mindset of well, this is how we’ve always done it, meaning, you know that’s always the, the, the phrase and we started thinking about, okay, we’re coming out, we’re all in person.
25:43
The first year we weren’t sure with just ripping the bandaid off and having 17 blended classrooms First. We’re just going to ask to pilot two. And Dr Ferguson’s like, why would we only provide two of this model when we know it’s what’s best for children? And we’re like, okay, well, let’s see if we can find the staff. You know, because we had we didn’t have that many teachers at that time and it was a big ask to say, hey, we really want you to come teach, but we’re going to need you to take this test. And you know, study for that and really ensuring that A they felt supported like we’ll help you study. Here’s a study guide because really it was just taking a test to have that additional certification Right. And then we had to think, well, where are they at? They might have the mindset that this sounds amazing and they have that buy-in. But they’re going to need other types of professional development in order to feel truly prepared, because the pre-K guidelines and the standards are still the same right.
27:02
Whereas if they were in just a special education classroom, you’re working off of those students’ IEP and you’re working on that specific child’s goals and meeting that child and taking data on that. Now we’ve raised the bar because, yes, we’re still doing that for our special education students, but we’re still providing high levels of instruction with the standards of the early childhood guidelines and so helping them understand that was actually easier than we thought, even though it’s not easy at all. But it’s because when you start something like this it has to be an all-in approach. You have to be in the trenches with them. I can’t tell you how many times we were on five different campuses the first year and the second year of this journey and we must have rearranged furniture. We found solutions because a K-5 campus isn’t built for a three and four-year-old child, they’re built for a five to 10 or 11-year-old. So it’s trying to make the actual physical space work and it can be done. So that’s why I tell schools who, well, our district isn’t building a school like this. We’re, we don’t have that luxury and I’m like we did it for two years and we will possibly overflow and have to have some other classes on other campus, elementary campuses, other classes on other campus, elementary campuses, but there again it’s a mindset. It’s saying are we doing what’s comfortable for the adults or are we doing what’s best for children? I love that Children don’t know the difference of the environment, if the why behind it and the intentionality is still there. A sandbox is a sandbox. It might look really, really cute at Calhoun because we got to pick out the design and all, but it’s still a sandbox and it’s still providing that sensory input. It’s still providing limitless opportunities for learning. You know, a table is a table. You can still write your name in shaving cream or do play-doh, whatever you’re doing. It is just it’s the vehicle through which you’re providing that learning.
29:35
And so that’s kind of been my journey is just to grow and learn in my own craft and then try to build a community myself, because I’m a singleton, I’m the only person that is over early childhood, and that’s most districts, probably across the United States, I would think I know. We created our own North Texas cohort and so we started connecting. I started connecting the principal of Calhoun because she had been a K-5 principal and now she, her world, was just pre-K and so it was like, ooh, you’re opening a school and, by the way, here’s all the new things you’re going to need to learn Right and it’s, it’s been phenomenal. But connecting her too with other principals, because that role and responsibility is very different. Principles, because that role and responsibility is very different. And then also we have our behavior specialists, our speech pathologists, our whatever connecting them with.
30:38
Well, how do you do this in your district? And just having that communication and those lines of communication open because, at the end of the day, no matter what district you’re in if you’re a private, you’re public your goal is to do what’s best for children. You want to meet the needs of the students that you’re serving and you want to be great at it. And I think, when you have the right people in that mindset and you don’t isolate yourself and put your head in the sand and pretend that there’s nothing else going around, that’s not happening or not great. I’ve learned so much from my colleagues and we have a group chat, we meet throughout the year, we do learning walks, we reflect on our practice and, while each district does things a little bit differently, we’ve taken a little bit of what we can do and make it better and shared it with our staff and our families.
31:43 – Amanda Morgan (Host)
I love that community mindset. Could you speak a little bit to something that you mentioned, just that shift from being a K-5 principal for you mentioned just that shift from being a K-5 principal for you and for those that you’ve mentored. You’re saying that’s this big shift right To go from being a K-5 principal to being a principal or an administrative director in a purely pre-K program. So what were some of those big shifts that you recognized making that transition? Because I’m thinking those might be helpful whether there’s somebody who’s lucky enough to be in your position that they are focusing on a pre-K program but also for those principals who are K-5 principals and now they’ve added on a pre-K program. What are some of those shifts and perspectives that have been helpful for you?
32:27 – Machelle Scogin (Guest)
I think the biggest part is really educating the administrative staff on A how children are able to attend pre-K, because many we had some administrators who they might have been a middle school teacher before they became an administrator and they had no real idea about early childhood and what that entailed but helping them realize that, the why behind it and why we want to have a robust program, whether we’re on a K-5 campus or not, on a K-5 campus or not. But then if you think about it, because of the blended model on most K-5 campuses you’re not having to be the expert in special education and general education. As a K-5 administrator. You know I may have on a typical campus of 800, I might have had maybe 75 students who were special education. Maybe On a campus that’s an early childhood school with a blended model, last year alone the administrative staff had 250 students which were special education. If you think about the amount of assessment ARDS that take place and the legalities, it’s, it’s another layer of knowledge and skills that you have to know and understand and really, um, knowing the terminology that’s entailed in that. You know, in the PLAAFs and in the paperwork you’re having to really know because you’re making, you’re a part of that ARG committee decision and you’re making decisions that can impact that child’s life and you’re agreeing, you’re a part of that and also you’re the first face mostly, that the parents will see in that first meeting before, say, their child attends your school. So you’re also the first face that might be partnering, saying welcome, we’re glad your child’s here. Here’s how we’re going to navigate this. This is what this might look like in pre-K, because for a parent who just found out that, say, their child is autistic or whatever the eligibility might be for that child, it’s scary and they have to trust us with their most prized possession and that’s daunting.
35:13
And you think, okay, we have many children that are coming to us that are nonverbal.
35:20
Some are learning to speak, and they will, but some are learning how to navigate a device with, say, a Proloquo. It’s like an iPad but it’s programmed to help them with symbols and help them communicate in the way that they can be effective and share their wants and needs. But that’s a lot on an administrator and if they’ve been a K-5, say, even if they’re an experienced administrator, administrator, and now we’ve just put another program on their campus which is fours and or threes, the ecse um, they it’s, it’s scary and and a lot of times they don’t want to mess up, but also they’re also wondering how long might they be there, and a lot of it is just fear. But we’re fortunate that we have plenty of people that are here to help, support and educate them on. Well, this is what it would look like and how about we sit in and be with you through until you feel comfortable and, I would say, ask questions. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, because there’s no silly questions.
36:33 – Amanda Morgan (Host)
It’s such a gift for these children and these families to have someone like you and other administrators like you who are advocates, and that’s what I heard you saying was. Part of that shift was seeing yourself as an advocate for those families to welcome them, to guide them, to support them and help them in this transition. And I’ve noticed that you are also an advocate for play, and that’s part of why you brought me in, and those are a lot of the discussions that we’ve had, and so I wanted to hear a little bit about that as well. What are some of the things that have shifted your perspective on play and made you such an advocate and a proponent for play in your program?
37:12 – Machelle Scogin (Guest)
I think that A I think through the broadening of my world, but also through my own practice as an early childhood teacher, teaching pre-K, but mostly kinder first and second. I didn’t teach whole group, really. I was already incorporating a sense of play in my own classroom, because I’m such a hands-on tactile learner myself. And they need to be engaged and they do not need to be sitting on the carpet, crisscross applesauce, you know, just listening and not talking or not doing anything. And I thought to myself how are we going to incorporate this into this standard and how am I going to make learning fun? And that’s how my class ran it. Just that’s what my belief system was is that they learn by doing. And you know, I will say too, as we grew in Prosper, our demographics grew, prosper, our demographics grew. And because our population with a high, emergent bilingual population, I noticed that, unlike some of the years before, the parents learned differently. Wherever they learned and they were learning in some sense, they were like we’ve been practicing our flash cards, we’ve been, we know our, we know one plus one is two. Um, he, he knows some sight words and this is them, preparing them for kinder right and and we would like, okay, well, that’s memorization, but what we’re not. And so we would show them. And I started doing parent trainings just when I was a K five principal, because I found that our, our parents would not understand how we were teaching their child right, even K five. And so we I started saying, okay, I don’t, I want to make sure they’re understanding that this is how your talk can learn and this is how your talk can be flexible in their thinking. They don’t need to know that just one and one is two, or that this word says go. What does that mean? What is the meaning behind that’s word call? This is the meaning behind it. Or how can I be flexible in how this looks? Or how can I have a different perspective based upon this? How many ways can we do this? There’s more than one way, and so I think for me, the advocacy of play is that I mean adults still like to play I mean we have game nights, we have this and that we are innate.
40:14
Play people right, we learn by doing. What we’re doing is we’re building schema with our emergent bilinguals and all of our children, who maybe don’t have that foundation of what I’m doing and how they think. They’re just playing with blocks in the construction room. But really they’re learning measurement. They’re learning more or less. They’re learning you know so many different things in block play and that’s what we love your letters.
40:46
Our parents were like, wow, I didn’t know that’s a precursor for them learning you know, I didn’t know that’s a precursor for them learning algebra and this and that. And we’re like, yes, there is research behind all this, and so I think it’s just been a part of my teaching, my parenting with my own children, and something I’ve just evolved and encouraged along the way, but never have I seen it more important than at the very foundation of their learning. So that’s kind of how we’ve tried to connect our family engagement nights by showing them, and then we send them home with some things that they can practice and extend into their home. Things that might be like natural to someone like you or me is things to tell them they could do at the grocery store or you know, just different places that they go. That is something that’s an errand for them, but it could be something just so educational for their children.
41:49 – Amanda Morgan (Host)
Right, just having those conversations? Yes, stored, yes, interactions. So did you find much resistance as you worked with other people in your district, as you’re creating a new program and you’re building this together and you’re coming from this background and this perspective of early childhood principles and play, did you find any resistance from other layers when you said play is going to be a really important part of this program, did you? You have a very supportive superintendent, so I’m assuming I know part of the answer, but I’m curious what some of those conversations were like to get others on board and to build a coalition around this vision that you have for play-based, developmentally appropriate learning for this pre-K program you have for play-based, developmentally appropriate learning.
42:34 – Machelle Scogin (Guest)
For this, this pre-K program, there were a couple of teachers that didn’t believe in it and and really we only had we’ve only, in the whole time, lost three teachers that decided that wasn’t for them. We didn’t lose them. They just decided to teach another grade, not find a better fit Right and and at the end of the day, if they didn’t believe in it, that wasn’t going to be a best fit right. We can honor that, that that they wouldn’t have been the best fit for our model and we supported them in their own journey. I think the K-5 principals. It was hard because the teachers felt like when the principal would go in their room to devaluate, like you know, even though we have the checklist for them that was the pre-k checklist and what to look for and how to rate them. They were like I think they think we’re just just plain and that it’s not have meaning behind it and it’s not purposeful, but so we had to. There was a little bit, but we had two years of that, you know, and and, depending on the principles, overall they were amazing and they they just didn’t know what they didn’t know. They were just following, you know, their things, that they have to assess in each domain, and so. So I think that was the biggest issue.
43:53
But really too, I think with any new program that you are starting, you have to invest in not only the teacher, the mindset of the administration, but the paraprofessionals, because we have amazing paraprofessionals. Because we have amazing paraprofessionals. Our goal is that our paraprofessionals, the children, don’t know who the teacher is and who the para is. They don’t call them hey lead teacher or hey paraprofessional. That’s just one of their adults, that’s their go-to, and the goal is that you walk in a room and there’s three adults that you yourself couldn’t pick out. Who is triple certified teacher? Right?
44:38 – Amanda Morgan (Host)
Right, I couldn’t tell the difference. They were so cohesive and everyone was so amazing. I couldn’t tell which was which.
44:43 – Machelle Scogin (Guest)
And that’s the goal, because we know that, let’s say, johnny Johnny doesn’t have really a connection to the teacher. He likes the lead teacher, but he has a connection to Miss Pavlov because she likes dogs and he likes dogs, or they talk about this character and she likes that character. At the end of the day, if a child has a person right that makes him want to get up and go to school and makes him feel safe, we want him to come and be with that person. It doesn’t matter what her title is. It could be our custodian. We have amazing custodians. They want to be there even though it’s the messiest school on earth, because we make lots of messes. But we have amazing custodians and sometimes the custodians are some of our kids’ favorite people because they see them every day.
45:41 – Amanda Morgan (Host)
Well, and you’ve really built a whole community around it. I mean, it’s within your school and it’s beyond your school and I think, when you share this vision together which you’ve done, and I know you haven’t done it alone, but you with together, which you’ve done, and I know you haven’t done it alone, but you with your team, you’ve done.
45:55 – Machelle Scogin (Guest)
I’m only a small, small part, because I will tell you my Linda Smith, who was the special education person. She taught me so much, of course our superintendent and Dr Hickey, I mean, like it takes a village.
46:11
And then our school board we could have all said we want it and our superintendent wants it. But if our school board didn’t support it too, it wouldn’t have happened. Because our triple certified teachers, they get paid an extra stipend because they’re SPED certified and early childhood certified. So if you think about even budgetary, you know and finances, that’s added cost for this program. But they see the value and I think because we do believe in building capacity, you can’t have capacity without building a community because it’s it can’t fall apart if just one person isn’t there. Right?
46:55 – Amanda Morgan (Host)
Right.
46:55 – Machelle Scogin (Guest)
It can’t. It can’t be contingent on one or two people. It has to collectively be the whole.
47:04 – Amanda Morgan (Host)
Yeah. So, as you’ve, as you’ve shared that vision with your, like you said, the whole community, it’s the school board, it’s the administration, it’s the teachers themselves, the parents when they’re unified in that vision and that mission, as you’ve helped them to see and I love that you said they valued it because they understood you’d help you and your team has helped everyone else to understand. Here’s why it matters. We don’t just want the money. We want the money to support these goals and to support these things that matter. That there I could sense there was this momentum behind that because there was such a shared purpose and there was a shared vision and that, because of that, there was a shared value for the work that was being done, and that just seems to propel the work to continue to go forward and to go forward with that momentum.
47:52 – Machelle Scogin (Guest)
Yes, I think it, it every year. It’s. It’s kind of like childbirth. You know, you, you end on this great note because you, you’ve lived the whole year and you’ve seen the growth and we have so many more children that are special education and they’re going to gen ed and kinder instead of a centralized program. Right, and the parents want us to extend this program and that’s hopefully in the works for upcoming. But if not, less and less children are going to centralized because they are a fit for Gen Ed, because we’ve leveled so much of that and they’re ready for it. But I will say you start back over in August because you get a whole new crop of children and we don’t know them. You know, and with the growth they come in and you’re like, wasn’t this hard last year at the beginning of the year? And you know it’s hard every year everywhere, because for the most part they’ve never been in a school setting. You’re starting over Because for the most part, they’ve never been in a school setting.
48:51
You’re starting over and the needs are greater, you know. But that’s all over. It’s not just here. To my point, you know, children are still children. So these children are all over the world. It’s not that they’re just in Texas and prosper. So I think really it is. But it’s saying to to the others is we’re all in this together because we believe so deeply that what we’re doing matters and it will make a difference. And I have to believe that these children will go on and maybe they’ll still remember when they’re old, like me, their experience in pre-K, like I did, and the one or two things that I remember my teacher telling me that still made me feel like, oh, I am a leader and I do take care of people in my charge.
49:48 – Amanda Morgan (Host)
I think that’s beautiful, that full circle moment, right.
49:51 – Machelle Scogin (Guest)
Yeah.
49:52 – Amanda Morgan (Host)
That’s our hope, right, Right, that’s what we hope for. Well, thank you so much for sharing so much. And there’s I mean we could talk for hours because of what you built.
50:02 – Machelle Scogin (Guest)
I think you’re going to have to come for another visit is all I can say I would love to come for another visit.
50:06 – Amanda Morgan (Host)
It’s so, it’s so inspiring to see what you’re doing and to know that, like you said, I, I feel like you’ve built something really special and, at the same time, to your point. It doesn’t have to be that special, it could be everywhere that these opportunities could be for for all children, because the needs are everywhere.
50:25 – Machelle Scogin (Guest)
I believe, I believe it can happen. It’s not easy, but it is a mind shift and um it is what’s best for children and at the end of the day. Why wouldn’t we do that?
50:38 – Amanda Morgan (Host)
absolutely well. Thanks for sharing your perspectives here and for sharing them in your community so that you can gather together and make those things happen for young children. It’s really inspiring.
50:47 – Machelle Scogin (Guest)
Thanks for sharing your story well, thank you so much for having me.
50:58 – Amanda Morgan (Host)
Thanks again for listening to Not Just Cute the podcast. You can find show notes at notjustcutecom forward slash podcast. Forward slash, episode 79. There you’ll find links to the Brenda Calhoun Early Childhood School website, along with pictures and videos of the school as well as other tidbits I know you’ll love If you watch one video. You have to see what parents have to say about what this program has done for their children. It’s really amazing. Be sure to reach out to Michelle Scogin if you’d like to learn more about the program or take a tour of Calhoun. You’ll find her contact information linked in the show notes as well.
51:32
You can also hit up the show notes for a link to the why we Play letters. Head to notjustcutecom forward slash podcast. Forward slash, episode 79. Or go straight to notjustcutecom forward slash why we Play to get signed up and download your free sample letter. I’m Amanda Morgan. You can read more on my blog and sign up for the Not Just Cute newsletter at notjustcutecom. You can also stay tuned for social media updates on Instagram by following me at Amanda underscore notjustcute. Thanks for listening today and, as always, thank you for standing up for children and for childhood.