The Arch of Progress

Abstract

The power of inspiration has long been recognized for its ability to help individuals overcome obstacles. Most educators will inform people of the person or circumstance that inspired them to pursue education as a career. However, inspiration is rarely considered a lever to catalyze systemic transformation to ensure all students are successful.

During the 2022-2023 school year, I developed and implemented a strategic framework (conceive, believe, achieve) based on the work of Napoleon Hill that combined mentoring, tutoring, and experiential learning in the Ferguson-Florissant School District to help district leaders see how to leverage their personal stories of inspiration to build community partnerships and galvanize system transformation. The project led to the reimagining of existing partnerships and the forming of new partnerships, and an innovative peer-tutoring model that resulted in students increasing their self-esteem and academic agency. Furthermore, the project helped the district view the sixth grade as the keystone to the arch of learning.

This capstone provides a blueprint for leveraging the people, places, and experiences that inspired us to become educators to encourage students while building systems that empower students simultaneously. This capstone also highlights how community partnerships can be utilized to alleviate systemic issues such as teacher shortage, teacher capacity, and student behavior issues.