Strong Leaders,
Stronger Schools

Norfolk Public Schools and Spartanburg School District 7 faced challenges tracking student performance across classrooms and effectively using data to meet student needs. Attending a Mastery Leadership Institute in Charlotte, North Carolina, transformed their approach to data-driven instruction and created pathways for targeted interventions and instructional improvements.

Every district’s edtech journey is unique and ever-changing. Especially when it comes to implementing an assessment management system such as Mastery Connect. The Mastery Leadership Institute (MLI) meets districts where they are in their implementation and provides a space where districts can come together, learn from each other, and build the next chapter of their implementation journeys together.

Their training introduces one of the core concepts built into Mastery Connect: the ITS Model.

• Identify students’ levels of understanding
• Target students for appropriate intervention
• Self-evaluate teaching and learning

Lenora Diane Blow, an Instructional Technology Resource Teacher in Norfolk Public Schools, works across multiple schools. She needed effective, practical strategies to track student progress in different environments using Mastery Connect.

Similarly, Spartanburg District 7, despite having some experience with Mastery Connect, hadn't fully leveraged its capabilities to impact instruction. Wanda Greenfield, Director of Instructional and Assistive Technology, needed more comprehensive knowledge to train teachers and help them utilize student data effectively.

Executive Director of Curriculum and Instruction, Brett Vaughn, recognized the potential and strategies required to build enthusiasm and properly implement Mastery Connect district-wide.

“I've seen Mastery Connect in the field and used it in a school, and I'm excited to see it gain energy in our school district,” Vaughn explained.

Mastery Leadership Institute provides comprehensive training addressing technical skills and leadership strategies. Norfolk and Spartanburg 7 received hands-on experience with Mastery Connect, collaboration opportunities with educators from outside their district, and started building actionable implementation plans.

The Mastery Leadership Institute met both districts where they were.

For Norfolk, Blow transitioned from feeling "a little shaky" to considering herself "an expert" after the training. This newfound confidence empowers her to support teachers across multiple schools, including virtual environments.

She went on to further describe its impact:

"We can make a student's life successful using Mastery Connect. Seeing what's happening in your classroom and across the building and district—that connection with other teachers—is how we can best serve our students."

For Spartanburg, the Institute allowed for both hands-on and leadership training. Greenfield learned "how to help our teachers use Mastery Connect and the data they get effectively and efficiently."

The 48-Hour Challenge, a core exercise taught at the MLI, was instrumental in helping leaders get everyone using Mastery Connect in the same way.

It provided teachers with clear instructions that enabled them to start using Mastery Connect to identify standards to teach, administer formative assessments, and discuss the data as a team.

This training was complemented by leadership strategies Vaughn described as being full of "inspiring moments, things that make me want to go back and be a better leader and a better human."

Both districts appreciated the balance between technical training and inspirational leadership. As Brett noted, the Institute has "woven the basics and then the most important things you need to know about using Mastery Connect with very inspiring moments," creating a powerful combination that addressed both the "how" and the "why" of implementation.

One of the most significant impacts for both districts was how Mastery Connect can facilitate educator collaboration.

Blow emphasized the value of "being able to go in and see what's happening not just in your classroom but in other classrooms in your building and the district."

This visibility creates opportunities for teachers to collectively analyze data and determine where to change focus to better serve students. She also highlighted that "working with other districts [at the Mastery Leadership Institute], not just in my state but also other states, was worth a million dollars."

Both districts left the training with renewed confidence and clear implementation plans.

Blow mentioned feeling empowered to "make a difference" district-wide. Spartanburg gained both technical expertise and leadership strategies to build enthusiasm among teachers.

“This training was exactly what I needed,” Greenfield said. “I learned so much not only about Mastery Connect itself but how to help our teachers use it and use the data they get effectively and efficiently to help our students succeed.”