Gradient Learning launches the Whole Student System

As he reflected on a week filled with inspiring events and invigorating collaboration, Christopher Paul grew more excited about returning to the classroom.

“I can’t wait to get started,” said Paul, a math teacher at Heath Middle School in Colorado. “This week was so cool in so many ways. It really stamped what teaching the whole student is all about and put a name to it.”

Paul was among the thousand of educators from around the country who came to Chicago in July for Gradient Learning’s Whole Student Together 2024. The week-long Summer Training was about so much more than simply learning how to use a program.

It marked the official launch of the Whole Student System in our evolved Gradient Learning program.

“We know that Whole Student education works,” Gradient Learning Executive Director Monica Milligan said to the packed room of teachers and school leaders during her opening remarks. “We know it because research backs it up. But more importantly, we know it because we’ve seen it in your schools and in your classrooms.

“Nine years of learning and listening. Nine years of evolution and growth. Nine years in pursuit of something. That’s what brings us to this week. This week, we are reintroducing ourselves.”

“Everybody was so engaged from the start of the week to the end and that’s because they are seeing that this really works."

For nearly a decade, Gradient Learning’s team of educators have worked closely with our school partners to improve student outcomes. Through it all, our mission of Whole Student development has remained the same.

But when educators arrived in Chicago, there was a clear understanding that they had arrived at the start of an exciting new era that they will have a large impact on.

“We always love getting together and seeing each other, but there’s definitely an extra level of anticipation that we will be able to see the new program in action and hear about the new opportunities we get to be a part of,” said Donovan Kerns, an educator and School Technology Coordinator at Royal Spring Middle School in Kentucky. “It’s a whole different mindset than in the past, and I can’t wait to take what we learn back into our school to keep making positive change.”

By the end of the week, each school developed an actionable and aspirational Whole Student vision for their community. And they left knowing they wouldn’t be alone in this journey. Our Whole Student System includes a curated and integrated set of research-based tools, plus a skilled and dedicated Gradient Learning coach, to help them every step of the way.

“Everybody was so engaged from the start of the week to the end and that’s because they are seeing that this really works,” said Cathy Klasek, Vice Principal at Santa Fe South Pathways Middle College in Oklahoma. “We have a new teacher here with us and I asked her how she was feeling and she said, ‘Actually, I feel really good about this. I know I can do this now.’ That’s why I am really loving the focus on the whole student.”

Klasek was a part of the event’s opening ceremony presentation, when she was on stage with Pathways graduate Aleyda Mejia-Avalos. The conversation, which was moderated by Gradient Learning’s Leilani Jackson, offered proof of what a Whole Student education can help produce. Aleyda said she found her purpose of “helping people” during her time at Pathways and that has led to her pursuing a career as a nurse in college.

“I love to help people,” Aleyda said. “That’s just who I am. I love to serve others.”

Another highlight of the week was the ceremony honoring the 2024 Gradient Learning School Leaders of the Year. Dr. Dawn Krueger, principal at Heath Middle School, and Christopher McAdoo, principal at Pathways Middle College, spoke to their peers about what Whole Student education looks like at their school and why working together as a team is so important to the overall success.

“When people have a voice and a say in the plan, it not only enhances the quality, but it also strengthens the collective resolve to achieve the goals as a team,” Krueger said.

“Our team finds solutions,” McAdoo said. “We’re focusing on our children and who they are and who they can become.”

Both Krueger and McAdoo said the best part of being a School Leader of the Year is that it means that their team’s hard work and dedication to serving the Whole Student is paying off.

And they both can’t wait to do it all over again on the first day of the 2024-25 academic year.

“This team was already really strong, but this week really showed me just how far we’ve all come since we began working with Gradient,” Krueger said. “There’s now a different level of strength and unity to us and it’s been evident throughout all of the great work we were able to do this week.”

Summer Training also brought a memorable moment with our keynote armchair conversation. You can read more and watch the full conversation here. We will share a separate story on the armchair conversation with you soon.