Marsha Bartulec – Erie, Colorado … A transformation is taking place at Vista Ridge Academy this year under the school’s theme, from little seeds grow mighty trees, which has set the tone for this transformation. After announcing teachers experiencing promotions, career changes, and relocations, the school decided to shift the part-time teaching principal position to a full-time principal position, promoting then vice principal Marsha Bartulec to this new role.
Principal Bartulec quickly went to work with her team and hired three new teachers and two new teacher assistants for the 2022-2023 school year. At the same time, the Rocky Mountain Conference department of education had cast a vision for all schools within the conference to transition to standards-based learning within the next three years, giving VRA a new goal to reach.
Since the end of last summer, the VRA team has been collaborating with the education department and other schools within the Conference, to make a path forward in order to realize the vision set by the department. The VRA team has received professional development in a variety of areas, including standards-based learning (SBL), building a strategic plan, growing a positive staff culture, and implementing the High Reliability Schools (HRS) framework.
During the month of October 2022, Bartulec and lead elementary teacher, Rachel Fetroe, attended an HRS workshop with other educators from the conference in Orlando, Florida, getting up to speed on HRS standards.
“In January 2023, the VRA leadership team, which included the early childhood teacher, Sandy Hepp, lead elementary teacher, Rachel Fetroe, and lead middle school teacher, Taryn Clark, attended the High Reliability Schools Summit in San Antonio, Texas. The team caught the excitement at the keynote sessions and were engaged in the many breakout sessions,” Bartulec said.
“Attending the SBL training with Marie Alcock last summer changed everything I thought I knew about teaching. She started me on a different path of thinking,” said Clark.
“When I attended the HRS conference, I learned further steps on how to implement my learning. I’m so thankful for the dedication of the Rocky Mountain Conference to the professional development and continued learning of teachers,” she added.
The importance of teacher-wellness was a theme that permeated the whole event. Sandy Hepp commented, “Within the first ten minutes of attending Tina Boogren’s breakout session, ‘From Surviving to Thriving: Wellness Solutions for Educators,’ I was hooked. I kept thinking, ‘How can we implement this at VRA for our teachers?’”
The team also witnessed the first Adventist school, Northwest Christian School, receiving certification for the High Reliability Schools framework, Level 1. Rachel Fetroe commented, “The HRS framework is organized, structured, and easy to follow. It gives us a path of what to implement, so we can be successful with student learning.”
“When we have healthy teachers, our students will thrive,” Bartulec commented. “The teachers are growing physically, mentally, and spiritually.”
In the current school year, the Vista Ridge Academy team is focusing on the following initiatives:
- Building spiritual and emotional intelligence for teachers.
- Casting an administrative vision.
- Writing the VRA playbook (operational systems).
- Building a safe, supportive, and collaborative culture.
- Ensuring effective teaching in every classroom.
- Designing a guaranteed and viable curriculum.
According to Learning Forward, a learning professional association, teacher wellness has an impact not only on educators as individuals, but also on the overall well-being of the young minds they care for.
James Clear, in his book, Atomic Habits, writes, “If you can get 1 percent better each day for one year, you’ll end up thirty-seven times better by the time you’re done. Improving by 1 percent isn’t particularly notable—sometimes it isn’t even noticeable—but it can be far more meaningful, especially in the long run. The difference a tiny improvement can make over time is astounding.”
For nearly ten years, Vista Ridge Academy has been making improvements, resulting in an enrollment growth from 56 students to 110, a debt reduction from more than $200,000 to about $100,000, the creation of a positive culture, and team collaboration.
When reflecting on these remarkable results and looking forward, Bartulec believes Vista Ridge Academy is witnessing God’s hand in the growth of our little seeds into mighty trees.
—Marsha Bartulec is the Principal at Vista Ridge Academy, a preschool through eighth grade private school located in Erie, Colorado. Photos provided.
