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We are absolutely thrilled to announce that the incredibly talented Rachel Modica-Russell has joined the Hendy Avenue Consulting team!

Rachel brings a wealth of experience and expertise to our organization, and we couldn’t be happier to have her on board.

We first met Rachel several years ago when she joined Hendy’s Chief Talent Officer Cohort as the talent leader at Explore Schools. Rachel immediately impressed us with her thoughtful leadership, easy relationship building, ability to truly listen and understand the perspectives of all stakeholders, focus on not just the “what” of change leadership but also the “how”, and her unwavering commitment to doing what’s best for kids.

We are so happy that Rachel has decided to bring her many talents to the Hendy team and our wonderful clients. She is already making our team smarter, stronger, and more fun – and having a positive impact on the school systems we serve.

Please help us to welcome Rachel!

Biography: Rachel Modica-Russell chose to join Hendy not only because she fervently believes in the team’s potential to impact the education sector through their research-based and thoughtful work in talent strategy, strategic planning, leadership development, and programmatic support; she herself has experienced the quality of partnership and depth of expertise present on the Hendy team as a past Chief Talent Officer (CTO) cohort member.

Prior to joining Hendy, Rachel spent five years as the Managing Director of Talent for Explore Schools, a network of eight public charter schools across Brooklyn serving students in K-8th grade. In her role, Rachel shepherded work across all talent functions at Explore Schools, and worked in lockstep with school and network-based leadership on recruitment, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging work, staff retention, and people development efforts for their 300+ community members. As Managing Director of Talent at Explore Schools, Rachel spearheaded exciting initiatives and programming such as a staff mentorship program, revising the organization’s approach to compensation, and building a career advancement policy and pathway protocol anchored in more equitable and transparent talent practices.

Rachel could not be any more excited to work alongside other members of the Hendy team to set adults up for success by way of developing smart, strategic people-focused infrastructure and initiatives to drive talent management and people development in schools.

Before working for Explore Schools as Managing Director of Talent, Rachel was a staff member at Uncommon Schools for over 5 years, first as a teacher, and closed out her time with them as Senior Associate Director of Recruitment where she led recruitment for both their Brooklyn and Troy-based regions. Returning to Explore Schools in 2018 was a full-circle moment for Rachel, as Explore is the very organization (Explore Schools) she began her career in education as a Teach for America Corps member and K-2 teacher.

Rachel received her master’s degree in early childhood education from Teacher U – Hunter College and holds undergraduate degrees in Spanish and Family and Human Services from the University of Oregon. After 14 years in Brooklyn, NY, Rachel and her wife and two children made the move back to Oregon to be closer to family. So far, so good :).

The Challenge: The global pandemic has significantly impacted teaching and learning, leading to significant learning loss and increased inequities. There is a shared assumption that students, particularly those students who were already underserved, have fallen behind. The challenge is that (1) we don’t yet know how far behind they are, (2) we don’t fully understand the social and emotional needs of children who have experienced this unprecedented event, (3) some students may have benefitted from remote learning in ways that we don’t yet understand, and (4) we don’t yet know how to best meet their needs as we look to the upcoming school year. 

Theory of Action: In unprecedented times, we find the most value comes from connecting with others wrestling with similar challenges and working together to understand the problem, create a strategy, and to plan for action. We believe that by bringing together leaders from similar school networks and districts through a series of facilitated problem-solving, strategy, and planning sessions, we can significantly improve outcomes for students. 

Introducing the Addressing Learning Gaps Working Groups: In the Spring and Summer of 2021, Hendy Avenue Consulting is convening two small cohorts of charter school networks from across the country to come together over a series of five sessions to problem solve and action plan around the challenges of assessing and addressing learning gaps for the 2021-2022 school year. Through the cohort experience, each network is creating its own unique and actionable academic strategic plan.

Working Group Participants: We are so honored to have 9 incredible charter school networks, each with exceptional academics leaders, choosing to join our program. We started with a first cohort in March 2021 and given the demand, added a second cohort in April. Our wonderful cohort members coming from the following networks:

• Ascend (K-12, Brooklyn, NY)
• Breakthrough Public Schools (K-8, Cleveland, OH)
• Coney Island Prep (K-12; Brooklyn)
• DREAM Charter Schools (K-12, New York, NY) 
• Explore Schools (K-8; Brooklyn)
• Hebrew Public Schools (K-8; NYC and Philadelphia) 
• KIPP Colorado Schools (K-12, Denver, CO)
• KIPP New Jersey/Miami (K-12, Camden and Newark, NJ and Miami, FL)
• Mastery Charter Schools (K-12; Philadelphia and Camden) 

Impact: Our first cohort has just completed their 3rd session and our second cohort has just completed their 2nd session. In these sessions, Chief Academic Officers and their teams of 2-4 others, review research, learn from best practices, share ideas and receive feedback from leaders in other networks, and develop comprehensive plans for prioritized content, academic strategy, assessment, staffing, training, change management, communications, and more. The Hendy team is proud of our role in supporting the academic leaders who are ensuring that all children are successful in the years to come.

This year is hard. Really, really hard. It’s been hard on you and it’s been hard on your team. And yet, because of the young lives at stake in our work, we must carry on. How we approach our commitment to our students will determine whether we are successful now and whether we can continue over the long haul. That’s why last month our Chief Talent Officer cohort reflected on our own self-care and on how we care for our teams. We’re sharing a few of the ideas that came from that session in the hopes that others will lead with self-care and team-care. 

1. Defining Stress vs Burnout:. Stress is the brain and body’s response to challenges requiring an emotional, physical or mental response. Burnout is the feeling of energy depletion or exhaustion; increased mental distance from one’s job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one’s job; and reduced professional efficacy. Too much stress can lead to burnout. We can’t eliminate stress from our lives, but we can work on how we respond to stress so we can avoid burnout.
   
2. Self-Care: Self-care drives well-being which drives engagement. Self-care means really different things to different people, but is ultimately about prioritizing your individual needs.. The old saying of putting on your own oxygen mask first continues to ring true. First ensuring you have the necessary rest, healthy food, exercise, laughter, and emotional fulfillment will enable you to lead your team to do the same.
   
3. Team Leadership Around Self-Care: A leader who models self-care in their own life and encourages it in others will have a healthier and happier team. While self-care truly is about the self, there are key actions a leader can take to improve the lives of their team and to reduce burnout. So what is it that a leader can control? Below are a few examples our cohort members are putting into action: 

• What they model
  • Giving themselves time off from work with activities that fuel them to do the tough work AND explicitly sharing why they are taking time off
  • Planning ahead for something to look forward to and sharing plans with the team as a model to others (for example: a trip, an event, a home renovation, a competitive race, etc.) 
    
• What they expect 
  • Creating and maintaining a clear culture of not working on the weekends 
  • Asking the team to share when their vacation days are planned to ensure team members are taking the time off they need and deserve
  • Identifying what can be dialed back, what work is truly essential work and what is not, or “what balls are glass and which are plastic?”
  • Identifying who can take on more to free up time for folks directly serving students; for example, ensuring the central office is taking as much work as possible off the plates of principals, school leaders are taking as much work as possible off the plates of teachers, etc.
  • Scheduling a weekly asynchronous day for students so the team can focus on planning and working with their teammates
  • Explicitly asking the team about their childcare situation and what they will need to be successful, and providing accommodations as are feasible
    
• What norms/culture they create 
  • Celebrating effectiveness, even when the work is difficult. This is not about expecting perfection, or holding one staff person up at the expense of another – but about ensuring that staff feel effective in their jobs, especially when the work is more complex or demanding than in pre-pandemic times
  • Starting meetings with a “mood meter” to allow people to share feelings (and then asking if they want to shift or stay where they are) 
  • Implementing a sunshine committee to celebrate life events 
  • Hosting remote games nights and other social events with the team (and sometimes with their families) 
  • Creating optional Monday community space on Zoom to provide staff the opportunity to connect with others 
    
• What they provide 
  • Early end of day on Fridays
  • Financial literacy webinars for staff
  • Food, care packages, gift cards, pop-in massages (pre-Covid)
  • Access to meditation apps such as Headspace
  • Having a doctor come to school/office for flu shots

What have you done to support your own self-care and to support your team in their self-care? What impact have you seen? 

Today I’d like to introduce you to Hendy’s Jeremy Abarno. Jeremy is an exceptional teammate who joined us in 2019 and brings an incredible ability to really see people and help them meet their goals. He also truly loves to geek out on math instruction and loves a good number story! Jeremy is currently supporting both the Chicago Public Schools and Hebrew Public Schools. He is the leader of our Chief Talent Officer Cohort, bringing together transformational leaders from eight NYC charter school networks. I hope you enjoy learning a bit more about our awesome Jeremy Abarno.

Why did you choose to work in education? 
I actually decided that I wanted to teach in high school. At that time I lived in a small rural town in Oregon. My high school started a program called “cadet teaching” where I was able to observe and contribute to Ms. Blitzer’s kindergarten classroom by supporting individual students with phonics, counting and learning how to be friends. My attention quickly turned to Agustín, a bright and playful student who joined the class mid-year and spoke Spanish exclusively. There was no formal ESL program in the school and a volunteer translator would come in for a few hours once a week as there were no other bilingual staff in the school. As a result, Agustín and his siblings did not have meaningful access to the curriculum and it was on him to “figure it out”.  I worked with Agustín and his siblings occasionally and he made some important gains. I was appalled, it was unjust that a 17-year old was one of the only ways that Agustín and his family had meaningful access to the curriculum. Nobody had bad intentions but they had built a system that didn’t include kids like him. As I studied education and started my career in NYC public schools it became increasingly apparent that there were millions of kids across our country who didn’t have access and it was causing them harm. That sealed the deal and I have been in education for more than 20 years now. 

What’s your favorite part of your job? 
I believe deeply that intentional self development and growth leads to one being able to collaborate better. And those are, by far, my two favorite parts of the job. At Hendy Avenue, our job with educational partners is to collaborate, arm-in-arm, to help them solve problems, answer tough questions, build capacity and create systems and/or content. To be a good partner, I have to improve myself on a regular basis – I need to read, research, simplify complex things, improve facilitation and more. The cool thing about it is that the more I improve, the better I am at supporting our partners. It doesn’t stop there because our partners are school and systems leaders and the better they get, the more teachers and students benefit and thrive. Adopting this mindset of continuous improvement and collaborating with very talented leaders is just a virtuous cycle and it’s the kind of thing our schools need as they fight to end inequity. 

What’s the problem in education you most want to solve?
There is a vicious two-pronged problem that I think plagues education and while it’s not the only one, I think it is central. It is when pedagogy and professional development don’t match our beliefs about what kids are capable of. Too often, pedagogical approaches, often dictated by curricular resources we use or training resources we adopt, don’t actually match our beliefs about what kids need to thrive. For example, most schools, districts, and networks express that they believe that ALL kids have the potential to achieve at high levels with high expectations, the right support and effective teachers. These institutions often express that students should be problem solvers, critical thinkers and should have opportunities to apply 21st century skills in real ways. However, these same institutions select (or are mandated to use) curricula, pedagogical approaches and teacher training resources that are misaligned with their goals for kids. This is not only challenging for teachers because what we say we value isn’t mirrored in our actions but it is also damaging for kids because without this alignment they are less likely to develop those critical skills, competencies and mindsets. We need teacher training, pedagogy and curriculum that matches what KNOW our kids are capable of.

What’s a favorite book or quote?
That’s like picking a favorite child…I can’t do it but I do have one book, one article and one quote that have been really helpful in my thinking lately: 

• Colson Whitehead’s “Underground Railroad” is a blistering novel that forces you to consider the darkest part of America’s history of racism and how it is playing out today. 
• This quote from Stockdale has helped me be honest about the state of our country right now: “You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end—which you can never afford to lose—with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be”
• This article from Ronald Heifitz on Adaptive Leadership from HBR is proving mighty valuable right now when thinking about leading during what seems like a never-ending crisis. https://hbr.org/2009/07/leadership-in-a-permanent-crisis 

What do you like to do outside of work? 
I love family time. I have an amazing wife Eve, three amazing kids, Marlon, Lucia, and Vivian, and some amazing friends. We do a lot of things together: go to the beach, cook, break bread, cycle, feel feelings, cuddle, maraud (mainly my 6-year-old Vivian and with the best of intentions), and fight for racial equality and inclusion of people with disabilities. Whatever we are doing I get deep emotional fulfillment out of doing it together.

Today we’re highlighting our newest member of the Hendy team, Erica Murphy, who joined us from Ascend Public Schools. Erica is currently supporting our long-term partner, KIPP Texas Public Schools, to effectively integrate and implement their Teacher Career Pathway across their four regions and also to develop a plan to improve new teacher retention and development. Erica was an outstanding teacher, principal, and academic leader who knows curriculum and instruction inside and out. She loves solving problems and helping both kids and adults to meet their potential. We’re thrilled to have this incredible educator bring her many skills and talents to the Hendy team. She’s already making a huge impact! Enjoy this interview with Erica!

Why did you choose to work in education?

When I was a little girl I loved to play school. I would organize my stuffed animals to be my “class” and I would teach them – for hours. As I got older and continued to “play school” with friends, I realized I had an ability to explain things to people in a way they really understood. In middle and high school, I would watch my peers ask a question in class when they were confused by something taught. I’d watch the response from the teacher and sometimes see that my friend was still confused, though the conversation moved on. I’d always find the person after class to attempt to clarify whatever the confusion was and I was generally pretty good at it. 

The “aha” moment my friends would have after I supported them was the most gratifying experience. It was like a puzzle to me – I loved being able to identify the specific point of confusion, and then help people make sense of what we were all struggling to learn.  As an educator now, I believe great teaching is doing just that – observing students to better understand what they know and what they don’t yet know and then designing tasks and questions to help get them get to understanding. I get a thrill out of that kind of student observation and creative problem solving.

What was your first year of teaching like?

My first year of teaching was – by far – the hardest professional year of my life. Before entering the classroom, I had dreams of fostering a strong classroom culture, connecting deeply with my students and their families, and bringing learning alive in the classroom in a rigorous and relatable way. Instead, I struggled. I struggled to establish a classroom focused on learning. I struggled to connect with my students. I struggled to make learning relevant and interesting to my students. It felt like I was sinking. 

My school didn’t have a robust coaching program, strong professional development opportunities, or a central curriculum and so, like many first year teachers, I was left to figure things out on my own. Every day, I felt like I couldn’t go back. I was exhausted – both emotionally and physically – but knew that I had to show up to try and do the best I could with my students. I was lucky to have another first year teacher next door who was struggling as much as I was. After school, she and I would (honestly) cry and then talk about what we could do differently the next day. We’d invent new routines, new morning meeting protocols, we’d change seating arrangements, revamp lessons to make them more engaging – anything to try and be better than the day before. 

Eventually, not through any great turning point or event, just by sheer hard work, will, slowly building relationships with my kids, and by constantly testing out and refining my practices I got better. I slowly learned to be clearer, more planned, more purposeful and more engaging. By February break of that first year I finally felt like I had some sense of what I should be doing. I started to swim. 

My advice to first year teachers – don’t give up, find a mentor or friend or colleague to work with, and be willing to iterate, iterate, iterate until you figure out a style and a set of practices that works for you. 

What’s your favorite part of your job?

Probably not surprisingly given my experience, my favorite part of my job is supporting and developing teachers! I don’t think everyone’s first year of teaching needs to be so hard and so lonely. With thoughtful, purposeful training, coaching and development, we can create practices that prepare our teachers for the classroom faster and more effectively.

As a principal, I devoted most of my time and my leadership team’s time to observing, coaching and supporting our newest teachers. We created opportunities for newer teachers to be observed more, coached more, and to teach less in their first months in the classroom. They had the opportunity to observe excellent teachers within our building and learn from the best. These teachers had the support of the school behind them while learning, and they and their students fared better for it.

In my role now, I get to work with districts to develop network-wide strategies to better develop and retain teachers. I am so excited at the prospect of creating systems and practices that allow every single teacher to be intentionally developed and eased into the profession in a way that is healthy for them and their students. 

What’s a favorite book or quote?

During my first year as a principal, I posted this quote on the white board above my desk. It helped me keep things in perspective and get ready for each new day. 

Finish every day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt have crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be cumbered with your old nonsense.

What do you like to do outside of work?

Outside of work, I love to read, run, and spend time with my two daughters.

Even when I’m exhausted, I’ll read at least one page before bed. I love to read anything – fiction, non-fiction, biographies, you name it! Some of my recent favorites include The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett, Caste by Isabel Wilkerson, and Moonglow by Michael Chabon. 

I run almost every day – it helps me clear my mind and decompress. I ran my first marathon during my first year of teaching – I think it was the only way I was able to make it through that incredibly demanding year. I love to run in Prospect Park and my oldest daughter sometimes runs with me these days!

I love doing just about anything with my two daughters – Hadley and Tessa. We paint, read, go to the park, play with brain flakes, go out for french fries, and make jewelry. Their energy and enthusiasm for things never ceases to make me smile.