Broad Alumni Spotlight: Erin Linville (TBR 2011-13)

What’s your current organization and role?

I am the Chief of Strategy and Turnaround for Holyoke Public Schools.

What is something you’re currently working on that excites you in your professional role?

After more than eight years of working to secure funding and financial support, Holyoke is building its first new school in more than 30 years. To accompany the new middle school opening, we organized a working group to analyze and reflect on current and best practices in middle schools in Holyoke, build on lessons learned, and make recommendations to strengthen the middle school experience for students so that they are ready and excited for high school. Now, we’re preparing to implement a series of recommendations, rooted in our commitment to foster stronger relationships and ensure equitable access to learning and opportunities. I cannot wait to go to the ribbon cutting ceremony this August!

How has your experience as a Broad alum influenced the way you approach your work?

I am so grateful for my experience as a Broad Resident and for the amazing network of like-minded colleagues. My experience in Broad has helped me to think systematically about big problems and taught me the importance of ensuring that the people impacted by a decision are involved in creating the solution. Holyoke has seven equity commitments and the one that most frequently guides my work is to seek out and incorporate the voices of those impacted, with a commitment to include those who have been excluded in the past.

What is one thing your organization has been doing to increase equity for the students and communities you serve?

We have adjusted our enrollment practices for our dual language (English/Spanish) program to ensure access and inclusion. This is important because dual language learning helps close achievement gaps for all students, and students in dual-language immersion programs—including those who are native Spanish speakers—outperform their monolingual peers on standardized tests beginning in middle school. (Thomas and Collier, "Why Dual Language Schooling").

We could easily fill the program seats with students who are English dominant months before school starts, but we specifically hold seats for certain student profiles and actively recruit students who meet these profiles. Some changes include:

• Introducing a student category of bilingual, instead of just Spanish-dominant or English-dominant, which allows more Spanish speakers and Latinos to enroll
• Holding and actively recruiting PreK students who have an individual education plan whose families were less likely to feel that dual language was an option for their child in kindergarten
• Contacting Spanish dominant families directly to encourage them to enroll their child
• Conducting community outreach in Spanish to increase awareness about the program

As a result of these efforts, more students who are Spanish-dominant, bilingual or who have a disability are enrolled in dual language programming.

What do you think school system leaders should be thinking more about right now?

The current political and funding landscape is requiring that school system leaders think carefully about how to sustain critical investments. Many of us are entering a season where we need to make cuts. I encourage leaders to consider how they can make cuts that protect what is working well and what is most important for student achievement. For example, if your new investment in high dosage tutoring is working, figure out how to keep it. In Holyoke, we made a tough decision a couple years ago to move to separate elementary and middle schools and close a school in the process. This is allowing us to prioritize money spent on instruction, use space efficiently, stabilize enrollment, and balance student needs across schools. Importantly, we proactively involved the community in the decision-making process, so they were invested in the plan.