Ralston’s WIN Time makes so much sense you wonder why the education system has not always functioned this way.

The acronym stands for What I Need, and it’s exactly what it sounds like.

WIN Time is a designated time for students to get specific help catered to them. For instance, if a student is struggling with multiplication, they will be put in a class to get extra work in a classroom with other students in the same situation. If a student grasps the concept, they can utilize WIN Time to further their knowledge.

The bottom line is wherever a student is, the curriculum gets customized to them. The atmosphere of being around your peers in the same boat makes students more comfortable asking questions and interacting.

The program launched a couple years ago with elementary and middle school to better help guide students through the curriculum.

Cecilia Wilken, Ralston Public Schools’ assistant superintendent for learning, helped develop and bring the program to life.

“A couple of years ago, we started our school improvement journey around professional learning communities. With that, we began to work around — what do we do in those collaborative conversations to really help our students learn by working together and talking about our student learning and how we can really change our practice to support our students,” Wilken said. “(WIN Time) is a time in the day intended to support students and lift them up so they can achieve and reach mastery and whatever standards they’re focused on.”

The time allows teachers to customize a lesson plan or spend extra time on a given topic, whether that’s spending more time explaining a math equation or a group conversation to help with reading comprehension.

Ralston elementray and middle schools were the earliest adopters of the program, which expanded to high school this year.

Wildewood Elementary Principal Ashley Holmes can attest to the positive impact of WIN Time.

“I will emphasize, it’s not a program, it’s really just investing in practices,” Holmes said. “It’s about our teachers building themselves up as professionals, and then shift their conversations and focus from being so teacher focused to really focused on, what are the students learning?”

This gives students who may fall behind or are struggling with a concept more time to grasp the material. This is especially important for students learning the building blocks of education in elementary school.

“Our main goal is having our teachers be crystal clear about what do these students have to know before they go to the next grade,” Holmes said.

Holmes gave an example of teaching decimal points and all the different ways they are used. To track progress, teachers come up with a check list of pertinent knowledge needed to successfully navigate the next grade up.

“When we’re planning a math unit, we talk about what are the elements of decimals that it would be nice for students to know and what are the parts of decimals they absolutely have to know before they leave (the grade). We check where they’re at, and then WIN Time is when we can see if they need more time or practice or if there’s a different way to teach it. Or, this student knows how to add and subtract decimals, how can we get them a step further to continue their learning path.”

One facet of WIN Time is its fluidity and the ability for the participants to mold it for the best possible outcome. Teachers talk and compare notes to best teach so the student retains it based on how they learn most effectively.

“If there are two fourth grade teachers and one has 90% of their students that mastered decimals, and another teacher has 70%, I may ask what you did differently that I can use with my students that haven’t quite mastered it,” Holmes said. “Or maybe the way you’re explaining it is clear and you have a concrete way of explaining it, I might send my kid into your class. You’re going to do the re-teaching the way you taught and hopefully that helps them move forward in their learning.”

This year, Ralston High School is implementing WIN Time.

RHS Principal Jesse Tvrdy says students like having options and enrichment opportunities. Weightlifting is a popular choice, Tvrdy said.

Another factor in adding WIN Time was last year’s disrupted and fragmented schedule.

“It’s one of those things where we always want to think about how we can fill the gaps, along with how can we make sure we’re accelerating our rate of learning at a strong pace,” Tvrdy said.

Another consideration is that at the younger levels, the proof is in the pudding.

“In 2018-19, before we started WIN Time, 47% of our kids were meeting their growth goal,” Holmes said. “Last year, in our second year, we had 69% of kids meet their growth goal by the end of the year. And, when you think a 5 to 7% increase is significant, especially with COVID, that’s absolutely amazing and exciting.”