Taking Homies from the Classroom to the Whole School

Demetrius Fuller developed the HOMies, eight characters who represent eight habits of mind for learners, while he was an art teacher at a Massachusetts elementary school. When students began talking about the HOMies outside their art class, the initiative spread across the school. Linda Nathan, Demetrius Fuller, and Nate Meyers describe the HOMies and unpack the key ingredients involved in scaling a good classroom practice throughout an entire school. They look at the role of involving teachers from different subject areas and with different perspectives in the program. This example shows how teachers and leaders can ensure that innovative ideas can be shared and sustained so that schools can continually evolve to find ways to meet student needs.