How Westside Teachers Turned PD Into Classroom Impact

Send us a text

At Westside High School in Anderson, South Carolina, teaching looks different now — and students can feel it.

Last week, we talked to leadership at Westside to see how this process worked. In this episode of the Making Schools Work podcast, SREB’s Daniel Rock and Donn Kirkwood talk with Claire Armstrong and Chelita Greenley, two classroom teachers at Westside who helped turn professional development into a teacher-led movement that’s changing how students learn, think and even celebrate tests.

Hear how Westside’s teachers:

• Shifted from admin-led PD to teacher-driven learning
• Built a Visible Learning Leadership Team to lead book studies and train peers
• Created the Westside Six, a set of shared, research-based strategies used schoolwide
• Used core beliefs to align instruction and expectations
• Helped students take ownership of their learning — and replaced fear with confidence

From “four corners” discussions in history to “one-pagers” in math, teachers at Westside are making visible learning more than a theory — they’re making it a culture.

🏫 Featured Educators

• Claire Armstrong, Social Studies Teacher, Westside High School
• Chelita Greenlee, Math Teacher, Westside High School

The Southern Regional Education Board is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that works with states and schools to improve education at every level, from early childhood through doctoral education and the workforce.

Follow Us on Social:

• Facebook
• Instagram
• X