Today we’d like to introduce you to Julia Pockros
Hi Julia, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I started my career as a Teach For America member in New Orleans, working in a community that was deeply impacted by Hurricane Katrina. I taught fourth-grade literacy and then became the director of curriculum and instruction, focusing on supporting English Language Learners and immigrant communities. This experience opened my eyes to the unique challenges students in these communities face and the importance of tailored support.
I then transitioned back to my home city of Washington, DC, where I joined a charter network, taking on roles from teacher to instructional leader to director. My journey continued to Detroit, where I met with school leaders during the COVID-19 pandemic and brought Lavinia Group’s methods and outcomes to the Midwest.
These experiences across different cities have given me valuable insights into the common challenges and unique factors shaping school communities nationwide. When I joined Lavinia Group, we were focused on mitigating learning loss, especially by maximizing out-of-school time learning. We developed the RISE Summer Learning Program, a high-impact, easy-to-use summer learning program that any school and community could implement with significant results.
Coming out of the pandemic, we led RISE Summer School across the city of Indianapolis with outstanding outcomes. In 2023, we scaled the program to include Memphis. Our first summer in Memphis, working with 16 schools and networks, yielded tremendous results, with significant growth in literacy and math. In Summer 2024, we continued this work and expanded to offer onsite coaching, further enhancing student outcomes.
Our role in Memphis is to be a partner in this work. The story is really about our amazing partners we discovered along the way. None of our work in Memphis would be possible without the individuals on the ground who make it happen! Time and time again, we are impressed with the leaders and teachers in Memphis schools. They really understand their school communities, hire thoughtful educators, and are willing to grow in the work alongside us. Leaders like Dr. Patrick Washington at Promise Academy, Robert Davis at the School of Perea, and Michelle Armstrong at Pyramid Peak Foundation are examples of who is driving this important work across the city — we’re simply providing them with the tools they need to succeed.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Entering a new city and set of schools is always a complex task. When Lavinia Group began working in Memphis, it was essential to understand the unique visions, priorities, and contexts of the schools and their communities. We knew that listening to stakeholders was key. By engaging in deep conversations with school leaders andphilanthropic organizations, and by conducting focus groups with students and teachers, we gained a clear understanding of the specific needs and concerns across Memphis. This approach allowed us to design a program that aligned with their goals. For instance, the Read by Grade 3 law was a significant concern due to pandemic-related learning loss. Our summer program was specifically tailored to address this issue, ensuring the curriculum and pre and post assessments were aligned to the state standards, which allowed for effective evaluation and impactful results.
Engaging students during the summer posed another challenge, as you can imagine. Summer is traditionally a time for non-academic activities, and the achievement gap becomes most pronounced, particularly affecting under-resourced families. To address this, we designed our summer program to be rich, engaging, and of high quality. We focused on providing content that was meaningful and reflective of students’ experiences, encouraging them to take the reins in their learning. By integrating interactive and collaborative activities, we ensured that students found the program enjoyable and worthwhile, which in turn enabled students to grow as readers, writers, and mathematicians.
Our comprehensive summer program is designed to address the challenge of traditional summer schools that often lack a cohesive curriculum, which can lead to varied and often ineffective learning experiences. Our summer learning program offers a structured and comprehensive curriculum, ensuring that all students receive consistent and high-quality instruction. We provide everything needed for the program, including detailed lesson plans, assessments, and engaging activities, which allow for easy implementation and effective evaluation. This structured approach has led to significant improvements in literacy and math scores, as evidenced by our work in Memphis where we saw 22 points of literacy growth and 21 points of growth in math after just five weeks.
Building trust in a new community without initial name recognition was also a significant hurdle. School leaders, families, and funders didn’t know who we were. To overcome this, we focused on proving our value through tangible results. The success of our first summer in Memphis, where we achieved significant literacy and math growth, was a crucial first step. Following this success, many schools allowed us to provide onsite instructional coaching in 2024, which led to even more significant student outcomes. We continued to build relationships by being present, meeting schools where they are, and delivering customized support based on their needs.
Our professional development sessions have also been pivotal, training teachers on our high-quality methods and supporting them in successfully launching the program.
Professional development and continuous support are vital for schools with varied and ongoing needs throughout the year. We start our programs with pre-program professional development (PD) sessions that can be in-person or virtual. These sessions offer an immersive experience into our instructional methods, particularly focusing on the Science of Reading and our new RedThread Literacy Program. By modeling lessons and providing responsive sessions tailored to the specific challenges participants face, we ensure that the PD is practical and impactful. Many of our partners in Memphis who experienced our PD over the summer have extended their collaboration with us year-round, attending our math and literacy workshops this fall to translate our strategies into their classrooms year-round directly.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Lavinia Group, a division of K12 Coalition, is dedicated to propelling K-12 schools toward rapid academic growth in math and literacy. Renowned for its revolutionary curriculum, instructional coaching, professional development, and summer learning programs, Lavinia Group consistently achieves double-digit improvements in student performance. Its collaborative, immersive approach with educators and school leaders ensures long-term, sustainable academic success. Furthermore, Lavinia Group’s commitment to equity is central to its mission. Ensuring that all students have access to high-quality education and opportunities is a priority. Our commitment to equity is reflected in our outcomes, with nearly every third-grade student in our Memphis program successfully transitioning to the next grade level.
Lavinia Group is B Corp Certified and joins a growing global movement of companies using business as a force for good.
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
I wouldn’t typify myself as a risk-taker, but I’m willing to experiment and hear “no.” For example, this summer, I encouraged our team to design a summer school phone application. It was a financial and organizational risk, but it had the potential to build a stronger community and keep users connected with our resources. While the application was moderately successful, it provided valuable feedback that we’re using to improve it for next year. My view on risk-taking is that it’s only a failure if you let it be; there’s always room for iteration and improvement.
Pricing:
- Professional Learning Labs: starting at $475 per participant
- Workshop Intensives: starting at $650 per participant
Contact Info:
- Website: https://laviniagroup.org/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thelaviniagroup
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/laviniagrouporg
- Twitter: https://x.com/laviniagrouped
- Other: https://k12coalition.com/
