Results that Shine: Onboarding at Brilla Schools: Embracing Urgency and Excellence

The start of a new academic year is always a time of excitement and renewal at Brilla Schools, and this year is no different. As we welcomed our leaders and staff for their 2024-2025 onboarding experience, the atmosphere was charged with a palpable sense of urgency and a commitment to excellence. Grounded in our vision to provide an exceptional, student-first education, this year’s onboarding focused on building upon the strong foundation reset during the 2023-2024 school year. Our theme, “Urgency and Excellence,” serves as both a reminder and a call to action as we strive to maintain momentum and push our community to new heights.

In response to prior years’ feedback, Emily Brooks, Senior Director of Instruction, our leader of onboarding, curated a differentiated and meaningful experience that balanced theory with practicality. Between both leadership and staff onboarding, over 130 sessions were offered and more than 40 facilitators shared their gifts in leading adult learning. The feedback from this year’s onboarding sessions was overwhelmingly positive, highlighting the immense value these experiences bring to our educators and leaders. One teacher shared, “The MTSS session stood out for me. It clarified the differences in leveling MLLs (Multilingual Learners) and how to address their unique needs.” This kind of insight is exactly what our onboarding program aims to provide—practical, actionable knowledge that teachers can take directly into their classrooms.

Another educator expressed appreciation for the Science of Reading session, noting, “I was able to understand how the brain learns to read and how to apply this understanding to my teaching.” This is just one example of how our onboarding sessions are designed to deepen teachers’ expertise, ensuring they are equipped with the latest research-based strategies to drive student success. Another teacher praised the collaborative sessions, stating, “Good to Great Collaboration on Expert in Later Year Content was particularly impactful because it provided clear strategies for elevating our teaching practices.”

What makes Brilla Schools unique is not just our rigorous academic standards but also the environment of love and support that we cultivate. This year’s onboarding served as a powerful reminder that our approach is holistic—it’s not just about achieving high test scores but about nurturing the whole child. Our model emphasizes the importance of virtue, community, and wisdom, which are deeply ingrained in every aspect of our educational approach. As one participant in the onboarding put it, “The dignity session was helpful and did help deepen my understanding of our school’s commitment to character education.”

As we continue to emphasize urgency and excellence, it’s important to remember that our teachers and school staff are the cornerstone of Brilla’s success. Their commitment to our students is nothing short of heroic. Whether it’s through implementing new instructional strategies or creating a welcoming and inclusive classroom environment, our staff consistently rises to the occasion, demonstrating an unwavering dedication to our mission. One educator encapsulated this spirit by stating, “Onboarding allowed me to focus on things that matter most—building a strong classroom community and fostering student engagement from day one.”

The momentum from last year has carried forward, and our staff is more energized than ever to build on that foundation. They are ready to lean in, embrace the challenges, and work together to ensure that every student at Brilla Schools has the opportunity to thrive. Another participant summed it up well: “Onboarding was an opportunity to reconnect with why we do what we do, and I’m more motivated than ever to bring that passion into my classroom.”