Deer Park Elementary is one of just a handful of schools worldwide to be designated a Kagan Model School. The designation recognizes schools that successfully implement cooperative learning structures designed to increase student engagement, achievement, and collaboration.
Principal Kristin Atwell said the effort began shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic, when staff noticed students were less engaged with lessons and each other.
“Coming out of COVID, we realized that our students weren’t really engaging with lessons, and they really weren’t talking to each other. So we felt like we needed to find some ways to encourage that,” Atwell said. “Basically, our teachers have been trained in cooperative learning structures. The whole premise of a structure is to get kids talking to one another about their learning.”
Atwell said the strategies go beyond traditional group work. Teachers intentionally plan lessons where 25 to 100 percent of students are actively participating at the same time.
“It is really powerful, just because it keeps kids engaged,” she said. “Nobody can just sit back and be passive learners when you’re using cooperative learning structures.”
The Kagan program is based on research by Dr. Spencer Kagan, who paired his background in psychology with classroom experience to design evidence-based teaching strategies now used worldwide. Atwell said Deer Park’s path to recognition began about four years ago with then-principal Robin Nalley, eventually culminating in a rigorous review that included classroom visits and teacher interviews.
“(The recognition) was not why we started this journey. It’s just been a natural byproduct,” Atwell said. “Different people that have come here and worked with us kept telling us, ‘This is a special place, and you all do it right.’”
To celebrate Friday’s announcement, students enjoyed a balloon drop, Little Caesars pizza, and an ice cream sundae bar. Teachers incorporated only Kagan structures into lessons, which Atwell said deepens learning while still feeling like a celebration to students.
Daviess County Public Schools Superintendent Charlie Broughton called the recognition a product of sustained effort.
“This is an example of hard work paying off and getting the recognition that’s so deservedly for this school, for these students, for the staff, for the leadership here,” Broughton said. “We went through a principal change a couple years ago when Miss Atwell was hired. During that process, the committee said, ‘We want someone that will continue what we’re doing with Kagan.’ And here we are a few short months later, and they are recognized as, like she said, one of few in the entire world.”
District leaders said the honor reflects a larger push to boost student engagement across all schools.
“It’s one of only five schools in the world that have received the model status. What a big honor,” said Leslie Peveler, director of elementary education. “Our entire platform of engagement started about five years ago, and Kagan really has been part of our journey to make sure that kids are engaged in classrooms every single day, regardless of where they are. Deer Park had started a little bit of that before, and they’ve just taken it and run with it. They’ve been the model.”
Peveler said every elementary school in the district uses Kagan strategies, and the recognition could inspire others to pursue model status.
Atwell added that Deer Park will continue to build on the success.
“This achievement is about more than a title,” she said. “It represents our commitment to ensuring that all students have opportunities to collaborate, think critically, and succeed together.”
