Rutgers NJ Alternate Route Alum Denis Cretinon Improves Virtual Learning Through Collaboration

When COVID-19 hit, Discovery Charter School Leader and Alternate Route alum Denis Cretinon knew he wouldn’t succeed without a team. 

“I wanted to create a space for all teachers to discuss what’s not working,” he said. “If we can all share without the fear of being reprimanded, we can create a space where we can talk about a problem we can all work on solving.” 

Cretinon, who recently finished his first year as School Leader, worked with fellow Discovery educators on March 13th to put a plan together that best serves students and teachers. On March 16th, school was back in session… but had a new look.

“A big decision I made from day one was to meet with staff on Zoom every day,” Cretinon said. “In school, we’d never be able to do it.”

The meetings included feedback, lesson plan fine-tuning and overall planning as a team. According to Cretinon, there were many positives that came out of the collaborative virtual planning during an especially stressful time.

“I think we’re going to benefit, even after all this. We’re going to plan together, give feedback to each other and we see the benefit of doing that.”

To foster a collaborative spirit, Cretinon strongly believes in the importance of leading by example and making sure everyone has a seat at the table. 

“When you involve everyone in a decision, it becomes a common culture,” he said. “You should look to all people involved because we all have a common vision. A vision does not come out of a piece of paper - you write it, but you show it through making decisions and asking advice.” 

“A vision does not come out of a piece of paper - you write it, but you show it through making decisions and asking advice.”

Alternate Route Inspires Collaboration 

Part of Cretinon’s passion for collaboration is his experience as a graduate of Rutgers Alternate Route’s first class. The intimate environment encouraged discussions around challenges, wins and sharing resources. 

“I took a lot from the teacher, who got into long conversations with us every week and we all listened to each other. The conversations were always attuned to what we were learning in the classroom.”

Alternate Route created a sense of community for Cretinon, and he saw the benefit of collaborating on lesson planning and working through the tough challenges as a team.

“It was not just theoretical training, it was embedded in our daily experience,” he said. “Everything we were learning was always what was happening. I believe that is essential to teacher training.”

During his time in the Rutgers Alternate Route program, Cretinon was also starting to grow his career at Discovery Charter School. One of his biggest takeaways was to understand each school setting is different and to communicate and learn from educators in different environments. Now, several of his colleagues at his school are fellow Rutgers Alternate Route alumni and affiliates. 

“Having space to share experiences, questions and difficulties you might have was beneficial for us. Creating safe spaces is essential at work.”

Creating a safe space for students and teachers

Alternate Route showed Cretinon the benefit of having a safe space to learn and grow, and creating an encouraging environment where students and staff are supported and not afraid to be vulnerable.

“What I try to do is affirm both the needs to take care of ourselves and the needs of the kids,” he said. 

To uphold continuing support for students and staff during the pandemic, Cretinon formed two “norms,” which spell out exactly what is expected from one another. The first norm is for staff to take care of their needs and the needs of their loved ones. 

“Never hesitate to call and say ‘I’m unwell.’ We will find a way as a team, but we will always be here for the kids.”

The second norm at Discovery is to reach out to each student every day. In order to take care of staff and continue the commitment to students, the Discovery community has each other’s backs and someone is always ready to fill in whenever there is a gap.

“I try to always hold two parts. We need to prioritize our students, while allowing our teachers to take care of themselves or a loved one who is infected and quarantining in the house.”

Cretinon and the Discovery team also prioritized inclusive learning, so all students are served. 

“The first basic thing was to make sure everyone has devices and the internet,” he said. “We gave out Chromebooks to ensure everyone has something to work with.”

Discovery also gave students and staff space to transition to the new learning environment. The first three weeks were focused on making sure the students had assistance connecting and getting comfortable with the technology. 

“We had Zoom office hours kids could come to,” Cretinon said. “We did virtual study groups where kids could stay in the room to help each other and work together after the teacher was done with their instruction.”

To make sure all students have an equal opportunity to succeed, Discovery partnered with Optimum for at-home internet access, as well as enrolled four college students to serve as tutors for children who needed more one-on-one help to succeed during remote learning.  These college students were already tutoring before the pandemic and knew Discovery’s students.

As a smaller school, Discovery needs to rely on teamwork and mutual support. Measures are put in place where skills and schedules overlap, this way teachers are adequately prepared and student success is never compromised.

“I think leadership is seeing options,” Cretinon said. “Through instructors, you have a connection with years of experience to learn from.” 

For more inspirational stories about education and educators like Denis Cretinon, follow the Rutgers Alternate Route program through Twitter and our blog and visit our website for our FREE e-guide on Getting a Teaching Job in New Jersey!