Avanti Vanderslice’s journey as a teacher has come full circle. Now a 6th-grade general education ELA teacher, he’s part of an innovative educator team at the same middle school he once attended.
“It’s been really nice to work with teachers who inspired me to pursue this as my passion, and it’s been really nice to be back to see my old roots, my alma mater,” Vanderslice shares. “I just love it. I love this neighborhood. I love the environment that’s here.”
Vanderslice is a member of Hoover Middle School’s 6th-grade educator team, alongside two other general education and three special education teachers. As an early-career educator in his first full year of teaching, the team has allowed him to learn from colleagues with decades of experience.
“I’ve heard that teaching can be very isolated and lonely, and you just kind of have to go through it, and you’re kind of on your own. But I haven’t really felt that,” Vanderslice says. “I’ve been able to be surrounded by a team that I really trust and can work with, and I think what’s really nice is I learned something from each person here.”
One of those educators is Francesca Rael, a special education ELA teacher with 26 years of experience, who shared how team teaching has brought a much-needed change to her career.
“I have had the fortunate opportunity to rejuvenate my teaching, and the excitement that a lot of the new teachers coming into the profession have brought for me. When you’re in this business for a long time, sometimes you need jolts like that, and so it’s been a really great time this year,” Rael says.
Situated near the base of the Sandia Mountains, Hoover Middle School, which serves around 420 students, is one of six schools within Albuquerque Public Schools in New Mexico to launch team-based strategic school staffing models in 2025 in collaboration with Arizona State University’s Next Education Workforce. The partnership, which now includes a second cohort of nine additional middle schools in 2026, is part of the district’s initiative to better prepare students for the future.
Randy Mahlerwein, deputy superintendent for leadership and learning at APS, underscored how team-based models create better outcomes and experiences for educators as well as students.
“Team-based staffing expands what’s possible for our schools, educators and students by creating flexibility in how we organize time, roles and expertise,” Mahlerwein said. “Flexibility allows us to better meet student needs while creating roles and conditions that deepen support for educators. It’s about putting the right supports around educators so they can be successful, and creating environments where they can find purpose and joy in their work.”
It starts at the system level
When the collaboration between APS and Next Education Workforce was announced, Vice Principal Jamen Medina said that she and Principal Rebecca Sanchez jumped at the opportunity to be a part of the district’s first cohort.
“When I went to an Arizona Site Visit in the spring of 2025, I didn’t just see a new schedule — I saw a new way of ‘being’ for teachers. What stood out most was the move away from the ‘one teacher, one room’ isolation. I saw how distributed leadership within a team could actually prevent burnout while providing a safety net for students,” Sanchez says. “I came back from Phoenix convinced that if we wanted to change student outcomes, we first had to change the environment in which our teachers learn and grow as professionals.”
Jayson Gober, the 6th-grade special education social studies teacher, underscored the role both Sanchez and Medina have in the success of their team at the school.
“When you are in education, you only hear about two different groups. You hear about schools where administrators and teachers are at odds with one another, and you hear about schools where administration and teachers are on the same page. And I feel very lucky that I am a part of the latter,” Gober says. “This school has such a special way for administrators and teachers to work together. I always feel supported by the administration or people like Francesca, who will do anything to help you.”
The school’s administrators were tasked with creating conditions for the team to succeed, including a shared planning period for educators, common time for students to work together, and consistent leadership support to remove barriers or find resources.
Shared team planning time was a “real selling point” for Rael, who had previous experience co-planning with other educators.
“I didn’t really know what we were going to be doing as a team, to be honest, when we first started this, but I did know that Jamen was moving mountains to make sure that we had a collaboration period together, and I knew how beneficial that could be when you have an opportunity to work with other teachers and have time to talk about students,” Rael says.
The 6th-grade team meets four days a week for team planning, and they’ve used that time to check in on their students and plan interdisciplinary projects.
A shared vision becomes a reality
Hoover’s 6th-grade team began the year engaging students in a multi-disciplinary project to design what became known as the Hawks’ Nest, a gathering space for students and educators. In the words of Jeanie Miller, the 6th-grade math and science teacher, the project took on a “life of its own,” as community members, students and educators alike got involved.
First, an architect came to assess and map the empty space, drawing up blueprints that the students could work from. Then, the students were put into groups and asked to dream up a design for the space, from wall features to table placements. The 6th-grade educator team wrote a grant proposal and received $2,500 to remodel the space and purchase supplies. Community members donated additional items for the room, including couches and rugs.
After spending about a month brainstorming design ideas, all of the 6th graders voted on their favorite.
Miller, who has a passion for film, helped a student crew make a documentary about the project. including interviewing fellow students, capturing audio and filming.
“Seeing them be able to express that amount of creativity really on their own and feel like they were a part of the school as 6th graders was just so incredible. It was awesome. I loved seeing how excited they were. You know, it’s like, ‘We get to leave our mark here,’ and I think that helped build that sense of community for the Hawks’ Nest at the beginning,” Miller reflects.
Despite it only being his first year teaching, Gober has also seen how the project helped break down barriers between general education and special education students.
“What’s been really nice about teaming with everybody is doing the same thing, making sure that on the special education side, there are the appropriate accommodations in place. Those barriers exist less and less, which helps the kids recognize that ‘Oh, this person isn’t necessarily academically less than I am, they just need some extra help,’” Gober says.
Rael agrees, sharing an example from the team’s interdisciplinary Greek mythology project. Thanks to the educator’s shared planning time, a student who reads significantly behind grade level was able to participate alongside the other 6th-grade students.
“He has been so jazzed about this project. He was able to use his speech-to-text, and 95% of it was independent. He has put it all together. He’s almost done with it. And it’s just been really exciting that he’s gotten that additional support in my class, but also he’s been able to participate with his general education group,” Rael says.
The culminating event for the Greek mythology project will be a wax museum evening where students will have the opportunity to dress up like their chosen Greek figure and present their posters. The event will also bring in astronomy professionals from the community, deepening the students’ understanding of the connections between Greek mythology and science.
It’s so rich and rewarding as a coach to say, that’s what agency and innovation look like in action. Not only are they embracing it themselves as educators, but they are giving kids permission to do the same. So that, for me, is the hallmark of high success.
The team’s embrace of interdisciplinary learning has been a highlight for Amber Day, the Next Education Workforce implementation coach, who has been working alongside schools in APS launching teams.
“The 6th-grade team was the first at the school to do an interdisciplinary project. Then, they far exceeded my expectations for what a year-one team could do,” Day says. “It’s so rich and rewarding as a coach to say, that’s what agency and innovation look like in action. Not only are they embracing it themselves as educators, but they are giving kids permission to do the same. So that, for me, is the hallmark of high success.”
‘What’s good for the soul’
Hoover’s first team has been so effective that the school launched a new math team in early 2026 with a special focus on raising math scores. They plan to expand grade-level teams across all grades next year.
“Our 6th-grade team has done an outstanding job of helping students take ownership in their learning and increased the sense of belonging grade-wide. Students have a consistent set of expectations and procedures throughout all classes, and they know their teachers are working together to plan activities, lessons and support them,” Medina says. “They have taken this opportunity to use collaboration to make the 6th-grade experience both helpful and empowering for students. They truly function as a team with the common goal to support each other as they support students.”
Day agrees, sharing how proud she’s been to see the level of trust deepen between the team.
“When you watch a team invest in their purpose deeply, when you watch a team invest in each other deeply, that’s the magic that happens,” Day says. “We transform our profession. We help to create a more connected and healthy environment for adults and kids, and so that’s a huge win for me.”
For the educators, their teams have allowed them to distribute expertise, learn from one another and find a deeper sense of belonging among their peers, bringing a whole new level of joy to the profession.
“I have been doing a lot of laughing this semester … and that’s good for the soul. And what’s good for the soul is good for the students, because, I’ll tell you what, at the end of the day, middle school’s hard,” Rael shares. “We have found each other’s skills in this. Each of us brings something to the table, and that has been really great about teaming.”
For Miller, the chance to be on a team has pushed her out of her comfort zone and made her a better person and educator.
“I’m a very type A, isolated person, and grouping is not my forte. I’ve had to learn how to open up and share with people, and that’s been tricky. It’s been humbling. It’s been enlightening. It’s been challenging,” Miller shares. “But, I think it’s made me better as a person, and probably as a teacher.”
As he nears the end of his first year of teaching, Gober says he’s exactly where he’s supposed to be, thanks in large part to his team.
“As a first-year special education teacher, I have no end of things that I need to do. But at no point do I ever feel like any of those things are beyond my ability. And if they are, I know that I have people around me who will be there to help me,” Gober says. “At the heart of it, I don’t doubt that every single person who meets in this room four days a week wants this place to be better. And it’s really nice to be a part of that. This is the first time in my working life that I have truly felt I am where I am supposed to be.”
At the heart of it, I don’t doubt that every single person who meets in this room four days a week wants this place to be better. And it’s really nice to be a part of that. This is the first time in my working life that I have truly felt I am where I am supposed to be.
What began as a commitment to redesign middle schools has become something far greater for Hoover Middle School. As the school builds evidence in real-time, Sanchez calls out the impact it has had for not only educators but also students.
“What I love most is that this model ensures every single student has several dedicated advocates. In a traditional setting, it’s too easy for a quiet or struggling child to fall through the cracks. Now, with a team of experts surrounding them, no student falls behind. We see them, we know them and we catch them before they trip,” Sanchez says. “Personally, I am incredibly proud to be part of Cohort One in APS, and leading the charge for this model in our district has been a highlight of my career. Knowing we’ve built a system where every child is truly ‘known’ is exactly what I hoped to achieve in my decade of leadership as a middle school administrator. I’m proud that we didn’t just talk about middle school redesign — we actually did it.”
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