IUSD’s Continuous Improvement Council reintroduced its Student Shadowing Project this fall, where teachers observe students throughout the day to better understand their academic and social experiences.
From Oct. 10 to Feb. 28, teachers who choose to participate will act strictly as silent companions during school, breaks and after-school activities, recording their observations in a survey. At Northwood, teachers will attend a pre-shadowing meeting before being matched with students based on schoolwide goals, grade levels and circumstances such as English learner status. Students who are selected to be shadowed will then be asked to provide consent.
“The district—they don’t have to care, but they do and it’s very thoughtful,” sophomore Sahana Bhandarkar said. “Living [a student’s] life alongside them is definitely a better way to get a picture [of their life] than just seeing them once every two days [when] you’re preoccupied with trying to manage your class versus having one-on-one time with the student and seeing what they experience outside of class.”
Each school’s administration will manage program details, including designating shadowing days and choosing participants. Revived from its 2017-18 launch, the program now will monitor new factors in student life such as artificial intelligence and the aftereffects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The goal is to strengthen student belonging and well-being.
“I participated in the [program] in the past [and] I thought it was very effective in terms of giving me perspective and opportunity to reflect on my own practices,” history teacher Brendan Geck said. “There’s so much input coming in on a normal school day and sometimes you can lose sight of the individuals that are in each of those classrooms and how their experiences might be different or impacted for a particular activity, based on their interests and capabilities.”
The program follows a pilot run from February to April 2025 involving 60 to 75 teachers across the district. Based on feedback, the CIC refined pre- and post-interviews and set a target of 15 teachers per high school. The 2017-18 version led to districtwide changes, including adding voice amplification systems at all sites and revising homework policies.
“The last time we ran this program was before COVID, and now we’re thinking about what comes next and our goals for our student population,” IUSD curriculum and instruction director Deanna Rutter said. “This was the right moment to stop [and] make sure we really have a handle on the student perspective. This is a great way to do that [and] really try to walk in a student’s shoes.”
While there are no concrete plans to continue the initiative beyond the 2025-26 school year, IUSD hopes to continue promoting inclusivity and create a welcoming environment for students, according to Rutter.
For more information on the Student Shadowing Project, visit https://iusd.org/sites/default/files/documents/student-shadowing-project-manual-2025.pdf.
