OUTCOME FROM COMMUNITY WORKSHOP – June 18, 2019
The following thoughts will be forwarded to the District Arts Task Force, District Athletics Task Force and to the Director of Curriculum/Department Chairs for their consideration and identification of action steps.
Study Halls are scheduled for all at the secondary schools and are not always needed.
Potential Solutions: Provide students with alternatives that they can self-select when needed. Consider putting in maker spaces, where students would find activities of interest and ask students what they would like to see in these spaces.
There are several after-school activities in the arts and athletics where the participation rates are low.
Potential Solutions: Provide transportation to and from practices. Include parents as participants in the activities, similar to the district’s Arts Partners.
There is a lack of student voice in curriculum and instruction.
Potential Solutions: Ask for student input on the development of courses and on how instruction can best be delivered via a formal, consistently applied tool. Include questions such as “I like... I wonder about .... I think about ...” Ask each student to answer the question, “What do I need to know about you to make me a better teacher?” Consider engaging all ninth graders in reading and exploring a self-discovery book. Look to see how course electives can support student needs and interests.
Seat time requirements for courses can be a barrier.
Potential Solutions: Explore the development of courses that are a blend of online learning and seat time.
Having to teach the required components of the curriculum can be a barrier to providing real-world, experiential opportunities. Bring back the joy in the classroom.
Potential Solutions: Frame courses as opportunities for co-learning (teacher and student). Embed project-based learning opportunities throughout the district. Demonstrate to teachers how project-based learning translates to “test scores.”
There is a disconnect between the grades students receive and their performance on state assessments.
Potential Solutions: Institute standards-based grading. Incorporate a minimum numeric grade in all classes that correlates to performance-based learning. Add more career education in the elementary school.
How do we know if all students have access to challenging and engaging material?
Potential Solutions: Find a way to measure student engagement and report to the community an analysis of class grades and performance on Regents. Have teachers use and complete interest surveys as part of entry into a course/class. Change the language on all high school course syllabi to “What we want to learn and accomplish this year.” Identify interests, expertise, and value early on in school so students feel important and able to learn.
We need to engage more students in caring about something outside of their immediate world.
Potential Solutions: Ask all students what they can do to make the community better? Engage students in a Day of Caring. Define what community service looks like and communicate these opportunities to our students.
Other thoughts/comments:
• Increase the networking opportunities in the district among teachers so there is time to share.
• Use unstructured time to find out about interests and talents. Use department time to share best practices.
• Name communications with parents Learning Letters rather than Newsletters.
• Use social media to showcase student work and what is happening.
• Establish and understand the profile of each student.
• Challenge Teachers can go in and out of classrooms to see and make connections, get new ideas and work with students from different levels. How do we provide similar opportunities for all teachers?
• Through our instruction, we need to ask students to share a piece of learning and then connect on a personal level to draw them in. Students want to be treated like adults, to be listened to. Try not to dictate what we want from students.
• The learner of today is not the learner of 10 years ago. Different modalities need to be utilized. How do we create an environment that is conducive to their learning?
• Participation counts more than it should for a course grade.
• We need to rethink how we provide interventions and at what expense. If a student is struggling, why should they miss out on an art or music that is of interest?