Student-Led Conferences

It is that time of year for our Parent-Teacher Conferences to begin all across America. Parents, teachers, counselors, administrators, and students are all preparing for this educational tradition. You might wonder how students play into the Parent-Teacher Conference. Well, for Francis Howell Middle, we adopted (many years ago) the Student-Led Conference (SLC) practice; therefore our students are an integral component of our fall (and spring) conferences!

With SLCs our students take an important leadership role. They present their portfolio artifacts to their parents during the conference. The students review assessments, assignment, standardized assessment scores, and other portfolio items with their parents. They explain the scores that they received and offer suggestions to their parents as to ways they can make improvements. The classroom teachers are present and are readily available to discuss any artifact in the portfolio (or to address any other parent questions or concerns). This informal setting and format is quite conducive to increasing communication between school and home.

There are multiple benefits in implementing the SLC format:

• Greater Student Voice
• Increased Oral Communication
• Student Ownership of Portfolio work
• Increased Parent-Student interaction within the conference format

If you haven’t tried this format, I suggest you look into it. Let me know how it works out for your school community!

B, D, O, and Y

These four letters, independent of one another, merely represent letters of the alphabet or perhaps members of the “used letter board” on Wheel of Fortune. However, when correctly manipulated they create an acronym that represents how you can dramatically change your school culture and climate. I am referring to BYOD (Bring Your Own Device)! Last spring our school took that giant step and adopted the Bring Your Own Device policy for the start of this school year. I applaud my staff and parents for encouraging and implementing this best practice. We’ve dabbled in allowing students to use their own devices during the past few years and today students are engaged in multiple levels of personal application: Cellphones, iPods, iPads, Chromebooks, Kindles, and Nooks. They are being challenged and in return they also challenge us (to take our game to the next level so speak). This is an exciting time to be leading out educational change.

Here’s a sampling of resources, apps, and other avenues that the students can access while in school:

·         Remind 101

·         Instagram

·         Twitter

·         Blogging

·         PicStitch

·         Schoology

·         Google Drive

·         Prezi

·         eBooks

·         Socrative

So, as we continue this journey together I look forward to learning new advancements from my staff, students, and my Professional Learning Network (PLN). Why is application and use of technology and best practices so vital today?  Well, simply stated, we’re preparing students today for jobs that do not even exist. As a result we must engage them in the every changing features of technology and academic support to best prepare them to ‘boldly go where no one has gone before.”

Look Who's Talking

The other day a long-time colleague and friend stopped by school to visit. She’s a “retirement rookie” so she was telling us of her new adventures with her new found superannuation from “formal” education. She just returned from a trip to Florida and in the August ’13 edition of Spirit, the in-flight magazine of Southwest Airlines, she found an article on the Flipped Classroom and 21^st century technology. “This would be a great article for Professional Development”, she said. Always thinking, Cheryl provided me with two copies of the magazine. I immediately contacted the airlines to see if I could get a copy of the August issue for each of my teachers (waiting to hear back from them). In the article “Flipped Out” Jennifer Miller conveys the important message that the flipped classroom. If you’d like to read the article, go to www.spiritmag.com to review the article!

It’s exciting to see articles promoting and encouraging the advancement of education. It just goes to show you that no matter where you are (even at 35,000 feet), someone is writing, reading, or talking about education. In this case, we see someone promoting educational pedagogy in a progressive and positive format.  So the next time you are out and about (at the dentist, getting the oil changed on your car, or even flying home from a vacation or conference) , don’t be surprised if you find a magazine, newspaper, or news broadcast reporting on the 21^st century movement in education.

Rite of Passage for Parents

As the summer comes to a close, families begin the transition back to school. At Francis Howell Middle one rite of passage is our Summer Survival Series. For one evening, parents of incoming 6^th grade students meet with both administrators and parent leaders. We hold a Question and Answer Session where topics include: Academic expectations, homework guidelines, BYOD, inter-grade level grouping for lunch and Character Connection Class, the middle school model, lunch, lockers, and extra-curricular activities. This event affords our parents the opportunity to learn more about our school culture, climate, and expectations. This informal venue allows for greater parent participation. Helping parents transition to middle school is just as important as helping their children move from 5^th to 6^th grade.

There are four keys to a successful parent transition meeting:

·         Remain transparent in answering questions and with all interactions,

·         Encourage parents to take an active role during the middle level years (which includes volunteering and even having lunch with their child),

·         Provide relevant resources,

·         Reiterate the rigor and relevance of the academic curriculum.

This time with our incoming parents is priceless. It provides an opportunity for the school leadership team to meet with and get to know our new parents. It also allows the parents to take an evening to meet and discuss important topics regarding middle school “life”. Together we now prepare to take the final steps in getting ready for the start of the new school year!

What will you do differently?

Even though the New Year (2014) is over four months away, now is the time to answer the question, “What will you do differently to inspire, motivate, and engage your students this year?” Now is the time to make those “new school year” resolutions!

We all recall the choice George Bailey made in It’s a Wonderful Life! What a life changing event. Today, we do not need to go the degree in which George experienced. Instead we can simply make the choice to  

live our life to the fullest, make the best of what we have, and give of ourselves to others.

This time of year is really a time for educators to make our “new year’s resolutions”. It’s important to reflect and determine what we can do to make 2013-2014 the best year for our students, our school community, and ourselves.

It could be as easy as:

•  Connecting with more students,
• Engaging your students in new ways (e.g. Using 20% Time),
• Applying new strategies in the classroom (i.e. Flipping your classroom),
• Looking into different forms of technology (Schoology), and/or
• Venturing into the realm of Social Media.

Whatever you decide to do, remember, we must meet our students “where they are”. So for  some this will require us to change our way of using technology and Social Media or for others it will be rethinking how to lead out classroom instruction. Take some time to make those “new school year” resolutions, and watch to see how it positively impacts your students (and yourself)!

Will You be Their Champion?

Often we can get caught up in the hectic pace of the school day and sometimes lose sight of our mission, vision, and true purpose. Rita Pearson, in one of her TED Talks, shares insight in to why we need to build relationships with our students and champion “their cause”. Remember we must “seek first to understand” our students. Take a moment (or 7:48 minutes) to watch Rita inspire us to re-ignite the passion. Enjoy friends!

 

http://www.ted.com/talks/rita_pierson_every_kid_needs_a_champion.html

Consider Flipping your August "Back to School" Teacher Meetings

As we use the summer to reflect, relax, and rest. Eventually we will begin to “return” to getting ready for the new school year. As we ponder the multitude of ways to prepare for the Kick-Off to the 2013-2014 school year, we recall the list of required elements of our meeting agendas, PD sessions, and the long list of “to-dos”.  In developing your plans, why not consider “Flipping” your Back to School Meetings in August? Or as least a portion or small facet of those sessions. Our teachers are inundated with quite a bit of information at the start of the school year. So this way you can provide the information in advance, then allow for additional “learning” to take place, and then allow for additional team, department, or PLC meetings. The work and meeting days that precede the start of the school year are a precious commodity, so why not maximize that time with Flipped Teacher Meetings?

By flipping the August Teacher Meetings you will:

•  Be modeling this practice for your teachers,
• Provide the additional and invaluable PD time for your staff,
• Eliminate the dreaded “sit and get” staff meeting,a
• Offer  reference materials via the Flipped video for the staff to return to following the Teacher Meetings

Why not start the year with forward moving meetings led out with Flipped Professional Development! Then you can assist your staff with the transition into a Flipped Classroom. I need run so I can start working on my agendas, plans, and script for my Flipped August Teacher Meetings. See Ya!