Tenet 6 Plan Implementation
School Year 2014-15
Blue text – Paul Harvey
Green text – Molly Voorheis
Tenet 6:3: closer communication with families and community
Action:
1) Extend membership on listserve
* send home letter at beginning of year encouraging all parents to join listerve by writing listserve administrator (Molly). Perhaps send cut-off sheet that could be sent back to school as well.
* encourage registration to listserve at every school event
Data support of progress: track increased numbers of parents who join listserve
Note: All the above need a manager who would ensure these things are done and would engage in a continual effort to enlist those families that are not on the listserve; such as reaching out to the students in school, phoning home to enlist the families with a prepared blurb about the advantages; a Saturday breakfast event at which families would be trained in how to use the Web site, e-School , etc. and a regular raffle of a cash award, SU tickets, etc. that would automatically include everyone accessing their Email or the Web site
I like the idea from August 20 mtg to distribute a short survey about possible meeting topics and include a “share your email address” blank. We could distribute it at the 9th grade orientation and the open house, ideally in a class (like English) that most students will have. Perhaps we could get an honor society student stationed in each English teacher’s class to distribute/collect at open house. We could also add a “what do you want to know about Nottingham” to develop an FAQ.
Do we have adult translators for our four languages? If so, perhaps each translator could create mini email distribution lists with the email addresses of the families who use the particular language, and translate my emails for those families. Complicated, I know, but if we had the people to do it….
2) Send home mailers 3x a year in the different languages
Mailers would inform parents of major upcoming events and ways they can support student success.
Note: Again oversight to make sure all groups, classes and clubs list their calendars in a timely fashion; perhaps local businesses to help support cost of mailing, if needed?
Good idea. I think mail should go home occasionally because we know not everyone uses technology. Translated into languages is good. As Paul noted, someone needs to be on this AND really lean on people to commit to dates for key events, concerts, award nights, etc---as David noted, people show up for things their kids are in.
Tenet 6:4 and 6:5: using and training parents for student success, and using data for that purpose
Action:
1) Increase effective use of e-school by teachers, students, and families
* Teachers will be expected to post all classroom academic updates on e-school by the start of school each Monday morning. Principal Maynard will set that expectation at staff development next week and hold teachers accountable for follow-through throughout the year. (Dave: is there an easy way for you to see who has updated their e-school site through a report of some kind?)
I am going to regularly note via email that teachers will be updating equally, so that parents and students come to expect that. If staff does not use the Home Access system in this way, it’s not effective. That should be the expectation.
* Students and parents will be expected to check e-school accounts every Monday to make sure student’s work is up to date. Parents will be encouraged to contact teacher if work is incomplete (need to set standard, if we do this).
* Start a campaign, such as “Manage it Monday” that reminds students each week to check their account. Posters, announcements, message on hallway electronic board, and a check during a certain classroom period (such as history) that institutionalizes the checking process should be implemented.
* Send reminders home via listserve for parents to check their student’s e-school account.
*** I will try to do this regularly. I’d like it if someone could tell me who to send parents to if they email me and say they don’t have the login for Home Access.
Data support of progress: track number of students and parents checking e-school account on Mondays throughout the year
2) Offer parents a Frequently Asked Questions sheet that discusses how parents can support student success, appropriate communication with school, the best contacts for resolving issues, how to get involved in the school, etc.
5) Revise Open House data presentation to include information that is more relevant to parents in audience, i.e. how to support student success, successful communication with school staff, etc.
6) Revise operations of Open House to provide an effective and supportive experience for all families, especially those who are traditionally less involved in the school throughout the year.
Note: All of these are most worthy. A thoughtful, committed oversight is necessary for which the SLT would be ideal. Families, Alumni, Community and students could help form the thoughtful team that developed it and all could be paid for, I suspect, with PDC funds
Thoughts: At last night’s meeting I mentioned that the advice alumni parent Carol Johnson gave me, 8 years ago, still applies. If you want people today the ONLY way is through phone calls. I have used that advice at least 12 times in the past eight years; always with great success. The key is the folks calling and their message. Not all teachers, not all administrators, nor family members, community members and so forth are good at this. If you are friendly and speak as a partner, and even ask advice, you win. If you are also from the same social or economic group even better and if there is a language problem and the caller share the language it is incredibly powerful. There may be some legal or policy hurdles to leap but I’ve done it at least six SCSD schools, never as a district employee. All of our ideas will be better off for this contact; many nay not succeed without it.
Not everyone is familiar with the Open House process. We need to have ambassadors at the door all night (not just until 6:30 because many people arrive late). Could we include student translators in the mix of ambassadors who could tell families where to go, who to talk to? If a parent doesn’t speak English, it doesn’t seem smart to send him or her wandering through the school to listen to class presentations that are not understandable. Maybe better would be to talk with one ESL person, make a connection with one staff member. We need to really watch out for these parents and attend to them.
It’s always important to remember that though these school activities are familiar to us, they aren’t necessarily familiar to families who are new to Nottingham (let alone new to the country). We have to try hard not to use “shorthand” when we talk about activities—for example, saying “oh, that’s in the LGIR.” People don’t know what that is. I know it’s hard to balance familiar/unfamiliar, but we need to err on the side of helping the unfamiliar.