Week 2 - Addendum Struggling Students

Faculty and Staff,

Thank you for working so hard with our students.  The work you are doing is amazing!

As we finish our first week of classes, many of you are starting to have concerns about students and you have added them to our "students we are worried about" document (catchy title, I know.)  Your feedback is very valuable to us and we will continue to collect this data as we move forward through the end of the school year.  (The link to the document is below.)

There were a few things that stuck out to me as we discussed a plan for this group of students: 

 * The list is fairly short.  When you think of our overall population of students our kids are rocking it!  I think we should celebrate this as it is a positive reflection on the relationships you have with your students as they want to please you and value the learning you give them. 

* This is not a new list of students.  It seems that Phil or I have called these houses 1-100 times for 8th period.  :-)  This group of students NEED us - and this work continues to be difficult for them.  I have compassion for them as we know all kids do well if they can - and they are struggling right now. 

* Can we say Executive Functioning Skills?   This list also reminds me about the importance of Executive Functioning skills and students that struggle with them.  Most of the students who are really struggling right now are in grades 7,8 & 9.  It is no surprise as we know that their executive functioning skills are not there yet, as they develop well into their 20's.  Skills such as:  Time Management, Paying Attention, Organizing, Planning and Prioritizing, Following a Sequence of Steps. . . etc. are all developing and are all skills necessary for being successful at on-line learning.  Students with IEPs or several ACEs in their lives can be 3-4 years behind in development.  Eric Jensen, in his book, Engaging Students with Poverty, reminds us that these skills can and should be taught - but our abrupt change to on-line learning didn't give us much time to prepare them.

SO, how do we handle this situation in this time of abrupt change: 

1.   Take a Deep Breath - You will not be judged by the work these students do or do not do.  It is okay.  We want to do everything in our power to help them - but we have to remember we can only control what we can control and it will be okay.  :-)  We already know we are going to have to revamp our curriculum in August to fill in any holes that students may have because of this. 

2.  Our Plan for Reaching Out: 
   * Phil, Lauren, Kelly, Diane, Heidi and I met yesterday to look at this list of students. 
   * We decided to reorganize the document, placing a grade level on each tab.  We ask you to please fill out a student's name and we will make notes - adding dates - across the right side of the document.  Please tell us in the notes if they are missing assignments or you have other concerns.  There are examples of how this can look on the document. 
   * The counselors marked students they will reach out to, due to student circumstances and Phil and Levi are going to do some home visits as we do have students we haven't heard from at all.  We want to make sure they are okay. 
   * Lauren is going to create some videos for junior high students to help them with study skills and organization.  We are going to try to add some fun incentives to these!
   * We ask that teachers please reach out to families that are struggling once a week - their education is important to them and to us!  We just want to do what we can to help them.  If this gets overwhelming, please let Jody or Phil know and we will help you. 

3.  The Message:  When you speak to families, our goal is not to create more stress.  I would encourage you to start the conversation with: "How are things going?"  "I just wanted to reach out and see if I could be of any help."  I think it is important to call with concerns, but we have to remember that families are working to put food on the table, etc. 

4.  The Result:  There will be students that DO NOT complete work. . .  . and THAT IS OKAY!   For students that do not finish work, or finish it poorly - please just leave the grade book blank for them for now.

Link to Document is HERE. 

Below is a  picture of guidance from the DOE about on-line learning.  The bottom graph is what I wanted to share with you.  They are suggesting 30 minutes per subject area for junior-high/high school students.  It was just validating to me that we are doing the right thing! 




Thanks for all you are doing for our students.  We can talk more about this in our PLC meetings on Thursday.  Phil and I are always available if you have questions or concerns.