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Parent Academy - Principal Advisory
Thursday, May 19, 2016, 06:30pm - 08:00pm
Dear parents,
Our advisories are one of the most distinctive elements of our school program and help provide a place where students’ curiosity is intentionally grown. Have you ever wondered what goes on in those advisory groups? Well, come and experience advisory for yourself!
Join families on Thursday, May 19th for the last PTSA general meeting and Parent Academy night of the year.
Ms. Bryant will lead her own “Principal Advisory.”
For any advisory exploration, students are asked to prepare the following:
1) A how or why big question that address what they are curious about
2) Provide a text to focus on: podcast, video, article, etc.
3) Choose a thinking routine to help their group explore their question together
Come and help Mrs. Bryant, her staff, and advisors to explore the big question: How can parents best be involved in their child’s education at IVA?
We will have the social hall set up for parent groups of 8 with a facilitator at each table - we would value your participation! Please come share with us your thoughts on how parents can best be involved in their student's education at IVA.
Where: IVA Social Hall
When: PTSA General Meeting at 6:00pm; Parent Academy from 6:30pm to 8:00pm
Who: All families welcome!
Big Question: *What is the best parent-school relationship?
Thinking Routine: 3-2-1 Bridge (ask your students what this thinking routine is)
Texts: Data from teachers about their correspondence time & Student and Parent Responses from the Mid Year Survey - specifically about accessing resources.
*It should be noted that we will not be directed to a correct answer or solution to this question! As you well know, the parent-school relations is a process, not a product. And this process is complex and dynamic - shifting to meet the context.
Mrs. Bryant - Where does your question come from?
I will explain more about what brought me to this question at the event but it's important for all of our stakeholders to know that this question has been of great importance to me the last few years when I stepped outside of the classroom and into this role. I am trained and experienced in supporting teachers and students - but how do I best support parents to connect to the school? This problem is one that sadly isn't a problem in many schools, one reason for this could be that there is little expectation or path for parent connection.
What happens at school doesn't translate to home so easily.
Our students and staff are here learning together all day long and this direct communication can be so helpful. We know that our kids then go home to their parents and in response to your queries explain that, "nothing happened today in class" or "of course there is no homework." Parent - how hard is it to get answers from your child? How hard is it to navigate the variety of ways that teachers communicate with kids through Illuminate, Google Classrooms, email... these communications are designed for students but where does that leave parents?
So many emails.
Our teachers have reported that in general 50% of their job is taken in teaching, 20% in lesson planning and grading, and 30% in emailing parents. If this level of parent email is unsustainable or taking time from teachers to work directly with students, then where does that leave parents? As a staff we have revisited this question in the last few years and have made many adjustments to attempt to address this including the information we give or publish on the website, newsletter updates, handouts on Home Thinking, a Family Guide to Supporting Students, and Parent Academies like our POW night - but we need and welcome you to help us think more about this question.
If you are coming looking for quick and easy answers you will be frustrated - we say this to students in class too! This question is appropriately complex and dynamic. School allows us to be challenged to make sense of beautifully complex information - we are not just memorizing facts to take a test, we are seeking to understand how knowledge impacts our lives and our world. We are in the a human growth and development business of encouraging patterns of thinking and learning that takes time to develop and will stick with our students for the rest of their lives. Come to join us in a passionate pursuit that will help us seek understanding of this school system challenge and to do so in a thoughtful, supportive environment where we can develop our adult culture of thinking together.
Jacquie