“School Connectedness - Strategies for Increasing Protective Factors Among Youth,” emphasizes the tremendous capacity that that schools have in facilitating school connectedness. This publication asserts there if students feel more connected and engaged in schools, then they are more likely to have positive educational and health outcomes.
Below are some prompts for us to consider:
- As you reflect on your own personal experiences in schools, what protective factors kept you connected to school? Were there any specific factors that played more influential roles in your academic, emotional or social development than others?
- As we envision this new year together, how can the six evidence-based strategies outlined in this publication better inform our work in each classroom, within each grade level, and across our entire campus.
- What are we, as a charter, doing well as it relates to school connectedness? Where can you continue grow as and educator? Where can we all continue to grow as an organization?
Feel free to respond to any of these prompts OR create your own…
July 22nd, 2009 at 8:42 am
In many ways it was very validating for us to read this study. We felt that while we’ve implemented many of these strategies as a school, there is always room for improvement. Here are some of areas that we felt we could strengthen:
· Creating Tutoring Programs (Perhaps utilizing our Leadership Academy Students)
· Redefining What Parental Involvement Looks Like (Acknowledging the Non-Traditional Ways that Our Familias Support Their Children’s Learning)
· Establishing More Adult-Student Connections Across All Grade Levels
· Seeking More Community Partnerships (Service Learning Opportunities, Financial Support, etc.)
· Providing More Meaningful Consequences (Both Positive and Negative) that is Created With Student Input
Con amor,
Your Support Staff
July 22nd, 2009 at 8:47 am
One of the themes that emerged for us in the reading was the development of interpersonal skills. We wondered if we as a school have found the balance between teaching the standards and allowing for the development of healthy relationships with peers and adults. Recent studies in child development have begun to highlight the importance of free, imaginative play as being vitally important to the development of problem solving, conflict resolution, and communication for all children.
July 22nd, 2009 at 8:49 am
A response from the first grade team:
1. The protective factors that made us feel connected to school were extra-curricular activities such as brownies, girl scouts, and playing sports. Parent involvement was also important and the relationships we had with our teachers.
2. This question has a lot of components to it. As Dr. Riley mentioned yesterday, as a school there are many things that we are doing. As a group of teachers that works with primary students we are thinking of ways to encourage their sense of connectedness at school. One way is through building “families.” These families are multi-age groups of students that work collaboratively on projects to build relationships and acceptance of others. For first graders, outside of building teacher-student relationships, there are not many options as far as extracurricular activities. We would like to address this issue as a grade level. In addition we are also going to work on the emotional and social competence of our students. We recognize that we need more explicit instruction in this area.
3. As we have previously stated, we are already doing many things that the article mentioned. Such as: parent classes, community events, student counseling center, and resiliency, teacher leadership and on-going trainings, student lead conferences, etc. Areas that we feel we need to continue to work on are: parent involvement, connections with our surrounding community, and creating caring relationships and open communication between staff, administration, students, and parents.
Thanks for reading,
The first grade team
July 22nd, 2009 at 8:52 am
Creating school connectedness empowers students and staff to feel as though they are a family. Being a part of the decision making process allows for a community to be formed. Mueller is a community which allows all of its educators voices to be heard and more importantly to be apart of the decision making process. Students are encouraged to meke their positive voices heard. This type of environment is created by the dedication of the staff and by allowing students the opportunity to participate in many different extracurricular activities.
4th Grade Team and Special Ed.
July 22nd, 2009 at 8:59 am
The multi-age team feels that personal experiences that have kept us connected to school were extracurricular activities. These activities include the arts (color guard, drama, music, dance, writing, art shows), as well as sports teams. Other activities were student government and additional activity planning committees (ex. school newspaper). These activities are beneficial for both elementary and middle school students. Involvement activities offer student input and choice connecting students to school on a different creative level of expression.
July 22nd, 2009 at 9:00 am
There was a comment made yesterday that most of us might already be doing many of the strategies outlined in the article. However, it serves as a great reminder to all of us about how important the relationships with our students and their families are.
I think one thing we do really well as a staff is to stress the importance of their learning. It is to not only what they do next week, next month, or next year, but what they also do in 10, 15 or twenty years. At this school there are inundated with college themes on almost a daily basis. By the time they get to 7th and 8th grade college is a reality for them.
It is also evident from our student who have passed through our halls, particularly those who attended MCLA, that there is a STRONG connection to being a part of Mueller. They feel safe, cared for, and nurtured by the environment we provide for them. They not only have our wonderful support staff but they also have teachers they can speak with at almost a moments notice. In so many words, they know that “we got their back.”
Once aspect of school connectedness that could be improved at our school is our parent involvement. Our parents seem so transparent for most of the year but if you ever visit CVLCC their parent involvement is very obvious. Any ideas how to make improvements in this area?
July 22nd, 2009 at 9:13 am
As a charter, we believe we are doing many various things to promote school connectedness. Our home visits are priceless. As a teacher, we gain a deep understanding of their lives. The parents are able to connect with the teacher in their environment. The students are excited to welcome their teacher to their home. This creates the initial positive connection that lasts throughout the school year. Our insight from hone visits guides our understanding of our students which helps us with the resiliency process and interventions.
This article reminded us of the importance of establishing consistency in our classroom with guidelines and expectations, such as mutual respect. We are ready as a team to start the year and promote school connectedness.
- Fifth grade team (Katie, Gina, Kelly, and Jennifer)
July 22nd, 2009 at 9:37 am
Despite the various predictors of academic success (or failure) that have been featured in tons of past research, this article highlights that “School Connectedness” equates to positive educational outcomes and positive health outcomes. I totally agree! Not an epiphany article, but yes it makes a lot of sense. I feel that Mueller does an incredible job in connecting students to school. The examples are numerous in each classroom, grade level, and throughout the entire school. So rather than focusing on what we are already doing, I’d like to offer out a few thoughts in regards to what we could still do as a school in order to increase school connectedness for the sake of our children.
Let me be brief—–
*Students who are not proficient and are being required to stay after school and during intersession is a great idea. However the challenge lies in the terminology and language that we use with these students. We must develop positive relationships with these students so that they do not internalize failure. We must reemphasize that this is not a punishment and that it is not a bad thing. We must send the message to the students and parents that this extra time is truly a “commitment to education.”
*We need a parent center for parents to increase their own skills, learn about ways to help their children, and learn the in’s and out’s of our educational system.
• Relationships matter! Check out a variety of Podcasts from The Courage for Renewal featuring Parker Palmer which discusses the power of relationships in schools which ultimately benefit and impact everybody. This directly relates to school connectedness.
July 22nd, 2009 at 3:15 pm
After reflecting on our own education and what made us feel connected, we concluded that a personal connection with our teacher, school spirit, extra-curricular activities, and experiencing our parents actively involved in our education truly made the difference.
We feel that we are making great strides in school connectedness. Our home visits, sports teams, support staff and caring teachers are all excellent steps in the right direction. Most of us came from backgrounds where our parents were actively involved in our learning. We feel that our biggest challenge here at Mueller is connecting that bridge from school to home and getting more parents involved. We need to reach those parents who feel that they cannot help out, and show them that they can indeed be involved.
~Mueller Third Grade Teachers
July 22nd, 2009 at 3:42 pm
As a team, we discussed the article and protective factors in our own lives. Many of us had one special teacher/counselor who really inspired and provided direction during a critical time. Family, sports, and sometimes peers were also stabilizing influences.
We believe children are entitled to a comfortable, beautiful classroom that will foster learning and personal growth. In addition, we as teachers need to take the time to interact with students at a personal level on a daily basis.
As a staff, we need to professionally and emotionally support our colleagues as well. When we nurture one another, we will be able to better serve our students.
Kindergarten Team