Making the Most of Parent-Teacher Conferences

With the Thanksgiving holiday break just around the corner, we cannot overlook the valuable opportunities for dialogue that next week's parent-teacher conferences provide.  There is a significant body of research that shows a strong partnership between parents and teachers has a positive impact on children.  Among other benefits, students whose parents are involved in their education are more likely to attend school on a regular basis, earn higher grades, have better social skills, show improved behavior, and are more likely to graduate and go onto higher education.  According to the book Partnering with Parents to Ask the Right Questions by Agnes Bain, Dan Rothstein, and Luz Santana (2016), strong parent-teacher partnerships emerge when parents effectively support their child's education at home, monitor their child's progress, and advocate for the child when necessary.  Parent-teacher conferences provide the perfect opportunity to strengthen this partnership as both parties come together to reflect on the child's progress thus far and establish a plan which will maximize opportunities for student success.

It is important to remember going into parent teacher conferences that both teachers and parents are on the same team; everyone wants what is best for the child.  While the teachers are always prepared to debrief parents on their child's performance, it is important for parents to actively engage in the conversation as well.  One of the best ways for parents to do this is through asking probing questions.  By asking questions, parents are able to gain better insight into their child's thoughts, habits, and social and academic skills.

Here is a sampling of good questions to ask at a parent-teacher conference:

• How would you describe my child's work habits?
• What are my child's biggest areas of strength?  Target areas for improvement?
• How can I support my child's learning at home?
• Does my child listen well?
• How would you describe my child's interactions with his/her peers?
• Does my child persevere through difficult tasks?
• Does my child ask thoughtful questions?
• Does my child advocate for him/herself when clarification or help is needed?
• How can I encourage my child to take ownership of his/her learning?

The goal is to walk away from a parent-teacher conference with a plan for the future, with an understanding of how both parents and teachers can support the child in his/her learning and improvement.

Finally, please remember if you are unable to attend parent-teacher conferences, there are many other opportunities to have a similar dialogue with your child's teacher.  Please do not hesitate to reach out via email, telephone, or Schoology message to initiate conversations with your child's teacher.  The dialogue is never restricted to parent-teacher conference time.

"Together we may give our children the roots to grow and the wings to fly."

A Work in Progress

"An artist never really finishes his work; he merely abandons it." -Paul Valéry

This past Wednesday night, we held our second District 107 Future Planning Committee meeting.  The focus of this meeting was on setting priorities as we develop a guiding plan for our district that will sustain us the next several years.  In order to do this, we had to contemplate what we hope our "portrait of an eighth grader" would look like, meaning our picture-perfect eighth-grade Pleasantdale graduate.  This, as you can imagine, was a daunting task!

There were so many components to consider as we tried to paint the picture of our ideal graduate.  Do we consider the specific academic skills learned and the experiences that should be had by all students along their journey from kindergarten through eighth grade?  Do we articulate what we hope the students will be able to do upon entering into high school due to our thoughtful efforts and preparations?  Ultimately, groups within the committee came up with a list of 7-10 adjectives to describe the characteristics we would like our eighth-grade students to possess upon graduation.

The group of parents and community members I observed prioritized the following:

8th Graders "Voting" in Our Mock Election

• Accountable
• Fulfilled
• Responsible
• Compassionate
• Resilient (see Mr. Glimco's post)
• Proactive
• Articulate
• Driven
• Curious

In reflecting on this one group's list, what strikes me most is that these are characteristics that I (and many other adults) continue to strive to exhibit on a regular basis.  Although we may cultivate these characteristics in our students as they travel through our school district, living a life where these attributes define who the student is as a person will require diligence and mindfulness.  It will take commitment and vigilance.

As French poet and philosopher Paul Valery said, "An artist never really finishes his work; he merely abandons it."  District 107 hopes to not only cultivate these characteristics in our students as they grown from kindergarten through eighth grade but also inspire our students to continue their quest to fill the great canvas of their lives with the colors and images of their efforts as they grow into happy, successful adults.

Lessons Learned Outside the Classroom

Team Tigers Gaga Ball

As I sit in my office, now a middle school assistant principal, and reflect on my own years as a middle school student, many memories flood into my mind.  Of course I have memories of certain teachers who made a lasting impact on me, but what I remember the most are vivid memories of the time I spent outside the classroom involved in extracurricular activities.  I remember the time I had a leading role in the school musical "The Gigo Effect", the excitement and energy of cheering on the sidelines at school basketball games, dancing and singing with my friends at the "Lighted School House" (like Pdale's "Friday Night Live"), and the lasting impact of participating in Operation Snowflake.

There are so many benefits for children who engage in extracurricular activities.  Sports, clubs, and arts programs allow students to explore their interests, while also providing them with opportunities to hone other skills:

Student Council hard at work!

• Social-emotional development
• Time management and prioritizing
• Problem solving
• Collaboration and communication
• Ability to apply academic skills in a real-life context

These learning opportunities foster a heightened sense of belonging to the school's community, and research has shown this leads to improved attendance rates for students.  Improved attendance rates, coupled with higher levels of self-esteem and the chance to apply academic concepts through the participation in extracurricular activities, tend to result in higher academic achievement.  It is equally important to realize participation in extracurricular activities builds character as students learn the importance of honoring commitments and appreciating the differences of others who are united by a common interest.

Gamer's Club

At Pleasantdale Middle School, our students are fortunate to have a variety of activities and athletics from which to choose.  Jen Driscoll, our activities director, works tirelessly to ensure each week there are many drop-in activity options that will appeal to a variety of students.  The "Activities" page of the Pleasantdale Middle School website provides information on over 25 activities students are able to attend and the calendar of when these activities occur.  Mark Dreher, our athletic director, maintains the athletics calendar on the "Athletics" page of the middle school's website where information on sports tryouts and game dates can be found.

Thank you to Mrs. Driscoll, Mr. Dreher, and all our coaches and club sponsors who make these wonderful opportunities available to our students.  We know the lessons students learn outside the classroom by participating in extracurricular activities will impact our students for years to come!

PMS Girls Basketball

Cheerleading Practice

Building a Healthy Community Together

This week I had the opportunity to attend the annual Red Ribbon Week breakfast at Lyons Township High School.  While Red Ribbon Week is traditionally a campaign related to being drug free, the Red Ribbon Week breakfast at LT expanded its focus to living a healthy life in general.

Red Ribbon Week Poster at PMS

Administrators and counseling staff from LT and feeder school districts gathered together to hear presentations from a variety of community organizations.  Gurrie Middle School principal Ed Hood spoke about how their school implemented educational opportunities for students and parents through Elyssa's Mission and SOS (Signs of Suicide) to proactively provide depression and suicide prevention training to students, staff, and parents.  We also heard from NAMI (National Association for Mental Illness), who provide a plethora of resources related to mental illness for students, families, and the community.  They also sponsor a drop-in family support group the second and fourth Thursdays of the month, which meets at the First Congregational Church in La Grange.  Information about the Community Wellness Center was shared, which hosts free monthly information sessions related to mental health and wellness.  The topics for November's sessions relate to school refusal, dealing with fear and anxiety, and wellness.  Rosecrance, a private not-for-profit organization that focuses on substance abuse prevention, shared information about their recently opened a facility in La Grange that provides a variety of services related to substance abuse education and recovery.  Finally, a representative from the Coalition for a Drug Free Lyons Township shared information about their efforts to make our community a safer, healthier place.

As a result of the wealth of resources shared, we have added a Community Resources page to the Pleasantdale websites.  This page can be found from the district website under the "community" tab or from the middle school website under the "information" tab.  If you have additional resources you feel the community would benefit from, please feel free to comment on this post so we can include additional valuable resources.  We hope these resources are just the beginning of a community-wide effort to promote healthy, happy choices for our students and families.

The Library: The Heart of Our Schools

"Without libraries, what have we?  We have no past and no future." -Ray Bradbury

When I was a little girl, I loved the library.  I have vivid memories of joining the summer reading club at my local library, checking out puppets and puzzles from the children's section, and regularly swapping out borrowed books and magazines.  However, our Pleasantdale school libraries look and feel very different than the library of my childhood memories.  While my nostalgic memories are all positive, it is a relief to know that our school libraries are ever-evolving to keep up with the rapid changes in education and society, while fueling our students' interests and fulfilling their needs.

Mrs. Steinmetz, our district's head librarian, has created a welcoming library environment at both the

Ms. Music & Mrs. Steinmetz 

 elementary and middle schools, while also expanding programming to draw more students and families into the library.  With the hire of our two new library aides, Ms. Music (middle school) and Mrs. Cooke (elementary school), there has been the ability to reorganize the library to align with best practices.  To help students easily find books in which they are interested, fiction books are now organized by genre, and nonfiction books are organized using common sense categories.  Popular book series and award books, like those from the Rebecca Caudill list, are also highlighted on prominent displays to generate interest.

The "Fantasy" Fiction Section

Over the summer, Mrs. Steinmetz hosted "open library" for the community, and there were specific classes offered as well, ranging from crafts (like paper cutting and bookmark making) to technology (start a blog or record a podcast).  However, the fun did not stop in the library when the summer months ended!  On Thursdays after school, two clubs regularly meet in the middle school library.  The Tech Tigers are becoming pros at making videos using the middle school's new green screen and are also having fun building our Lego Maze.  The members of Tiger Tales also congregate in the library on Thursdays to help shelve and organize books.

Trenton Lee Stewart at PMS

Some of the most exciting library-sponsored events are the wonderful author visits that Mrs. Steinmetz arranges.  Students are inspired by authors to write themselves, while also hearing about new books to read first hand from the authors.  Although it is only mid-October, the students at both the middle and elementary schools have already been fortunate to enjoy author visits this school year.  Mac Barnett made the K-2 grade students laugh with his stories and read-aloud at the elementary school on October 5, and Trenton Lee Stewart intrigued sixth and seventh-grade students as he shared tidbits about his newest novel The Secret Keepers on October 6.  On Thursday, October 20, author Bruce Coville visits and will be speaking to the third and fourth-graders at the elementary school.

Rebecca Caudill books
read by students & staff

But wait, there's more!  For the first time this year, the students at Pleasantdale Middle School will participate in a "Battle of the Books" against other LT feeder schools.  Teams from participating schools will read the same 16 books and will first battle it out at their own schools to answer trivia questions related to the book.  The winning team from Pleasantdale Middle School will represent the district at the final Battle of the Books contest against other school districts at Highlands Middle School in February.  The Middle School Readers book clubs are also in full swing with the first meetings taking place the last week of October during lunch periods.  Gone are the days where all students read the same book for book club!  There are twenty book clubs spanning fifth through eighth grade, which allow for students to read the book of their choice and discuss the book with other students and staff members.  Finally, the ever-popular Rebecca Caudill book reading tabulation is in progress, with students and staff members' names displayed in the library by each book read.

A huge "THANK YOU!" goes out to Mrs. Steinmetz for all she does to make our libraries such an enjoyable and inspiring place for our students.  We are lucky to have such welcoming libraries at the heart of our schools.

Students engage with author Trenton Lee Stewart on 10/6/16

Becoming Future Ready

"The future depends on what we do in the present."           -Mahatma Gandhi

For several years now, educational technology has been a focal point of many schools and educators around the globe.  Cutting edge teachers and school districts used to highlight how they were teaching their students "21st-century skills"...until recently when some wise person pointed out that the 21st century actually began well over a decade ago.

The terminology has recently changed, and now schools are helping students become "future ready".  The Department of Education's Office of Educational Technology has even started a Future Ready Pledge for school districts to take in order to motivate more schools to get on board with adequately preparing students for what lies ahead.  Regardless of the terminology, the sentiment remains constant.  Schools do a disservice to their students if they do not attempt to prepare them for the future, and the only thing that is certain is that the future will be tremendously different than the present day.

AMLE National Conference in Austin, TX

Coincidentally, I just returned from presenting on this very topic at the Association for Middle Level Education's (AMLE) national conference in Austin, Texas.  The presentation I gave with two other colleagues was entitled "Technology + Higher Level Thinking = Student Engagement".  Our focus was on how educators can meaningfully integrate technology into the classroom so students can engage in higher level thinking tasks at the top of Bloom's Taxonomy.  Tasks that require students to analyze, evaluate, and create  are the type of rigorous tasks that produce future-ready students.  The important thing for teachers to remember is that the integration of educational technology is not about the tool being used; rather it is about the purpose the tool serves.  If we are to truly make our students future ready, the integration of educational technology should allow students to access information in a new way, communicate learning in a new way, collaborate with others in a new way, and/or create products in a new way.  

Pleasantdale District 107 has already taken significant steps to help ensure our students will be future ready.  Last year, the district created our C4 learning plan to address the "Four Cs" (critical thinking, creativity, communication, collaboration), thus framing our approach to shaping future ready students.  An integral part of this plan is also helping students understand how to adapt to ever-changing technology, and, of equal importance, how to use available technology in conjunction with the Four Cs to solve problems and demonstrate their understanding of the world around them.  The district also created a new position on the staff, the Innovative Teaching Coach (iTC), who collaborates regularly with elementary and middle school teachers to help them meaningfully integrate technology into their classrooms.  Grooming future ready students is also a central topic of conversation for our district's future planning committee as they prepare a vision for the future of our school district.

We are so fortunate that Pleasantdale is a place where teachers, parents, administrators, and community members all work together to help our students be as prepared as possible for what lies ahead after their time in District 107 is behind them.  Because after all, as Mahatma Gandhi wisely stated, "The future depends on what we do in the present."

Helping Students Help Themselves

"Once a person is determined to help themselves, there is nothing that can stop them."  -Nelson Mandela

In one of my previous posts, I gave an overview of some of the most useful features Schoology, our new Learning Management System (LMS), has to offer.  We are thrilled that Schoology will enable our students to be more self-sufficient learners since class resources, announcements, and calendars with important events and assignments are all posted in one place.  This week, I would like to elaborate how the eventas and assignments features on Schoology provide the opportunity for students to become more self-sufficient after leaving the classroom.

Homework directions posted in an event on Schoology

One of the goals of all educators is to support children as they become independent learners.  In order to do this, teachers provide students with the appropriate tools and resources to help themselves problem solve.  At times, students may forget to write homework down in their planners or may forget the instructions for a homework assignment, perhaps even losing a handout that is necessary in order to complete an assignment.  The events and assignment features in Schoology help alleviate these
problems for students.  An event is created for homework assignments that do not involve a digital submission, like studying for a test or reading pages in a book.  An assignment is created for homework assignments that do necessitate a digital submission, like a paper or project.

A student's calendar view from Schoology website (top),
iPad (bottom), and upcoming assignment display
students see on their Recent Activities homepage (right)

When a teacher posts either an event or an assignment in Schoology, the homework will automatically show up on the student's calendar of events.  This is a helpful feature for both parents and students alike; when looking at the student's calendar, all due dates for all classes will be shown on the same calendar.  This is a very helpful tool for time management, particularly when there are long-term assignments that may require multiple days of work.

In addition, teachers are able to attach helpful resources to both events and assignments.  Hyperlinks, PDFs, and other documents can be attached in order to provide the student with additional information and resources to help with completion.  Teachers can also type specific instructions into the body of an event or an assignment, which students can refer to as many times as necessary.  Since this information is posted digitally on Schoology, students can access this information from their mobile device or from any device connected to the internet.

An assignment with a corresponding resource attached;
student submissions appear on the right side.

Finally, a Schoology assignment allows students to submit work digitally to their teacher.  The submission feature for digital assignments makes it easy for students, teachers, and parents to see a record of student work submission.  The digital assignment submission is time-stamped, and it is easy to see different versions of submitted assignments if more than one version is submitted by the student.  Please keep in mind that not all assignments are digital, so there will still be non-digital assignments accounted for in class.  Furthermore, while feedback on assignments may be given to students in Schoology with their assignment, overall grading records are still maintained in Skyward, our Student Information System (SIS).

Another reminder for parents... if you have not yet had the opportunity to sign into your parent account, please follow the step-by-step instructions.  You can also find additional detailed information in the Schoology Parent Guide.  The district emailed parent login credentials in August.  Middle school parents, please do not hesitate to contact me if you need this information sent to you again.

As Nelson Mandela says, "once a person is determined to help themselves, there is nothing that can stop them."  We hope that by using events and assignments in Schoology to post homework, we can support students as they become more independent learners.