The post What To Say To Feedback On Things You Can’t Control appeared first on Possip | Engagement Platform | School Feedback Survey.
Thursday, 29 February 2024
Tuesday, 27 February 2024
Recess: A Teacher’s Guide
Recess. Something our kiddos need, and we need! In a world of constant achieving and hustling, rest and play is something that can be challenging to make a priority.
Sarah Besand, a teacher and Possip Reporter, examines the importance and benefits of recess.
Teachers, we have ideas for you in this blog regarding what you can do for your own self-care and rest, but today we are diving deep into the importance of recess for students.
Benefits
Recess might be viewed as a privilege that can be earned or taken away when considering student consequences. However, we should examine the benefits of recess when making this decision.
Play is Learning Too
For students in all grades levels, play is a critical component to a balanced day of learning. Not only does recess provide students with an appropriate break in between learning sessions, it also allows students to learn other skills that can only be fostered with peers. According to this article from the Penn Foundation, “recess offers opportunities for children to learn and enhance communication skills, negotiation, cooperation, sharing, problem solving, perseverance, self-control, and conflict resolution.” Without recess, students do not have as many opportunities to practice these skills with their peers in a low-stakes environment. Having adults readily-available for any potential hiccups in communication is a huge gift as students master these interpersonal skills.
Recess Balances Out Behavior
Student behavior can be massively impacted by adequate recess time. In today’s world, students spend more and more time at their desks, and movement plays a big role in on-task behavior. When students have movement built into their day, they thrive. (And adults do too!) This can exist in the form of brain breaks throughout instruction, and definitely during recess time. When students are given that permission to play, move, and communicate with others, disruptions within the classroom ultimately decrease.
The post Recess: A Teacher’s Guide appeared first on Possip | Engagement Platform | School Feedback Survey.
Thursday, 22 February 2024
Ensuring Academic Rigor: When Students Need More
Every academic classroom has kids who need extra support to reach their full potential, as well as kids who appear to fly through everything you put in front of them. Those kids can become bored or disengaged. Meeting those needs in terms of academic rigor can be challenging, but it can be done. Determining ways to push kids who present as ready for the challenge without leaving other kids behind takes creativity and deliberate planning, but ultimately it pays off for everyone.
Cate Reed, seasoned administrator, current Senior Vice President of Teach For America, and Possip Reporter, discusses what teachers can do to meet the needs of students who move quickly through material at school.
Supporting the academic growth of every student is no small feat! Teachers always want to ensure they support the success of every student, but that can be easier said than done. When you face students who need an extra push, or families who are sharing that their student is ready for more, consider these ideas:
Planning Ideas for Academic Rigor
GIEPs: Some states have G-IEPS (GIfted IEPs) for students who need accelerating, with annual goals and strategies laid out. If you don’t have access, or the student does not have the official designation as gifted, offer more challenging tasks, assignments, or projects that go beyond the standard curriculum. Allow them to delve deeper into topics of interest.
Personalized Learning Plans: Develop personalized learning plans for students who consistently fly through the material you usually provide. Base assignments, projects, and assessments on their strengths, interests, and readiness levels. Also, write that up so students and parents know expectations. This helps ensure that they receive appropriate challenges.
Compact the Curriculum: When possible, allow students to “compact” or accelerate through the curriculum by demonstrating mastery of academic content. This enables them to move ahead to more advanced material, preventing boredom and maintaining their interest. If a student can ace the chapter test mid-way through, move them along – or, see if they could join a higher grade level class.
Individualized Projects for Academic Rigor: Encourage and support independent study projects that align with a student’s interests. This allows them to pursue in-depth exploration of a particular topic, fostering a sense of autonomy in their learning. Doing a measurement unit that seems too easy for some kids? See if they can measure the distance to the moon or to Mars!
The post Ensuring Academic Rigor: When Students Need More appeared first on Possip | Engagement Platform | School Feedback Survey.
Tuesday, 20 February 2024
Black Excellence in Education: Organizations and Alliances in the Spotlight
We have so much to be proud of and inspired by Black Excellence when we consider how far Black Americans have come over the past 400 years. Under 160 years ago, certain states still had laws on their books that prohibited literacy for Black people. Under 200 years ago, states prohibited Black people from attending public schools. Public and private colleges were not open to all people, regardless of race, until 1964. This means my parents were going to elementary, middle and high school still knowing that many colleges and universities may not be on the table for them.
Possip Founder and CEO, Shani Dowell, reflects on and shares professional groups that support and celebrate the success of black students, educators, and administrators.
I share this context so we can celebrate and appreciate the distance Black people in this country have traveled. While we reflect on educational inequities in our system, they can often unintentionally become misperceived as a reflection of the potential and ability of Black Americans as opposed to a reflection of the systemic injustices that have been around – and persisted.
As we celebrate Black History Month and prepare to draw this month to a close, we want to celebrate and honor the Black Excellence in educators and organizations that have historically, and continue to, overcome odds. My mother, who grew up in segregated schools in Houston and is a proud alumna of Phyllis Wheathley High School in Houston’s 5th Ward, remembers the Black teachers who saw her potential. They were models of how to dress, of high expectations, of love, and discipline. She tells us of teachers who taught Advanced Math and Calculus during their lunch to make sure students were not limited in what they could attain.
So let’s celebrate the educators and the supporters who embody Black Excellence, have made Black History, and are making Black Futures.
Black Excellence – National Organizations
Reconstruction
“Reconstruction is the #1 provider of holistic, supplemental, culturally-relevant curriculum, centered on the Black experience. Our comprehensive solutions create transformative learning experiences that inspire student empowerment and equip teachers to effectively educate on culturally-responsive content.
“Let us empower your school or organization to spread Black joy and Black excellence.”
UNCF – United Negro College Fund
“UNCF’s mission is to build a robust and nationally-recognized pipeline of under-represented students who, because of UNCF support, become highly-qualified college graduates and to ensure that our network of member institutions is a respected model of best practice in moving students to and through college.
“UNCF’s North Star is to increase the total annual number of African American college graduates by focusing on activities that ensure more students are college-ready, enroll in college and persist to graduation.”
Black Educators Rock
“Black Educators Rock, Inc.’s vision is to offer professional development and a platform to share a plethora of best practices, resources, academic success, and professional accomplishments for our growing membership of educators. Professional development sessions will be held across the nation. We will recruit educators & students majoring in education to join our organization through an annual membership.”
Thurgood Marshall College Fund – TMCF
“Established in 1987, the Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) is the nation’s largest organization exclusively representing the Black College Community. TMCF member-schools include the publicly-supported Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Predominantly Black Institutions (PBIs), and Historically Black Community Colleges (HBCC). Publicly-supported HBCUs enroll over 78% of all students attending HBCUs. Through scholarships, capacity building and research initiatives, innovative programs, and strategic partnerships, TMCF is a vital resource in the K-12 and higher education. The organization is also a source for top employers seeking top talent for competitive internships and good jobs.”
Black-owned Schools Directory (Black Minds Matter)
“Black-Owned School directory is the first-ever online directory to promote schools founded by African Americans. We are here to help, whether it’s finding a school for your child, advocating for more Black-owned school options, or expanding a network of supporters.”
National Alliance of Black School Educators – NABSE
“The National Alliance of Black School Educators (NABSE) is the nation’s premiere non-profit organization devoted to furthering the academic success for the nation’s children – particularly children of African descent. NABSE boasts an outreach to a distinguished group of preeminent educators including teachers, administrators, superintendents as well as corporate and institutional members. Founded in 1970, NABSE is dedicated to improving both the educational experiences and accomplishments of African American youth through the development and use of instructional and motivational methods that increase levels of inspiration, attendance and overall achievement.”
Black Principals Network – BPN (The Surge Institute)
“BPN envisions a nation where the brilliance, well-being, and success of Black principals are prioritized and nourished. For Black principals to successfully lead, educate, and inspire the communities they serve, there must be an active resistance against the professional burnout, isolation, trauma, and repression commonly experienced within this role. Black principals need a safe, nutritive space to connect with and learn alongside peers near and far. Through individual programming focused on self-discovery, sustainability, and radical self-care combined with collective programming that centers on problem-solving, access to high-quality resources, and critical reflection, BPN will help further equip Black principals in their roles as leaders and educators, and add to their well-roundedness as human beings.”
Black Excellence in Education - Local to Nashville
Black Educators Initiative (Nashville Teacher Residency)
“Nashville Teacher Residency received a $240,000 grant from the National Center for Teacher Residencies (NCTR) to expand and improve its efforts to recruit and develop Black teachers for Metro Nashville Public Schools…. Nashville Teacher Residency [will] continue to create programming and supports that honor the dignity of our Black Residents as they develop into licensed teachers for Nashville’s schools. The BEI funds provide Residents with scholarships, affinity spaces, stipends, content development resources and are used to cover licensure exam fees. Additionally, NTR uses the funding to support our partner schools with the training necessary to create environments where Black Residents are respected, cared for, and valued.”
Greater Nashville Alliance of Black School Educators – GNABSE
“GNABSE is a group of professional educators aligned with the National Alliance of Black School Educators for the purpose of addressing issues that impact the success of children, particularly children of African descent. [They] strive to: advance the academic proficiency of all students, close the achievement gap, provide financial assistance through scholarships to students wishing to pursue a career in education, improvise graduation rates, [and] recognize and celebrate educators and community leaders for their exceptional work and leadership.”
The post Black Excellence in Education: Organizations and Alliances in the Spotlight appeared first on Possip | Engagement Platform | School Feedback Survey.
Thursday, 15 February 2024
Foundations of a Strong School Climate: Operational Excellence – Event Recap
This winter, Possip presents a three-part series: School Safety and Beyond. In each session, we are unpacking parent concerns and explore the power of feedback as schools meet the needs of their students. Those needs range from basic, primal needs to the inspiring vision of children who know themselves, treat others well, and value their journey to fully realizing their potential.
Shani Dowell, Possip’s CEO and founder, hosted the first webinar and began by reviewing Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Through Possip, families can communicate their most pressing questions, concerns, and ideas. We find that over 63% of feedback comments are about student needs other than academics. The breakdown of parent concerns within Maslow’s lens is laid out below.
In this first session of three, we explored the base of Maslow’s Hierarchy with Physiological needs and Safety & Security.
Session 1 Panelists:
Case Study: Uniforms and School Climate
The panelists discussed the interplay between basic needs and safety as it relates to school climate. As clothing is a basic need and school policies can dictate that expense for families, Isamar Lopez explained that their network of schools asked parents for their opinion on reintroducing school uniforms. Their families were split for and against. So, the administration looked carefully at the reasons people said they wanted uniforms, which boiled down to a safety issue for many children. They also drilled down into why parents did not support uniforms. Listen as she explains how Possip helped them categorize the data they were seeing and make an informed decision:
Meeting Needs to Feel Safe and Secure
As we discussed Possip’s data, Jennifer Kehl, Possip’s VP of Delivery, explained nuances of how we defined Safety and Security. Addressing these needs directly relate to school climate and how a child feels on campus. Watch as she discusses to top ten trends within that level of Maslow’s Hierarchy:
Strengthen School Climate With Parent Feedback
Then, Dr. Claudia Styles confirmed the power of family feedback in terms of programming and what can be offered to support families and students. She described mental health initiatives her district embraced in response to parent concerns about school climate. She also described the trainings they are offering this year for parents. Listen as she describes how they used parent input:
To watch a full recording of the webinar and access the resources and tools Possip provided attendees, join our Membership Portal! Use code FREEMEMBER to access the site for free when you register.
The post Foundations of a Strong School Climate: Operational Excellence – Event Recap appeared first on Possip | Engagement Platform | School Feedback Survey.
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