Creating Connections
"When students feel connected at school, they are more likely to attend school regularly, stay in school longer, and have higher grades and test scores." (www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth, July 2009). Great teachers strive to connect with and be the champion for every student in their class, but this is a challenge for even the very best teachers. How can we as building administrators share in the work to ensure that all students feel connected and have a champion?
When I was a sophomore in high school, my writing teacher attended one of my basketball games. She was far from a sports enthusiast so I was surprised to see her in the stands. Following the game, she wrote me a note congratulating me on the win. I was pretty shy then and for the first time in her class, I felt like she saw me. It wasn't an especially large gesture on her part, but it most definitely had in impact. I recall working harder than I ever had in her class. She encouraged me to write about my passions and because she knew I lived and breathed basketball, that's what I was encouraged to write about (my hoops poem is below).
We have an opportunity and a responsibility at the elementary level to shape how students feel about school and learning. We set the tone for their educational careers. Think back to a time in your education when someone took an extra moment or an extra step to connect with you. It mattered and as a result it was communicated that you mattered. It may very well be the reason you became an educator. If we sit back and wait for these opportunities to present themselves, we may not reach every student. Therefore, we need to create opportunities for connectedness so that our students want to come to school each day.
Here are a few ways we are doing this at my school this year. I hope you'll also share the ways in which you foster connectedness so we can learn from each other and maybe reach every single student.
Genius Day:
We have all heard of Genius Hour, stemming from a Google initiative where employees are allowed to spend 20% of their workweek on a pet project of their choice. What Google found was that productivity and creativity for their employees increased drastically. This idea has gained some momentum in schools where students are given 20% of their school day to explore their own passions. This is an authentic way to get to know students on a more personal level.
Johnson Genius Day is a spin-off in which teachers will select to teach on any topic about which they are passionate and offer courses to students across all grade levels, k-4. Students will sign up for courses using a Google form and given their schedule a few days in advance. Some of the course offerings include learning to code, bake, and play the ukulele. But it's not about the courses being offered. It's about students having choice about what they learn, connecting with an adult other than their classroom teacher, connecting with their classroom teacher in a different way, and maybe identifying something in common with another student. Johnson's Genius Day will be on February 16th, the day before our February vacation. Follow us @JohnsonJags to watch it unfold.
Student Social Media Team:
Sound a little risky? The idea of letting students control a school social media account has made many administrators cringe. Truth is, I think I cringed when I first heard the idea from Todd Nesloney (@techninjatodd) about 2 years ago. But, he made a convincing argument where the benefits outweighed the risks. So, I figured I would give it a try.
I created a training plan (hit me up @j_hoffman22 if you want me to share the plan) and trained two students to begin in this role. Eventually, the team grew to 4-5 students. I plan to continue adding students periodically. When I shared with a few staff members the names of some of the students I selected for our school social media team, I was met with some raised eyebrows. However, these students were selected for good reason. I was intentional about recruiting some students who needed to connect with others, feel valued and be viewed by their peers in a positive light. Students participated in a training where we created the first several tweets together. When they were released to do so independently, they rose to the occasion. Not once has a student tweeted something inappropriate. Look for tweets from our social media team with the hashtag #kidtweet @JohnsonJags.
Service Learning Project:
Service learning is a type of project based learning where students engage in meaningful learning experiences while tackling important content and curriculum standards. It begins with identifying a need within the community. This year, I asked my third and fourth grade teachers to identify a student who "needed a little something extra" to work on a project with me around welcoming new students. Our School Council has been working on fostering an inclusive school community so this project seemed like a meaningful way for students to get involved in work that mattered. Over the past several weeks, these five students with differing learning styles, interests, and strengths have collaborated at a high level to answer the question: How can we ensure that all new students and their families feel welcome at Johnson School? They have crafted and administered surveys to students, interviewed other building principals, reached out via Twitter to educators outside of our district, and brainstormed ideas of their own. They are currently preparing a presentation to our School Council to share their findings and recommendations.
- What opportunities are being created that make students want to be at your school?
- Are students connecting on a personal level with at least one adult in your building?
- Are students connecting with other students across classes or grade levels?
- Do students know that when they miss a day of school, their absence will be felt and they will be missed?
Some great ideas here, thanks Jordan
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