This is the first in a series of blog posts summarizing my reflections on what it means to provide learning opportunities for every student, every day. Find the series here, at #AllMeansAll
This year, my district has adopted a motto.
All means ALL.
I’ve been thinking a lot about this……
All Means All begins with knowing every student. We know kids work hard for teachers when they know the teacher cares about not only their success in the classroom, but who cares about them as individuals. Isn’t this true for adults as well?
To help me get to know my students better, a student info sheet goes home with every student on the first day. It’s on the back of the contract each student and parent signs about lab safety, having received and read the syllabus, knows district electronics policies, etc. This year, I’ve also set up the questions as a Google form, so students/parents can choose how they’d rather respond. These documents are also made available in Spanish, except for the info sheet/form. This year, according to ELL info, every student is able to read the form to a parent. (I’ll know soon enough if this is not accurate.) All documents are attached to a welcome email and are available online.
In the past, I’ve phoned every student’s home during the weeks before school starts, if the student is new to me or I have not met their parents. I just introduce myself, say hello, and welcome students to our school and to science. Calling has been a challenge these past few years due to changes in our SMS, so some families haven’t gotten a call. I can get support from our fabulous bilingual support person for about 10% of my families. Calls will come after the student information comes back in this year, but they will happen. I should mention that I will be calling about 170 families. The info sheet asks parents when is the best time to call, so I’m taking advantage of their wishes. First on my list are families of students who haven’t been at school yet this year. They need to know I miss them in class.
The calls start today.
#allmeansall #everychild #everyday
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I absolutely adore your district’s motto and love all the ways you are connecting with students and their families! You have truly created a welcoming environment!
@KathyPerret
Absolutely!!! Students and families need, desire, and deserve this attention to details. Some believe that is takes too much time, but the effort at the start makes a difference all year long. Hooray!