My first Hopewell Express piece, “
Supporting Our Educational Marathon
,” reviewed past academic strategies and looked forward into our plans for 2017-18.
August 2018 seems a fitting time to thoughtfully review that progress and look ahead to the 2018-19 school year.
The “marathon” piece explored the school district’s approach to addressing academic and social-emotional learning. We reflect on our achievement and explore how to cultivate further success.
Homework and independent study time. The district continues to build upon our progress on the homework journey we began five years ago. Surveys indicate that most people are far more comfortable with the direction our district is taking with homework. Students are experiencing more consistent workloads across teachers and classes. Less homework is permitted during breaks and vacation can be used to recharge.
In addition, the middle school added extra time to the school day for students to get additional help or work on homework. The strategy worked out so well that the high school is adding a similar program in the coming year.
These programs not only reduce stress by providing time to address responsibilities but also improve executive function skills by providing less structure which requires students to employ decision making and prioritization skills to best maximize time management.
Grading, communication, and engagement. The elementary schools began using new report cards that better share student progress by communicating skill levels. Subsequent follow-up can target improvement areas or build upon proven mastery.
Secondary report cards began including letter grade equivalents of 100-point scale numbers. While all assignment, quarterly, and end-of-year grades are still calculated on a 100-scale, the final grade can be shown in both letter and 4.0 equivalents.
Committees met all year to discuss how grading on the secondary level may better communicate developing skills and mastery. Conversations advanced beyond simple grading to recommending classroom techniques that encourage students to work hard until they fully understand the material. Considerations included how to avoid punishing students for successfully learning material on a nonstandard schedule.
Watch for new classroom pilots that focus on student-centered learning and include redo, retakes, increased student choice, and inquiry-based learning.
Finally, the school district introduced “E-Learning” allowing students to attend school “virtually” rather than extend our school year due to weather events. We expect to expand on our e-learning initiatives in the upcoming school year.
Building a culture of equity and respect. Hopewell Valley Regional School District is well-known for our equity initiatives. Dr. Thomas Smith and I documented district and wider equity efforts. This unique approach was published in a statewide journal that recognizes school board leadership. The piece began by sharing our district’s reaction to nation-wide current events.
Our district’s culture continues to embrace learning empathy through current events and in the last school year a districtwide community service initiative known as Hopewell United partners district schools with schools in need in the US and abroad.
District schools rolled out additional initiatives to encourage mindfulness and sensitivity. Further, our commitment to connecting through current events had a profound affect when local school districts reported alarming teenage suicide and mental health trends. Our superintendent took a leadership role in a January 2018 countywide call to action to both recognize signs and destigmatize mental health issues.
School safety, security and referendum. What began as local concern for mental health and sensitivity to current events elevated to a central focus to both school and community when a Florida school shooting occurred in February 2018.
Our students and community actively engaged in dialogue around the events. Many students took civic engagement lessons to heart and actively worked to make a difference in the civic life of our communities. They applied a combination of knowledge, skills, values and motivation to make that difference both within and outside of school. Students took differing views on how to promote the quality of life in a community, through both political and non-political processes.
At the same time, many in our community expressed concern about increasing school safety.
Fortunately, the community had already passed a referendum that included provisions for increased security in all schools. Drive by and you will see referendum activity at all of our schools in preparation of the upcoming school year.
Additional referendum work should make our school environment more conducive to learning. For the first time in our history, our schools will all have air conditioning and other maintenance upgrades.
Our final safety initiative beginning this fall is a drug testing policy intended to reduce drug abuse. We instituted many additional supports and communications prior to its approval.
The Board of Education also agreed to improve communication protocols throughout the district and community. We believe that transparency inspires trust.
HVRSD Board of Education and Administration are working hard to ensure a successful school opening this September and are well positioned to ensure a successful school year.
Lisa Wolff is vice president of the Hopewell Valley Regional School District Board of Education.
from the schools,
