Final Data (during Finals Week)

Last piece of information from our survey.  Conveniently timed during finals week.  Actually, strategically timed during finals week to help you remember that there is, indeed, a light at the end of the tunnel!  We have finished putting together the data on what you would like to see from teachers and staff in terms as ways to alleviate stress (I know, right now that seems like an impossibility).  The good news is, we are hearing some good stuff from you and, even though in the midst of your third all-nighter this might not seem like something we are making progress on, I promise you that we are.

I checked in with many students and heard many teachers made efforts to reduce Winter Break homework.  This is a great start.  During the preparation for finals, many teachers offered Exam Jam sessions and we had several hundred students each day attending.  Another positive.  We are working as a staff to look at our testing day schedule and consider how we can feel comfortable committing to this.  It is complicated.  For example, what constitutes a "test"?  I suspect each student might answer this differently.  Do quizzes count?  What about papers?  Presentations?  Assignments worth a lot of points?  We are discussing these topics because we want to be able to commit with fidelity, and to do this we need clarity and consensus.  

My favorite part about the responses to this question was that students, overall, valued the learning.  Very few kids responded that it was too hard.  Instead, you wanted engagement, hands-on activities, interesting content.  Makes me proud.  You guys are pretty boss.

In terms of a block schedule, it is worth sharing that there is a District-wide committee meeting to discuss this.  I am attending these meetings, along with several of your teachers, fellow students, and parents.  The climate is ripe right now for this discussion.  I will share more as we continue.  Right now, we are in the process of setting up visits to schools with different types of block schedules to see how this looks and how it was implemented.  More to come.

Thanks for your honest feedback and being patient as we put it together for you to see.  Go Mats.

The top responses to this last question are listed below:

1. Give us less homework, if possible.  We like having time in class to get started and we want to know the purpose of the homework that we are assigned.  If it is important, tell us why.  Homework free breaks and long weekends help us to recharge.
2. Follow testing days.  It is hard to do well on tests when we have so many on the same day.  The test days help us prepare more effectively for our tests.
3. Support us.  It is really helpful when teachers are flexible.  Sometimes it is impossible to get all the work done or we don’t do well on tests.  We like being able to ask for extensions when we need it and we like to be able to retake tests.  Review tests are very helpful in preparing for tests.
4. We like our classes to be engaging and we want direct instruction from our teachers.  Hands on activities help us learn and keep it interesting. We want to learn.
5. Connect with us, listen to us, care about us.  We want to know you and we want you to know us. 
6. Give us feedback.  Updating assignments on school loop helps us feel less stress because we know how we are doing and what we need to do to do better. We also like to know what is coming up in advance so we can plan ahead.
7. Communicate with other teachers.  Sometimes we have multiple teachers assigning things at the same time.  It would be helpful if you could work together.
8. Consider a block schedule.  This would really help us to be less stressed.
9. Try to reduce the pressure on us.  Help us learn how to reduce our stress.
10. Make it easier.

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