The end of the school year is a mere two and a half weeks away. Change is in the air. There is the change of one class rising to the next grade and a new class coming to fifth grade. There are some staffing changes, and there will inevitably more curriculum and program changes given the unpredictable pandemic we are facing. How will I deal with all these changes?
Student Rising
The fact that students are rising to the next grade is a call for celebration. These young children and their families have been extraordinary during this pandemic. While school was not what they expected, we covered the same curriculum via multiple new venues and learning experiences. We all missed being together in real time for field studies, outdoor explorations, science experiments, the fifth grade play, and the creative Global Cardboard Challenge, but nevertheless we've been able to replicate those events virtually. I'll miss these young, dynamic students, but I feel satisfied that our team provided them with a top notch learning program this year--we were a strong team.
We've learned a lot in the past three months about what is important when it comes to the unpredictable learning stage we are teaching from, and we'll welcome the new students at move-up day with that knowledge. We revised our move-up letter to reflect the fact that while we don't know exactly what fifth grade will be like for them, we do know that we will be there to guide them with care and attention to the fifth grade learning standards with the goal to help them become strong, flexible, dynamic lifelong learners. We will greet the learners as a team, then meet with our homerooms for a more personal exchange of questions and expressions.
Staff Changes
There are a few staffing changes for the year ahead. Staff changes have been a mainstay of schools in the last few years, and new people and new roles bring both new opportunities and change. My focus on staff changes is to stay the course with the work I am tasked to do and to be open minded. There's always an adjustment period with new staff and new roles. In the past, I've sometimes reacted too soon during that adjustment period rather than just focus on my own work and recognize that during the adjustment periods of change there are sometimes uncomfortable, unexpected, and unreasonable decisions and changes, yet with time and communication there is typically greater movement towards camaraderie and collective decision making instead.
Teaching Changes
We will change what we do and how we do it somewhat. For example, we'll introduce students to expected learning protocols for blended learning with greater explicit instruction and practice. We've learned over the past three months that it is essential that children show up, participate, show their faces, and do the expected assignments. We've also learned that it is essential that we coach optimal mindsets and learning behaviors as well as teach the blended learning tools well. We've had a blended learning environment for a long time, but sometimes we didn't teach the tools as explicitly since we were right there and able to help a child, and because we're not right there when it comes to virtual learning and teaching, we have to be more explicit when we teach the tools--students need to know how to use those tools well.
We also have to include family members even more. We've worked hard to build a strong student-family-teacher team and now it is even more important to include family members in the learning community because with remote learning and teaching, they are our partners with even greater commitment and support.
Priorities will change too. Our team has already discussed front loading the year with the curriculum areas that lend themselves the best to blended learning and leaving the more hands-on, collaborative activities and field studies for the second half of the year.
All in all, if we are clear about our priorities which are to support students well and guide meaningful and engaging learning of the identified standards, we will transition into this unpredictable year with success and care.
