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Post by JB on Sept 15, 2008 18:57:04 GMT -6
Absolutely. Little birds have a way to get things done. Things have been getting done and will continue to done, with or without little birds. One of the biggest issues may be that some of the current HS and MS staff are not aware of all that's going on and not sensitive to the fact that there is a huge boundary shift next year. Not sure I understand your first point - are you saying their voices aren't needed? I'd think the admin should be listening to everyone's concerns, since this move isn't trivial for the MS kids involved. I'd also hope all the staff is aware of the changes, you 'd have to be hiding under a pretty big rock to not know what was going on at your school. |
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Post by momto4 on Sept 15, 2008 19:00:55 GMT -6
It's also an easier transition when the school you move to is closer than the one you are leaving. How so? Three times we have been or will be moved from a further school to a closer school. We had/have been quite happy with the original schools (that were further away) for numerous reasons and for my kids splitting from some of their friends is the biggest issue. Not distance to the school, not who the principal is or what the mascot is or whether the building they move to is brand new or not. |
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Post by d204mom on Sept 15, 2008 19:02:33 GMT -6
The teachers need to know then. The middle school teachers and staff are dealing with 11/12 year olds. I don't know about boys at that age, but girls can be fine 1 minute and a wreck the next. My daughter was saying the stuff about not wanting to change schools like a punishment. I know because it's the same voice she uses when she has to do something she doesn't want to do because of a punishment. These kids talk. Who knows what else is being said. On her bus, all the 6th graders are all in the same boat, but not the same as the 7th graders who have the option to stay. And who know what parents are saying. A conversation can take place and the kids may only get one sentence out of it and it can be taken completely out of context. IMO this is why it's important for the parents to talk to their kids about the changes and how their family will be affected and deal with any questions/issues that come up. I'm not sure what the MS staff should do other than business as usual and do their best for all kids to have a good school year this year, as they will with whatever students they are teaching next year in whichever building they're in anywhere in the district. Maybe what is needed is a parent meeting to help the parents know what kind of talk is helpful and not helpful for their child's upcoming transitions When my daughter moved from Hill to Granger after 7th grade there was not a big deal made out of the move to an "existing" school in a new building with a different student body than the year before. The kids knew who was going and who was staying, and the year was just a normal school year except that after it was over some kids moved out of Hill and others moved in. And this is not an overly resilient kid when it comes to change. She took it in stride. It's a big deal when one family changes schools. When a whole neighborhood or more changes together, it's a very easy transition (or should be). Especially with all the things our district does to ease the transition. I would expect to see more about that when it's closer to the time, rather than now when kids should be settling into the current new school year. I guess I can respect the fact that you think it's the parents job to transition their own kids to a new school, however, if the district does not have a plan and is not communicating with the teachers, they are setting a lot of kids up for failure for non-academic reasons. Or how about giving the parents some guidance on how to discuss this with their kids? For crying out loud I get a parent's guide for every unit of everyday math, it helps us out because we aren't familiar with some of the techniques they use. Some people would say - geeze - you can't help your kid with 4th grade math? Sometimes it helps to have the guide because I never learned lattice multiplication. You know the old saying, if you fail to plan... |
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Post by momto4 on Sept 15, 2008 19:05:50 GMT -6
momto4- Why does it make a difference to you if people would like more information? It doesn't affect you, does it? As we4 has said - we're all in this together. I just don't like people insinuating that the district isn't doing what it's supposed to do. The children are being educated and parents and students will have plenty of information about their new schools long before they begin attending them. Is it just that there needs to be something to complain about at all times? How is the start of the school year going for your children? |
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Post by momto4 on Sept 15, 2008 19:08:28 GMT -6
Things have been getting done and will continue to done, with or without little birds. One of the biggest issues may be that some of the current HS and MS staff are not aware of all that's going on and not sensitive to the fact that there is a huge boundary shift next year. Not sure I understand your first point - are you saying their voices aren't needed? I'd think the admin should be listening to everyone's concerns, since this move isn't trivial for the MS kids involved. I'd also hope all the staff is aware of the changes, you 'd have to be hiding under a pretty big rock to not know what was going on at your school. The transition work was well under way long before people began complaining at the beginning of the school year, that's all. I haven't talked to the teachers about it but I'd bet they are more concerned about educating the kids they have there this year than worrying about who is going where next year. What should each and every teacher's role be in this transition? |
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Post by d204mom on Sept 15, 2008 19:10:36 GMT -6
The children are being educated and parents and students will have plenty of information about their new schools long before they begin attending them. That's a joke, right?  We're supposed to trust the board and admin's promises about what's going to happen? |
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Post by momto4 on Sept 15, 2008 19:17:43 GMT -6
The children are being educated and parents and students will have plenty of information about their new schools long before they begin attending them. That's a joke, right? We're supposed to trust the board and admin's promises about what's going to happen? If you don't trust them than you can find out at your own PTA meetings and/or by attending the SB meetings and/or talking to your school principal. There is no great secret about any of it. What reason is there not to trust them? This has been done many times before without so many concerns. |
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Post by steckmom on Sept 15, 2008 19:34:01 GMT -6
momto4- Why does it make a difference to you if people would like more information? It doesn't affect you, does it? As we4 has said - we're all in this together. I just don't like people insinuating that the district isn't doing what it's supposed to do. The children are being educated and parents and students will have plenty of information about their new schools long before they begin attending them. Is it just that there needs to be something to complain about at all times? How is the start of the school year going for your children? If it bothers you to read complaints, you can always stop reading them. Why be so smug about it? It really shouldn't matter to you that other people would like some communication from the district. Nothing will be taken from you, I promise. |
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Post by Arch on Sept 15, 2008 19:35:44 GMT -6
It's also an easier transition when the school you move to is closer than the one you are leaving. How so? Three times we have been or will be moved from a further school to a closer school. We had/have been quite happy with the original schools (that were further away) for numerous reasons and for my kids splitting from some of their friends is the biggest issue. Not distance to the school, not who the principal is or what the mascot is or whether the building they move to is brand new or not. Everyone has their own issues with things... I still stand by my statement that it's easier to move to a closer school from a further school than it is to move from a closer school to a further one. As for the How... Distance relates to time and time relates to money. The incremental costs per day seem like nothing but when you add up the years (and in some cases close to a decade) it adds up to a VERY SIGNIFICANT amount of both extra time and extra money exhausted by the families displaced. Go the opposite as you said you have done 3 times, and it adds up to a significant SAVINGS in both time and money. |
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Post by momto4 on Sept 15, 2008 20:11:14 GMT -6
How so? Three times we have been or will be moved from a further school to a closer school. We had/have been quite happy with the original schools (that were further away) for numerous reasons and for my kids splitting from some of their friends is the biggest issue. Not distance to the school, not who the principal is or what the mascot is or whether the building they move to is brand new or not. Everyone has their own issues with things... I still stand by my statement that it's easier to move to a closer school from a further school than it is to move from a closer school to a further one. As for the How... Distance relates to time and time relates to money. The incremental costs per day seem like nothing but when you add up the years (and in some cases close to a decade) it adds up to a VERY SIGNIFICANT amount of both extra time and extra money exhausted by the families displaced. Go the opposite as you said you have done 3 times, and it adds up to a significant SAVINGS in both time and money. Still not convinced on how that relates to the transition itself. From the kids I know who moved from one MS to another, they were affected most by which people they knew were and were not moving with them and since they were on a bus whether the distance was longer or shorter was not an issue for them (could have been for the parents but that's different). Talk to some kids who have made this transition and see what really mattered to them. |
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Post by Arch on Sept 15, 2008 20:23:11 GMT -6
Everyone has their own issues with things... I still stand by my statement that it's easier to move to a closer school from a further school than it is to move from a closer school to a further one. As for the How... Distance relates to time and time relates to money. The incremental costs per day seem like nothing but when you add up the years (and in some cases close to a decade) it adds up to a VERY SIGNIFICANT amount of both extra time and extra money exhausted by the families displaced. Go the opposite as you said you have done 3 times, and it adds up to a significant SAVINGS in both time and money. Still not convinced on how that relates to the transition itself. From the kids I know who moved from one MS to another, they were affected most by which people they knew were and were not moving with them and since they were on a bus whether the distance was longer or shorter was not an issue for them (could have been for the parents but that's different). Talk to some kids who have made this transition and see what really mattered to them. The kids deal with things at their level and the parents deal with things at the parent level. Though, for curiosities sake which area should I talk to that got moved from a closer school to a further school? You mentioned moving 3 times, but you also said it was from further to closer; so that's already off the table. I'd love to talk to parents who went through this already... |
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Post by doctorwho on Sept 15, 2008 20:38:37 GMT -6
Still not convinced on how that relates to the transition itself. From the kids I know who moved from one MS to another, they were affected most by which people they knew were and were not moving with them and since they were on a bus whether the distance was longer or shorter was not an issue for them (could have been for the parents but that's different). Talk to some kids who have made this transition and see what really mattered to them. The kids deal with things at their level and the parents deal with things at the parent level. Though, for curiosities sake which area should I talk to that got moved from a closer school to a further school? You mentioned moving 3 times, but you also said it was from further to closer; so that's already off the table. I'd love to talk to parents who went through this already... What kids / parents / areas made a move to a HS that was actually much further away than what they had ? Not sure you're going to find any of those because that would have been--- what's the word ? oh yeah - stupid. We built the school closer to where the kids were - this is whole new ground here - at least doubling transit times with a move, moving across multiple new intersections and railroad crossings |
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we4
Junior
Girls Can't Do What?
Posts: 245
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Post by we4 on Sept 15, 2008 21:41:25 GMT -6
My point about teachers being informed was more to understand what 6th graders might be going through. If a student starts telling another that they won't be a Shark next year but a Bull Dog (or whatever mascot you are/going to) and starts making fun of them and that student gets upset or cry or something, if the staff knows that this is coming up for kids next year they can be looking out for that kind of stuff. My daughter may never tell me this is bothering her, but I can tell in her voice that she is not looking forward to this. And it's only 3 weeks into the school year. What will March, April or May be like.
For example, I have repeatedly asked about getting from PE to Health across the building. She has been telling me for 2 weeks she is getting there fine, no need to worry. I find out from a friend that her sister told her friend's mom (my friend) that she has been late to health everyday because it is so hard getting from one end of Scullen to the mods for health. Finally, my daughter told me she was having a problem because when the teachers started counting tardies, she had gotten two and a third gives her a detention. So I contacted the health teacher and told her about the problem and asked for help since this is my first child in MS. The health teacher was great and would see how many other kids were coming from the same class. Would my daughter have talked to her teacher, probably only after she got a detention, or several. She would have suffered through this in silence.
Not all kids are going to tell parents they are upset. The only people who may see this are the teachers. Maybe MS is so different from ES that nothing that use to happen in ES can be applied to MS. I am just so use to teachers knowing the kids and will contact you when something changes.
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Post by Arch on Sept 15, 2008 22:00:39 GMT -6
WE4,
You're right. Not all kids tell their parents they are upset. Also, not all kids really understand when they are upset and some know they are upset but don't know why and everything in between.
In my experience from here on out the best thing you can personally do is make personal contact with each teacher and let them know what's up. Don't expect them at this stage to call home about things. Most simply won't. Now, if there is a face to face connection and a good relationship established via voice calls and emails you have your foot in the door. Sometimes providing back-fill for the teachers about your child helps too and so you all can establish that you are all on the same 'team' for your child. Everyone says they are on paper, but in my experience it just goes further when you make that personal contact; even just an email or voice mail once a week to talk about the child's overall emotional well being both in and out of school along with talking about their progress (not asking for information that can already be found on the grade system) and even ping them on what's coming up so you can possibly look into supplemental things on the home front to go along w/ the current lesson plans/topics. It's easier for a teacher to mention during a regular email/voice call that 'such and such happened the other day or today, etc' than it is to do a cold outbound contact from the school to the parent... ie: the threshold is lower if you are already talking to them about other things than if they have to initiate contact over this particular (or any other) thing.
(typos fixed)
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we4
Junior
Girls Can't Do What?
Posts: 245
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Post by we4 on Sept 15, 2008 22:25:33 GMT -6
WE4, You're right. Not all kids tell their parents they are upset. Also, not all kids really understand when they are upset and some know they are upset but don't know why and everything in between. In my experience from here on out the best thing you can personally do is make personal contact with each teacher and let them know what's up. Don't expect them at this stage to call home about things. Most simply won't. Now, if there is a face to face connection and a good relationship established via voice calls and emails you have your foot in the door. Sometimes providing back-fill for the teachers about your child helps too and so you all can establish that you are all on the same 'team' for your child. Everyone says they are on paper, but in my experience it just goes further when you make that personal contact; even just an email or voice mail once a week to talk about the child's overall emotional well being both in and out of school along with talking about their progress (not asking for information that can already be found on the grade system) and even ping them on what's coming up so you can possibly look into supplemental things on the home front to go along w/ the current lesson plans/topics. It's easier for a teacher to mention during a regular email/voice call that 'such and such happened the other day or today, etc' than it is to do a cold outbound contact from the school to the parent... ie: the threshold is lower if you are already talking to them about other things than if they have to initiate contact over this particular (or any other) thing. (typos fixed) Thanks Arch. I know I got off topic there, but this whole middle school thing is a bit of a transition for me also. I'm not sure if I like the very little contact with teachers. They are with my children during the weekday hours more then I am. I kind of like to know who is looking after them. I guess it's just part of growing up (parents and children). Back to hs transition..... |
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We're supposed to trust the board and admin's promises about what's going to happen?
