One thing that I feel must be addressed is the role of admissions in the upper school and how students fit and adjust to the expectations of the school and staff. It was previously mentioned in a meeting that any curriculum development should take into account how well students are able to adapt if they arrive as a new upper school student (This should also apply to the lower and middle schools). However, I do not feel that this should weigh heavily when considering what changes to make. The school should be able to develop to higher levels of excellence and any students that arrive at a lesser level should be able to seek help in adjustment or simply do it on their own. As a student that came in the beginning of 10th grade, I have experience with this issue and had to learn how to adjust to the high standards of the school on my own. This is just something that I feel should be considered overall.
I agree with Rachel that expectations need to be clearly communicated. Students coming in at any grade level sbould know what was taught in the previous grades and what they have to cover to be at the same level. The Admission office should be clear about expectation level and offer guidance and suggestions for remediation/tutoring. This is especially true for math and world languages. When students have missed some information, they feel lost. It's hard to keep up with current work and catch up on what was missed from the previous years all at the same time. Some students give up before trying, especially in the Middle School.
Good comments Rachel and Magali, 2 things that come to my mind: 1. we should have a clearly stated curriculum (one that has been reviewed and revised if necessary) that is available to the Admissions staff to share with students applying to our school. 2. We could use a more organized support program for students that are new to our school. Some will need it more than others, but it would be helpful to have a faculty member especially in-tune with each new student's academic and social integration.
If we are not able to supply tutors to new children that are behind our curriculum,(teachers only have so many hours in the day) perhaps we should just have a list of resources for that student to "hire" until he/she is caught up. I agree that the curriculum should not be contingent upon the deficiencies of new students. Admissions should be clear to the new student and his/her family what additional work might be required to catch up or admitted to the grade below if the child is a year behind. (Is there spell check in a blog? I am in trouble if there is not)
Are students tested when they come to this school? I don't think that a test necessarily needs to be developed if it is not already in place, but I'm curious as to what exactly it tests students on and what role it plays in the admissions process.
I am a new member of middle school admissions committee. The testing is for grade level math skills and a writing sample. I can't remember if there is a reading comp section too. It gives you a rough idea of the student can perform at grade level. Of course, our classes, particularly math, may be a grade ahead, so considerations should be made accordingly. The tests are not the only think considered in whether to admit a student. when the student visits, teachers comment on the student's participation in class, ability to interact with peers. We also get a copy of report cards, current and from previous years...and standardized testing results. Several faculty and administrators review the files and then a decision is made. It is a pretty cool process, but it does feel like a huge decision when you comment on the student's file. It is a little challenging to determine which students "are a good fit." I have discussed with other teachers, what kind of students should be admitted...what is our mission/ who will fit in and add to our school community. These questions are challenging, but I like that faculty who actually teach the current student body are included in the process. Anyway, this is my take on the process.
Rachel has started a valuable discussion and I agree with the points she raised as well as most of the thoughts others have posted.
My concern is not only whether we communicate clearly to perspective families our expectations and available support but also whether we occasionally lower our admission standards when a grade level is not full. If, in fact, we do sometimes lower the bar, is our support system strong enough to avoid setting some new students up for frustration or failure? How much support should we be in the business of offering? I agree that our curriculum should be challenging; we aren’t the school for every student who applies. And I was glad to learn from Jen that faculty members are now involved in the admissions process. Our teachers work hard to create an intellectually stimulating environment in the classroom, and I would think that the greater the range in ability and academic background of the students in any given classroom, the more difficult it would be achieve that goal. And we certainly don’t want to drive away highly capable, well-motivated, successful students who chose our school because of its challenging curriculum.
I think one area that might be good to review is student support. If our goal is to strive to engage all students in our school and help them reach their potential academically and socially, how much help can we give those that struggle? Teachers are available after school daily for tutoring as needed. I believe remediation is meant to be intermittent/ short term for students who might struggle here and then with specific areas of the curricula. Is our school established to provide one-on-one tutoring / assistance with organization to students who will need it year-round? Is it fair to students to admit them if they will struggle and face frustration with overly-challenging curriculum. I think some candidates are easy to accept because they are very strong. But some are more challenging, and a best decision will be made based on feedback of the admissions committee. How long is fair to allow a new student to struggle? I think a one year adjustment if necessary for many new students. If they still are struggling after 1.5 years, then what is the best course of action for them? It might be helpful to clarify this during the admission process, with well-phrased verbiage.
8 comments:
One thing that I feel must be addressed is the role of admissions in the upper school and how students fit and adjust to the expectations of the school and staff. It was previously mentioned in a meeting that any curriculum development should take into account how well students are able to adapt if they arrive as a new upper school student (This should also apply to the lower and middle schools). However, I do not feel that this should weigh heavily when considering what changes to make. The school should be able to develop to higher levels of excellence and any students that arrive at a lesser level should be able to seek help in adjustment or simply do it on their own. As a student that came in the beginning of 10th grade, I have experience with this issue and had to learn how to adjust to the high standards of the school on my own. This is just something that I feel should be considered overall.
Any comments?
I agree with Rachel that expectations need to be clearly communicated. Students coming in at any grade level sbould know what was taught in the previous grades and what they have to cover to be at the same level. The Admission office should be clear about expectation level and offer guidance and suggestions for remediation/tutoring. This is especially true for math and world languages. When students have missed some information, they feel lost. It's hard to keep up with current work and catch up on what was missed from the previous years all at the same time. Some students give up before trying, especially in the Middle School.
Good comments Rachel and Magali, 2 things that come to my mind:
1. we should have a clearly stated curriculum (one that has been reviewed and revised if necessary) that is available to the Admissions staff to share with students applying to our school.
2. We could use a more organized support program for students that are new to our school. Some will need it more than others, but it would be helpful to have a faculty member especially in-tune with each new student's academic and social integration.
If we are not able to supply tutors to new children that are behind our curriculum,(teachers only have so many hours in the day) perhaps we should just have a list of resources for that student to "hire" until he/she is caught up. I agree that the curriculum should not be contingent upon the deficiencies of new students. Admissions should be clear to the new student and his/her family what additional work might be required to catch up or admitted to the grade below if the child is a year behind. (Is there spell check in a blog? I am in trouble if there is not)
Are students tested when they come to this school? I don't think that a test necessarily needs to be developed if it is not already in place, but I'm curious as to what exactly it tests students on and what role it plays in the admissions process.
I am a new member of middle school admissions committee. The testing is for grade level math skills and a writing sample. I can't remember if there is a reading comp section too. It gives you a rough idea of the student can perform at grade level. Of course, our classes, particularly math, may be a grade ahead, so considerations should be made accordingly. The tests are not the only think considered in whether to admit a student. when the student visits, teachers comment on the student's participation in class, ability to interact with peers. We also get a copy of report cards, current and from previous years...and standardized testing results. Several faculty and administrators review the files and then a decision is made. It is a pretty cool process, but it does feel like a huge decision when you comment on the student's file. It is a little challenging to determine which students "are a good fit." I have discussed with other teachers, what kind of students should be admitted...what is our mission/ who will fit in and add to our school community. These questions are challenging, but I like that faculty who actually teach the current student body are included in the process. Anyway, this is my take on the process.
Rachel has started a valuable discussion and I agree with the points she raised as well as most of the thoughts others have posted.
My concern is not only whether we communicate clearly to perspective families our expectations and available support but also whether we occasionally lower our admission standards when a grade level is not full. If, in fact, we do sometimes lower the bar, is our support system strong enough to avoid setting some new students up for frustration or failure? How much support should we be in the business of offering? I agree that our curriculum should be challenging; we aren’t the school for every student who applies. And I was glad to learn from Jen that faculty members are now involved in the admissions process. Our teachers work hard to create an intellectually stimulating environment in the classroom, and I would think that the greater the range in ability and academic background of the students in any given classroom, the more difficult it would be achieve that goal. And we certainly don’t want to drive away highly capable, well-motivated, successful students who chose our school because of its challenging curriculum.
I think one area that might be good to review is student support. If our goal is to strive to engage all students in our school and help them reach their potential academically and socially, how much help can we give those that struggle? Teachers are available after school daily for tutoring as needed. I believe remediation is meant to be intermittent/ short term for students who might struggle here and then with specific areas of the curricula. Is our school established to provide one-on-one tutoring / assistance with organization to students who will need it year-round? Is it fair to students to admit them if they will struggle and face frustration with overly-challenging curriculum. I think some candidates are easy to accept because they are very strong. But some are more challenging, and a best decision will be made based on feedback of the admissions committee. How long is fair to allow a new student to struggle? I think a one year adjustment if necessary for many new students. If they still are struggling after 1.5 years, then what is the best course of action for them? It might be helpful to clarify this during the admission process, with well-phrased verbiage.
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