Survey+Results

Below is a compilation of the responses received from the staff concerning Advisory Period. I have replicated the responses as they were submitted.

__// What are some topics you would be interested in exploring with a group of students? //__


 * music - popular; writing in TV and film; cooking shows - recipes; business info; entrepenaurship; manners/respect
 * some sort of community service project
 * sign language; soccer; hockey; math; resource period for special ed. (progress monitoring, IEP paperwork)
 * depends - are they my students from other classes? Are they even students in my subject? studying and grading
 * how to structure and pace their day
 * college choices; science fair; independent study; study skills
 * careers; current events; social issues; money; biology; scrapbooking; service projects
 * pregnant teens or students who are already parents; peer tutors for me - to help set-up food, sewing and baby labs
 * self respect; respect and empathy for others; bullying
 * college prep activities; employment readiness information; time management; study skills
 * sex ed; college prep; vocab; grammar
 * organization; study techniques; research projects; behaviors; dress code; school success; how to pay taxes; how to register to vote; how to act like an adult
 * vocabulary; sex; grammar; study skills; college research; grade level assemblies; biking; snowboarding; reading
 * create and design online course; drafting; CAD
 * special ed. time with students/progress monitoring/bench mark testing/IEP conversations
 * companion animals - animal rights/ethics
 * incorporating art history/using artwork to support history sometimes for visual/struggling learners
 * operating a curators group for art exhibits including helping with school exhibits; including but not limited to nexgen planning/fundraising events for arts; portfolio building, applications for art contests, exhibits, colleges and camps; ideas where art could support projects in other areas I can help with project development; helping students with design for projects on MAC/in Word; using time to conduct interviews; research; photograph for AND magazine. Essentially creating artistic bridges between students and the greater community for expanded voice.
 * positive thinking and self worth; student prayers/bible topics
 * adjusting to high school and its issues; harassment; responsibilities; mentoring; future goals; issues in the news; grade conferences with individual students after progress reports
 * exploration of music and musical genres
 * I have a special ability to work with students who tend to be withdrawn, shy, embarrassed for some reason. Every week I would plan for five days of - - activities related to "blossoming", "growing" in our own way. Hands on caring and sharing projects.
 * mentoring; leadership training
 * relationship building; conferencing about students' lives and how things are going in school; coffee breakfast; current events
 * evolution, genetics, environmental issues, geography, natural science, bird watching, current events, music
 * performing arts (theatre, film, singing); comic books; graphic novels (writing, art appreciation); popular culture (music, art, fashion, movies, TV etc.); poetry/creative writing; digital tech. life; creative and social media
 * current events in Spanish; works of art and history
 * tutoring; reading club; career planning with my IEP caseload
 * writing; self-discipline
 * I would like to see athletes use this time to weight train and use as a gym credit
 * French culture; francophony; French cooking
 * career interest inventories administration/interpretation; resume development; career speakers; internship development; cover letter development; study skills; scholarship exploration; sample job application completion and time management workshop; ethics workshops; new student groups; networking groups; Keys 2 Work time; social skills group; self-esteem group; personal development; grief/loss group
 * ESL content support
 * study hall - I truly believe this is the best use of this time while teachers have access to grades so that we can truly advise them as they utilize this time; I really think this is not a proper use of academic time we have been allotted, since our academics of recent years have fallen and are being questioned by the community and the region
 * skiing; lacrosse; SSR; working on other subject areas; support groups via SAT, drug and alcohol; behavior
 * history film club; history reading group; the holocaust; WWI and WWII; prom committee

__// Mark on the spectrum below what your preference would be for advisory in terms of your personal involvement in prepping for the daily experience(s): //__ 37 respondents

Independent/Self Prep - I'd like to have autonomy to shape the experience. - 6 = 16%

50/50 - I'd prefer a blended approach. - 14 = 38%

Dependent/Minimal - Prep- send me plans. - 9 = 24%

Did not respond - 8 = 22%

__// You have 40 minutes per day with a small (hopefully 8-10 per roster) group of students at the beginning of each day. What is your ideal scenario for how this time would be spent? //__
 * I don't see the value of it at the start of the day. I'd like to se it the end of the day where it can be used as a tutoring time on a rotational basis - day 1 pd. 1, day 2 pd. 2, day 3 pd. 3 etc. Although when I taught in private school this was our devotional time.
 * talking about current events
 * structured activities with student accountability
 * group would be same grades, discuss issues at that level of students. Sr. and freshmen may not have good discussion together. Composition.
 * actually I would have the time to set up my food labs and sewing labs and babies
 * resource, remediation, make-up work, planning for college, P/F, have students I have in class
 * ESL content support, international club, this would be a great time for transitioning new students (especially new to the country ELL's)
 * core pods - i.e. math, science, soc. studies and English. Students can be sent to "core pods" during Advisory Period for extra help. Make-up testing, Keys To Work pod, Senior Project pod, Credit Recovery pod.
 * make-up quizzes/exams, tutoring, club meetings
 * with my IEP caseload
 * breakfast, teacher and student mentoring, peer-mentoring
 * I would like to see athletes use this time to weight train and use as a gym credit
 * keep students together with like interests, study hall so the students can work on back work, present work and past tests
 * students who I have a measure of accountability to/for would be best. If I have no means to motivate them then I feel no way to hold them responsible at all.
 * in my previous experience with block scheduling this time was used as an enrichment time. If it was enrichment, students returned to block I etc. Students were not taught new material, but rather this was an opportunity to make up work, etc. Students that were in ban, etc. went to those activities while not missing new material
 * coffee/breakfast, conferencing, question of the day/week
 * students want to be with me - makes sense if they are visual/hands on learners or are into art. Help with college applications - portfolio building
 * I would like to determine this with my students based upon their interests and needs and abilities
 * one-on-one conferencing, assisting with homework, preparing for tests, working on transition goals, team building, etc. organizational skills, career planning, study time (tutoring) with their classroom teacher.
 * broadening the inclusionary experience
 * studying and grade info.
 * ideally I think every student should join a club for during this period and switch every marking period or every semester. This would also allow for the experience of extracurricular activities for students who cannot normally participate
 * working individually with students
 * students will be in a class where they can have a person who knows the topic
 * productive conversations, a chance to make connections with out the pressure of grades, students have a voice, exploration of personal tastes and current interests
 * morning meeting, discussion of topics, documentaries, audio stories, article discussion
 * how was your weekend? Share community concerns, projects, current events, act out short plays, creative writing
 * my ideal scenario (which would save the district money) would be to be the music department push-in for pd. 1. Since the students would miss WHIP every morning, I could make sure that they receive their announcements. When the music boosters have any fundraisers I could handle those for the 3 directors so that they can rehearse and when any of them are absent or not in the building due to festivals or scheduling inconveniences, I could run the ensemble so the groups would not be idle as there are very few music substitutes. Also the district would never have to hire a sub for the music department unless 2 people are out at once.
 * greeting, opening, structured conversation, some activity
 * as an elective course period
 * with structured activities with manipulatives, handouts, accountable work
 * would not be able to do a daily schedule but would like to
 * rotating through a different schedule, ex. - mon - accountability for homework, tues - interest area, wed - note taking/study skills
 * ideally I would be able to test all my students for IEP paperwork, help with projects, homework, help tutoring areas of weakness, time to make-up tests and assignments.
 * into to day - catching up, focus on a topic of the day, small group presentation, career planning, educational planning, speakers, possible REM (remediation, enrichment, make-up)

__// The following were additional misc. comments submitted on the surveys: //__
 * i already have enough to prep for
 * concern - student accountability for their behavior i.e. cutting class, poor behavior
 * on top of revisiting plans and curriculum for block scheduling this is not a welcome idea. We needed to have years of prep for block-scheduling and this is now an additional prep to our extra work load. This move to block-scheduling is a monumental task and takes a great deal of training and planning and cannot be taken lightly
 * we struggle to get everything prepped now, this adds more work