Reflection and Portfolios at ASP

Throughout life there are many lessons that we learn through our experiences – touching a wood stove results in a burn, traveling a back road in Vermont during April involves the potential for getting stuck, not dressing appropriately in winter causes us to be cold. In each of these experiences the need to reflect is not necessary- the connection is almost instantaneous. Academic learning is rarely this obvious.

It’s not always clear to a 3rd grader why they scored a 1 on their math test, or to the 6^th grader why he/she is sent out of the classroom for disciplinary reasons. In most cases students equate an “F” to failure and failure to something is inherently bad. They don’t understand that failure is a necessary part of the learning process. Indeed, the best science is all about the process of experimentation, learning from repeated failure, and hopefully eventual growth and success. As we know, learning only occurs when students have the opportunity to explore the how, what, and why of those experiences, of those supposed failures.

“We don’t learn from experience. We learn from the reflecting on experience.”
John Dewey

In order to provide students the opportunity to reflect on their successes and failures, we have commenced the process of creating student e-portfolios. Our After School Program (ASP) portfolio design is meant to serve the whole child. ASP students are dancers, athletes, artists, and community volunteers; we believe it is time to validate the time, energy, and skills students gain outside the classroom. Each student portfolio not only encourages goal setting and reflection in ASP, but also within the activities about which they are most passionate. Evidence and artifacts collected from the real world require the same skill sets that classroom teachers are working to inculcate in students on a daily basis. We are excited to collaborate with school faculty and to help bridge the gap to a genuine student-driven, multiple pathways education at TRSU.

Portfolios ask students to reflect upon the accomplishments that occur both in and outside of school time. This requires involving parents, grandparents, and community members. Research clearly supports the value of involving parents and other extended family and community members in the education of children, and we welcome your participation. Here are a few examples of ways in which you can support our students:

Help children collect evidence through video or photography
Upload artifacts and reflections at home (it can all be done from your cell phone!)
Ask your child about their portfolio and visit the site often to celebrate their learning
Support the process of reflection by asking open ended questions about an activity about which they feel passionate: “How did you feel right before going on stage?” “What are some of your strategies for being a better hitter?” “What is it about painting that you enjoy the most?”
If you have evidence of a child’s success, share it with that child or family

Portfolios are simply a tool to allow students the opportunity to set goals, reflect, capture evidence, and highlight their learning over time. Remember, these portfolios are as unique and individual as each child we serve. Students drive this bus—and they have access to their portfolio 24/7! They are the web-designer, the student and the teacher as we work through this process.

“Learning is a process where knowledge is presented to us, then shaped through understanding, discussion and reflection.”
Paulo Freire

Venissa White
After School Program Coordinator

Teaching Perseverance and Grit

During the past decade or so educators have been using a collaborative framework written in 2012 called Essential Skills and Dispositions to guide our work in helping students be successful. This set of developmental frameworks was created to facilitate discussion within communities of practice and to enhance a shared understanding of the dynamic nature of four essential skills – collaboration, communication, creativity, and self-direction in learning.

My mind is consistently drawn to the idea of finding new ways to help students understand self-direction. It is very closely tied to our current use of goal setting and personalization with students. I believe we need to focus heavily on the need for students to embrace the uncomfortable feeling of working through a difficult problem. We must encourage them to keep working without giving up or asking for help until they have exhausted all possibilities. When I was growing up we called it “stick-to-itiveness.”

Grit comes from a combination of effort, passion and commitment or perseverance toward a goal. Most of what I have read about grit is that it isn’t a fixed trait. It can be fostered by providing an optimistic environment that emphasizes a Growth Mindset. I believe grit and perseverance are two of the most important social skills we can teach our children to help them be successful, self-directed learners.

“Perseverance is failing 19 times and succeeding the 20th.”
Julie Andrews

I have read a multitude of books during the last thirty-five years of my career on the topic of what students and adults need to be successful. My favorite is Daring Greatly by Brené Brown. In her book and throughout her Ted Talks, Brené explains the connections of vulnerability, courage and perseverance. The gist of her research is that we all need to be vulnerable (willing to take risks and fail no matter what others think), have the courage to think differently and try new things, and persevere no matter what difficulty comes our way. My take-away from her research is that we need to be purposefully teaching these skills to our students every day and providing enriching opportunities for students to struggle toward success.

“We can do anything we want to do if we stick to it long enough.”
Helen Keller

A few months ago I was invited by Amy Hamblett to join the Springfield community band. I was resistant because I hadn’t played my flute in fifteen years. She talked me into going by offering to drive and promising me it would be joyful. Well I can tell you there has been a lot of vulnerability, perseverance, and grit involved! There is no hiding your mistakes when you sit inches away from your section mates in a band. Being part of the flute section also means sitting right in front of the conductor who also hears all of our mistakes very clearly. I have been practicing diligently to re-learn some very difficult fingerings and to get my endurance back. My finger muscles have been really sore and I have continually reached the point of frustration every time I have practiced. I made the choice to persevere and to play my very best by the time our concert comes around in April and so I am slowly becoming comfortable in the uncomfortable place of “struggle”. Amy was right, along the way it has become very joyful to make music with an amazingly talented group of musicians! I am also finding joy in the progress I am making through hard work and grit. As an educator it has been fascinating to be sitting in the learning seat and to be thinking about how our students feel during the learning process.

Last year, our fourth-grade teachers, Sara Metzler and Kathy Cherubini, performed an inquiry cycle to study the effects of directly teaching students to “stay in the struggle” of difficult math problems. As educators we know that this is the place where real learning takes place. Sara and Kathy gathered data around the time students spent on difficult math problems and then spent time teaching them that the feeling of struggle was a good thing. It is what makes you self-reliant and builds self-esteem. It’s hard and it’s messy, but in the end it’s where learning and growth take place. Once the students clearly understood the concept, and that everybody struggles, they began to spend more time working on the problems at hand rather than giving up or asking for help. The teachers were able to gather data to show that increased time “in the struggle” improved student performance.

A couple of weeks ago we had our school GeoBee (an annual Geographic Bee). After the event I went up to one of the younger participants who didn’t make it to the last round. I congratulated him on his courage and content knowledge and he was quick to tell me that he was excited to know he has two more years to study and two more chances to reach his goal of winning the Geo Bee. I couldn’t have been any prouder of him in that moment, knowing that he possesses perseverance and grit at such a young age!

Katherine Fogg
Chester-Andover Elementary School Principal

Annual GMUHS Battle Physics Competition

Interdisciplinary work, real-world problem solving, and authentic presentation of student work — these are among the core instructional practices for the Two Rivers Supervisory Union. All of these practices are on display in the annual GMUHS Battle Physics competition.

Every year since 2014, Allan Garvin’s High School Physics class and Becky Bushey’s Middle School Algebra students have joined forces to design and build a projectile launcher and compete for accuracy in hitting a variety of targets. This project takes several months to complete.

Students began in November, meeting in teams of 4 or 5 (one or two physics students team with 2 to 4 algebra students) to design their launchers. Students are required to come up with a minimum of three design possibilities, discuss the pros and cons of each design, and then settle on a plan.

On December 5, the teams delivered a presentation, describing their designs and explaining their choices, to a panel of “experts.” This year’s panel was Todd Parah (GM Facilities Director), Mike Ripley (GM Associate Principal), Dylan Bate (GM English Teacher) and Lauren Fierman (GM Principal). The panel gave each team written and verbal feedback on their designs and asked a series of questions (such as, “How will you be sure that you release each projectile with the same force?” and “What type and size of projectile will you use?”) to help guide the students as they prepared to build their launchers.

On December 9, the students (together with Mr. Garvin and Mrs. Bushey) traveled to Home Depot to purchase materials. Each team had a total of $50.00. They spend that money on material such as wood, PVC piping, and glue, as well as other items, to construct their devices — on tennis balls or ball bearings (to use as projectiles) — and on bungee cord, surgical tubing or bicycle tire pumps to deliver the force that sends those projectiles flying through the cafeteria to their designated targets.

Between now and early February, students will build and then test their devices. The GM competition will take place in early February. During the school competition, students strive to outscore the unbeaten team of Mr. Garvin and Mrs. Bushey. Whether or not the teachers are defeated this year, one student team will be named the top GM student team.

In March, several schools from around Vermont will join us for a multiple school competition. Plan on coming to see the tournament (dates will be available on the GM website soon). This is one of a very few opportunities available to see math in action!

Green Mountain is proud to be the host for a room full of Vermont middle and high school students as they furiously use algebra to calculate and recalculate trajectories and make necessary force adjustments in the pursuit of personal victory and school honor.

Lauren Fierman
Green Mountain Union High School Principal

TRSU Senior Management

Our Collaborative Efforts for All

At 1 PM on most Wednesdays there is a meeting of the Superintendent, Curriculum Director, Director of Student Services, Director of Educational Advancement, Business Manager and Director Technology to focus on furthering the TRSU Vision and Goals especially in supporting the principals in becoming highly effective instructional leaders. The meeting is scheduled for an hour and we structure our work using best practices for working collaboratively.

The Why

The collective towns that make up TRSU have experienced multiple transitions over the last 8 years or so. In case you have forgotten, here is a short summary.

On July 1, 2013 after the culmination of many meetings, studies and votes, Windsor Southwest SU and Rutland Windsor SU’s voluntarily merged to form Two Rivers Supervisory Union, losing Flood Brook Union School to a different Supervisory Union. The Supervisory Union Central Office was significantly downsized but the number of operating and non-operating school district boards doubled.

The ink was barely dry on all that change when Act 46 was upon us and the challenge of forming a single Unified District began to be studied. This was more difficult than hoped and during 2017 two separate Articles of Agreement eventually were approved by voters with a start date of July 1, 2018, losing Plymouth, adding Baltimore and forming two new districts that were assigned to TRSU.

Communities, board members, principals, teachers and students are still adjusting to becoming part of a larger educational community. Most still identify with their town or building, and advocate for resources specifically for their community or building first and then try to consider the larger new community.

The Senior Management Team is a group of people who see all of TRSU as a single community and look for ways to serve all staff and students equitably and without bias.

Great collaborative work begins with norms. We have agreed-to norms that are reviewed at each meeting and guide our work. This year we added some higher level norms that we are actively working on making automatic. Here are a few of the norms that help assure coherence to the outcomes we are pursuing.

Our work and subsequent recommendations are often being perceived as power plays. As we propose programs, structures or re-structuring to re-align programs and services, it comes from a motivation to better support instruction and learning across the entire TRSU community. We sincerely hope that someday, all stakeholders will value the vision and goals of the entire SU as their own. In the meantime, we will keep meeting and pursuing the goal of developing high quality instructional leadership in the whole of TRSU for the benefit for all students and their families.

Lauren Baker
Director of Technology

What Really Matters in Education

During vacation many of the conversations I had and observed with kids went like this:

“What grade are you in?” “Who is your teacher?” “Is she nice?”

I used to wonder why this was the barometer – nicety. What about competence, organization, percentage of kids passing the standardized testing? Kids couldn’t care less.

My all-time favorite teacher is a woman named Kathleen McCarthy, whom I had in fourth grade. She had a lovely round face, long shiny brown hair in a ponytail and just a hint of an Irish brogue. She was soft spoken and smelled like lotion. I have absolutely no recollection of one thing she taught me to do. I have no idea how she was regarded by her colleagues or what her class scores were, if she even had any. She was nice. That’s why I liked her.

She’s still nice. I see her now and again at a diner in Cambridge, MA, owned by a former classmate and she is exactly the same. (Now I get to call her by her first name!) She asks about my life and makes the same sort of remarks she made when I was 9. She does not ask if I mastered math enough to balance my checkbook.

The niceness is important because it is what kids remember. For some students, its what keeps them working hard and enjoying the ten months of the school year. For some, its what makes them show up at all. I hated school most of the time as an elementary student, but Miss McCarthy made it bearable. I looked forward to seeing her, hearing her read aloud using different voices and watching her do cursive on the board so perfectly every time.

I don’t have a problem with the notion of being held accountable in some way. As skilled professionals, teachers should be able to produce growth from Day 1 to Day 175. The challenge is that in trying to do just that sort of magic for the data, something may fall to the wayside if we are not careful. The notion of the classroom as a pleasant place first and foremost can get lost in all those numbers.

Learning clicks for kids at different times and that’s when it changes from ‘I have to do it’ to ‘I want to do it’. It has nothing to do with which party is in power, what testing measurement we are using, or anything like that. It is the relationship between the students and the adults who are guiding their learning. Children will learn more and do better with teachers who they like and who like them.

Not all of my teachers would have predicted my success as an adult based on my performance when I was with them. Most only saw one dimension of me, not the fully rounded person I would become. When I told Miss McCarthy that I was myself a teacher, she said she was not surprised. She knew I had it in me all along.

So, now, after nearly twenty years, I have a much more balanced approach to teaching and learning. The data is part of the conversation and so are collaboration, cooperation, compassion, communication and just plain fun.

I live in NH so, during the Presidential Primary season, I run into candidates literally all over the place. Lately, none are talking about elementary education. The first and only time I saw Barack Obama was in the gym at Stevens High in Claremont, NH in 2007. He talked about education in ways that made sense to me and also in ways that showed me he had an understanding of the challenges teachers face, but he didn’t mention teachers being nice; after all, he was a Fed, too. He talked about data. If I ever meet him again, I am going to ask him who his favorite elementary teacher was and what he remembers about her the most. I bet I know just what he’ll say.

Deb Beaupre
Cavendish Town Elementary School Principal

What is MTSS?

When you’ve been around schools long enough, you begin to pick-up on some of the unique vocabulary educators use. Sometimes this can be confusing; particularly when it’s used to describe a method schools use to help children. MTSS (Multi-Tiered System of Supports) has become an important and indispensable tool used by schools to increase student achievement and teacher effectiveness. It provides universal and targeted support depending on student need. Support focuses on the “whole child” and addresses academics, behavior, social and emotional needs as well as attendance.

Multi-Tiered Level System of Supports Graphic

The MTSS model can best be described as a pyramid divided into 3 different tiers. As you move toward the top of the triangle, the supports both increase in intensity and number so that students receive interventions sooner, and children needing special education are also identified sooner. Some of the characteristics of MTSS include universal screening for all students early in the year, a school-wide approach where teams of specialists continually assess and support student needs; family involvement with students so support can be given at home, and frequent monitoring of student progress so that data can be used to offer more support if needed.

The tiers of our MTSS pyramid function differently depending on which tier the student is on. On tier 1, all students are taught using methods which research has shown to be most effective. Children are constantly assessed to see who is responding and who needs more intensive help. On tier 2, children receive small group instruction and more support depending on need. When children require tier 3 support, they receive very intense instruction in very small groups with a narrow focus on need. An example of MTSS in action can be found in our own school, Chester-Andover Elementary School. We use a positive behavioral intervention and supports system (PBIS) where behavior expectations are taught and positively reinforced with tokens and celebrations when students exhibit being safe, on-task, accountable and respectful. Here, our focus is not on punishment, but on helping children meet our expectations.

Students having lunch with the PERCH Cafe

For example, students are rewarded for their good behavior by having lunch with the PBIS coordinator or the P.E. teacher at the PERCH Cafe on Friday.

Children receive behavioral support depending on where they fall on the pyramid; the lowest tier offers general behavioral and social emotional support, while the upper tier has very intensive support which include frequent check-in with the student, as well as full school-wide support.

As you can see, MTSS is very important and relevant to our work with children. It helps us use resources wisely, and allows us to continually assess and support children academically, emotionally, behaviorally, and socially.

Kevin Fay
Chester-Andover Elementary School Assistant Principal

TRSU – Go WILD

In June 2019 TRSU opened Go WILD, a 7 week summer program serving the students and families across the supervisory union.

This outdoor summer camp focused on uniting the communities of TRSU while working on the Essential Skills and Dispositions. These skills describe the behaviors and qualities of mind we want our students to develop across disciplines and fit perfectly into the busy and energetic environment that is summer camp.

The video below highlights the learning and relationship building that took place, as well as engaging our communities in partnerships and providing equity.

Video of Go Wild at West Hill 2019 — **Click Picture to see video**

While the snow has just begun to fall, we are busy planning our summer of 2020. The Town of Ludlow recently approved our request to use West Hill and we look forward to another successful partnership. Information about Go WILD will be sent to families in February of 2020, with online registration opening in March.

Student Led Conferences

Mount Holly School is entering our second year of student led conferences – Preschool through Sixth Grade. A few weeks ago we culminated our first trimester with an afternoon and evening of conferences. The turnout was remarkable. We still have a handful of conferences to reschedule. Students, staff and parents all worked together to produce impressive outcomes.

Student led conferences are a critical component of Proficiency Based Education and Personalized Learning. Kindergarten teacher Noelle Craver shared that “the conferences made the learning targets relevant to the students. Our learning is becoming less abstract and more real because we are beginning to continually discuss our learning.” One of Noelle’s students said, “I felt I did a good job talking about my work. I like setting goals because it’s exciting to move toward 1st grade.” Another student added, “I like the conferences because I can share my binder of work with my mom and dad.”

This is an approach that serves all learners. Teacher Cynthia Thornton said, “This way of learning lets students know in a very real way that education is for kids, by them and through them.” First Grade teacher, Emma Vastola, has developed several tools that help our youngest learners access this way of learning. Teachers must still provide well designed teacher led learning. However, balancing traditional educational approaches with more student led ways of learning adds a powerful new dynamic.

Below are examples of a visual and verbal agenda format that students use to guide their conferences as well as a tool for reflection that students have found useful.

The teams of students, staff, parents and community members in Mount Holly have been hard at work for many years advancing the power of learning. I am forever grateful for our efforts toward collective efficacy. Together we will move mountains.

Craig Hutt Vater
Mount Holly School Principal

Citizenship Today

School has always been a place where experienced adults interact with young students to guide them in their learning and choices as they grow into contributing citizens of the world. With a wealth of resources at the fingertips of every student and educator, it’s more important than ever for all to learn how to be safe and productive using these resources. Our students need us all to help them learn to be good citizens in this very connected world.

Citizenship in the Digital Age - How to be a good digital citizen

The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) has been developing materials for decades to help students, educators and parents find their way to a better understanding of the use of technology to further learning and being a productive citizen. A blog post, Infographic: Citizenship in the digital age by Diana Fingal dated December 14, 2017 is a helpful reference in helping us move our students from citizenship in its very traditional tenets to digital citizenship in today’s world.

Lauren Baker
TRSU Director of Technology

“Yes, if…” rather than “No, because…”

The world of public education has been one of shifting landscapes. Expectations for our students and our educators have changed dramatically over the last several years. It can seem as though each new school year brings a new set of standards, a new set of tests, a new set of acronyms and a new set of rules. No Child Left Behind. Common Core. District Mergers. Proficiency Based Education. All these changes! How will we manage?

One way that the educators at Green Mountain are approaching these changes is to practice looking at challenges by saying “Yes, if….” rather than “No, because…” This helps us to look at ways to solve problems, rather than avoid them. It helps us respond to new initiatives, rather than resist them.

There is no avoiding change — not for our schools and not for our students as they venture out into the larger world. A student entering Green Mountain Union High School as a seventh grader in 2019 will graduate in 2025 into a world that we might not recognize. There will be new technology, new jobs, new expectations. We are always looking for ways to help our students be ready to adapt to changes that we cannot predict.

How do we teach students to be ready for the unknown? The answer is both simple and complicated. We teach students to think (not what to think). We teach them to be comfortable with change (not afraid of it). We teach them to think, “Yes, if…” when they encounter a problem, rather than, “No, because…”

Once upon a time, the role of most middle and high schools was to provide students with facts and information about the world. Today, our students have a universe of facts and information available in the phones they carry with them everywhere (devices unimaginable not that long ago). As a result, the role of middle and high schools today is to provide students with the skills and understanding to use that wealth of information wisely. That means that, while our assessments still expect students to learn facts, we do not stop with knowing them — students must also show that they know how to use those facts. Can our educational system help them reach their goals? Yes, if we take the time to provide them with the skills they need, if we give our teachers the time and support to learn new approaches, if we all work together.

What does “Yes, if…” look like in our classrooms?

Can a student who mastered only 4 of the 5 standards in a particular class show mastery of the final standard without re-taking the entire course? Yes, if the student can show mastery with a different project to the same level of expectation (rather than No, because the student missed their chance).

Can a student whose writing skills are in need of improvement show mastery of science concepts when the assessment asks for written responses? Yes, if the teacher provides options for showing mastery that do not require writing such as oral presentations or construction of a model (rather than No, because we always do this assessment with writing – even though it is not a writing standard).

Can a student who missed two months of class for health reasons still complete the course requirements (rather than having to take the course again?) Yes, if we can arrange for materials and instruction through a flexible pathways approach (rather than No, because the student has to be in class until June).

Can an art class create a display of Halloween skeletons? Yes, if we can collect 104(!) plastic milk jugs (rather than No, because we do not have enough material).

Can we have a student open mic night at Green Mountain? Yes, if teachers and community volunteers and students work together to make it happen (rather than No, because we don’t have enough time).

Can we do everything we dream of doing? Yes, if there is enough time, enough support, enough resources. While I have no illusions that we will accomplish all the things the devoted faculty and staff of Green Mountain hope, I know that we are already accomplishing more with the attitude of Yes, if…

Lauren Fierman
Green Mountain Union High School Principal