Last night was a busy night in education. I started at Simpson with the parent meeting and ended the evening at the Board of Education meeting.
Blaine Armstrong, Simpson Middle School Principal is making a great effort to inform and get parents more involved. Unfortunately, our attendance on the parent side was pretty light. There were about 10 parents and the faces were very familiar.
These meetings are great opportunities to get a little more information, much more detail, and have specific input into your child’s educational experience.
Simpson Parent Meeting Agenda
Here are a few things we discussed:
1. Reviewed the opening of school, which went pretty smooth
2. Reviewed the school surveys from orientation, which resulted in some new workshop opportunities for parents. These excellent opportunities to understand what is going on in your child’s classroom and how to help them:
- Connected Math
- Life Skills
- Formative Assessment
- Response to Intervention Math
- Response to Intervention ELA
3. Review of the Parent Compact
4. Upcoming parent conferences
- Students A-M: October 15, 3-5 p.m./6-8 p.m.
- Students N-Z: October 22, 3-5 p.m./6-8 p.m.
Formative Assessment
The top parent questions continue to be: What is formative assessment? How it is supposed to work? How is it working? How do I help my child succeed in this learning environment?
Mr. Armstrong made it clear that teachers are still learning to properly apply this technique to their classrooms. There is a learning curve, but teacher professional development time is being aggressively applied to getting this program right.
Mr. Armstrong also cited research that indicates that formative assessment has a greater impact on improving student performance than reduced class size–another continual parent hot button.
Opportunities to Help in the School
Mr. Armstrong is encouraging parents to help in the school as much as they are willing and able. Currently, there is a need for assistance in the Media Center. Can you volunteer?
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