It’s hardly believable that this year is already finished, but it must be! The hallways are quiet, and there isn’t anyone for me to say “Good Morning!” to! I wanted to first, thank everyone for making this year a good one! Your dedication to our students, staff, and school is greatly appreciated. Parents and students make our dream possible!
I’d also like to thank those of you who submitted a parent survey at the end of the year. Your insights and perceptions help reaffirm what we’re doing well, and also give us an idea of where we can improve! As a school, we’re always looking to improve, and I appreciate your willingness to share your thoughts; to parents and 6-12 students, who were also surveyed, I thank you!
I’ll be sharing our survey results later this summer, as I still want to give one last opportunity for anyone who didn’t get a chance to fill one out. We will be putting our survey online, to give others a chance to respond. Right now, about 25% of our parents have completed a survey; that’s a great start, but we’d like to hear from many more of you! Please be aware that the results come back to me anonymously; I cannot see names or emails of those who submit.
Based on feedback from last year, there are a couple of points that I’d like to share:
First, you mentioned, and we recognized, that there needs to be social-emotional support for all students, but especially those in middle school. Our Creed has always served for the basis of our character education, but we need to dig deeper in order to help students speak up for themselves, learn to resolve conflicts, and to really feel safe. I am happy to report that we are teaming with Camp Daggett to bring the Full Value Agreement to Concord! The Full Value Agreement will strengthen what we already have, and will not replace it. The Creed has been our foundation, and will continue to be. There are three points to this process, which are Speak Up, Be Safe, and Work as a Team. All staff will undergo training in August in order to effectively bring this to our students and parents. Camp Daggett staff will also be involved in teaching our students about what this looks like, and there will also be Board training, as well as parent opportunities for learning. This is a District-Wide, all hands on deck process, and we look forward to having this as part of our culture at CAB!
What are some benefits of having the Full Value Agreement here?
A common language for all students and staff
Improved and better communication between all students and staff
Increased self-confidence in students of all ages
Reduction of bullying incidents
Additional connections to community
A restorative aspect to discipline, and an understanding that our actions affect the community, and not just us
So, parents, stay tuned! We will be bringing information about this process to you during Fall Conferences, but you’ll likely see many aspects of it before then!
Another point you raised in last year’s surveys was the absence of Dance, which I agree, has left a bit of a hole in our school programming. The only reason Dance was discontinued was due to the changes made at the state level concerning needing a certified educator to teach it, since we include it during our school day. But, I finally have some good news in this area too! Recently, the state relaxed its guidelines in this area, so that now, we will be able to bring this back, if we can find a teacher! I am hoping that I’ll be able to report good news back to you shortly!
The last point I’d like to mention is that for years, comments about the parking lot have flooded the survey pages, and we’ve been raising money for the last two years to improve it. This summer, our Phase I goes into effect! Phase I will look like this: the main driveway will be widened (almost doubled) to allow for better passage in both directions, and our student parking lot, where the busses drop off, will be almost doubled as well. When this is complete, we will be creating a new flowchart to show you how this will ease drop off and pick up, and to have everyone on the same page by September! We are very excited about these changes, and hope to hear that you are as well!
Thank you again for your dedication to our school, and for all of your feedback! You are greatly appreciated!
Have a great summer everyone!
Rebekah Leist
Administrator
Concord Academy Boyne
231.582.0194