‘Coffee with the Superintendent’ session provides parent ‘two-way dialogue’ about homework and grades, and feedback about what is ‘making a difference’ for their children
Pictured: Five students who are on the Watchung Hills Regional High School Robotics Team, from left, Arthur Bisci, Andrew Tu, Claire Barrameda, Nicholas Di Paolo and Jordan Gittleman
WARREN TWP. – About 30 parents provided feedback to Watchung Hills Regional High School Superintendent Elizabeth Jewett on the school’s plan to codify school-wide policies on grading, homework, and academic integrity, during an ideas-sharing discussion Thursday, April 2, at the school.
“Coffee with the Superintendent” is a program instituted by Jewett to meet with parents/community members several times over the course of the year as a vehicle to learn more about the school district, gather information on how groups of people think about a topic, provide insight into traditions and widely held beliefs, improve the planning and design of new programs, and most importantly create a safe environment where people can share in positive suggestions on improving the overall education at WHRHS.
This spring, Jewett said that as part of the process of creating a five-year strategic plan, the school has begun to gather information about grading, homework and other policies. The strategic planning process will use a variety of communication tools, including surveys, community forums, and smaller focus groups. The process will be facilitated by retired Princeton School District Superintendent, Judy Wilson, a consultant in Strategic Planning and Leadership Development.
One of the critical pieces of data Jewett is looking for is from former WHRHS graduates. She added that the district could gain valuable insight by asking recent graduates to answer the question: “How well did Watchung Hills prepare you to succeed in college and beyond?”
“By holding ‘Coffee with the Superintendent’ sessions,” Jewett said, “we are modeling the desired behavior that we need to be open and responsive to suggestions on how we can improve as a learning institution.”
She said, “The entire strategic planning process will aim to create long range strategies, shorter term goals, action steps to achieve the goals, and standards of measurement to ascertain if and when the goals have been achieved. The input of students, parents, faculty, and community will be critical in order to implement a plan that will be the ‘blueprint’ for future success.”
During the “Coffee with the Superintendent” discussion, Jewett asked parents to share both some problems that they feel should be addressed and resolved by the strategic planning process, as well as what achievements should be replicated, and used in other programs.
“Throughout the planning process,” Jewett said, “our overall focus has been and always will be: ‘How does this help the students?’” One hot topic arose from the coffee – an issue that is facing many communities, Grades and Homework.
With regard to grades and homework, Jewett said, an initial survey of teachers asked: “What percentage of the student’s grade does homework play?” The answer was that homework could account for between 0 and 50 percent of the total grade, depending on the class. Students from some classes had quite a bit of homework, the survey found, while students from other classes had little to none. That makes it hard to codify and communicate to students, parents and teachers what the school-wide expectation is for homework, Jewett said.
The initial data confirms that the school really should codify a school-wide expectation for how much homework should be assigned, and how much homework should factor into the overall grade for a class, Jewett said. Time was set aside during the session for parents to provide suggested homework and grading guidelines. A task force, comprised of staff, students, and teachers, has been formed to review the data and feedback and develop recommended guidelines for the board and administration to consider, which would be effective for the upcoming school year in September.
‘Making A Difference’
During a number of “Coffee with the Superintendent” sessions, several parents used this opportunity to tell Jewett of teachers and programs who had made a difference to their children. One said a Spanish teacher had made a difference, and not because he was the best teacher the student had ever had. Rather, it was just because the teacher took an interest in the student, particularly when the student felt no one was taking an interest in him or her.
Others said their children could tell which teachers were really passionate about their job and subject material. Their children pick up on that. That passion alone sets a good example, the parents said.
One father said his child had never really “gotten” math, until one teacher helped something “click” in the student’s mind. That made all the difference, he said.
Another parent said a program/activity, such as the Robotics team, is what made a difference to their child. Still another said what made the difference was a field trip to augment classroom instruction with first-hand information about a subject or topic. Sometimes it is meeting a professional working in the field in a situation where classroom knowledge is applied to do a particular job, or lead a project.
Jewett said, particularly in a school as large as Watchung Hills, there is a need to offer numerous and various extra-curricular and co-curricular opportunities to make sure every child is involved in the school community. It is the goal of every educator at Watchung Hills to ensure that each student finds his or her niche, and becomes a contributor to the rich fabric of the school culture.
Being involved in program-related activities such as the Robotics team, the music program, athletics, community service, mock trial/student government are just some of the many activities that can allow the school to seem a more comfortable size, and to provide clarity and generate passion for the lessons learned in classroom, Jewett said.
Two-Way Dialogue
Several parents praised the college essay writing forum offered last fall and suggested that it be offered even earlier in the application process, such as during the Spring of Junior Year.
Likewise, it was suggested that students even as early as freshman and sophomore years should be advised when to best take tests as part of the college application process. For instance the SAT special subject tests, what some people refer to as achievement tests, might be best taken immediately after taking the subject, even if the student takes the course early in his or her four years at Watchung Hills.
“The ‘Coffee with the Superintendent’ initiative set out with a goal of fostering healthy two-way dialogue from school to home,” Jewett said. “With the implementation of a district strategic plan, one can only surmise that the best is yet to come.”
Submitted by Denis Kelly
