Summer Reading?

I am sure by now all our students have completed reading one book from the summer reading list. But what would really make me happy is if all our students read every book on the list and then some! I honestly don’t think it is too much to ask; daily reading of all kinds of literature should be the norm. The most important skill that students can acquire is the ability to read critically and for meaning. If we (school and home) want to develop students who are truly college, career and civic ready, then daily reading MUST become a habit; it isn’t an option and schools can’t do it alone!

Fifteen years into the 21^st century has produced the first generation of children who are Digital Natives. Our students have more information at the swipe of a finger or the click of the mouse – a positive change – but only if they can navigate through all that text and use it to become more engaged in the world around them. Critical and meaningful reading matters more today than it ever has in the past.

Summer reading? It’s just not enough. Here at school we are making some changes to our expectations to create the space for more reading each day. At every grade level homework should consist of at least 20 minutes of reading selected by each student – anything they find of interest and it deserves as much attention (if not more) than other things like dance, football practice, piano and everything else our active kids are involved with! At the middle level we are challenging each student to read 10 books over the course of the school year. There are no prizes or ribbons. There won’t be an awards ceremony or trophy. The reward is simply (or greatly) being a more informed and literate citizen. Students who have a daily study hall will be asked to read if they have finished their homework. We will have classroom libraries available and are working on getting e-readers for access to national magazines and newspapers.

Parents and guardians often ask how they can help at home. Here are some suggestions:

Let your child know what you are reading. It could be something work related or for pleasure. Discuss the main idea or something interesting related to the text. The Common Core Learning Standards even suggests texts such as manuals, legal documents and financial information; those are the types of things that many of us read daily in our given professions.

Get a daily newspaper. It is sad fact that our local paper is no longer available on our doorsteps each morning – a fate that has plagued many small town papers. The New York Times is available for daily delivery and a subscription includes digital access as well. Most of the articles are well within the reading level of middle level students. And talk about high interest…just last week there was a big article on the video game industry and a synopsis of the new fall television season. The human interest articles in the Sunday edition are excellent. Is your child interested in sports? There has been a series of terrific articles around the playoff push for both the Yankees and the Mets. Have a budding scientist? The Science Times section on Tuesdays includes both long and short articles on a whole variety of topics. Pick up a copy the next time you are grocery shopping…you won’t be disappointed.

Get a library card and head down to one of our local branches. Talk to one of the librarians who are simply the best resources for what book is hot in the young adult genre. They can also make suggestions for book titles that pique your child’s interests and help you get digital access to many national newspapers and magazine through their sites.

http://maxwellmemoriallibrary.org/

http://fairmountlibrary.org/

http://solvaylibrary.org/

http://mflib.org/

Ask questions about what your child is reading. Open ended prompts like: What did that remind you of? Or What was the best part so far? can help get the discussion started.

All of us here at WGMS look forward to seeing your children back here next week and jumping into the new school year. And you can be sure we’ll be asking about their summer reading!

Continued Success,

Steve Dunham

sdunham@westgenesee.org

@Sdunhamwgms

Putting Ideas Into Action

At the end of last year we were involved in conversations about transforming the middle level experience for students. In a blog late in the school year I wrote “As we think about what our students truly need in order to be prepared for their future our focus is on skills rather than stuff. Our students need skills that transcend all content areas, all situations, and can continue to evolve and grow as they develop as young men and women. Leadership, digital literacy, communication, emotional intelligence, entrepreneurship, global citizenship, problem solving and teamwork are the essential skills that our students need for their future; whatever that future looks like.”

There is a big difference between having a vision for how things could be and actually making it happen. Listening to all of the Presidential candidates (19 at last count?) it reinforces the concept that big ideas without a plan to implement them aren’t anything more than a good sound bite on the evening news. Real change never truly occurs when the only true action taken is talk.

What is so exciting and energizing now is that the conversations of last Spring have become meaningful change at the middle level. All of the talk around transforming what we do in order to better prepare our students for their future is being backed up with action. Teachers have been working very hard over the summer writing curriculum, creating PBL and inquiry-based learning experiences for our students, and attending various professional development opportunities with a focus on utilizing the Google platform. We have added a Digital Literacy course for our 6^th grade students, created a master schedule that allows for greater collaboration and planning for teachers and we are in the midst of a three year plan to bring some High School offerings to the middle level. The transformation of the middle level experience for our students is underway!

In addition to program changes we have also transformed our Guidance services at WGMS. We are excited to have a third school counselor, Kathleen Weber, joining Crystal Best and Cindy Kurz on our Guidance team. Kathleen has been at Camillus Middle School for the past 11 years in the same role and brings a great deal of experience and enthusiasm to our building. Each of our counselors is now assigned to a specific grade level and will loop with students through their three years with us. This will not only allow our counselors to continue to develop strong relationships with all of their students over three years, it will also streamline our counselor’s ability to work with grade level teachers to better support the needs of our students. This year Cindy will be working with our 6^th grade students, Kathleen with our 7^th graders, and Crystal with our 8^th graders.

The essential question associated with anything that we do must be “what is best for kids?” Our staff deserves all of the credit for making these ideas come to life for our students! We are really excited to get the 2015-2016 school year started and even more excited that at the middle level we are truly on the path to better preparing our students for their future.

Continued Success,
Steve Dunham
sdunham@westgenesee.org
@Sdunhamwgms

Transforming The Middle Level Experience

Last night we had the opportunity to meet with the parents of our incoming 6^th grade students. Many of them have had older children come through our doors, but the majority of them were first-time parents to the middle school. Some of them are just as nervous about making the transition to the “Wonder Years” as their children are. Hopefully after last night they are a little less nervous and excited about the experiences and opportunities that await their children as we prepare them for their future.

A focus of our presentation was on everything that is right about education today and where we are going. When you block out the negativity surrounding Teacher and Principal Evaluation and State Assessments and focus on what matters most – the daily instruction and learning experiences of our children – you realize that this is the most exciting time in education probably in the last 50+ years. There is a transformation that has been underway and continues to build momentum in classrooms and schools throughout our district, State and country. The transformation originates from teachers and leaders willing to make decisions and present a vision for what schools can be that strays from what ‘school’ has been for the last 100 years. There isn’t a master plan coming from someone in Albany or Washington. As it has throughout history, meaningful change comes from groups of passionate, dedicated individuals who roll up their sleeves in the trenches day after day and get it done. The transformation of middle level education at West Genesee is underway and you could see the excitement on the faces of our 6^th grade parents last night as we walked them through our vision.

 The transformation really starts with us looking at WHAT we teach and HOW we teach in 6^th grade. We have created some flexibility within the schedule to allow teachers to work more collaboratively in instructional planning, helping us break out of our content silos and allowing teachers to move and group students based on what they need, when they need it, rather than trying to meet needs within the constraints and limitations of the traditional schedule. Authentic literacy and opportunities to read and write will be a larger part of each school day; there is nothing more important than building in time to read and write throughout the day. Our teachers have already started receiving professional development around Project Based Learning and are designing meaningful and engaging learning experiences for students that will challenge and engage them in ways that they have not experienced. In addition, we are changing some of our courses at the middle level and offering electives to meet the needs of our students today.

As we think about what our students truly need in order to be prepared for their future our focus is on skills rather than stuff. Our students need skills that transcend all content areas, all situations, and can continue to evolve and grow as they develop as young men and women. Leadership, digital literacy, communication, emotional intelligence, entrepreneurship, global citizenship, problem solving and teamwork are the essential skills that our students need for their future; whatever that future looks like.

The most dangerous phrase in the world is “we have always done it that way.”  We are fortunate at West Genesee to be surrounded by passionate, creative individuals who are willing to think differently about how we do things, to try new things and to make decisions based on what is right for kids.  

As the world continues to change at an ever increasing rate, we need the courage to think about doing things differently. Here we go.

Continued Success,

Steve Dunham

sdunham@westgenesee.org

@Sdunhamwgms