Undefeated For Now

There is nothing like the start of the school year in a middle school. Middle school students bring with them an eagerness and excitable energy that is hard to explain, but easy to feel as you walk down the halls, spend a few minutes in the cafeteria or listen to the buzz of conversations in a classroom. A building that was relatively dormant over the summer (with the exception of some major renovations both inside and out), suddenly bursts back to life with nearly 700 adolescents. It should be on your bucket list if you’ve never experienced it!

There are several parallels between the start of the school year and the start of the NFL season. Maybe it’s the timing, maybe it’s the incredible energy, but the thing that I always think about at the start of both is that everyone is undefeated. At the start of the season, every football fan has optimism that this is the year that their team goes all the way to the Superbowl. No wins, no losses – anything is possible! Even if you’re a Browns fan. The same holds true for the school year. The first day of school brings with it the optimism that this is going to be a great year. We are undefeated as well; the schedule works, transportation is seamless, everything is perfect.

Somewhere along the way, and maybe its game 1 for the Browns or Day 2 for us, something isn’t going to go as planned. We are going to have to deal with some adversity. Little bumps in the road are bound to happen even with the greatest scheduling and planning. It isn’t a question of IF something is going to happen, it’s a question of WHEN and then most importantly, HOW are you going to respond. Are you going to be a Tigger or an Eeyore? Will you focus on the positive and find the silver lining even in a negative situation, or will you wallow in misery and find the worst in things. There is much in life that is out of our control, but we all have the power to choose our attitude. Be a Tigger! 

As important as choosing your attitude is the need to embrace a mindset that fosters success. Each summer all middle school staff at West Genesee reads the same book, usually on a topic related to instruction. This summer we broke from our traditional focus and everyone read Mindset by Carol Dweck, Ph.D. Dr. Dweck’s research focuses on motivation and the characteristics of a fixed versus growth mindset. Her conclusions on the inherent benefits of developing a growth mindset in our young people are compelling for both families and schools alike. The book is full of real-life examples about how these mindsets develop in early childhood and what adults can do to build more resilient children. Working with nearly 700 young adolescent student-athletes, students-musicians, and their parents on a daily basis, I can assure you that we need to build more resiliency in our kids.

Dweck’s work aligns closely with our belief that it is about the learning process, not the grade on a report card or a name on an “honor-roll” list that is most important. Are students being challenged? Are they growing? Are they willing to try new things? How do they respond to setbacks? Those are the questions we should be asking and the conversations that we should be having. It is more valuable to build curious students who have a passion for knowledge and are not afraid to make mistakes, than it is to develop students solely focused on grades and content with remaining in their comfort zones. We need to cultivate students who are willing to take risks and find setbacks motivating, not crushing and debilitating.

I encourage you to read this book and share it with your child. I’ll continue to discuss Dweck’s work both through the lens of an educator and as a parent of four. Helping our young people develop and foster a growth mindset might be the most important gift we can share with them.

We are incredibly excited about this school year and we look forward to working with all of our students and their families.

Continued Success,

Steve Dunham

sdunham@westgenesee.org

Twitter: @Sdunhamwgms

Climate of Possibility

Last year I posted a blog about transforming MS. (Transforming the Middle Level Experience) We were and continue to be focused on breaking away from the traditional factory model of education with each content area in a separate silo. The idea of Math only occurring 4^th period and reading & writing only rearing its’ head during 8^th period English in a student’s schedule is an antiquated philosophy. In the real world the lines between disciplines are blurred and everything is interconnected. Knowing that we are preparing today’s students for an economy and future that looks nothing like it does today, we have to provide students with a different school experience than what most of us had.

With great foresight and vision the district has made an investment for teachers to receive Project Based Learning training; we have implemented a plan to re-invent the middle school schedule by re-working some existing courses and we also started a three-year rollout to bring some High School courses to the middle level. With that foundation and a staff with incredible creativity and willingness to grow, we are creating a climate of possibility: a building culture in which creativity and trying new things is celebrated and encouraged, with a belief that even in failure our students and staff learn and grow in the process.  The results have been outstanding. We have started to see some significant shifts in instructional practices and growth in student achievement just in the last year and a half.

Every civilization needs a gov't...

6th grade students have been involved with several Project Based Learning experiences this year which had students engaged in ways that we haven’t seen before. Most kids are not going to remember the names of the pharaohs from the Old Kingdom in Egypt or explain the rock cycle in detail, but the experience of working as a team to research and develop a civilization to stand the test of time or research and work to solve real-world energy issues will stay with them and endure. 

...and an economy

Students need opportunities to be creative & to think big!

Hands-on engineering

For the second year in a row, we had a group of 6^th grade students involved with an underwater robotics competition called SeaPerch. The SeaPerch Program provides students with the opportunity to learn about robotics, engineering, science, and mathematics (STEM) while building an underwater ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle) as part of a science and engineering technology curriculum. Throughout the project, students learn engineering concepts, problem solving, teamwork, and technical applications. The looks on their faces say it all; excitement, engagement, enthusiasm, and wonder. This is an experience that we need to continue to provide and hopefully bring to scale with our entire middle school population.

Underwater ROV

Throughout the building the walls that separated our different content areas for years are starting to crumble. Teachers are working and planning together around the most essential skills and concepts in order to provide students higher-level, real-world experiences. We are starting to let go of some of the long held practices that many of us experienced as students; looking up answers in a book, regurgitating facts stored in short term memory and filling in packets - those are not skills that our students need to thrive in their future.

The world continues to move on. Our economy continues to evolve. Technological progress and global integration continue to increase the rate of change of everything around us. The transformation of our schools needs to mirror that level of change or at the very least make an effort to stay relevant. The obstacles of the schedules, contracts, the school calendar, certifications, budgets, the mindset ‘but we’ve always done it that way’ and the over-involved hands of State and Federal government are considerable, but not insurmountable. Our kids deserve a climate of possibility.

As a district and a building we need to maintain our focus and investment, both financially and philosophically to give our students what they need for their future. Complaining about obstacles is useless and a waste of time. Finding creative solutions is leadership.

Please remember to get out and vote today and support your school budget wherever you live. For those of you living in the West Genesee district, thank you for your continued support of our students and staff as we strive to create a climate of possibility.

Continued Success,

Steve Dunham

Email: sdunham@westgenesee.org

Twitter: @Sdunhamwgms

Buckle Up!

Spring brings with it a renewal of life and energy. Hopefully the week off for students and staff gave everyone a chance to recharge for the home stretch. Now that we are back and open for business spring modified sports are well underway, final concerts dot the calendar and many other year end events are scheduled for May and June. The next seven weeks are going to fly by. Buckle up!

At WGMS this spring brings with it a great deal of physical change as part of our Capital Project. Over break new bleachers were installed in the gym, on the East end of the building a concrete pad and preparation for a generator to be hooked up was finalized, and we are preparing for significant work this summer featuring new lockers throughout the building and brand new locker rooms. The front circle may currently look like a scene from The Lorax as some trees were taken down in preparation for what will be a smaller circle with room for all of our buses. The new layout will help with the congestion of morning traffic and make it much safer for our students, parents and staff. Part of the new layout will feature high efficiency lighting, new sidewalks and curbs. In time we look forward to adding more trees to highlight our green spaces. Hopefully we can have our technology classes or Tech Club design and create some outdoor seating for learning spaces and for students and staff to eat lunch outside. 

With all of that on the horizon and terrific weather right around the corner (we hope!) we continue to encourage students to get outside and move. In addition to physical education class and our efforts to get students outside the last part of lunch each day, everyone should be moving for at least an additional hour each day. For those that live close enough, consider walking or riding your bike to and from school. Now that it is so much lighter earlier in the morning, walking or riding a bike really is a great option for anyone. We have a bike rack behind the school and if that fills up just bring your bike into the main office and we'll find a safe spot for it. We know that getting the body moving to start the day gives us boosted productivity and increased metabolism. And we could all use some more of that.

I look forward to seeing you at one of our many events over the next few months. As always, if you have any questions or concerns please let me know.

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