# data[].attributes.headline
tc.columbia.edu - Advisory Programs in High School Restructuring

# data[].attributes.subject
tc.columbia.edu - Advisory Programs in High School Restructuring

# data[].attributes.headline
Edweek.org - How Schools Can Make Advisories Meaningful for Students & Teachers

# data[].attributes.subject
Edweek.org - How Schools Can Make Advisories Meaningful for Students & Teachers

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Middle and high schools often favor setting aside a block in students' schedules for something a little less structured-and a lot less academic-than a traditional class period.

The reoccuring blocks-often called advisories-are adopted as a way to strengthen relationships and help students weather the challenges that may keep them from succeeding academically, including a lack of routines, social isolation, and out-of-school issues that can bleed into the school day.

But problems in the way advisories are designed and carried out can keep them from being a meaningful part of a student's school experience, educators and researchers say.

If a school wedges an advisory into its master schedule as "just another thing to do" or a panacea for its school climate problems, students aren't likely to experience the level of vulnerability necessary to have meaningful conversations or shared experiences there, said Rachel Poliner, a Massachusetts consultant who helps schools design advisory programs.

And teachers themselves need direction and training to support their students in those efforts, a task that can also make adults feel vulnerable at times, she said. Otherwise advisories are likely to look like academic class periods without the academics-desks in rows, teachers leading discussions and activities, and students lacking interest.

"As adults we have a lot of routines and rituals in our lives that keep us organized, healthy, connected to family and friends, and eating the right things, and kids don't have those yet," Poliner said. "So if advisory could be a place where you actually figure out the routines and rituals that would make their lives better, and involve students in crafting them, and then practice them a lot, wouldn't that be more authentic?"

Getting It Right

Done well, advisories are designed around the needs of students, giving them the freedom to shape their experiences and the space to express their fears, hopes, and needs, she said, and that kind of model takes planning and resources. To get advisories right, schools need to offer ongoing professional development and support to teachers who may be uncomfortable with the format, and they need to integrate them into larger school strategies, Poliner said. And they need to be thoughtful about what they're hoping to accomplish by adopting advisories-allowing that purpose to drive decisions about issues like the duration and frequency of advisory periods and how long cohorts of students remain grouped together.

The staff at Wayland Middle School in Wayland, Mass., went through such a planning process in designing its current version of advisories. Administrators lengthened the scheduled time from 25 to 40 minutes, put two adults in every classroom, and integrated advisory groups into academic and social-emotional learning themes that drive projects and activities. The groups emphasize BERT, which stands for Belonging, Empathy, Respect, and Trust.

The center of the strategy, called TAG groups, lets students drive decisions-from how to handle difficult discussions about current events to what kind of rituals they create together to build shared experiences that can form the foundations of friendships.

"Our aim is always to let kids take the lead," said Principal Betsy Gavron, who co-leads a TAG group of 6th-grade students. Administrators and other staff members help lead TAG groups with classroom teachers, sharing responsibility for the program.

Those little rituals-like playing a certain song on a classmate's birthday-help students feel more comfortable when more serious issues come into play, Gavron said. TAG groups have discussed broad social issues like justice, and they've dropped everything to give students a chance to process their emotions the day after a mass school shooting made headlines.

Each grade level at Wayland has a "house mentor," which is a historic figure to center their studies, and students also go on a related field trip with their TAG groups. For example, 6th graders study Henry David Thoreau and take a 10-mile bike ride to nearby Walden Pond, 7th graders study conservationist Rachel Carson and do field experiments together at Cape Cod, and 8th-grade groups take a trip to Washington, D.C., as part of their studies of Martin Luther King, Jr. and justice issues.

Sixth grader Lila Berg said her group's bike trip helped ease her feelings about her transition to middle school. "You know someone really well because they are in your TAG group," she said.

Wayland has about 640 students, which can be intimidating for young students. "We think about it as another way to make a large school feel smaller," Gavron said.

Addressing Multiple Concerns

Advisories are not uncommon and they aren't new. Private prep schools have used them for decades to provide intensive support and academic guidance to their students. And nonacademic student meetings were popular with the growth of the middle school model. But some of the purposes of the student meetings have changed over time.

Advocates for "whole-child education" pitch advisories as solutions to a range of school concerns-from safety and suicide prevention to bullying and academic support.

And more districts have adopted comprehensive social-emotional learning plans, designed to boost student skills in areas like solving problems and building relationships. While those strategies are often more intuitively integrated into elementary school classes, secondary schools often add advisories as a way to "do SEL."

Curriculum companies have taken notice of the trend, offering packaged advisory programs that include discussion prompts and workbooks. But Poliner says schools shouldn't lean too heavily on off-the-shelf solutions without giving teachers flexibility to customize their own approaches and students the freedom to take ownership of their experiences.

That's because the less-structured class periods are often set up as a systemic solution to the individual, sensitive experiences adolescents face, and those students can seem almost allergic to approaches that seem impersonal.

Researchers say students' learning can be stifled if they feel like they don't belong at school or if environments don't seem designed for them. And data support the idea that many students feel isolated or disengaged at school.

A 2017 Gallup Education poll on education described 24 percent of respondents as "actively disengaged in school." Twenty-nine percent of the national pool of 733,471 students in grades 5 to 12 were described as "not engaged," while the remaining 47 percent were considered engaged.

The poll derived its engagement scores by combining student responses to a range of questions about the importance of their schoolwork, whether they feel safe at school, if they "have a best friend at school," and whether they believe "the adults at my school care about me."

But teachers can feel daunted, or even cynical, about schools' efforts to address those issues, and that's especially true if they have fatigue from years of programs that are quickly adopted and discarded before they have a chance to prove their value.

And some teachers feel ill-equipped to talk to students about their emotions or how to build personal skills like self control and setting goals. That's especially true of some secondary teachers, who may have been drawn to the field because of an interest in a given academic subject, like math, principals say.

In some districts, there has been pushback from parents who would prefer lessons on issues like respect and tolerance take place at home. And some have said schools should focus more energy on academic issues instead.

Poliner said schools need to make the case for advisories and other social-emotional learning programs with teachers and invite them into designing how they work. And they need to make it clear that the teacher's role is to facilitate conversations, not to take the place of school counselors, psychologists, and social workers.

Audra Connolly, a 6th grade teacher in Nampa, Idaho, said leading her students in open discussions comes more naturally for her because she recently worked in an elementary school, where "circle time" and daily questions were the norm. She still uses those questions to help start conversations with her advisory students in middle school. And sometimes the conversations turn to harder topics, too. After a gunman attacked a Pittsburgh synagogue in October, she gave students time and freedom to grapple with their understanding of the incident.

"Every kid needs adults and people to build relationships with them," she said. "I'm not just a math teacher. I'm here to help these kids be successful."

In Wayland, having two adults in each advisory allows one to take the lead when the other feels less comfortable handling a conversation or leading an activity, Gavron said. The majority-white district is part of a voluntary school desegregation program that brings in black students from neighboring areas. Before advisory leaders led conversations about issues like bias, they spent a year and a half preparing through professional development, reading, and staff conversations.

But the advisories at Wayland aren't just intense conversations. Sometimes the groups award stickers to peers who showed character strengths and play wacky games that seem perfectly in place in a middle school.

Teachers have a variety of online resources, including a menu of tested group activities they can choose from and space to discuss what's working, and what's not, with their peers who also lead advisories.

"We take care of one another," Gavron said. "The adults can only be good for the kids if the adults are in good shape."

Published in Print: March 13, 2019, as Schools Explore Ways to Forge Student Bonds

Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.
Back to Top

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How Schools Can Make Advisories Meaningful for Students and Teachers

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Middle and high schools often favor setting aside a block in students' schedules for something a little less structured-and a lot less academic-than a traditional class period. The reoccuring blocks-often called advisories-are adopted as a way to strengthen relationships and help students weather the challenges that may keep them from succeeding academically, including a lack of routines, social isolation, and out-of-school issues that can bleed into the school day.

# data[].attributes.headline
Greatergood.berkely.edu - Five Tips for Teaching Advisory Classes at Your School

# data[].attributes.subject
Greatergood.berkely.edu - Five Tips for Teaching Advisory Classes at Your School

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Research shows that when students have a meaningful relationship with an adult at school, they are more likely to succeed academically-but traditional academic learning in high school often leaves little time to make these connections.

In the 1990s, schools started to take a greater interest in building more meaningful relationships between teachers and students-and one approach was the creation of what are known as "advisories," advocated for in part by the Coalition of Essential Schools.

In practice, advisory works in a myriad of ways at different schools. At some, it meets once a week for 30 minutes; at others, it is the heart of the school culture and meets nearly every day. Many traditional public schools still do not have advisory, but independent schools, charter schools, and more outside-the-traditional-box public schools do.

Advisory is one of the few places in high school where there is room to deliver high-quality social and emotional learning without "adding another thing" to already-packed high school schedules. Since advisory already has dedicated time at many schools, it is just a matter of using that time well.

Learning to take full advantage of advisory could increase students' sense of belonging at school and improve their relationships with peers and adults. By teaching non-traditional academic skills or social-emotional skills, it could also better prepare students for life outside of school-whether that be college or a job. At its best, advisory can help students discover a sense of purpose and craft more meaningful lives.

Advisory is also one of the spaces with the most room for innovation in high school; unlike Algebra 1 or AP U.S. History, it does not have a set curriculum that must be covered over the school year. But few tools or well-designed set curricula are available to advisory teachers-which is why I started Project Wayfinder with Kelly Schmutte at the Stanford d.school's K12 lab network.

Below are several tips for implementing advisory that we have learned while studying advisory programs and designing the Project Wayfinder Navigation Toolkit, to help you create a valuable and fulfilling experience for students.

1. Use advisory to intentionally foster a school culture

Advisory can be very similar to homeroom, in which case it may have little meaning for students. Or it can be the place that school culture is set by intentionally using the time to build the school culture you want. I have found that advisory is most powerful when it is a cornerstone of school culture.

This is just what Hillsdale High School in San Mateo does. In the 1990s, according to former teacher Jeff Gilbert, Hillsdale was "filled with apathy." In 2000, the school underwent a massive re-design, and advisory became core to offering personalized learning and re-building the culture of the school.

"A powerful advisory is not a radical idea, but it is astonishing how few schools are able to make it happen," says Gilbert. At Hillsdale, ninth graders are divided between three small schools, and students have the same adviser for two years, which helps them establish a meaningful relationship with an adult and with a core group of students from mixed racial and socio-economic backgrounds. Teachers, students, and administrators are on the same page: Advisory is to be taken seriously.

Today, "it is a completely different culture from the '90s and advisory is at the center of it," says Gilbert, now the principal. A decade after implementing its advisory program, Hillsdale scored in the 99th percentile on a school climate report card. And there are other, less quantifiable benefits Gilbert has observed, like more student relationships across racial and socioeconomic lines and greater communication and community amongst staff.

2. Give advisers strong support from the school

© Wikipedia / zedla

Teachers are already overburdened and have too much to do. For them to be good advisers, they need the time to prep for advisory-and that means limiting their other duties.

For example, at Hillsdale, one-fifth of advisers' academic time is set aside for advisory. This allows teachers to prep for advisory and signals that the school administration takes advisory seriously.

Going one step further, some schools have had success advising their advisers-hiring someone whose sole responsibility is to design and implement the advisory program. And this includes providing mentoring and advising to the advisory teachers themselves. At University High School (UHS) in San Francisco, each of their mentors has a mentor to check in with-which allows each person to experience the value of an advising/mentoring relationship firsthand and feel supported in their work with students.

"One of our core principles is that mentors should receive as much support as they are expected to give," says Alex Lockett, the Dean of UHS and visionary behind UHS's mentoring program. "Investing in the well-being and professional needs of our mentors has been transformational for the student and faculty experience, leading to a calmer and healthier school climate."

3. Create a safe and vulnerable environment

For advisory to work well, students have to feel different there than they do in other classrooms. The relationship with the adviser has to be different, they have to be willing to be more open, and they need to be engaged despite the lack of grades or black-and-white criteria for success.

When I was an advisory teacher, the strength of my connection with students was the biggest indicator of my success. To be a good adviser, you have to make efforts to connect with students in ways that are not traditionally encouraged in academic classrooms; you have to be willing to be real and vulnerable with students, like when I shared my own stories of being hazed and bullied on sports teams through adolescence. Otherwise, it will feel like just another classroom.

And you have to create an advisory culture where students feel safe talking about hard things and sharing personal feelings. Without this sense of safety in the class and classroom, advisory may not reach its potential. It is definitely worth taking the time at the beginning of the year to share your own journey in life and why you wanted to teach high school students. I found that once I shared my own "why" and some of my own chapters in life, students related to me differently and were more authentic with each other.

Finally, take the time to set your advisory class culture and develop a mutual understanding of how group sharing is going to work-and make sure that students feel like they are co-creating the culture, not having it imposed on them. You might start each advisory session with a check-in, use a fun prompt to get things started, or show support for someone who is struggling. It is critical to establish overall protocols and daily feelings of safety before diving in.

4. Differentiate advisory curricula from normal schoolwork

At Project Wayfinder, we have designed our Wayfinder Toolkit to look and feel very different from normal handouts that students get. From the paper that we print our material on, to the podcasts we are making and the videos we show, we want our activities and stories to feel unique. This signals to students that the experience is different and valuable, not just a time to mess around.

When we brought our materials to a school in Japan, the 45 students were silent while they looked at the activity. One of my guest co-instructors, who has led dozens of youth workshops, said he had never seen so many students so silent and engaged while looking over an activity.

The look, design, and sequencing of the advisory curricula matters a great deal. I was skeptical about this when I first launched the project, but I have watched over and over how students take things seriously when you put a lot of thought and intention into their design.

5. Have a plan, but be flexible and adaptable

Although it's helpful to have a structure for your advisory sessions, rigid curricula can be detrimental to the outcomes you want in advisory; it's best to have a track but also be flexible and responsive. Often the best advisory sessions deal with what is coming up emotionally for students in the moment-like the loss of a student's loved one, or recent national news.

If you stick to a set curriculum, you can miss the juiciest potential, so leave lots of room for detours and additions. For Project Wayfinder, we have designed a "Journey Track"-a sequenced track for teachers to follow, with space for a number of activities to use at a given moment depending on the situation. We have the activities tagged by certain learning outcomes and moods of the class, so that a teacher can find a good activity on the fly if the day's planned lesson does not feel quite right.

6. Ask the big questions

Adolescence is fundamentally about the process of identity formation and individuation. It is the time in life to start asking the question: What do I want to do with my one wild and precious life?

Unfortunately, high school leaves little time to answer these core human questions. Even some social-emotional learning and mindfulness curricula (which I taught for years at different high schools) fail to address them. Instead, they focus on skills and tool development, like managing emotions and attention. They do not focus on students' "why"-their purpose-and their "what"-what they are going to do in order to fulfill it.

What use is attention and emotional regulation if students have not addressed the deeper, more fundamental questions: What is most important to me? How do I want to live my life? And how will I lead a purpose-driven, meaningful life?

My hope is that Project Wayfinder will help students and educators dive down deeper than a normal advisory, social-emotional learning, or mindfulness program. Ultimately, students need to discover their "why" and then start to experiment with their "what." Advisory is the best place already baked into the school schedule to start asking what I call the "big questions." And introducing students to these questions in high school is some of the best education and guidance we can provide them.

Greater Good wants to know: Do you think this article will influence your opinions or behavior?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Five Tips for Teaching Advisory Classes at Your School

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Research shows that when students have a meaningful relationship with an adult at school, they are more likely to succeed academically-but traditional academic learning in high school often leaves little time to make these connections.

# data[].attributes.headline
Responsiveclassroom.org - Purposes of Advisories

# data[].attributes.subject
Responsiveclassroom.org - Purposes of Advisories

# data[].attributes.headline
Partnershipvt.org - What is High School Advisories?

# data[].attributes.subject
Partnershipvt.org - What is High School Advisories?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
High School Advisory Series Part 1: What is it and why will it help students be more successful in school?
This is the first in a four-part series about high school advisory programs. Some parents, teachers and community members have heard bits and pieces about advisory programs and asked to learn more. This four-part series aims to answer questions about the following: 1) what advisory is, 2) the status of advisory programs in Vermont, 3) how advisory impacts academics, personalization of learning and connectedness to learning, 4) the roadblocks to successful advisory programs, 5) the future of advisory and personalization with Act 77 and 6) a look at the model of advisory and intervention at Vergennes High School. Throughout the series recommendations will be made based on empirical research and human needs theory.

So, what is high school advisory?
Advisory models are known by many names: Advisory, Teacher Advisory (TA) Teacher Advisory Group (TAG), Morning Meeting, Call Back, Flex Time, Academic Success Block and Learning Teams. There are as many definitions for advisory as there are variations for length of advisory periods and frequency of advisory periods during the week. Essentially advisory gives each student a "point person" and the opportunity to get to know 10-14 students very well over a 4-year period.

Do many schools in Vermont have advisory?
Yes. High School Advisory programs in Vermont have been in existence for decades, such as at U-32 in Montpelier and Champlain Valley Union High School. A large number however, have been implemented during the past ten years. In fact, in a 2013 study of all Vermont high schools, it was discovered that 53 of the 62 schools have some form of an advisory program (although they are called a wide array of names). Nine schools do not have any form of advisory program, but several of those schools indicated that they would be implementing one soon.

How often do advisory programs meet each week?
The configuration of the 53 advisory programs is as varied as the schools themselves. There is no one model for how often advisories meet since the configuration is based on a school's specific goals for advisory. The programs in Vermont range from every day for 50 minutes to meeting once every other week for two hours. Thirty schools have some form of advisory contact every day. In several of the five-day a week programs, three days a week are shorter meetings (10-15 minutes) and two days are generally longer (30-45 minutes). Nine schools meet twice a week and five schools hold their advisory programs three or four days a week. Five schools meet only once a week and finally there are three programs that identify as an advisory program but only meet every other week or sporadically throughout the month.

The time slots allotted are equally as varied as noted in figure the figure below. A block of 50 minutes is the greatest daily amount of time allotted to advisory, and the least is six minutes, (although the administrator of that school wrote that they were going to increase the time next year and take on a stronger advising role). Twenty-four schools have between a 10 and 20-minute advisory period and 22 have between 30 and 50-minute advisory periods. Three schools have under 10 minute advisory periods, but two of those three schools have plans to add more time next year. Other schools have varying schedules.
What is the purpose of a high school advisory program?
The purpose of each school's advisory program is at the heart of its success, but it is as varied as the schools themselves. Most advisory programs aim to 1) give each student a point person who becomes a contact person for that student's family and teachers, 2) improve school climate by enhancing both student-to-student connectedness and student-to-teacher connectedness, and 3) provide a more personalized and supported educational experience.
How do you develop a vision statement for advisory?
A critical step in implementing a comprehensive advisory program is to develop a vision statement and articulate the objectives of the program, prior to implementation. Establishing a multi-stakeholder group to include teachers, students, parents administrators, and special educators to develop a vision statement and define objectives will lend itself to a lasting organizational change. Creating a general statement that meets the needs of your school system is the first step. For example:

Advisory will provide every student with 1) a small interactive group that meets regularly for the purpose of forging positive school climate and 2) adult advocate and point person who helps them to be academically and personally successful.

Listed below are recommendations for goals and objectives for a comprehensive advisory program:

*All students in the learning community have an advisor who knows them well, is aware of their academic goals and standing, and coaches them academically.

*All students in the learning community have an advisor who is an integral advisor for the personalized learning portfolio process.

*All students in the learning community have an advisor who is a consistent communication link between school, faculty and home throughout their high school years.

*All students in the learning community will have an advisor that can help them to make healthy choices throughout their high school years.

*All students in the learning community will have an advocate who knows them well and supports them at school meetings and conferences.

*All students in the learning community have a structure that allows them to participate in class related activities such as class meetings for elections, fundraising planning, scheduled and informal college and career informational meetings, community service, and planning for school events/school spirit.

*All students in the learning community have a safe environment as a home base where they connect to their advisor and their co-advisees.

*All students in the learning community have time to organize, seek extra help, and confer with advisors and other students about academic issues.

*All students in the learning community have a structure for the dissemination of administrative tasks.

In the Part two of this series about high school advisory, I will examine how research and human needs theory support the implementation of a comprehensive high school advisory program. I will also discuss how advisory programs impact student academics, the personalization of their learning and the connection between ACT 77 and high school advisory.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
High School Advisory Series Part 1: What is it and why will it help students be more successful in school? This is the first in a four-part series about high school advisory programs. Some parents, teachers and community members have heard bits and pieces about advisory programs and asked to learn more.

# data[].attributes.headline
ASCD.org - Winning Strategies for Classroom Management - Ch. 2: Bonding & Connecting

# data[].attributes.subject
ASCD.org - Winning Strategies for Classroom Management - Ch. 2: Bonding & Connecting

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
by Carol Cummings

If you would win a man to your cause, first convince him that you are his sincere friend.

-Abraham Lincoln

Despite your plan to teach good work habits and prosocial behaviors, your students may not buy into it. Indeed, educators have competition for student attention and habits that didn't exist just a few decades ago. Behaviors modeled by sports and television heroes have desensitized students to violence and antisocial behaviors. I recently attended a professional ice hockey game where a team of 6-8-year-olds played and entertained the spectators at intermission. When several of the youngsters began to fight (similar to what they'd observed the professional players do earlier), the spectators stood and cheered. Try to picture these same students walking into their elementary classroom the next morning and their teachers teaching a lesson on anger management. Why should students value self-control when their heroes on the field-as well as on prime time television-initiate violent acts? How can we compete with the media, video games, and sports figures? Faced with this competition, one almost gets a sense of hopelessness. Can we make a difference?

Yes. The best support for this assertion comes from the American Medical Association and what is perhaps the largest study ever done with adolescents (12,118 adolescents in grades 7-12). Doctors, who are in a reactive stance when they treat the negative health outcomes of adolescence (teenage suicide, homicide, violence, substance abuse, and pregnancy), conducted this study to find out what the protective factors are in homes and schools (Resnick et al., 1997). In essence, this study looked for what can be done to protect adolescents from unhealthy behaviors. The two strongest protective factors were strong emotional attachments to parents and to teachers. Positive relationships with teachers were more important than class size, amount of teacher training, classroom rules, and school policy. When students feel connected to their teachers, fairly treated, and a part of the school, they are less likely to use drugs, drink alcohol, smoke, or have early sex.

Ways to Connect with Students

If I can stop one heart from breaking, I shall not live in vain; if I can ease one life the aching, or cool one pain, or help one fainting robin unto his nest again, I shall not live in vain.

-Emily Dickinson

Time is the coin of your life. Only you can determine how it will be spent.

-Carl Sandburg

Everyone has an invisible sign hanging from his neck saying, Make Me Feel Important Never forget this message when working with people.

-Mary Kay Ash

Treat people as if they were what they ought to be and you help them to become what they are capable of being.

-Johann W. Von Goethe

Students need heroes they can look up to-someone to connect with-and that someone can be a teacher. Middle schools tried to encourage connection between staff and students by adding a period for advisory programs. Advisory programs were to help ensure that every child had the opportunity to form a relationship with an educator in the school. While the concept of fostering bonding with an educator during the tumultuous middle school years is sound, the advisory period seems to have "fallen far short of expectations" (Galassi, Gulledge, & Cox, 1997). Another approach aimed at gaining connections in secondary schools is block scheduling, allowing teachers and students to spend more time together (e.g., a 90-minute period), which was to provide more time for bonding and connecting. Yet, simply providing time is not the answer-it's what you do with the time that fosters bonding and creates a caring community.

Taking time to connect with our students, to win them over, is the first step in classroom management. The big question is how to win them over. Deiro (1996, p. 193) studied how teachers form healthy connections with junior high students and identified these strategies:

Creating one-to-one time with students

Using appropriate self-disclosure

Having high expectations with a belief in students' abilities

Networking with family and friends

Building a sense of community in the classroom

Using rituals and traditions

One-to-One Connections. Connecting begins even before school starts in the fall. Many teachers send a postcard to incoming students that welcomes them back to school and into their classroom. A school in Seattle has a picnic in August for parents and students to celebrate the beginning of a new year.

On that first day, greet students as they come through the door with a handshake and words of encouragement. Perhaps put a letter from you on their desks (see Figure 2.1) and attach another sheet of paper, already addressed to you for a response. Not only have you made a connection with each student, but the response is also the year's first writing sample.

Figure 2.1. Sample Letter from Teacher to Students

Place an introductory letter on your students desks to help break the ice and set up a task for the first writing sample of the year.

Dear Students,

I am looking forward to beginning a great year with you. Let me tell you a little about myself. Then I would like to have you write to me so I can get to know you better.

Besides a wonderful husband, who is a veterinarian, I have two children and lots of pets. It's nice to have a veterinarian in my home to help care for my tow dogs, two cats, and parrot. Do you have any pets at home? Tell me a little about your family, too.

On the weekends I love to walk the beach. Sometimes, on a cold, wintry day, I just curl up with a book to read as I listen to the sound of the waves, My favorite books are mysteries. Do you have any favorites? How do you like to spend your weekends?

To help me plan an even more exciting year for you, tell me what you'd like to learn more about. Are there any particular field trips you'd like to take? What kinds of books would you like to read for novel study?

That's all for now. I am looking forward to reading your letter.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Longs

The first thing to know about a student is his name. At the secondary level, faced with so many students, you can take a picture of each class that first week of school. Enlarge it and use an overhead marker to write each student's name on the photo. Review the faces and names before each class arrives and test yourself by standing at the door to greet as many students as possible by name.

Cultivate your classroom into a community of learners by making sure students know one another by name, too. One primary teacher asks each student to draw a self-portrait with a name tag, then she tacks them to a bulletin board train called "The 1st Grade Express." She practices reading the names with the class each day and challenges her students to try reading the names by themselves. Use alliteration with older students by having them select an adjective describing themselves, such as Curly Carol or Suave Simon.

To help students get to know each other, collect information about each student and have a mystery person each day. Students guess who the mystery person is as you read three or four clues about the student (e.g., size of family, favorite television program, birthplace, hobby).

Another way to get to know your students is to use a multiple intelligences survey. Begin by using the multiple intelligences identified by Howard Gardner (interpersonal, intrapersonal, musical, linguistic, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, naturalist, logical-mathematical) and then identify several characteristics of each intelligence. Students can use your characteristics to identify their strengths. An example, adapted from Gardner's work, is shown in Figure 2.2. Think about how much more engaging and motivating you can make the classroom for your students if you have information about them that helps you to nurture their strengths and recognize their weaknesses. Students know you truly care about them as a learner when you use knowledge about them to assist their learning, for example by telling them they can work alone or with a partner, or by allowing them to use headphones to block out extraneous noises while concentrating.

Figure 2.2. Who am I?

Use a multiple intelligences survey to gather information about your students. The information can help you plan lessons to excite and motivate the students.

Direct students to read the statement in the Traits column and to place a (checkmark) in the column that best describes their assessment and response to the statement.

Traits

Agree

Somewhat Agree

Disagree

Using Self-Disclosure. Your questions and responses make the class feel that you value their feedback and that you are willing to admit your mistakes and make changes. If you use meaningful dialogue, you may want to write back to some students or comment on the feedback to the whole class. What is important about this process is that the students feel connected to you, the teacher. Deiro (1996, p. 197) defines self-disclosure appropriate for a teacher-student relationship as "the act of sharing and exposing the teachers' own feelings, attitudes, and experiences with students in ways that are helpful to the students." Getting feedback from students and using it to improve your own teaching creates a climate of trust.

Networking to Build a Community. As mentioned earlier, an adolescent's sense of connectedness to parents and school are the two most important protective factors against a variety of risk behaviors. When a teacher extends the bonding experiences to include parents and family, this partnership undoubtedly strengthens the connections. This is not, however, an easy task. Steinberg (1996, p. 187) found that "one in three parents in America is seriously disengaged from his or her adolescent's life, and, especially, from the adolescent's education." Worse yet, he found only one in five parents consistently attending school programs. It may be valid, then, for teachers to complain that parents aren't involved enough in their child's education. Clever teachers, however, find ways to invite parent participation: invitations to participate, letters home to both parents and students, student-led conferences, monthly assignment calendars, and weekly newsletters are a few examples. Brenda Stingily is a 6th grade teacher in Edmonds, Washington. During the first week of school she begins the connections process by sending home the letter found in Figure 2.3.

Figure 2.3. Parent Participation

Your child's classroom experience will be as successful and productive as the energy and commitment that goes into it. You may volunteer time in the classroom, help out occasionally on field trips, plan class parties, or come in and introduce special skills or talents to us. We need each of you!

Name _____________________________ Child's name _________________

Daytime phone ____________________ Evening phone ________________

___ Classroom helper
(School day is 9:10 to 3:30-however, before or after school works fine, too.)

___ Classroom assistant
(tutoring, correcting papers, editing stories, doing research, working on math facts, reading with students, running copies)
Please circle the day or days you can spend in our classroom:
M T W Th F
Hours most convenient for you _________________________

___ Money collector (field trips, fundraisers)

___ Field-trip chaperone or driver (WA State Patrol verification required)
morning afternoon all day

Volunteer opportunities outside school hours

___ correcting papers

___ typing

___ book order chair

___ photocopying, laminating

___ bulletin boards

___ assembling books and portfolios

___ organizing parent volunteers (phone calls, messages)

___ planning for outdoor school (class camping experience)

___ planning for 6th grade graduation celebration

___ class parties (decorations, games, refreshments)

Establishing Traditions. Students find comfort and security in traditions and routines. Use routines to establish traditions in your classroom-traditions that can help you connect with students and their families.

Journals. If students write in their journal daily, try assigning the Friday journal entry as a letter home to a family member. Students can summarize their week at school, what they've learned and accomplished, and goals they set. Students take their journals home for the weekend; the family member receiving the letter writes a response on the back of the page, and the journal is brought back to school on Monday. For busy parents, who spend 10 to 12 hours less each week at home than parents did in 1960, this provides a structured, quality connection with their child.

Newsletters. Many teachers send home weekly newsletters. It's a bonus if the students write the newsletters, with a small column for the teacher. If you don't have a classroom computer, an efficient way to accomplish this weekly task is to have a template for the newsletter. Each week the columnists write their news on a piece of paper that fits their space in the template, glue it on the master, and it's ready to duplicate.

Student-led conferences. A higher percentage of parents attend student-led conferences than teacher-led conferences. When students lead the conferences, it also serves to boost student motivation. Students spend a considerable amount of time preparing and selecting portfolio highlights, identifying what they do well, and developing their improvement goals. They may choose to role play the conference with a peer or with the teacher. Figure 2.4 is a simple self-reflection page, which could also serve as a table of contents for the portfolio.

Homework. Homework does not have to be a solitary activity. Many schools have a homework tradition: Read every night! Students ay choose to read to a family member, or the family member may read to them. Figure 2.5 (p. 24-25) is an example of a letter parents might receive to better prepare them for this awesome task of reading with their child.

Figure 2.4. Self-Reflection Table

As your students prepare for student-led conferences, a simple self-reflection table can help them organize their thoughts and serve as the table of contents for a portfolio.

Figure 2.5. Reading Letter to Parents

Use a letter to parents to get them involved in homework and schoolwork. The letter, below, guides parents in how they can help to build their child's reading skills. It shows parents that they are important participants in the education of their child while giving them explicit strategies to use in helping the child.

Dear Parents,

Thank you for taking the time to read with your child. Here are some hints for helping your child improve reading skills:

Set aside 20 to 30 minutes a day for reading. Your child can read to you when you get home or read to you while you cook dinner. The more time your child spends reading or being read to is directly related to improvement. You may set a kitchen timer to keep track of the time. Try to make your appointment to read the same time every day to establish a tradition.

Celebrate the number of minutes spent reading at the end of the week. For example, set up a chart to record the number of minutes read each day. Each time you reach 100 minutes, do something special together to celebrate.

Read WITH your child:

Take turns reading. You read one paragraph, your child reads the next.

If the book is difficult, use echo reading. You read 2 lines, your child reads them back to you (your echo). This way you provide a model of how the words are read.

Give your child a chopstick or a marker (any kind of pointer) to follow along in the book as you read.

Have your young reader find a favorite page in the book and rehearse it until it can be read perfectly. Then let your child perform that page for you. Brag about how well your child read that page to other relatives and friends. Ask your child read that page to them.

Ask your child to read to a younger sibling. Self-concept for reading improves when a child helps others learn to read.

Children love break-in reading. You start reading and they can break in and begin to read any time you come to the end of a sentence. You can break in next. Another form of this game is called hot potato: You begin reading and stop at any sentence and say, "Hot Potato!" Your child begins reading and stops at any sentence and says, "Hot Potato, Mom!"

Read more difficult books to your child. Your child's brain is a "work in progress." Reading aloud helps your child build vocabulary, reading comprehension, listening skills, speaking skills, and writing skills.

Good luck! The ability to read fluently is the most important gift you can give your child.

Early primary students who are establishing study habits, including the habit of doing homework, might take home a monthly reading calendar to be placed on the refrigerator door with a magnet (see Figure 2.6, p. 27). The student crosses off each short activity as he completes it and takes the calendar back to school at the end of each month. The teacher reinforces the three-way connection when she reviews the homework assignment and the student goes home to remind a family member of what they're doing together.

Figure 2.6. Reading Calendar

Use a reading calendar for young students to help them establish homework habits. Make a monthly calendar that displays daily assignments. Ask students to mark off each assignment and return the calendar at the end of each month.

For the teachers who create opportunities for parent involvement yet find limited response, one study may offer comfort. Factors outside the teachers' control may be influencing the parents' decision to participate (Hoover-Dempsey & Sandler, 1997). Some parents may not believe it is their role to become involved in school matters. In addition, parents' sense of efficacy (seeing themselves as capable of making a positive difference) influences their involvement decisions. So don't be too hard on yourself if you don't get 100 percent involvement.

Beginning Meaningful Dialogue

Children are like flowers. If you do not tend them carefully, they will grow wild.

-Source unknown

The way to a man's heart is through his opinion.

-Ben Franklin

Use the information you've gathered about your students to begin a conversation, a meaningful exchange of ideas. It's much easier to have a meaningful dialogue with students when you know something about them. Glenn and Nelsen (1989, p. 159) warn us about the risk of reducing teacher-student interactions to a multiple-choice exam: Did you? Can you? Do you? Will you? Won't you? Are you? Aren't you? Why can't you ever? How come you never? How many times do I have to tell you? When initiating a conversation with a student, ask yourself

Am I asking or telling?

Would I want someone to say this to me?

Am I trying to see the student's point of view?

Connecting to students through meaningful dialogue requires time. When will you find the time? You can greet them at the beginning of class and ask, What's been the best part of your day so far? What was the best part of your weekend? Or, at the beginning of class, let students work indepedently on a written warm-up activity (e.g., a short, practice activity on the board). You determine how many students you'll have to engage each day so that you've systematically talked to everyone by Friday (e.g., 6 students per day in a class of 30). You may decide to adopt the practice of carrying a grade book to note each contact. Questions you ask might be unrelated to school, perhaps about a student's puppy.

Another option is to try using a ticket at the door. A ticket is the student's response to a question that asks for their point of view. How do you do this? Post a question on the chalkboard and ask the students to answer it. Their "ticket" is their written response to you as they leave the classroom. This is a good way to get feedback relative to how connected students feel. Questions might be

How can I help you be more successful in class?

What do you like best and least about our class?

What could I do to make the class more interesting for you?

You can offer students generic sentence starters for writing their tickets:

Another option is to ask students to submit tickets in a closed box by the door, thereby assuring anonymity and encouraging honesty.

Sometimes connecting with students requires a little background work, which might include a survey. Blythe and Bradbury (1993) designed an attitude survey for middle school students to measure their perceptions of connectedness to their classroom. The survey included statements related to self-esteem and respect for self and others, as well as short answer questions to prompt students to reveal aspects of the classroom environment that work or don't work for them.

Individual student conferences, including conferences that spring from writers' workshops, provide a perfect opportunity for a meaningful dialogue. You can begin these conferences by asking students the following questions:

When students request assistance during class, you can start a meaningful dialogue by giving these prompts:

How to Communicate During Strife

If you are patient in one moment of anger, you will escape a hundred days of sorrow.

-Chinese Proverb

When a student starts a power struggle, consider the adverse effect of using a lecture or sarcasm in response. The student has "hooked" you and can escalate the situation. The hostility experienced can create resentment and rebellion, destroying that connection you've worked so hard to establish. A better response is to isolate the student from the rest of the class (the "audience") and begin meaningful dialogue. Curwin and Mendler (1999) recommend starters such as

I can tell you're feeling upset about this. Tell me what's going through your mind right now.

Help me to understand what happened. I need to understand your side of the story.

Thank you for trusting me enough to tell me how you feel. When did you start feeling this way?

I can see that you are very angry about this. Help me to understand what caused the problem.

Let's problem solve together. What do you think we should do about this?

Is there anything I could do to help you?

I'd like to hear what you think happened. I wasn't there to see it.

Compare the options given by Curwin and Mendler above, and the student's likely responses to these teacher demands:

Noticing Each Student

How can a person feel liked, unless somebody likes him? How can a person feel wanted, unless somebody wants him? How can a person feel accepted, unless somebody accepts him?

-Arthur W. Combs, former ASCD president

How can a person feel he's a person with dignity and integrity unless someone treats him so? And how can a person feel that he's capable, unless he has some success?

-Arthur W. Combs, former ASCD president

With most students, bonding and connecting comes naturally. It's a mutual relationship. With some, however, it seems they do everything in their power not to connect-or simply don't have the skills to connect. These are the ones who need it the most.

The common thread woven throughout all of the school shootings in the last few years is the profile of the student offender: an outsider, an outcast. We can make a difference if we pledge that no student will go unnoticed or unconnected with his teachers. A high school teacher in Idaho (Mizer, 1964) wrote about this commitment when she was asked to speak at the funeral for a student she could only remember as sitting in the last seat of her literature class:

I've never forgotten Cliff Evans nor that resolve. He has been my challenge year after year, class after class. I look up and down the rows carefully each September at the unfamiliar faces. I look for veiled eyes or bodies scrounged into a seat in an alien world. "Look, kids," I say silently, "I may not do anything else for you this year, but not one of you is going to come out of here a nobody. I'll work or fight to the bitter end doing battle with society and the school board, but I won't have one of you coming out of here thinking himself a zero."

* * *

I don't believe any teacher consciously wants to disconnect from students. Yet, there are everyday events in classrooms that leave students thinking they are zeros. Getting to know each student and taking the time to have a meaningful dialogue with each builds a strong teacher-student connection. Using a warm-up and a ticket out the door routinely establishes a tradition students look forward to. Helping students get to know one another builds classroom community. Networking with parents and families cements the connection. Taking the time to "win them over" establishes bonds that stretch beyond the school year. To paraphrase Henry Adams (1838-1928, U.S. historian): A teacher affects eternity. You can never tell where your influence stops.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
by Carol Cummings If you would win a man to your cause, first convince him that you are his sincere friend. -Abraham Lincoln Despite your plan to teach good work habits and prosocial behaviors, your students may not buy into it. Indeed, educators have competition for student attention and habits that didn't exist just a few decades ago.

# data[].attributes.headline
ASCD.org - A Case for School Connectedness

# data[].attributes.subject
ASCD.org - A Case for School Connectedness

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
April 2005 | Volume 62 | Number 7
The Adolescent Learner Pages 16-20

Robert W. Blum

School bonding, school climate, teacher support, student engagement: Researchers have used these terms over the years to address the concept of school connectedness. School connectedness refers to an academic environment in which students believe that adults in the school care about their learning and about them as individuals.

Klem and Connell (2004) provide a frightening statistic in this regard, noting that

By high school, as many as 40 to 60 percent of all students-urban, suburban, and rural-are chronically disengaged from school. (p. 262)

Is it possible that half of our high school students may not believe that adults in school care about their learning and about them as individuals? More to the point, what can educators do to reconnect these large numbers of chronically disconnected students?

Although connecting students to school is important at all grade levels, it's especially crucial during the adolescent years. In the last decade, educators and school health professionals have increasingly pointed to school connectedness as an important factor in reducing the likelihood that adolescents will engage in health-compromising behaviors. A connected school environment also increases the likelihood of academic success.

A great deal of research looks at school connectedness. But because this research spans so many fields-medicine, education, psychology, and sociology-and because it tackles so many related concepts, such as student engagement and school climate, the concept of school connectedness does not offer a clearly defined empirical base. In this era of accountability and standards, school connectedness can seem like a soft approach to school improvement. It can, however, have a substantial impact on the measures of student achievement for which schools are currently being held accountable.

In response to the weight of evidence that supports school connectedness, my colleagues and I convened an invitational conference at the Wingspread Conference Center in Racine, Wisconsin. Our goal was to bring together key researchers as well as representatives from the government, education, and health sectors to identify the current state of research-based knowledge related to school connectedness. Using this information, we synthesized a set of core principles about school connectedness to guide schools across the United States. We titled this synthesis the Wingspread Declaration on School Connections (see p. 20).

Distilling the Research

When one looks at the research literature across the different fields of inquiry, three school characteristics stand out as helping young people feel connected to school while simultaneously encouraging student achievement: (1) high academic standards coupled with strong teacher support; (2) an environment in which adult and student relationships are positive and respectful; and (3) a physically and emotionally safe school environment. Students who feel connected to school (independent of how these students are faring academically) are less likely to use substances, exhibit emotional distress, demonstrate violent or deviant behavior, experience suicidal thoughts or attempt suicide, and become pregnant (Lonczak, Abbott, Hawkins, Kosterman, & Catalano, 2002; Samdal, Nutbeam, Wold, & Kannas, 1998). In addition, when young people feel connected to school, they are less likely to skip school or be involved in fighting, bullying, and vandalism (Schapps, 2003; Wilson & Elliott, 2003). These students are more likely to succeed academically and graduate (Connell, Halpern-Felsher, Clifford, Crichlow, & Usinger, 1995; Wentzel, 1998).

What are the factors that influence school connectedness? Students who experience school connectedness like school, feel that they belong, believe teachers care about them and their learning, believe that education matters, have friends at school, believe that discipline is fair, and have opportunities to participate in extracurricular activities.

Major threats to school connectedness include social isolation, lack of safety in school, and poor classroom management. Social isolation, which is especially risky for adolescents, can result from students being ignored, bullied, or teased (Bishop et al., 2004) and tends to flourish in environments predominated by social cliques. Unsafe or chaotic schools and schools with poorly managed classrooms simply cannot provide a stable environment for respectful and meaningful student learning.

How Schools Can Help

How can schools encourage school connectedness? It does not come about purely as the result of rules, regulations, and zero-tolerance policies, which can actually mold harsh school environments. Connections spring instead from individual action on the part of both teachers and administrators as well as from more elusive factors, such as school environment.

Teachers are obviously central to the equation. Although school connectedness might suggest smaller class sizes, the classroom's culture seems to matter more than its size does. Effective teachers can create connectedness in the classroom in a number of ways. When teachers make learning meaningful and relevant to their students' lives, students develop a stake in their own education. When teachers create a clear classroom structure with consistent expectations for behavior and performance, they provide a healthy setting in which students can exercise autonomy and practice decision-making skills. Teachers build connectedness in the classroom when they encourage team learning exercises. Cooperative learning tends to break down social isolation by integrating student teams across gender, academic ability, and ethnicity. Rewarding a variety of student achievements and recognizing student progress-not only top performance-are also important components.

But teachers cannot create school connectedness on their own. Without a supportive administration, teachers will not be able to effectively support their students. For example, when a school allows a young person to fail-when it doesn't do everything in its power to retain that student-students get the message, "In this school, there are winners and there are losers." This assumption sets up a dysfunctional dichotomy: Those less likely to do well academically will strive to create an anti-academic climate because they know they can't win at the game. The perceived winners-those who are academically proficient-are seen as "nerds," as "dorks," and, ironically enough, as "losers." But when a principal calls home, when he or she follows up every time a student misses school, students get a different message entirely: "In this school, all students are expected to succeed."

A study panel from the National Research Council and the Institute of Medicine (2004) identified a series of factors associated with school engagement. Educators can substantially increase school connectedness in their students when they

Avoid separating students onto vocational and college tracks.

Set high academic standards for all students and provide all students with the same core curriculum.

Limit the size of the school to create small learning environments.

Form multidisciplinary education teams in which groups of teachers work with students.

Ensure that every student has an advisor.

Provide mentorship programs.

Ensure that course content is relevant to the lives of students.

Provide service learning and community service projects.

Provide experiential, hands-on learning opportunities.

Use a wide variety of instructional methods and technologies.

Extend the class period, school day, and/or school year.

Provide opportunities for students who are falling behind to catch up.

The Wingspread Declaration on School Connections

A generation of exciting research has reviewed strategies that have proven effective in creating engaging school climates in which young people feel connected. The Wingspread Declaration on School Connections is based on a detailed review of this research as well as on in-depth discussions among leaders in the health and education fields. The declaration's insights can form the foundation for school environments in which all students, regardless of their academic capacity, are engaged and feel part of the education endeavor.

We are responsible for our schools. We need to use what research and experience have taught us to create schools where students feel connected. We want high schoolers who are convinced that the adults with whom they interact care about them as individuals and care about their learning. These schools must establish high standards, challenge all students to reach their potential, and provide the support students need to succeed.

High academic expectations and rigor coupled with support for learning.

Positive adult/student relationships.

Physical and emotional safety.

Academic performance.

Incidents of fighting, bullying, or vandalism.

Absenteeism.

School completion rates.

Motivation.

Classroom engagement.

Improved school attendance.

Disruptive behavior.

School violence.

Substance and tobacco use.

Emotional distress.

Early age of first sex.

Implementing high standards and expectations and providing academic support to all students.

Applying fair and consistent disciplinary policies that are collectively agreed upon and fairly enforced.

Creating trusting relationships among students, teachers, staff, administrators, and families.

Hiring and supporting capable teachers skilled in content, teaching techniques, and classroom management to meet each learner's needs.

Fostering high parent/family expectations for school performance and school completion.

Ensuring that every student feels close to at least one supportive adult at school.

Programs and approaches that create positive and purposeful peer support and peer norms.

Strategies that work to promote connection to school among disenfranchised groups.

Analysis of the costs and effectiveness of different programs for fostering school connectedness.

Evaluation of new and existing curricular approaches, staff and administrator training, and various institutional structures.

Effects of school connectedness in students on teacher morale, effectiveness, and turnover.

References

Bishop, J. H., Bishop, M., Bishop, M., Gelbwasser, L., Green, S., Peterson, E., et al. (2004). Journal of School Health, 74(7), 235-251.

Connell, J. P., Halpern-Felsher, B., Clifford, E., Crichlow, W., & Usinger, P. (1995). Hanging in there: Behavioral, psychological, and contextual factors affecting whether African-American adolescents stay in school. Journal of Adolescent Research, 10(1), 41-63.

Klem, A. M., & Connell, J. P. (2004). Relationships matter: Linking teacher support to student engagement and achievement. Journal of School Health, 74(7), 262-273.

Lonczak, H. S., Abbott, R. D., Hawkins, J. D., Kosterman, R., & Catalano, R. (2002). The effects of the Seattle Social Development Project: Behavior, pregnancy, birth, and sexually transmitted disease outcomes by age 21. Archives of Pediatric Adolescent Health, 156, 438-447.

National Research Council and Institute of Medicine. (2004). Engaging schools: Fostering high school students' motivation to learn. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. Available: www.nap.edu/books/0309084350/html/

Samdal, O., Nutbeam, D., Wold, B., & Kannas, L. (1998). Achieving health and educational goals through schools. Health Education Research, 13(3), 383-397.

Schapps, E. (2003, April). The role of supportive school environments in promoting academic success. Sacramento, CA: California Department of Education Press.

Wentzel, K. R. (1998). Social relationships and motivation in middle school. Journal of Educational Psychology, 90(2), 202-209.

Wilson, D., & Elliott, D. (2003, June). The interface of school climate and school connectedness: An exploratory review and study. Paper presented at the Wingspread Conference on School Connectedness: Strengthening Health and Educational Outcomes for Teens, Racine, Wisconsin.

Endnote

This work was supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Division of Adolescent and School Health (DASH). The proceedings from the invitational conference and the Wingspread Declaration on School Connections are available at www.allaboutkids.umn.edu/WingfortheWeb/schooldeclaration.pdf. ASCD was a conference participant.

Robert W. Blum is Professor and William H. Gates Sr. Chair, Department of Population and Family Health Sciences, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland.

KEYWORDS

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
April 2005 | Volume 62 | Number 7 The Adolescent Learner Pages 16-20 Robert W. Blum School bonding, school climate, teacher support, student engagement: Researchers have used these terms over the years to address the concept of school connectedness.

# data[].attributes.headline
ASCD.org - Advisory Can Make a Difference

# data[].attributes.subject
ASCD.org - Advisory Can Make a Difference

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
ASCD Express 7.22 - Advisory Can Make a Difference

# data[].attributes.headline
Amle.org - Creating a Culture of Connectedness through Middle School Advisory Programs

# data[].attributes.subject
Amle.org - Creating a Culture of Connectedness through Middle School Advisory Programs

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
In the middle of an ordinary day in an ordinary Los Angeles school, four middle school students shared fascinating insights in response to the question, "Does advisory help you feel connected to school?"

Without advisory school would be more distant. It would not be as cheerful. We would not be as connected to everybody.

-seventh grade girl

Everyone in the school shares that bond that everyone has an advisor. So, from 6th sixth grade to 12th grade, everyone shares that connection with one teacher, and I think that everyone throughout the day has opened up to someone. It gets you into the state of mind that school is not only about work, but that it is a place where teachers really know you and understand you. So, I think, as a school, having advisory connects everyone.

-eighth grade boy

I totally agree with that. It is, like, at least you go to school and know that at least there is one person who you are comfortable to talk to. Normally, for me there is more than one teacher, but, um, at least there is always one so you are not nervous about going to school.

-eighth grade girl

I think in 6th grade, around that period we can all, um, agree that is when you have violence problems or drug problems or even academic problems or personal problems. You get more independent. It is, like, you go to school, and you do not care that much about academic work, but, um, with your advisors and the things that the advisories provide do make you feel more close. ... It is, um, a place where you can get stuff off your chest. And once you do, you rethink what you are doing and think, like, um, is this right? So that helps with your school work.

-seventh grade boy

These four middle school students recognize the connection between having meaningful relationships with an adult and a group of peers and thriving academically. An advisory program facilitates these kinds of relationships and provides the structure that creates "connectedness" in a middle school. Connectedness is a characteristic of school cultures in which students have meaningful relationships with adults within the school, are engaged in the school, and feel a sense of belonging to the school. School connectedness is linked to higher grades, higher test scores, and lower dropout rates, regardless of students' socioeconomic status (Blum & Libbey, 2004; Jackson & Davis, 2000; Klem & Connell, 2004; Mac Iver & Epstein, 1991; McNeely & Falci, 2004; National Association of Secondary School Principals, 2006). Moreover, schools intentionally organized to promote personalization and the development of communities of learners better prepare adolescents for later success as adults (Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development, 1989). It is particularly urgent for middle school educators to improve school connectedness, because the roots of alienation take hold during early adolescence.

Advisory

Middle school reformers have widely promoted advisory programs as a way to strengthen connectedness at the middle level. Broadly defined, advisory programs are configurations in which an adult advisor meets regularly during the school day with a group of students to provide academic and social-emotional mentorship and support, to create personalization within the school, and to facilitate a small peer community of learners (Cushman, 1990; Galassi et al., 2004; Galassi et al., 1997; Juvonen et al., 2004; National Association of Secondary School Principals, 2006; Stevenson, 1998).

While advisory programs have been promoted in the literature, and middle grades practitioners have intuitively recognize their value, up to this point there has been limited empirical evidence to support advisory programs. Additionally, there has been no accepted basis for identifying best practices in advisory programs (Galassi et al., 2004; Galassi et al., 1997). Thus, when schools have developed advisory programs and trained faculty and staff to serve as advisors, they have relied upon intuition and anecdotal evidence rather than empirical data. This article addresses the need for reliable information about successful advisory programs.

This article defines the qualities of advisory programs and advisors that foster connectedness based on research at three diverse middle schools with successful advisory programs that can serve as models for other schools. We gave every advisor and student in each school a questionnaire designed to establish which advisories fostered high levels of student connectedness. The questionnaire helped us determine which students felt most connected, which advisories reported high levels of connectedness, and which advisors perceived the same levels of connectedness as their advisees. We selected the three advisories at each site with the highest levels of connectedness, and we interviewed the advisors, observed their advisories, and conducted focus groups with their student advisees. We discovered seven salient characteristics about advisors and advisory programs that fostered connectedness at all three sites (see
Figure 1). These characteristics are discussed in detail through the remainder of this article.

Characteristics of effective advisors and advisory programs
Strong advisory programs address issues of community
Advisories with high levels of connectedness actively worked on creating a healthy community by addressing the way students related to one another. Advisors consciously helped students in their advisories work out issues among themselves, and they talked openly about the importance of treating each other with respect. An advisor remarked:

I like to stress that we are a family. So, we do not laugh at each other and nobody makes comments. They still do it, but we always come back to 'we are a family.' I am trying to break them of snickering and stuff like that.

Another advisor noted her frequent conversations with her advisory about friendship and ostracism. A third advisor mentioned a specific instance of conflict resolution when she pulled students aside and told them, "This is like our little family away from home, and you can't just leave it and [what happened between you] didn't feel right." At one school, a conversation protocol in the advisory helped students give one another positive feedback and asked them to "address issues that are caused by the behavior of someone in advisory." Another advisor talked about a student in her advisory who was always getting lost and having a hard time emotionally, so she asked her advisees to be the "big brother or sister" to her in other classes.

Figure 1 Advisor/Advisory characteristics that foster connectedness

Strong advisory programs address issues of community.

Strong advisories promote open communication.

Strong advisors know and care about their advisees.

Strong advisors closely supervise their advisees' academic progress.

Strong advisors are problem solvers and advice givers.

Students and advisors perceive that advisory directly improves academic performance.

Students and advisors perceive that advisory functions as a community of learners.

The theme of "community" was also evident in the student data. Students from all three schools referred to the trust games they used to help build a sense of community, and students in all of the focus groups shared two recurring comments: (1) advisory is a family; and (2) advisory helps student bond together. Students said they developed new friendships through their advisory programs. One student explained, "You become great friends with people you normally would not hang out with, which I think is great because you expand the way you know people." During the observations, students were not self-segregated ethnically, and students refrained from teasing and put-downs.

Both students and advisors reported that advisories addressed the issues that arise between grade levels within the school. At one middle school, advisors addressed problems the sixth graders were having with older students. At another middle school, advisors assigned seventh graders to an eighth grade buddy. A student described this buddy system as a way "to get to know someone new and help them with their problems, like your advisor did for you. It is kind of like a pay it forward thing." Students noted that one of the benefits to having a multiage advisory is that you form bonds with older and younger students. One advisor talked about how advisory created a nurturing culture at school, and another mentioned that she saw evidence of the brotherly and sisterly relationships between students continuing even after they moved on from her advisory.

Strong advisories promote open communication

Advisory programs foster meaningful peer relationships.

Advisors at all three schools discussed their efforts to help students know each other and communicate openly by creating activities that helped them "bond" and "talk to each other." For example, advisors at each school talked about structuring activities in which students could get to know each other. Each described a different version of an activity in which one student was in the spotlight while other students asked questions to get to know him or her better. Advisors also talked about arranging trust walks and team-building games. At one school, Monday mornings started with a circle where students shared anything that was on their minds. One of the advisors articulated the connection between these activities and communication in the following way.

When I start out, I tell them, "We are going to get to know each other really well. We need to be able to trust each other." So, I do a couple of exercises at the beginning. I set up an obstacle course, and I blindfold them. I say, "Okay, some of you are going to be the leaders of this group. The rest of you are going to have to listen and trust the person that is verbalizing to you. That is the only way you are going to get through this, carefully." ... It is the level of trust and then you start building from that to issues at home or school. Where it is all involved, we can all discuss things, and it stays here. And that is what you want to [do]. You want them to get to know each other and build up friendship.

Students described communication as characterized by trust and intimacy. In the focus groups, students repeatedly talked about feeling "really close with" and "trusting" their advisors and peers as a rationale for sharing personal and academic pieces of themselves. One student used the word intense to describe the communication in advisory, and another mused that "people are really vulnerable, and we all share our feelings." One student even talked about "feel[ing] a connection" with his advisor. In more than half of the advisories observed, students shared emotions publicly. For instance, in one advisory there was a whole conversation about crying after an advisor offered his own feelings about a sensitive topic the group was discussing. When a student probed, "Are you crying?" the advisees all looked at the advisor intently, without giggling or other nervous responses that might be typical of middle school students in such a situation. Students said they regularly initiated conversations with their advisors for academic and personal reasons- a student's parents fighting, a disagreement with a friend, a problem with a teacher, or academic difficulties.

Students routinely made comments such as, "Like, when you need help, you just ask him and he will always help you" or "I tell my advisor, and she will help me." Students talked about feeling welcome to approach their advisors outside of the advisory, citing lunch and after school as "other good times to talk." Students said their advisors were easy to talk to and comforting. A student said advisees could "get things off their chest," and they "do not hesitate to share." Every advisor we interviewed confirmed this observation.

Strong advisories promote open communication

Strong advisors give their advisees individualized attention.

Advisors at all three schools discussed their efforts to help students know each other and communicate openly by creating activities that helped them "bond" and "talk to each other." For example, advisors at each school talked about structuring activities in which students could get to know each other. Each described a different version of an activity in which one student was in the spotlight while other students asked questions to get to know him or her better. Advisors also talked about arranging trust walks and team-building games. At one school, Monday mornings started with a circle where students shared anything that was on their minds. One of the advisors articulated the connection between these activities and communication in the following way.

When I start out, I tell them, "We are going to get to know each other really well. We need to be able to trust each other." So, I do a couple of exercises at the beginning. I set up an obstacle course, and I blindfold them. I say, "Okay, some of you are going to be the leaders of this group. The rest of you are going to have to listen and trust the person that is verbalizing to you. That is the only way you are going to get through this, carefully." ... It is the level of trust and then you start building from that to issues at home or school. Where it is all involved, we can all discuss things, and it stays here. And that is what you want to [do]. You want them to get to know each other and build up friendship.

Students described communication as characterized by trust and intimacy. In the focus groups, students repeatedly talked about feeling "really close with" and "trusting" their advisors and peers as a rationale for sharing personal and academic pieces of themselves. One student used the word intense to describe the communication in advisory, and another mused that "people are really vulnerable, and we all share our feelings." One student even talked about "feel[ing] a connection" with his advisor. In more than half of the advisories observed, students shared emotions publicly. For instance, in one advisory there was a whole conversation about crying after an advisor offered his own feelings about a sensitive topic the group was discussing. When a student probed, "Are you crying?" the advisees all looked at the advisor intently, without giggling or other nervous responses that might be typical of middle school students in such a situation. Students said they regularly initiated conversations with their advisors for academic and personal reasons- a student's parents fighting, a disagreement with a friend, a problem with a teacher, or academic difficulties.

Students routinely made comments such as, "Like, when you need help, you just ask him and he will always help you" or "I tell my advisor, and she will help me." Students talked about feeling welcome to approach their advisors outside of the advisory, citing lunch and after school as "other good times to talk." Students said their advisors were easy to talk to and comforting. A student said advisees could "get things off their chest," and they "do not hesitate to share." Every advisor we interviewed confirmed this observation.

Strong advisors closely supervise their advisees' academic progress

Advisory programs strengthen connectedness in middle grades schools.

Students reported that their advisors were aware of how they were doing in their classes. In the focus groups, students commented that their advisors "know everything" about their academic standing. As one student put it, "Even if she does not know right away, she will find out." Another added, "Yeah. They find out everything." Contrary to what one might expect, students admitted it was helpful to have someone know their academic standing.

In the interviews, the advisors insisted that it was part of their role to know how students were doing academically. Advisors at each site reported that they talked with other teachers to find out how their advisees were doing. They sometimes sought out teachers in reaction to seeing poor work and low grades; however, they also initiated contact if they had not heard anything about a particular advisee in a while. Almost every advisor mentioned that one way they kept track of their students academically was through official progress reports at the end of the quarter and semester. An advisor added:

I, um, talk to their teachers and stuff. I have this one boy, he is amazing in one class and failing another. [I asked him,]"You get an A in math and science, and you are failing social studies. How is that possible?" So, it came out that he does all of his homework for his other classes and saves his social studies and does not get to it.

This type of awareness, inquiry, and follow-up on academic work was typical of the advisors we interviewed.

Advisors also reviewed their advisees' work and academic progress with them. Advisory period provided a structure for this regular academic review, since students at all three sites had time to do work during advisory on a weekly basis. In many advisories, the advisor posted a checklist of information and tasks on the board during this work time, some of which were directed at the whole group and some of which were directed at specific students. When students in one advisory were asked whether their advisor knew if they struggled academically, one student eagerly responded, "Immediately, they are all on it."
Strong advisors are problem solvers and advice givers
Students felt that an important attribute of strong advisors was their ability to offer assistance and give reliable advice. In the focus groups, students at all three sites talked extensively about going to their advisors to solve their problems. Students recounted approaching their advisors about bullying issues, friendship strife, homework dilemmas, and other "drama" of middle school. Students unanimously agreed that they would go to their advisors for advice when they experienced problems. One student explained,

Let's say you have a typical problem in a typical subject in school; she will give you some strategies to work it out. And, uh, if you, like, have a problem with your life, she will also help you. She will give you advice.

The advisors indicated during interviews that they, too, viewed problem solving as an essential part of their role. They structured opportunities for giving advice within the context of the advisory, and many advisors talked about problem-solving sessions as "organic" and "responsive to the needs of my kids." Advisors reported addressing many types of problems including racial tension, weak grades, misunderstandings with teachers, school policy, bullying and exclusion, and stress at home. Advisors talked about empowering students by problem solving with them rather than for them. For example, during observations we often heard students begin questions with phrases such as "What should I do about...?" "Can you help me with...?" and "How do you think...?" Advisors responded with questions such as "How would you solve that problem?" or "What do you think are your next steps?"
Students and advisors perceive that advisory directly improves academic performance
In all the three schools, survey data suggested both students and advisors perceived that advisory improved academic performance. Interestingly, students in advisories with high levels of connectedness were more likely to perceive links between academic performance and advisory than students in advisories with lower levels of connectedness.

In the student focus groups, 98%of students responded affirmatively when asked, "Do you think advisory helps you academically?" Students noted that their advisories helped them focus on their studies, receive critical academic support, strategize about classes and teachers, set academic goals, and belong to a group of peers striving for success.

The data from the survey we administered to advisors confirmed the qualitative findings and revealed that advisors, like their advisees, assign the advisory program a significant role in the academic success of students. Advisors often attributed the academic growth they witnessed in their advisees to the advisory program; however, they disagreed about the immediacy of the impact advisory had upon academic performance. Some claimed the evidence of the advisory program's academic influence was "right away," while others believed the evidence came "in the long run."

Advisors from each site said that the advisory program impacts students' academic performance because it sets an environment conducive to academic success. One advisor explained, "As you know, create a good climate, and you are going to have kids who perform at a good academic level." Another advisor commented,

It absolutely helps academically. I do not think middle school kids know how to talk with teachers and advocate for themselves, and they need good modeling. [Advisory] is an academic support.

Students and advisors perceive that advisory functions as a community of learners
Students talked about how fellow advisees were a useful academic resource, because they knew what they were learning and could help them with schoolwork. One student said that in his advisory, "There is a lot of time for people to help you. It is supposed to be for the teacher to help you, but there is a lot of unseen potential when you can have students help one another."

Advisors talked about how students gravitated toward one another during guided work time in the advisory. Advisors used language like peer tutoring or study groups to describe what happened when their advisees worked together. Advisors suggested that forming these study groups in the advisory propelled their advisees academically. Unprompted, one teacher noted a connection between this community of learners and the concept of connectedness. She said,

And that is what they do during advisory. They pull out homework and help each other. Which is nice, 'cause at least they get to have a study group. ... They feel connected to school and connected to their teacher and curriculum.

We saw and heard evidence of a community of learners during all of the advisory observations. In advisories at one school, student desks were clustered in groups of four, and students had their notebooks in hand or were quizzing each other. Another group sat on the floor with their advisor reviewing for a test.

At another school, students also sat in small circles studying together. One exasperated boy exclaimed, "I do not get this!" A girl walked up to him and began to explain mathematical functions. Two students stood at the board drawing out a problem, pointing to it, and talking about it. When a student asked her advisor if a problem was wrong, her advisor turned the question to the advisory group, "Are negative numbers real numbers? Who can help Damion with this question?" A conversation then ensued among five students, debating the nature of numbers.

Advisors at each of the sites explained that the students who struggled in a particular area intentionally sought students who were stronger in that area to get help and advice on their work. One advisor revealed how stronger students helped shape the academic culture of the advisory:

I have amazing kids, and what has happened is that the kids [who] are a little bit lower, even though they are not that low, the group seems to be pulling them along; it is like this slip streaming effect. And they can see that they can rely on each other for help.

In addition to helping one another, advisors proudly commented that students were enthusiastic about each other's accomplishments.

Conclusion

As students get closer to adulthood, schools often become more isolating and impersonal. Advisory programs offer the structure to meet students' developmental needs, because it is the one place in school where students are intimately known as a "whole child." Advisory programs have the potential to ensure that every child has a meaningful relationship with an adult and belongs to a community of peers. These elements of connectedness have the potential to improve academic achievement and the overall school experience for middle grades students. As the eighth grade boy from the beginning of the article stated, "Advisory gets you into the state of mind that school is not only about work, but that it is a place where teachers really know you and understand you."

References
Blum, R. W., & Libbey, H. P. (2004). School connectedness-strengthening health and education outcomes for teenagers. Journal of School Health, 74(7), 231-235.

Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development. (1989). Turning points: Preparing American youth for the 21st century. Washington, DC: Carnegie Corporation.

Cushman, K. (1990). Are advisory groups 'essential'? What they do, how they work. Horace, 7(1), 5-17.

Galassi, J. P., Gulledge, S. A., & Cox, N. D. (2004). Advisory. Westerville, OH: National Middle School Association.

Galassi, J. P., Gulledge, S. A., & Cox, N. D. (1997). Middle school advisories: Retrospect and prospect. Review of Educational Research, 67(3), 301-338.

Jackson, A. W., & Davis, G. A. (2000). Turning points 2000: Educating adolescents in the 21st century. New York & Westerville, OH: Teachers College Press & National Middle School Association.

Juvonen, J., Le, V. N., Kaganoff, T., Augustine, C., & Constant, L. (2004). Focus on the wonder years: Challenges facing the American middle school. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation.

Klem, A., & Connell, J. (2004). Relationships matter: Linking teacher support to student engagement and achievement. Journal of School Health, 74(7), 262-273.

Mac Iver, D. J., & Epstein, J. L. (1991). Responsive practice in the middle grades: Teacher teams, advisory groups, remedial instruction, and school transition programs. American Journal of Education, 99(4), 587-622.

McNeely, C., & Falci, C. (2004). School connectedness and the transition into and out of health-risk behavior among adolescents. Journal of School Health, 74(7), 284-293.

National Association of Secondary School Principals. (2006). Breaking ranks in the middle: Strategies for leading middle level reform. Reston, VA: Author.

Stevenson, C. (1998). Teaching ten to fourteen year olds (2nd ed.). New York: Addison Wesley Longman.

I am text block. Click edit button to change this text. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.

Sarah Brody Shulkind is the middle school principal at Milken Community High School in Los Angeles, CA.
E-mail: sshulkind@milkenschool.org

Jack Foote is the principal of Joseph Le Conte Middle School in Los Angeles, CA.
E-mail: jackfoote@gmail.com

Previously published in Middle School Journal, September 2009

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Creating a Culture of Connectedness through Middle School Advisory Programs - AMLE

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In the middle of an ordinary day in an ordinary Los Angeles school, four middle school students shared fascinating insights in response to the question, "Does advisory help you feel connected to school?" Without advisory school would be more distant. It would not be as cheerful. We would not be as connected to everybody.

# data[].attributes.headline
Edutopia - Making Advisory More Effective

# data[].attributes.subject
Edutopia - Making Advisory More Effective

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
A simple plan for advisory includes self-reflection to help students see their growth over time.

©iStock/monkeybusinessimages

Schools across the country have added advisory time to the master schedule in the hope that the 20 to 30 minutes allocated during the day will develop stronger teacher-student relationships and improve student achievement. Having an adult who is charged with looking after the grades and social and emotional needs of a small group of students offers many possibilities for student-led growth.

When I served as a superintendent, all of my secondary schools had a scheduled advisory time. Some schools used it for study hall, and others used it for announcements or character development. Occasionally, they would use the time to discuss grades or hand out report cards. I noticed that many teachers and students gave up on the potential of advisory time because they didn't see the value, saw it as a waste of time, or didn't have the tools to make it more effective.

When I became a turnaround leader at Carpe Diem Innovative Charter Schools in San Antonio, I sought to create an advisory system that worked. We focused on student-led goal setting, self-tracking, and consistent reflection on strategies and progress. The results were impressive, and the protocol is easy to try in different contexts.

A Simple, Proactive, Student-Led System

In our advisory design, every adult in the building had an advisory group that met daily. Our goal-setting and reflective learning work took place on a weekly cycle. Every Friday, students took the following steps:

1. Tracked their current grades: Students checked their real-time grades in our grading system, and individually logged them for each class. They were able to see what they had accomplished in lessons and assignments from the past week. Prior to this protocol, students had access to their online grades-but very few looked at them regularly, and even fewer thought strategically about how to improve.

2. Reflected on strategies and set goals: Students wrote a brief reflection on what strategies had worked for them the previous week and what actions they were going to take in the next week to improve. We used a specific self-direction rubric to guide students on their reflections, and we added example learning strategies over the course of the year.

3. Received feedback from their advisor: We built in time for each student to have a short one-on-one check-in with their advisor each Friday. We reviewed student goals, asked prompting questions, and gave suggestions on next steps. Our system allowed teachers to provide feedback virtually, if needed.

The student reflection portion of the protocol was done in an online platform, but it could be done on paper as well. It took approximately 15 to 20 minutes each week.

Empowering Students Yields Results

Over time, I noticed my advisees beginning to associate certain strategies with success. The associations moved from "I just tried harder" to "I used a new vocabulary review strategy" or "I checked my tracker every day and set a daily goal for completing lessons in Spanish."

Monthly, teachers brought in samples of student reflections so we could enhance their effectiveness. We used weekly coaching with students to help them think deeply about their strategy use and reflections. Students also saw graphs and visual trends over time, which made it easier to connect specific strategies with growth.

Through surveys, we found that students' sense of self-direction improved, as did their feelings that adults in the building understood and cared for them. Our high school students increased the number of end-of-course assessments passed from the previous year by 20 percent and earned 53 percent more credits. Much of this success can be attributed to students tracking their learning and reflecting on their learning strategies. We also saw higher GPAs in students who completed weekly cycles of self-tracking and reflection than their peers who did not participate.

Coupling this time-effective routine with individual meetings with a caring adult and intervention systems makes a significant difference in advisory time effectiveness and overall student success. Developing noncognitive skills through a simple protocol and responsive platform empowers students to take ownership of their grades and learning and see their growth over time.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A simple plan for advisory includes self-reflection to help students see their growth over time. ©iStock/monkeybusinessimages Schools across the country have added advisory time to the master schedule in the hope that the 20 to 30 minutes allocated during the day will develop stronger teacher-student relationships and improve student achievement.

# data[].attributes.headline
Edweek.org - Advisory Groups: Creating a Positive School Community

# data[].attributes.subject
Edweek.org - Advisory Groups: Creating a Positive School Community

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.provider_name
Education Week - Peter DeWitt's Finding Common Ground

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
" The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2009) recommends school climate reform as a data driven strategy that promotes healthy relationships, school connectedness, and dropout prevention" (Thapa et. al. 2012).

According to the latest National School Climate Study (2012) " A growing number of State Depart¬ments of Education are focusing on school climate reform as an essential component of school improvement and/or bully prevention" (page. 2). Schools are often looking for quality ways to create a safe atmosphere for students. Using advisory groups is one way to promote a healthier and more nurturing school climate.

Student advisory groups are not what you are probably thinking. This doesn't just mean that school social workers and school psychologists work with groups of students who are in need. Advisory groups are small groups of students that span the grades in the school system and every staff member has a part in it. It can help make a large school feel a little bit smaller.

Student advisory groups allow for a couple of students from each grade level to get to know peers in other grade levels. It also encourages students from upper grades to be role models for the younger students in the school. Older students need to learn to be role models and understand the responsibility that comes with being the oldest students in the school. Establishing advisory groups is one way that many schools are creating a community of learners and showing students that they have an important part in their own educational process.

Kids Club
In the school district where I am principal we have advisory groups at all of the elementary schools. The one in our particular school has been in existence since the year before I became principal while the other schools have created their groups over the past few years. We call our advisory group Kids Club but one school calls their group Peace Groups and the last school calls their advisory time together Tiger Talk (their mascot is a tiger). Kids Club was based on an idea that staff got from reading the book The Big Picture: Education is Everyone's Business by Dennis Littky.

Advisory groups are not simple to put together but the time it takes is well worth it when the kids meet with their advisory teacher. Typically, once or twice a month we meet with our groups for fifteen minutes and talk about what is going on in the school or at home. Sometimes they complete surveys on how much they enjoy the school lunch or other aspects of the school. When I first became principal the students had an opportunity to choose which playground equipment we could get for our new playground.

The advisory group that the principal has is not all the students who frequently get into trouble. They are an evenly balanced group of students just like every other staff member has. I have about 10 students from kindergarten through fifth grade. One of the great things that happens is when a child transfers from our school to one of the other elementary schools, they understand the concept of advisory groups already and feel comfortable contributing to the group because they know the process.

Character Education
" There is extensive research that shows school climate having a profound impact on students' mental and physical health" (Thapa et. al. 2012).

I have not always been a promoter of character education programs. It's not that I don't believe in character education because I do. I just believe that if the program doesn't become a part of the culture of a school it is harder to see if it is effective. Advisory groups offer schools the opportunity to really delve down deeper into the topic of character education because the groups are the venue that help build the culture. In the words of Todd Whitaker, "It's people not programs." Advisory groups will be successful if the people in the school believe in them.

In New York State we have the Dignity for All Students Act (DASA). All schools in New York State are required to " include classroom instruction that supports the development of a school environment free of discrimination and harassment, including but not limited to, instruction that raises awareness and sensitivity to discrimination and harassment based on a person's actual or perceived race, color, weight, national origin, ethnic group, religion, religious practice, disability, sexual orientation, and gender" (N.Y. State Commissioner Regulation 100.2 (c)). Our schools are using our advisory groups as one way to meet this very important mandate.

In the End
Advisory groups can be beneficial to creating a safe and nurturing school climate. In addition, they help all students, even those who are new to the school, an opportunity to feel like a valued member of the educational community. Many students feel a special connection to their advisory teacher because they may be in the same group with them for up to six years.

School culture is so important to the educational process. It's through a positive school culture that we meet the social and emotional needs of our students so they will feel safe and learn. We want our students to leave us feeling that we listened to their needs, and our advisory groups is just one of the ways that schools can meet that need.

Creating an Advisory Group:

* 3 or 4 teachers work together with a list of all staff members.
* Add one or two students (depending on size of school) from each grade level into a group
* Each group stays with the same staff member year after year. This is clearly harder to do with schools that have high teacher turnover or in schools that have experienced many budget cuts
* Put together monthly topics that each staff member should discuss. Remember that not every staff member knows what to talk to kids about
* Use character education words. For example, every staff member in the district is talking about "Respect" with their advisory groups
* Each staff member should get a plastic organizer that has crayons, pencils, scissors and other supplies.
* Organization is key. School days are busy and the more the planning group can do some of the thinking for each teacher the better. Teachers need to be prepared on the morning or afternoon of the advisory group in the event that something comes up that morning that prevents them from having everything they need for the group.

* Advisory groups should last no more than twenty minutes
* The principal or secretary uses the loudspeaker to announce the beginning and end.
* All staff members stand in the hallway to welcome students and make sure they are being polite in the hallway as they individually walk to their advisory group.
* Grades 1 through 4 students walk on their own to their Kids Club.
* Grade 5 students pick up their kindergarten Kids Club peer and walks them to their destination.
* Every Kids Club group has a plastic organizer that holds different ideas for meetings, as well as crayons, scissors, and other items needed for crafts and projects.
Connect with Peter on Twitter
Peter is the author of Dignity for All: Safeguarding LGBT Students (Corwin Press).

References:
Thapa, Amrit, Jonathan Cohen, Ann Higgins-D'Alessandro & Shawn Guffey (2012). School Climate Research Summary: August 2012. National School Climate Center. New York, N.Y.

Littky, Dennis (2004) The Big Picture: Education is Everyone's Business. ASCD. Alexandria, VA.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Advisory Groups: Creating a Positive School Community

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
"The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2009) recommends school climate reform as a data driven strategy that promotes healthy relationships, school connectedness, and dropout prevention" (Thapa et. al. 2012). According to the latest National School Climate Study (2012) "A growing number of State Depart¬ments of Education are focusing on school climate reform as an essential component of school improvement and/or bully prevention" (page.