It Really is All About our Students

It's a buzz word that nearly every educator says, and I would argue, almost every single one believes. I have yet to meet a teacher that does not believe in the power each student has within him or her, and who works tirelessly throughout the year (yes, during the summer as well) to ensure that each student is growing to his or her potential.  We are student centered, learner focused, and driven by differentiation.  It all goes to say that we are about our students.

This past week I had a chance to see these words in action, with three students from Montpelier Public Schools - in a group where they were "outnumbered" by adults from Montpelier Public Schools.  Let me explain...

MPS, along with Addison Northwest Supervisory Union and Lamoille South Supervisory Union will take part in the first Integrated Field Review pilot, as part of the assessment of Vermont's Education Quality Standards.  All three school systems took part in a two day training with the Agency of Education this past week in Burlington.  Each school system brought a number of adults - but critical to the work were the students.  

We spent the days in groups, sometimes mixed with other adults and students from the other supervisory unions and that was important to hear their perspectives on the work we were all about to undertake.  Still for me, the time that was the most valuable was when were were in our MPS Team, listening to our students.  

We spent the majority of our time as a team discussing climate, academics and high quality staffing in MPS, how we were proud of ourselves and the areas we want feedback.  The adults in our team were the consummate professionals, shared their expertise and were open to the diversity of ideas.  And the most powerful voices were those of our students.  Their thoughtful and candid nature became the rudder for our work.  Ideas they brought to the table were unique, insightful, and relevant.  

More importantly, the students input shaped our work.  It is a credit to the entire team - adults & students - that we were all open to the ideas that were shared.  It would have been easy to simply invite adults to participate in this work.  However, if we are going to say that we are student centered and learner focused, then we do need to have students at the table in a substantially meaningful way.  Not as lip service, window dressing, or worst, to just "say" we have student feedback.  The students are the consumers of our educational delivery - it is imperative that we walk with them, ask them questions, and make course corrections based on what they say.  

Whether as a part of the Integrated Field Review pilot, the development of Proficiency Based Graduation Requirements, implementation of Personalized Learning Plans, or simply checking in to find out how a lesson went, we need our students.  This is how we maintain the statements that we are student centered and learner focused.  By asking the hard questions and having the courage to make changes based on what they tell us.  How can we create safe places for our students to tell us what we need to hear?  This week, MPS took a big step in that direction.  

My sincere thanks to our three students: Faith Bolques (MSMS), Delaney Goodman and Anders Heyerdahl (MHS) for leading our work on the Integrated Field Review this week.

I am also grateful to the adults in MPS who came along on this journey, leaving their usual workloads behind for two days, and were open to listening and responding to our students ideas: Rachel Aldrich-Whalen (UES), Pam Arnold (MSMS), Cathy Clements (UES & MSMS), Carrie Cook (MHS), Chris Hennessey (UES), Elisabeth Kahn (MSMS), Mary Lundeen (CO), Mike Martin (CO), and Dan Miller-Arsenault (MHS).