Snapshots June 2, 2015
Hi everyone! Below you’ll find. . .
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Agenda for School Wide Events last 3 days of school
Update on Proposed Shifts for MS
Transition out of Acera by Anni Leff, Transition in to Acera by new LE Teacher Hannah Pelton MEd
A few snapshots from one afternoon last week
This is the Last Week of School – Oh My Goodness!
Our last week of school will surely be a great one! You are invited to participate as your schedule allows!
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Museum Walk on Wednesday 9:15am – 11am
LE, UE1 and UE2 classroom Expo on Wed @ 11am
Middle School Soap Box Derby – Rain Reschedule to Wednesday at 1pm, in the Fells
IE2 Class Performance Thursday @ 10am and also at 6pm
Grade 8 Graduation Friday @ 2pm (this is created and led by the students.)
Update On Middle School Proposed Shifts:
We held an open invite meeting last Wednesday night. We planned to outline a few shifts being
recommended for MS next school year. While we still did not have time to share all the currently
envisioned details about program shifts being recommended, we did gain additional clarity about what
types of new information we need to provide parents. We will continue to share information and engage
in conversations through many different formats this summer and in the fall.
We kicked off the meeting with an apology – from me – about the late timing and poor communication
around new proposed shifts for MS for next year. And then we spent a good amount of time at the
beginning and throughout the meeting hearing from parents about their questions and feedback.
A Presentation Shared at the MS Parent Update meeting is available on the Acera School parent log in
page, under “Courtney’s Snapshots”
http://aceraschool.org/parent-and-family-resources/
password = pascal1415
Key Middle School Shifts Proposed include:
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Math Mentor, Customized Math Learning Plan & Extension/Integration of math learning and
dialogue within other subjects: Integration of mathematics learning more robustly within
electives, individual projects and group projects, morphing fixed math block groups into flexible
groups, and continuing to match each student with a Math Teacher/ Mentor, and augmenting
that relationship to include creation of a customized math learning plan which captures both
students’ interests and abilities. Math Mentors will assure that student evaluation and progress
tracking happens through the school year. Math explicit instruction will occur in flexible groups
(which can be launched by math specialists, students, or core teachers), one-on-one, and in
context, during projects and electives when math is a part of a larger interdisciplinary project.
Open Up Elective Schedule Enabling Students to Participate in Multiple Electives, at once.
Parents consistently report much positive feedback about the high caliber of reading,
engagement, and rigor in the electives. This year, students have been asked each trimester to
choose only one from a group of three options. However, some students have figured out how
to do more than one at once – sitting in the room with the Constitution discussion while doing
their painting for their fine arts class. . . and keeping up with the reading for the Constitution
elective even though it is not their elective. . .and interjecting comments during the class. . . We
love that students are “gaming” the system in this way . . . and we want to make it feasible that
students can take multiple electives at once, if they have the motivation and capacity to do so.
3.
Implementation of a new student Experience Point system to support students’ clarity on
expectations within projects, quests, electives, and more. We see this is a key way to merge our
belief in student direction setting and choice alongside with creating some amount of external
accountability structure and tracking which can enable good teacher and parent visibility. This
current school year, teachers piloted use of grades within electives, but saw re-creation of typical
system shortfall with a traditional grade approach.
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Upgrades to Creativity Morning Program for MS Students MS will continue to participate in
Creativity morning, and we will also enable richer long term middle school student projects. We
plan that students will be able to tap on specialist teachers, within the context of their
interdisciplinary projects, to help create projects that integrate the arts into their learning. (This
is our intent now with Creativity morning, but this format has been used primarily for separate
arts only types of projects that are unrelated to the MS program. (For example, a student who
wants to frame their response to reading in the form of a political cartoon could leverage stop
animation or art to turn it into a multi media presentation – an offer students can tap currently,
but we will plug Creativity morning specialists into this framework next year.)
Key areas we need to clarify and communicate, this summer, to Acera Parents include:
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How we will evaluate the effectiveness in the shifts in our program, particularly those towards
an approach of an Integrated Math + Individualized Math Map / Mentor approach to assure that
it addresses the needs we’ve identified and assures appropriate learning and progress for our
students in a way which aligns to their abilities and interests? (Gus Halwani will lead this effort.)
How will we improve the effectiveness of the Middle School Parent/School Communication?
(Malcolm will lead this effort.) This channel will be leveraged to share out results of program
shift evaluation.
How can we increase parents’ understanding of and visibility into the shifts being proposed?
The removal of a replicated weekly schedule has led some parents to think that this mean a
removal of structure, and fear of student drift and/or lack of accountability. We need to identify
new ways of articulating / sharing / outlining a revised shift of this approach to address concerns.
How can we increase visibility into what is being learned / what is happening?
What is in the works currently . . . .
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Many MS Parent / Teacher meetings and also Parent / Malcolm meetings are occurring. Family
based follow ups are being scheduled to assure that each family’s concerns, feedback and hopes
– about the MS program and their child – can be understood and discussed in a way which
addresses the unique aspects of each student and family.
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Planning During Curriculum Collaboration Meetings + Weeks Thereafter: Next week is one of
the rare times when all Acera staff can meet together to engage and plan in depth, looking
forward to shifts for the next school year. This is the purpose of our Curriculum Collaboration
Weeks June 8 and also the week before school opens. The current staffing plan for full or part
time MS Teacher Team next year includes Sean, Gus, Kate, Anthony, Michael, Josh, Michel,
Vanessa (+ Creativity morning teacher specialists like Dermot and others.) Sessions scheduled
during this week include deep team discussion about new shifts for MS math, evaluation and
portfolios, and Middle School program in general, to align and create additional clarity /
specificity as a whole teaching team.
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MS Teaching Staff will have a weekly 8am meeting next school year, which will include Math
Mentor Specialist Teachers. This weekly forum will be a key venue in which we will be able to
assess and constantly adapt implementation of our Integrated Math / Math Maps / Math Mentor
program.
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One week in July, Kate and Michel (our two key math specialist teachers ) will meet to delve
more deeply into the Math Maps approach to be taken next year for MS. Kate is the lead on
customization of Acera Math Maps. These are built from categories of topics framed in the
Common Core (Michel generated a first round list of critical foundation knowledge for MS which
Kate turned in the first, foundation level map. Interconnected Maps (instead of a sequential list
of topics) highlights aspects of mathematics where there is a foundational precursor for
understanding, and aspects of mathematics learning which are interrelated and not linear re: the
order in which they need to be learned. A key reference for this is called Non Linear Math. More
info is publicly available about this way of thinking about the teaching of secondary mathematics.
Staff Transitions:
We have hired a fantastic new lower elementary teacher for next year. Our LE families know Eva has
decided to transition out of Acera next year, and LE families hosted a wonderful gathering in her honor, in
which she was feted and adored! A multi month hiring process for a new LE Teacher culminated with the
hire of Hannah Pelton MEd. Hannah currently teaches grade 1 in Boston, and has an undergraduate
degree from MIT in Brain and Cognitive Sciences. She has also worked at the Museum of Science, as a
dance instructor, and as a Research Assistant in the Early Childhood Cognition Lab and Social Cognitive
Neuroscience Lab at MIT (a copy of her resume is in the vestibule by the front door.)
Another important transition is that our very beloved Anni Leff (our Office and Admissions Manager) who
finishes her third school year with us this week. Back in February, Anni let us know she planned to seek
new career horizons as of the close of June. Anni is someone in a key, central role at school, and her
professionalism, superior communication skill and humor have been an amazing asset to the school. She
was hired shortly after she graduated from college, and is ready to spread her wings as a professional.
She hopes to find a new role at a non-profit which has a focus on music and the arts. Most of you know
that Anni is an accomplished singer, and that music is her passion! This role at Acera has been one
requiring an incredible amount of professionalism and judgment and grace -- and across the board Anni
has been exemplary. So. . . essentially . . she has outgrown us! She is ready for a new setting and new
set of challenges, and eager to apply her broad non-profit experience set she’s gained at Acera into
another organization. We are all really sad to see her move on and know we’ll still see her periodically!
Kara has joined the school as of mid – February, and done a beautiful job getting up to speed. We will
also be hiring another office and school projects focused person to this summer. Please use
[email protected] for all matters related to our office, admissions, school calendar . . . and
everything that comes up. Kara will help assure needs get addressed by the right person upon Anni’s
transition out.
Josh Briggs, M.S. Civil Engineering, will be at Acera full time next year. He started at Acera in January as a
Frugal Engineering Creativity Morning Teacher, and his role at Acera has grown through the spring.
We have a finalist in the pipeline for the IE2 Lead Teacher role and are hopeful!
A few peaks into our school from one afternoon last week.. .
In Michel’s math room, Kate and Michel share teaching strategies about how to teach math concepts and
talk together about students needs for next year and how to meet various students needs.
In the science lab, Michael engages in a brief direct instruction session to get MS students ready for
making ice cream with liquid nitrogen . . . MS students combined cream, sugar and then poured liquid
nitrogen and if you put too much liquid nitrogen in, it will melt because it is boiling and freezing at the
same time.
Anthony hangs up the Mandalas the IE1 class made in the Commons. (The projects he has been doing
lately with IE2 is their Bunraku Masks (in preparation for their end of year performance!) and with LE are
kimonos / print project. With his MS electives, the emphasis in this spring’s painting elective has been
color mixing, composition, light source, materials care, and concept. Students have produced some
beautiful indoor landscapes. End of year culminating projects for that group include paintings, sculptures,
a wooden shield, digital work, and a mask.)
At mid day recess, many groups engage – two four square groups, two different basketball groups (one
with a raised higher up net!), the “Grill 22” imaginary play group is engaged in interactive, made up play in
the back corner. . . kids are on swings, climbing trees, playing tetherball, baseball. Two groups of smaller
children give turn in a wheelbarrow or carry sticks in a wheelbarrow. Two boys lean over the dirt,
engaging with a bark structure of sorts as sunlight dapples through leaves.
More updates coming soon!