The dream is that our school is a bridge to home, community development and the future. Newly reopened Broad Street is in a low income area and many kids in the neighborhood live with grandparents or other parental figures. The “numbers” are hard to understand for families and much of it is new to them. What do these educational reports mean? This event made it comfortable for parents to ask.
We hosted "Data with a Twist" for parents, staff and our school's scholars. While parents gathered on the school's patio in fellowship after a lovely meal, the children were engaged at STEAM stations in the school, getting reacquainted. The meal and the activity for the children gave the parents the time and opportunity to become more comfortable with their child's return to the reopened school - one that previously had a very poor reputation. The reading specialist's presentation on performance data helped parents interpret these reports. Taking it one step further, parents had the opportunity to individualize the experience with a staff member and talk directly about their child's current academic data report. This focus on academics and data was meant to signify that it was not the same old Broad Street Elementary; together we were charting a new, collaborative course.
Broad Street is changing and is becoming the school where teachers want to work - and not flee from. The secret sauce is our culture, one that is rooted in our staff, parents and community and where everyone has a role. A STEAM night hack in the spring provided a chance for parents to engage with student learning. The message? Broad Street is a learning environment.
What we'd like going forward is an opportunity for collaboration — a "bridge hack" for Butler Area to connect with other school districts and individual schools to share ideas and sustain energy. We would like to create a network or a cohort that continues, and even create a collective hack, something that several schools try together. We have made strides and we want to keep building on that experience, and learning.
In our case it helped us to have a common focus, the reopening of a school that would impact many families. This new vibe set the stage for school and family to engage in setting a new course. Helpful empathy interviews followed. A parent shared that he had hated school. It was easy to understand his apprehension about sending his child to (any) school. Those insights helped define our challenge.
