Social Emotional Learning: Benefiting School Culture and Raising Academic Achievement

Dear Nederland Community,

In the Boulder Valley School District, one of our goals is to ensure that each student meets or exceeds appropriate expectations relative to intellectual growth, physical development, and social emotional well-being.  Teaching to the whole child is a priority at Nederland Elementary -- over much of my 20-year career in public education, I have noticed a disproportionate emphasis on academics and rote learning to the point of neglecting student attitudes and relationships.  But recent information indicates that academics and empathy are not mutually exclusive choices.  In fact, recent research suggests that modeling and teaching  social and emotional skills can actually improve academic achievement. 

Bridget Cooper, director of the Centre for Pedagogy at the University of Sunderland, UK, conducted a detailed study on empathy in teacher-student relationships.  She found that caring interactions were positively related to students' personal, social, moral, and academic development.  Another researcher who has studied the relationship between empathy and academic achievement is Stanford Professor Emerita, Nel Noddings.  Noddings has taught at Stanford for nearly 40 years and the preponderance of her work has been focused on how the goal of education is to "create competent, caring citizens." In Noddings' words: "Common sense tells us that care and trust would reduce failure rates... Kids do better in a culture of caring."  Richard Weissbourd, co-director of the Making Caring Common Project at the Harvard School of Education, notes that the absence of caring and empathy can get in the way of achievement in a school community.  In his book, The Parents That We Mean To Be, Weissbourd outlines several strategies for raising moral, happy children.  One parenting strategy Weissbourd cites is helping children develop self-control and manage their feelings effectively -- we aim to support parents in this endeavor at Nederland Elementary.

We have recently received a grant in partnership with Teens Inc. (Thank you Teens Inc.). This grant is funded through the Colorado Department of Human Services Office of Behavioral Health.  As part of this grant, we have hired a coordinator, Ann Sherman. One component of Ann's duties is to plan and guide 30-minute weekly guidance sessions related to the Brainwise framework.  The Brainwise framework teaches children ten "wise ways" to help identify feelings and cope with them effectively.  Please be looking for regular communication from Ann through our weekly school messenger.

Best Regards,
Jeff

Standardized Testing

Hello Nederland Elementary Community,

This week, families of 3rd through 8th grade students will be receiving a letter and survey from BVSD on the mandated state testing that will take place in April. The letter describes your parental rights to opt out of state testing.

Last year, I did not discourage families from exercising your right to "opt out" because of the format of the assessment and the extensive amount of time it required. With last year’s format, it was challenging to identify the positive impacts of the testing. This year, our legislature listened to parents and made significant changes in the testing format and the length of the test.

There is only one testing window this year, which will occur in April. Last year's test required two windows in March and April/May. The total time required for students has been reduced from over 15 hours to approximately 8 hours over a three week period. Third, fourth and fifth graders will take four sessions of math assessments and three sessions of English language arts. Fifth graders will take an additional science assessment over the course of three, 80-minute sessions. Our school has not been identified to take the social studies state assessment. However, our fourth graders will be piloting one additional English language arts assessment. All testing will be completed online, in your child's regular classroom using Chromebooks or in our library computer lab.

Standardized tests allow parents and educators to gain a wide perspective of a student’s achievement and progress compared to thousands of students the same age and grade level across the state and nation. We do not make any decisions based solely on individual results, but the overall school trends help us make very important decisions about curriculum and instruction. I strongly encourage your child to take this assessment so we can use the results to help guide our instruction and to make Nederland Elementary even better. Please contact me if you have any questions about testing or any other topic.

I am thankful for your support at Nederland and appreciate having you as a partner in education.

Regards,
Jeff

Hour of Code, December 10th

Dear Parents,

We live in a world surrounded by technology. And we know that whatever field our students choose to go into as adults, their ability to succeed will increasingly hinge on understanding how technology works. But only a tiny fraction of us are learning computer science, and less students are studying it than a decade ago.

That’s why our entire school is joining in on the largest learning event in history: The Hour of Code, during Computer Science Education Week (Dec. 7-13). More than 100 million students worldwide have already tried an Hour of Code.  We will be hosting an Evening of Code on Thursday, December 10th from 5:30-7:30 at Nederland Elementary School.  We ask that parents attend this event and learn with their children.

The structure of the evening will be as follows:

• 5:15-5:30 - Meet in gymnasium

• 5:30-6:20 - Code Session/ Science Session #1

• 6:20-6:40 - Break and Discover 

• 6:40-7:30 - Code Session/ Science Session #2

Our Hour of Code is a statement that Nederland is ready to teach these foundational 21st century skills. To continue bringing programming activities to your students, we want to make our Hour of Code event huge. I encourage you to volunteer -- if you would like to do so, please contact me through email at jeffrey.miller@bvsd.org.

This is a chance to change the future of education in Nederland, Colorado.

See http://hourofcode.com/us for details, and help spread the word.

Sincerely,

Jeff Miller

Ideal School Day Task Force developing recommendations on elementary schedule

The Ideal School Day Task Force, composed of teachers, administrators and parents, is working on recommendations for a consistent school day for elementary students across the district. The task force’s charge is to solve problems with our current schedule including a need for additional instructional time in math, literacy, science and social studies.

The following recommendations are in stages of development in the task force; final recommendations will not be proposed until December at the earliest.   The Task Force is seeking comment/reaction to these ideas through the following link, bvsd.org/idealschoolday.

·         Lunch periods to be extended to 25 minutes to address long-standing parent concerns about insufficient time for children to eat.

·         Recess to be extended to 45 minutes to meet district regulations on wellness and physical activity.

·         Changes to the current structure of music at 5^th grade. Boulder Valley School District historically has had a choice model for fifth grade instrumental music. All students take general music; in some schools, instrumental music currently is required for all students while in others it is still a choice. Some schools have started offering instrumental music after school, limiting access to families that can’t provide transportation for their students. The new proposal creates a choice for all families and ensures equity across the district.

·         Increased time allocated to art, so students have equal time in art, music and physical education at all grade levels.

·         A consistent length of school day for all of the district’s elementary schools.

Currently, the length of the day varies from school to school creating inequitable instructional time.

As the Ideal School Day Task Force continues its work, we will provide updates through emails and our school newsletter. There will be information posted on the district website www.bvsd.org that we will link to our school website.

An Attendance Update

Dear Nederland Elementary Community,

As of November 1st, our average daily attendance rate is over 95%!  At Back-to-School Night, I had stated that attaining a 94% rate would be an accomplishment for our school community.  As a school community, we should take a great deal of pride in this.

To give you all some perspective on this accomplishment, I want to provide you a summary of the last decade of schoolwide attendance at NES.

2005-2006 - 93.8%
2006-2007 - 94.17%
2007-2008 - 93.69%
2008-2009 - 94.8%
2009-2010 - 93.6%
2010-2011 - 93.21%
2011-2012 - 93.15%
2012-2013 - 93.13%
2013-2014 - 93.34%
2014-2015 - 93.38%

Parents, thank you for making daily attendance a priority.

Staff, thank you for your engaging teaching in classrooms, communications and extra efforts to make NES a great learning community.

PTA, thanks for providing some great after school learning opportunities that bolster enthusiasm, creativity, and student interests.

Custodial Staff and Kitchen Staff, thanks for promoting hygiene and doing your best to keep this building clean.

As we move towards the holiday season, I want to stress the importance of sending your child to school every day possible.  Every year, absences spike in the weeks before and after the winter holidays as families try to squeeze in a few more vacation days.  It's time to break that cycle.  We know that just a few missed days here and there, even if they're excused absences, can add up to too much lost learning time and put your child behind in school.  This is as true in preschool and kindergarten as it is in high school.  Put simply, too many absences at any age can affect a student's chances for academic success.

I recognize that holidays are an important time for reconnecting with families far away.  The cost of plane tickets often influence when you want to travel.  But keep in mind the costs to your children's education if they miss too much school -- and the message that you will be sending about the importance of attendance.  Even if you have made arrangements with your children's teachers to obtain classwork and homework, it doesn't make up for the interaction and learning that happens in the classroom. At Nederland Elementary, our holiday gift to your children is simple and straightforward:  we take their academic success seriously.  We will be teaching and our students will be learning, right up until vacation starts and the first day back.  Our staff believes that school is important every day.  You can help us convey that message.  This holiday season, give your children the gift of an education and the habit of attendance.

Let's keep up the great work!

Jeff

Ideal School Day

Dear Nederland Elementary Community,

You may have heard about the Ideal School Day Task Force and its work on a new schedule for
elementary schools based on research and best practices. The goal is to ensure every child has
access to a well-rounded education, and there is adequate instructional time to enhance student
success. The task force will present its recommendations to the superintendent in December.

Goals of the task force’s work include providing a consistent length of day across the district for
elementary students to ensure adequate instructional time in math, literacy, science, and social
studies and providing students with opportunities to experience art, music and physical
education.

While the recommendations are not yet finalized, current thinking is to offer fifth grade students
a choice of instrumental or general music. The rationale is to create equity of specials
opportunities for all students and to increase learning time for core subjects like science and
social studies. In addition, lunch periods would be extended to 25 minutes to address parent
concerns, and recess to 45 minutes to meet health/wellness guidelines and policies.

The task force’s recommendations will be based on best practices to increase student success
and not budgetary implications. The district will meet contractual obligations to teachers. All non-
probationary teachers will have jobs.

As the Ideal School Day Task Force continues its work, I will provide updates through emails and our school newsletter. There will be information posted on the district website, http://www.bvsd.k12.co.us  that we will link to our school website.

Sincerely,

Jeff Miller
Principal, Nederland Elementary

October 2015 Blog

Hello Nederland Parents,

I hope this post finds you all well.  Our parent-teacher conferences are occurring on October 19, 21, and 27 and this communication will give you helpful hints to prepare for conferences, understand reading assessments, and be aware of PTA events this month.

At Back-to-School Night, I stated that parents are their child's first and most important teacher.  As a staff, it is our role to be your best partner in your child's learning -- we want your children to learn and grow.  When parents and teachers talk to each other at conferences, we can share important information about your child's talents and needs.

What should parents expect at conferences?

• Two-way conversation.  Like all good conversations, parent teacher conferences are best when both people talk and listen.  Our staff will be sharing data and observations pertaining to attendance, social/emotional progress, BVSD assessments, in-class progress, and home-school learning.  We enjoy hearing about your child's passions and pursuits away from school -- it helps us personalize the teacher-student relationship at school.
• Emphasis on learning. Good parent teacher conferences focus on how well the child is doing at school. To get ready for these conversations, review your child's schoolwork and notices that go home in Friday Folders.  If you have a specific question, I advise that you write it down as a reminder -- conferences last 20 minutes and there is a good deal to share.  If a question is written down, you will not forget to ask it!
• Opportunities and Challenges. Just like you, our teachers want your child to succeed.  You will probably hear positive feedback about your child and areas of improvement.  Be prepared by thinking about your child's strengths and challenges beforehand and seek to create home-school connections.

What is i-Ready?

i-Ready is a diagnostic that BVSD is using to assess Common Core reading standards. i-Ready, along with other literacy measures provide data driven insights that classroom teachers need to determine exactly where to focus their instructional time to ensure that all students are on track to meet these rigorous expectations.  i-Ready pinpoints areas of achievement in the following areas: phonological awareness (recognizing sound units that make words), phonics (recognizing letter/sound relationships withing words); high frequency words, vocabulary, literature comprehension, and informational text comprehension.

What should I know about PTA in October?

• If you get a moment in our community, please acknowledge and thank the parent volunteers of our PTA -- they are busy providing some great opportunities for NES kids.
• Please get excited about the Spell-A-Thon.  This is our prime fundraiser for the year and we need your support.  Spell-A-Thon pledge envelopes went home last week in Friday Folders -- learn those words and get those pledges!  While our school goal, is $11,000, we can provide more opportunities to kids if we exceed that goal.
• Our Book Fair is starting the week of October 19th!
• A school-wide assembly is occurring on October 16th -- a planetarium will be in the gymnasium!  Our intermediate students will be learning about Shakespeare and peaceful pathways to resolving conflicts on October 27th.
• An Outdoor Education and Winter Adventure Days Benefit concert will be happening at the Stage Stop the evening of October 23rd, doors open at 5:00 p.m.  A big thanks to Caribou Mountain Collective for volunteering their time and talents to our kids!
• Trick or Trunk will be occurring on Friday, October 30th at 5:30-6:30 in the NES parking lot.  Students are able to trick-or-treat and parents get to decorate their cars.  Please sign up with Juanita Gloe if you want to volunteer your car this evening!
• PTA is providing abundant enrichment activities after school.  Student scholarships can be accessed at nespta.com under "after school activities" or by contacting our main office.

See you at conferences!

Jeff