April 27, 2018 at 4:38 p.m.
Connecting home and school: Creating a community of learners
Connecting home and school: Creating a community of learners
By Cere Yeager-
At this fall's parent-teacher conferences, they asked families to complete a survey focusing on the effectiveness of their PBIS initiatives. PBIS stands for Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports. PBIS proactively teaches behavior expectations at school, using the guidelines Be Safe, Be Respectful, Be Responsible, Be Here And Healthy - the 4 Be's.
The results were positive. Of 118 parents taking the survey, 97.5 percent agreed that their child feels safe at school, and 71.2 percent agreed that their child feels safe riding the bus to and from school. 98.3 percent of parents said that they feel welcome at Pelican School and 99.2 percent said their child feels welcome at school. 99.2 percent of parents felt that their child receives a good education at school. In regard to communication between school and families, 94.1 percent of parents said their concerns are responded to and addressed in a timely manner, 95.8 percent said they receive enough information from school about programs, curriculum, assessments, etc., 96.6 percent agreed that they receive courteous attention if they contact the school, and 88.1 percent enjoy the Pelican Behavior Rainbow and daily update on their child's behavior. 96.6 percent of parents said they have adequate opportunity to become involved in different activities at school, and all 118 parents agreed that Pelican School staff really seem to care about the students.
PBIS is implemented school-wide to teach positive behavior for all students. Some students may need more focused help with their behavior, and Pelican School has programs in place to help these students. We want parents to know that they have the right to nominate their child for these extra supports. Teachers can also refer students who may benefit from extra behavior support. One option is "Check-In Check-Out." "Check-In Check-Out" pairs a student with a teacher to meet each morning and afternoon for extra encouragement and feedback on a specific skill the student is developing. Another available option is a Social Academic Instructional Group. These are small group lessons that focus on social skills, problem solving skills, and academic behavior. Mentoring is also available. Mentoring pairs a student with an adult at school, first building a relationship and then working together to develop specific strategies for coping, self-regulation, or behavior.
Through the 2017-2018 school year, Pelican has focused their efforts to be culturally responsive - honoring the diverse backgrounds of our students and their families, and utilizing their students' diverse strengths to maximize learning.
During the spring parent-teacher conferences, families were asked to complete a survey ranking the importance of the culturally responsive initiatives. 68 percent of parents found the "Your Student Rocks" postcards, where staff send home a postcard describing great behaviors at school, to be the most important achievement. Pelican School's Veterans Day ceremony and fundraising for the Honor Flight was the second most important culturally responsive achievement, according to 56 percent of parents. 44 percent of parents found the "Tearing Down The Wall" anti-bullying assembly, where students discussed strategies to end bullying, to be the third most important culturally responsive achievement. Pelican students and staff painted their handprints to decorate school hallways, and 40 percent of parents ranked this as the fourth most important culturally responsive achievement. A mural depicting the uniqueness and diversity of the Northwoods school community was ranked by 37 percent of families as the fifth most important achievement. 33 percent of families ranked the Pelican student and staff family photo gallery as the sixth most important achievement. Finally, 22 percent of parents found the heritage map where families plotted their cultural backgrounds to be the seventh most important achievement.
Feedback from families is important to Pelican staff. As much as they value the input they receive from surveys, they want to hear from families at any time that they have a question or concern. Staff understand that children need a safe and supportive environment to do their best learning and are continually striving to ensure every student has what they need to be successful. The staff is always here to listen and work through any concerns parents may have. They welcome the opportunity to communicate and problem-solve with you.
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