Sharing some notes from the PTA meeting that may be of interest to all parents/guardians. If you want to hear more of this kind of conversation, consider coming to PTA meetings. We’ll look into recording and sharing a portion of the meetings for people who can’t attend.
In the meantime, some points to keep in mind from a teacher’s perspective.
We Are Still Getting Used to Being in School
Roll out of things is slower this year compared to previous years because we’re all learning how to be back in the classroom.
Kids have missed in-person school for a while, and while they had CDL–and hybrid for some–it takes time to get used to things or get familiar with things that were supposed to be covered if the kids had been to regular school all this time.
It’s getting a lot better, but we are still catching up and that affects math and learning.
New Math Curriculum
The district adopted a new math curriculum for K-5, and teachers have to learn it too. It’s a great program that looks at math differently and goes into strategies, recognizing that there are many ways to solve problems, and that the most important part isn’t necessarily getting the answer, but how you got the answer and being able to explain it. Being new, teachers are also learning it and rolling it out.
We Have a Wide Spectrum of Students
We have a wide spectrum in every grade level, and we’re working hard together as staff and as grade level team to really make sure that we are differentiating and meeting the needs of kids. However, with that being said, we’ve really been focused on social emotional skills and really teaching our students skills and strategies of what it’s like to be back in school full time and a hand on.
This is important because teachers can’t teach children who are not emotionally regulated. Math might seem easy now, but the things that kids are learning are not just how to solve math problems, it’s how to be students in a classroom and in a school again.
It’s been stressful for everyone, and it takes time. Teachers are trying to meet the needs of all of our kids,
Thank You for Your Support
We encourage all of us to believe in the best, and if your student comes home talking about something that happened, consider asking your teacher for their perspective.