Believe it or not, we’re nearly halfway through the school year. Students are transitioning from playing games with their families over Winter Recess to resetting their alarms and getting back in the habit of classes and homework.
At the beginning of the year, we discussed how to get in that back-to-school groove. For the latest episode of Connect Canyons, we asked two of our AVID experts for a refresher on how to re-engage with routines, goals, and deadlines of school — advice that teachers, students, and parents alike can easily put into practice.
“It’s important to review the basics with your students,” says Jenny Warner, Instructional Coach at Glacier Hills Elementary. “You almost have to pretend like you’re starting the year again, reviewing the routines and the rules with the students. One thing too, I think is really important, is to let the students have a voice in that. They have such powerful voices and listening to what they think is really important and maybe changing it and making it work for your whole classroom community.”
AVID stands for Advancement Via Individual Determination, and it’s a research-backed college prep program which is offered at 7,500 schools across the country. Five of those schools are right here in Canyons School District. Eastmont Middle, Mount Jordan Middle, Glacier Hills Elementary, Sandy Elementary, and Jordan High School.
After taking the time to refresh those routines, our experts emphasis the importance of making goals.
“I always tell my students, you’re writing a book of your school year every month, every week,” says Jay Rudel, Canyons AVID Coordinator. “Especially after this break, it doesn’t matter what happened in the last four months, you’re going to write a whole new chapter. You can make it whatever you want, and the way to do that is just set goals.”
Rudel recommends fostering those goals with parents as well, working on them a little each night. Short-term goals are equally as important, if not more so than long-term goals.
As younger students are back in the classroom, Warner encourages teachers and parents alike to allow for some grace as they remember how those routines work.
“Getting back into the routine with your children is tricky,” says Warner. “It takes some time, and I know families get so busy. Students do a lot of extracurricular activities, those types of things. I would say in the first couple weeks, if you can, just keep it as chill as possible. Don’t plan too many things but also plan time to celebrate their accomplishments.”
Rudel, who’s teaching career was mostly in secondary education, says sometimes high schoolers may not have that opportunity to ease back in.
“The semester ends for our secondary schools in two weeks,” he says, “a lot of the time we forget that. We’ve had two weeks off and now we have to make this big push to our finals. I would suggest teachers, parents, and students all start preparing for that now. Work on some review a little bit each day so you’re prepared for the final tests.”
