Post on 29-Jul-2015
Advisory
“Without Advisory, school would be more distant. It would
not be as cheerful. We would not be as connected to
everybody.”-7th Grade
Student
Gravelly Hill Middle SchoolEfland, NC
What does your school do to
facilitate relationship
building among students and
teachers?Go to
todaysmeet.com/Advisory2015 to share your best practices!
Like you, we also strive to build strong relationships
with our students. This year we implemented our Advisory program to try to accomplish this goal.
Why?● To enhance relationships among teachers and
students; to provide every student with at least one adult advocate they connect with in the buildingo Research suggests that school connectedness is
linked to higher grades, higher test scores, and lower dropout rates among students' of all socioeconomic backgrounds
● To support students through:o Grade monitoringo Goal settingo Character educationo College/career awareness
Student Data from September
I feel a personal connection with at least one adult here at school
70%30%
Background Information about Our
School
● Middle school (grades 6-8)● Approximately 500 students and 50 staff
members● Traditional schedule● Equal core periods (students take 4 core
classes and 2 electives)● Located in Efland, NC● 1:1 school district
Who?● Everyone in the building is
involved in Advisory (administrators, support staff, teachers, and all students).
● Even the principal has an Advisory group!
● Each staff member has 10-15 kids from the same grade level; they will loop with them for all 3 years of middle school.
● Students were grouped alphabetically to simplify the scheduling process.
When?● Advisory is held school-wide each
Friday during a 30 minute session.● Advisors engage students in a pre-
made Advisory lesson.● Lessons were created over the summer
and during selected times throughout the year by our Advisory committee (one teacher from each grade level, one elective teacher, various support staff members).
What?● Staff can access lessons through a
shared Google document.● Monthly Structure of Lessons:
Week 1: Character educationWeek 2: Grade monitoring/goal setting
Week 3: College/career readinessWeek 4: Grade monitoring/goal setting
***If you/your school is interested in viewing our lesson plans in detail, please contact one of us directly!
What?● Character education: takes place every first week of the
month.● Purpose: to help our students develop civic virtue and
moral character.
Sample Lesson
What?● Grade
monitoring: takes place every other week.
● Advisory Notebook: self-monitoring grades using PowerSchool.o tracking progress
visually on graph.o reflection tabs.
What?● Goal setting:
takes place every other week.
● Advisory Notebook: self-establishing goals.o students
brainstorm steps to achieve goal.
o students reflect on results.
What?● College/career readiness: takes place every third week.● Purpose: preparing our students for success in the post-
secondary world.
Sample Lesson
Each week, Advisors check student planners to ensure that guardians are signing weekly to
consistently communicate academic and behavioral information to guardians.
Student Planner Check-In
Advisors can use the behavioral data provided by the teachers to intervene in
the capacity of acting as a student advocate.
Advisors and students take time to develop problem-solving techniques to
curb some behaviors that may be interfering with student success
academically or socially.
Reflection and RevisionAfter (nearly) one year of implementing the
Advisory program at GHMS:● Relationships between students and staff have
greatly improved.● Students are upset when we don’t have Advisory!● Everyone wishes there was more time for Advisory.● We hope to add lessons to the days where we
monitor grades.● Looking ahead, we want to use the same lessons for
6th grade next year and create new lessons for 7th and 8th graders.
Wow!● Feedback from staff
and students
● Articles from newspaper● Food Drive ● Some groups get
creative and have done special “projects”
● Other schools in our district are now implementing Advisory programs
“I like [Advisory] because I don’t have to be scared of anybody. I’m around my peers, and I
know that if I have to share something that is sort of personal, I know that they would actually listen
and care.” - Bradley, 6th Grade Student
Student Data from March
I feel a personal connection with at least one adult here at school
28% Increase
13% Increase
Kahoot!
See if you remember the details and ideas from today’s
presentation!
https://play.kahoot.it/#/k/b146bcc8-6a5e-4a45-a905-87dcb4ea482e