Assessments & Student Well-Being: Letter from Nayamka Long
Dear Creative Minds Community:
As we adapted to the remote classroom over the last ten months, my team and I reimagined many aspects of our education program. Though a lot has changed, and “at school” looks very different this year, our commitment to students’ social-emotional development and their academic learning remains strong.
Supporting Students’ Well-Being
When school began in August, we knew that the global coronavirus pandemic had made a strong, sometimes traumatic, impact on our students, and as we checked in with them, we were alert to signs of stress.
I know from my years in the classroom that when children feel supported, academic learning happens. We chose not to dive into our academic program those first weeks of school and instead focused on building community—creating the frameworks and relationships that promote student well-being and ensure that students are ready to learn.
Since the first day of school, my team and I have been gauging levels of student well-being. We monitor submissions of school work, participation in Zoom lessons, and attendance for whole-group and small-group sessions. Teachers share feedback that gives us insight into the social-emotional states of our students.
By focusing on the social-emotional since the beginning of the school year, we seem to have prepared most students for academic learning in the remote classroom. I’m pleased to say that most of our students are in a good place. Most are regularly attending morning meetings and advisory. Most are actively participating in class discussions. Most students are regularly submitting work.
Assessing Development & Learning
Accurate assessment of students’ development and learning is another essential part of our program. It enables us to plan meaningful activities that match your child’s strengths, needs, and interests.
In October we administered assessments to help us better understand the skills students have mastered and the skills they need to learn and practice next:
Teaching Strategies GOLD: Preschool, Prekindergarten, and Kindergarten
Measures of Academic Progress (MAP): 1st–8th Grades
EasyCBM: Students with Individual Education Plans
Teachers will share feedback from assessments the week of November 23.
Learning from the Data
After careful analysis of the assessment data, we identified several trends:
- Most students are making academic progress during remote learning.
- There is a strong correlation between a student’s social-emotional state and his or her academic progress.
- English-language learners new to Creative Minds are less likely to participate in and contribute to classroom discussions.
- Students with more complex needs have experienced difficulties engaging in online lessons.
- In families with three or more school-aged children, at least one of the children is experiencing no academic growth.
The data tell us that our current academic program is working for most students, and while we are at school remotely, this program will continue. True to our child-centered, holistic education model, we will also adjust our program to meet the needs of students who require additional support.
These adjustments will include finding ways to maximize student support during office hours, creating opportunities for 1:1 check-ins, creating more small-group opportunities, providing hard copies of student work, creating modified schedules, and increasing opportunities for students to meet with the E-Team.
I am so proud of our students as they adapt to this unusual school year. Every day, I see them personify personal goals like thoughtfulness, integrity, and cooperation. Joining them in class or in Community Meeting is a highlight of my week.
I’m also proud of, and grateful to, the members of my team as they build community, support our students, and grow a strong remote-learning program. As the year goes on, we will continue collecting and reviewing data to ensure that we are meeting students where they are and offering a program that promotes their success, no matter how we are learning together.
I thank you for your continuing support.
Best,
Nayamka Long
Chief Academic Officer