Last week's MASSP In the Middle With You webinar tackled the topics of student engagement and mitigating failure rates specifically in the middle school setting. This month we were fortunate to have the following fantastic leaders share successful efforts at their schools:
- Rob Pouch, Principal, Linden Middle School
- Tiela Schurman, Principal, Jefferson Middle School in Midland
- Jason Messenger, Principal, Portage West MS
- Tricia McPheron, Principal and Stefanie Camling, Assistant Principal of Coopersville Middle School
Key takeaways from the webinar:
- Being intentional about tracking students who are not engaged or successfully completing assignments is critical. This has to be done weekly so that it doesn’t just appear at the end of a quarter or on a full semester list.
- Assigning staff to make contact directly and to support students who are struggling is effective.
- When tracking students who are not being successful academically it is also important to identify any staff trends that may be present. Staff members with a high percentage of students who are not successful may also need support.
- Focusing on customer service and making all students feel welcome in the remote environment is as important as it is in face2face classrooms.
- Home visits with care packages for students who were not engaged helped to bring students back to remote learning.
During this session a shared Google doc captured information shared.
MASSP’s In the Middle With You Webinar Recording
Our next MASSP In the Middle With You Webinar will be held on February 9 at 4:00 p.m. and the topic is How to connect with the disconnected students and Families. We are looking for Middle School leaders who can share successful family engagement strategies, please contact steve@michiganprincipals.org if you are willing to participate as a panelist.
Upcoming In the Middle with You Webinar Dates (4:00-5:00 p.m.)
Written by Wendy Zdeb, MASSP Executive Director