What Matters Most?

What do you expect?  No, really.  What do you expect for your child?

As a school principal I get asked quite often by parents what they can do to best help their child be successful.  It is a privilege to work in a community where parents proactively support their child's education and social/emotional growth.  I try to answer parents as specifically as possible whenever I am asked what they can do to better help their child, but the request is often so student-specific that it's hard to not sound prescriptive.

My answer usually focuses on the following:

• Read.  Read to and with your child and expect your child to read every day.
• Learn those math facts.  Make counting fun.  Counting silverware, pots, and pans is a great activity when children are young, but old-fashioned flash cards are still a hit.
• Monitor screen time.  There's a time and place for televsions and computers, but being aware of how much time kids are using electronics is important.  Instead of a computer game, get out some board games or card games.  Have magic markers, crayons, paint available....  foster creativity.  Empty boxes are always fun.
• Model a joy for learning and being healthy.  Be curious.  Get outside.  Exercise.  Shoot baskets.  Throw a ball or a frisbee.  Not all activities need to be structured.
• Have your child do chores around the house.  It takes a team to keep a family working, and even our youngest kids can and should help.

Much has been written about what stakeholder should be doing to help their children be successful.  I was reviewing an article recently by John Hattie, an educational researcher, that synthesized over 800 studies about what best impacts learning.  You can read the article here.

Briefly and for parents, Hattie states: 

The home effects are more related to the levels of expectation and encouragement, and certainly not a function of the involvement of the parents or caregivers in the management of schools.

The "levels of expectation and encouragement..." 

I like this.  Plus it's confirmed by research.

Don't get me wrong.  We have parents and families who are able to be very involved in our school, and I wouldn't have it any other way.  Our parent and community support groups and volunteers make a difference every day at Novi Woods, but expectations and encouragement...

The Novi Woods community which includes staff, parents, and students expects our students to grow.  We expect our students to grow academically, socially, and emotionally.  In fact, we have adopted and are living a vision statement that we are "...growing great leaders!"  This vision is so important to us that we have it on our front entrance and in the lobby of our building. 

Truthfully, you can't miss it. Kids talk about it. We celebrate it over announcements and assemblies. We have it on our email signature lines, and it's on our letterheads.  Simply put...our students are growing as great leaders.

And...our community expects and encourages us to meet this vision.  In addition to the PTO, our school board expects and encourages us.  In fact it's common to have a board member meet with me to chat or even visit an after school function.  Our district even has an educational foundation that actively encourages and expects us to be innovative and grow great leaders.

The Novi Educational Foundation has supported Novi schools for over 30 years.  They are a small group of citizens who actively raises money to give it away!  They offer grants for teachers, and they are currently in a campaign to help offset the costs of our 7 Habits of Highly Effective People work with our students and staff.  Learn more about NEF and its work with the 7 Habits here. 

(Now, if you're like me, I don't often follow the links in messages like this.  Trust me, you really need to read what is in that link!  NEF is a remarkable support organization,and their work often goes unnoticed.  Please follow the link.  In fact, if you're so inclined...offer to contribute to NEF.  Even the smallest amount will help.)

So, what do you expect?  I expect all of our students to be successful.  I expect each student to find his/her gifts and talents and to work hard.  I expect all of our students to persevere, to give back, to empathize, to reach beyond themselves.  I expect each student to learn from mistakes.  I expect each student to grow as a great leader.

The key in Hattie's research is that he clearly says to expect and encourage.  "Expect and encourage" is similar to hoping the weeds don't grow in my garden and actually getting my hands dirty to make sure the plants are nurtured to actually bear fruit.  I'm grateful organizations like our PTO, our School Board, the Novi Educational Foundation, many, many of our parents, and my entire staff are getting their hands dirty to help us grow great leaders at Novi Woods!

(Now, click here to read that link about NEF!)