Head of School's Message: January 19
Fall testing data for elementary and middle school students analyzed by state education associations have concluded that learning setbacks during the pandemic have been less severe than were feared, with students showing continued academic progress in reading and only modest setbacks in math.
Based on Chandler middle school teachers recently written reports on student progress, there was no discernible difference in the tone or content of the comments to those written when teachers and students are in the classroom together. Chandler students are learning.
In a report to Chandler’s Strategic Planning Committee last week, Social Studies Department Co-Chair Megan Collins said it was hard to replicate what happens in the classroom on a digital platform, but the students were meeting academic goals. This has been a year of challenge, growth, and achievement for all students. As committed as we are to sustaining the quality of the online program, we are turning our attention to considering what elements of distance teaching we can transfer to the classroom when we are back on campus. Joe Spencer, the other social studies co-chair, talked to the committee about a major challenge faced by all teachers and parents, the importance of helping students become discerning users of online information. The tasks of separating facts from opinions and verifying facts have taken on added importance and need to be addressed thoughtfully throughout Chandler’s curriculum while we are in distance learning and when we return in-person, and not just in social studies.
Social-emotional learning continues to be a major focus of our teachers as we attend to the well-being of the students during the pandemic. The WSJ columnist Julie Jargon defines SEL as “the process by which children learn to understand and manage feelings, develop empathy for others and acquire problem-solving skills.” She says that, because of the combination of pandemic and distance learning, SEL has never been more important or more difficult. The guidance of Chandler’s Social-Emotional Coordinator Adrienne Hollingsworth has helped our community with those difficulties.
The pandemic has been a struggle, taking a toll on everyone. Yet, the social-emotional status of the students I encountered last Thursday indicated that just like the impact of the pandemic on academic progress, social-emotional setbacks may be less severe than were feared. I joined the middle school assembly on Thursday morning a few minutes early and caught up with three students who happened to be there ahead of everyone else. I asked them how they were doing.
One said he had just put together a machine that made tea, and another said that he was solving a Rubik’s cube in less than four seconds and the third, who was determined to be as sugar-free as possible this year, is looking for a substitute for honey in his yogurt because it’s too sweet. On Thursday afternoon, during the supply pick-up on Armada Drive, I greeted a few of the Lower School students in the back seats of their cars. Their eyes sparkled like the brightest of stars above their masks. If the eyes are windows to the soul, the kids were doing as well as could be expected.
Soon, we will send you an update about the status of the return to campus of K-2 and middle school sports. We will also be sending a parent survey that will let us know how you are doing and help us in our planning.
