• Surveying the Students

    As soon as I heard that the Board of Education passed the reconfiguration, I knew it was time to get to work.   With a job this monumental, the big question was where to begin?

    For me there was only one answer – that was to start with the students!

    After speaking to the students at Horbelt, I then asked them to share with me the answer to this question:   what would you need to see in a school that would make you bang down the doors to get in every day?  I was surprised and excited to see what the students shared because their responses were almost identical to what some other adults and I had determined.   In fact, they shared some things we had not thought of.    This leads me to one of the premises this 5-6 building was conceptualized around – that in education we have largely ignored the largest group in education on how to make education “better” for students.  That group is the students! 

    One more thing about the survey; it was administered to all the students at Horbelt and also shared across the district's 4th and 5th grade teachers.   While we did not receive responses from all the students, we received enough to incorporate the information we found into our results.   Amazingly – the answers were CONSISTENT!

    Here is what they shared, and then the corresponding action.   The responses are in no hierarchical order.   Also,  what is below are only the responses that had multiple student replies:

    Number

    Request from Students

    Response

    1

    Vending Machines

    Done

    2

    Higher toilets

    Done

    3

    More clubs – newspaper, robotics, coding, environmental, service, etc.

    Done

    4

    More organized games at recess

    Done

    5

    Change baby playground

    Small jungle gym was removed; tetherball has been installed; black top recoated; new basketball hoop installed; sand put down for beach volleyball

    6

    Decorate hallways

    Always in process

    7

    Advanced classes

    Added to 6th grade; GT in 5th

    8

    Long tables in the cafeteria

    Done

    9

    Better food in the cafeteria

    Met with food vendor and have upgrades to meals and service queued up.  

    10

    Freedom to sit anywhere in the cafeteria

    We will give students this opportunity.

    11

    Taller tables and chairs

    All desks in 6th grade classes are the single unit desk and tabletop; gives feel of bigger chairs

    12

    After School Sports

    There will be after school sports

    13

    Picnic tables outside

    Done

    14

    Spanish class

    Done

    15

    LEGO robotics

    Done

    16

    Safety patrol

    Done - reconceptualized to Student Ambassadors 

    17

    More clubs

    Done

    18

    Older feel to the building

    In process still

    19

    Reading room, student lounge, comfortable reading area

    Done ( hopefully we can keep)

     

    Are you impressed with our students yet?  I am.   I think they did a pretty good job in identifying the things that needed to be addressed at the Horbelt building in many ways to prepare it for kids.

     Can’t wait until these kids get into our building!  Again!

    Next time I will provide you with more specific information about the program.