Personalization through Advisory Programs Kevin Cyr and Maureen Cohen February 2011

NEASC: School Culture and Leadership Standard “There is a formal, ongoing program through which each student has an adult in the school, in addition to the school counselor, who knows the student well and assists the student in achieving the school’s 21 st century learning expectations.”

1. Teachers, Administrators, Department Heads, Guidance Counselors, Parents, Students 2. Input from School Advisory Council 3. Be sure that key teacher leaders are involved in the process Create a Advisory Committee

Develop Goal for Advisory Program: Example Lynnfield HS The goal is for every student to be known personally by an adult in the building, and to build a school-wide community Promote respectful and meaningful relationships Promote small, caring communities of learners Provide individual attention to students Provide each student with an opportunity to “belong” Create a welcoming, comfortable community where students feel they can contribute safely

Timeline for Advisory Study and investigation Best practices Research Begin buy- in Planning and design Purpose, goals Schedule, size Advisor role Content, resources Activity Mapping Curricular goals Align activities Create advisory notebook Professional Development Training Share lessons Assessment Surveys Meetings with advisors From: esrnational.org

Logistics Checklist Group Make-Up Size? Who will assign students? Same grade or heterogeneous? Looping? Who will be advisors? Format How often will it meet? When will it meet? How many sessions each year? How long will each session meet? Implementation: all grades, one grade each year?

Logistics Checklist Curriculum Based on goals, what content objectives will be the focus? How will you break up the content themes into units? If by grade---what themes will be for each grade? What kind of simple format will you use to standardize lesson plans? Do you have enough people and resources to develop the plans? Awareness How will you introduce the concept of Advisor-Advisee programs to your faculty? What resistance do you think you’ll encounter as you introduce the idea of advisor-advisee programs? How will you address that resistance? What individuals do you need to bring on board? From:

Potential reasons for resistance: 1. Parents do not understand the concept and many may oppose it 2. Many administrators are not really concerned about it. 3. Most teachers have had little formal preparation for service as an advisor. 4. Teachers do not understand the goals of the endeavor. 5. Advisory takes time – time that many teachers believe could be invested more effectively in preparing to teach their subjects. 6. Some teachers do not want to engage in a program that requires personal sharing. 7. When it is implemented incorrectly with little professional development, students do not have a positive experience From partnership.com

Case Study: GHS Planning Phase: Formed a committee of teachers/administrators (1 yr process) Received input from School Improvement Council Using “The Advisory Guide”: prepared mission and goals/themes Developed Lesson Plans for the next year Presented to faculty members and sought volunteers Organization:Freshman DS-24 minutes Every 8 Days Teacher volunteers Set curriculum/lessons. Provided on website.

Case Study: GHS Strengths Faculty Volunteers Administrators modeled by participating as advisors Heterogeneous Groups Set time in schedule to use Senior leaders Weaknesses No buy-in from all faculty members Hard for admin. to participate Freshman are uncomfortable talking During Directed Study: only 25 minutes. Students felt like they were being punished yr one. Seniors not trained yr one

Case Study: GHS Lessons Learned: Students want more opportunities to talk about issues, less filling out of forms. Senior leaders are a huge asset when trained well. (2 day training). They run the advisories. Surveys and meetings offer good feedback for revisions. Expansion to School-Wide: By grade. Less frequent than freshman advisory. Includes all faculty/staff and all parts of the building.

Case Study: LHS Planning Phase: Advisory Comte-Teachers/Admin Research/Visit other programs Provide PD to ensure staff readiness Lead teachers promote advisory goalsOrganization: students Divided by grade Use all building locations Utilize most staff—secretaries, paraprofessionals, psychologist 20 minutes before lunch every other Wednesday One credit for attendance

Case Study: LHS Curriculum: Provide topics/frameworks for discussions (positives and negatives) Extended advisory sessions (outside speakers/debrief) Field Day—kickoff in fall with activities/class competition, community service walk/donation Examples: Core Values, Stress Management, Plagiarism, Study Skills, Bullying…Follow-Up: Survey staff and students at mid- year and/or end of year Support lead teachers in continued PD Utilize common planning time for further discussion/reflection

Case Study: LHS Lessons Learned: Keep meeting time short Meet at least twice/month Provide a structure/curriculum for staff/students (some consistency across Advisories important) Allow flexibility within the schedule for timely topics -- Involve all staff (where possible) Group students by grade level and carefully choose Do not schedule on a Monday or Friday Create a buddy system for coverage

 American Student Achievement Institute:  ESR “The Advisory Guide”: learning/advisory-program/ learning/advisory-program/  NMSA: Research Summary:  MacLaury, S. (2002). Student advisories in grades 5-12: A facilitator’s guide. Norwood, MA: Christopher-Gordon. Resources for Advisory Development