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Schools

Parents, Students, and Teachers Respond to Survey Regarding First Day of School

Vernon Center Middle School sixth graders and Rockville High School ninth graders started school a day earlier than their peers.

School officials sought input from parents, students and teachers who were impacted by the staggered start of school at Vernon Center Middle School and Rockville High School this year. 

And Board of Education members were provided with the results of the survey on Tuesday evening.

The district used Survey Monkey to seek input about the staggered start for students in the sixth and ninth grades.  The two groups started a day earlier than their peers during the first week of school. It was the first time Vernon tried this approach to assist students into transitioning into middle school and high school.

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From the results, the majority that participated in the survey found that having sixth graders and ninth graders start at day earlier than their school peers was helpful and a beneficial.

Here is a sampling of the questions and answers:

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Sixth Grade Results

A total of 22 parents participated at the middle school.

  1. Do you feel having a separate starting date for the first day of school helped ease the transition for your child to Vernon Center Middle School?

“Yes. It was a great idea! It helped my daughter a lot.”

“Yes – this was a very wise thing to do for both middle and high school – it is very stressful to go to new schools.”

“No I did not. The first day schedule was not their regular schedule anyway, so it does nothing to help them with adapting to middle school. The whole process of finding their way and feeling comfortable takes a few days to a week and I think our young people are fully able to cope with the transition of going to school as a whole student body.”

  1. What part of the day did you, as a parent, value most?

“All of it.”

“Breakfast invite.”

“The meet-and-greet with the teacher in the morning. I also appreciated that my son felt very comfortable knowing they had an early start date”

  1. Should Vernon Schools continue this practice in the future?

Of those answeering, 81 percent said yes, while 19% said no.

There were 161 sixth-grade students who participated in the survey.

  1. Do you feel that having a separate start date for the first day of school helped ease your transition to sixth grade at Vernon Center Middle School?

“Yes because it gave us time to know what we are doing.”

“Yes it did because we got to get used to the school and we got to practice on our lockers.”

“No because we did not get to know what it feels like being with the seventh- and eighth-graders.”

“It was less-distracting because the seventh- and eighth-graders sometimes come down to this hallway and make noise so it was less distracting.”

  1. What part of the day did you, as a student, value the most?

“The part of the day that I valued most was when we were in homeroom because my homeroom teacher told me everything I needed to know about my class and teachers.”

“I valued the transitioning without a lot of older kids in the same hallways as you. I also like it because since you are not used to transitioning into the different classes you can get an easy day of practice.”

“Practicing my locker.”

“The tour of the school and meeting other teachers.”

  1. Should Vernon Public Schools continue this practice in the future?

The results showed that 95.6% thought the practice should continue, while 4.4% said no.

The survey showed 52 teachers participated.

  1. Do you feel having a separate starting date for the first day of school helped ease the students’ transition to sixth grade at Vernon Center Middle School?

“Yes, I think it helped both students and parents.”

“Yes, I think there were many people available to help them get better acquainted to the building.”

“Yes, because the halls were not as congested add confusion and stress to the sixth graders.”

  1. What part of the day did you, as a teacher, value most?

“The camaraderie of working with all the teachers to show that we stand united at the middle school.”

“Being able to teach hallway behavior and soar values to a small group by homeroom.”

“The relaxed atmosphere and interactions between the staff and the new students.”

  1. Should Vernon Public Schools continue this practice in the future?

The results showed that 94.1% of teachers felt the practice should be continued, while 5.9% did not think it should be continued.

Ninth Grade Results

The results show that 20 ninth grade parents took part in the survey. Parents were asked three questions.

  1. Do you feel having a separate starting date for the first day of school helped ease the transition for your child to ninth grade at Rockville High School?

“Yes. Even though my son would not admit it, I think he felt a little better knowing where he was going without all the other students being there.”

“Yes. My daughter had a much better feeling of going to school the next day.  It eased her and my stress.”

“No, since they had a half day orientation before school started in the past, which was a nice transition.”

  1. What part of the day did you, as a parent, value most?

“The ice breakers for the kids were helpful. More things should be done to unite them as the class of 2015.”

“Less distractions for finding classes for the first time.”

“The individual attention they received that day was nice, but again, it was similar to the orientation day they had in the past.”

  1. Should Vernon Schools continue this practice in the future?

Ninety percent of those who answered said yes, while 10% said no.

There were 203 ninth grade students who participated in the survey.

  1. Do you feel that having a separate start date for the first day of school helped ease your transition to the ninth grade at Rockville High School?

“Yes it was. It helped me to get to know my way around and it also helped me get to know my teachers and find their classes and not be late on the first day.”

“I don’t think it made much of a difference because I still would have eventually eased into high school. But I did like how the first week of school only had one day.”

“Being able to go to all of my classes was nice, but the games that we played didn’t really help.”

“Yes, I do think having a separate starting day made it a bit easier but the tour was really fast so we didn’t really have enough time to actually see the whole school and get a feel of what to do and where to do.”

“Yes  I think it helped a lot so I could find my classes because this school is very confusing but not it’s a piece of cake.”

  1. What part of the day did you, as a student, value the most?

“When we went over our schedule because the next day I knew where my classes were and I didn’t have to ask anyone.”

“I would have to say when we got into our small groups and dressed up.”

“I valued the help from the other students of the school the most.”

“The Link Crew.”

“The tour of the school and the activities to meet new people.”

  1. Should Vernon Public Schools continue this practice in the future?

The results showed that 94.2% thought the practice should continue, while 5.8% said no.

The survey showed 53 teachers participated.

  1. Do you feel having a separate starting date for the first day of school helped ease the students’ transition to the ninth grade at Rockville High School?

“Yes. I think that students were not as worried as they tried to find their way to classrooms.”

“Yes – that was a great idea! Next year – do a separate G9 day; then a 1-8 day so we can get all of the forms and formalities done in one day!”

“Maybe,  I’m not sure. Some did not show up.”

“No, we still had the same difficulties on the “first day of school.” Such as couldn’t find classrooms, tardiness on first and second day, being unprepared for classes.”

“Definitely, I think it eases students’ anxiety about navigating an unfamiliar and bigger school building and also allowed them to meet their teachers.”

  1. What part of the day did you, as a teacher, value most?

“Meeting my ninth-grade students and answering their questions without them feeling embarrassed.”

“I valued getting to meet them in a smaller setting in order to know them better before the year started.”

“The morning time/breakfast where we could socialize with students informally.”

  1. Should Vernon Public Schools continue this practice in the future?

The results showed that 94.2% of teachers felt the practice should be continued, while 5.8% did not think it should be continued.

Board member Kyle Percy questioned when the students received their schedules this year. He asked the district to review when students are notified because it is an anxious time for some students over the summer wondering who they will have for teachers.

George Apel agreed. He also wondered why some students were being called in at the end of the year to make changes to their schedules because something the student had planned on was no longer an option.

Other Board Business

The board honored Center Road School at the 2010-2011 Mayor’s Cup Fitness Challenge winners. The school had 61 students participate last year in the eight events that encourage fitness, health, and community. It was announced the 205 students participated overall, not including family members. Runner ups included Skinner Road School with 43 students, Vernon Center Middle School with 35 and Lake Street School with 34 students participating.

Skinner Road School was this year’s recipient of Vernon Gets Moving. Data is collected in October, January, and April of how many hours are exercised by staff, district personnel, board members, etc. Skinner Road School logged 1,280 hours for the 2010-2011 school year. Runner ups included Rockville High School with 972 hours, Center Road School with 821 hours, and board of education members with 457 hours. School board chairperson Anne Fischer pointed out that January was the month with the most logged hours. She attributed it to all the snow shoveling that took place.

The board accepted a donation from Manchester Community College that offered up to 250 computers. Superintendent of Schools Mary Conway reported that the district will accept 200 according to information given to her from the Information and Technology Director Kevin Lemoi. Conway reported that 150 will be designated to classrooms while 50 will be used for parts.

The board will be requesting that the town council organize a school construction building committee for an Agricultural Education Science and Technology Equipment Grant that will be issued for the Vo-Ag Center. The committee needs to be created because the grant falls under school construction which requires a building committee to be established. The committee will deal with equipment that will be purchased under the grant.

The board approved the astronomy curriculum for the high school as well.

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