by NYC Private Schools on December 20, 2009
NYC Private Schools are so successful because they have a longstanding tradition of working with their families and students to create the best educational environment for each individual student. There is so much focus on finding the right school for your child that many forget the simple fact that schools are trying to find the right students and families for their facility, too.
Parents, students and schools work with each other to make educational goals attainable and then go beyond.
The National Association of Independent Schools released a document about the Principles of Good Practice for schools and families to work, together, towards the right education.
Parents Working with Schools
Parents recognize that effective partnerships are characterized by clearly defined responsibilities, a shared commitment to collaboration, open lines of communication, mutual respect, and a common vision of the goals to be reached.
In selecting an independent school, parents seek an optimal match for the needs of the student, their own expectations, and the philosophy and programs of the school.
Parents are familiar with and support the school’s policies and procedures.
Parents provide a home environment that supports the development of positive learning attitudes and habits.
Parents involve themselves in the life of the school.
Parents seek and value the school’s perspective on the student.
When concerns arise, parents seek information directly from the school, consulting with those best able to address the concerns.
Parents share with the school any religious, cultural, medical, or personal information that the school may need to serve the student best.
Parents must take on certain responsibilities in the education of their own children. Learning does not begin when a child passes through the threshold of the school, but from the moment they are born.
by NYC Private Schools on November 23, 2009
The National Association of Independent Schools has many online resources available for educators, students and families involved in independent schools.
A recent article written for the Online NAIS site focused on stereotypes and how they affect the lifelong learning habits of kids.
The phenomenon is known in the research as “stereotype threat” — and it poses a very real threat to many independent school students. In 2008, researchers Kelly Danaher and Christian S. Crandall demonstrated that stereotype threat casts a long shadow on the Calculus AP exam. In fact, if the students taking the test were asked to fill out the demographic information identifying themselves as male or female at the end of the exam, rather than the typical placement just before the exam beings), an additional 4,700 girls would receive AP calculus credit each year! The simple act of identifying oneself as a female in advance of taking the mathematics test was enough to trigger sufficient anxiety to suppress the scores of the female test-takers
There are a number of ways to alleviate pre-test anxieties, some more complex and others just an easy switch proctor gender.
Putting students into different groups often calls for more than one test proctor. Find a colleague or another adult, preferably a female, to proctor the female students.
Most standardized tests require students to complete several demographics questions. While educators may not have the authority to change such requirements, they may be able to ask students to fill in their demographic information after they have completed the test.
A phenomenon on a national level was experienced and studied after President Obama was inaugurated into the White House.
Interestingly, two days after President Obama was inaugurated, The New York Times printed an article referring to what researchers were calling “the Obama effect.” Simply put, the deficit that had repeatedly been found in African-American students’ standardized test scores (as a result of stereotype threat) was poignantly absent in the days immediately following the inauguration (Dillon, 2009). Similarly, for girls and mathematics, researchers have found that exposing girls to talented female mathematicians reduces the negative effects of stereotype threat. Ideally, schools should aim to have female mathematics teachers who can serve as role models for female students. All schools should work to maintain a balanced ratio of male and female mathematics teachers so that female students will have female teachers at some point in their mathematics careers
What we expect from our children and what we expect from our students may be worlds away from what they may expect from themselves without our interference.
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