The teachers and kids seem happy with what has worked at YMS this year surrounding PBL and Mastery Connect. With any new program there are bound to be areas that take a bit longer/more work to accomplish. What are 3 areas that are problematic and still being worked on to "meet the standard"? Thank you.

This is a great question. Thanks for asking it. We will continue to work to improve what we do.

Here some of our top priorities for improvement as we move forward.


1. The reporting tool and the report card. Top priority! MasteryConnect has not been able to meet our expectations so far. We have experienced too many technical glitches. They system is also difficult to understand and has proven confusing to parents. It's almost too much information. MasteryConnect does have some real strengths for internal use however (collaboration, teacher accountability, data tracking). We are working with the company to modify and streamline the portal so that it is more user friendly. We are also working on a more simple report card that is uncomplicated and easy to understand.

2. In terms of teaching and learning, our top priority is to improve the way in which we differentiate instruction and assessments to meet the needs of all of our students. Teachers will be working to develop more in-depth and consistent options for exceeding standards. We want to make sure that our high achieving students are challenged and pushed to excel when they demonstrate mastery of standards. For students who struggle, we will continue to improve interventions and protocols that are effective in helping them to progress in their learning. It's important to note, that this goal has absolutely nothing to do with PBL or our standards-based instructional model. In fact, the work we have done in recent years is already improving our ability to meet the needs at both ends of the spectrum. This will continue to be an important goal for school improvement and we are thrilled that this in an area in which we are already making great strides.

3. The third general area that we will be working to improve is the continued refinement of our practices and across-the-board consistency. We will be focusing on the areas of communication, the use of our scoring guides, the way we assess and provide feedback for HOWLs, and way in which we use our targeted learning time.

We greatly appreciate the thoughtful feedback and input we receive from parents. It really does help us to improve what we do everyday.

As a parent, I want PBL at YMS to be the best it can be. Are there any kinds of input from parents that might be of value to the teaching staff as they evaluate how to improve upon the pilot program?

This is a wonderful question.  It's great to hear that so many parents support our school.  Parent support and involvement is critical to a student's individual success as well as the success of any school.  Any feedback parents can provide to teachers is extremely helpful and very much appreciated.  

The more you talk with your children at home about what they are learning in school the more connected you will be as well.  Remember, try to shift the conversation from "getting work done" to what kids are learning.  That is a key shift in mindset that is critical in developing a deeper understanding of our instructional model. The key questions to ask as parents are, "what is my child expected to know and be able to do" and "what is the evidence demonstrating that they have accomplished that goal (or have not).  Teachers and students should be able to answer these questions with confidence.  

It's important to note that the only piece of what we are doing that is a "pilot" is our reporting tool, Masteryconnect. Our instructional model is based on current literature and a wide body of research in best practice.