A new program, set to be implemented throughout Rocky View Schools (RVS) for the 2016/17 school year, will attempt to pinpoint what individual factors lead students to engage with their learning.
“We’re measuring what turns a student on to school,” said John Burger, Director of Schools with RVS. “What attracts them to school. (There) are key constructs that turn kids on to school.”
Those constructs vary for each individual student. One student may depend on their peers for support, while another may need to feel a strong sense of safety in their school in order to feel comfortable and ready to learn.
Other constructs, such as “self confidence” and “internal resilience,” contribute to an assessment of each individual student as part of the Student Orientation to School (SOS) program.
“In terms of identifying these factors for each construct, we get a result as to how positive or negative the student is (relating) to (their) school in terms of these constructs,” Burger said.
As each individual student will fall in line with certain constructs more than others, the specific reasons for disengagement are varied. For example, if a student struggles with “internal resilience” they may sometimes feel overwhelmed by school, worry too much, or not have a good sense about who they are as a person.
RVS is currently testing an online version of the SOS test, and will implement the program in grades 4, 7 and 10 in the 2016/17 school year.
As the result of a two-year grant, RVS previously utilized a paper version of the test in 25 schools and began developing strategies to support student needs identified by the test.
“(The test) resonates with the principal’s perception of whether a student may be in trouble. The SOS gives them key insight as to why a student isn’t feeling positive about a school,” Burger said. “Principals (told us) how valuable this information is.”
RVS Board Chair Colleen Munro and Trustee Sylvia Eggerer both noted the SOS program lined up well with the division’s 2015-19 Four Year Plan and a focus on implementing various wraparound services.
“Beyond the structural things, this is about being student-centric and embedding student voices in everything that we do,” Munro said. “At the end of the day, this is a very real way to make sure we are doing the very best that we can do to individualize learning for our students.
“It’s really exciting to see that we have the resources to do it system-wide at various points in student careers.”
“It (resonates) that we’re looking at the whole child and not just the academic portion of the child,” Eggerer said. “This has been a long time coming.”
