Director Tidbits - 8/2
Equipping CC Directors in the South Sound
Jslemmer@classicalconversations.com
(360) 349-7398 - you can text me too.
A Thought for All Community Orientation
New Directors: We are so excited to have you on board!! It is all new, so be careful that you dont get overwhelmed. Reach out to other directors of your same program for perspective and tips. Call me for admin questions and encouragement!
Returning Directors to the same level: You get the opportunity to do version 2.0 - or 3.0... So what went well last year? What would you do different? And what is ONE thing you can focus on to learn about/improve/practice? Maybe you need to focus on Latin, or Debate - or maybe you need to focus on building relationships with parents?
Returning Directors to a new level: What is your goal for your class this year? How does the previous year give you food for thought for this year? What strand is your strength - or your weakness? What is ONE thing that you can focus on to improve on this year?
Classical Communities: Creating a Culture of Constructive Comments through Assessment
One thing that was talked about a lot was the value of Assessment in the Challenge Classroom. This is an incredible skill that we can help students develop as part of community. You as directors have an wonderful opportunity to help our Challenge Students learn from assessment and use it to its fullest advantage.
Setting the stage is very important. Start talking about it at Orientation. Have a discussion on the first day about the value of Assessment. Ask the students to talk to each other about how assessment should look in the classroom. Get the fears out there and talk it through with them. This will be a VALUABLE conversation that you can reference as the days go on. You may have students who are used to assessment, and others who are quite timid about it. Talk about this reality and help your students create a strategy for their classroom to be successful and for themselves to be
There are many types of assessment that can be happening in our classroom.
FIrst and most importantly, Self Assessment. This is where assessment starts. If a student can identify one thing they did well and one thing they can improve on next time, they are off to a great start. Could you as a director assess yourself as an example? The points need to be specific; dont let the students say "I could have prepared more" - HOW would have preparation helped them specifically?
Next, Peer Assessment. This is where it often breaks down. We are timid about how peers will assess each other. Every class has a different dynamic so you will need to figure out what works best for your group. Here are some thoughts on how to set this process up for success:
- Allow positive comments to flow freely, then only allow 2-3 constructive comments before moving on.
- Only allow those students who also did the assignment to comment.
- Add another layer - Assess the Assessor. Allow other students to comment on the student who gave the comments. This adds another layer of accountability, especially to those students who are more generous with their comments.
- The student being assessed can ONLY say "Thank you." No justification or arguing. Just reception. This will be a skill they have to learn, but it will help with listening once they practice it.
And finally, Tutor Assessment. The tutor should always have soemthing to say that is specific and helpful. Rarely should the tutor just agree with the other comments. At least take soemthng that another student said and add soemthign more specific to it.
Do you have the Rhetoric Trivium Table? On the Inside is a wonderful layout for Presentation Assessment that you could use in your class.
Here's more resources for you on Assessment:
Blue Books at the heart of Assessment
Learning Pathways > My Plan > Classical Chats > How do I assess to bless? (4 minutes)
Learning Pathways > My Plan > Classical Chats > Why do we assess to bless? (4 minutes)
Creating a Community
You as a director are charged with creating the skeleton that is the program - the technical stuff. Contracting tutors, taking registration, organizing a facility, equipping tutors, Orienting families, facilitiating classtime, and providing supplies. But is that what MAKES a community? Well, it is a good start, but it will fall flat if we don't pay attention to relationships. And this is where your community comes in.
How can you get everyone on board for COMMUNITY? Set up, clean up, activites, field trips, mom's nights out, game nights, etc? Here are some thoughts.
* Ask a mom to help coordinate. Have set up/clean up parents who coordinate the tasks.
* Ask people what they want to do to contribute.
* Make a sign up list of jobs that need to be done, but have open spots for people to add things they want to do. Here is a sample list to start from.
* Approach someone specifically to do a task. Personal invitations mean so much!
* If someone has a great idea, tell them to run with it! Resist the urge to take it on yourself.
Be careful when you do extra activities or services for your community that aren't a part of your contracted position. Of course there will be times when you do something because you LOVE to do it, but be aware of setting a precident that it is part of a director's job to do something in particular.
More Helpful Tips
Licensing Fees are due to CC by September 1. If you need help wtih this process, please let me know!
If you have students who enroll later, then their licensing fee is due 2 weeks after registration.
Director Listing
Tumwater:
Director - F/E: Denise Charles, denisecharlescc@gmail.com
East Olympia:
Director - F/E: Amy Johnson, amyjohnson4401@gmail.com
Tanwax (Eatonville )
Director - F/E: Jo Ell Best, jo_ell@comcast.net
Director - Challenge A: LIsa Mutart, lisamutart@yahoo.com
Director - Challenge B: Jessie Mitchell, jessiem414@aim.com
Olympia
Director - F/E: Rachel Mboob, mrs.mboob@gmail.com
Director - Challenge A: Carline Dally, dallyhomestead@gmail.com
Lacey
Director - F/E: Kimberly Newton, classicalkimnewton@gmail.com
Director - Challenge A: Kerri Vincent, Kerrivincent@comcast.net
Director - Challenge B: Val Brase, brase6@gmail.com
Director - Challenge I: Jenny Fitch, dawgtwins@comcast.net
Director - Challenge II: Rachel Benincasa, therocklinks@yahoo.com
Director – Challenge IV: Michelle Townley, ccmichelletownley@gmail.com
West Olympia
Director - F/E: Claudia Matthews, matthewsclaudia@me.com
Director - Challenge A: Renee Michelle Kirk, rmlkirk@hotmail.com
Director - Challenge B: Melissa Rubert, mrubert@classicalconversations.com
Director - Challenge I: Ralph Dally, rdallyf4@gmail.com
Director - Challenge II: Cathy Barbuto, c.barbuto@comcast.net
Director - Challenge III: Wendi Billington, bellamadre16@gmail.com
Jennifer Slemmer
My greatest desire is to build strong communities that empower parents, encourage students, and help families know God and Make him known! I will do my part to reach out to you to offer support, training, and resources, but I hope you will come to me for support and encouragement as well.
Email: jslemmer@classicalconversations.com
Phone: (360) 349-7398