Manitoba Provincial Report Card Pressure

“...teachers indicated that, on occasion, they had to phone in sick in order to complete their report cards on time and they acknowledged that others did so as well.”[i] In 2010 the Manitoba government announced the development of a provincial report card that would standardize assessment reporting across the province using both a parent-friendly format and plain language.[ii] While provisions were put in place to gain meaningful feedback from teachers, parents, and administrators before the mandatory implementation in the fall of 2013, an unstandardized execution has left many Manitoba teachers feeling the pressure.

In a 2014 survey conducted by the Manitoba Teachers’ Society sixty-five percent, of a total eight-hundred survey participants, shared that they spent more than ten hours writing detailed comments for the new Provincial Report Card and forty-two percent shared that they prepare report cards for more than one-hundred students.[iii] Furthermore, “too many job demands” topped the list of sources of stress for Manitoba teachers; up four percent, to sixteen, since 2004.[iv] I argue that a mandate like the Provincial Report Card needs to be implemented effectively and efficiently in a manner that allows assessment reporting to shift towards a more standardized template while providing educators with sufficient support to allow a continuous transition.

When introducing the Provincial Report Card mandate school divisions were forced to address the logistics of appropriate training, the technology utilized to generate their gradebooks, and continued support for staff, among other matters. Sufficient training, however, appears different depending on which school division or even which school a teacher works in. According to the survey mentioned previously, completed by the Manitoba Teacher’s Society, only thirty-nine percent of teachers received division-wide training from a Manitoba Education representative and sixteen percent of teachers received no training at all.[v] The remaining fifty-five percent received training in various formats including sessions hosted by their administration and independent-training from Manitoba Education support documents.[vi] When addressing technology the issue is not any more standardized as school divisions across the province are using software such as Edline, Power School, and Maplewood, or developing their own personalized systems to develop their gradebooks. As each platform offers its own unique formatting options and features, divisions have been forced to work independently to support the various glitches that can occur with any technology system. With the shear amount of time the reporting process can take, teachers have felt pressured to do multiple-copies of their documents to work around some of the programming problems, “I have had the program freeze mid-reporting. Crash and delete all my records and then have to re-write all my reports (I’ve since been writing them in Word and saving the file – just in case).”[vii] With one year of mandatory implementation under their belts, teachers and divisions are still seeking continued support as the November report card period is on the horizon.

As a new teacher, who entered into the profession in the same year as the introduction of the Provincial Report Cards, I have felt the frustrations of insufficient training and unreliable technology. Is Maplewood transferring my records onto the report card correctly? Should I spend the extra time writing and saving my records in a word document incase the program crashes? Is this comment appropriate and free of any superlatives? What about my next eighty comments? While the template of the Provincial Report Card is standardized the uniformity has stopped there and, unfortunately, this leaves teachers and divisions to address how to meet the unique needs of their situation.

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[i] Dr. David Dibbon. (2004). “It’s About Time – A Report on the Impact of Workload on Teachers and Students”. Page 18. Available online at: https://www.mun.ca/educ/people/faculty/ddibbon/pdf/teacher%20workload%20final%20version.pdf

[ii] Manitoba Education. (2010). “News Release: Premier Unveils Innovative Changes To Report Cards, In-Service Days”. Available online at: http://news.gov.mb.ca/news/index.html?archive=2010-9-01&item=9642

[iii] Judy Edmund- Manitoba Teachers’ Society. (2013). “Wild Cards: Many Teachers Feel Lost In The Shuffle”. The Manitoba Teacher. Canada. Volume 92. Number 7. Pages 13-14. Available online at: http://www.mbteach.org/library/Archives/MBTeacher/June14_MBT.pdf

[iv] Judy Edmund- Manitoba Teachers’ Society. (2013). “Stress Tops Class Size Concern”. The Manitoba Teacher. Canada. Volume 92. Number 4. Page 7. Available online at: http://www.mbteach.org/library/Archives/MBTeacher/Jan-Feb14_MBT.pdf

[v] Judy Edmund- Manitoba Teachers’ Society. (2013). “Wild Cards: Many Teachers Feel Lost In The Shuffle”. The Manitoba Teacher. Canada. Volume 92. Number 7. Page 12. Available online at: http://www.mbteach.org/library/Archives/MBTeacher/June14_MBT.pdf

[vi] lbid.

[vii] Judy Edmund- Manitoba Teachers’ Society. (2013). “Wild Cards: Many Teachers Feel Lost In The Shuffle”. The Manitoba Teacher. Canada. Volume 92. Number 7. Page 13. Available online at: http://www.mbteach.org/library/Archives/MBTeacher/June14_MBT.pdf

Parent-Teacher Interviews Round Two

     On Monday of this week our second round of report cards went home and officially kicked-off spring Parent-Teacher Interview week. Being that we are a K-12 school, our K-7 teachers scheduled and organized their own meetings which ran throughout the week. In the 8-12 end, our school secretary scheduled our meetings for us which were primarily held on Thursday after school and Friday during school-hours (there were no classes on Friday).

     Compared to the 30+ interviews I had first semester, this round was a breeze with only 20. I think last semester I had a lot of interviews because I was new to the staff and hadn't had an opportunity to meet very many families yet. As such, I found that many of my interviews were quite formal. This time around, my interviews were much more relaxed and comfortable.

     While last semester I reflected on the content of my interviews, I never shared any pictures of how I set up for interviews. So, without further adieu, here are some pictures I snapped before interviews got going on Thursday:


A quick selfie before things got underway.
Rocking my teal blazer & multi-colour top (both from Eclipse)
 in attempts to break the winter-slump!

I had these tables set up outside my room, along with several chairs, for
parents/guardians/students while they waited.

This table showcased our Grade 8 Classroom Blog and included
step-by-step instructions on how to access specific student posts as well
as how to access our Classroom Website (used by all students).

This table held the student folders my students prepared with
exemplars of their work. Each bucket held the folders for each of
my classes and were assembled in alphabetical order.

I also had displays of student work up along the hallway.
This is an example of a project my Grade 9 Science students completed
regarding genotypes and phenotypes of their theoretical "alien babies".
Each poster included a QR Code that could be scanned in order to
access their research.

     Here is a list of tips I've put together for all of my wonderful student-teacher friends who will be holding their own parent-teacher interviews next year!

TIPS (in no particular order)

- Speak to what was communicated on the report card (both academically
  and behaviourally). This ensures the parent/guardian fully understands
  what the report was telling them.
- Having print-offs of the most current achievement report (including
  report card comments) is a great reminder if you're on your 101st
  interview and can no longer think clearly!
- Write notes to yourself after each interview (if needed) so you can
  follow-up effectively (I would never remember otherwise)
- Have your anecdotal records handy, don't mention behaviours or
  situations that you can't back up with documentation!
- If your discussion warrants a follow-up phone-call make sure you
  note this and put it into your planner after interviews are done, there
  is nothing worse than promising to do something and then forgetting!
- If you are not the right person to talk to regarding a certain situation
  then make sure you direct the parent to the correct person, don't try
  to tackle something that isn't in your area.
- Relax, focus, and take it one interview at a time! :)

My 1st Parent-Teacher Experience

     On Monday of this week our first round of report cards went home and officially kicked-off Parent-Teacher Interview week. Being that we are a K-12 school, our K-7 teachers scheduled and organized their own meetings which ran throughout the week. In the 8-12 end, our school secretary scheduled our meetings for us which were primarily held on Thursday after school and Friday during school-hours (there were no classes on Friday).

     Thursday marked a full day of teaching from 8:50-3:30 and then straight into interviews beginning at 4. By the time I had straightened up my room and ran to the bathroom, parents were already walking down the hall (talk about a busy day)! Our interviews are scheduled in 10 minute blocks and with the exception of a 20 minute break, I was scheduled from 4pm to 8pm! I'm proud to say that for approximately 95% of my interviews I was on-time and didn't have to be concerned about running over time. Near the end of my schedule, however, I had one interview that ran over and resulted in me not actually being done until 9:30pm! Over 12 hours at school is way too long for me...

     Friday was more spread out and I felt more prepared having a full evening under my belt already. Our staff was able to go uptown for lunch together and I was done early at 2:15!

ORGANIZATION/SET-UP

     Here are some organizational aspects that I included when  setting up for my interviews:

1 ) Clearly Posting The Schedule Outside The Door
- This way parents could visually see that someone would be coming
   after them and that there was only so much time (it seemed to prevent some
   interviews from running over time).
- It also let other parents know when you were with someone so that they
   weren't walking in during the middle of someone else's interview.

 2 ) Having Portfolios of Student Work
- Before interviews, have students place samples of their work in a duotang
  so that their parents can see their actual products of work and see the
  rationalization behind the assessment.
- It seemed like a lot of parents had a better understanding about their child's
  mark once they were able to see the work that they had completed and it helped
  to have a visual when explaining what the student's "next step" could be.
* Make sure to pick work samples that demonstrate different skill sets
  (knowledge/understanding, mental math, problem solving) and/or from the
   different units of study (rational numbers, percentages, etc).

3 ) Having a Detailed Print-Off Of Their Mark Ready
- I found that a lot of parents didn't come into the meeting with a copy of their
  child's report cards or the child hadn't brought their report card home with
  them.By having a detailed print out of a student's marks in your class it is
  easy to show parents what assignments are missing, trends in marks, and
  provides insight if they hadn't seen the report card yet.

4 ) Setting up a Tech Station Outside The Door
- This way parent could explore through our classroom website or the Grade
  8 class blog while they waited for their interview. This received positive
  responses and I had several parents on the computer when I went to
  welcome them to the interview.

     When I first posted about Parent-Teacher Interviews when I was student-teaching I summarized some of the different types of interviews you can encounter. Now that I've gone through interviews independently, I'd like to revisit these types:

STUDENT WHO IS DOING WELL
     We all know this student, he/she is the one who has marks in the mid 80's and up, they have all of their work in on time and very rarely present behavioural challenges in class. These interviews were very short and to the point. More often than not these interviews just reassure the parents that their child is still doing well in the class and that they should keep up the good work through the remainder of the course. At times, the parent was interested in knowing how they child could do even better but for the most part, these interviews were very short as there wasn't a lot of information that needed to be covered.

     Depending on the student, these interviews may discuss the option of enrichment material as well. Luckily for me, the High School math teacher is right next door to me so it was easy to quickly include him in the conversation if the student/parent was interested in adding in enrichment activities from the upper-years math classes.

STUDENT WHO IS STRUGGLING (PERSONAL EFFORT)

     These students are the ones who have the potential to do quite well in the class but, for various reasons, are not applying themselves. Some reasons for this could be:
- Not taking the time to fully complete their assignments
- Not handing in assignments for assessment
- Not attending class
- Not interested in the class
- Influenced negatively by peers, etc

    These interviews tended to address the fact that I knew the student understood the material but due to the student's personal effort, their understanding wasn't being reflected when it came to assessment activities. Most of the time, the parents were quite aware of their child's behaviour and the discussion shifted from their child's assessment to what can be done to assist the student in getting on track. For a lot of students, we used the pre-printed reports to highlight missing work and make lists of what the students can complete, or re-do, in order to boost their mark. We also discussed options like coming in during study periods, lunch hours, and after school to work on assignments and receive additional support to get caught up.

     While I realize that these type of interviews could be challenging, I found that most parents were very aware of their child's personality and weren't surprised that their child needed to apply themselves more often. I think that, for a lot of students, this type of behaviour is just a part of growing up and learning responsibility and accountability.

STUDENT WHO IS STRUGGLING (UNDERLYING CONCERN)


     These students are the ones who are continually struggling in multiple core-area subjects and the parents and teachers have begin to consider adaptations to help the student succeed. Some situations I experienced were:
- Students encountering new medical concerns that were presenting
  challenges for the student
- Students who may be undergoing assessments for a possible learning
  disability
- Students who comprehend but are unable to produce any tangible
  products for assessment.

     These interviews focused on the fact that there was some sort of underlying concern that was preventing the student from succeeding and having a positive learning experience. For almost all of the students who were in this group we discussed the resources and supports that may be available to them in the school. We also set up meetings with the school's resource teacher when it was appropriate. This allowed the teacher to have some type of documentation about the student's challenges and would allow them to implement certain adaptations once the resource team had addressed the student's specific situation. Until assessment with the resource team could take place, we discussed adaptations that could be implemented  right away. These included bringing in laptops to type assignments, using voice-to-text software, having verbal assessment options so students can verbally explain their understanding and recording in-class explanations.


STUDENT WHOSE PARENT IS UNHAPPY


     These students had their parent(s) come into the meeting very unhappy with various aspects of the class or school in general. Some concerns that were addressed with me included:
- Frustration over Grade 10 Essential Math being mandatory
- Anger towards disciplinary actions occurring through another
  teacher or administration
- Unhappiness with the wording of Report Card comments
     These interviews were more about school operations, me as a teacher, and classroom routine as opposed to the student and their progress. I will start by saying that these types of interviews are mentally and emotionally exhausting. Depending on the parent and what their concern is, you might not be the one who can assist them. For these types of interviews, remember to reference back to your anecdotal records to provide specific examples and recognize when to direct to administration for the concerns that were not in your jurisdiction.

TIPS
(in no particular order)

- Speak to what was communicated on the report card (both academically
  and behaviourally). This ensures the parent/guardian fully understands
  what the report was telling them.
- Having print-offs of the most current achievement report (including
  report card comments) is a great reminder if you're on your 101st
  interview and can no longer think clearly!
- Write notes to yourself after each interview (if needed) so you can
  follow-up effectively (I would never remember otherwise)
- Have your anecdotal records handy, don't mention behaviours or
  situations that you can't back up with documentation!
- If your discussion warrants a follow-up phone-call make sure you
  note this and put it into your planner after interviews are done, there
  is nothing worse than promising to do something and then forgetting!
- If you are not the right person to talk to regarding a certain situation
  then make sure you direct the parent to the correct person, don't try
  to tackle something that isn't in your area.
- Relax, focus, and take it one interview at a time! :)

     

An Open Letter To Parents

Dear Parents/Guardians,

     As I sit here, reflecting on my first parent-teacher experience, I want to share the following thoughts that have been infiltrating my mind more and more. First, I would like to thank you for sharing your children with us:
- for allowing teachers to have the opportunity to be a part of their lives...
- for allowing us to witness their personality and appreciate their quirks...
- for allowing us to be there on the good, bad, and out-right crazy days...
- for allowing us to be a part of their development (academically, emotionally,
  etc)...
- for allowing us to be there as they experience new things...
- for allowing us to be the ones that are there when you can't be...

     Secondly, I would like to say that there nothing that teachers want more than for your child to be successful (in all areas of their lives, not just in our subject-area). Everything that we do, day-in and day-out, is to assist us in making sure that our students are not only learning the content of our subject but are learning necessary skills to be life-long learners and be successful in whatever situation they chose to pursue.

     With that in mind, it breaks our hearts to have students who struggle in any of these areas. To have a student who is struggling in our subject area, who is not reaching their true potential, or who is maybe experiencing a difficult time in their lives, are not situations that bring us joy by any means. It seems, however, that there are students and parents/guardians out there who believe exactly the opposite.

    I recognize that there are an infinite number of possibilities that can explain why your mindset is as such. I ask you, however, before you enter the classroom with an attack plan, please try to recognize that the person on the other side of that desk wants your child to be just as successful as you do...

Report Cards For Teachers?

     When I was student teaching, I had my students complete assessments of me as a teacher. This was not something I was required to do but it was a big learning opportunity for me so I continued doing it throughout my last year of my Education Degree. I actually got the idea from Larry Ferlazzo's blog (here is his most-recent example).

     When student teaching, my evaluation questions were centered around the statements/categories that were included in my evaluation checklists from my university. Now that I am out of school and have my own classroom I am not sure if I want these questions to remain the same, or if I want to change them....

     Here are some questions that I am thinking of asking:

- If you could describe Mrs. T's to someone taking a class with her next semester, what would you say?

- Are Mrs. T's classroom expectations fair? Why or why not?

- My favourite thing / least-favourite thing about Mrs. T's class is:

- One thing Mrs. T needs to improve on is:

- Would you take another class with Mrs. T?

     I'm thinking of meshing some new questions with my pre-existing questions so please leave question suggestions in the comments!

Report Card Reflections

     Today our Semester 1 Report Cards went home with students and I could breathe a sigh of relief. The past two weeks have been emotionally, mentally, and physically exhausting as I've attempted to survive my first report card experience as a first year teacher. To be honest, I don't feel like there was any one aspect that was genuinely hard (although they were time consuming). The most difficult part, for me, was making sure I actually did everything that was required of me.
    
     I felt like there was a lot of aspects that I simply wasn't aware of, so I would think I was completed... only to find out I was still missing details or tasks. I feel like it would have been a lot more simple if I had a comprehensive checklist to work through. Unfortunately, our Provincial Report Cards are new so even our most-experienced teachers were still going through this for the first time. In the interest of helping others (and reminding myself), here is a checklist of what I had to do:

1) Organize & Update Records
     - Go through my anecdotal records, ensure everything is up-to-date,
       notify admin/parents/students of any necessary concerns

2) Complete all Assessments for This Semester
     - For two of my classes, this included a unit test or project as they
       were at the end of their units
     - For four of my classes, this included finishing up current
       assignments
     - I also made sure none of my students had missing assignments
       or completing proper documentation for those who still had things
       missing at the cut-off date

3) Fully Update my Online Markbook
     - This was done as I completed Step 2

4) Writing 4-5 Sentence Comments For Every Student For Every Subject
     - For each of my students, for each of my subjects, I needed to
       write a comment to expand on the numerical grade that each student
       received.
     - Each comment identified the student's strength in the subject,
       a challenge in the subject, and an appropriate next step for the next
       semester.
     - For me, this equaled approximately 94 comments!
     * I know I still have a lot to learn about comment-writing but
        luckily none of my comments were sent back when reviewed by the
        principal!

5) Reporting on Learning Behaviours
     - For each of my students, for each of my subjects, I also needed to
       report on my student's learning behaviours while in class. As a
       Middle/High School teacher I only needed to assign a letter
       designation in each category and not write a full comment (unless
       there was a specific concern)

6) Completing IEP Adaptation Checklists
     - Any of my students who are on an Individualized Education Plan
       (IEP) needed an Adaptation Checklist attached to their report card
       to document what adaptations are being included in the classroom
     - I only needed to complete 5 of these, which wasn't too time-consuming

7) Ensure All Grade 8 Teachers Have Their Comments/Learning Behaviours/Marks Completed
      - As the Grade 8 homeroom teacher, it was my responsibility to make
        sure that their other teachers (English, Social Studies, French, Band, Gym)
        had their comments/learning behaviours/marks completed by the
        mandated deadline.
     - While High School Reports are managed by the office, Middle &
        Elementary School Reports are managed by the homeroom teacher.

8) Print Off Grade 8 Report Cards & Prepare for Delivery
     - Once every teacher was completed and the report cards had been
       signed-off by our principal, it was then my responsibility to print off
       the Grade 8 report cards (since I am the homeroom teacher), address
       the envelopes, and deliver report cards in class.

     With Report Cards officially sent home, our next step includes prep for Parent-Teacher Interviews which occur this Thursday evening and Friday during the day; wish me luck!

Making Time...

     This past month has been a weird one for me as it has been the first month in almost two years where I haven't been blogging regularly. They say that if something is important to you, you will find a way to make time for it.... My viewpoint towards my blog has not changed. In fact, my time away from my blog made me realize how much it truly meant to me. So much has been happening in my teaching-life over the past few weeks and there has been several times where I have wanted to share it with all of you.

     Unfortunately, I seriously could not find the time. The past few weeks marked my first report card season as a new teacher. I felt prepared... I had taken classes in university on assessment and evaluation, I have been student teaching during report card prep, I've sat in on parent-teacher interviews.... but I was not prepared.

     The last two weeks have been physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausting and I've realized that I really had no idea what all went into this time of year. Report cards, however, are now completed and passed out to students and I hope to be able to resume normal scheduling!