Summer is often a favorite season for both scholars and teachers. It offers a break from the stresses of the school year and time to enjoy with family and friends. But when scholars return in the fall, the skills they worked hard to build may have regressed. This “summer slide” can happen for many reasons, but what matters most is how teachers respond. At Classical, we recognize this potential challenge and move quickly to address it at the very start of the school year. The highly-structured setting that Classical is known for comes from how we systematically review data and communicate our support both to scholars and their families. This focus on data from the very beginning of the year is one of the factors that helps us to be a top NYC Charter School.
Assessing Accurately
In the first two weeks of school, teachers at Classical give scholars baseline assessments in Math and ELA, along with a reading check based on the previous year. These results help us to see where learning gaps may have developed over the summer. Testing every scholar ensures that we understand not only class-wide trends but also individual needs. Once the assessments are complete, Grade Team Leaders meet with the School Director, Instructional Coaches, and the At-Risk Learning Specialist to review results. Together, they decide which scholars will benefit from small pull-out groups during instruction and who may need additional support services. Our teachers develop minute-by-minute plans during independent practice to make sure they are monitoring scholars’ goals while they are showing what they know on paper or in a computer-based lesson.
Communicating with Families
While we complete this process internally, we also talk with families to better understand scholars’ experiences at home. By sharing updates, we work together so that each scholar feels supported both at school and at home. Teachers opt to share information through Jupiter (our communication platform that sends emails directly to families), text message, or through progress meetings with families. We share results quickly, and when we see a significant drop in performance, we meet with families to explain our plan and outline the steps we’ll take to help their scholar get back on track. The school-to-home connection is an integral part in aligning how we support the development of our scholars. Our families are eager to share strategies that support their scholars at home and we are eager to share strategies that support scholars in school.
Responding in Instruction
As the school year begins, Coaches, Grade Team Leaders, and teachers work together to decide which scholars to focus on during lessons. At daily stand-up meetings, we review how we will measure each scholar’s growth. During stand-up meetings, we often discuss focus questions that will be reviewed at the end of the lesson for the whole class. We also discuss which questions from the lesson require us to check an individual scholars’ understanding or implementation of previous feedback. In one-on-one meetings, Grade Team Leaders and Coaches review data with teachers and plan targeted supports to help struggling scholars catch up more quickly.
Preparing Our Scholars for Success
With reliable assessments, clear goals, attentive teachers, and strong collaboration, we can quickly close any gaps that may have developed over the summer. This matters because scholars should come to school each day confident that they can succeed. When students know that adults are united in supporting them, they are more likely to stay motivated and engaged. By working closely with families, we can achieve great results for every scholar. If you want your scholar to join a top NYC Charter School that cares about building success from Day 1, please apply here!