TENAFLY, N.J.—Tenafly students will get a chance to offer school officials food for thought—and get a free lunch—at an upcoming series of informal lunch-time gatherings starting next year.
A new effort by Tenafly Public Schools administrators to reach out and hear from students—in every grade level to improve their school experience and academic success—will be launched in 2020 so that teachers and administrators hear student feedback in real-time.
“I wanted to make sure that I was learning from the true people that can educate me the most about experiences in Tenafly (schools) and that’s the students,” said Schools Superintendent Shauna DeMarco Oct. 18 at a “Coffee with the Superintendent” session before a little over a dozen parents.
‘Lunch and Learns’
“So what we’re launching come the new calendar year are ‘Lunch and Learns’ whereby we’re going to provide lunch to the students who then in turn will help us learn. And those are going to be much more open” to all students for a wide range of student topics, she said.
DeMarco said the district would “buy as much lunch as necessary” throughout the year to hear from all students interested in speaking with them about concerns or issues on their mind related to school.
DeMarco said students interested in participating in a future “Lunch and Learn” session should contact either her or Curriculum Director Dr. Evelyn Mamman to reserve a seat.
‘What we need to know’
“That’s kind of a different approach that hasn’t happened yet,” said DeMarco.
Traditionally, DeMarco said, “Lunch and Learn” sessions were mostly designed for teachers’ professional improvement and might include an in-service program or a demonstration of a new teaching approach or method.
When one parent said she wanted her elementary school child to be able to voice her opinion about her teacher, DeMarco said elementary school students in every grade will be able to participate in “Lunch and Learn” sessions to offer feedback.
The parent noted she felt “put in the middle” between her child’s complaints and her teacher, who told her to have her child talk directly to her.
She said Tenafly Public Schools has begun a three-year affiliation with Professor Maurice Elias, Rutgers University, who does work to assist social and emotional learning and character development in children.
She said through an affiliation that Rutgers and College of St. Elizabeth established, Elias will be doing surveys of students in all grade levels. She said kindergarten surveys even included emojis that students could use to express an opinion.
DeMarco said Elias’s surveys focus on “culture and climate” of schools “which takes into account everything,” she added. She said parents will be surveyed as will all school staff.
‘It’s all anonymous’
“From that information…it’s all anonymous and what we hope to have by the end of this year is a real sense of where do we have to put our focus, where do we have to put our attention, how do people feel when they’re in our buildings, when they’re in our classrooms. Who are we and are we providing the experiences that we want students, parents, staff to have and where we’re not what are some of the recommendations for us making that shift and making it happen?” she said.
DeMarco said that both she and Mamman are aware of the daily challenges in trying to “make sure there is equity across the (school) system” which means that all students receive the quality education they need and deserve, she said.
To provide a high-quality education may include extra academic challenges, extra learning resources, addressing special needs, overcoming language challenges—basically, what’s needed to make each child more successful in school, she said.
Mamman said the district has focused on professional development of teachers and asks a lot of its teachers in providing instruction, including how to “differentiate instruction” for disparate student needs.
This includes different ways of teaching different students, which is why the district offers “ongoing job-embedded sustained professional development” for Tenafly’s teachers.
‘What do you need?’
“What we’re saying to teachers is what do you need, what do you need to do well? Can we share? Can you go observe?” said Mamman. She said the district wants to discover and share what strengths and teaching skills its successful teachers from kindergarten to grade 12 employ and share them with other teachers.
DeMarco said both she and Mamman served in similar capacities in other districts and came to Tenafly with “fresh eyes” and discovered what teachers do well. She said they saw the opportunity to focus on “the great gifts that so many teachers have” and the sharing of effective teachers’ skills is occurring over time in the district.
She said the district asked teachers to reflect on what they do really well and to share skills, technologies, strategies, methods or apps that other teachers might use effectively and consider sharing these methods with colleagues.
DeMarco said a January professional development session will feature district teachers sharing their effective teaching methods.
