Addressing Concerns: SUCCESS! 2.0

As part of our roll-out of SUCCESS! 2.0, the administration anticipated the concerns that students and families might have shared with the new procedures.  As such, we have built-in feedback loops for students to voice their concerns over the shift in practice and procedure.

Here's what we've done thus far to roll-out SUCCESS! 2.0:

• Monday 8/12 we explained the purpose and expectations of SUCCESS! and provided an opportunity for students to share concerns that were sent back to the administration.
• Tuesday 8/13 we logged students into the FlexTime Manager system that will manage SUCCESS! choices and assignments and trained them on how to use it.
• Wednesday 8/14 (Today) we will be addressing the concerns that students sent into administration through their teachers on Monday.  Many of these questions will be addressed in class and in this newsletter in detail.
• Thursday 8/15 students will go into the FlexTime Manager and choose their activities for next week's SUCCESS! periods.  There will also be another opportunity at this time to provide additional feedback to the administration.
• Friday 8/16 we will ensure that all students have a full schedule of activities chosen and answer any remaining questions before we fully implement SUCCESS!

Below we will be addressing many of the concerns that students have raised over the past couple of days:

HOW IS SUCCESS! PERIOD DEFINED?

While many students and parents may have believed that SUCCESS! was part of the lunch period in the past, SUCCESS! period has always been part of the instructional day at MHHS and has never been "free time" for students.  Some students in the past have been able to choose free-time activities like extended lunch, but the time period has always been a mandatory period of time where students can access both enrichment and intervention.  

HOW WILL MY VOICE BE HEARD?

• Student voices at MHHS matter!  All student feedback that has been collected during SUCCESS! this week has been given to administration and has been considered and responded to
• Students will receive a feedback form this week that will come directly from students to administration.
• Some students started a petition on the internet this week, and the administration wants students to know that we value feedback, but feedback from an outside petition will not be heard.  If you want your voice to be heard by the administration, please share your thoughts through the forms sent to you by the school.  Your opinion counts!

IS SUCCESS MANDATORY?

YES!  SUCCESS! is a mandatory attendance period for all students on campus.  Whether you sign up for a preferred activity like study hall, an enrichment class, or whether a teacher requests you to attend SUCCESS! in their classroom, SUCCESS! is Mandatory for the activity that you are signed up for.  Even students in Extended Lunch will need to sign up and be marked present for SUCCESS! period.  We're working to make it easy to be marked present during this time.

WHAT IF THE SECTION I WANT IS FULL?

If a section or session for SUCCESS! is full already, you'll need to choose something else to participate in during the SUCCESS! section.  SUCCESS! sections will be released to students once a week and students should sign up early to secure their spot.  

WHAT IF I FORGET TO SIGN UP FOR SOMETHING I WANT?

We will be reminding students in Advisory every week to be sure to go in and choose their SUCCESS! activities for the week.  Teachers will be talking about it regularly in class.  You can set up alerts in your google calendar, or on your personal phone so that you don't forget.  Students who neglect to sign up for something will be automatically assigned to the "Catch-All" section.

WHAT IS CATCH-ALL AND HOW DOES IT WORK?

Catch-all is not a study hall, it is a room where students who don't pick SUCCESS! sections will be sent.  Students in this room will be extremely limited with the options they have during this time.  If students intend to use SUCCESS! period as a study-hall, they should sign up for study hall sections.  In the Catch-All room, adults will talk to students about why they aren't picking anything and encourage them to pick an activity for the next day.

HOW WILL I BE ABLE TO EAT LUNCH?

This week, all students have been getting through the line with over 10 munites to spare at the end of the 30 minute lunch period.  On Tuesday, the lunch lines were completely clear 19 minutes before the end of lunch.  Starting next week, lunch lines will be staggered because many students will be eligible to choose extended lunch as an activity and will get their lunches before the remainder of students release at the end of SUCCESS!

WHEN WILL OFF-CAMPUS LUNCH BEGIN FOR SENIORS?

Lammersville Unified Board Policy states that seniors can begin going off-campus for lunch after the first grading period, with parent permission.  You will be able to choose extended lunch starting next week until the end of the first grading period.  You will be notified closer to the grading period about how to get the permission slip and where to turn it in once it’s signed.  Please note that students will not be able to extend their off-campus lunch period by using their 4th or 5th period Flex period.  Students may ONLY be off-campus during the hour-long SUCCESS! and Lunch Periods.  Students leaving early or coming back late will have off-campus privileges revoked.  

WHAT RULES ARE THERE FOR EXTENDED LUNCH PERIOD?

• Only Juniors and Seniors are eligible at the beginning of the year.  Sophomores will be allowed to choose extended lunch starting the 3rd quarter (3/10/20)
• There is no limit to the number of students who can sign up for Extended Lunch.
• If you sign up for extended lunch and a teacher requests you for SUCCESS! period, you must attend the teacher requested SUCCESS! section.
• Students MUST check-in for extended lunch period with campus supervisors in the MPR in order to be marked present for SUCCESS!  Students who do not check-in will be marked absent.  

WHEN CAN I SIGN UP FOR SUCCESS!

SUCCESS! sections will be published a week in advance on a specific day each week.  Students can go in and request their sections for the whole week at that time.  Students will also have the opportunity to change their chosen activity as many times as they want until 8:00 am of the day of the activity.  REMEMBER!!!  If a teacher requests you after you've chosen a preferred activity, you will be REQUIRED to attend that teacher requested section.  

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN MORE THAN ONE TEACHER REQUESTS ME?

There will be priority days during the week where teachers will be able to request you, and others cannot.  If it is not a priority day, and more than one teacher requests you, the first teacher that requests you will get you.

HOW LONG WILL I HAVE TO STAY WITH A TEACHER WHO REQUESTS ME?  IS IT FOR A WHOLE GRADING PERIOD?

Attendance in SUCCESS! is no longer tied to grading periods.  It will be up to the teacher to determine how long they may need you.  They may request you for multiple days, or only for one day to help you out with a specific skill or standard.  Ideally, you will stay with the teacher until you make up the assessment, master the concept, or complete the missing work.

WHY CAN'T FRESHMEN CHOOSE EXTENDED LUNCH AND SOPHOMORES CAN'T CHOOSE IT UNTIL 3RD QUARTER?

After reviewing schoolwide data, we found that our 9th and 10th-grade students struggled the most with consistently completing work on time and mastering the content for their classes.  We want to give both Freshmen and Sophomores a structure that helps them to prioritize study, work completion, and mastery of standards.  While students in these grades may not be able to choose extended lunch, they will still be able to choose other activities such as homework hall, physical activity options, study areas, and other fun extension opportunities if they are not requested by teachers.  

CAN I ATTEND MORE THAN ONE SUCCESS! ACTIVITY IN A DAY?

No.  SUCCESS! activities are designed to take the full 30 minutes of SUCCESS! period.

WHAT HAPPENS IF I SKIP A SUCCESS! ACTIVITY OR IF I DON'T CHECK-IN FOR EXTENDED LUNCH?

Teachers in SUCCESS! sections and campus supervisors and administrators will be taking roll on FlexTime manager every day.  Skipping SUCCESS! activities or forgetting to check-in for Extended Lunch is the same as skipping any other class and the consequences will be the same.  When you sign up for an activity, you will be on a roster for that activity.  Not showing up will give you an absence on your attendance record.

WHAT IF THE SCHOOL MAKES LAST MINUTE CHANGES TO THE SUCCESS! SCHEDULE?

The FlexTime Manager system will notify you by text or email if your schedule changes.  

DO I HAVE TO USE MY CHROMEBOOK TO SIGN UP FOR SUCCESS! ACTIVITIES?

No!  The FlexTime Manager website works on any device including on phones and mobile devices.  You can log in on your phone or any other device just as easily as you can on your Chromebook.

WHY DO PEOPLE WHO ARE ALREADY PASSING THEIR CLASSES NEED TO GO TO SUCCESS!?

Two main reasons:

1. SUCCESS! is an intervention and enrichment period of time that is part of the academic day.
2. SUCCESS! has ALWAYS been mandatory

In the past, we only required students with D's or F's to mandatorily meet with their teacher on a daily basis.  In this way, students who are struggling will still meet with their teachers on a regular basis during SUCCESS!  Also, students who were passing their classes were also able to get extra help from their teachers during SUCCESS!  Students will still be able to do this during the SUCCESS! period, but will have to schedule their time wisely.  Additionally, students who wanted to watch movies, study quietly, finish their homework, or hang out with their friends could do that during SUCCESS! if they weren't required to visit a teacher.  It will be the same this year.  

FINAL THOUGHTS

Implementing SUCCESS! 2.0 is going to be a process.  You attend a high school where the administration, teachers, and staff are committed to all students learning at high levels.  We want to create supports to achieve this for all of you.  You matter!  The way we have been running SUCCESS! previously has not met our goals and expectations for this instructional time.  

We commit to ongoing feedback and data collection from students and teachers to find the best ways to make SUCCESS! work for everyone.

See the slide deck from our Advisory lesson below: