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School-Wide Meetings That Build Community with Jonathon Wennstrom
Description
Jonathon Wennstrom, principal of a pre-K through fourth grade school in Livonia, Michigan, explains how school-wide meetings support his PBIS school. Monthly student of the month assemblies built around Stephen Covey's seven habits are getting a weekly companion called Celebrate Monday, a 20-minute meeting in the gym to build community.
Parents of recognized students attend at a 90 to 95 percent rate. Wennstrom also tries to make a positive phone call home every day, using a 66-day challenge calendar to track names, and he says those calls to students who rarely hear good news are deposits that help when a hard call comes.
What you'll learn
- Hold a short weekly school-wide meeting with student-led announcements, your behavior pledge and a quote of the week.
- Invite parents to monthly recognition assemblies, and expect strong attendance from the families of the students honored.
- Answer the instructional time objection by pointing to morning meetings that raised time on task in classrooms.
- Keep a 66-day calendar and write each student's name as you call, so no child gets called three weeks in a row.
- Make positive calls to students who rarely hear good news, not only to the ones named student of the month.
Chapters
- 0:00 A PBIS school with monthly student of the month assemblies
- 4:47 Adding a weekly Celebrate Monday meeting
- 6:19 Does a weekly meeting cost instructional time?
- 8:23 Short inspirational videos for students
- 12:05 Seven Habits, poster contests and canvas displays
- 14:08 Including parents with Class Dojo and Love and Logic
- 16:30 Daily positive phone calls and the 66-day challenge
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Questions this episode answers
Do weekly school-wide meetings take away instructional time?
Wennstrom had that concern too. His staff decided that time spent building community would reduce behaviors that interrupt learning later. Teachers running classroom morning meetings of 20 to 25 minutes saw more time on task, so the school went school-wide.
How can a principal make positive phone calls home every day?
Wennstrom was already making 16 calls a month for student of the month, so he added 16 more to get one a day. He used a 66-day challenge calendar and wrote in each student's name after calling, which keeps track and acts as a reminder.
How can schools get more parents to come to assemblies?
Wennstrom invites parents of the students being recognized to monthly assemblies and reports 90 to 95 percent attendance. He says families take time off work and bring grandparents, which shows students that what happens at school matters.
About Jonathon Wennstrom
Principal of a pre-K through fourth grade school in Livonia, Michigan, and a 21-year education veteran who has led three schools.
Links and resources