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Being the first Cape district school to provide parents with the opportunity to use the state’s new online Home Access Center and to provide student action plans for all of its students puts Mariner at the lead in implementing tools and strategies to ensure student success.
“Mariner will be a model and a resource for the other schools in our district as they join the Home Access Center and expand their student action plans to cover all students,” said Director of Accountability and School Improvement Robert Fulton.
Home Access Center
“This is an incredible tool that will improve communications with parents and with the community, and will provide information for parents and students,” said Principal Brian Donahue.
At the start of September, parents and caregivers were given cards with a login and password for each of their children who are students at the school, to allow them to access the new system. Once in the Home Access Center, parents can obtain many types of information, including their child’s daily schedule, class times and teachers. They can also access information for each subject about class work in progress and assignments, including the dates assignments were made and the dates they are due. Student’s grades are also posted allowing parents to monitor their child’s progress on an ongoing basis and giving them ample opportunity to deal with any academic challenges as they occur.
While demonstrating Home Access Center capabilities Tuesday, Oct. 2, Donahue said his staff began training with Department of Education personnel at the beginning of summer. In July three staff members went to Kent County’s Polytech High School for additional training.
Donahue said the Home Access Center can provide more information online, and his staff is daily working to expand the amount and types of information that will be available. “There can be access to teachers’ web pages, their rules, grading policies and course outlines. The system can also allow teachers to download assignments,” he said as he caused images to flit across the screen of the monitor on his desk demonstrating the types of information now available.
Student action plans
Donahue and his staff also went beyond district requirements regarding implementation of its new student action plan program, designed to enhance student performance on Delaware Student Testing Program exams.
Fulton said the district’s immediate goal is to concentrate on creating individual student action plans to enhance the performance of all students earning Level 1 or Level 2 performance ratings based on a scale where 5 is the highest rating. Later the district wants to see all students have the benefit of a student action plan.
Donahue decided not to wait, and he has already implemented a process requiring individual portfolios and student action plans for all students at Mariner. “All of our students will know how to get to their next step, whatever that step may be,” Donahue said.
Donahue’s excitement is contagious as he pulls information from one child’s portfolio and then another. “This student missed the next performance level by two questions,” he said. “Our message to this student is, you can answer two more questions correctly. You can get there.”
To help the students make the next step, Donahue said his staff is identifying how different students learn best – whether it be by hearing or touching or seeing.
“The data now available through the state tells us every student’s starting point. We show the students where they’re starting from and ask them where they want to be. Then we ask them what we can do to help them get there and what they can do to help themselves get there,” Donahue said.
The students answered those questions on cards that are included in their individual portfolios.
One student starting at performance Level 2 said she wants to go for a Level 3 or higher. “You can help me stay focus and keep trying. I can go over my papers and stay focus in class,” she wrote.
Another student at performance Level 2 wrote, “ I would love to receive a 5. I can work very hard. Please teach me well.”
“Don’t give up on us: That’s what these children are saying,” Donahue said.
Progress throughout
“There are good things happening here,” Donahue said, adding the school is on track regarding proper behavior. “We tell our students they have a choice about whether to focus on the future or focus on distraction. Because we care, we are creating choices for them, and by choosing education they ensure they will have choices in the future,” Donahue said. “We’re raising teacher and student expectations.”
Donahue also made it clear Mariner’s pursuit of academic excellence is not at the expense of art, music and sports, as he stopped to speak with a young painter, introduced outstanding drummer Rick Waples and politely boasted of the latest win by the girls’ field hockey team.
“This is going to be a great year,” Donahue said.
Contact Georgia Leonhart at g.l.leonhart@comcast.net
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