What if we could teach and inspire families all while giving them important information and sharing our values? During this year’s kindergarten orientation, we tried to do just that.
This was my first event as an leader at my new school. A few leadership lessons that were taught/reinforced:
- Start with why – Simon Sinek
- First who then what? – Jim Collins <—-BIG TIME, we have a great team!
- Scripting the critical moves – Heath Brothers
Our goal – stay student-centered all while providing the information that families need to know.
Instead of the standard ‘sit and get’ that most parents experience at orientation, we tried a station model, and the results were powerful. Students were happy, families had the chance to get their questions answered, and teachers were able to form powerful relationships.
Our rotations were simple, yet effective. Our ideas may not be original, but they were original to my school.
- Students came in and were given a map of the school with a group color and center rotations on the top (see below for a sample group map)
- We kicked off with some music and an announcement.
- After each station, familes rotated to the next station.
- There were never more than 16 families at any one station.
- At the end, we said thanks for coming, and our wonderful PTA handed out shirts and other goodies for the kindergartners.
The stations were set before I even came aboard, and worked flawlessly. Flexibility was key, as we needed to adjust the times (each session ended up being too long), and tried to incorporate new ideas as they were suggested.
Our rotations were:
- Meet your teacher – (We ended up with no more than 5 families in a class due to the randomization of the groups)
- Administration – code of conduct overview and Q & A with our School Nurse Teacher
- Transportation – Bus safety and bus ride, along with decorating the front entrance with sidewalk chalk
- Potpurri – Cafeteria exceptions, RAPTOR sign in, and volunteer forms.
- Since our cafeteria is next to the main office, we had the kids go though the line, get a snack and then head over as a family.
- We use a RAPTOR system for visitor management, so we called this ‘express registration.’
- Fill out ‘PTA connect’ forms.
There were of course challenges – the rotation was new for many families. Did families show up late and miss some rotations? Sure, but every kid was able to meet their teacher at the end of the day.
We collected feedback and are looking forward to making it even better next year. Here’s a sample schedule for the ‘blue group.’
Sean D'Abreu 