North Gem Parent Night takes a unique approach

Up until a few years ago, the Parent-Teacher night at North Gem was like Parent-Teacher nights at most schools: the parents of elementary school kids eagerly showed to find out how their kids were doing, a smaller number of parents of middle school students showed up to make sure their kids weren’t falling behind, and the high school parents who showed up generally had one or two specific questions about their kids.  The experience is universal.  In many districts, parent-teacher conferences for children beyond elementary grades are only required for failing grades.  As North Gem parent Michalene Rindlisbaker noted, “that’s too late to do any good for the students or the teachers.”

Teachers Rick Hatch and Cathy DeWitt felt the same.  “Those high school parent-teacher nights were pretty empty,” Hatch said.  “We’d sit around eating pizza and just waiting for someone to come in.”  Along with teacher Heather Hendren, Hatch and DeWitt tried to figure out some way to bring up attendance numbers, and more importantly, get the word to parents about the kinds of amazing things their kids were doing at school.

“We really wanted parents to see what their kids were up to, so we came up with some ways to get them in,” DeWitt said.  Some of those strategies involved games, food, and activities for the whole family.  In addition, students were on hand to explain some of their portfolio and project materials to their parents.  

The result was a fantastic event that seemingly defies all expectations for the Parent-Teacher night.  On Thursday of last week, the gym at North Gem High School was filled with students, parents, teachers, and staff, all of whom had gathered for the night to celebrate the accomplishments of Bancroft students.

Those familiar with the usual, somber line of parents waiting on chairs outside of their children’s classrooms to speak with a teacher for a few minutes about their child would hardly recognize the hour-long, open event filled with conversation, enthusiasm, and interaction.  The event was so unusual that when it officially “ended” there were still plenty of people gathered in the gym.

Like many things at North Gem, the evening was an all-hands on deck affair, with Superintendent Miller joining Rick Hatch and Counselor Nate Eiman at the entrance checking in parents and students, and running the door prize raffles.

North Gem school has a couple of things going for it that set it apart from the majority of schools and school districts in the state.  For one, it is one of the rare districts which encompasses all grades in a single building.  There is not an official state list of such districts, but there are 138 districts and 227 high schools in the state, so they occur almost entirely in rural districts with relatively small populations.  As a result, many of the teachers at North Gem work with a range of students of different ages on both school curricula as well as other activities.  For many of the students, their whole school experience takes place within the walls of the North Gem school from kindergarten to graduation, which creates a much more familiar and consistent experience than most students get.  It allows the teachers and administrators a chance to really get to know the personalities, strengths, interests, and particularities of the students in a unique way.

The sense of community begins to build early, as the students spend a lot of time with their cohort throughout the years, and because siblings range in ages throughout the school, there is a consistent shared support system.  This Monday, for instance, Ms. Ball’s class of second graders are putting on the Elementary Pancake Day for students, parents, grandparents, and community members.  It’s just one of the many events that help to foster strong bonds.  As Walter Eiman wrote in his March letter to students and parents, “I look forward to seeing you all [at the Breakfast] and celebrating the connections that make our school community so special.” 

The sense of shared community between the students, teachers, and parents at North Gem was obvious at last week’s Parent-Teacher event.  Siblings of the high school students were welcomed in to get a look forward at the kinds of things they may end up doing when their own time comes around to take on higher level classes.  

Among the projects on display were those involving wood working, greenhouse design and construction, engineering and circuit making, history, science, art, mathematics and others.  Most of the courses had created display tables on which the student work was arranged to show off the kinds of work that have been going on so far this school year.  Students themselves provided more detailed explanations for their parents and anyone who asked them for further details.  

One of the upsides to the relatively small population of the school is that student education can be catered very specifically to meet the needs of its students.  As a result, school metrics such as testing, attendance, and graduation all tend to be at high levels relative to other schools across the state.  The reinforcement of concepts and academic and social support provided by the North Gem school environment have shown clear results in the education provided by the district.

Superintendent Kyle Miller is also seeking to forma a committee to offer insight on school matters and provide a voice to parents on topics related to decisions made throughout the district.  Superintendent Miller encourages any North Gem parents interested in serving on such a committee to reach out to him at his office.

The effect of a hands-on, community-minded approach to things like the otherwise anodyne Parent-Teacher night cannot be overstated.  To see a capacity crowd of parents gathered to see their students’ efforts and meet with their teachers, and to see a room full of students eager to show off those efforts, is an inspiring thing.  “It’s really been a good way to do it,” DeWitt said.  “We’ve had great success over the last years doing it this way.”  

Rick Hatch echoed the sentiments.  “This has turned into such a good night for us here.”  

The out of the box thinking has already paid dividends in parent-teacher relations; hopefully, it will continue to serve the students and the community well going forward.