Joining forces with our parents
The best schools are ones that foster purposeful and productive relationships between students, parents and faculty. We are truly fortunate at Ransom Everglades to have engaged and committed parents who share our values and aspirations, and who are willing to work with us on behalf of our students.
Ransom Everglades parents, you show up. You come for events and programs; you cheer from the sidelines during athletic contests. Travel with the debate team or the crew and sailing teams is never out of the question, nor is a trip to Chicken Kitchen after a long rehearsal. You read books, generally selected to boost parenting skills, and you discuss those books together. You clap with pride at theatrical and musical performances. Back-to-School Night has become one of the biggest social events of the season, and last week you turned out in happy droves to support giving at the Fund for RE kick off.
What message does all this activity and volunteerism send? An unbeatable message: parents are proud to be part of Ransom Everglades; they follow closely what is happening at school; they appreciate the faculty and respect the work that they do; and parents and teachers are in this great enterprise together.
In this column, I share two areas that benefit from the close partnership we have with our families.
The first is a topic that increasingly demands our joint attention and action: vaping.
Recent reports linking vaping to severe and potentially fatal illnesses have increased our resolve to educate our community and remind our families of the school's zero-tolerance policy toward vaping and all substances of abuse. We have no reason to believe there has been an uptick in use, but as we continue to learn more about the dangers of vaping, the urgency driving our communication rises. We are raising this issue with our students in advisory; through the health curriculum that is part of our physical education classes; and through our partnership with Freedom from Chemical Dependency and the Health Information Project. We ask our families to do the same. As parents, you must emphatically remind your children of the health risks associated with vaping. Also remind them that any student found in violation of the school's policy as outlined in our student handbook will be suspended from school. Ransom Everglades reports suspension in the upper school to colleges. A second offense most likely would result in permanent separation from our community.
Students cannot be at their best in the classroom if they are making poor decisions outside the classroom. I encourage everyone in our community to educate themselves on the issue; please see a few useful links at the end of this piece.
In three weeks, we will again join forces on behalf of our students. This year we have replaced advisor conferences with parent-teacher conferences. These conferences will take place on October 21 and 28, and in the next week parents will receive instruction about how to sign up for those conferences online.
Some of you may recall my remarks at Upper School Back-to-School Night. Much of what I said that night applies to parent-teacher conferences. Here is an excerpt from my talk:
“There is a complex dynamic going on here tonight. Parents, you come with your expectations of the role that Ransom Everglades should play in your child’s life. You have your dreams and aspirations. You may hope that your son will play soccer like you did; that your daughter will be class president like you weren’t. That your child will get into Penn, Harvard, Columbia or Stanford. That your child will get into college. Period. That your child will not suffer the same social anxiety that you may have. That your child will behave better in school than you did, and that your child will get the As that you did or didn’t get.
You bring some baggage.
Although it may seem that we are with your kids all the time, most teachers see them no more than an hour a day, and usually they are with a group of other students. Our teachers have a more narrow view of your child than you do. They know how your child is doing in their particular class. They want your child to learn and love and master what is being taught to them in their class. Their academic subject is their passion and they are teaching their passion.”
Parent conferences then are about listening and learning from each other; they are about productive dialogues on behalf of our students. We want to listen to and learn from you, just as we hope you will listen to and learn from us. Share with us what you see at home; what your children are telling you about their classes. We will describe to you what we see when they are with us and what their written work looks like. Productive conversations and interactions between us will lead to mutual respect, and mutual respect invariably leads to empathy.
Let our students see our purposeful and productive relationships of which they are the center. Let them know that those relationships matter, just as they matter, and that we are on the same side. The side of happy and successful kids. And remember, success can take many forms.
Here’s to purposeful and productive relationship building on behalf of our students.
Useful Links:
Middle School
2045 South Bayshore Drive, Coconut Grove, FL 33133Phone: 305 250 6850
Upper School
3575 Main Highway, Coconut Grove, FL 33133Phone: 305 460 8800
Founded in 1903, Ransom Everglades School is a coeducational, college preparatory day school for grades 6 - 12 located on two campuses in Coconut Grove, Florida. Ransom Everglades School produces graduates who "believe that they are in the world not so much for what they can get out of it as for what they can put into it." The school provides rigorous college preparation that promotes the student's sense of identity, community, personal integrity and values for a productive and satisfying life, and prepares the student to lead and to contribute to society.