Getting Started With 9th Grade Team Meetings
Getting Started With 9th Grade Team Meetings
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Cultivating a 9th Grade On-Track Culture
Cultivating a 9th Grade On-Track Culture
As you get started with your 9th grade team, or seek to re-engage them in the spirit of this work, many leaders have found it helpful to start a conversation with their teams around a strong 9th Grade On-Track culture by viewing the The Second Window Documentary. To help facilitate dialogue that sparks ideas and action among your colleagues after the screening, download the available discussion guide.
“The documentary provides insight into Chicago’s journey from “worst district in the nation” to a district leading the nation in its work to keep freshmen on track toward high school graduation and postsecondary success — a view of how changing adults’ mindsets about what is possible in mid-adolescence can change policy, practice, and lives. Designed to illuminate the real-life systems and structures that contributed to Chicago’s large gains in student achievement over the past two decades, the film provides a lens into crucial shifts in the city’s education ecosystem, policies, and mindsets.”
Structuring Strong 9th Grade Team Meetings
Structuring Strong 9th Grade Team Meetings
As your 9th Grade Team begins to form, it’s important to establish strong practices in order to build a collaborative team culture and implement effective approaches to increase 9th Grade On-Track rates.
PAI has created a checklist, Key Meeting Elements for a Strong Start with the 9th Grade Team, of six key elements for establishing and developing foundational practices for effective 9th grade team meetings and a strong 9th grade team start:
Setting strong 9th Grade On-Track and Firmly On-Track goals
Utilizing an effective agenda format
Establishing norms for team meetings
Developing a team purpose/mission statement
Defining what team meeting space is and is not
Assigning team roles.
It is recommended that team leaders start with the check-list for a strong start with the ninth grade team. These foundational practices for team meetings contribute to an effective team and meeting environment. Of these six elements, all should be considered highly recommended with the exception of “defining what team meeting space is and is not,” which is optional depending on the needs of the individual team. These elements can be established and determined by the leader ahead of time, or the team can co-create them together during the first two weeks of school.
Below in Explore Further you'll find a list of additional resources to help you begin to set group norms as a team, co-create a purpose or mission statement, develop and utilize action-oriented meeting agendas, and nurture a high-performing team.
The work in action!
The work in action!
Penn Treaty School’s 9th grade team brainstormed norms that they wanted to commit to and follow as part of their weekly team meetings. The team, through this process, committed to norms including “stay solution-oriented” and “come prepared both mentally and physically…do the prework.” The norms are now written at the top of every week’s agenda and the facilitator is able to point the team back to the norms that they came up with as needed.
Incorporating regular “community connections” near the start of the meeting is one practice that helps teams collaborate and form positive and effective working relationships with one another. Ben Franklin High School’s 9th grade team always starts their weekly meeting with sharing a professional or personal “win of the week.” Frankford High School’s 9th grade team starts with “self or colleague shout-outs” and asks for two to three volunteers to share a shout-out about something they did or a colleague did that was especially good, helpful, and/or effective. Both of these team habits have contributed to positive, collaborative, and solution-oriented team cultures.
Explore Further
Explore Further
The table below includes additional foundational content to learn more as your progress in your 9GOT practices.
Emerging is good for staff that are new to the 9th Grade On-Track work, and/or schools that are just starting to implement the 9th Grade On-Track tools and initiatives. Progressing is good for staff/schools who have basic knowledge of the materials and have implemented core components of the model but want to further the implementation. Accelerating is for schools that have successfully implemented many of the 9th Grade On-Track tools and initiatives and are looking for ways to advance the work even further.
Resource Link
Description
Level
This quick one-pager reviews basic effective meeting practices for before, during, and after team meetings.
Emerging
These two resources with tips from the Bay Area Coalition for Equitable Schools and School Reform Initiative include helpful tips and suggestions for effective meeting facilitation that would benefit new and seasoned facilitators alike.
Emerging
Resource guide for Element #3: Establishing norms for team meetings, from the National Staff Development Council
Emerging
Examples for Element #4: Developing a team purpose/mission statement
Emerging
The Network for College Success's Freshman OnTrack Toolkit is a collection of protocols, reports, resources, and artifacts used by our experienced Coaches in their daily work to help schools better support students through the critical first year of high school.
Progressing
Psychologist Bruce Tuckman formed a model for team development, which includes four main stages: forming, storming, norming, and performing. This webpage includes information to help team leaders discern what stage their team is currently in and what intentional practices they should take on in order to develop to the next stage.
Accelerating
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