Feature Article

New Year Resolutions

 “A wise man will make more opportunities than he finds”                          ~by Francis Bacon

Welcome back to school and Happy New Year! I hope you all enjoyed the holidays, got plenty of rest and had a chance to share some special moments with family and friends.

The New Year is often a time when people reflect on their lives and make decisions about what they want to change or improve. We often create New Year’s resolutions such as “ I want to lose weight or stay in better touch with my friends. Students may vow to get better grades. No matter what your resolutions are they are similar to goals, which help us chart a course and focus our efforts and behaviors toward intended outcomes.

Goal setting is directly linked to success. But just wanting something different to happen is not enough to get there.  Goals are more achievable if they are backed up with a plan. In Brent Schools we are very familiar with goal setting and action planning. The elements that follow are a part of the planning we do to achieve goals.

The first part of the planning process begins with data review to determine your baseline or starting point. In Brent Schools we use assessment to determine those starting points. Teachers use assessments to determine the baseline for students and to set reasonable goals. As an extra learning opportunity, at the beginning of this school year, elementary teachers assessed themselves personally and professionally and wrote SMART goals.

SMART goals are (S=specific, M=measurable, A=achievable, R=relevant, T=timely). Once your smart goals are set, you can then develop action plans that will help you achieve your goal. An action plan can include people, materials, funding, etc. as well as a specific timeframe for implementation. Your action plan should also include “check-in points” to assess progress toward your resolution. In schools these are known as formative on-going assessments. They tell us if what we are doing is working or not and allows educators to modify strategies as needed. With this in place, we are much more likely to achieve our goals.

As we transition into the New Year, elementary teachers and I will be reviewing our progress towards the goals we set at the beginning of the school year.

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