FMES Principal Adelstein gave interactive presentation
What was it like when you were learning to write?
That’s the question that Fort Montgomery Elementary School Principal Rachel Adelstein asked members of the Board of Education on November 7 as she began a presentation on the academic program at the FMES for the board.
She focused a program called ‘Writing Workshop’ that the FMES is now using.
“In Writing Workshop, teachers are demonstrating a writing techniques that the authors we love use in their own writing,” Adelstein said. “Students are taught to explore these skills and techniques in their own writing while teachers provide instruction designed to meet the needs of their students. Writing Workshop is special and different from the ‘old’ way of teaching writing as students are given opportunity to come up with their own ideas for writing. They are taught to write about topics, people, events, and ideas that matter to them.”
She said the Workshop itself is comprised of a mini-lesson, independent practice, small group targeted instruction, and a share — “writers go through the writing process multiple times in a unit of study while learning how to strengthen their writing”.
Adelstein brought a living demonstration with her to the board meeting — pre-kindergarten through second grade students and their teachers accompanied her to the meeting in the O’Neill High school Library. The teachers set up four ‘centers’ in front of the board’s table, and proceeded, with the help of their students, to host board members at those centers.
They were set up by grade level and ranged from working with beads and clay with pre-kindergarteners (fine motor skills) to reading some of the works (narrative writing) by second graders, who were there to elaborate on stories they wrote.
“We are teaching students to honor the process of writing,” Adelstein told the board. “This isn’t the way any of us learned to write, and its not the way any of our FMES educators learned to teach writing even.”
She went on to say that the teachers have embraced the new technique in teaching, wanting to “learn more and collaborate with each other on strategies”.
After their time at the centers was over, Adelstein led the board members and all of the other school staff in the audience, in a ‘community circle’, another new concept at the FMES this year.
“It’s a restorative practice, and a safe discussion space,” she said, “where at a certain time every day every teacher gathers her students in a circle and spends a few minutes listening to them. The teacher asks a question and each student, going around the circle, and including the teacher and other staff, answer the question. The teachers facilitate discussion, rather than direct it.”
She said the questions are ‘rather random’ and can relate to something that has taken place in class that day, or something completely different.
“It’s 15 minutes every single day where we all take time to learn about one another,” she said.
“Our intention is for the circles to decrease incidents in the classroom and school,” Adelstein said. “We also hope to see an increase in trust and collaboration between students and adults (teachers).”
The question at the circle she led the board in was ‘What made you want to be a part of the Highland Falls-Fort Montgomery Central School District’. She gave everyone an option to opt out, but no one did — many spoke about their love for the students of the district and how they see “great things” happening all across the school district.
