Advising Retreat

November 19, 2008

Dear Families,

I love class meeting. I might be the only one in the room at times that does, but by golly, it helps me feel like the Trillium experiment is really working. We hold class meeting every Wednesday and they often last the entirety of the period. Students bring announcements, proposals, and discussion items. Today, after debating the pros and cons of the lounge/study space at the end of the hall, we transitioned to a discussion that could best be titled, “This year’s struggles.” Students candidly relayed concerns and confusions they had encountered, or heard about, during this first quarter of the year. Much of it revolved around communication, both student to student, and staff to student, as well as what is seen as the changing face of Trillium as our school further defines itself, becomes more established, and how that translates to school culture and expectations.

Our advising group has faced its share of interpersonal challenges as students attempt to define themselves and their roles within our school culture. We have been navigating social barriers between friend groups and sometimes the communication has been healthier than others. Sometimes it is kind and direct. Sometimes not so much. Sometimes we mediate. Sometimes we process as a whole group. But, we never seem to have enough time to get through as much as people would like.

I echoed the importance of the issues students brought up, and realize that advising is simply not enough time and space to sift through those topics effectively. I believe our group could benefit from dedicated time in which to address some of the issues. I proposed an overnight advising retreat to the students. Students overwhelmingly supported the idea. The other high school advisors, Elizabeth, Jess, and Will, as well as Polly, Stephanie, and I have been discussing the idea for some time. This is not a campout. The retreat will have an agenda that reflects the students concerns and will be facilitated by a group of staff. Polly, Rob, Stephanie, and I will be co-facilitating. This retreat will be just for our advising group.

I cannot require that everyone attend. But such an event is truly only successful if everyone agrees to participate. I strongly encourage each student to come and engage. I feel hopeful, based on the response at today’s meeting, that this will happen.

We have made arrangements at Silver Falls State Park, outside of Salem, for Thursday, December 4th. Each of the students will be excused from their classes for Thursday and Friday. We will leave Trillium in the morning on Thursday and return in the early afternoon on Friday. We will be staying in a cabin, not camping. I have attached a list of suggested supplies students should bring.

There will not be any fee for this event. We think we can cover everything but transportation for about $200. The funds to cover it will come partly out of the activity fee, and partly out of my own budget. As this was not a budgeted expense, I am asking any parent who might be able to contribute to make a small donation. You can do this at the front desk, or directly with any of the staff involved.
We need help with transportation. Anyone who might be able to drive, please contact Polly.

I consider this a great opportunity and look forward to using this time to support students in expressing their ideas, and finding solutions, in safe, comfortable, productive ways. Please feel free to contact me or Polly with any questions.

Best,

Ken
Ken@TrilliumCharterSchool.org – 503-348-9849
Polly@TrilliumCharterSchool.org – 503-459-1504


Retreat Details:

Where:
We will be traveling to Silver Falls State Park, outside of Salem. It is located 70 miles south of Portland, about 25 miles east of Salem on OR-214. We are staying in a large heated cabin with bunk beds, indoor plumbing, fireplace, and kitchen.

What to Bring:
• Bedding: Sleeping bag or blankets, pillow.
• Towel, toiletries
• Warm clothing: layers, jacket, hat, gloves, rain gear or poncho
• Sturdy walking shoes: boots or sneakers for outside. Slippers or warm socks for inside.

Meals:
Meals are being planned by staff, but each student is expected to contribute to cooking and/or clean-up.

Ground Rules:
All Trillium and PPS policies apply; absolutely no drugs or alcohol.

Draft Agenda:
Thursday, December 4
7:30 Leave Trillium
9:00 Arrive and settle in, continental breakfast.
9:30 – 12:00 Large/small group retreat activities: including ice breaker, discussion, reading, and
journaling.
12:00 – 1:00 Lunch
1:00 – 5:00 Experiential activities facilitated by staff
5:00 – 6:00 Free time
6:30 Dinner
8:00 Evening activities – poetry, talent show, campfire.

Friday, Dec. 5
8:30 – Breakfast
9:00-11:00 Retreat activities
11:30 Clean up and leave by noon
1:30 Arrive back at Trillium

Conferences.

Hi Families,

I am still looking to get a couple more folks scheduled for this Friday afternoon or evening. If you have not already signed up for a conference, please call or email. 503-348-9849 - Ken@TrilliumCharterSchool.org.

Ken

Advising Update

6 November 2008

Dear Parents and Guardians,

I hope this note finds all of you healthy, adjusting to our beloved wet and rainy days, and energized by the changing face of American presidential politics. Feeling safe in our community to admit my own biases, I confess my excitement. It is an historic time in our nation's history and one at which I am personally filled with hope. Political discourse may not be the main issue of this letter, but safety and comfort to express ideas is central.

Our advising group has gotten off to a great first part of the year. We have been using the time to help ground students in new surroundings, new classmates, and new expectations, and treat advising as a place for students to land. Our Wednesday Class Meetings have become an anchor of advising and led to a number of engaging discussions and debates within our community. Through class meeting, we have established Advising as a quiet study space on all but meeting and workshop days, and gone on to debate, and define, "quiet." We have created a host of new clubs, including Baking, Craft, and Asian-American clubs. We have established the systems to allow students to access independence responsibly such as Coffee Time, and the Personal Learning time Sign Out Board.

Polly and I have been conferencing with each of the students individually to develop Personalized Learning Plans. Learning Plans focus on understanding the needs and desires of the individual student and then finding them appropriate time, space, and resources in advising to support those ideas. As expected, these are as diverse as the students themselves. According to their goals, during any one advising class, a student may be reading the newspaper, playing chess, painting, tutoring, being tutored, quietly reading, or doing homework, among other things. Through these discussions with students, we are able to make agreements about each student's expectations and how ze* will use advising to support ze's specific goals. At the top of the list of common struggles for students are organization and communication. Polly and I are designing workshops to be held during advising to address these needs with all interested students. We are also increasing our emphasis on university preparedness by hosting workshops on college options, the application process, and financial aid.

We are fortunate to have many students in our advising group this year, some at Trillium for the first time, and some simply new to our high school who have been at Trillium for years. There is an expected adjustment period as the group defines itself, and each member begins to learn more about the others. We have emphasized the need for honest, safe communication and had the opportunity to model that through facilitated discussions and mediations. In just these few weeks since the beginning of the year, we have come a long way in our our work to support each student to hear and be heard in respectful ways. As students are finding comfortable spaces and circles of friends, Polly and I are also encouraging students to reach outside of their immediate friend zone to find resources and support in both academic and personal areas.

We are able to use advising as a platform to have important discussions about maintaining a healthy class, and whole-school, community. We recently engaged in what was at times a heated discussion about the impact of Portland Public School policies on Trillium students. We specifically discussed the ramifications for harassment, bullying, and use of alcohol or illegal drugs. Polly and I explained that Trillium is bound by the processes and penalties designed by PPS in these areas. Engaging in any of these activities can lead to expulsion. While we place a great deal of value on our relationships here, and we function in a democratic structure, it is ultimately the teacher's duty, to be the authority, and to insure that unhealthy, unsafe, or illegal activities are not tolerated.

In addition to our activities within advising, advisees have begun to establish a relationship with our Lower School buddy group. We are partnered with Rob's Intermediate class and it was a rewarding experience to be a part of our Halloween pumpkin carving and food sharing time. All students participated and, if you can possibly believe it, no one even complained.

During advising time, we recently completed our fall, district-mandated, round of standardized testing in the content areas of reading, science, and mathematics. All 9th and 10th graders are required to test. Any 11th or 12th graders who did not meet or exceed the expected passing scores are also encouraged to re-take the exams. We will have another round of these tests, as usual, in the spring.

Parent-student-teacher conference time is here. We will be scheduling the hour-long conferences for Fridays the 14th and 21st, on the half hour beginning at 12:30. Most spaces are currently open. Please contact me or Polly to schedule a time as soon as is convenient.

As always, please feel free to contact me or Polly if we can in any way be of assistance.

Warm Regards,

Ken and Polly

*Ze is a gender neutral pronoun used in place of he/she.