by Mike Kirk, WCHS Assistant Principal
West Clermont Schools
As we start the journey into a new school year, I can’t help thinking about how administrators and teachers can take what we learned over the last year of COVID-19 and use it during the 2021-22 school year. At the high school, I have a vision that teachers and students play an active role in their educational journey. They gain a sense of responsibility when this occurs. To help support this, we are starting with some new ideas this year during PACK with a focus on PACK Pathways and Social-Emotional Learning.
For example, each student will share a live Google document with their PACK teacher. They will be able to discuss and document weekly, monthly, yearly, career goals, among other things. This will help students and teachers alike. The goal of this documentation is for students to be able to build a “want to” journey—NOT a “have to” one.
In the same way, my hope for students this year is that they continue to have a voice in what and how they learn. For example, last school year, students voted to have the Pathway options created for PACK Time. Through student surveys, we have been able to give learners more options during PACK. This will help create more ownership of the learning.
At West Clermont High School, we are proud to be able to give the students more seats at the table to contribute to a new style of learning and a new way of doing school. We know that motivated students are more likely to be engaged in positive community experiences. Through things like PACK surveys, Principal Counsel, and our WCYourFuture opportunities, I’m confident that we will continue to elevate student voice this year so they can be the BEST versions of themselves.
