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Co-President
Debora Hoard welcomed parents and introduced LHS Principal, Dr. Michael
Jones.
Dr. Jones introduced the session:
Deans play a very complex role, beyond discipline. Many, many functions including
technology, parent-teacher conferences, teacher
evaluation and teacher supervision are performed by the Deans. I’d like to
share with you a quote that sums up the job of a dean of students. The
Harvard Crimson described a Dean of the Business School
as “the voice of the students in the administration, and the presence of the
administration in the lives of the students.”
Dr. Jones then introduced Associate Principal Mr. George Mechem
(GM) saying that he has the energy, expertise and personality to keep the
place running. Mr. Mechem is the operational
manager of the High School with far-reaching responsibilities: discipline,
attendance, emergency drill management and more.
Mr. Mechem remarked that he heard someone wonder
aloud if adding an associate principal and Deans adds another layer of
administration. He says that this isn’t more layers, but a different
administrative structure which creates greater efficiency in getting the job
done and much greater accessibility to students. The strength of LHS is its
diversity, complexity; it is a very exciting place to work.
[Initials in parentheses used later in these notes to identify the Dean who
is speaking.]
Dave Lautman
(DL) – Science
Building. Mr. Lautman started as a substitute teacher in the early 1980s.
He holds an MA in Special Ed and has worked as a SPED teacher, physics and
math teacher. He has been a lacrosse and volleyball coach, too. Mr. Mechem drew him into administration. He now has a second
MA in administration and has been a Dean for six years.
Laura Lasa
(LL) – Foreign Language
Building. An LHS
graduate, Ms. Lasa began teaching at LHS in the
1980s as a PE teacher and coach. Mr. Mechem brought
her into administration. She has stayed connected closely to kids, especially
helping families. She wishes to spend more time with kids and works to find
ways to do that. In the classroom, she evaluates teachers. And she acts as a
faculty sounding board. Ms. Lasa oversees the
appeals committee (on attendance issues) and acts as liaison for technology issues.
Bill Cole (BC) –
Arts and Humanities
Building. Mr. Cole is
also an LHS graduate. A late bloomer, Cole wasn’t an “A” student in high
school, but worked in SPED and at LHS as a Social Studies teacher. He left
for an MBA and a business career, but missed the kids, and so returned to
teaching and administration. He is responsible for MCAS supervision, junior
and senior awards, school resource office, and busing.
Nancy DeFeudis
(ND) – Math
Building. Ms. DeFeudis’ background is in Special education. She has
been supervisor of student services at LHS for the past five years. She also
ran the peer mediation. Now she has the opportunity to work more directly
with kids again. Ms. DeFeudis enjoys connecting,
problem solving, resolving conflict, etc. She sees her role as helping
students learn to make decisions for themselves. She
facilitates seniors going to Minuteman, parent conferences, guidance
counselor services, and personal services.
Kathy Meagher (KM)
Multi-disciplinary support team – Ms. Meagher [pronounced “Maar”] been a SPED teacher,
administrator, and school psychologist. Her job merges SPED and other
alternative educational plans to serve students who need a different way to
success beyond the usual curriculum/scheduling path.
[Initials identify the Dean who is speaking.]
Q: Can you be a parent
of an LHS kids and never meet the Dean?
DL: We each have
450-500 kids apiece. When kids are having trouble, Deans cut the red tape,
make it easier for kids. Being a teen is a pain. We’re here to minimize pain,
maximize learning
BC: Are there parents
here who went to big high schools? One of the challenges is to not have
people be faceless. We’re always trying to establish some kind of personal
relationships.
LL: It is possible to
[be a parent of an LHS kid and never meet the Dean], but that’s too bad. We
go into freshman English classes. We all say “I hope this isn’t the last time
I see you.” We are the student’s ally. Even casual conversations over four
years can go a long way.
ND: We have weekly
staffing meetings with guidance counselors, nurses, social workers. In other
words, there is someone on our team who is looking out for your kid. Teachers
email and notify Deans of concerns about individual students, too.
Q: Under what
circumstances would I/my kid contact the Dean, the guidance counselor,
resource room teacher, etc. ?
LL: In
the case of a problem in class, you would contact 1. teacher, 2. department
head, 3. guidance counselor. They inform the Dean. Then we discuss the issue
at weekly session, brainstorming for solutions.
ND: If there is some
kind of general issue send an email to all three.
BC: Freshman seminars
are just taking place now, and the guidance counselors are getting to know
the kids.
LL: Transition
to high school can be hard. We spend the fall getting to know the kids.
DL: It’s a really big
adjustment.
Q: We were used to
team teaching in the middle school Now, with no teaming, the communication
doesn’t take place the way it did in middle school.
A: (Parent)
The kids know all the Deans, even before the Deans know all the kids. The
students share the LHS culture with newcomers. All the Deans nurture all the
kids, and the students know that.
Q: This is our
family’s fifth year with students at LHS, and I’m learning new things
tonight. What is the real relationship between you and the guidance counselor.
LL: We
act as a team: house Dean, counselors, nurse, social worker, secretary. We
have tried to create a house within a house.
DL: Technically,
we supervise teachers but we operate more as respected colleagues. Every
member of our team has an eye on the kids.
LL: Now that
counselors are decentralized throughout the buildings, all the team members
are easily accessible to one another and to the kids. If a student is in my
office with a question that needs to be addressed to the guidance counselor,
that counselor is right across the hall, steps away. If a guidance counselor
sees a student with an issue that requires a Dean to be involved, we’re right
there.
BC: Guidance
counselors also use Deans to contact students/teachers/parents, and
vice-versa. It’s symbiotic.
Q: How are the
Deans/kids assigned?
LL & DL: Random
based on freshman teams. Also, families are kept together in the same house.
Input from middle school is also considered. Everyone wants to make the right
fit for the student.
Parent: I
graduated from a high school of close to 3000. We had the same homeroom
teacher for four years. It was that homeroom teacher who handed us our
diploma at graduation. How does the individual student make a four-year
connection at LHS?
GM: It begins with the
homeroom teacher, Dean, secretary, counselor. Yes, especially the house
secretary! That’s a constant. And we are looking at ways to keep the homeroom
teacher a constant for four years, but we do have more teacher turnover than
in past generations.
Q: What is/are the
biggest stressor/s that drives kids to visit the Dean?
DL: Expectations in
this town are incredibly high. A lot of times we have kids who are
collapsing; they’re not sleeping enough, don’t feel they’re succeeding. The
kids look around and see other kids and believe others are going to be more
successful. Great kids, not believing in themselves, believing their
schoolmates are above them.
LL: Besides just being
teenagers. Kids who come my way are kids who think they need to do it all.
They need to make choices. They come in as freshman feeling that “A” is the
only bar there is. They need to understand that they are here to improve
themselves, their knowledge. We have a tremendous number of bright kids here,
but it’s almost as if this community doesn’t understand that there are many
ways to be bright. We need to get the message to the kids that their
interpersonal skills, their artistic abilities and many other contributions
can be just as valued as that “A’ on the paper.
GM: Now
I’m going to get myself into hot water, but here goes: Dropping the WGPA
would go a long way to reduce academic stress on kids and allow them to make
better educational choices.
BC: There are so many
types of stressors, so it’s hard to nail one down. But a lot of kids find
they have a much easier time once they leave. It has been so demanding that
college can feel like a relief.
ND: Students
say, “I have to do more to be sure my resume looks full.” They feel this
surge of pressure to do more. No matter what you say, there is no way to hold
it back. More AP classes, more honors classes, more work to get A’s, A’s,
A’s.
Q: Who observes the
“smokers corner?”
ND/BC: Varies
by the time of day.
BC: Now, I went to LHS
and I know that 25 years ago the smokers group was directly outside the
principal’s office, so there has been some progress.
ND: I see it as a
forum to show kids that we know them and make connections. They see us there,
watching out for them. They know somebody cares and notices them. Some of our
most socially isolated kids need that corner/that social grouping.
DL: When
we shooed kids farther away from school, we cleaned it up, it just pushed the
smokers further away. It didn’t stop them smoking. The kids just ended up
where we couldn’t even keep an eye on them. There are only so many days you
can give them detention. We have no jurisdiction beyond a certain line.
ND: We
put out certain expectations. Clean up, make way for pedestrians.
LL: Nicotine
addicts are going to find a place to smoke. As public as it is, we can have
our eye on them on that corner. We can keep them safe as along as we can see
them. And, by the way, smoking is a problem and it is a problem we can see.
We’re far more worried about some other things, too, that are not so obvious as smoking. When we cannot necessarily see
their problems or find them when they are troubled, that’s an even more
serious concern than smoking.
GM: We do not have
smoking in the school building. They have really honored that rule. And let’s
remember, the kids who smoke are LHS students just the same as those who
don’t. These are our kids, smokers or not.
Q: What do you do to
help balance stresses of academic pressures? How do you help them develop
self esteem from 14 to 18 years of age?
BC: I try to talk with
them about setting their own goals. Try to get them be open in thinking about
their goals, what they enjoy. Try to help them see that a lot of these
[academic] expectations are just external and help them find their own
internal goals.
Q: What can parents
do?
DL: Don’t
load your kid with eight AP classes. Some parents do not want to hear that
their kid needs a full night’s sleep. Give them a break,
encourage them to give themselves a break. We have a crisis team. If they
fail or make a mistake, we tell them. “You haven’t ruined your life.” I see
the kid’s relief when we say that.
LL: Balance.
If I had one magic word that would help every kid, it would be “balance.”
There aren’t enough significant adults in their lives saying “What do YOU
want to achieve?”
KM: There
are a lot of voices of kids who aren’t on that route. My word would be
“Hope.” If you don’t fit in that place, you have hope. There are other
places, ways to succeed.
Q: The colleges are
pressuring students for AP and Honors courses.
DL: A few years ago,
Boston Magazine called this school a “pressure cooker.”
Q: What about the
kids who don’t want to perform to their potential because of the stress?
BC: A
year off after high school would be great, taking the time to get to know yourself, what you really want. I don’t see many LHS
graduates taking that option.
Q: What about while
they are here?
BC: There’s so much
that goes on outside the classroom . . . kids get really into that. Those
kids who participate in an activity that lets them excel outside the classroom, those are the ones that get that will live up
to their potential.
ND: With kids who feel
disenfranchised, we have to think outside the box.
LL: It’s
a tough one for parents when they just choose not to get A’s even when they
could. (I know, I’m a parent, too.)
DL: We
have a few “frequent flyers” who need lots of
attention; most of the kids are pretty happy here, having a great time here.
But we do see a small number of kids over and over. Those “frequent flyers”
get all the help we can give them.
Q: About
the pressure cooker thing. What kind of message does the school give? Do they
ever get told by the school that there are other schools [other than LHS]?
ND: Going
to eighth-grade parent meetings, we tell parents about Minuteman. LHS isn’t
even the only school in Lexington!
There are many options, In fact, seniors can take
classes at Minuteman.
Q: And do LHS kids get
the message that there are more than five or eight colleges
worth going to?
BC: We
have to afford our children that option, tell them that they can choose a
wider variety of undergrad schools. Parents who push for Ivy League
undergrads schools often have graduate degrees from elite schools, but
undergraduate degrees at a more eclectic selection of colleges.
Q: Is it your
experience that life at LHS gets easier as the years go by?
ALL: Yes!
ND: Watching
them be inefficient learners is hard to watch, but they do get more and more
efficient. Are able to do better quality work in less time year after year.
Q: My kid is a good
student, but not efficient. Do they learn how to study?
ND: I have a bias.
That needs to be learned in the middle school. Once you get to the High
School, the pace gets fast and furious.
DL: We
have the study skills resource center. A certain freshman English teacher is
a nut on this topic of skills. Same thing in bio and math. Our teachers are
dedicated to teaching how to learn.
GM: We
acknowledge that this is a pressurized place, but I absolutely believe the
vast majority of kids like coming to LHS.
Deborah Hoard adjourned the session at 9:10 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Marilyn Rea Beyer,
LHS/PTSA Secretary
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