Developing Alumni Passion For an Elementary School

While it is totally understandable and commonplace for someone to have strong alumni passion for his or her university or high school, it is more unusual for a person to get fired up over a former elementary school. I mean, nobody is out spending hundreds or thousands of dollars on season tickets to a fourth grade intramural basketball game. And although I can't prove it has never happened, I highly doubt people from one end of this country are purchasing clothing apparel from an elementary school on the other end.Does that mean, however, that elementary schools shouldn't consider developing a proud alumni tradition within their own community? Of course not! For all of the reasons that alumni are important to high schools and colleges, they can be a vital part of fundraising, student recruitment, and organizational leadership at lower level schools, as well. I would argue that an elementary school that is not out actively recruiting alumni help is missing a fantastic opportunity.
Here is a list of 15 strategies to get more former students involved at your elementary school.
1. Maintain Updated Address Lists
In order to keep in touch with people as they grow older and move on from your elementary school, it is important to maintain accurate and current mailing addresses and email addresses, as well. If this has not been done at your school, start now to develop a database for your current students. It may be a big undertaking, but it would also be wise to go back through past student records and match them with current high school students. This way, you have a jump on those kids who will be the next generation to go out into the "real world".
2. Create an Alumni Page on Your School Website
Since the Internet has become such a regular part of people's lives, a website is the perfect medium to communicate with far-flung alumni. If you do not already have at least one page on your site devoted to alumni news and relations, you should create one right away. You can scan and post old pictures and maybe even do a "Can you name this person?" contest. Use this site to announce upcoming events or important school news items, such as a community service project or excellent school test scores. This keeps alumni, even if they live in another part of the country in the loop, so to speak.
3. Send Out an Annual Alumni Newsletter

A printed newsletter shares the same objective as a page on your school website, but it is perhaps a little more formal and is for folks who do not visit you on the web. With the printed newsletter, you can also insert a returnable donation envelope. I would suggest coming up with an established name for your alumni news publication (more than just "The Alumni Newsletter"). By branding your website and newsletter, you are becoming more memorable to your potential alumni audience.
4. Don't Push too Heavy on the Fundraising Angle
As with any fundraising effort, you need to pick the right place and time. It is wise to remember that an elementary school is probably going to fall lower on a person's giving priority list than their university or church. The best approach with alumni is to appeal to their sense of nostalgia, the future promise for their children at the same school, and then simply present the need. Just lay it out there for them. If you push too much, you will possibly sever any sense of connection they had. If you play it right, however, you'll get their brains and their hearts going at the same time, and they find a way to help the school.
5. Form an Official Alumni Group

In any important effort, it is smart to develop a group of people that is committed to leading it and growing it. As a school fundraising leader or administrator, you may be called upon to get this group going, but you should not be responsible for the long-term health of the group. Once you have a few solid members on the alumni committee, discuss the group's mission and strategy and then get out of their way. Let them take the ownership.
6. Keep School Athletic Records Posted for Years
If your school has any sort of intramural team or even something as simple as track and field day, I suggest that you keep accurate records and post them. Alumni love to come back and see if their records are still standing. Nothing does more for someone's ego than learning nobody has been able to beat their record in twenty years!
7. Keep School Yearbooks on Hand

Elementary school yearbooks can easily be lost over the years. Make sure you keep a few copies in your library from each year, going as far back as you can. Let the alumni who visit your school know that you have them on file to look at if they wish. Flipping through those pages could really spark a trip down memory lane and that could get them to make a donation. You never know...
8. Create an Annual Student Award
If you don't do this already, consider creating an annual student award based on citizenship or school spirit or both. Give the winners a trophy, but also engrave their names on a perpetual plaque that will be displayed in your main hallway for years. An award like this gives your school an instant tradition and something to proudly show off to a child of a former student. "Hey son, look at this. I won this award way back in 2008!"
9. Honor Various Groups of Alumni at School Functions
If your school has an annual auction or other large gathering, consider using the opportunity to honor a group of alumni or a class from 20 years ago. You could make a photo slideshow and display it during dinner time, for instance. Anyway that you can throw a spotlight on former students, the greater the message you send to current students: We Remember You!
10. Celebrate Long-Employed Teachers
Nothing draws a student back to an elementary school like a favorite old teacher. I know I can still name every single teacher I had from pre-school until 6 grade- and I'm almost 40! If there is a teacher at your school who is retiring after many years of service, consider throwing a huge community-wide blow-out party and inviting any person whoever sat in her class to attend. Tell them to be ready to share stories!

This kind of event could really draw alumni out, who might never have otherwise gotten involved. Advertise this event well ahead of time in the local paper and on local television and radio. Put up fliers everywhere. And, make sure to ask the media to cover the event as a "feel-good piece". All this exposure is only going to help your school in the long run to get more alumni involved.

Characteristics of Hong Kong School Guidance and the Implementation of Comprehensive School Guidance

Generally speaking, 'Guidance', known as pastoral care in UK schools, seek to promote the whole person growth of students, the aim of guidance is to encourage students' self esteem and the development of various aspects of their 'self', such as personal, moral and social and it is educational (Hui, 2000; Hue, 2007).
In his latest article, Hue (2007) explained the whole school approach should be conceptualized as a model for guidance which emphasizes the united effort of all school personnel who, under the leadership of the school head, work together to create a positive learning environment enriched with care, trust and mutual respect. Apart from that, school guidance work is to help students to maximize their own potential acquire acceptable social skills, discriminate right from wrong, develop appropriate values. In addition to this goal, school guidance work should help prevent or overcome students' problems through prompt assistance and appropriate advice.
Whole School Approach to School Guidance and Comprehensive School Guidance Programs
The whole school approach to guidance can be conceptualized as a model, and it can be implemented through comprehensive school guidance programs. Gysbers (2005) pointed out that the comprehensive guidance program currently being used by many states and school districts in the United States consists three elements: content, organization framework and resources. In this article, I will try to analysis comprehensive guidance programs in Hong Kong based on Gysbers' model since the Hong Kong Education Bureau also adopted the model for implementing guidance services in schools.
Firstly, the content element identifies competencies considered important for students to master as a result of their participation in a comprehensive guidance program, it aims at developing students' strengths and it could be the goal for the program. Secondly, the organization framework element contains two sections. The first section is three structural components; it includes the definition, rationale and assumptions. The second section consists four program components; they are guidance curriculum, individual planning, responsive services and system support. The third element of the comprehensive guidance program is resources; the resources are personnel, financial and political resources.

The goal for the comprehensive school guidance is to identify the competencies to be developed, it could be rest on the following objectives: raises students' awareness of their feelings and develop their skills in handling emotion, helps students build up self confidence and enhance self-esteem, promote desirable learning and social behavior, facilitate students' life planning, goal setting, and career formulating, and identify problematic areas in an early state and provide initial and frontline intervention to help students cope with their problems. He suggests the percentage for guidance curriculum programs for high school students should be 15-25 percent, individual planning as 25-35 percent, responsive services 25-35 and system support are 15-10 percent (Gysbers, 2003).
Luk and Lung (2003) also proposed a similar 3Ps model for evaluating the guidance and counseling services in schools. The model stressed the importance of programs, personal and polities.
In the following paragraphs, I will examine Hong Kong literatures concerning the characteristics of Hong Kong schools guidance and based on the above framework and model to see how the literatures' findings promote or hamper the implementation of the comprehensive school guidance model in Hong Kong senior secondary schools setting. Following that, suggestions will be made to see how the comprehensive school guidance could be adapted.
Newly Emerged Senior Secondary Schools (SSSs) and its Characteristics

After the 1997 Asian financial turmoil, the Hong Kong SAR government noticed the economy was undergoing an accelerated economic restructuring. The economy is shifting from labor-intensive industries to knowledge-based industries. Hong Kong's promising future is now heavily depending on excellent services provided to the world, namely financial services, legal services, accounting services and tourism. Although there are many differences between all these service sectors, one thing is in common, they are all about advanced knowledge and services.
With the new opportunities, new challenges are also emerging. The success of knowledge-based economy very much depends on talents who are creative and innovative. In view of the highest unemployment rate among all age groups, how to cultivate adolescent potential pose new challenges to the education sectors, especially secondary and tertiary sectors which mainly provide opportunities for young people to develop their skills and knowledge needed in the society.
In response to the question, the Hong Kong Education and Manpower Bureau (now known as Education Development Bureau) proposes new initiative in 2002 aims at providing alternative senior secondary education to the Form three school leavers. Four senior secondary schools (SSSs) were established in 2003 and the schools were providing schooling from Form four to Form seven. Since the schools are funded under the government direct subsidize scheme, the curriculum and school structure and curriculum are much flexible than the traditional schools and it is conducive for schools to response to diverse students' needs.
Comprehensive School guidance in SSSs (Content Elements)
Desirable content elements

The content element identifies competencies considered important for students to master as a result of their participation in a comprehensive guidance program and the identified competence serves as a goal and direction for the programs design (Gysbers, 2005). The competencies could be rest on the following objectives: raises students' awareness of their feelings and develop their skills in handling emotion, helps students build up self confidence and enhance self-esteem, promote desirable learning and social behavior, facilitate students' life planning, goal setting, and career formulating, and identify problematic areas in an early state and provide initial and frontline intervention to help students cope with their problems.
Yuen (2002) suggests the content element of the program, life skills competencies should be balanced with those of personal/social, career, and academic for educating the whole person.
Strengths in Hong Kong schools' setting
Hui (2000) suggested developmental guidance curriculum should be integrated in some degree into the academic curriculum, so that guidance will be seen, not as distinct from students' learning and cognitive development, but as integral to school experience. Since the aim of establishing the SSSs is to cater the needs of some disadvantaged students, life skills are emphasized in the school curriculum through various forms of implementation. Some of the SSSs have already integrated life skills as their formal curriculum; the contents cover competencies like personal/social, career, and academic with the aims at nurturing the whole person development. In 2007, one of the SSSs integrated the Other Learning Experience (OLE) program newly proposed by the Education Development bureau to their formal curriculum. It provides additional opportunities for students to develop their strengths and competencies.

Research (Cheung and Rudowicz, 2003) shown that students stratified in low-band schools may be particularly vulnerable to the big-fish-little-pond effect, which erodes the self-esteem of students in ability-grouped classroom observed in Hong Kong and other places. Cheung (1997) pointed out academic performance in school may be associated with deviant behavior. Poor academic results may generate a low self-concept and a low perceived personal control, which may, in turn, be conducive to involvement in delinquency. In reality, students admitted to SSSs could be characterized as low motivated, possess negative or low self concept, academic underachiever, undesirable behavioral pattern, immature emotional control, lack of social skills and poor parent-child relationship. SSSs are well aware of these characteristics and many of its programs are designed to enhance students' positive self concept and develop their self-esteem.

7 Deadly Myths about Public School

Myth #1: "Public schools aren't as good as private schools."
First off, this is rather a meaningless assertion to begin with, since there's no such thing as a "typical" public school. Because the American public school system is decentralized, quality varies tremendously. The fact is, however, that, depending on what indicator you choose to use, many public schools outperform private schools.
It is important to understand that knowledge has no address. Knowledge does not "reside" in one location or another. In fact, now that the internet has broken down nearly all the barriers that once limited information access, this reality is more true than ever. Your child can get a first class, quality education from your local public school.
Saying that private schools are "better" than public schools is a lot like saying that books you purchase from Barnes & Noble are "better" than those you obtain from your local public library. The knowledge, the access is the same. It's what you (and your child) do with the books that matters. Likewise, it is what you and your child do with your public school that will determine his or her educational outcomes.
Frankly, we think that blaming your child's public school if your child is not achieving academically is a lot like blaming your gym if you're out of shape. It's not the fault of the institution; it's what you do there that makes the crucial difference.
Your child can absolutely still obtain an Ivy league-worthy education from the public school system. That's assuming that he or she is willing to work hard in the top level classes, of course.
Myth #2: "Private schools have better teachers than public schools."
Let's address this one head-on. Recent data from the National Center for Education Statistics indicate that public school teachers are better educated than private school teachers with more experience, on average. For example, public school teachers are more likely to have a master's degree than private school teachers.
Public schools experience less teacher turnover, mainly because public school teachers are much better paid. This means public school teachers are more experienced. Also, Public schools require professional credentials for teachers and administrators. Many private school teachers work there because they lack the required credentials for a public school job.
It is undoubtedly true that public schools have their share of teachers who are duds, so you are going to have to be proactive about seeking out the best teachers for your child. Stay alert and stay in touch with guidance personnel to steer your towards the most talented teachers.
Myth #3: "My child will meet bad influences in public school."

It's true that public schools have to serve everyone, including students who have no interest in learning. But they don't have to serve them all equally. Because of tracking, every public school of sufficient size has "schools within the school"--subsets of high achieving students who take classes together. The environment within this subset is entirely different from what exists in lower-achieving classrooms.
It's also a mistake to assume that private schools are filled with high achievers. Many children in private school were placed there precisely because they failed to do what they needed to do to achieve in public school. Some even go to private school because they were expelled from public school! This is certainly not the minority, but it does happen.
Don't kid yourself into believing that private schools somehow insulate your children from bad influences. Depending on the student culture, the environment in a private school can be extremely decadent, anti-intellectual, and drug-fueled.

Remember: the higher tracks are the "inside track" to higher achievement and high-performing peers within public schools.
Myth #4: "Public schools lack academic rigor."
It used to be true that a student who didn't care much about learning could slide through high school in low-level classes and "earn" a diploma without learning much. Recent changes in accountability and exit-testing have largely eliminated this option, and public schools now face the predictable problem of large numbers of low-achieving students not graduating.
On the other end of the grading scale, however, more public school students than ever are now taking advantage of high caliber learning opportunities such as AP and Honors courses, which--at their best--rival what is available in the most exclusive private schools.
There are multiple realities in a typical public school, but students who are motivated to challenge themselves with the highest level of classes are apt to find that intellectual challenges are abundant in public school. (Your typical public school teacher is more likely to complain that too few students rise to the challenge than that too few challenges exist for motivated students.)
Consider this factoid, as well: 64% of admitted Harvard students went to public school. If there were enough challenges for these students in public school, there are enough challenges for your child, as well.
Myth #5: "My child will have better extracurricular activities in private school."
This one is a no-brainer. Public schools, due to their sheer size both in terms of budget and student numbers, have the competititve edge in offering a wider array of extracurricular opportunities. This is definitely an area in which the public schools excel.
Public schools clearly have the advantage in terms of being able to offer more competitive athletic programs and a full selection of band and orchestral choices. Small private schools just don't have the numbers to support the same breadth of offerings--at least not at a competitive level.
The reality is, some extracurriculars may become so competitive at the public high school that it is difficult for a casual participant to make the teams or achieve distinction. In this case, a private school might provide greater opportunities for involvement. It is important to point out that programs wax or wane within public schools, depending on personnel and the quality of student involvement.
Myth #6: "I have to live in a rich neighborhood to find good public schools."
This myth seems to make sense on its face. It seems logical to assume that the public schools in the more affluent areas would be "better" than the public schools in less affluent areas. Because the tax base is stronger, you would expect to find increased support for school funding, as well.

How To Build Up A Full Collection Of Chalet School Books

The Chalet School series by Elinor Brent-Dyer seems to be one of the most popular school series. There were 62 books altogether which is why it is so difficult to collect the whole set. There were also additional books and newsletters. Recently new authors have written 'fill-in' books where they feel there should be extra information not provided by the author herself. Some of the books are extremely rare and some paperbacks, even reprints can sell for £30+ making some of the hardback first editions extremely valuable indeed.
If you have started a collection or would like to I have some tips for you. Firstly decide whether you wish to collect paperbacks, hardbacks or either and whether you want to get every title or just the actual series of books and not the newsletters, additional books and books by other authors. Once you have decided you will need to get together a list of these titles. Most of the more modern reprints carry a full list of titles in the front and you can also look these up on various websites. I have included a list at the end of the article (It includes all of the original books plus some additional ones. I know I have missed some of the additional ones out).
Now you need to know where to start looking for these books. EBay is an obvious choice but some of the rarer books are hard to find even on eBay and when they do appear it is easy to be outbid. However it is still worth looking and listing on the 'wants' pages of eBay. There are other websites that sell second hand books but they do tend to be more expensive. Therefore I would tend to look in second hand bookshops, bookfairs and at charity book sales. You can sometimes pick up the titles slightly cheaper and you can also ask the dealers to look out for copies for you and put them by for you. Girls Gone By publish some of the out of print titles in unabridged paperbacks and some new authors who have written 'fill-in' books. These go out of print very quickly but you can usually find copies on eBay for a while. These are ideal if you are looking to fill gaps in your collection and do not mind that the books are a different size to the originals. Other publishers of fill-in titles are Bettany Press and Troubador publishing.
If you want to, for example, read the whole series but also get a nice hardback collection, I would recommend buying any title you see that you do not own. It may take a long time to get every book in hardback and you can always sell the paperback on eBay once you find a hardback version. You can also do this with paperbacks if you want a particular cover style or if you want to replace some of your tattier copies with neater ones.
Full List of Titles

Original series by Elinor Brent-Dyer : The School at the Chalet, Jo of the Chalet School, The Princess of the Chalet School, The Head Girl of the Chalet School, Rivals of the Chalet School, Eustatia Goes to the Chalet School, The Chalet School and Jo, The Chalet School in Camp, The Exploits of the Chalet School, The Chalet School and the Lintons, A Rebel at the Chalet School, The New Houseat the Chalet School, Jo Returns to the Chalet School, The New Chalet School, A United Chalet School, The Chalet School in Exile, The Chalet School at War, The Highland Twins at the Chalet School, Lavender Leigh at the Chalet School, Gay Lambert at the Chalet School, Jo to the Rescue, The Mystery at the Chalet School, Tom Tackles the Chalet School, The Chalet School and Rosalie, Three go to the Chalet School, The Chalet School and the Island, Peggy of the Chalet School, Carola Storms the Chalet School, The Wrong Chalet School, Shocks for the Chalet School, The Chalet School in the Oberland, Bride Leads the Chalet School, Changes for the Chalet School, Jey Goes to the Oberland, The Chalet School and Barbara, The Chalet School Does it Again, A Chalet Girl From Kenya, Mary-Lou of the Chalet School, A Genius at the Chalet School, Chalet School Fete, A Problem for the Chalet School, The New Mistress at the Chalet School, Excitements at the Chalet School, The Coming of Age of the Chalet School, The Chalet School and Richenda, Trials for the Chalet School, Theodora and the Chalet School, Joey and Co in the Tirol, Ruey Richardson at the Chalet School, A Leader in the Chalet School, The Chalet School Wins the Trick, A Future Chalet School Girl, The Feud in the Chalet School, The Chalet School Triplets, The Chalet School Reunion, Jane and the Chalet School, Redheads at the Chalet School, Adrienne and the Chalet School, Summer Term at the Chalet School, Challebge for the Chalet School, Two Samsat theChalet School, Althea Joins the Chalet School, Prefects at the Chalet School

Related Books : The Chalet Book for Girls, The Second Chalet Book for Girls, The Third Chalet Book for Girls, The Chalet Girls Cookbook, Chalet School Newsletters, Friends of the Chalet School Annuals.

San Francisco Schools' Small Schools Program

The Small Schools program in San Francisco Schools was established back in 2000. One successful example of a small school is the San Francisco Schools' Leadership High School. This high school has a total of only 345 students, uses high standards and close relationship with teachers to help at risk students. Leadership High School was established about 5 years ago and now has some of the highest test scores in all of the San Francisco Schools. Mainly the idea is to take largd schools, usually high schools, into several smaller schools that can focus on the students needs better.
San Francisco Schools have become a leader in a growing trend that has spread across Northern California. The idea behind breaking up large schools is an attempt to provide an alternative to the status quo. Students in a small school tend to have higher rates of graduation, higher attendance rates, and higher university attendance. The small school environment succeeds due to a more personalized learning environment. The small schools of the San Francisco Schools use a mentor system that gives guidance to that they are personally engaged in their work. Students are motivated while being connected to the school community. The National Longitudinal Study for Adolescent Health reports that students in a small school environment were less likely to use alcohol, illegal drugs, become pregnant, or experience emotional distress.
San Francisco Schools' Small Schools for Equity

The Small Schools for Equity program is an innovative partnership between San Francisco Schools and a local university. This high school has one hundred students from all of the San Francisco Schools. This high school will be housed on the university's campus and be supported by the College of Education while being managed and funded by San Francisco Schools. The students, teachers and administration will have a say in curriculum development. Students who attend the Small Schools for Equity program were chosen by San Francisco Schools' officials. The high school students will study a rigid curriculum that will include high school level math, science, English, humanities, world language, art and Japanese. No college courses will be offered.

The Small Schools for Equity program provides the College of Education with a great opportunity in teacher education. San Francisco Schools has allowed university students seeking teaching credentials to teach and observe in schools throughout the San Francisco School district for years, now the College of Education will have a high school on campus that will benefit from modern educational theory and practices. The high school will be housed in Burk Hall and run a full school day from 8AM to 3PM, the rest of the day Burk Hall will be used by education students.
San Francisco Schools Board of Education Reviews Small Schools

The San Francisco Schools Board of Education is, this summer, reviewing a policy that would support the San Francisco Schools Small Schools By Design. The policy is being introduced by San Francisco Schools Acting Superintendent Gwen Chan and is supported by school board president Norman Yee and San Francisco Organizing Project, a community organization that supports the small schools initiative. San Francisco Organizing Project is a collection of religious congregations, schools and community centers. Those opposed to the program claim that the money spent does not equal the benefits but supporters say that the Small Schools offset the difficulties of declining student enrollment and the flight of families from San Francisco Schools. The current policy up for vote would create a task force to determine the locations and needs of San Francisco Schools which would benefit most from Small Schools.

Stacy Andell is a staff writer for Schools K-12, providing free, in-depth reports on all U.S. public and private K-12 schools. Stacy has a nose for research and writes stimulating news and views on school issues. For more information please visit San Francisco Schools