Commitment to College Celebrations 2010

At IDEA Academy Mission we began the tradition of holding annual end of year events called "Commitment to College Celebrations."  Essentially, it's a night planned by each grade level to celebrate the children and their progress toward college.  We very consciously decided not to hold the traditional Kinder graduation, but, instead, chose to have this event.  We felt strongly that in a community where only about 50% of people have a high school diploma and only 13% have a bachelor's degree, that we needed to find ways to raise our sights to, ultimately, college graduation.  We felt it was a travesty that every year so many children "graduate" from kinder only to one day end up with the above abysmally low statistics.  A few parents here and there have a tough time accepting that their child won't walk across the stage in a cap and gown at the end of kindergarten, but we assure parents that the Commitment to College Night is a really big deal.  Teacher put countless hours into preparations and children and families dress up and enjoy a nice evening together.  For the really adamant parents we suggest they have "graduation" pictures taken at a local department store.  Most parents, however, understand why we've made this choice and appreciate the added focus on college.

One of my teachers suggested that a collection of photos or video footage could be helpful for the new teachers who come to our school each year and help plan the event but didn't attend one in previous years.  I've put together a few things in the video above--definitely doesn't show a whole lot, but hopefully enough to give an idea of what it's looked like in the past.  One thing I think that's important to remember is that it needs to feel different to be memorable.  If it feels like every other awards night or end of year family event then this won't stand out as something different to parents.  To make college stand out in their minds then this night needs to stand out as something extra special and unique!  The traditions need to really feel like important traditions and the unique teacher/grade level touches need to speak to how special this event should be.  It should be an annual build-up to the students' College Signing Day their senior year.

The goal is for this evening to be completely college-focused and for it to be a big celebration!  Certain traditions are a part of the evening each year (Commitment to College certificates from the principal, "Hopes and Dreams" letters written by parents for us to save and give to children on their College Signing Day their senior year, student songs & readings, slide show, etc) but grade levels are also encouraged to add some unique touches to the event.  We want students and families to leave completely re-committed to doing whatever it takes to get these children to college.  No giving up!  The event, as with all our family events, is 100% bilingual.  We try to ensure that approximately half of the presentation is in Spanish, half in English.

We also give out our end of year awards, which are the following:

ACADEMIC HONORS
1 student per classroom with the highest average in the following subject areas:
Reading in L1
Reading in L2
Writing in L1
Writing in L2
Math
Our World
Physical Education

PHOENIX AWARDS
1 boy and 1 girl per classroom:
Flying Phoenix (equivalent of Student of the Year)
Rising Phoenix (equivalent of Most Improved)
Global Phoenix (equivalent of Good Citizenship)

ATTENDANCE AWARDS
Perfect Attendance (with less than 3 tardies)
Perfect Attendance (with more than 3 tardies)

In addition to the video above, I'm attaching some other planning resources that could be helpful for anyone else trying to plan a Commitment to College night.  These are a mix of our 2009 and 2010 planning resources.

Planning Template 2009
Program Minute by Minute 2009
Parent Invitation 2009 (Spanish)
Parent Invitation 2009 (English)
Parent Tickets 2009*
Teacher Awards Forms 2010
Commitment to College Certificate 2009
Awards: Academic Honors**
Awards: Phoenix Awards
Awards: Attendance


* As a new and growing school without a cafeteria or gym yet, we've had to get creative in finding space for events such as these.  In 2009 we rented a nearby hall and provided dinner.  Every child could bring 2 family members free & then pay for additional family members--unfortunately we had to limit numbers as we were very limited by space.  In 2010 we were faced with much less money and we also didn't want to have to limit the number of family members who came (one of the biggest reasons we hold this annual event is to remind children AND their families of the importance of our long-term college goal and help make it a part of our school and community culture), so I approached the principal of a more established IDEA campus that did have a gym and she graciously allowed us to reserve their facility for the Kinder and 1st Grade nights.  We used the local Chamber of Commerce building for the PK event.  This coming year IDEA Mission will have their own "cafetorium," so finding a space will be much easier!


**We hold quarterly awards ceremonies by grade level during the year.  At each of these the expectation is that every student receive an award.  At the end of year awards, every child receives a Commitment to College certificate, but not every child receives an additional award (though they could if they earned the attendance award!).  We decided that this approach balanced the need to have all children recognized most of the time but then to also have situations in which children (ahem...parents) learned that it's OK if they don't get something and that they should congratulate those who do with grace and sincerity.  Children are usually better at this than their parents are.  :)

Some people have asked how we make college a part of our ongoing school culture--not just at the end of the year.  The most important aspect of having a truly college prep school is rigorous high quality instruction that leads every student to meet very high expectations every year, but it's also important to make college and specific college-related vocabulary an everyday part of the school culture.  A few things IDEA Mission does in this area:

College Mascots

Every homeroom has their own college mascot that teachers use to build unity and class identity.  Students identify themselves with the university, its mascot, and its colors.

College Flags

Each homeroom's college flag hangs outside the classroom.  The hallway is, therefore, a colorful display of colleges.

Chants and Signs
Each homeroom creates a brief chant and "sign" that represents their mascot.  They use this during school assembly roll call to show that they are present.

School Chants & Song
During assembly, we teach children a number of college focused chants in both English and Spanish.  These chants are about college, reaching goals, reading, knowledge is power, etc.  We also have a school song--I rewrote the words to BYU's Cougar Fight Song and turned it into IDEA Mission's Phoenix School Song.  The kids love it!

Here's the BYU Fight Song--just sing the final "Go Phoenix" EXTRA loud (over "Go Cougars!" at the end).  Otherwise, it's ready for IDEA Mission teachers to use with their students!



Rise & Shout School Song Lyrics (English & Spanish)


College T-Shirts
While students must wear the standard school uniform on Mondays - Thursdays, on Fridays they can wear jeans with a school spirit t-shirt or a college t-shirt.

College Home Projects
This is actually done in conjunction with our Commitment to College Celebrations, but our tradition to have every student do a home project focused on the college they want to attend.  These projects are then worn or displayed on the night of the CTC Celebration.  For example, PK created college posters, Kinder made college sashes (both seen in the video above) and 1st graders created a college medallion.  This gets parents and students discussing children's strengths and talents, their career aspirations, and the types of universities that would be a good fit for the child and family.  It also helps us know which families aren't yet fully committed to our college goal or who are committed but not aware of the options.   This is great information to help us know which families need additional support and info from us!

College Visits
Each year every grade level visits a college.  In sixth grade the students will begin to go on IDEA's multi-day college field lessons around the state and country, but until then we make sure that students (and any family members that want to attend) set foot on a local 4-year college campus at least once a year.

What are some things that you and/or your school does to make college a key part of your student and family culture?