Advisory Educators: Ms. Robinson-Glenn, Ms. Jean-Francois, Ms. Goldstein, Mr. Lagravinese, Mr. Lazarus, Mr. Lee, Ms. Grech, and Ms. Pineda.
Vision: Advisory students have the opportunity to connect and organize their lives with the support of a TYWLS advisor.
Advisory courses are not traditional class periods. Advisory is a place to build connections and strengthen the concept of community. There is also a focus on supporting students to monitor their organizational skills.
Connect: Advisors have created Google Classrooms for youth to help disseminate information and share announcements. They complete bulletin boards with pupils at the beginning of the school year. Students develop the design/content and assemble it. The theme is inclusivity which can connect to ethnicity, sexuality, disability, mental health, etc. Later in the school year, they create proposals to fundraise/promote awareness about specific causes. Eighth graders receive consultation about the high school application process and SHSAT. Ninth graders have 1-1 interviews with their advisors, framed as conversations around academics and attendance.
Organize: Students set academic and behavioral/social goals; advisors review marking period grades and track progress towards weekly/monthly/postsecondary goals, revising if and when necessary. Advisors inform young scholars of expectations during Student-Led Conferences; they all prepare to speak and provide evidence for grades, which teachers expect to be 80+.
Educators promote global and civic awareness by discussing current events. This time allows teachers and students to build rapport and work as a team.
Monthly themes inspire classroom activities.
September: Suicide Prevention and Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month
October: Breast Cancer Awareness Month
November: Native American Heritage Month/CyberSecurity and Student-Led Conferences
December: Body Image/Positivity/Reflection
January: Resolutions/Inter-Grade Mentoring Month
February: Black History Month/Racism
March: Women’s History Month/International Women’s Day, 2023 theme #EmbraceEquity
April: Sexual Assault Awareness Month/National Minority Health Month/Earth Day
May: Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month/Mental Health Awareness Month
June: Pride Month
SOFT SKILLS are explicitly taught in advisory through modeling and activated in the academic classroom.