When your children arrive home from school, are they able to share where they are in the learning process? Often, students are inactive passengers on the journey of learning. Sometimes they see school as a chore rather than an opportunity. This is evident when our kids come home from school and do not remember what they learned during the day. Often students will say, “I had so much fun at recess, and lunch was great!” Unfortunately, they cannot recall much else about their day at school

As parents, we want our children to have the very best opportunities in school so that they can have the highest levels of success in their lives. Schools have a tremendous impact and role in the development of our youths. By creating a strong learning culture, we can motivate all students to succeed at the highest levels.

It all begins with empowering students to take charge of their own learning. Teachers begin this work the first day of school by developing classroom shared visions and codes of collaboration. Experts in the educational field agree that students must take part in creating the culture. Students need to discuss why we go to school and how we work together in school to make sure everyone can focus on their very best learning. The vision and code of collaboration become the heart and soul of the classroom environment because they focus on identifying the class perspective as well as help kids identify how their role in the classroom community affects everyone’s learning. Teachers train students to revisit the vision and code daily to keep them at the heart of the classroom.

The finest teachers get to know students’ personal interests as well as their academic strengths and needs. Skilled educators are able to diagnose present levels and coordinate a variety of choices based on this information. Teachers help students set goals, craft action plans to meet their goals and reflect throughout the learning process. When students understand that going to school is all about where they are in their own learning, they become excited and passionate about goal-setting, planning, engaging in the work and celebrating true success as they grow.

Educators intentionally empower students to become active participants in their learning by implementing a variety of best practices:

Establish personalized goal-setting processes. Teachers confer with students about their present levels to determine strengths and needs in learning. Through conferring, teachers can coach students to set powerful goals, determine the best course for accomplishing the goals, engage in the action steps and reflect on the learning process in working toward the goals.

Create relevance in learning. Students need to know why the skill, content or assignment matters in their lives and in our world. A gigantic shift in learning takes place when teachers can help students identify and engage in authentic learning experiences. When real-world application takes place, students build deep understanding of concepts.

Focus on higher levels of learning and critical thinking skills. Our students’ recall of facts is far less important than their ability to be creative thinkers and problem-solvers. Fostering this in schools can mean giving students a problem and allowing them to struggle through it to allow them opportunities for academic perseverance.

So, what can parents and community members do to help support a learning culture in our schools?

Talk about learning goals and support kids in accomplishing the goals on their own. Have them share in the delight of hard work in order to accomplish their personal goals.

Engage in partnerships with teachers and schools. Offer your unique skills and talents to support real-world application within our community. Schools love developing partnerships within our community so that we can support relevance in learning.

In discussions, pose questions that will get kids thinking about why things are the way they are. Help kids use evidence to justify their thinking and apply reasoning across a variety of concepts.

Schools in the Durango community, such as Florida Mesa, are engaging in educational practices that will offer students more powerful levels of learning.

Vanessa Fisher is principal at Florida Mesa Elementary School, part of Durango School District 9-R. Reach her at vfisher@durango.k12.co.us.