Hello! I'm writing to you to explain the restart of an exciting program here at Medea called "Work Smarter, Not Harder." For those of you who don't know me, I worked at MCMS for several years as a 7th gr Humanities teacher. I'm currently on leave this year. I was very excited when the PFA hired me as an outside consultant to continue this effort.

The goal of this program is to decrease student anxiety and increase academic productivity by using a team approach of teachers, administration, parents and students. In the past, this started with a series of surveys completed by students. We saw many areas of strengths as a school. But, as no one is perfect, there were some areas of improvement. For example, in the past we saw that while students "liked" the adults at school, 43% did not feel comfortable coming to any school adult with a personal problem.

This led to many improvements. We sent home newsletters to parents and students about how to ask for help, if needed. We showed morning announcements giving students examples by acting out situations in which they approached a variety of adults with different issues. This was also the inspiration for many more teacher-led clubs, as well as programs like Camp Medea.

This is just one example of what has happened in the past to show you the potential in the program. So in the coming months, you can look forward to future articles in this e-news. The students and parents may be asked to complete surveys about all aspects of life: school stress, social stress, social networking, general wellness (ex: how many hours of sleep do they get on average), and many other areas such as this. Our goal will then be to see where there is the greatest needs and to meet those needs with creative, successful programs that will hopefully make Medea an even better "home" for all of us.

Thank you in advance for giving me the opportunity to continue this important work for the benefit of our Medea family!

Sincerely, 

Kathryn Dusek