Are you struggling with your homework or classwork? Then you should check out the student teacher meetings from 2:15pm – 3:15pm on Tuesdays through Fridays during remote learning. 

 You can meet with your teachers independently and get help, or if your group needs help with the project, you can all meet with a teacher together. The meetings were designed by a committee of both administrators and teachers and support staff members from both Grayslake Central and Grayslake North. 

The meeting time is all about “getting extra help with a group project or for some students, seeing their case manager, seeing their interventionists, seeing their school counselor, [or] seeing their dean. We also made sure that there was time built in the day, for students to still have connections with the adults that they need,” said Associate Principal for Curriculum and Instruction Barb Georges.

As GCHS ends the first semester, evaluating this meeting time use is essential for student success.

Georges said, “I think it’s actually working out exactly how I thought it would be [when] we were brainstorming the use. I figured that all of those adults I mentioned, school counselors, interventionists, case managers … I knew those adults were going to be reaching out to utilize that time to connect with kids and that purpose was going to work great. I also know our students really well; I get to talk to a lot of you in different formats. And I have heard over the years that there’s this apprehension with connecting with adults, like you said earlier, like, it’s a little weird to email my teacher.” 

Overall, it is good to remember do not to be afraid to reach out to your teachers. They are here to help you you, and it helps when you reach out to them. Not only can this help you, but it can help other students if you reach out to them.

“Definitely I feel  … whether or not it is the 2:15 to 3:15 time during remote learning or just independent student meetings in general, that is where we get some crucial feedback that changes our practices. So anytime I talk to a student, one on one, that’s when I hear things like I didn’t understand this passage, so I know to go back and re-solidify [the material],” said math teacher Lora Ciferri.

The teachers are appreciative for this time in the day so they can meet with students. During this time, they are also able to build a relationship with students.

“I really really appreciate this time because I’m somebody who meets students a lot at school. I think that in math in general we have students coming in for help all the time before school after school. So having this hour has just been…, so helpful for us because I have been able to meet with students, I would say, almost every day,” said Ciferri.

Students too see the benefit in these individual meetings. 

Junior Kaede Kazuno said the meetings are “especially [helpful] since we are over eLearning it’s kind of hard to get that one on one interaction [with your teachers].”

The most important part of the student teacher meetings is for students to get help and understand the work. Many students have not used the time that is given to them, but some have.

Kazuno also said it is helping her with “DBQ’s [and my] reading and… that’s really helpful because I can have… a one on one conversation with my teacher.”

The independent student teacher meetings are working, and they are helpful for the students. So, don’t let a very good resource like this go to waste.