Sunday, September 19, 2021

September 19 Update

Dear Parents and Guardians,

I hope you are well. I have recently been asked by parents why McCall teachers and staff have been openly sharing their pronouns when they are introducing themselves to a group of people including their students, and why McCall staff include their pronouns in their email signatures and Zoom names.  I would like to take this opportunity to explain why we are engaging in these practices.

As you may know already, the School Committee adopted the Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity policy in 2019.  The policy states that staff and students have the right to choose pronouns and names that are appropriate to their gender identities regardless of the genders or names that were assigned to them at birth.  In my opinion, this is an important step to take so that McCall and all of Winchester Public Schools can be a safe and inclusive place for all staff and students.  Sharing pronouns is part of what all of us can do to align our practices with this policy.

In our culture one often assumes people’s gender identities based on how they express themselves such as the way they dress and through their mannerisms.  When we share our pronouns and ask others to share their pronouns, we are not making assumptions about other people’s gender identities based on their appearances.  Teachers and staff also share their pronouns and invite others to share their pronouns in all situations – not just LGBTQ-specific circumstances – because we want to make sure we are not singling out certain people or communities by asking only those students and colleagues to share their gender identities.

It is important to point out that sharing pronouns is not just for the purpose of supporting our LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning) staff and students even though that is a big part of why we are engaging in this practice.  Surveys and studies consistently show LGBTQ students in WPS and across the Commonwealth and country disproportionally struggle with their mental health which ultimately impacts their school performances.  Our work to create a safer school for students of all gender identities – including the engaging in the practice of sharing pronouns – is to benefit all students.  Creating a school culture where we normalize gender identity expression signals to all staff and students that people do not have to hide or be ashamed of their gender identities whether they are consistent with the ones they were assigned at birth or not.  These efforts also communicate to everyone that no one gender identity is superior to another and that no one identity is “more normal” than another.  Ultimately, we want all staff and students to understand that there is a place for everybody, and McCall is truly a place for ALL.

Lastly, I would like to make sure everybody knows that we do not require anyone to share their pronouns if people do not feel comfortable doing so.   We only invite staff and students to take this step.  Some folks may choose not to share their pronouns because they have not decided what is the appropriate pronoun for themselves or that they are uncertain why they are being invited to do so.  I understand some of our students are confused by why this practice is taking place at McCall.  This is particularly the case for our sixth graders given that many of them have not been exposed to this practice at their elementary schools.  I will be working with my staff to make sure students understand the rationale behind sharing pronouns, and that they all have the option to not share pronouns if they are not comfortable doing so.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post.


James Lin

Principal

McCall Middle School 

Sunday, September 12, 2021

September 12 Update

 Dear McCall Parents and Guardians,

 

I am probably dating myself by letting you know that some of my favorite movies are the 80’s teen comedies by John Hughes such as Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and Breakfast Club.  However, the movie about a teenager’s life I found to be the most compelling is Bo Burnham’s Eighth Grade that came out in 2018.  The movie depicts the last few days of a young woman Kayla’s 8th grade year.  There are a lot of scenes that showed how she tried so hard to navigate through some very difficult social situations.  Kayla did so awkwardly, and despite her best efforts and intentions the results of her attempts to be accepted are cringe-worthy.  You may have witnessed some of these situations involving your own middle-schoolers, and your hearts may have broken for them as these situations play out in front of you.

 

Although he is not the focus on the movie, the character that resonated with me the most is Mark, Kayla’s father, who was raising his daughter on his own.  The movie showed him doing his best to connect with Kayla while dealing with parenting challenges such as figuring out how to manage his daughter’s social media usage.  Mark did plenty of things to embarrass his daughter (and himself) and at times alienated her from him.   

 

Despite his cluelessness, I found Mark to be a very good father.  He continued to be a presence in Kayla’s life throughout the movie and persisted in his effort to connect with her even though Kayla pushed him away repeatedly.

 

You are going to be find your middle school student share less and less with you about their days at school as they grow older.  This is normal.  It is also normal to find your child who used to tell you everything respond with short phrases or even one syllable words when you ask them how they are doing and what happened at school.  I have found successful parents will continue to ask their middle school children about how they are doing and consistently find opportunities to ask those questions even though their children would not sharing much or respond with very little details.  The signal you are sending your middle school children by doing so is that you care and they can always count on your presence.  There will come a day when they need you, and you will be there when that time arrives.

 

I also want everyone to know that McCall staff are always observing your students’ academic and social emotional progress.  You can count on us contacting you if we see evidence that your children are not doing well.  No news typically means good news, but if you are unsure whether your parental instincts are matching up with what the teachers and staff are seeing in school, please make sure you reach out to us right away.  The appropriate people to connect with if you have academic concerns are the teachers themselves.  If you have across the board concerns about your child’s academic progress and/or social emotional well-being, the people to contact are your child’s guidance counselor or the Team Leader.  Attached here is a document that lists who those people are.  This information is also posted on the Resources page of our website.

 

Thank you, and I hope you find this information helpful.

 

James Lin

Principal

McCall Middle School

Sunday, September 5, 2021

September 5 Update

Dear McCall Parents and Guardians,


Welcome to the 21-22 school year. From what I could see during the first two days of school, I believe the year started out pretty well. It goes without saying that last school year was very difficult for both staff and students, and a lot of that had to do with the COVID mitigation guidelines we put in place took away much of what is enjoyable about coming to school – most notably the ability for staff and students to be able to interact with each other in meaningful ways. I know many of McCall faculty members are excited about returning to many of the pre-pandemic practices, and they are elated that they can get back to being the educators they want to be for their students.


I would like to share with you this commentary posted on the WBUR website titled “The Pandemic Is Still Here. How Can We Help Kids Return to School”. The authors Achana Basu and Karesten Koenen, both academicians from Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health, provided some advice on how to help students adjust to their return to full in-person learning after a challenging 20-21 school year. I found the most compelling advice the authors offered us in the article is to emphasize the value of flexibility and to “avoid unrealistic positivity in factor of realistic assurance.”  The entire article can he found here.  


While the district leaders and I are working to get schooling back to what it was prior to the pandemic, it is still important for all of us to remember that COVID is still out there. We do not have to be paralyzed by it, but we must be vigilant about following science-based mitigation guidelines. Reminding our students and each other to wear masks, wash hands frequently, practice maximum distancing, and quarantine when asked by the Health Department are critical to keeping our school running safely. I also ask everyone to be patient with us as my staff and I work to figure out how to implement health and safety measures while allowing everyone in the school to enjoy teaching and learning the way they were meant to be done.


Lastly, I would like to remind all parents and caregivers that it is natural for students to experience back to school emotions that are both pleasant and unpleasant emotions at high intensity levels.  This is especially the case if the students have not been in the building for over a year.  While my staff and I would see the pleasant emotions such as excitement and elation during the school day, you will likely see the unpleasant emotions such as anxiousness and nervousness at home. If you do see your children being upset about the first two days of school, it may be helpful to remember that going to school after two months of not doing so is tiring for everyone. The behaviors that were expressed by your children may be their inabilities to regulate their emotions due to physical exhaustion as opposed to the actual problems they were telling you about. I found many of the challenges students have melt downs about during the first few days of school (e.g., trouble opening lockers, not finding their classrooms, not seeing friends at the time they are expecting to see them) will resolve themselves after few more days of school. I have also found the most effective ways for parents and caregivers to help their students during those situations are to listen without reacting and to give the students what they need to “refuel their tanks” (e.g., give them food and get them to bed at a reasonable hour).  My staff and I will be happy to help if the problems persist and your student continue to express the same difficulties after a week or so of school.



I, for one, had a great first two days of school. I hope you did as well and the four day weekend helped you recharge.  Here’s to another good 175 plus days of school!




James Lin

Principal

McCall Middle School