Advisories
Interview with Luz Padua, Acting Director, Fenway High School
Q: Why don't you tell me a little about the role
of advisories at Fenway?
A: Advisories meet 3 times a week for 1 hour. (We have
block scheduling.) Ninth grade advisories focus on the transition into
Fenway life—emotional, social, academic, and behavioral. They
work on health and wellness issues a lot in 9th grade as well. Also,
time management and presentation skills. Tenth grade advisories focus
on community service. Eleventh grade advisories focus on their junior
review. Junior review is a reflective and evaluative portfolio about
their experience at Fenway over the last 2 years. They present their
work publicly in content areas and in an exemplary area that they have
done high quality work in. They present to a committee made up of teachers,
peers, council members, and community members. They also do career research
and practice college application essays at this stage, too.
Unlike most traditional schools, twelfth grade is the most intense year
at Fenway. Students must graduate with a portfolio and present it publicly.
Graduate portfolios focus on life after Fenway, along with their academic
achievements over the last four years.
We have divided up the school into three Houses so it is like three
schools within a school. Each house has the same curriculum but a different
staff. Students who stay in the same house will carry the same advisors
from 2 to 4 years, depending on their choices.
Q: What elements of advisories do you think are most
beneficial to students and why?
A: The opportunities to make connections, to make them
feel that this is really a place of belonging with their advisor and
their peers.
Q: How does your school introduce advisories?
A: Fenway has been around for 20 years and the philosophies
have stayed the same but the program has changed. Advisory is challenging
for teachers, and we are still developing our model. Some teachers feel
strong and comfortable with their advisories and some don't. The
comfort level with the role of advisor is a key component in their success.
The advisors must see that the students are their biggest resource.
They will let advisors know what is working and they can give great
feedback. The staff needs to have planning time built in for advisories
and also a time for staff to meet and share practices surrounding advisories.
Q: Can you give me an example of what an exemplary
advisory meeting might look like?
A: A great advisory runs itself. The students take
ownership; the parents feel connected; there is trust and a familial
feeling; a bond is established.
Q: How does school size impact the educational program
at the school?
A: Tremendously! It is difficult to build relationships
with 30-35 students in an advisory. It is still tough with a group of
20, but manageable.
Q: What practices do you use in your advisories to
be culturally responsive?
A: We have professional development on diversity issues,
but what is most natural is to have consistent dialogues and discussions
with staff and students. We used to bring in outside experts to help
us with the ongoing process but now we are doing more internal work.
We have great resources within the community. We have a diversity committee,
which keeps the issues at the forefront. We have also developed a common
language surrounding our diversity dialogue. The language may seem like
common sense, but it has helped us a lot. We have 5 safety guidelines
which are: 1) try it on (put yourself in a place to try), 2) agree to
disagree, 3) take personal responsibility for your actions, 4) use confidentiality,
5) no shaming, blaming, or attacking.
Q: What recommendations do you have for educators who
want to introduce advisories into their existing program?
A: Don't feel pressured to be a know-it-all;
work on relationship-building; direct and guide students; don't
be afraid to ask. Don't forget that advisory is still a class
to prepare for; winging it will only work so many times, and will not
be productive. Talk to your colleagues. Having focused goals helps to
set parameters and answer the question—what is the end result?
Make sure to have a time for staff to meet, plan, and discuss; this
is a necessity. And have patience—advisories are not going to
take off overnight, but they will take off.
