By Lisa Loeb

Head of the Upper School

As the school year gets underway and grades begin appearing in Blackbaud, we want to encourage families to help students keep grades in perspective.

Constant access to grades can lead students to check them repeatedly, focus too much on individual scores, or see school as primarily about performance rather than learning. At KO, we want grades to be one source of information about a student’s progress, not the sole measure of their success.

Families can help reinforce that message at home. Here are a few practices we encourage:

Remember that grades are snapshots. T

This is especially true early in a marking period, when one assessment, a missing assignment, or work that has not yet been graded can have an outsized effect on an average. Encourage your student to look for patterns over time rather than reacting to a single score.

Ask about the learning, not just the grade.

Instead of “What did you get?” consider questions such as: What worked well for you? What might you do differently next time? What did the teacher’s feedback tell you? What support might help?

Create some boundaries around grade-checking.

We encourage students to check Blackbaud intentionally, perhaps once or twice each week, rather than repeatedly throughout the day. More information does not always lead to less anxiety.

Give disappointment some time.

A disappointing grade can produce a strong initial reaction. Encourage your student to wait before emailing a teacher. A 24-hour pause can provide time to process the emotion, review the feedback, and approach the teacher ready to understand what happened and determine next steps.

Our goal is not for students to care less about their academic performance. Rather, we want them to develop the habits, perspective, and resilience that allow them to respond productively when things do not go exactly as they hoped.

As advisors and teachers, we will be reinforcing these same messages at school. Thank you for partnering with us as we help students focus not only on the grades they earn, but on the learning, growth, and habits that will serve them well long after those grades are forgotten.