In my opinion, a strong advisory program first and foremost focuses on building strong teacher-student relationships. From both the readings I've done and personal experiences, if a student does not have at least one positive student-teacher relationship, they will be less likely to succeed in school. The readings state that academic performance increases when students are aware that there is somebody with in the school that cares for them. Advisory should also help students to develop important life skills. During this time students can work on developing integrity, honing decision-making abilities, and understanding themselves and where they fit into the larger context of the school and the world.
In practice, a middle school advisory should allow students to freely communicate with each other and their advisor during advisory time. The activities completed during this time should not be traditional paper and pencil writing assignments that the students would complete in their academic classes. Students should be engaged and motivated as a way to start their day on the "right foot." Advisory time should not feel like an academic class, otherwise its purpose is defeated. As an advisory progresses, the sense of community throughout the class should become stronger.
To summarize, in my opinion, the most important characteristics of a strong middle school advisory program are:
- Building positive teacher-student relationships
- Ensuring students know that someone cares about them and their life
- Working to develop important life skills
- Motivating students positively for the day ahead of them
- Supervising academic progress
- Open lines of communication between students and advisors
