Jordan graduates college - how a One Page Profile helped her succeed!

When I was first introduced to One Page Profiles I fell in love with them. I immediately saw the value that they could have in so many areas of life for people. Being a mom with young children in elementary school my first instinct was to help my kids create profiles for school. My daughter was in Grade 8 that year and my boys grades 6 and 4. I didn't really stop at just helping my kids develop profiles, I decided that I would offer to do a One Page Profile workshop in each of the their classrooms and help all of the students create them. I was blessed that my kids were in a really small community school and that I knew all of their teachers really well. The school was excited to allow me to bring this fun exercise to their students. And so, we did it, we created profiles with all three classrooms and had a great time. Everyone saw the value in the profiles and the students learned so much about each other.

I took a bit of a different focus in the Grade 8 classroom. I knew these students (including my daughter) would be heading off to high school the following September so I wanted them to really focus the information in their profiles for their new teachers and support professionals. So we developed high school One Page Profiles. In addition, we created vision boards for their 4 years of high school and added this to their profiles.

I supported my daughter, Jordan, to be really specific with her profile so that it could be really helpful in supporting her goals in high school. When she started Grade 9 we emailed it to all of her teachers, vice-principal and guidance department.

Here are the ways that it really helped.

1. She was very clear about her desire to be an Early Childhood Educator as part of her vision. She also mentioned that she struggled with Math and wood require some support. She did not do really well in her Grade 9 Math class and her teacher recommended at the end of the semester that she drop down to a lower level of Math. When the guidance counsellor saw this recommendation she called me and said "I see this recommendation but I also know, based on her One Page Profile that she wants to take ECE in college and if she drops to a lower level of Math she won't meet the requirements for college acceptance. What can we do to help her stay in her current level of Math?" Of course I was very happy to get this call and excited that the profile made it's first impression. We found Jordan a tutor and she attended regularly to learn Math in a way that made sense to her. Jordan completed all of her Math requirements and was accepted to college for ECE.

2. Jordan experienced great anxiety around public speaking in elementary school. She would get physically ill the evening before she had to speak to her class and often couldn't attend school the next day. We knew this was a really important thing to share with high school teachers as classroom presentations are part of the high school curriculum. Her French teacher was the first to offer support in this area. He said he had read that this is an area for growth on her profile and that he wanted to support her by having her speak the first time just to him, then she could invite a friend for the second time until she was comfortable speaking to the whole class. She wasn't getting out of doing it, but he was supporting her to grow. During college she comfortably spoke in front of her class and at public events. Of course there was some anxiety, as there is for all of us, but her growth in that area was immense.

3. Jordan's father and I separated when she was 6 years old. Her dad moved away (about a four hour drive from us) and she only got to see him every other weekend. She very much missed her dad and struggled a lot when she came home. She would be very down, sad, and missing her dad for a few days of the week after she got home. We thought it was important for her teachers to know this so that they could be mindful of their expectations of her during that time. This was extremely helpful for Jordan, just the simple awareness of who she is!

4. My girl struggled with anxiety and a bit of depression so it was tough for her to enter a large school  and try to navigate a whole new world. She was out of her comfort zone. Whenever she is feeling really overwhelmed or stressed she likes to be able to call someone that can provide her some reassurance. So we put that in her profile and her teachers would allow her to leave the room and call someone when needed. Seemingly small, by very significant for her in terms of successful days.

Jordan went on to update her profile each year of high school and then for college. She has created a number of profiles for different purposes. She experienced the value to the profile and recommended to her college professors to have all of their students create them with a purpose of support during college and during placements. She invited me to teach her college class about them and now they are a requirement in the ECE course for all new students.

Here is Jordan now - Early Childhood Education Graduate, Class of 2018

She graduated from her Early Childhood Education Program at Canadore College in North Bay, ON yesterday. She has a full time job at Parry Sound District Social Services in a daycare.

Of course her hard work and perseverance is the key to her success. Her and I both are very thankful for the role that her One Page Profile has had in this success. Had we not offered it at the start of high school her path to graduation may have had many more bumps.

I am so very proud of Jordan and her pride in her own accomplishments radiate from her. Job well done Jordan. There are so many more amazing things ahead and I know she will incorporate One Page Profiles into her future.