Alyson's Reflection

The goal of every school should be to foster healthy academic and personal growth in every student. For young adolescents, their academic success is highly dependent on their other developmental needs being met. This We Believe is a call to action that highlights 14 specific components of a successful middle school. In order to obtain student success, it is important that all teachers and staff at a middle school share the same vision. These 14 components cannot stand alone in creating a successful school. Employing one or two in a school is a start, but a school really needs to create a system, where all 14 components are seamlessly integrated. This We Believe is a vision that relies on creating a school culture which will be integral to student success.

Keep it Positive!
In order to create a school culture which with foster academic and personal growth, a safe, positive learning environment is crucial. One of the components is to have an inviting, supportive, and safe environment. School should be a place where a child feels comfortable enough to express their opinions and to be themselves. Regrettably, in the world we live in today, the lives of children are in such turmoil, that school may be the only place that they feel safe. It is our job as teachers to be aware of this. Younger students are beginning to engage in at risk behaviors more frequently. School wide efforts need to be made to promote and foster health, wellness and safety. A middle school should emphasis positive decision making, coping and refusal skills throughout the curriculum. Teaching these skills should not be separate from the academic curriculum, but should be integrated throughout. Students need to be shown consequences and how their decisions can affect the rest of their lives. Simply giving students lectures on how students must not engage in at risk behavior will only increase their chances of trying it. No student wants to be told what to do. Instead, they should be shown what CAN happen if they do take part in such at risk activities. Student wellness should be one of the main goals of a middle school, and it is important that all teachers work together to help promote this. Teachers are examples of wellness and healthy choices for students. If students see teachers frequently taking part in unhealthy behaviors (such as smoking on school grounds) they are likely to emulate it. Teachers inherently need to practice what they preach. This does not mean teachers should all be perfect citizens, but they need to be aware that their behaviors and decisions affect other students.
Another component of This We Believe is to have adult advocates for every student who are trained and aware of student’s social, emotional, physical, cognitive and moral development. With an adult advocate for each student, a sense of trust is formed among students and adults that also help promote the positive school environment that schools are shooting for. In the previous paragraph, I mentioned that school may be the only safe, stable place students have to go. Students also, may not have a positive, stable adult mentor in their life that they can talk to and seek guidance from. Considering that our society has more children coming from single parent homes than ever, I think that is very important that students be matched up with someone who can be a positive influence in their lives. These positive, supportive relationships directly influence the culture of the school.
A positive learning environment doesn’t stop in the classroom or the school but extends into the community. Schools that develop family and community partnerships are exercising their positive influence beyond the classroom. A goal of schools should be to promote citizenship and create positive family and community members. Students should be participating in activities around the community such as community service and should be making themselves visible and active. Schools should have the same role. Not only does guidance come from the adults in the school, guidance and support services can came from the community and families as well.
A positive school environment equals positive educational experiences for all.

We’re all on the Same Page
In order for schools to be successful, it is also important that all teachers and staff share the same academic goals and expectations. This shared vision helps guide decision making by all. This shared vision should be reflected in the work teachers do every day, and their expectations for their classrooms. High expectations for every member of the learning community should be developed. This vision is best employed by creative collaborative leaders, who promote professional development within the staff, and set up times and days for collaboration to occur. It is important that teachers meet and collaborate to share ideas and develop themselves as educators. Successful early release days, teacher’s workshops, and after school meetings are all times that can be used for developing this type of shared vision.
I think there are a number of levels which teachers should meet on. One level is the content level. Teachers should use content level meetings to develop assessments, and share ideas on what is working and what isn’t. One of the components of This We Believe is to create relevant, challenging and integrative curriculum. Relevance is a key aspect in curriculum. Students simply will not be engaged in learning that is not active and relevant to them. By helping them connect what they are learning to their own lives, is when the real learning takes place. Without any relevance, there will be little interest in what is being taught. Without any time to meet with other teachers teaching the same content area, a rich, strong curriculum can simply not be developed.
Teachers should also have time to meet in their “teams”. By working in teams they can discuss students they are concerned about, develop interdisciplinary units, and get ideas from each other. This is also a chance for teachers to share learning and teaching approaches, since differentiated strategies and diversity in the classroom is key for successful learning. For a school to truly be successful, this time for communication is absolutely vital.
Another aspect of being on the same page is being on the same page as students. Another component of This We Believe is that each educator values working with adolescents and is prepared to do so. Adolescence is an interesting and at many times challenging age, an age when many changes in students are occurring. Educators need to be attuned to specific developmental traits and characteristics which students of that age will display. Teachers, who go into this profession without any clue about the way students of the age are developing, will likely face many problems. All teachers need to understand that students are developing but they are not developing all at once. Educators need to be patient with student development and understand it won’t all come at once. Like anything, development takes time. Just because a student looks mature and grown up doesn’t mean that they have developed yet cognitively. Every aspect of development happens at a different time.

This We Believe is a call to action. If all aspects of the vision are employed, then a school can be successful. More and more schools need to adapt these principals into their schools, because they surely are built for student successes. It is important for school leaders and administrators don’t get discouraged. Implementing these components and completely changing the culture of a school takes time. These changes will not happen over night. Patients, communication and collaboration are the keys to making these changes successful.