This Month's Best Practice
Each Month the Maryland Center for Character Education (MCCE) picks one of the Best Practices from a Character Education award winning school to share with you.
MARCH
This month's Best Practices is from an award winning school from 2006-2007.
BEST CHARACTER EDUCATION PRACTICES
School: Westminster East Middle School
Address: Longwell Avenue, Westminster, MD 21157
Principal: Jeffrey Alisauckas
Phone: 410-751-3656
E-Mail: jjalisa@k12.carr.org
Title of Best Practice: Bulldogs Rule with Respect, Responsibility and Relationships
Primary Character Trait(s) Emphasized: Respect, Responsibility, and Relationships
Objective:
To promote a safe and orderly school campus where students strive to achieve their personal and academic best through a proactive, comprehensive program of core values.
Brief Description:
At East Middle School, we have worked to develop a proactive, comprehensive program that encourages students to strive for personal and academic success thereby helping them become responsible citizens. We support our students throughout the day in developing internalized behaviors and values that demonstrate our school systems’ community values. Our Climate Committee consists of teachers, an administrator, support staff, students and parents. This umbrella committee has evolved to include components in the school which affect the overall school climate including Character Education, discipline and SHOUT and has developed a framework for the Character Education Program at our school. The core values identified by our school system are encompassed under an umbrella of Bulldogs Rule with Respect, Responsibility and Relationships, our school motto.
1. MONTHLY ACTIVITIES: The Climate Committee has identified a color to be associated with each of the months and traits (i.e. September is Green for Respect). Staff members receive beads or a hand-made button to wear for the color. All members of the school community are encouraged to wear the color of the month on Thursdays. The committee also developed activities and lessons related to the trait of the month that support instruction in the building. This packet of materials is distributed to the staff at a monthly kick-off celebration where various characters visit the classrooms to reinforce the trait of the month. Each month, the school community signs pledges to uphold the trait of the month (i.e. in September, green links were signed by all members of the school community to create a chain of respect). These pledges are displayed in the cafeteria creating a rainbow of colors by the end of the school year.
2. RAINBOW CELEBRATION: Our annual Rainbow Celebration, a culminating activity, allows us to celebrate the successes of our students. We have enlisted the support of the Multicultural Club to develop activities and games from cultures around the world. This day in June is a family-oriented celebration/picnic where students are recognized for their positive accomplishments.
3. STUDENT RECOGNITION: Students are recognized by receiving “Caught Being Good” coins. These coins are turned in by the students (allowing us data on our positive accomplishments) and they receive a certificate recognizing them. Random drawings are held for recognition activities such as our weekly Ice Cream Table where students are invited to sit at a special table decorated in the month’s colors and have the opportunity to make ice cream sundaes. Teams select students for a Student of the Month Award based on the specific character trait. These students are recognized in the building as well as in our school newsletter. When a student meets the state’s service learning requirement, the school’s Victory Flag is raised in his/her honor.
4. BEHAVIOR MATRIX: The staff defined respect, responsibility and relationships and then developed a matrix of expected behaviors. Teachers have developed lessons to teach and reinforce the expected behaviors. The matrix is displayed throughout the building, included in our school newsletter, and is on the school’s website.
5. INFUSED LESSONS: Teachers have infused the traits into their lessons so that they are continually reinforcing our expectations. For example, students are asked to “walk in the footsteps” of historical figures and discuss why they made specific decisions. Teachers discuss core values when discussing novels and stories which they have read. Science teachers discuss the environment and develop service learning activities. Students organize an annual Shakespeare Festival for the 5th grade elementary school students at our feeder schools and act as teachers as well as performers which introducing students to both Shakespeare and the expectations of our building. Teachers have made character education an important integrated component.
6. PROJECT WISDOM: Each day begins with a quote of the day from Project Wisdom. These quotes are read over the morning announcements and are followed by a moment of silence to reflect on their message. Teachers frequently use the quote as a journal starter or discussion questions.
7. MENTORING: Our student/teacher mentoring programs allow students and staff to form positive relationships while building on academic and behavioral goals for success through our Student Mappings. Mentors encourage students to achieve their best and help students document their progress academically.
8. SERVICE-LEARNING ACTIVITIES: Our students routinely demonstrate kindness and caring by assisting peers in need, providing peer tutoring, adopting families from the school community during the holidays and in times of crisis, and showing a caring and accepting attitude towards students with disabilities.• Students organize food and clothing drives at various times during the school year to benefit shelters in the local area.
• The school makes cards and placemats during the holiday seasons for those who are home/hospital bound.
• Students visit the Senior Center and form relationships with senior citizens while sharing cultural and social curriculum.
• Our 7th grade has charged their students with developing and implementing service-learning activities throughout the school year.
• Students are given opportunities to affect positive changes based on their own ideas. For example, students were concerned about graffiti in the restrooms and developed a plan to paint murals in the stalls. Our restrooms are now bright,
cheerful and graffiti-free.
• Students work with community leaders to clean up the school grounds. They collect trash, clean/mulch beds, and plant trees and flowers. The Mayor of Westminster issued a proclamation proclaiming these events as special days in the city.
Activities such as these are frequent in our school community and demonstrate the climate of caring which as been established.
9. FAMILY SUPPORT: Our Character Education Program is supported by our families as well. The PTA provides volunteer support as well as financial support for activities. Parent members of the Climate Committee enlist additional support from families and the community. We communicate our initiatives with parents through school newsletters, e-school newsletter, PTA meetings and our school website. Frequent activities such as the Read-a-Thon, Celebration of Service and musical performances encourage parents and community leaders to become involved in the school.
10. DATA: In Reading and Math, our students have demonstrated growth on state and local assessments. Quarterly assessments provide students and their mentors with feedback for their individual Student Maps. Discipline referrals have continued to decline over the past 4 years. As of May 9, 2007, 89% of our 750 students have received 0 to 2 referrals this school year. Our Pyramid of Interventions allows staff to take a proactive approach to both academics and discipline by providing students with support before they stumble. Student, staff and parent surveys show positive attitudes about the school and its initiatives. Informal evaluations come in many forms. Positive feedback and comments from community members and families have provided us with a less statistical measure of our successes. For example, after a field trip to the Air and Space Museum, the director of the museum called our principal to state that our students had been the most respectful group that he had seen. Following another trip, the Fire Chief called to remark on the respect and responsibility demonstrated by our students on a trip to the Fire Hall. Visitors to our building frequently comment on the respectful attitudes of our students as they open doors, carry materials and provide assistance.
We feel that these commendations truly reflect a positive change in our school environment.
The Maryland Center for Character Education
29 West Susquehanna Ave., Suite 300, Baltimore, MD 21204Phone: 410-823-4902
Fax: 410-828-9661
E-Mail: MCCEcharacter@aol.com
