Is Rachel’s Challenge making a difference at Taylor? I think it is. Based on conversations with students, parents, and staff, it seems that students are making a conscious effort to show kindness and compassion to one another. Three Friends of Rachel Clubs are now meeting regularly and the numbers of students in each club are growing. But is it having an effect on discipline referrals? Consider the following numbers of total office referrals by grade level:
6th 7th 8th Total
August 3 11 2 16
September 15 58 19 92
October 18 31 27 76
November 6 23 38 67
These data show that overall referrals have dropped by 27% from September to November. Or consider changes in specific offenses:
Physical Aggression Fighting Verbal Harassment Bullying
August 1 0 0 4
September 20 11 8 2
October 9 8 2 4
November 4 1 1 0
Did Rachel’s Challenge help? I’d like to think so because the focus of the program is to create a school climate where bullying is not okay and where students feel safe. Only time will tell but I am very encouraged that we are on the right track. My thanks to all of you who have helped us make Rachel’s Challenge a reality at Taylor.
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Our educational plan for student success
The NM Public Education Department requires each public school to create an Educational Plan for Student Success (EPSS). The EPSS document is some 37 pages long and is pretty boring reading. I have condensed it into a one-page brochure and attached it as page two of this week’s Backpack Mail. PED requires us to identify goals for seven areas: reading, math, parent involvement, safe and drug-free schools, English language learners, graduation rates, and highly qualified staff. The EPSS was developed by our Instructional Council and updated quarterly by school leadership. It is designed to guide our instructional and budgetary decisions for the year. If you would like a copy of the full 37-page document, drop me an email and I will forward it to you.
Making Taylor a safe school - the positive impact of Rachel's Challenge
One of my goals is to make Taylor a safe school – a school where kids feel no fear of bullies. We aren’t there yet but we are making some moves in that direction.
• Campus BCSO Deputy Smith has created a form that kids can use to report a bully. He has posted the forms around campus and students can report bullying anonymously.
• We have started several Friends of Rachel Clubs (FOR) that meet at noon and after school to put Rachel’s Challenges into motion.
One of the first steps the FOR Club took was to survey the student body during Advisory period to determine the extent of bullying on campus and to see if and how students were accepting the five challenges. The results were surprising to me.
1. When asked “Is bullying a problem for you at Taylor?” 25% said yes and 75% said no.
2. When asked “Have you implemented at least 1 of the 5 points to start a chain reaction this year?” 81% said yes and 19% said no.
3. When asked which points they had implemented, students reported using (could indicate more than one choice)
Acts of Kindness -- 255 votes
Finding the best in others – 197 votes
Writing down goals – 187 votes
Eliminating prejudice – 155 votes
Choosing positive influences – 145 votes
4. When asked what specific strategies would students like to see implemented at Taylor, students reported:
229 voted for having “Rachel’s Challenge” kids hand out tickets to kids who show Acts of Kindness. These would be used to draw for prizes throughout the year.
221 voted for having students write Acts of Kindness on Hands / Chains to connect around the school.
134 voted for creating a welcoming committee of “Rachel’s Challenge” kids to greet new students at Taylor.
92 voted for having “Rachel’s Challenge” kids invite a new friend to library lunch for games.
Several staff and faculty members are actively involved in supporting the FOR clubs as they move forward. I personally believe the FOR clubs implementing Rachel’s five challenges in concert with Deputy Smith’s work will help make Taylor a safer school for your children.
If your child is being bullied on the bus, on the grounds, or in the school, I want to know about it. I can’t do anything about a problem I don’t know about. Please help us make Taylor safer. Thanks!
• Campus BCSO Deputy Smith has created a form that kids can use to report a bully. He has posted the forms around campus and students can report bullying anonymously.
• We have started several Friends of Rachel Clubs (FOR) that meet at noon and after school to put Rachel’s Challenges into motion.
One of the first steps the FOR Club took was to survey the student body during Advisory period to determine the extent of bullying on campus and to see if and how students were accepting the five challenges. The results were surprising to me.
1. When asked “Is bullying a problem for you at Taylor?” 25% said yes and 75% said no.
2. When asked “Have you implemented at least 1 of the 5 points to start a chain reaction this year?” 81% said yes and 19% said no.
3. When asked which points they had implemented, students reported using (could indicate more than one choice)
Acts of Kindness -- 255 votes
Finding the best in others – 197 votes
Writing down goals – 187 votes
Eliminating prejudice – 155 votes
Choosing positive influences – 145 votes
4. When asked what specific strategies would students like to see implemented at Taylor, students reported:
229 voted for having “Rachel’s Challenge” kids hand out tickets to kids who show Acts of Kindness. These would be used to draw for prizes throughout the year.
221 voted for having students write Acts of Kindness on Hands / Chains to connect around the school.
134 voted for creating a welcoming committee of “Rachel’s Challenge” kids to greet new students at Taylor.
92 voted for having “Rachel’s Challenge” kids invite a new friend to library lunch for games.
Several staff and faculty members are actively involved in supporting the FOR clubs as they move forward. I personally believe the FOR clubs implementing Rachel’s five challenges in concert with Deputy Smith’s work will help make Taylor a safer school for your children.
If your child is being bullied on the bus, on the grounds, or in the school, I want to know about it. I can’t do anything about a problem I don’t know about. Please help us make Taylor safer. Thanks!
Rachel's Challenge #4 - Little Acts of Kindness
Rachel’s Challenge Goal of the Week
Goal #4: Demonstrate Little Acts of Kindness. You know how good it feels to unexpectedly hear something kind or encouraging from someone especially when you are having a difficult day. It just melts away tension and brings a warm smile to your face. Remember to demonstrate small acts of kindness; they have a large impact The Friends of Rachel Club are conducting a survey to determine what acts of kindness kids would most like to see role modeled at Taylor. We’ll keep you posted!
Goal #4: Demonstrate Little Acts of Kindness. You know how good it feels to unexpectedly hear something kind or encouraging from someone especially when you are having a difficult day. It just melts away tension and brings a warm smile to your face. Remember to demonstrate small acts of kindness; they have a large impact The Friends of Rachel Club are conducting a survey to determine what acts of kindness kids would most like to see role modeled at Taylor. We’ll keep you posted!
Rachel's Challenge #3 - Choose positive influences
For the past three weeks, I have written about Rachel’s Challenge and the five individual challenges posed to our students on Oct. 11.
Challenge #1 was to: “Look for the best in others – eliminate prejudice.”
Challenge #2 was to: “Dream big – write your goals – start a journal.”
Rachel’s Challenge #3 is to “Choose positive influences”. Common sense and our human experiences teach us that all kids but particularly middle schoolers are easily susceptible to the influences of their peers. The website Family First Aid reports:
“There are some startling statistics about peer pressure, and what teenagers feel pressured to do. This pressure may be fairly straightforward, with some teens pressuring others to take part in certain activities. In some cases, though, peer pressure is a little more subtle, with clues given to teens that they won't be "cool" if they don't participate, even without the overt pressure to do what everyone else is doing. Here are some statistics about peer pressure:
• The Adolescent Substance Abuse Knowledge Base reports that right around 30% if teens are offered drugs in middle school and high school.
• According to the National Household Survey on Drug Use and Health from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 74.3% of high school students have tried alcohol.
• 3.1 million teenagers smoke, according to the American Lung Association.
• The Kaiser Foundation reports that about 50% of teenagers feel pressured with regard to sex in relationships.
You can see that the peer pressure is on to engage in behaviors that may not be healthy, physically or emotionally, for your teenager. While some teens choose some behaviors when they are ready, many feel rushed into decisions that they are not quite ready to make. Many end up overwhelmed by the consequences of their efforts to fit in with their peer group. It is vitally important that you help your teenager develop the self-confidence to withstand peer pressure, and make his or her own decisions.” http://www.familyfirstaid.org/peer-pressure.html
Parents can help their kids choose positive influences and deal with peer pressure in several ways according to Family First Aid:
1. Have open lines of communication with your child.
2. Have clear expectations about their behavior.
3. Know their friends
4. Be involved in their activities
5. Talk about issues
6. Pick your battles
It is my experience that who a child hangs out with is an excellent predictor of the child’s behavior. Charles Reichle wrote: “Be around the people you want to be like, because you will be like the people you are around.” If you don’t like the way your child is behaving, ask who he or she is hanging out with at school. Then help your child analyze the friendship to see if it is having a positive or negative influence on him or her. Children need guidance. They have parents for a reason and one of the main reasons is to help them make wise choices. Take time to talk to your child about the influences in his or her life. You might just save their life.
Challenge #1 was to: “Look for the best in others – eliminate prejudice.”
Challenge #2 was to: “Dream big – write your goals – start a journal.”
Rachel’s Challenge #3 is to “Choose positive influences”. Common sense and our human experiences teach us that all kids but particularly middle schoolers are easily susceptible to the influences of their peers. The website Family First Aid reports:
“There are some startling statistics about peer pressure, and what teenagers feel pressured to do. This pressure may be fairly straightforward, with some teens pressuring others to take part in certain activities. In some cases, though, peer pressure is a little more subtle, with clues given to teens that they won't be "cool" if they don't participate, even without the overt pressure to do what everyone else is doing. Here are some statistics about peer pressure:
• The Adolescent Substance Abuse Knowledge Base reports that right around 30% if teens are offered drugs in middle school and high school.
• According to the National Household Survey on Drug Use and Health from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 74.3% of high school students have tried alcohol.
• 3.1 million teenagers smoke, according to the American Lung Association.
• The Kaiser Foundation reports that about 50% of teenagers feel pressured with regard to sex in relationships.
You can see that the peer pressure is on to engage in behaviors that may not be healthy, physically or emotionally, for your teenager. While some teens choose some behaviors when they are ready, many feel rushed into decisions that they are not quite ready to make. Many end up overwhelmed by the consequences of their efforts to fit in with their peer group. It is vitally important that you help your teenager develop the self-confidence to withstand peer pressure, and make his or her own decisions.” http://www.familyfirstaid.org/peer-pressure.html
Parents can help their kids choose positive influences and deal with peer pressure in several ways according to Family First Aid:
1. Have open lines of communication with your child.
2. Have clear expectations about their behavior.
3. Know their friends
4. Be involved in their activities
5. Talk about issues
6. Pick your battles
It is my experience that who a child hangs out with is an excellent predictor of the child’s behavior. Charles Reichle wrote: “Be around the people you want to be like, because you will be like the people you are around.” If you don’t like the way your child is behaving, ask who he or she is hanging out with at school. Then help your child analyze the friendship to see if it is having a positive or negative influence on him or her. Children need guidance. They have parents for a reason and one of the main reasons is to help them make wise choices. Take time to talk to your child about the influences in his or her life. You might just save their life.
Rachel's Challeng #2 - Set goals
Last week, I wrote about Rachel’s Challenge and the five individual challenges posed to our students on October 11. The first challenge was to: “Look for the best in others – eliminate prejudice.” This week’s challenge is to: “Dream big – write your goals – start a journal.” Rather than giving you my perspective on written goals, here is what other smart people have said:
________________________________________
“You don’t have to be a fantastic hero to do certain things – to compete. You can be just an ordinary chap, sufficiently motivated to reach challenging goals” - Edmund Hillary
________________________________________
“When we are motivated by goals that have deep meaning, by dreams that need completion, by pure love that needs expressing, then we truly live life.” Greg Anderson
________________________________________
“Without goals, and plans to reach them, you are like a ship that has set sail with no destination.” Fitzhugh Dodson
________________________________________
“In life, as in football, you won’t go far unless you know where the goalposts are.” Arnold H. Glasgow
________________________________________
“Goals are dreams with deadlines.” Diana Scharf Hunt
________________________________________
“Never look down to test the ground before taking your next step; only he who keeps his eye fixed on the far horizon will find his right road.” Dag Hammarskjold
________________________________________
“My philosophy of life is that if we make up our mind what we are going to make of our lives, then work hard toward that goal, we never lose – somehow we win out.”
Ronald Reagan
________________________________________
“If you’re bored with life — you don’t get up every morning with a burning desire to do things — you don’t have enough goals.” Lou Holtz
________________________________________
“You don’t have to be a fantastic hero to do certain things – to compete. You can be just an ordinary chap, sufficiently motivated to reach challenging goals” - Edmund Hillary
________________________________________
“When we are motivated by goals that have deep meaning, by dreams that need completion, by pure love that needs expressing, then we truly live life.” Greg Anderson
________________________________________
“Without goals, and plans to reach them, you are like a ship that has set sail with no destination.” Fitzhugh Dodson
________________________________________
“In life, as in football, you won’t go far unless you know where the goalposts are.” Arnold H. Glasgow
________________________________________
“Goals are dreams with deadlines.” Diana Scharf Hunt
________________________________________
“Never look down to test the ground before taking your next step; only he who keeps his eye fixed on the far horizon will find his right road.” Dag Hammarskjold
________________________________________
“My philosophy of life is that if we make up our mind what we are going to make of our lives, then work hard toward that goal, we never lose – somehow we win out.”
Ronald Reagan
________________________________________
“If you’re bored with life — you don’t get up every morning with a burning desire to do things — you don’t have enough goals.” Lou Holtz
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