Case Study 9B
School Climate Reform at Upper Merion Area Middle School
Karen Geller
It’s not just how big the school is or how beautiful; it’s the people. Here we do not have many races. We have only one—the human race.
—Zeinab, an eighth-grade student
Upper Merion Area Middle School is located in King of Prussia, a dynamic suburb of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Our school comprises 1,135 students in grades 5 through 8. The school population includes 67 percent Caucasian, 14 percent Asian, 11 percent African American, 5 percent Hispanic, 2 percent American Indian/Alaskan, and 1 percent mixed race. There are seventy-two different languages represented in the middle school. Five percent of students have individual educational plans or plans related to other disabilities that affect their learning. The number of students who receive free or reduced-cost lunch is 25 percent.
Our Planning Process: Selecting an Evidence-Based Program
Ten years ago, during a school-level strategic planning process, stakeholders voiced the need for a program that would address needed improvements in the school climate. Goals specifically identified were to (1) improve connections between teachers, students, and peers; (2) improve instruction and student engagement; (3) improve scores; (4) improve attendance; (5) increase parent involvement and community partnerships; (6) decrease suspensions; and (7) decrease bullying.
The Strategic Planning Committee’s goals were linked to the improvement of academic instruction, prosocial behaviors, and school climate. Thus began an eight-month collaborative process that led to the selection of an evidence-based program to serve as a key element in efforts to achieve the agreed-upon goals.
Stakeholders included students, parents, staff, school board members, police, administrators, and community members. All joined together to research and study character education and prosocial programs. Administrators strongly believed that character education would promote shared leadership that would bring about a connected, engaged, positive climate for learning. Individuals were sent to conferences to learn firsthand from practitioners about implementation and results.
After reviewing possible program options and engaging in much discussion about which approaches might address the needs identified through the strategic planning process, two of our teachers and an administrator attended a national Community of Caring conference, a program that we were drawn to because it is K–12, research driven, and approved by “No Child Left Behind.” Community of Caring research describes studies of outcomes achieved that are the same outcomes our school sought to achieve (Higgins-D’Alessandro, Guo, Choe, & Elgendy, 2008; Higgins-D’Alessandro, Guo, Sakwarawich, & Guffey, 2011; Higgins-D’Alessandro, Reyes, Choe, & Clavel, 2006). Upon their return from the conference, the teachers and the administrator shared their eager enthusiasm about what they had learned from practitioners. All stakeholders were excited to select this program as the basis for our school climate reform efforts, and the teachers who had attended the conference volunteered to be lead teachers who, along with the administrative team, would begin the “next steps” in order to share knowledge with staff and collaborate about planning meaningful professional development.
I had been involved previously in bringing the Community of Caring program to the high school. Following the strategic planning process and my transfer to the middle school, my new administrative team agreed that we were ready to embrace the program as a vehicle for meaningful climate change. They were also pleased that it would bring consistency between the middle and high schools. The administrative team worked with their grant writer to procure a Learn and Serve Grant of $15,000, and a subgroup of the Strategic Planning Committee, including the administrative team, worked with a Community of Caring trainer to prepare an engaging training for both stakeholders and all staff. Very organized planning occurred for three months, and soon the comprehensive training packets arrived. The night before the August professional development training, the administrative team met with the Community of Caring trainer to go over the agenda, the structure for the next day, and setting the tone for learning, change, leadership, and success!
Stakeholders participated in a two-day Community of Caring training in which they selected the core ethical values of caring, respect, responsibility, trust, and family because they reflect those same values utilized to form our democratic society. All of the school community embraced the five components of Community of Caring, which include weaving the core values through every aspect of school culture and curriculum, social inclusion of all students, student leadership/forums, service learning, and family and community involvement. Since then, character education has become action education!
Signified by an umbrella, Community of Caring unifies the school and community to work toward its mission to “inspire excellence in character, leadership, scholarship, and service.” Administrators and the Community of Caring/CEP (Character Education Partnership) Committee meet monthly to plan for the success of our programs through professional development. The administrative team sets the tone yearly by presenting goals and discussing with the faculty the means for achieving those goals. Throughout the year, meaningful professional development is provided for stakeholders, facilitated by students, staff, administrators, and Community of Caring trainers. Professional development includes discussion, goal setting, and action plans that foster a positive school culture in which students strive academically to achieve high expectations through rigorous, challenging curriculum, supported by caring professional staff who teach, live, and model the core values.
Research has shown that success and the aforementioned attainment of outcomes are derived from high implementation levels of Community of Caring components. One of the easiest strategies for publicizing and spreading the word about your new program is to display posters and banners in support of character education. To that end, teachers discussed the meaning of our values with students, what they look like as actions, and the way that they would be incorporated into classroom rules. Together they built class constitutions, signed by the students, and displayed them on bulletin boards in classrooms and hallways. Students made posters and bulletin boards depicting themes about character. Large colorful banners proclaiming our values were hung in the main lobby for all stakeholders to see daily as they passed by. Banners were donated by the King of Prussia Rotary. Values cards were displayed around the clocks for students to observe frequently. Letterhead, newsletters, and all communications announce our dedication to Community of Caring and our proactive efforts to excel in character.
At the same time, school- and community-wide activities and programs were planned to foster values such as the Community of Caring Club and Acts of Kindness Day, staff hospitality breakfasts, Intergenerational Day, veterans projects, and assemblies. Our Township Park and Recreation Department became involved in teaching character, and the sixth grade developed a Peer Buddies program with our severely physically challenged students (to name a few).
Perhaps the most challenging component to achieve is integration of the values into the existing curriculum. For us it was truly a ten-year process to attain this important goal. We started by having administrators and teachers model classroom lessons and share positive lessons online, with peers sharing lessons during professional development and Community of Caring trainings. As the “doers” shared with peers, enthusiasm grew. Teachers stepped forward to be leaders by volunteering to facilitate book talks and to present at faculty and grade-level meetings.
It is important that character education is “active education” and that all teachers utilize the same vocabulary, teachable moments, and weave the values throughout the curriculum. For example, students in the fifth grade read The Kid in the Red Jacket. They learn to make everyone feel respected and cared for. Inclusion is important to them. In sixth grade, students read Maniac McGee, a story about a bully, and discuss prejudice. Students make posters against bullying and develop plans about how to stop bullying if they see it. They learn the importance of not being a negative bystander and also about informing an adult. In grade 7, students read Crash and write “no-bullying pledges” along with daily public address announcements about stamping out bullying. They also read The Watsons Come to Birmingham and plan how to unite people and celebrate diversity. In eighth grade, students read about the Holocaust and discuss tolerance. With each of these literacy works, students take the lead in a movement to promote respect and stop harassment and bullying. Thus the adults are working with the students to actively stop bullying. This is carried through all core subjects and unified arts as well, and lessons are shared on the Web.
The administrative team comprises three strong leaders, two of whom have worked together for eleven years, who model character and who focus on the core values in every activity and at every event they facilitate. Administrators asked to be invited into classrooms as teachers tried new lessons integrating values, character, and citizenship. They praised and encouraged teachers as they grew professionally during this instructional learning process.
Using National Standards to Assess and Improve Our School Climate
After being introduced to the Character Education Partnership and studying their Eleven Principles of Effective Character Education, we found that the Community of Caring components meshed with the CEP principles. However, to ensure thorough fidelity by all stakeholders, we asked them to complete the CEP Eleven Principles Scoring Guide (a self-assessment that asks for a rating for each of the eleven principles) in order to provide the appropriate data needed to assess our success. The results provided meaningful feedback for our school in addressing strengths and areas of growth in order to improve in all principles. For example, principle 3 says, “The school uses a comprehensive, intentional and proactive approach to character development,” and one of the rating points for this principle states, “Character education is integrated into academic content and instruction” (Character Education Partnership, 2010, p. 6). In reviewing how to rate ourselves on this item, we realized that while we were doing some integration of values through our curriculum, and some teachers were having moral discussions, it was not documented in the curriculum, and implementation was spotty among the faculty. We knew that this was an area for growth and made it a specific theme for a summer professional development event for all staff. Following this in-service, our middle school worked for over two years to complete curriculum documents that guide teachers in their instruction of character and make the teaching of character consistent throughout all grades. School administrators emphasized the importance of the effort to respond to this new direction by making it an explicit goal for additional professional development days, through grade-level meetings and content-specific meetings throughout the next year. When we felt confident about the strength of our implementation, we applied to CEP for recognition and received two Promising Practices Awards.
The following year, professional learning communities were formed in order to focus staff attention on assessing and improving social, emotional, ethical, civic, and academic aspects of learning. Through shared leadership and action research, teams collaboratively developed improvement plans by researching and applying best practices throughout the year. Teachers have grown instructionally since then by honing strategies to motivate and engage students through differentiated instruction. They have become experts at Standards Aligned Systems (SAS), displaying and discussing learning intentions and relevancy with students daily, which nurtures a climate of student responsibility and commitment to learning standards and goals.
With such a large student body coming from four elementary schools with different socioeconomic levels and diverse backgrounds, guests are pleasantly surprised by the feeling of “a home away from home.” A site visitor from CEP wrote, “The administration and staff serve as a strong, unified, caring presence . . . who make the school a home away from home.” From the assessment data, the middle school realized that in order to build community it would be necessary to increase class cohesiveness. Teacher leaders, versed in facilitating class meetings, modeled this concept for their peers. Teachers continue to lead class meetings to build connections with students and for students to build positive relationships with peers to ensure positive rapport with one another as they discuss looking out for each other, antibullying strategies, and how to make their middle school experience a meaningful one. Forums and class meetings provide a venue for student voice and choice. Students also plan service learning projects together as everyone in the middle school participates in helping others by choice; it is not a requirement!
Forming a positive climate in which students are connected to others sets them up for success socially, emotionally, and academically. Fifth graders develop positive feelings for their new school family because of a carefully planned transition process that begins with a pen pal program between fifth graders and incoming fourth-grade students. Fifth graders become friendly guides and positive role models for fourth graders who visit the school, sharing activities, lunch, and classes together. Throughout the year, those who are still experiencing some difficulty with transitioning receive assistance from eighth-grade peer mentors. Students fondly look upon the three-day team-building camping trip near the end of fifth grade as an exhilarating climax to having accomplished the first year of middle school life.
Involving Students, Parents, and the Community
Teachers who developed as leaders in the character realm realize the importance of student leadership. Students participate in leadership training in which they focus on the core values of shared academic responsibility and on taking action to help others. They formulate action plans to stop name-calling and bullying, and they plan projects to work in a nearby nursing facility, an Alzheimer’s residence, and a home for abused women and children. Opportunities abound for students to develop leadership skills and to engage in service both in school and in the community. Students serve as leaders in organizations such as Junior Optimists, Community of Caring, TSA (Technology Student Association), and student council. They also serve as tutors, mentors, and recycling leaders. Students attest to “life-changing experiences” by assisting others directly. Teacher Christina Imperato enthusiastically describes how students congregate at six-thirty the morning of their soup kitchen visits to meet and feed the hungry and working poor. Teacher Amy Paciotti relates how student reflections after a visit to a Salvation Army shelter demonstrate that the experience has made them promise to “make a lifelong commitment to helping others.”
Students founded a club called CREATE (Culture, Respect, Empathy, Appreciation, Tolerance, and Education) which fosters an appreciation for diversity. Students organize speak-outs to engage students in dialogue about bullying, rumors, and stereotyping, and to promote peace and celebrate diversity. Teacher Donna Jackson states, “It is okay to be different here. Our school provides our students with lots of different ways to look at the world.” Student Rachel concurs: “We respect everyone here.” CEP’s Eileen Dachnowitz wrote, “The school’s accent on family and inclusion has provided an umbrella of acceptance that makes the school a physically and emotionally safe place for all students. Its five core values form the very fabric of the school, strengthening its daily life, its curriculum, its service projects, and its relationship to the community.”
After integrating values through curriculum and building student enthusiasm and leadership for Community of Caring, it was time to build parent involvement and community partnerships. Parent involvement is extremely important, and the Parent Teacher Club continues to grow and make a major impact along with staff to address the whole child, reinforcing Community of Caring activities and providing mentoring, tutoring, and grants for important initiatives.
During parent transition meetings, the principals address the importance of character education and of having parents become involved in Community of Caring. One of the challenges for the middle school has been the fact that there has been no such program at the elementary level. The middle school therefore must educate the new students and parents to the importance of character upon their arrival at the middle school. Data show that parents are extremely pleased with the strongly ingrained programs of antibullying and peer mentoring, helping to make the entire middle school experience a positive one.
Partnerships exist with more than thirty community organizations such as Lockheed Martin, the Optimist Club, Rotary, and the Upper Merion Police to name a few. These community members provide a positive example for academic learning, citizenship, career, and social goodwill. Partners sustain our Community of Caring program through trainings, donations of character books, support for service learning, videos, and commercials about our character education programs.
Upper Merion Area Middle School is proud to be a member of the Character Education Partnership (CEP), the nation’s leading advocate for quality character education. As indicated earlier, the middle school has utilized CEP’s Eleven Principles of Effective Character Education as standards to guide us in identifying the school’s strengths and the areas in need of growth and improvement. In this way, the middle school was able to create an action plan to bring about a change in climate that led to the school’s being recognized in 2010 as a National School of Character.
Assessment
Upper Merion Area Middle School assesses school climate regularly and comprehensively through the Character Education Partnership Eleven Principles Scoring Guide as well as through walkthroughs, focus groups, attendance rates, behavior reports, and other scientific surveys that provide feedback for school improvement.
Outcomes
We are excited by the outcomes that we have achieved. It has taken patience, diligence, and hard work to bring everyone on board. Through meaningful professional development, assessment of climate, and the shared enthusiasm of our staff who model positive, caring, and respectful interactions, our school has excelled academically and has been awarded two Promising Practices by CEP and one Promising Practice by the National Network of Partnership Schools. The following data are additional ways we use to measure success in attaining our goals:
|
2006/7 |
20 percent decrease |
|
2007/8 |
5 percent additional decrease |
|
2008/9 |
5 percent additional decrease |
|
2009/10 |
5 percent additional decrease |
A 35 percent total decrease
We will continue to collaborate on action research to assess our school climate, in order to formulate a plan for continued improvement in our quest for excellence in character, leadership, scholarship, and service. The positive character focus for more than a decade has resulted in one happy, harmonious family.
References
Character Education Partnership. (2010). Eleven principles of effective character education (Rev. ed.). Washington, DC: Author. Retrieved December 1, 2011, from http://www.character.org/uploads/PDFs/ElevenPrinciples_new2010.pdf
Higgins-D’Alessandro, A., Guo, P., Choe, J., & Elgendy, S. (2008). Syracuse City School District Partnerships in Character Education Program, 3-year evaluation final report. Unpublished research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Education, Washington, DC, PCEP grant #84.106G.
Higgins-D’Alessandro, A., Guo, P., Sakwarawich, A., & Guffey, S. (2011). Partnerships in Character Education Program final evaluation report: New Jersey Middle School 4-year project. Unpublished research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Education, Washington, DC, PCEP grant #84.215S.
Higgins-D’Alessandro, A., Reyes, M., Choe, J., & Clavel, F. (2006) Evaluation of Community of Caring Character Education: A national study. Unpublished research report submitted to the Center for Character Education, University of Utah.