Strategies to Promote a Safe, Nurturing and Inclusive School Environment in High School

High School can be a tough time for many of our students. Not only are they becoming self aware, they are beginning to understand the complexities that come with peer interactions. Some of those include popularity, labeling, social standards, bullying and much more. As students are navigating this sometimes tough road its extremely important to create an inclusive environment where everyone has the opportunity to thrive. 

School-wide program practices for students and faculty: P.R.I.D.E. 

Perseverance - stay positive to overcome obstacles and learn from mistakes

Respect - show appreciation, consideration, and acceptance of yourself and others

Integrity - adherence to code of behavior

Discipline - strive for consistency to achieve goals and exceed expectations

Excellence - do your personal best and inspire excellence in others

• The counselors provide a comprehensive school guidance program supporting students and families in a positive, proactive, and holistic approach in a variety of ways, including:

1. Monitoring academic achievement
2. Meeting the needs of student’s personal growth
3. Assisting with special needs
4. Facilitating communication with teachers
5. Development and implementation of interventions
6. Planning for post-secondary education
7. Providing referrals to community services

Ideas to Improve

• We should always strive to provide a supportive environment where all students feel and believe they are respected and empowered to reach their full expectations, which can be measured by holding students accountable.
• Teachers collaborate with Administration and Counselors to implement disciplinary actions with students in a progressive manner.  We also celebrate students’ successes often and with intention.
• Our continued communication and collaboration can be expanded to meetings at school with parents/guardians, thank you notes given directly to student, and communication home to give positive feedback.

Why is it Important?

• “Every student, every classroom, every day” is not just a mantra, but a way to build  relationships with students to inspire academic achievement and promote personal growth that will carry on to lifelong learning. 
• All Students need guidance in personal choices, as high school is the final transition into young adulthood and independence. 
• All Students need a school climate that helps them define who they are and where they fit in the world.

How to Promote Resiliency and Mitigate Risk

• Administration, counselors and teachers provide a leadership role and personal touch of hope and optimism. 
• We are proactive in enhancing students’ strengths and intervening with high risk behaviors to reduce the risk of harmful consequences.  
• Students can count on us to respond and intervene when they fall. 
• We can make students feel part of a family with humor, respect, and appreciation.
• We believe in second chances.

Promoting an Inclusive, Nurturing and Safe Learning Environment in High School

Time spent at school, teaches students more than just U.S. History and how to diagram a sentence. Of course kids learn academics but they are also learning a variety of social skills and getting a taste of independence. It is in the high school setting that we are able to give students more control over the classes they take, the extra curricular activities and athletics in which they participate, and sometimes the ability to drive themselves to and from school. This freedom and responsibility bestowed on our students is successful and possible due to a positive school climate. School climate is the fusion of all aspects of the school, including school values, norms, rules, communication, and the building itself that together makes the “quality and character of a school”.  It is the way the school functions on a daily basis and the quality of life and interaction between students, staff and parents.

What Can We Do To Improve School Climate? 

• Provide open and welcoming counseling center with a variety of support options for students
• Provide a variety of academic support opportunities
• Promote a positive, safe and friendly atmosphere
• Conduct a variety of school spirit days/weeks, friendly class competition 
• Promote school spirit at athletic events and extra curricular activities
• Encourage student and staff participation in all activities
• Display student artwork throughout the building
• Provide guidance lessons in the classroom
• Promote student recognition and reward
• Recognize academic clubs as often as athletic teams

Mitigating Risk and Promoting Resilience

Regardless of the situation that we are presented with, we want to maintain a positive, safe and nurturing environment for students, staff and parents to be a part of. In an effort to do so we can:

• Always provide a neutral space
• Conduct needs assessments
• Provide valuable resources to students, staff and parents
• Provide individual and group counseling, mediation and skills training
• Strive for parent partnership
• School wide communication and collaboration on all levels
• Give students, staff and parents recognition for their work
• Provide outside referrals when necessary
• Encourage student involvement and creativity

Image Resources:

http://pendermakin.com/2015/03/08/the-maine-event-a-national-conference-on-positive-school-climate-and-culture-register-early/ 

http://www.nysphsaa.org/EducationalPrograms/Sportsmanship.aspx 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2789298/bullied-student-fights-spreading-heartwarming-post-notes-school-gets-pulled-littering.html 

http://bvsd.org/counseling/Pages/default.aspx 

Guidance Lesson: Teaching Social Filters in Elementary School

Overview: 

The Social Filter guidance lesson is utilized to teach children when to share words and when to keep thoughts to ourselves.  A social filter is a barrier everyone uses to decide when to share verbal ideas, comments or questions or when to keep them inside. We have different levels to our social filter; we may say something to one person, when we don’t say it to someone else. This is a great tool to help children learn what things are appropriate to say, and what things could hurt other people’s feelings. It’s also a great way to address what things you could tell a school counselor that you might not want to tell anyone else.

Materials: 

• Coffee Filters (enough for every student)
• Glitter or Confetti
• Water in a large jug
• Plastic or Paper cups
• Coffee Filters with different scenarios drawn on them or glued on 

Lesson:

1. Begin by asking the children if they know what a social filter is, introduce the topic, and then state that that’s what you’re going to talk about that day.
2. Pass out plastic/paper cups to each student.
1. place a coffee filter inside each cup
3. Pour the water (mixed with glitter) through each coffee filter, into the cups.
4. Explain how the water passed through the filter (words you should share) while the glitter stayed inside the coffee filter (thoughts you should keep to yourself)
5. Show the students how the coffee filter is like a social filter, a barrier to what words should be said and what thoughts should be kept to ourselves
6. Draw circles on the whiteboard placing the individual in the middle circle, safe adults (doctors, school counselors, etc.) in the second circle, friends and family in the third circle and everyone in the last circle.
7. Present the students with different everyday scenarios written or pictured on coffee filters.

1. “John comes to school wearing dirty clothes”
2. “Yay! It is snowing outside”
3. “Sally has weird glasses”
8. Ask the students when they would share these scenarios with other people.  Do they stay to ourselves?  Do we share them with our friends and family?  Our school counselor or other safe adult? Have each student/group place their scenario on the board within the appropriate social realm (self, safe adults, family/friends, or everyone).
9. Explain to the students that some thoughts should be kept to ourselves.  These thoughts should not be shared because we don’t want to hurt another individual’s feelings.  Other thoughts can be shared with close friends or family and some thoughts can be shared with everyone.  
10. Give each student a coffee filter with with the words “social filter” written on them to take home.  This gives the student a visual representation of the guidance lesson to take home and share with their family.
11. Ask the class, for data, how many of the students could explain what a social filter was to their friends and family. Have a few students volunteer to explain what it is to the classmates who didn’t raise their hands.

Tips: 

• Challenge the students to come up with experiences where their social filters weren’t implemented
• Challenge students to come up with scenarios in the future that they could use their social filters
• Make sure to fill up the jug of water and mix in the glitter prior to the start of the lesson
• Do a cup with a coffee filter yourself to demonstrate how it works and to add your own insight and “be one” with the students
• If a student happens to spill their glitter/water, make it into part of the lesson, and say that we sometimes make mistakes, but that it’s okay if we “clean up our messes”, and that school counselors are here to help them do that.

Guidance Lesson: Choosing Friends Wisely in Elementary School

Topic: Choosing Friends Wisely

Grade Level: 1st and 2nd

Resources: 

• 2 shoe boxes (same size)
• Nice wrapping paper and a bow
• Newspaper and twine
• Small rocks/newspaper
• M&M’s

Rationale and purpose for the lesson: People have so much more depth to them than their physical appearance. Take time to get to know someone. Choose your friends based on their character and how they treat people, not based on their looks, such as how they dress, or what their hair looks like. Looks can be misleading, take time to get to know people by asking questions and spending time with them.

• Presents:
• Have students choose present based on appearance
• Have students ask questions to guess what is inside
• M&M’s:
• Have students pass around the shoe boxes and let them discover that even though something may look a certain way, doesn’t mean there isn’t something special on the inside. 

Introduction

Objective: Show how looks can be deceiving. It is what is on the inside that matters.

Previous Knowledge: Have them think of a time when they thought someone was scary, mean or unfriendly based on how they looked, but once they got to know them they became friends.

Create Anticipation: We brought a couple presents for all of you!! Raise your hand if you want this beautifully wrapped present with the pretty bow on top? Now raise your hand if you want this one wrapped in torn up newspaper and twine? What do you think is inside of each box? 

**Pick a few students to share why they picked the box they did. 

Activity

1. Pick two students to come up and stand next to each of the boxes.
2. Count of 3 have each student open the box up as fast as they can 
3. Ask how many students change their mind from the fancy box, to the torn up box
4. Have two new volunteers come up 
5. Have each student close their eyes and pick out an M&M and try to guess which color they picked
6. Pass around M&M’s for class to eat while you wrap up the discussion

Meeting objectives: Class will see that choosing the prettiest present (or friend) does not necessarily mean it is the best or the sweetest. The student guessing the color will show how once you taste the candy (get to know a person) the outside color (physical appearance) doesn’t matter. Each student eating the mixture of candy will realize that looks can be deceiving, because some have peanut butter filling while others have chocolate.

Engagement: Food, games, volunteering, and asking questions should keep students engaged throughout the lesson.

Bloom’s Taxonomy: We will be using question and answer, the shoe box activity, and volunteer opportunities to engage the students in higher level of thinking. After, we will discuss ways the students can use techniques of making new, valuable friends in their everyday lives, in or out of school. 

**Detailed examples are explained throughout the lesson**

Assessment/Evaluation 

Summary: Although the box was wrapped nicely it wasn’t nice on the inside, but the newspaper wrapped box was sweet on the inside even though the outside wasn’t pretty. Discuss how this relates to choosing friends. We have to get to know people by asking questions. The color on the outside of the M&M or the wrapping or someone’s physical appearance doesn’t matter. It’s what is on the inside of the candy, package and person that matters.

Assessment: Have them shout questions they can ask to get to know someone beyond what they look like. Write on the board.

Closing and Follow up 

Independent practice:  Have them pick one or a few of the questions from the board and find someone new on the playground or at lunch.