[vc_row row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” text_align=”left” background_image=”661772″ css_animation=”” box_shadow_on_row=”no”][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”150px” image_repeat=”no-repeat”][vc_row_inner row_type=”row” type=”full_width” use_row_as_full_screen_section_slide=”no” text_align=”left” css_animation=”” box_shadow_on_row=”no”][vc_column_inner width=”1\/4″][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/2″][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1557924902431{padding-top: 15px !important;padding-right: 5px !important;padding-bottom: 15px !important;padding-left: 5px !important;background-color: rgba(24,41,87,0.8) !important;*background-color: rgb(24,41,87) !important;}”]<\/p>\n
[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/4″][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_empty_space height=”150px” image_repeat=”no-repeat”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”grid” text_align=”left” css_animation=”” box_shadow_on_row=”no”][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”40px” image_repeat=”no-repeat”][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1558111647023{padding-bottom: 15px !important;}”]\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of pride at East,\u201d says Michelle Garcia, social worker at East High School\u2019s Lower School. \u201cWe have high expectations of our students and we provide a high level of support. Everyone at East\u2014students, teachers, administrators, security officers, secretaries . . . we are all making it work.\u201d<\/p>\n
Each morning, students enter the building greeted by security officers with booming smiles. Posters with inspirational phrases like \u201cKeep calm and carry on\u201d and \u201cBe positive\u201d adorn lockers and hallways. Kids flock together chatting and laughing as they move from one class to the next, stopping to give a hug or a high five to a teacher along the way.[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”661972″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center” mkd_css_animation=””][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n
Since the Warner School of Education formed an Educational Partnership Organization (EPO) and first partnered with East in 2015, the improvements to the school\u2019s culture have been palpable. The Center for Urban Education Success<\/strong><\/a> supports that partnership, one that serves\u2014through research\u2014as a model for urban schools nationwide.<\/p>\n At East, student outcomes are quantifiable, with much of it attributed to a restorative approach, which helps students learn by fostering a responsive and compassionate environment. For Michelle Garcia and Glerizbeth \u201cBeth\u201d Sanchez, a senior scholar in the Upper School, this approach is all about relationships\u2014building them, validating them, and seeing another person\u2019s perspective.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we show kids we \u2018see\u2019 them, we care, and we want to know what it\u2019s like to be in their shoes, they learn better and they are happier\u2014we all are,\u201d says Garcia. \u201cWe can build and maintain a better society when we focus on building our relationships with each other.\u201d<\/p>\n Sanchez tells a story about a recent experience with another student, a girl who thought Sanchez had a problem with her. That girl went to a teacher who said the two of them needed to talk. \u201cThe teacher got us together, the girl told me what was on her mind, we worked it all out, and the teacher didn\u2019t even have to say anything,\u201d she says. That\u2019s the kind of safe space East High encourages, where students can engage in productive interactions. \u201cIt\u2019s not always easy,\u201d says Sanchez. \u201cBut, students are now doing it . . . they are living it.\u201d<\/p>\n Garcia is clear to point out that consequences happen as they need to, when actions justify them. With the restorative approach, students may get suspended for physically fighting, but when they come back to school there\u2019s work done to try to repair their relationship. \u201cWe don\u2019t suspend and then magically think the problems will go away,\u201d she says. \u201cWe charge the kids and give them the support to make right what they did. It can\u2019t be that they have to do arbitrary service either, it has to be meaningful and relevant to that relationship.\u201d<\/p>\n Sanchez came to East High before the EPO, when the rumors about the school shutting down ran rampant. She was in the 8th grade at the time. \u201cI remember my first Family Group,\u201d she says. \u201cIt was right after lunch, and we were with a group of random kids and we had a teacher we didn\u2019t know. We sat in a circle and when we were handed a talking stick, it was our turn to say something about our day.\u201d<\/p>\n At first, Sanchez says, students were curious and unsure about whether it made any sense to sit down with relative strangers and talk about themselves, their weekends, and their challenges. That\u2019s what Family Group is all about\u2014getting students together daily with one or two adults in the building to foster connections and provide social and emotional support. It\u2019s a key part of the school\u2019s restorative approach to education.<\/p>\n But then something happened. Students started to break out of their small groups. They began advocating for people they hadn\u2019t known before. Garcia notes a time when an 8th grader saw a 6th grader getting picked on. The older student got very protective and said, \u201cThis is my younger brother,\u201d referring to his Family Group. \u201cLeave him alone.\u201d<\/p>\n Students, and the entire school community, started to see that perhaps they could relate to someone they didn\u2019t know. They were starting to put themselves in someone else\u2019s shoes. They were building community.<\/p>\n Today, Sanchez says, Family Group is a vital part of everyone\u2019s day. So is being on the lookout for kids who might be struggling with something. Garcia describes how a teacher who takes a restorative approach might start class by asking students to tell her how they would rate the day so far, on a scale of one to five. If someone says a one or two, that teacher might ask that student \u201cWhat\u2019s up, I see that you put up a two. What\u2019s going on? How can I be helpful?\u201d<\/p>\n Another teacher might give out an assignment or a test and notice one student lost in thought and not participating. With a restorative approach, that teacher may walk up and down the rows of students, lean in to that one, and ask, \u201cIs everything going okay today? Why don\u2019t you stick around at the end of the class and let\u2019s check in.\u201d Yet another teacher might be confronted with a student who adamantly says, \u201cI\u2019m not doing any work today.\u201d<\/p>\n Under the old model, a punitive response may have been the initial course of action, with the student being sent down to the principal\u2019s office. Under the EPO, the teacher would likely pause and say something like \u201cWow, you seem to be really struggling today. I see you, I care about you. What can I do to help you?\u201d Sometimes the students need to talk, go to circle, or go to a cool down or care room\u2014special areas set up to help them deal with big issues in their lives and get through the day.<\/p>\n Everyone has a lens through which they see the world. One lens isn\u2019t right or wrong necessarily, it\u2019s just different. For Sanchez, her lens is showing a bright future. She\u2019s moved through high school as a multi-sport athlete and a top scholar and she\u2019s taken classes that have pointed her toward a career in teaching.<\/p>\n Sanchez has done all this while working after school and on weekends at a local grocery store. She\u2019s seized every opportunity presented to her. Now, she is poised for college, and has already received scholarship offers from her top choices. Her next decision is just \u201cwhere?\u201d[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”25px” image_repeat=”no-repeat”][vc_row_inner row_type=”row” type=”full_width” use_row_as_full_screen_section_slide=”no” text_align=”left” css_animation=”” box_shadow_on_row=”no”][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n Preston Faulkner<\/strong> Learn more about Warner\u2019s Center for Urban Education Success<\/a>. Visit this page<\/a>\u00a0for more stories about East High School.\u00a0<\/em>[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”10px” image_repeat=”no-repeat”][vc_separator type=”normal” color=”#c4c4c4″ border_style=”solid” thickness=”1″][vc_column_text fnt_family=”Roboto Condensed” fnt_size=”12″ css=”.vc_custom_1561553248392{padding-top: 1px !important;}”]<\/p>\nCreating safe spaces<\/h3>\n
Building a community<\/h3>\n
Being on the lookout<\/h3>\n
Putting it all together<\/h3>\n
For more information<\/h3>\n
\nSenior Director, Warner Advancement
\n(585) 276-3636 |\u00a0pfaulkner@warner.rochester.edu<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n