YOU BELONG At A MISSION FOR SAFETY AT A COMPREHENSIVE HIGH SCHOOL

A.J. Blumel Teena McDonald PRINCIPAL EVALUATION CRITERIA Creating a Culture, Ensuring School Safety, Principal Intern, Mead High School, Clinical Assistant Professor and Closing the Gap Program Coordinator, State University

10 WASHINGTON PRINCIPAL | SPRING/SUMMER 2018 In this time of heightened school safety awareness, many districts are renewing their efforts to develop school safety plans, analyze discipline data, and look at patterns and trends of student behavior. At Mead High School, the building leaders, staff, and student leaders believe helping all students develop a sense of belonging at the school is a great preventive measure to help ensure school safety.

Mead leaders and staff focus several social systemic gestalt of the school, efforts around increasing a sense of including both the written and Belonging was the belonging. According to Evie Blad, spoken policies and procedures, as driving force behind all it is difficult for individual teachers well as the unspoken and unwritten to address concerns of students who norms regarding values, beliefs, and of our administrative feel they might be judged negatively behaviors of those in the school. Since decisions.” based on their identity. Educators school safety is a systemic issue, it try to use routines to help students takes a systematic effort to address school safety, including the idea feel welcome and safe at school, but it. A sense of belonging by students principals should focus on not only have a difficult time if the school helps with operational management physical safety, but also social, environment is not designed for and correlates with student emotional, and intellectual safety. someone from a different cultural achievement, and now there is a In order to promote and celebrate or economic background. For that growing body of evidence indicating emotional and intellectual diversity, reason, Mead chose to address an association between school safety students should be at the forefront belonging as a school issue. and a sense of belonging. of creating and welcoming students Hernandez and Seem say students The AWSP Leadership Framework to diverse programs and activities who feel unsafe are reflecting the Criterion 2.2 focuses on ensuring in the school. The AWSP Leadership Framework says, “When activities are organized by peers, these programs can have a deep and lasting impact on daily actions and attitudes of the entire school.” Many school leaders have taken notice of the importance Students from the Native American Club at the of a sense of belonging and the 2017 Mead Street Fair. growing body of work that supports it. At Mead High School, we’ve made it our mission and vision. Together with student leaders and staff, we developed a mission and vision of the school to ensure ALL students BELONG at Mead High School. Belonging was the driving force behind all of our administrative decisions. Whether planning for the collection of student data in the SIP, designing the focus and schedule for the LID days, organizing community events and partnerships, or seeking to improve systems of management and discipline, the administrative team used belonging as its guiding principal.

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HOW DID THE INITIATIVE Students who feel they have a place to “fit in” within START? a school community where their cultural, social, and Mead High School’s decision to emphasize a sense of belonging extracurricular interests are celebrated rather than began with a consideration of its judged, not only feel more safe at school, but feel more changing student demographics. Mead High School is a comprehensive connected to their peers and their teachers. ” high school serving approximately 1,650 students. In the last decade, end of the 2016-2017 school year not only feel more safe at school, but Mead experienced a demographic indicated a significant number of the feel more connected to their peers transformation. Once a far-north, staff and student body felt they “did and their teachers. The Student rural, affluent community, it’s not feel connected to the school’s Club Council was created to start now more suburban and socio- community”. In short, the incoming promoting the available clubs and economically diverse. According to administrative team felt it was time activities. This council began monthly OSPI’s database, Mead’s student body to make a change and to commit to meetings in the fall and offered is now roughly 82% White/Caucasian helping ALL of the students and staff students a formal way not only to with 20% on free/reduced lunch. feel they belong at Mead High School. inform their classmates about their That’s aa dramatic change from 1999, clubs, but also recruit and encourage when the student body was 94.4% BELONGING TAKES ROOT participation in sponsored events and White/Caucasian and only 9.9% were As the incoming administrative gatherings. on free/reduced lunch. team began to brainstorm ways At the first Club Council meeting, to promote and sustain belonging Although Mead’s student body is only a few representatives attended. within the school and its community, more diverse and less monocultural Traditional clubs like ASB, DECA, and it quickly realized the school needed in recent years, many of its student Knowledge Bowl sent representatives to promote and celebrate clubs and clubs, extracurricular activities, largely because their advisors had activities. Students who feel they and systems of management and strongly encouraged them to go have a place to “fit in” within a school learning remained the same. In and because, at the time, there were community where their cultural, addition to the demographic data, not many extracurricular clubs and social, and extracurricular interests several perception surveys completed organizations. Over time, we found are celebrated rather than judged, by the staff and the students at the ways to increase student involvement. But, as time went on, and as the Club Council was promoted in daily announcements and as students were continually encouraged to create clubs by teachers and advisors, and as word got out that Council meetings had free pizza from Little Ceasars, attendance grew. By the second semester, the meetings were packed with a plethora of students from diverse range of newly formed groups from Environmental Club to Fencing Club to Robotics Club, and Native American Club. In all, over a dozen new clubs were created in the first semester alone. Moreover, as the school year progressed, the hallways and classrooms stayed busy with a litany of students and advisors from ALL clubs and it became noticeable that more students, beyond just traditional student-athletes, wanted to stay at Mead even after the bell dismissed them at 2:30 p.m. The Mead Fencing Club practices some moves.

12 WASHINGTON PRINCIPAL | SPRING/SUMMER 2018 Mead High School students at an assembly.

CELEBRATING BELONGING group, the Mead Equestrian Club, provided free pony rides. Another IN THE COMMUNITY group, the Native American Club, In order for belonging to truly take set up a tepee and performed a root in the Mead community, the traditional dance from the Kalispel admin team believed its future tribe that was supervised by tribal students and their families needed elders. The Mead Fencing club offered to be made aware of the many great free lessons to willing participants ways they could also belong to the and educated bystanders about school’s community. With this goal the history of fencing. The foreign in mind, the team created the Mead language clubs (Spanish, French, and High School Street Fair. This street German) offered free food and games fair was a celebratory event where in their language of interest. The staff, students, community members, Debate Club interacted with parents and businesses came together for one and students by giving them a quiz to night to see all that Mead had to offer. help them determine which “type” of The Mead Street Fair includes music. Mead High School’s feeder elementary debater they would be. and middle school students and their In short, dozens of clubs and parents received extra attention and orthodontist office wanted to organizations were at the school marketing because the event was showcase their business since they and set-up a space where they could intended to get kids excited about work closely with many of the Mead interact with students, community coming to Mead one day. families. A local restaurant, 1898, members, and parents to educate donated desserts so Mead’s ProStart At the fair, student services provided visitors about their programs. club could serve treats to attendees as free food. The chamber orchestra, Moreover, community businesses a thank you to Mead patrons. choir, and marching bands provided and organizations, like Young Life, the music, and students got free Anytime Fitness, Dance Teams, In short, the Street Fair provided the books through a book drive. All of Fairwood Street Market, Fostering opportunity to celebrate belonging our school clubs and extracurricular WA, Bite 2 Go, and Unified Sports, with the larger school community. At organizations created activities had information booths and spoke the fair, the school’s diverse groups to showcase Mead’s diverse to attendees about how they partner and partnerships were not only opportunities for involvement. One with the school. Even a local dentist/ recognized, they were appreciated and celebrated. This event not only helped … as the school year progressed, the hallways and build a sense of pride in the school’s effort to be inclusive, it helped classrooms stayed busy with a litany of students and future students and their families advisors from ALL clubs and it became noticeable that learn about the man interests and activities Mead High School offers. more students, beyond just traditional student-athletes, Traditional extracurricular clubs and wanted to stay at Mead even after the bell dismissed activities, like sports and ASB, are them at 2:30 p.m.” Continued on page 14

WASHINGTON PRINCIPAL | SPRING/SUMMER 2018 13 Continued from page 13 well known in a school community, but the diversity of student clubs and community partnerships and resources used to help foster belonging and inclusion for every student often go unrecognized by the community at large. An event like the Street Fair provides the opportunity for those diverse resources to be recognized, appreciated, and promoted.

FUTURE IMPLICATIONS Researchers note students who are Students enjoying the Mead Street Fair. confident they belong and are valued by their teachers and peers are able and successful case studies about to be by giving them a strong sense to engage more fully in learning. belonging, it is unclear if any specific of belonging. No longer can schools Simply put, when students feel they or methodical prescription can be depend on the traditional forms belong in a school and are part of used to help bring belonging to a of developing student belonging its community, they have fewer school. But what is clear is districts through athletics and longstanding behavior problems, are more open can no longer just analyze discipline intellectual groups. Schools must now to critical feedback, take greater data, develop intricate school safety think creatively to provide social, advantage of learning opportunities, plans, and practice safety drills. On emotional, and intellectual safety to build important relationships, and the contrary, school leaders, teachers, a much more diverse group of young generally have more positive attitudes and students need to focus on making people and make them truly feel as if about their classwork and teachers. In schools a safe place for all students they belong. n turn, they are more likely to persevere in the face of difficulty and do better in school. Mead High School is one example of a school who noticed of the growing MAKE A body of evidence surrounding belonging and started to promote DIFFERENCE and celebrate inclusivity. Successfully Become a district leader implementing belonging requires more than starting Club Councils Seattle Pacific University can help you make and holding Street Fairs. If schools the move from school administration to school want to truly make belonging their district leadership. Accelerate your career mission and vision, it needs to be with a flexible program that combines best an integral part of every aspect of practices in leadership with effective use the school’s SIP. Department leads, of educational policy and research. for instance, need to emphasize belonging as a part of their SMART You can be a catalyst for change! goals. Master scheduling needs to be designed to ensure course offerings are appropriate for all students. Even CHOOSE FROM daily announcements should reiterate • School Executive Leadership/Superintendent Certification* belonging in its message. At Mead • School Executive Leadership/Program Administrator Certification* High School, the principal signs off • Education [EdD] /Superintendent Certification (three-year option) announcements every day by saying • Education [EdD or PhD] “Remember, YOU belong at Mead For more information, contact [email protected] High School!” or call 800-601-0603.

In short, as schools like Mead start to *For gainful employment disclosure information, visit spu.edu/gainfulemployment. spu.edu/awsp take notice of the important research

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