Quality School Visit

Aspen Elementary Visit
10/19/2007

Vicki, Dale and I spent an absolutely wonderful day at Aspen Elementary in Illinois. It is the only quality school in our area and it was very exciting to see choice theory being used in every classroom and throughout the school. The most amazing thing about the day were the class meetings, and despite there being 550 students in the school the hallways were quiet throughout the day, even before and after recess.

Watching 2 classrooms use class meetings was particularly interesting. In one of the 6th grade classrooms they were discussing the problems the class had when there was a substitute teacher in the room earlier in the week. They discussed what happened without using anyone's name and without blaming their actions on someone else in the class. It was great to hear the students admit that they were disrespectful and out of control. What was even better was that they then came up with a plan for better choices the next time they have a sub in their room. In a "traditional" classroom they would have been yelled at, and threatened with loss of something if they didn't behave better the next time the teacher was out of the room. It was obvious that the students understood that they were responsible for their actions. No one person was to blame, but they as a class needed to figure out the solution. The best statement to come from the class was from a young man who simply stated: "I was looking around and I thought this just isn't us. What class is this?"

The second class meeting that we watched was in a third grade class. During this meeting, they discussed solutions that they tried to problems that were brought up at the last meeting and came up with some more possibilities. From there, they celebrated good things that they saw and shared and they then ended the meeting with compliment time. Those students that wanted to recognize another student for something had the opportunity to do so. Interestingly enough, every student was complimented either by another student or by the teacher. They were genuine words of encouragement and praise.

I was struck by the lack of talking going on during the meeting time. The students were sitting on the floor, as was the teacher and there were NO side conversations going on at all. They sat and listened respectfully and shared when they were either called upon or given the koosh ball.

Towards the end of the day we were fortunate enough to meet with some parents as well as the fifth grade teachers. The parents shared their role in developing the Parent Academy to educate parents about Choice Theory. They did this not only to share with parents what was happening in their child's school, but also with the hope that parents would apply choice theory at home too. In our talk with the parents we learned that students that leave Aspen and go on to the middle school are among the most respectful students at the middle school and are indeed the best problem solvers. They also reported that the students from Aspen are leaders in the middle school and Aspen has the highest number of students getting into the GT programs in high school. It would appear that something is definitely working.

Every teacher we talked to reported that they loved coming to work each day. Our main tour guide was a retired teacher that left Aspen 3 years ago. She missed it and decided to come back as a learning assistant! It would be wonderful if we could partner with them in our quest to be a Quality School. I believe they would be an invaluable resource.

I dream of being a part of a Quality School. It would mean that North Shore Students would have a reputation for being leaders and problem solvers rather than troublemakers. It would mean that we are on a path of excellence rather than mediocrity. It would mean that all teachers at NSMS are trained in Choice Theory and are encouraging their students to take responsibility for the actions and their education. Most of all it would mean that QUALITY is valued and sought....no longer will we be a school that is grade driven.

I hope to see my school move towards a quality school with each year that passes. I would like to be around to see North Shore become the first Quality Middle School in Wisconsin.