PROGRAMS/INITIATIVES

Caught Being Kind – A new initiative in the middle school, called "Caught Being Kind,” is designed to raise awareness and recognition for the kind things students do for each other. Students will acknowledge and express appreciation for thoughtful gestures by others by filling out “kindness cards” which will then be collected and shared publicly. Teachers will also be able to recognize students for showing kindness towards each other. The hope is that kindness will become “contagious” as more and more students are recognized. We plan to display students’ individual kindness cards in a "Kindness Quilt" in the front lobby. The Quilt will serve as an excellent visual of all the kindness the kids have shown each other throughout the year and to then launch a "pay it forward" project that is still in its design phase.

Advisory – Each Upper Campus student is assigned an Advisor with whom they will meet once a week. Each Advisor will be responsible for 6-8 students. Advisory assignments will be made, pairing students with members of the faculty and staff who have contact with them on a daily basis. The Advisories will be the primary vehicle for creating a more personalized learning environment in which all students are well known by at least one adult and will provide a structure and a set of practices for monitoring and supporting students’ academic progress and college and career readiness. Each Advisor will serve as an advocate who, through the weekly class, also helps students negotiate the social/emotional challenges of Middle and High School and becomes the primary school contact for the parent. As envisioned, the Advisories will provide a distinctly different construct for student-teacher engagement. The emphasis will be on relationships, coaching, and facilitation with the agenda driven by student needs and realities—rather than subject matter content.