Principal’s Corner

Positivity

“Don’t you feel like you’ve landed in a pot of jam?” Teacher Sherry asked me during one of my first days here at Village School. Creating, maintaining and fostering a positive school climate and culture is more than the application of systems and programs. It is about building relationships that enable our children to work in a loving, caring and supportive community. Sherry was doing just that, she was verbalizing what a magical place Village School is and allowing me to reflect on how lucky I am to be here.

Village has a historic commitment to creating a positive school climate through the use of multiple systems and programs. These approaches include extensive training in Positive Discipline for staff and families and, in the last ten years, incorporating the work of Project Cornerstone. Village also utilizes the systems approach to creating a positive school climate through the use of Positive Behavior Intervention and Support (PBIS). Additionally, just two years ago, Village School began implementing No Bully and Solution Teams. The importance of positive adult and student relationships is nothing new to Village School and, as a result, the families, children and staff have been well served.

Many of you know that I am a member of our district PBIS team and that I was instrumental in implementing PBIS across our district. I am also committed to the understanding that all effective systems must be tailored to specific needs. PBIS was never intended to be a program with unwavering dedication to rigid implementation. PBIS is a systems approach that Village School has thoughtfully and effectively incorporated into the positive school climate repertoire of tools at our disposal.

This past April I attended the Santa Clara County Office of Education PBIS Symposium. There were two sessions at the symposium that really resonated with me. One was titled “Restorative Practice & The Cultural Responsiveness Connection” presented by Ammar Saheli who serves as the Director of Student Support Services for the San Lorenzo Unified School District. He makes the distinction between Restorative Justice which “is reactive responses to crime and other wrongdoing after it occurs” and Restorative Practices which he defines as “processes that precede wrongdoing, those that proactively build relationships and a sense of community to prevent conflict and wrongdoing.” Dr. Saheli also spoke of the need to bring love back into schools.

The other presentation that impressed me was titled, “Building a Culture of Respect” by Courtney Macavinta of The Respect Institute. Ms. Macavinta spoke of the realization that, “respect starts on the inside.” She also talked about the idea of “to look again,” saying that “you can spread respect by looking again when you meet someone – not continuing to judge them, seeing them as an equal and getting to know who they really are,” fostering relationships. During her presentation Ms. Macavinta talked about the need for an environment filled with love for each other.

There is a shift happening in education to a realization that schools are not only in the business of teaching reading, writing and arithmetic, but also need to foster the social and emotional health of children. Without emotional safety there can be no academic learning. Village School, since the beginning, has been an environment in which we focus on the whole child and, to do so effectively, we must build relationships in an environment of respect and love.

I had a lovely compliment from a member of our community the other day. She wrote, “…and I also wanted to thank you for your constant positive demeanor! You always seem happy to be on campus.” It’s easy to be happy in this pot of jam we call Village School.

Lovin Fun

This year our District met with major stakeholders and developed goals for our strategic plan for the next three years. The goals that were developed are:

• Address the academic, social and emotional needs of all students
• Improve students’ academic performance, engagement and involvement
• Ensure that every Campbell Union School District school is a school of choice
• Enhance student, parent, staff, District and community communication, participation and engagement
• Attract, develop and retain high-quality staff

At a recent administrative meeting, Principals and District office administrators were charged with helping to define what it means to “be a school of choice.” There were many good ideas, usually centered on academic achievement, enrichment, interventions, after school programs and the like.

I kept emphasizing that we need to ensure that schools are full of love and fun. At the conclusion of the protocol, all the suggestions were whittled down to just a few and I spoke up yet again to suggest that we need to emphasize that a school be full of love and fun. Later, Kim Munoz, one of my colleagues said, “David I’ve got a new name for you…. David Lovin Fun!”

As you and your family leave our Village for good or just for the summer, make certain you carry in your heart the Lovin Fun! Keep it central to all you do and remember to be positive and respectful, and that the relationships you build and nurture are your life.