Statement of need for project: how to connect with the disenfranchised population

 

The majority of kids at our high school are happy to be here.

·        85% of our kids are involved in extra-curriculars.

·        They enjoy being socially involved in their classes as well.

·        They use the union or the library on their unscheduled periods.

·        Most kids look at faculty in the halls or in our library expecting eye contact and a friendly greeting.

·        Most kids dress in the same fashion as the other members of their class dress.

·        An increasing number of students join the adults in the building wearing the school colors on Friday.

 

There are some kids who do not fit this profile, and data informally collected substantiates this.

·        They dress differently from other students in the building.

·        They congregate in a hallway near the student union and do not enter into the surrounding social life.

·        The kids stare at by-passers but do not interact with them.

·        Teachers do not feel good about using this hallway because it feels like a gauntlet. This is a comment that has been re-surfacing for 2 years now.

·        Administrators have taken lunch period supervision in the area they frequent because other teachers shy from interactions there. This practice began during the second semester of 1998-1999.

·        Other students hesitate to walk down there alone because the group feels unfriendly. Teachers report this frequently, but there is no formal collection of such information.

 

As part of the building learning plan, our teachers have organized themselves into different groups in order to pursue tasks/topics that address goals relating to building or personal needs. All of the groups are aligning their work with the first of our district learning standards: “we develop and sustain healthy relationships to create caring communities.”

 

One large group has determined to address the developmental assets that kids have. Because of size, several smaller groups have splintered off. One of these groups has chosen to try to determine and address the needs of the students who appear different and less connected from to the rest of the school. Our group of three is searching for information and a plan to work more successfully with these students.