School Climate Initiatives What does it mean in our District Vision to be welcoming, safe and student-centered?
First there’s physical safety. Our district has all the state-required safety practices in place, including fire, earthquake and intruder drills.
Then there’s emotional safety. We know this is just as important as physical safety. If a student doesn’t feel safe, learning is not going to happen. To address emotional safety and positive school climate, the district has implemented the following programs (click on the links for more information): Learning Initiatives One of our goals is to make sure students in all of our schools are learning the same thing regardless of which school they attend. We want a third grader in Fort Stevens Elementary to be able to transfer to Southworth Elementary seamlessly, without gaps in their learning. The same goes for the other elementary schools and two middle schools. It makes sense at a district level and is also something Washington is working to achieve statewide. However, if every teacher has a set of skills their students are supposed to master by the end of the year, we also need to have safety nets for those students who need more time. We don’t want to move ahead for the sake of the curriculum when there are students who would be left behind. This is where we talk about being “student-centered” and “focused on learning” rather than on teaching. Yelm Community Schools is using strategies with proven track records to address these issues. We focus on data with measurable outcomes rather than anecdotal evidence when looking for programs to help us with the complicated task of helping ALL students achieve their full learning potential. The following are some of the District Initiatives we’re using to help (click on the links for more information): | District Mission: Communities Dedicated to Learning and Achievement District Vision: Yelm Community Schools is a welcoming, safe, student-centered, and collaborative learning environment. In partnership with parents, students, and community leaders, YCS staff members are dedicated to helping all students meet performance expectations and achieve their full learning potential. |
