Preventative Measures: One District’s Efforts

Shifting focus toward deep and meaningful learning and away from rampant academic competition

Frank Bruni’s April 2015 op-ed column in The New York Times, “Best, Brightest — and Saddest,” scared the hell out of me. He described a school community “in the shadow of Stanford University.” If you substitute West Windsor-Plainsboro for Palo Alto and Princeton for Stanford, Bruni’s column could have been describing my school community, minus one major factor.

In West Windsor-Plainsboro, a central New Jersey district with approximately 9,700 students, we have not had a recent suicide. But that does not mean we have not had significant concerns.

Between April and October 2015, I struggled with what I was witnessing in my community. Our students were suffering. The schools had experienced an increase in mental health assessments for anxiety, depression and suicidal ideations, along with referrals for drug and alcohol screenings. Something needed to change.

Last October, I composed and distributed a 16-page manifesto to our school community that encapsulated several years of purposeful changes. We needed to shift our focus toward deep and meaningful learning and away from rampant academic competition.

The changes included:

• “No Homework Nights,” which provided students with time off from preparing course work, projects and test prep. These breaks gave students permission to spend time with family, attend school social events and pursue nonacademic passions.
• Elimination of midterm and final exams, which we found to be redundant with common assessments. These exams provided little opportunity for student reflection and growth.
• Expansion of entrance criteria for honors and Advanced Placement classes, which enabled more students to access rigorous academic courses.
• Conceptual redesign of accelerated and enriched mathematics instruction. Previously introduced in elementary school, it will now begin in middle school.
• Use of a K-5 standards-based report card designed to provide parents with better information about their child’s progress in relationship to academic standards. Report cards are provided on a trimester basis.

Caring Partners

One additional initiative was the formation of a partnership with the Center for Supportive Schools, a nonprofit organization in Princeton, N.J., that expands the influence of caring peers and adults. My work with the center began during 2011-12 when CSS convened educators and mental health experts in the region. My colleagues and I established the framework that would become Campaign Connect–New Jersey, a means for helping schools become safer, more supportive, engaging and inspiring.

Campaign Connect is data-based and relationship-driven. At its core, the campaign is grounded in the belief that schools must purposefully and intentionally focus on their culture and climate.

Campaign Connect–New Jersey recognizes that each school’s data will be unique to its circumstances. School districts must increase organizational capacity to more effectively address students’ social and emotional needs and thereby accelerate student achievement.

Student-Led Training

As a Campaign Connect member district, we began data analysis to drive a cycle of continuous school improvement. During the past year at High School South, we administered a questionnaire to all 10th through 12th graders about how they viewed student/adult relationships. The patterns and themes that emerged suggested students lacked meaningful connections with adults.

Based on the findings, we developed a professional development program for our teachers focused on discussing the relationships between teachers and students. Our students ran the training. Teachers worked in groups to discuss and record their perspectives and experiences regarding the importance of teacher and student relationships. This feedback will be analyzed by our Campaign Connect team and will guide our next measures.

In West Windsor-Plainsboro, we believe the school district has a moral imperative to ensure students are healthy, safe, supported, engaged and challenged. Campaign Connect provides a reflective structure aimed at increasing the organization’s capacity. The process is authentic in voice, advocacy, commitment and care for students, improving the culture and climate of our school community.

The frightening reality for school systems is that we are all susceptible to student mental health crises, including suicide. Purposeful change needs to be championed by a network of believers.

The potential for transformative change begins with the recognition that schools are more than academic institutions. Our students need to know how much we care. They need to know we care about their full development. As such, we always must be grounded in the development of the whole child.