It is estimated that over 2 million individuals are expected to witness the presidential inauguration live from the Washington Mall. The events leading to this presidential election have proven that the people of all races across our great nation are standing upon the shoulders of past civil rights leaders. Perhaps this generational movement is one that will inspire others to break the “race” and other barriers globally.

We must encourage and applaud the young adults that demand change and embrace diversity. Consider the high school seniors attending Charleston High School in Mississippi who rallied to have their very first racially integrated senior prom in June 2008. I trust my fellow educators across the nation will continue to find ways to enable youth to Realize the Dream!

As our greatest resource, I believe our youth must be encouraged to “Represent” at all times.  How inspiring it must have been for each of those students honored at the City’s awards assembly.  Investing time in meaningful ways will undoubtedly encourage greatness in our youth.  Meaningful is the operative term that is often defined differently by students as compared to their teachers.  Gail Thompson, in her March 2008 ASCD article, Beneath the Apathy, suggested a significant difference in the perceptions shared by the 121 teachers and 268 students she surveyed at a southern California high school.  While 97% of teachers surveyed agreed with the statement, “I care about my students’ academic and personal welfare both inside and outside of school”, only 61% of students surveyed agreed with the statement, “Most of my teachers care about me”.  Given the fact that most teachers try to provide safe and nurturing learning environments by building positive rapport with their students, why were the perceptions of the surveyed students different from those of their teachers?  What is considered a “meaningful relationship” to our students?

I believe all students, regardless of age, want to experience academic success at the highest levels. As educators, we must be intentional in our efforts to provide instruction that demonstrates connectedness to real life experiences.  In addition to such relevancy, instruction must also be connected to student culture.  I am reminded of how excited one of my Hispanic students was when she found a collection of books written entirely in Spanish at our book fair.  As I reflect upon my years as a child growing up in New York, I am grateful that my teachers taught me about lesser known African Americans in addition to those often highlighted during Black History Month.  Among other things, learning about the heroism of the Little Rock Nine, the creativity of McCoy and the flow of Giovanni’s words truly inspired my thirst for knowledge!

Kudos to all of the wonderful teachers that consistently provide instruction that is rigorous and relevant in classrooms where students feel encouraged. 

Although some students are able to navigate successfully through “developmentally challenging” school years without a personal connection to an adult in their school, many others are not as successful.  Therefore, a personalized school environment can provide an avenue that facilitates a smoother journey for all students.  After attending a “Breaking Ranks in the Middle” conference that was hosted by NASSP, the National Association for Secondary School Principals, I was inspired to assess the “health” of my school’s culture. During my drive home, I began to wonder how many of my students were not connected with a teacher/counselor/administrator/support staff mentor.  I wondered how many are, in so many words, invisible – whether successful or unsuccessful.  In a middle school of approximately 500 students with a healthy school culture as previously documented by surveys and other indicators, I suspected that there would be very few “invisible” students. 

Armed with new and not so new information, I set out to identify how well we personalized our school and how our efforts could be improved.  One strategy we used to analyze the level of student connectedness to an adult involved placing the names of every student on poster-board paper.  After having done that, every adult in the building was given a week to stop by the posters to place their initials beside the name of any and every student in which they had a genuine connection.  This activity yielded great information from which many conclusions were drawn and acted upon.  We were able to identify the core of adults that mentored many students above and beyond their ”caseload”.  We were able to see a clear relationship between the level of student success and the level of connectedness to an adult.

How personalized is your school community? Please share your best practice for facilitating an environment where a student’s motivation is enhanced by ongoing, positive relationships with peers and teachers.