Striving for safe, happy schools in District 30

Leaders in District 30 want their students to leave school knowing more than just how to read and write, add and subtract. They want children to leave elementary school as good citizens who know how to respect one another.

Recently, the Board of Education approved an addition to the district’s Strategic Plan focusing on the social and emotional development of students. The goal will be to assess, explore and implement programs that support a positive school climate as well as the individual social and emotional needs of children.

District officials say there are several reasons for enacting this goal. New York state is requiring that school districts implement a plan to meet the Dignity for All Students Act, which takes effect July 1. Additionally, district leaders want the community to know they are committed to the social and emotional development in children in light of the elimination of the social worker next year.

“Cutting the social worker did not mean we are cutting our social and emotional programs,” said Superintendent Dr. Elaine Kanas.

The first step for the new Strategic Plan goal will be to create a task force. Kanas said that it will include administrators, teachers, staff, parents and community members. They will analyze the district’s programs and resources for social and emotional support, and make recommendations. Kanas said she hopes to bring a plan to the Board of Education by November, before the start of the next budget planning cycle.

Essentially, Kanas said, the task force will analyze what the district is doing and what is needs to do in the future regarding social and emotional development. The ultimate goal, she explained, is to ensure that District 30 schools are a physically and emotionally safe environment for all students and employees.

Teachers will also receive training. Kanas said the training will focus on biases that staff members might not be aware of. For example, she said, if a teacher has boys and girls line up separately, that sends a message that there is a disparity between the two genders, even if no harm is meant by the action.

Kanas explained that it is the adults in the buildings that set the example. She also said that the Dignity for All Students Act requires that a district analyze its overall work environment.

Shaw Avenue School Assistant Principal Amy Pernick said it is important that all members of the District 30 community, regardless of if they are student or employee, treat each other with respect. Any kind of bias, harassment or discrimination will not be tolerated.

Pernick and Kanas point out that District 30 has an advantage that many other school districts don’t have — diversity. Students grow up in an environment full of cultural differences and learn from a young age to appreciate that. “Valley Stream is very diverse, children go to school with, and people work with, people of all different cultures,” Kanas said. “We get to live and experience this as the norm.”

Still, while diversity is part of the school community, district leaders don’t want that message to get lost. Pernick said there are several programs the district uses which focus on tolerance and acceptance. Second Step, a research-based program, allows students to view and take part in different “everyday” scenarios at school, such as a student feeling left out during recess.

Children role play, then talk about their own feelings. Pernick said these exercises are done in classes and take 10 to 15 minutes. What really excites Pernick, she said, is when she sees students using what they learned in class to solve problems on the playground.

There are also violence prevention and conflict resolution programs which teach students how to be empathetic and get along with each other, Pernick said. Many of these programs will likely become part of the district’s toolbox to achieve its new strategic goal.

Kanas said she believes the district already has a strong foundation in place for a meaningful social and emotional program. The goal during the next six months, she said, will be to come up with a plan to build on that. Board policies are designed to guide a school district’s mission and vision, and one of the missions of District 30 is to provide a positive environment for everyone, she said.

Pernick added that social and emotional development is linked to academic success. “If children feel comfortable and safe and happy where they are,” she said, “it makes for a better place. It makes children want to come to school and learn.”