Wrap your arms around a philosophy that students, staff, and parents can accept, and implement professional learning communities to develop it.
Dale Truding, Principal

At Birmingham Covington, a public science and technology magnet school where students regularly excel academically, students also learn to care for one another just as their teachers care for them. Students remain with the same teacher for two years, allowing for personalized attention and close relationships between students and teachers. Students mentor younger children and students with autism regularly. The school created “bus families” to deal with the challenge of students as young as 8 riding the bus with students as old as 14. All members of the community readily attest to the overriding sense of caring and cooperation present from day to day. Students work together cooperatively in their classes over 60% of the time while their teachers work together in teams. Parents choose BCS because they believe the school will meet their children’s individual needs, according to Principal Dale Truding. Indeed, individual goal setting occurs with all students at BCS.

Read more about BCS in the 2007 NSOC book:  Positively Influencing Our Ever-Changing World

SIGNATURE PRACTICES

Featured Lesson Plan: Goal Setting at BCS
Students set annual academic and character goals.

Sample Practice: Goal Setting
Annual goal setting contract (handout).

CONTACT INFORMATION

Dale Truding, Principal
Birmingham Covington School
1525 Covington Road
Bloomfield Hills, MI 48301
Telephone: (248) 203-4428
E-mail: dt02bps@birmingham.k12.mi.us
Web site: www.birmingham.k12.mi.us/Schools/Districtwide/BCS