Creating a Caring Community through Class Meetings
At Providence Spring Elementary, a school-wide initiative has been implemented to promote a caring school community through classroom and morning meetings. Providence Spring students and staff pledge daily to be “a positive and contributing member of the school community…and show good character in all situations.” Through staff development and the use of "Positive Discipline in the Classroom and the Morning Meeting Book," teachers have established a routine for meetings in their classroom. Topics for classroom meetings are established by both teacher and student suggestions with an underlying focus on character. These meetings provide a forum for ideas and discussion between peers. Holding classroom meetings enables students to develop good character, negotiate through problem solving, have their voices heard, and discover strategies for handling situations. Through the continuum of classroom meetings beginning in kindergarten and progressing to fifth grade, students are instilled with the ability to recognize good character in themselves and others and model good character even when no one is looking.