Leadership magazine Nov/Dec 2014 V 44 No 2 | Page 38

Foundation of support
Continued from page 29

1. A rigorous and relevant core instructional program designed to help all students
meet high academic standards (STEAM focused K-8 schools and college/career prep
high school academies).
2. A variety of learning opportunities designed to enrich the learning environment
for students and their families, including before- and after-school programming.
3. A range of support services – health,
mental health, social services – and an inte-

3. Positive Youth Justice Initiative/Trauma
Informed Care – The PYJI is an innovative
approach to transforming the lives of our
crossover youths who have experienced neglect, abuse and/or trauma, have history in
the child welfare system, and have crossed
over into the juvenile justice system. In
order for us to address the root cause of why
a young person enters the juvenile justice
system, we must be able to support youth
who have experienced trauma through continuous training on Trauma Informed Care.
One of our community partners said,
“I’ve noticed a remarkable change in the
day-to-day culture at Franklin Middle
School. The administrators, teachers, and
site safety crew have brought structure and
purpose back on campus. It’s so great to see
the students laughing again” (Pastor Scott,
Bridgeway Church, lunchtime volunteer and
contributor).

Early results: Graduation rates increase

grated intervention system designed to promote children’s well being and remove any
barriers to the learning process.
Being able to coordinate all the corners of
the triangle is the critical work of a strong
community school. It is through this support system that the community school construct ensures that our children and their
families receive an integrated set of services.

A positive culture
The district’s Integrated Intervention System was designed to ensure every school site
has a positive culture through the integration of these research-based best practices:
1. Positive Behavior Intervention and Support
– PBIS is an integrated system of classroom
management and individual student support. The goal is to improve behavioral outcomes for students and their families.
2. Restorative Justice – RJ promotes values
and principles that use inclusive, collaborative approaches for being in the community. These approaches allow us to act and
respond in ways that are healing rather than
alienating or coercive.
38

Leadership

In three years, our graduation rate has
moved from a stagnant 54 percent to 65 percent in the 2012-13 school year. When the
official results are released for the 2013-14
school year, we expect another significant
increase. Additionally, we are building confidence in our schools as caring learning environments where all student feel supported
and can succeed.
One of our very active parents said it best:
“Our family has been served by the VCUSD
since 2007. The increases in resources and
priorities around engaging parents and the
community are why we remain proud parents in the VCUSD. The Board of Trustees,
district administration, and our school sites
continue to gain momentum as we implement Full Service Community Schools
Initiatives” (Deborah Ceryes, parent, Mare
Island Health and Fitness Academy).
We are proud of our work in collaboration
with the community and look forward to
seeing it lead to powerful outcomes for more
and more of our students. n

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