Opening the Doors

Where are the boundaries of school responsibility? When does an incident or issue become a school matter and when is it outside our domain?

When we develop school codes of conduct, we do so with the ultimate goal of developing caring, productive citizens. The goal of any educational system is to produce well-adjusted adults who can participate in the social and intellectual constructs of a society. The caring, mindful work we do as educators is to teach students, not courses and with that in mind, student conduct outside the school is the real litmus test of our teaching. When our students become positive contributing members of society, we know we have succeeded.

With the changing demands on our children and communities, the responsibility of the schoolhouse has changed. In regards to responsibility, we all have a role to play, but the locus of responsibility should be on the school to lead the way. It’s easy to stand on the sidelines and point fingers.  Research tells us that socio economic factors do influence student progress and truancy and as educators, we must respond to this need. The responsibility should be on the school to develop structures of support for students based on their needs. Leading researcher, Joyce Epstein, writes:

“Attendance improves when schools take comprehensive approaches to family and community involvement. This means conducting a variety of activities that involve students, parents, and community partners.”  (2008)

In matters of safety, we know that the lines of responsibility become very clear. Knowing that when students do not feel safe their ability to learn shuts down, forces us to respond immediately. We know that when violence, threats, or attacks on personal safety occur outside the school, children often internalize their issues and bring them into the school.

“As they grow, children who are exposed to violence may continue to show signs of problems. Primary-school-age children may have more trouble with schoolwork, and show poor concentration and focus. They tend not to do as well in school. In one study, forty per cent had lower reading abilities.  (2006, Behind closed doors: The impact of Domestic Violence on Children)

More often than not, external threats to student safety lead to issues within the school. A student who does not feel safe at home or in the community will often act out in disruptive, destructive, or anti-social ways. This, in turn, often affects members of the school community.

It is the primary role of school leaders, to ensure schools are safe places that foster and promote productive learning environments. The School Act explicitly states that it is our responsibility to our school communities to share a commitment to maintaining safe, caring and orderly schools.  This vision ties the school to the community and by virtue of that, ties the child to the community as well. It is therefore, our responsibility to procure, when necessary, outside support through the various integrated agencies that work to support our communities.  The days of “what happens at school between 8:30 and 3:00 only matter” are long gone.  Today, our communities are multi faceted and require layers of support that stretch beyond the school walls and time constraints of a school day. In order to meet the needs of our changing student populations and communities, today’s educator must liaise with all levels of support within our school and community.  Schools need to model the way for the community.  Setting goals & mission statements that raise the standard for community responsibility. Creating community connections will inevitably create a social capital that yields collective benefits. Weaving the narrative of a shared success between the school-community partnerships will in the end maintain sustainability.  

The fact of the matter is that all issues that potentially affect our school environments are within our domain and it behooves us to ensure we have the necessary structures in place to support all our students. Just as we ask teachers to start opening their classrooms, we as educational leaders must also open our schools and invite, encourage and promote community integrative support.  We can’t do it alone!

The stakeholders are all of us who have a vested interest in seeing children become socially responsible productive members of society.

Identify the stakeholders… Trust the process… Trust the people… Edu-Bring