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As the season is starting to change from summer to fall there is a little comfort to the rhythm and pace at which it usually happens. You get some warm days mixed with hot and then it cools down. The weather is predictable and unpredictable all at the same time. You add in cool nights, and you get the changing of the colors. The important part is that there is a definite rhythm to this process.
Every year there is a rhythm to the school year as well. There are routines and procedures that need to be implemented, there are many new students that teachers have to learn about and understand. Students also need help to grow academically and socially along the way. The challenge is that each student, each class, each year is a little different, but there is one constant in all this. The success of all depends on the ability to build relationships with our students.
Relational capacity is built over time, and it starts on day one. There are some good days and some misunderstandings. Throughout the process everyone must clearly communicate so that we all have the same expectations and understandings.
For that to happen it is important to understand that students need a lot of help to be successful and each one is different and at a different spot in their life. So how do we manage that? We meet them where they are at. We have high expectations of every student, but those expectations may look different depending on the skill set that each student has. It is an individualized approach to ensure that all students get what they need to be successful. It is a way to ensure that the student is cared for in a place where they spend a lot of time with people who are invested in their success. It gives them the courage to take chances in a safe environment and learn from those experiences. It gives them an opportunity to find out who and what they want to be.
Dave Bodiker
Assistant Principal Middle School
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