Resiliency

Last week the Ministry of Education contacted our district to find out what we were doing to show a continued improvement in graduation rates.  When our superintendent called to find out what we thought, I told him that one of our staff's strengths was keeping our struggling students engaged by working through our School Based Team to implement a number of interventions designed to help our kids be successful.  I also indicated it was a reflection of continuing to offer a wide array of choices for students to help them find something and someone to connect them to their school.  For example, providing students with an opportunity for personalized fitness.  Although we received some criticism for moving our library and converting the space to a fitness facility, we are now able to provide students with an opportunity to engage in strength and conditioning activities throughout the day.  While some suggested this was a move that highlighted a focus on athletics, rather than academics, the impact has been to the contrary.  This was highlighted by a suspension meeting I attended last week. At the meeting, one of our students, who had previously struggled with attendance and had been out of school for periods of time, told the superintendent how this year, although he was living on his own, he was able to come to school on a regular basis and maintain good grades as he had one thing to look forward to every day: going to the school weight-room to work out.  In fact, numerous students using the facility are not participating on teams, but rather students that have previously lacked some engagement in school and have now found a common draw to be there on a daily basis.

Two weeks ago, after we attended a Board of Education meeting, we were asked by trustees to show more pictures of our fitness initiative so that people could see how the facility was being used.  To me, the true impact of what we have done is found in the stories such as the one above.

Really, in the end, our students who demonstrate resiliency are the ones who will make it, regardless of their personal struggles.  Our job is to continue to offer kids options and foster positive connections with people in the building, to provide opportunities to grow and develop and, ultimately, to graduate and become successful citizens.  Hopefully, in spite of challenges at school, students can make mistakes and learn to make better choices as they absorb some of life's real lessons.  After all, isn't the real definition of resiliency being able to get up after being knocked down?

If you want to witness a moving example of resiliency, watch the following clip: