Published Thursday, April 17, 2008 2:53 PM
Updated Thursday, April 17, 2008 2:53 PM

 

Revolution takes hold at Fort Dorchester

Members of the Fort Dorchester High School group, now known as One Revolution, made a special presentation to the school board on Monday to outline measures it has taken to build relationships at Fort Dorchester High School.

Its ultimate goal is to elevate academics to the level of athletics in their school.

After the group attended a conference and learned strategies they could implement in their own school to change the climate, they formulated a model with the help and guidance of Assistant Principal Greg Harrison and put what they learned into action.

The group’s goal is to boost school morale, encourage “staffulty” interaction and to promote achievement and involvement on the part of everyone who walks through the door of their high school.

The intrepid group of students first narrowed their focus and pinpointed specific areas where they could make an impact.

Academics was one area of focus and the group worked to create fun activities to motivate Fort Dorchester students to achieve the A/B honor roll.  

They decided to employ incentives such as hosting a cookout in the courtyard after the first quarter to push students to keep working toward their goal. At the second quarter, they upped the incentive, offering an “inflatables” party, complete with pizza for students who maintained their grades. Keeping the grades up at the third quarter qualified the hard-workers to attend movie night with popcorn and all the sugar-fortified soda they could consume.

Another focus of the group was to push all students to graduate, which meant signing the dotted line, or at Fort Dorchester, a graduation gown donated by Jostens. Each class member was asked to commit to graduate, and had to punctuate their pledge by signing the gown. At their graduation, one of the faculty members will wear it in recognition of each student’s pledge to follow through and achieve.

In addition, students who achieve A/B honor roll, or are referred by a teacher who recognizes their extraordinary efforts in class, entitles those students to attend various Patriot Cup challenges including head-to-head combat between staffulty and students in tournament challenges ranging from basketball to Sudoku.

With the student/teacher luncheon incentive the Revolution launched, the group sponsors a luncheon and invites teachers to issue invitations to students who they recognize as going that extra mile in their class.

The table turns as the group encourages student athletes to nominate a staffulty member who has inspired them to do well outside the sports arena. Those teachers are recognized for their efforts following each game.

Students can also acknowledge staffulty members who go above and beyond to help them succeed by taking part in the Red Apple Award program, where students are encouraged to write notes of appreciation on a red-apple cut-out that is posted in the staffulty work area. The Apples are later collected and drawn from to select the Teacher of the Month.

Likewise, staff and faculty are encouraged to “write up” students for doing positive things in what the Revolution calls Patriot Pride referrals. The teacher writes up a positive referral and sends it to the principal. The student is called to the office and told they’ve been written up…for doing something good. Rewards for good acts include coupons and certificates. Chick-Fil-A coupons are reported t be among the most prized rewards. The referrals are later put together and one is drawn monthly to select the student of the month.

Among the other programs implemented by the group are “Music in the Halls,” where teachers compete to have a music list of their own selection played in the halls between classes – which students admit sometimes makes them get to class faster so that they don’t have to listen to it. Other measures taken to make the environment at school more inclusive include a “Thank You” wall where positive messages are written on post-it notes and put on a designated wall: a History wall where the progress of Fort Dorchester students is posted throughout the year, and the student’s favorite, the Senior Handprint Wall, where seniors are invited to put their own handprint on the wall in school colors with their signature as a pledge that they will graduate. The impact is felt by seniors, as well as underclassmen, who look forward to the opportunity to put their own print on the wall when they become seniors.

School Superintendent Joe Pye says he hopes all the schools in the district will adopt the program the group at Fort Dorchester has developed. “We see students throughout the school effected in a positive way by The Revolution. This is all about making kids want to be where they need to be – in school.”

Contact Sharon Gnau at Sgnau@journalscene.com