Stories from the Field
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An Advocate for Every Child
About this time of the school year, certain students were beginning to present themselves as students who could use a little extra TLC. The staff got together and decided that we would collectively develop an advocacy program for students who either by their academic performance or behavioral performance could benefit by having extra positive attention from someone they could respond to. We developed a list of about 25 names out of a school of 385 elementary students, solicited volunteers from all staff members, and developed an information sheet on each identified student based on discipline data, report card data, and anecdotal information.
Staff members were intentional in selecting students with whom perhaps they had had positive interactions outside of the classroom. Or perhaps they had them in an earlier year when the child had experienced more success. We made the list of students and their “advocates” available to the staff. Any time a student in question ran into difficulty in the school, did poorly on tests, or otherwise needed a friendly adult to talk to, they were given the option of going to see their “advocate” in the school. Usually just a few minutes of precious time from a caring adult determined whether a situation would be escalated or deescalated. The caring adult made a difference in the climate for that child for that moment.
