By Krestin Bahr December is a time for reflection on the year that has passed and anticipation for family celebrations, winter break and the new year that is to come. In Eatonville School District, our second core value is excellence. Eatonville schools have recently received multiple awards of excellence, from the Eatonville High School School of Distinction Award last year to this year's Excellence Awards for student-athletes. These academic success awards are the state's highest. Excellence in schools is typically identified by scores - grades, GPA, test scores, etc. GÇô of an individual. This month, I would like to explore the questions: What makes a group "excellentGÇ¥ as a whole? How have our students GÇô our swim team, as an example GÇô won the highest GPA award in the entire state for 2014? They received this award in the fall at the state swim meet. I was curious about how this occurred, and arranged to speak with the team. Thinking that there was a regimented plan, tally of grades and strong coach oversight, I was eager to hear. When I arrived that morning, it was clear that they were eager to tell me their "secret.GÇ¥ This is what I discovered: " Their coaches make it clear that being a student comes before athletics. It is their number 1 job. " They have realized that it requires a lot of small parts to make a grand picture of success. " There are enormous expectations about punctuality. To accomplish this due to one coach's work time, they all start at 3:30 (with a one-hour required study hall before practice). " New students to school had the opportunity to make friends before school started and feel this is their place. They feel accepted and part of the whole. " They do things outside of school, like hiking to waterfalls, and sleepovers. They bond and include each other by having text/phone trees for homework support. " They meet daily in the coach's room as a study group, helping with math and academics.
Teaching the world a thing or two
It is often hard to think of the ways such an individual sport could be team-oriented, but Eatonville figures out how to do it. They assured me that they did not even know that this award existed before they won it. They wanted me to know that what they knew about their team was that: " Swimmers are different; their success also comes from the fact that it does take a certain person to be a swimmer. They must be dedicated to succeeding everyday; the water is cold. " They strive for excellence and self-improvement with a focus always on their best time. " Everyone cheers for you as you swim. It's about your best effort " If someone needs help, they won't allow them to drown. They will help them. " It's a team effort. " Time-management, perseverance and discipline are key. They never give up. " They can't do it alone; they need each other. As one student summed it up, "We are the result of small acts of greatness GÇô succeeding in excellence." Humbled, I listened to a team of young ladies who could teach the world a thing or two about excellence and a world of accountability for measurable outcomes. In a season of frantic holiday preparation and doing, let's pause to think about this core value of excellence. We all want our children to succeed and, in fact, excel. We want them to have the skills and knowledge to have a bright future. Within the context of my discussion with this team of dolphin-like swimmers, it was apparent that this does not occur in a vacuum or without intent. It is the small acts of connection and relationship-building that allow children to grow, learn and become accomplished. They expect excellence and success from themselves first and others on the team. Let us all remember that excellence is born in belief and persistence, grit and determination. We all need one another for support, connection and strength to reach for the stars and grasp them in our hands. Research states that excellence in school is not by chance. The findings make clear that supportive teachers and clear and high expectations about behavior are key to the development of both student engagement and perceived competence. In fact, a new study by the Brookings Institute indicates that for students to have success in life, character matters as much as academic skill. Non-cognitive skills and character competencies have as much of an effect on success as academic skill, researchers from the Center on Children and Families at the Brookings Institution concluded in a study released this month. The study focused on the "performance character strengths" of drive-defined as "the ability to apply oneself to a task and stick with it," and prudence-defined as "the ability to defer gratification and look to the future." The study's authors emphasized that the helpful non-cognitive skills they explored can be nurtured and developed in all students. Additional research suggests that the earlier schools and teachers begin to build students' confidence in their ability to do well, the better off students will be. Because students' perceptions of their capacity for success is key to their engagement in school and learning, schools should be designed to enhance students' feelings of accomplishment. All staff, including teachers, whom students see as supportive and who set clear expectations about behavior and academic needs help create an atmosphere in which students feel in control and confident about their ability to succeed in future educational endeavors. As evidenced by the statements from our high school students, Eatonville School District has been serving the students well in the area of capacity and confidence-building. Thank you to all of the adults in our system who give all they have every day to make this possible for our children. The influence you have on each child as they move through our system or in our community is life changing. As in the words of one of the swimmers, Sarah: "You have to be dedicated to succeeding every day. This also carries out with school. I think we realize how important it is to stay ahead in school work and try every day to get better. We have been taught to give as much effort in the classroom as we do in the pool, and it has brought us so much success in both aspects.GÇ¥ May we always remember that it is our future we have in the schools. I am confident that excellence is alive and well in Eatonville schools.
Krestin Bahr is superintendent of the Eatonville School District.
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