Dominique and her son Davin

As a former DPS charter school student, a former DPS teacher, and a graduate of the UNC Center for Urban Education, I thought I knew it all. I knew how important my son’s first experiences in school were. I was all too familiar with what he would be doing in a half-day program with very little resources and I was afraid that he would not flourish in the ways I had dreamed for him. But little did I know, the school of choice system had changed significantly.  How had I missed this opportunity for my son’s education? How did I not know that even though we lived in Aurora, the most amazing school of choice was just right down the road?

Dominique and Davin

Thanks to a friend, I found out about Rocky Mountain Prep and imagined a day that my son would get the kind of education they provided there. I was shocked at how easy the school of choice process was and so grateful for all the help I received through the process.  The waiting was the hardest part and yet, just a few days before school started, I got the call that would put me right back into tears. My son would start his education as a kindergarten scholar at Rocky Mountain Prep.

I could not be more proud of my first grade scholar and I could not have asked for a better community for my son. I have to be honest, if the school of choice process had been difficult or if I had not had so many wonderful people helping me navigate it, I probably would have abandoned hope. We are so lucky to live in an area with so many choices to fit our children’s needs.

This week, Colorado School Grades is partnering with Moms Fight Back to highlight school safety issues. Check out Heidi’s first post about questions to ask when searching for a safe school for your child. 

by Heidi Ganahl

74% of eight to 11-year-olds say teasing and bullying happen at their school according to the National Crime Prevention Council. Bullying in schools is not an unusual problem, it is not bias to age or gender and it occurs in every state across the US. The importance of taking bullying seriously cannot be overstated. Victims of bullying and bullies themselves often struggle in school, experience a low self-esteem, become depressed and turn to violent behavior. Michigan State University School Violence Specialist, Glenn Stutzky, stated, “We have a whole generation of adults in the educational system that still view bullying as ‘just that’s the way it is.’” If we want our children to be safe, enjoy school and grow up to be respectable adults, we cannot accept this as the status quo.

As moms, we must remember that our children may be involved in bullying in a variety of ways: they may be the bully, they may be the victim, or they may be the witness of bullying. All three of these situations require us to guide our children effectively and to do what we can to empower them to behave with respect and kindness toward others.

Mom’s Fight Back has written several posts on bullying including “Cyberbullying 101 + Prevention Tips,” “Schools and Students Take a Stand and Get Creative | Bullying Prevention,” and “Kids Making a Difference: Anti-bullying.”  Today we want to share with you 9 things you can do as a mom to protect your child from bullying at school. These tips have been curated from the National Crime Prevention Council and StopBullying.gov.

1. Keep communication open. Ask your children how their day was and listen to what they say about school, social events, and their classmates. Pay attention and provide encouragement / guidance on any concerns or problems they share. Know who their friends are and help them feel comfortable talking to you.

2. Talk to your children about bullying and make sure they understand its consequences. Discuss what bullying is and how they can stand up for themselves and others safely. Explain why bullying is unacceptable and the negative impact it can have on people’s lives. Educate your children on where they can get help at school.

3. If you witness or hear about any bullying, respond right away. Do what you can to stop the bullying – even if your child is the one bullying.

4. Encourage your children to help others who need it and to stand up for those being picked on or teased.

5. Model how to treat others with kindness and respect. Never bully your children or bully others. Children who are bullied at home often react by bullying others. If your kids witness you hit, ridicule or gossip about someone, they will be more likely to do it themselves.

6. Support the bully prevention programs in your local school and community. If a program does not currently exist, reach out to other parents, teachers and concerned adults and start your own.

7. Teach your children how to solve problems without violence or harsh words. Recognize and praise them when they address issues, frustrations, or negativity in a peaceful and positive way.

8. Remember the importance of your kids feeling confident enough to stand up for what they believe in. Don’t hesitate when it comes to giving positive feedback and strive to have a safe and supportive home environment.

9. Encourage your kids to participate in activities they love. Pursuing their interests and hobbies can boost their confidence, help them make new friends and can help protect them from bullying.

By addressing bullying ahead of time, we have a better chance of keeping our kids engaged, happy and confident at school and at home. We will also be playing a part in the effort to decrease school violence and youth suicide. Let’s work together to be proactive and make a positive difference in the lives of our children.

Heidi Ganahl, founder and CEO of Camp Bow Wow and The Bow Wow Buddies Foundation, is also the founder of Moms Fight Back. Moms Fight Back is building a community of Colorado moms to tackle the issues only a mom is brave enough to take on! Our mission is to make moms the most important players in politics and problem solving for a happier, healthier, safer world for our kids! We may not be soldiers on the front lines, but we are soldiers nonetheless, fighting for our children’s lives; fighting to keep our kids healthy, sane, happy, safe. If not us, then who? Take the first step and join the army of moms at Moms Fight Back!

Describe your school’s mission and illustrate it with an example from the classroom.

Our vision is educational excellence in knowledge, skills and character, with strong parent-teacher-student partnerships.

Our mission is to provide excellence and fairness in education for elementary school children. Excellence in education means raising academic standards and achieving success for all students. Fairness in education means providing equal opportunity to learn for all students. We accomplish this through our five pillars (see below).

Two projects undertaken by our second grade classrooms can help illustrate this mission in action.  All second grade students memorize, illustrate, and recite the preamble to the Constitution.  They then create a classroom constitution—one which embeds our character qualities within its verbiage.  The students, principal, and classroom teacher all sign this document in a classroom ceremony.

Later in the year, all students research their family backgrounds.  They then select one of their countries of origin and create a presentation on that country (as well as how their family came to the USA) which is performed in front of family and friends in our cafeteria.

What are one or two ways that the team at your school meets students’ academic needs?

We have over 60 staff hours per day allocated toward intervention needs.  These interventions include providing differentiated instruction across ability levels, grade levels, and subject areas.  We are continually fine-tuning these services, providing cross-training for our staff to be nimble enough to accommodate the needs of our population, whether it be for primary or intermediate grades, struggling or advanced students, or for math or language arts assistance.

These interventions, combined with the extensive expertise provided by our veteran classroom teachers, help us continue to our legacy as a school which continually performs at the very topmost levels in the state.

Nevertheless, as our motto states, we “Never Give Up” in our pursuit of the highest levels of academic excellence for all students.

Name one or two characteristics, programs, or other detail about your school that makes it a special place.

Today concludes our series of posts by teacher Cortney Durista Lockhart on questions a parent should ask at that parent-teacher conference. Click here for part one and part two.

Part 3

1. What can I as a parent do to best support you and my child?

Some teachers love having parent volunteers every single day, while others may need your support outside the classroom. Asking what you can do to best support the teacher will let him or her know that you respect his or her role as a professional and establish right away that you are willing to help in whatever way you can. If you’re worried that asking this question means that you’ll have to volunteer every day in your child’s classroom, don’t – donating extra school supplies, translating parent newsletters, or reading with your child every night or morning (to name a few things) are all wonderful ways to support your child and his or her teacher.

2.    How often do you update/communicate grades?

Many schools have very clear expectations around updating grades, but some do not. Asking how often the teacher will be communicating about grades holds both you and the teacher accountable for staying on top of grading. You could also ask about grading scales and late work and extra credit policies during this conversation.

3.    What is your classroom management system like?

This might be a system that is consistent school wide or it might change depending on the classroom, but make sure that you and your child fully understand the expectations and consequences for behavior. A good classroom management will have clear expectations and consequences that are student friendly and reasonable – if a teacher is assigning 300 lines for missing a homework assignment, engage him or her in a conversation about why he or she thinks that this is an appropriate consequence. There might not be a perfect ending to this conversation, but being open about behavior expectations in the classroom early on could help prevent issues later in the year.

4.    Are parents welcome in your classroom as volunteers? As visitors?

We all want to help with our children’s learning, but if you haven’t cracked open an Algebra textbook in twenty years, you might not want to offer your services as a math tutor for your student’s teacher. Instead, ask if the teacher could use help organizing papers or providing resources like pencils, paper, or even snacks for students. Also ask if you can stop by just to see how your child is doing from time to time (and be sure to double check on your school’s visitor policies and procedures).

Cortney Duritsa Lockhart has always been passionate about equitable education and is currently a 7th grade math and civics teacher at West Generation Academy. She has lived all over Colorado and now lives in Denver with her husband and cat.