Community of Caring Elementary School Manual Contest Introduction & Instructions
This is a call for submissions from elementary schools implementing Community of Caring in their school communities. We want to collect the best ideas and publish them, with credit given to their authors/originators, in the upcoming Community of Caring Elementary School Manual. This manual will be organized around five implementation strategies.
We are looking for
1) Your most innovative implementation of these strategies and
2) The impact of that implementation on your school!
PRIZE
Several submissions will be chosen to be included in the new elementary school manual, however, the top five will receive a prize of half off one 2010 National Conference registration or $75 (to be divided among authors). Please note there is no restriction on the number of submissions from a school.
See below for the five implementation strategies and the types of submissions we are looking for. There is natural overlap between/among the strategies, e.g. your submission may fit under one or more implementation strategies. Therefore, depending upon the submissions received, and in order to have a balance of ideas for each strategy, we may assign your submission to a different strategy than what you originally submitted. You and your school will always be cited as the author/originator of your submission.
Implementation Strategy 1
Create community through connection by building inclusive relationships with children, families, community and each other.
Implementation Strategy 2
Give values voice, feet and hands through intentional interactions and implementation of best practices embodying the five core values throughout the school environment and curriculum.
Implementation Strategy 3
Reach out to and share responsibility with families and community for creating a Community of Caring school.
Implementation Strategy 4
Lead Community of Caring school change through modeling, empowerment, and shared leadership.
Implementation Strategy 5
Empower five core values with policy and intentional practices.
Please submit your ideas for ways in which your school has:
- Developed and delivered lesson plans and Service Learning Projects within and across the curriculum that promote one or more of the five core values
- Made the five core values a visible priority in your school environment
- Promoted the five core values in classroom management practices
- Reached out to and included children and families who may not have had a voice or been highly visible in school events and functioning
- Reached out to and included families and community in shaping and contributing to the curriculum and life of your school
- Reached out to and served the families and larger community connected to your school
- Instituted staff practices to promote the five core values
- Conducted or brought in professional development opportunities to promote the five core values or sustainability of the Community of Caring culture
- Made leadership and shared leadership a visible priority in your school environment, curriculum development and staff practices
- Promoted student voice and choice
- Participated in district level, out-of-district, statewide or national conferences or presentations to promote the five core values and to report on your school and student outcomes as a result of implementing Community of Caring
- Influenced district level or statewide policy or practices because of your school’s implementation of Community of Caring
- Done any other work to ensure the sustainability of the Community of Caring you have created, so that the new culture can continue on even when the original implementers have moved on or retired
- Overcome crises or challenges with your emphasis on and commitment to the five core values
Please complete the Implementation Strategy Template and/or the Lesson Template and return to:
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Center for Community of Caring
1901 E. South Campus Drive #1120
Salt Lake City, UT 84112
Ph. 801-587-8990 • Fax 801-581-3113
contact@communityofcaring.org
Electronic correspondence is preferred.
Please note submissions are due by May 15, 2010.