One Community's Journey: The Transformational Power of Community of Caring in Cripple Creek, CO by Chris Briggs-Hale, principal of Cresson Elementary School in Cripple Creek, CO
A Community in Crisis: In the year 2000, when I arrived at Cripple Creek as principal of Cresson Elementary School, I was introduced to some challenging conditions. The town was near the top of the state in rates of domestic violence, drug use, poverty, and many other social problems. The introduction of legalized gaming in 1991 had created population growth for which the town was unprepared. Cripple Creek's traditional sense of community was being challenged by the needs of its new population. The schools experienced overcrowding, funding problems, and an increase in single parent households. Traditional mountain values clashed with those being introduced by new residents. This mix of old and new made it difficult for Cripple Creek to define itself as a new and evolving community.
The increase in population corresponded with skyrocketing discipline. In an effort to stem destructive behaviors, our school district implemented many intervention programs. While some were successful with students, they did not result in an overall decline in discipline. Ultimately, the school did a lot of punishing: suspending, detaining, or expelling students. As with many public schools, they resorted to adopting discipline programs that coerced and threatened students into compliance. Of course, the students simply resisted.
A Wake-Up Call: By 1997, the signs of community dysfunction were becoming alarming. An increase in gang related behavior, student pregnancy, and, finally, a stabbing in the cafeteria constituted a wake-up call. It was time to define a vision for what our town could be and what it would be. The community needed to stop talking about what was wrong and start talking about what we could build upon. We needed to address our strengths and weaknesses in order to transform ourselves into a new kind of community.
Three years later, when I arrived as the new principal, I was called upon to extend this effort. Mary Bielz, a teacher at the schools, had introduced Community of Caring and community members were already working to rebuild the community. Many were in agreement, however, that there was still a long way to go. To an outsider, it was easy to see the high discipline rates and the statistics on criminal behavior. A closer look revealed to me treasures richer than those found in all the gold mines of our region: Cripple Creek is a town with strong families, a deep Western heritage, pride, history, and a tightly woven community that was focused on its assets as well as its weaknesses. To this day, I am constantly impressed with the strength, resiliency, self-reliance, and resourcefulness of people who often have lived with every conceivable hardship.
Why Community of Caring? The Community of Caring organization spoke to the needs of Cripple Creek immediately. After lots of discussion and research, the school district and community members recognized that the Community of Caring "Five Values" could become the framework for all conversations about rebuilding the community and could support the effort of children to make good decisions. The Community of Caring values, they learned, are bedrock Amercan values, spoken to directly in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. While these values may be named different things and expressed in unique ways, they are present in all cultures and belief systems. They are uncontroversial. They are universal. They are not someone's conservative or liberal agenda. They are a framework for dialogue and pillars of democracy.
Results: Today, the Community of Caring values have become the foundation of a web of social services throughout not just Cripple Creek but our entire county. These values have formed the vision for the Aspen Mine Center, a resource center that provides job placement services, counseling, advocacy, a senior center, and health services. From pregnancy through the last days of life, the Aspen Mine has services to address people's needs. Housed in a beautiful and ornate former casino, we like to say, "Never has a building ever fallen so far from heaven and landed in one piece."
Community of Caring values guided our process as we collected data about our community's youth risk factors and as we learned how to dialogue with the police department, the Department of Social Services, and with county and local officials. Community of Caring values reminded us how to move beyond our proprietary budgets and how to reach out beyond our school and local bureaucracies. We began to learn how to talk with and not to each other. Community leaders began addressing our youth risk factors by forming a "Build a Generation Committee." This Committee created a monthly forum for the schools, the police, and the city and county officials to sit together to create systems for increasing the protective factors for our children.
One result of our community's five-year strategic plan is the "Behavior Guide." This guide was designed and written by our students, city and county officials, interested parents, teachers, and school staff. This guide defines each of the Community of Caring values on a rubric from "In Progress" to "Advanced." Now, inside our school buildings, our buses, and even in the city's parks and recreation department, children can measure their behavior and target an improvement goal.
A year after its inception, the Behavior Guide is now seen as a place to start. While its definitions are sometimes limiting, they begin the conversation about which behaviors demonstrate each value. We believe the Behavior Guide will forever be in draft form. If it cannot remain dynamic and flexible for the needs of our community, it will soon become trite and hollow. The most valuable thing about the Behavior Guide is that we did it. We came together as a community to define where our common interests lie. We debated, we argued, we laughed. Most importantly, we bonded. We bonded. We see the Behavior Guide as our Magna Charta for all that comes next.
We also see the Behavior Guide as a reminder that we need to notice values in action. Defining them gives us a common language for noticing good and bad behaviors. Defining them allows us to notice how some people are included into a community while others, particularly those with disabilities, are marginalized. The police, city, and parks and recreation department employees now can use the same language as the teachers.
We know from brain research that meaningful practice leads to deep understanding. Robert Marzano cites research stating that when children receive good feedback as they practice a new skill, their achievement increases as much as 37%. Five hundred years ago people knew and understood this general principal. Hamlet's mother tried to offer this advice to her son when she said, "Assume the virtue if you have it not. For use can change the stamp of nature." Imagine: Just using the correct behaviors over and over can initiate positive change!
In Cripple Creek, we realized we needed to stop doing things to children and instead we needed to do things WITH them. Today, we know we cannot coerce and manipulate our students. We must enroll them in a mission that is uniquely theirs.
Community of Caring allows us to use the language of possibility. Community of Caring encourages us to debate, dialogue, and bond. Through this process we can learn to lead by making others more powerful. By teaching students to build and nurture a community within themselves, they are reinventing themselves as powerful citizens.
Recent Data from Cresson Elementary:
56% reduction in suspensions since 2001
26% increase in state tests since 2001
A Survey of parents reveals that the majority of respondents feel their children are safe at our schools, feel welcome in our schools, the climate of our schools is positive, and Community of Caring has been a positive influence for their child.