An Open Letter about Comunity of Caring from Superintendent Ron Leon, Rowland Unified School District, Rowland Heights, CA
Community of Caring Efforts Reshape Entire School Community
Beginning in 1997, Rowland Unified School District, a suburban district in Los Angeles County with about 19,000 students, has led the state of California as one of the first school districts to embark on a journey to integrate Community of Caring principles into every aspect of the district and school culture.
Community of Caring has created an invaluable support system that touches the lives of every student, bringing help and caring while building character, leadership and community values.
Community of Caring supports the district's six core values - safety, student-centered focus, respect, integrity, excellence and responsibility with accountability. The program has been widely embraced by parents, students and faculty, and is working successfully on every campus to shape positive student behaviors and mold character.
The Rowland Unified Board of Education and administrative leadership team cite Community of Caring principles as a driving force in reducing the district's dropout rate and dramatically decreasing school-related crime, violence and vandalism. Rowland Unified now has one of the best safety records in the Los Angeles County, and its dropout figures are below those of the county and state.
Part of the Community of Caring effort, the Promoters of Health, a peer assistance program, has successfully completed hundreds of conflict resolution encounters, more than 2,500 counseling interventions, and has traveled around the country as a model program. Both Promoters of Health and Best Buddies (a program that pairs regular education students with special education students) have been recognized for program excellence at the state and national level.
School and community beautification projects, graffiti clean-up efforts, outreach to the elderly, clothing and food drives, and countless other student-directed community service activities are some of the many positive outcomes of the Community of Caring program.
The benefits the students and community have reaped from the implementation of Community of Caring inspired the Rowland Unified Board of Education to include community activity participation as a graduation requirement - a rarity in California.
Community of Caring is an important part of what we do each day. We have created a culture where students care about themselves and the well-being of others. Students at all grade levels see that they are part of a family, a community, a state and a nation, and as such, they have a responsibility to make good choices and model positive behaviors and attitudes.
Rowland Unified, a K-12 public school district, has 21 schools. The district serves residents living in four cities and a large unincorporated area of Los Angeles County. About half of Rowland's students live at or near the poverty level, and about 32 percent are English Language Learners. Despite the challenges of educating a diverse student population, Rowland boasts two National Blue Ribbon Schools, 16 California Distinguished Schools, one National Title I Achieving School, four State Title I Achieving Schools, and five Golden Bell awards for program excellence.