School Culture

The culture of Monroe School is designed to help all students to be successful. Students' experiences are enhanced and reinforced through a wide variety of programs, which support academic, social, emotional, and physical domains. A collaborative team approach is fostered along with a commitment that all students can and will be successful. An academic atmosphere is supported by a 'Quiet Zone' procedure in all hallways during instruction time. Continuous communication among staff and through parent/student/teacher conferences at least twice a year support the academic, social and emotional growth of each student. The parents and students realize that the staff is committed to 'doing what it takes' so that all students are successful in achieving standards. Success breeds celebration and we are very good at marking occasions to celebrate.

The school culture promotes positive character traits and good citizenship through recognition of students who do the 'right thing'. Positive behavior is rewarded with a green slip and each Monday morning, the entire school assembles as a village to recognize students for exceptionally good citizenship with a token reward supplied by local businesses, such as a Mrs. Field's Cookies certificate. Our Life Skills program promotes enthusiasm and commitment to developing positive character traits and citizenship: honesty, good judgment, compassion, respect, cooperation, self-esteem, responsibility, motivation, being a hard worker, perseverance, initiative and critical thinking. Signs and banners on the playground and in classrooms are reminders of the character trait focus of the month. Also, Monroe was named a National Champion School by the Kindness and Justice Challenge, a program honoring Martin Luther King, Jr.. Staff and students took a pledge to "improve the world around me, in both large and small ways." At our second annual tribute, it was announced that students recorded 2,402 acts of kindness during the weeks of January 8-19, 2001, the 45th anniversary of Rosa Parks' bus ride. We are busy preparing for our third annual tribute in January, 2002.A representative from each grade level prepared and reported on classroom discussions ranging from a second grade presentation on kindness to a fifth grade recitation of selections from the "I Had a Dream" speech. An atmosphere of caring, respect and responsibility for each other is clearly prevalent. Our philosophy nurtures the attitude that a safe, consistent and friendly environment for all students enables each child to accept the challenges of daily learning.

Life Skills as well as several other disability/diversity awareness programs assist the total population at Monroe to develop tolerance. The special education staff leads each classroom in a discussion of differences among students and the Peace Resource Center sponsors conflict resolution sessions that help to build an accepting, warm school climate. Our school collects items for Toys for Tots Christmas charity and money for the Penny Drive for the Christmas Unity Shoppe, organized by San Marcos High School. These activities foster the spirit of giving among students.

Students develop an awareness of the connection between school and careers through guest speakers, many of them parents who discuss their professions. In the fifth grade, several parents visited classrooms in order to discuss their areas of expertise as scientists and architects and how these fields relate to math and science. Two parent firefighters, husband and wife, recently represented Staten Island Firefighters' Station #5 in accepting a check for $3,073 at one Monday morning assembly. Students collected the donations through a "Penny or Anything" drive sparked by a fourth grade student's idea in response to the World Trade Center tragedy. The event was featured in the Santa Barbara Independent newspaper.

Comprehensive student support services are available through various school departments and community agencies. A description of the student support plan is included in the Monroe School Site Plan. School site, District and community support programs are coordinated primarily through the Student Study Team. Our monolingual and bilingual school-site counselors, who are available to students and staff 40 hours per week, support socially appropriate behavior and assist students in coping with personal and family situations that arise from time to time. Small group counseling sessions support students with issues such as making friends, divorce and other family related issues. One to one sessions with the counselors are also available. A Newcomer's Club offers a connection for those children new to the country, encouraging them to become part of the school, and reflecting our effort to have a school culture that embraces children from diverse backgrounds. The community enriches our school site through such programs as Multi-Interagency Systems of Care (MISC), Child Abuse Listening Mediation (CALM), Family Service Agency, Lion's Club (eye glasses), Fighting Back mentors, student teachers, Operation School Bell, Home/School Liaison, Migrant Education Services, Council of Christmas Cheer, and Child Health and Disability Program (CHDP). The CHDP offers a wide variety of services, which include physical and visual examinations. Certified dentists provide dental check-ups on site. Teachers and staff are committed to securing any and all services needed so that all students can enjoy optimum success in school.