School Zone
Points of Pride
“Just Read It" Star of the Month
The Mike Peterson Foundation and Duval County Public Schools announced the March Star of the Month for the Mike Peterson Foundation’s "Just Read It" Program. The stars were invited to a meet and greet at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium, which included an exclusive behind the scenes tour and a special visit with Jacksonville Jaguar Linebacker, Mike Peterson.
Students were selected based on their outstanding achievements in reading. These students worked very hard following directions in the classroom, as well as continuing to improve their reading skills.
Congratulations to the following students for being March's Star Readers:
Elementary School
Category:
Antonio Singleton - 3rd grade - St. Clair Evans Academy Najee Whyte - 3rd grade - Ramona Blvd. Elementary Vanessa Ruales - 4th grade - Twin Lakes Academy Darius Shivers - 4th grade - West Jacksonville Elementary Biala Alfirjani - 5th grade - Brookview Elementary Zoya Williams - 5th grade - Louis Sheffield Elementary
Middle School Category
Derriniquka Smith - 6th grade - Jefferson Davis Middle Michael Ball - 6th grade - DuPont Middle Al Prince - 7th grade - Fletcher Middle Megan Nelson - 7th grade - Joseph Stilwell Middle Timothy Stewart - 8th grade - Mayport Middle Tyler Taylor - 8th grade - Landmark Middle
Duval County High School Students Participate in the SPIRIT Program
Students from Englewood and Robert E. Lee high schools recently had the opportunity to participate in the SPIRIT Program held at the Jacksonville Children’s Commission. The SPIRIT Program is offered to district schools through a collaboration between the Office of Equity and Inclusion and the U.S. Department of Justice.
SPIRIT stands for “Student Problem Identification and Resolving Issues Together” and the program was created by the Community Relations Service of the U.S. Department of Justice for racial and ethnic conflict prevention and management in schools. The program brings students, administrators, teachers and sometimes parents together to identify issues, develop solutions and take action on conflicts within their schools.
According to Josephine Jackson, executive director of the Office of Equity and Inclusion at Duval County Public Schools (DCPS), the SPIRIT Program is offered to our schools so that students, teachers, and faculty can increase awareness and improve skills for working and learning together.
“This program is an opportunity for students to come together and discuss issues pertaining to their schools,” Jackson said. “We need to hear from them what their issues are and be more proactive in developing solutions to the challenges they face. The SPIRIT Program is a means of supporting students to be the best they can be and become effective leaders in our community.”
About 50 to 80 students from the participating schools were selected to take part in the SPIRIT Program. These students were chosen because they are leaders in their school, have influence over their peers, and are representative of their schools’ student body. They also made a commitment to the SPIRIT Program and to working with school administration for the remainder of the year.
During each school’s two-day program, students learned to problem solve around the issues of race and other related topics. On the first day, students met in homogeneous racial groups to discuss and vote on the most important concerns in their schools. On the second day, students met in racially mixed groups to brainstorm resolutions for those concerns using a five-step problem solving method.
Some top issues identified by the students were security concerns, scheduling conflicts, problems related to overcrowding, and a lack of understanding and respect by students and faculty members. Possible solutions to these issues, as decided by the students, included: better training for school security officers through workshops, meetings and principal evaluations; allowing students to have more control over their school schedules and what classes they take; holding meetings to discuss and address overcrowding issues; and providing meetings, workshops and training for teachers and students to allow for more respect and understanding.
Also on hand to help with the SPIRIT Program were trained facilitators from the local community. A facilitator was assigned to each group of students, and after the daily sessions, all facilitators met to develop a compilation of common problems and themes, and select the most critical issues identified by the students. The facilitators then helped provide feedback to the participating school administrators.
A student advisory council was selected from among all of the students who participated by their peers. These students and their administrators are expected to work together for the remainder of the school year (and subsequent years) to follow-up on the SPIRIT Program and implement resolutions, which will allow for improved respect, tolerance and understanding by all students and school employees.
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