Community Procedures

Sangita believes that community procedures are very important for fostering an environment in which all students feel that they are part of the classroom community. She engages her students in a variety of activities to facilitate choice, collaboration, and pride. These procedures include:

- flexible scheduling
- choices
- star of the week
- employment center
- community standards

Star of the Week

Each week, one student in the community is honored by having a bulletin board dedicated to them. On the board, students can display items that reflect their unique interests, experiences, and history.

A letter to parents regarding star of the week is available in pdf format.

The following interview segment refers to the picture to the left:

Interviewer: Why do you think Mrs. Satpathy has the star of the week?

Student: Everybody else in the class will know more about everyone in the class.

Interviewer: Is there something you are particularly excited about sharing?

Student: My first place ribbon from the Colgate games. Me and my friend Rose were going to the Colgate games and I was doing the 1500 meter race and I won this first place blue ribbon.

Employment Center

Sangita advertises community positions. As stated in the advertisement to the right, applicants must diligently uphold the community standards and be hard working, honest, and respectful. The "methods of payment" include gaining respect from other community members, growing even more responsible for the community, and receiving an appreciation lunch with the teacher and other employees at the end of the employment term. Students apply for community positions by completing an employment application.

"These jobs are basically things that I feel that the kids can take responsibility for...that I don't need to have any say in. It's just all these little things that I could do as a teacher but I don't need to do. It helps me because I have enough to do and it helps them feel responsible and part of the class."

Sangita speaks about the the community coordinator positions, "I feel that the community coordinators have a really big job. They get really excited about it. It's two people that kind of just watch over the class throughout the day or the week. They might randomly ask me, oh can we give out an award? If they notice that someone followed the comunity standards, we'll write a complement and at the end of the day they'll give the complement card to the students. So again peers are recognizing other peers."

A description of all of the employment center jobs is available in pdf format.

Community Standards

Community standards are a series of principles set by the larger school context and implemented within individual classrooms. Sangita's class often referes to these standards during class activities and discussions.