Welcome to 2023! A new year is a great opportunity to look forward and ask, where do I want to be a year from now? As we tell our students: begin with the end in mind. This is Habit 2 for our SOAR Leadership Program. It encourages us to have a clear goal in our mind, knowing where we want to go while staying true to our priorities—or “big rocks.” Without goals, we wander through life aimlessly. Goals keep what is important to us in the forefront and give us purpose.
Each year, we set building-wide goals for the high school and our students. Our student SOAR team has established the goal that every student will engage in a leadership learning opportunity each week. Leadership skills are important social, employability, and life skills that help us grow as people. We implement several action steps each week to help us achieve our goals, and we are doing fairly well in reaching our weekly goals. We hope to make continuous growth as we progress through each week.
Helping our students form into well-rounded people is an integral piece of our job at Central Lee High School. We aim to help students graduate, career and college-ready, with the social, emotional, and problem-solving skills possessed by outstanding members of society. To achieve this, we are consistently examining data to determine next steps toward improving our school culture and climate, while also addressing our students’ individual needs.
MRA Survey & Culture/Climate Data
The data we use to prepare our students for life beyond high school includes data from the MRA, a survey sent to families in the last edition of the Herdrich Headlines. We would like to thank the 32 parents who took the time to complete the survey. The survey, specified for particular groups, was also taken by students and staff. The data collected provided us with target areas for improvement, including focusing on student-adult relationships, student-student relationships, and analyzing the physical safety of the school building.
SOAR Days
We plan to tackle our three target areas of improvement through culture-building, or SOAR days. We hold the majority of these activities on our early-out, half-days. Attendance on these days is not only required; in fact, it is imperative if we hope to improve our school culture and improve relationships. We ask that all students take part in these purposeful, planned school days. Improving culture and growing good people is as important to us as increasing student achievement, and it’s vital to career and college readiness. If your student is allowed to miss these days, they miss out on lessons and activities that lead to a better school experience.
Monday, January 16
Our latest SOAR day was our second semester kickoff, held on Monday, January 16. This full-day SOAR day included five student-led lessons in the morning and a dodgeball tournament in the afternoon. Groups of SOAR Leadership students met to organize the morning lessons around the areas of highest need: improving student-adult relationships and student-student relationships, increasing peer acceptance and understanding of one another, and understanding how students have a voice at Central Lee. Fun was sprinkled throughout the day through donuts, popcorn, and prizes—not to mention the annual presentation of the dodgeball team trophy!
We take the work we do related to culture and climate at Central Lee very seriously. Thank you for supporting our efforts and ensuring your student is in attendance on SOAR days. Your student’s emotional and mental wellness in our school setting matter to us, and we strive to help students learn life-ready skills that will guide them on a successful path through adulthood.