As an educator, one of the most important things you can do is create a classroom culture that helps students thrive. If you\u2019re a new teacher, you may be looking for tangible ways to make your students feel respected, seen, and comfortable. Here, we’ll break down exactly how our educators create a vibrant, goal-oriented, inclusive school environment that helps teachers build strong relationships with students to reach their potential.<\/p>\n
1. Identify your core values and choose one to center your culture around.<\/strong> 2. Create daily school-wide routines that celebrate and reinforce classroom values.<\/strong>
\nA strong school culture is intentionally built with values that staff and students keep top of mind when they walk through the door each day. Choose a set of values to center your school around. For example, Rocketship has network-wide core values such as persistence, empathy, responsibility, and respect. However, each school partners with their founding parents to choose the fifth core value to center their campus and classroom culture around. Some of those include grit, ganas<\/em>, and love<\/a>. Once you have a school-specific value, find ways to weave it into the school day through daily assignments (e.g. \u201chow did this character show ganas<\/em>?\u201d), as well as in school-wide celebrations (e.g. spotlighting 3rd-grade students that showed integrity in their classrooms throughout the fall).<\/p>\n
\nRoutines are key for creating safe spaces where students know what to do and expect. Just like each school has values to operate from, each educator may have a set of values they want to bring to their classroom. For instance, if your classroom values are safety, community, and efficiency, then you\u2019ll want routines that communicate to students that their learning is important, and they don\u2019t have time to waste. Simultaneously, you\u2019ll also want your time with students to be purposeful and filled with joy. That\u2019s why we design systems that reinforce our values as a school, honor our students’ individuality and growth, and make learning fun. For example, check out the below\u00a0from one of our classrooms showing a practice sight word drill. We\u2019ll come back to this video later, but notice how most students know exactly what they need to do at each stage of the process, and how the teacher makes sight word practice both communal and engaging.<\/p>\n