Promising Practices Conference

In November, I attended the Promising Practices Conference at RIC. This year, the topic was Civic and Community Engagement. The first session, which everybody attended, was the Plenary Session. The panel discussed how they plan to make the education system in Rhode Island as strong as it can be. I did not really get much out of this session that I could use in the future. However, the next two sessions that I attended were very useful.

The first session was called “Real Voice-Real Action-Real Results”.  The panel, which included the Mayor of North Providence, the Principal of North Providence High School, and a representative from the North Providence Youth Commission, discussed a program that they created called the North Providence Youth Commission. This program aims at connecting youth with social workers. The members attend a leadership academy in the summer, where they plan community service projects upon other projects and activities. These students have a community service component implemented as a part of their curriculum. The projects that these students run are completely youth led, they decide and plan everything. The program has been extremely successful, as it has graduated every single member from North Providence High School, and every member has either gone on to college or the military. Listening about this great program showed me that we can truly make a difference in our own community. Starting programs like this in other communities would be a great thing and would benefit the students tremendously. I think other towns should take notice of this program. It is certainly something that I will keep in mind throughout my schooling and professional career. 

The next session that I attended was called “Engaging Students in Anti-Bullying Efforts”. Two teachers from Barrington Middle School led the presentation. They talked about a program that they created at their school. The program aimed at ending bullying by engaging students in activities and discussions. The group grew quickly and now consists of roughly 100 students. These students break into 4 groups and have discussions on important issues such as bullying, suicide, and eating disorders, upon many other things. They also take part in team activities and weekly challenges among the groups. The program has been extremely successful at Barrington Middle School, as grades have improved,  and the kids are happier and better connected to each other, which helps decrease bullying. This is another program that really spoke to me. Instead of simply standing by and allowing things to stay how they are, which would be the easy route, these teachers went out of their way to do something that they believed in, and thought was right. Stories like this can be very inspiring. Hearing about people trying, and succeeding in making a difference really makes you think about ways that you can contribute and help your own community, and school in the case of a teacher. These two presentations will certainly stay in my mind in the future, and will hopefully make me a better teacher.