Claim 2
Students demonstrate ethical behavior by showing character in word and deed.
Living the 7 Cs
Brighten Academy embraces the Habits of Scholarship through its “7 Cs.” The 7 Cs are curiosity, commitment, culture, creativity, community, critical thinking, and craftsmanship. Brighten's second through eighth grade students are encouraged to live the 7 Cs in school and out of school, and the 7Cs Award is earned by completing 14 activities (called the 7 Cs Deck) related to the 7 Cs outside of school time. Participation in the 7 Cs Deck has grown over the years, and in response to middle school students’ requests the coveted “Green Shirt” prize has morphed into a “Green Hoodie” for 6th and 7th graders and a “Green Cord” for 8th graders to wear during our 8th grade graduation night. Through the implementation of the 7 Cs students are asked to reflect on their behavior, right their wrongs, and make a plan for going forward. The reflection piece allows students to acknowledge they have hurt someone, either physically or mentally, and teaches them how to repair the relationship.
We feel our 7 Cs mirror the EL Core Practice 22 "Fostering Habits of Character." This core practice details how students become ethical people. Students are engaged in activities and experiences using empathy, compassion, respect, and conflict resolution. Two of our Cs--culture and community--specifically champion becoming ethical people by embracing, exploring, and celebrating others' differences and treating each other right. We will continue to work on strengthening the connection between academics and character using guidance from the EL Core Practices.
Examples of the 7 Cs Decks are shown below.
We feel our 7 Cs mirror the EL Core Practice 22 "Fostering Habits of Character." This core practice details how students become ethical people. Students are engaged in activities and experiences using empathy, compassion, respect, and conflict resolution. Two of our Cs--culture and community--specifically champion becoming ethical people by embracing, exploring, and celebrating others' differences and treating each other right. We will continue to work on strengthening the connection between academics and character using guidance from the EL Core Practices.
Examples of the 7 Cs Decks are shown below.
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Click each picture to view the full deck.
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Data shows that a high number of students eligible to participate in the 7 Cs Decks (2nd through 8th graders) have participated in the last three years. The graph to the right illustrates participation rates. We feel this is remarkable participation since all of the activities are optional, all are completed outside of school, and many involve a presentation or product shared with the class or their crew. The great participation demonstrates our students are growing their character in word and deed and seeking ways to demonstrate this outside of school. |
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Making a Difference with the 7 Cs
Below are interviews conducted with Brighten students about how the 7 Cs has made a difference in their lives. Students were asked to reflect on the 7 Cs and select the one they felt most motivated by during the course of their time here at Brighten.
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Student explains how his commitment to making good choices has helped improve his day to day school life.
The Crew structure has helped students become more ethical people by cultivating kindness and acceptance.
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Student explains how her growth in critical thinking and commitment have helped to strengthen her character.
Student shows a growth mindset and ethical behavior.
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Monitoring Crew Progress
Each of our crews creates a measurable crew goal. They commit to the goal they make as a group and track the data of those who met the goal during each week. Students are able to take ownership of their goals since each goal is created as a crew, and crew members help keep each other on track. We have seen our crews unite in striving to be the best they can be, lifting each other up, and encouraging one another to keep their focus steady on the crew goal. This leads to students making more ethical choices that contribute to their team's progress because they have a better understanding of how their individual choices can affect the culture of their crew. EL's Core Practice 21 "Creating a Community of Learning" reinforces modeling student self-management while fostering a positive climate for learning. The crew goal visuals helps students remember what they are working toward, help to see progress over time, and give opportunity for celebrating! We are seeing much progress towards our performance benchmark of our students becoming more ethical people.
Click each photo to see a larger version.
Norming Our School Culture
Our school has grown from about 275 students when we opened 12 years ago to almost 750 students today. We see discipline as a learning process, like all things, as well as the opportunity to "make things right" with someone you might have harmed, physically or emotionally. EL's philosophy is that challenging behaviors are a learning opportunity. Our goal is to help students see the impact their actions have on their crew mates and help them make better choices in the future. By the use of reflections, students can examine what caused them to act out, formulate a plan of action for future situations, and make amends when needed. Students are talking about what it means to be "crew" in their classrooms, and new students are welcomed into the fold by their classmates fostering a positive classroom climate. Students bring topics to the teachers to talk about in crew, and together the crew works on conflict resolution, setting and upholding norms, and growing their character. Since we have continued our population growth (and will for two more years), crew has helped our new students learn about the 7 Cs and apply them to their daily life. Students can articulate the link between their character and their relationships.
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Measuring Our Impact
The purpose of the 7 Cs Deck is to extend the 7 Cs beyond Brighten out into the student’s home and community. Building character by explicitly recognizing and naming what this looks like for students is the crux of our 7 Cs, and aligns with EL's Core Practice 21 on creating classroom norms. With regards to student discipline, we believe educating a child on how to solve conflicts, stand up for yourself with words, and implementing restorative practices will achieve a lasting effect on behavior. The hope is that by teaching this explicitly, there will be shifts in student behavior for the positive. We are happy to report that we are seeing positive shifts in data from multiple sources. Our CCRPI School Climate scores in bullying and harassment incidences has decreased over the last three years, indicating students are treating each other with more respect and kindness.
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Our annual parent survey indicates an upward trend on student safety. Although the scores were already high we have increased in the percentage of parents who feel their child is safe at school. Here are some exceptional statistics:
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Survey results show that, despite an increase in population and students transferring into Brighten, there is a positive trend in students who describe our school as bully-free (see graph to the right). We find this remarkable because it takes time to teach students the Crew culture of Brighten Academy. In 2015, 47% of students described our school as bully-free. In 2016, this increased to 75%, and in 2017, we are proud to report that 85% of our students describe Brighten as bully- and harassment-free. We believe EL's crew structure has helped students feel they are part of a community of learning. |
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Bringing Joy
Two girls at Brighten had a dream to brighten the day of others. They wrote inspirational message on sticky notes (even buying their own supplies!) and handed these out to teachers in the building. These girls embody the spirit of "modeling the 7 Cs" bringing joy to every person they greet in the mornings. Camden and Kelsey have uplifted the culture and spirit of Brighten Academy with their smiles, good morning greetings, and inspirational sticky notes. "Be you," "thank you," "you're awesome," and "make today amazing" are just a few messages they have spread since the inception of their project.
Looking Back...
Our school started out with a strong foundation for character education with our 7 Cs. We instituted the 7 Cs Deck to extend the foundation beyond school hours, and we have had great participation from students.
Looking Forward...
Since becoming an EL Education network school, our 7 Cs have become a guiding light for our new students through crew. Restorative practices and making amends help students do what is right, and students will continue to hone their conflict resolution skills. We will begin tracking student progress in community and culture growth. We are meeting our performance benchmark of our students becoming more ethical people by showing character in word and deed.
