The Wheels of our Community

For the first few months of the year, our school had a lot of problems coordinating the bussing between our two campuses and making sure that each student was on the right bus. At one point in November, one of the school’s office assistants frantically ran into the classroom a few minutes early and boomed, “Everyone on Mr. G Willie’s bus please stand up and head downstairs to your bus. You need to hurry or else the bus is going to leave with out you.” What happened next was pure pandemonium. All 30 of my 3^rd grade students sprinted to the closets to grab their jackets and clear their mailboxes. As I tried to calm them down and restore some sort of order in the midst of the confusion, it quickly became apparent that no one knew whether they were on Mr. Willie’s bus or not. In fact, no one in my entire class knew who their bus driver was.

The next day in class, I asked my students: “Does anyone know the name of their bus driver?” As I stared at the rows of blank stares, I realized that this was one of the first times that not a single hand was raised. Later during lunch I discussed this phenomenon with another teacher, and we both realized that neither of us remembered the name of our childhood bus drivers either. And I think I can say with a fair amount of confidence that today in schools across the U.S. very few students know anything about the people who are charged with the safety of their transportation.  It strikes me as incredibly disheartening that such critical members of our school communities too often go unnoticed and unappreciated. 

This month at VOICE our 3^rd grade is learning about the eight bus drivers who drop them off at school and take them back home each day. They are interviewing their bus drivers and making “all about” posters for each bus driver. Our students are also creating pamphlets on bus safety to distribute to the rest of the school. The project is ending with a lunch event our students are organizing where they will present their posters, sing a few songs centered on school community and eat lunch with the bus drivers.

Through this class project our students are learning that Mr. Marc has been driving school buses for over 20 years, that Mr. Anthony’s favorite type of food is Cuban food and that Mr. G Willie has had this very same funny nickname since 3^rd grade. More importantly, they are learning to look beyond the classroom and recognize the community around them. In the process they are building a sincere appreciation for the army of support that provides them with a healthy and safe learning environment. 

A VOICE in our Community

During class meeting a few months ago, I asked my thirty 3rd grade students a very open ended question, "What does community mean to you?" Wriggling with excitement, some of them immediately responded by saying "it's where I live" or "my classroom at VOICE charter school."  Others pointed to their parents, policemen and soccer coaches as members of their community. But then Deliah, thoughtful and reflective as always, raised a quiet hand and said, "It's the nursing home my grandma lives in. I go there after school some days to visit her." Pausing for a second, I let that sink in---both for my students and for myself.

Traveling back home on the subway that day, I couldn't help but gravitate back to that moment in class meeting. What Deliah said made me realize that I had yet to fully understand what community really means. The truth is that the word embodies such a complex idea, containing so much meaning. This fall I decided that teaching my students how to become engaged members of their communities was a top priority. Strengthening ties with those in our community can only benefit our student's educational experience. Through this process, I am continually finding new meaning to the word.

We began the year with a strong focus on serving those in need. Our 1st grade students wrote letters to troops overseas and our 2nd grade decorated a local shelter for the holiday season. In December, our 3rd grade class performed some of their Winter Holiday concert program at the Midway Nursing Home in Flushing and our 4th graders caroled at The Center for Rehab in Astoria. We also just organized a school-wide book drive for Hour Children---an organization next door that provides supportive services to incarcerated and formerly incarcerated women and their families.

In December, we began reaching out to parents in our school community with workshops on how to best support their children. We held workshops in Reading, Writing and Math across all grade levels. We also provided our parents with education on healthy snacks. Finally, we just started the VOICE Youth Service Council with the goal of empowering students to be active community contributors. Members of the Youth Service Council are organizing different projects to show their appreciation of various individuals in our school community who often go unnoticed but are important parts of our community. For example, our 3rd graders are creating posters entitled "Getting to know our bus drivers" and creating pamphlets on bus safety to distribute around the school.  

Through these projects our students, despite being no more than seven or eight years old, are exploring what community means to them. They are making a lasting impact in their communities and building relationships with the people they are connected to. Most importantly, through their efforts, our school is becoming a stronger community.