Jimmy Carter ECHS opts for PRIDE as a school-wide Carter Core Values program and integrates Carter Connect, a mentoring program for all students.
As the school continues to grow and refine its message for students, community, and personnel, a shift in focus towards internal motivation and the core of what moves students was the apt choice for the campus. Carter initiated a campus-wide core values program integrated into the first-period advisory and Path to College Success curriculum. RedWolves have PRIDE ties together the values of perseverance, respect, integrity, discipline, and excellence, which build on the district mission and PBIS rules of being safe, responsible, and respectful.
This program rolled out this academic year as students returned to in-person instruction. Students have been away from the classroom for almost two years.
“It seems like a year or two is nothing, but to our kids, being out of the classroom and disconnected from the community and campus was rough. They lost the practice of engaging with others and how to interact in a classroom. PRIDE is helping the school reintegrate core values that we all feel are important to our community,” dual enrollment instructor Ivan Silva said.
The core values program came about through teacher input and feedback from the last several years in which the campus discussed what the students needed to work on and build on to leverage their academic pursuits in the near future. JCECHS took on how we get our students to take ownership of their learning and actions.
“The values are what the Carter family should display at all times. We have perseverance. We have respect. We have integrity. We have discipline. We are excellence.” Ms. Yesenia Torres said.
Additionally, the campus has also started a mentoring program called Carter Connect. Every student has been paired with an adult on campus who will serve as a mentor when the student is at Carter. For freshmen students, that means that they will have the opportunity to build a solid and committed relationship with an adult mentor over the next four years.
“Carter Connect has been a great way to make connections in an informal way that is more conducive to building relationships,” Mr. Agustin Arias said. “It makes it easier for teachers to be school teachers and not just classroom teachers.”
Carter Connect will foster relationship building, small group dialogue and allow students to discuss things they are concerned about with one person they can reach out to outside of the traditional curriculum conversations.
“It is beneficial especially for seniors who have questions about what to study and get opinions from an adult to talk about the future and careers. It is good to have solid and mature advice from an adult,” senior Patricia Puente said.
Carter students are engaging in conversations about their values and what it means to live them. The program rollout included a booklet and graphics that define each value and provide examples of the values in activities related to student life. Each of the values is closely integrated into PBIS rules. The idea was to add something that would be accessible to students and teachers. Students bring so much knowledge and experience from home, but teachers are tasked with making the connections to the real world that bring value to the students’ lives.
“The program is something that is needed,” senior Carlos Montes said.