The emotional climate within schools directly impacts teaching and learning. Research shows that schools with more positive emotional climates have students and staff who report being more engaged and having better relationships with each other. The Charter is one of the four RULER tools that allows all the members of a school community the opportunity to express how they want to feel at school and the behaviors to support those feelings. Charters can be created for groups such as the entire school community, one grade level, staff, classrooms, families, and out-of-school programs.
Building a Charter is the first step to getting the full benefit from this tool. What is arguably just as important is making the Charter a “living document.” As we mention in RULER training, Charter creation is not a “one and done” process. Keeping the Charter alive and reflective of the people who created it is critical. Schools have strategies that make the Charter part of their culture and create opportunities where the Charter can be updated to reflect the needs of the community.
NYC District 10 school teams are keeping the Charter alive in ways that integrate into the existing culture of the school. We interviewed educators about how they incorporate the Charter into their work with staff and students.
Students at P.S. 303 proudly display their classroom Charter. The Charter is one of the four RULER tools that allows all the members of a school community the opportunity to express how they want to feel at school and the behaviors to support those feelings. Charters can be created for groups such as the entire school community, one grade level, staff, classrooms, families, and out-of-school programs.
Raising Staff and Student Voice
Creating and revisiting Charters can be a fantastic way to engage the creative talents of educators and students. P.S. 86 uses the Charter process as a method to raise staff and student voice. Each year, new staff members are asked to create a symbol and artwork that exemplifies the words chosen for their school’s staff Charter. Grade-wide Charter creation is led by a student charter committee who works with the staff RULER implementation team member for that grade. Each class chooses a representative to contribute and represent the class's creative ideas for the Charter. The students develop ideas and with their classmates for feelings and behaviors. The Charter committee then works on writing a paragraph together which explains the actions the students in that grade will take to live their Charter words. Next, the students work to create a piece of artwork together through painting, drawing, and other forms of mixed media. The final product is the grade’s Charter.
Aligning the Charter and School Mission Statements and Values
In addition to staff, grade-level, and classroom Charters, schools can work together to establish a schoolwide Charter. P.S. 051 works to make sure that their school Charters align with their school’s identity. This means taking the school logo, mission, and values into account when creating and revisiting their Charter. P.S. 008 connects their Charters to the schoolwide pillars of character. Since the Charter specifically focuses on feelings and behaviors, it couples nicely with other character-building initiatives a school might use. Even though a school mission statement and values can stay consistent throughout the years, the Charter is a tool that is meant to be adjusted to reflect the needs of the school community at any given time.
Using the Charter as an Outgrowth of Equity Work
Educators, students, and families in District 10 schools frequently participate in equity walkthroughs. This process includes welcoming community members to tour the school to observe where equity lives. If there are aspects of the school environment that the community does not identify with, a plan of action is defined to address it. District 10 also works with NYU Steinhardt’s Metropolitan Center or Research on Equity and the Transformation of Schools to examine curricula using the culturally responsive education audit tool.
The Charter can serve as a tool to guide and reinforce equity work like walkthroughs and curriculum adjustments. If a community states in their Charter that they want to feel included, supported, or heard, conducting frequent equity walkthroughs is an action or behavior to support feeling for the community. In this way, District 10 is living the Charter and making it part of a strategic initiative to sustain positive school climate.
Thanks to Good Samaritan, Inc.’s generous grant, District 10 is able to continue RULER implementation, supported by the RULER subscription, as part of our priority districts initiative. Their goals are the goals of so many other schools looking to use the power of emotions to create a more equitable, innovative, and compassionate world.
—> Join us in the coming months as we visit with District 10 educators, students, and their families to see what RULER in Action looks like and how it changes lives. We are thrilled to partner with this dynamic district to highlight how they leverage RULER to move forward as a community.
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Learn more about District 10 and its commitment to creating more emotionally intelligent school communities in our previous articles