Afterschool in Action: Carteret Middle School Aligns School and Afterschool
Carteret Middle School is on a roll. Attendance is up; grades and test scores are improving. Suspensions are declining. This year, the school was removed from the list of schools in need of improvement. Principal Mary Spiga attributes the changes in part to the school's partnership with CASA, its afterschool program.
From tutoring to photography to chess, CASA offers an array of programs and activities to complement the school day. CASA staff members are trained to mentor children in many ways. "Our approach is intentional," says CASA program director Gareth Grayson. "If we meet students' social and emotional needs, everything else falls into place."
"It helps me as a principal," says Spiga. "Students get more time working with positive role models. CASA team leaders really work at conflict resolution and guided socialization. In every interaction, they focus on making an impact of the student." CASA also brings arts, sports and other special programming not included in the school budget.
Spiga's close working relationship with CASA program director Gareth Grayson is a key to the program's success. They intentionally developed the partnership to avoid some of the pitfalls that frequently plague school-afterschool interactions. Here's how they do it:
They link their mission statements. "When I started, I looked at the school's mission statement in order to develop on for afterschool. We share the same mission, and we make sure our programs run parallel to each other," says Grayson.
They meet weekly. Grayson and Spiga hold weekly meetings to keep their partnership moving forward. They set agendas for the meetings to make sure important issues are discussed. Spiga's open door policy means that their interactions aren't limited to one day a week. "We talk daily," she says.
They train each other's staffs. Spiga sets clear expectations for afterschool staff on how to use school space and resources as well as how to partner with teachers. Grayson addresses the faculty to reinforce the benefits of afterschool.
They use technology to streamline collaboration. Afterschool staff members have online access to each student's classroom assignments so they can develop individual improvement plans. "The teachers really value this. It makes them stakeholders in the afterschool program," says Spiga.
They build support in the school district and the community. "We have stakeholder meetings four times a year," says Spiga. Leaders from the board of education and the town council attend along with student leaders from CASA.
They respect each other's strengths. Grayson seeks Spiga's advice on staff development and curriculum planning. Spiga counts on Grayson to give kids the coaching and guidance they need to succeed.
They don't rest on their laurels. Instead they work on improving every year and on adapting to changes in the school and students. New goals are set annually. "We don't mind saying 'wow that really didn't work. Let's change that', " says Spiga.
