Meaningful Work for Students

I had the privilege of listening to Randy Sprick, one of the authors of the CHAMPS program and author of the Safe and Civil Schools series, at a conference.  He spoke about giving students, especially "at risk" students, an opportunity in the buildings to have a meaningful job in school.  These were the students who were being disciplined with traditional methods, with a high rate of repeat offenses.  They resented discipline and didn't own their problems.  The school created a job posting board for students to apply.  A board may look like this one...

Adults volunteered to mentor students that they didn't have in class (this kept the conversations based on things other than schoolwork or something that they did in class).  The mentors would give feedback and value student contributions.  The students participated in problem solving sessions, set goals and celebrated successes.  These jobs were only contingent upon doing the job up to the standards expected, not upon behavior in school. 

One key component of the program's success was that they taught the staff and students exactly what was expected for each job.  For ex. a student who had the job of taking coffee mugs back to the cafeteria was taught, how to enter the classroom, waiting quietly until the teacher was able to pause, and then ask if they had anything for him to take.  The staff was taught to say the student's name and then either no, thanks, maybe tomorrow, or yes, etc.  The rest of the students were hearing the student's name and becoming familiar with them in a positive light.  

The staff at one particular school found that the "at risk" students' behavior completely turned around.  These students wanted to be at school because they didn't want to let anyone down if they weren't there to do their job.  They found that relationships with staff and peers improved as everyone started to see the students in a more positive light.   

To learn more about it, check out Randy's PowerPoint which includes a lengthy list of possible jobs.