Author: Lisa Borah-Geller, parent and curriculum developer.

I am a San Francisco parent, a former teacher, and a curriculum developer. Like some of you, I have spent a lot of time touring elementary schools. I have noticed that many parents look at test scores, program offerings, and principal leadership to judge the quality of a school. I encourage parents to also consider the school environment and how it fosters children’s social and emotional development. This is equally as important.

Touring the schools has made me reflect upon what kind of school environment I want for my daughter and how that environment can help her develop into the kind of person I hope she will become. I would like my daughter to treat others in a respectful, fair, and caring way and take responsibility for herself.

Research shows that creating a strong sense of community at school increases students’ academic performance and has a positive influence on students’ behavior. When students are in caring school communities, they are more likely to like school, enjoy challenging learning activities, and help others (http://devstu.org/page/p-r-scientific-basis). In addition, data from a study on adolescent health, found that students’ sense of connectedness to school (and family) were linked to a decrease in a range of problem behaviors, including: the use of alcohol, violent behavior, emotional distress, and early sexual activity (http://www.ed.gov/admins/lead/safety/training/connect/school_pg3.html).

Fortunately, many of the SFUSD schools implement either the Tribes Learning Community® (http://www.tribes.com) or Caring School Community® programs (http://devstu.org/page/caring-school-community). Both of these programs help create a positive classroom and school environment. My non-profit employer developed the Caring School Community program.

Recently, as part of my work, I had the opportunity to observe a class-meeting lesson in a kindergarten classroom at Sunnyside Elementary School in San Francisco. In class meetings, children get to know each other, discuss issues, identify and solve problems, and make decisions that affect classroom climate. The teacher engaged the children in authentic discussion with each other as they talked about how to act for substitute teachers. Talking about how to treat substitute teachers and committing to positive, helpful behaviors prevents problems and makes the classroom run more smoothly when the regular teacher is absent. Ultimately, a child who discusses and learns why she should treat everyone respectfully (including substitute teachers) is beginning to develop into the kind of person I hope my daughter will become—a good, caring, and responsible one.

Lisa Borah-Geller has been a curriculum developer for eleven years at the Developmental Studies Center, a non-profit educational organization in Oakland, CA. Prior to that she was an elementary school teacher in the San Rafael City Schools in San Rafael, CA. Lisa lives in San Francisco and has two children, Lila, age four, and Lucas, age two.