Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/229155
DREAM SCHOOL Learning "Wonderful things are happening here," says Virginia Tibbetts (shown above). V CTA grant money allows artists to visit classrooms, providing teachers time to collaborate. PHOTOGRAPHY BY SCOTT BUSCHMAN Educator 12 Dec 2013 v2.0 int.indd 39 sixth-grade students pause at a bulletin board before picking out tags that emphasize positive traits they identify with. The tags have words like leadership, kindness, forgiveness and bravery. Students wear them proudly around their necks. A student who behaved well for a substitute teacher while others goofed off the day before selects a tag that says leadership, and her teacher beams. "That's what I expect from you," Tibbetts says. "Use your strengths to be the best person you can be. That's an example of working from your strengths." In an era of high-stakes testing, Gauer Elementary School has dared to take a different approach. Visual and performing arts are incorporated into the curriculum to stimulate students' creativity and love of learning. Emphasis on the "whole child," instead of just test scores, encourages teachers to build on students' strengths rather than weaknesses, as well as nurture character traits like empathy, leadership and resilience. Staff members say they are deeply committed to this transformation and are much happier about the students' engagement in school. "We wanted a cultural change," says Principal Debbie Schroeder, who partnered with Anaheim Elementary Education Association (AEEA) members for a new vision. "We wanted to look at each other's strengths instead of deficits and extend that to our scholars, staff and parents." IRGINIA TIBBETTS' D ECEMBER 201 3 | JANUARY 2014 www.cta.org 39 12/14/13 3:33 PM