Courtesy of the Hollister School District:
The Hollister School District is extremely proud to announce that six campuses have been honored for having transformed the culture of their schools.
Accelerated Achievement Academy, Calaveras, Gabilan Hills, Hollister Dual Language Academy, Ladd Lane, and Sunnyslope are among only 285 campuses across the nation that have received the Capturing Kids’ Hearts National Showcase Schools award for the 2019-2020 school year.
Capturing Kids’ Hearts National Showcase School awardees are evaluated and selected based on survey and performance data from administrators, teachers, staff, and students. Decreases in discipline referrals as well as positive campus culture and climate are common themes among the data from awarded campuses. Campuses are celebrated that go above and beyond in building a safe and welcoming environment where students are relationally connected and eager to learn.
“When I visit these schools, I see Capturing Kids’ Hearts everywhere I look,” Superintendent Diego Ochoa said. “You can feel the sense of love, support, and community.”
For the past three years, the Hollister School District has worked with The Flippen Group to train every employee in building positive relationships with students, and the greater school community. “When you have a child’s heart you have a child’s mind!” is the core value of Capturing Kids’ Hearts and has resulted in these campuses making extraordinary changes in their school culture.
Gabilan Hills/HDLA
Capturing Kids’ Hearts has helped transform Gabilan Hills and HDLA into “One Community.” The values learned in the training and implementation of the program are developing a school community grounded in strong relationships and empathy so that students are ready and eager to learn.
Ladd Lane
Capturing Kids’ Hearts builds relationship capacity for an entire school Community.
At Ladd Lane CKH emphasized a positive culture and climate on our campus, strengthening student connectedness with their teachers and with one another. Adults and children practice greeting one-another, sharing or leading “good things”, modeling student leadership. On any given morning, you will see teachers at their classroom doors greeting students by name and connecting with them. If you happen to enter the classroom you will see empowered students exemplifying leadership skills throughout their day. You might come across “ good things” or participate in an inspirational “launch” led by students. Our kitchen staff do their daily check ins and greetings at the lunch tables and they know our students by name. Our office staff, yard supervisors, and other staff members greet and engage with students on a daily basis.
Ladd Lane created shared agreements and behaviors (social contracts) which promote positive behavior and empower students. CKH has supported the Ladd Lane community in building safe classrooms where children and adults are happy to be at school.
Sunnyslope Elementary School
The journey that started what seems like two lifetimes ago reached a milestone for Sunnyslope School on Thursday April 23rd, 2020. About four years ago a group of administrators met on the top floor of the Vault to be introduced to a program called Capturing Kids Hearts. No one quite knew what it was or why we were there but we were introduced to the organization by “Lyle”. Lyle began the day with standard introductions and by the end of the day everyone in the room was hooked. We clamored for more and began planning how we would introduce it to our staff and students at our school sites.
Over the course of the next four years we developed relationships, social contracts, and worked to not only improve our relational capacity with others but went on a journey of self improvement for ourselves. As the principal of Sunnyslope School, Joe Rivas has grown over the years striving everyday to improve himself so that he could help the community. School staff along with Capturing Kids Hearts trainers, students, and families have created an environment of kindness, caring, and empathy. The staff of Capturing Kids Hearts have always been available for questions and guidance. They periodically visited the school to offer support and invaluable feedback. After years of hard work, and creating an environment where all students are welcomed and loved, Sunnyslope School was awarded the status of becoming a National Showcase School that started with over 10,000 schools working to earn this distinction. Principal Joe Rivas said, “I would like to extend a huge thank you to everyone that worked so hard to make so many students feel loved and valued and for the Capturing Kids Hearts organization for being with us every step of the way!!”
Calaveras/AAA
Calaveras and the Accelerated Achievement Academy’s motto, Two Great Schools, One Awesome Learning Community, rings true in our campus-wide implementation of Capturing Kids’ Hearts. Our positive school culture and climate is predicated on building and maintaining high-quality, caring relationships. The positive energy and love we have for each other and for what we do can be felt whether learning in classrooms, playing on the playground, receiving food from the cafeteria, or visiting our friendly front office. We truly care about each other, our students, and the excellent program we provide for our community of learners.
