Campus Connections At Aviara Oaks Middle School

From the Carlsbad Unified School District:

February 19, 2020

“Is there anyone on campus who you can talk to? Anyone who cares about you? Do you feel like you’re part of the school? Are you happy at school?”

Aviara Oaks Middle School (AOMS) principal Rose Flowers considers these to be important questions to ask middle schoolers. She believes that personal relationships and school connectedness are important elements of students’ social-emotional well-being and academic success. So AOMS faculty and staff have two new approaches to welcoming and including all students.

Student Mentoring: English Language Learners, students with special needs, and those with social economic challenges can be at risk of falling through the cracks socially and academically. With AOMS’s new Student Mentoring initiative, each teacher is assigned one or two of these students to receive extra individual support throughout the year. Each teacher meets with “their person(s)” once a week to listen, build rapport, set goals, and check in on the student’s grades. They help students stay organized, accountable, and on track. Teachers often might select a student they already know, so that they can build on their relationship with more insight into the student’s needs.

“Our teachers are enjoying getting to know these students in a more personal way,” said Principal Flowers. “And the students are responding positively and staying in the game.”

Campus Connectedness: Because AOMS also wants to build school spirit, the faculty has bumped up the level of campus-wide activities and competitions that engage students and staff in some curriculum-based fun. For example, the PE department sponsors faculty-vs.-student volleyball and kickball games, Science runs a staff-vs.-student science project contest, Math will hold a Pi Day (March 14) math meet, and Drama will host a staff-vs.-student improvisation competition.

Another challenge to bringing students together is that the seventh graders have split lunch--half eat with the sixth grade and half with the eighth--so they don’t have much time to spend with all of their friends and other classmates. Beginning this year, Seventh Grade Brunch Days will give these students a chance to eat brunch and play games together once a month.

AOMS believes in creating a positive and inclusive school culture. Student mentoring and expanding campus-wide activities are just two ways to build relationships and make it more fun to be at school.

This press release was produced by the Carlsbad Unified School District. The views expressed here are the author’s own.