How does BUGS live its focus on whole-child development? What is our Advisory program? What have we learned and what strategies do we recommend?
The approach we take at Brooklyn Urban Garden Charter School (BUGS) to support whole child development is grounded in a robust Advisory program and sustainability curriculum as described in How BUGS Builds Community and Social-Emotional Safety by Jess Khawaja, Director of Sustainability, and Anali Chavez, school counselor, in the April issue of “Green Schools Catalyst Quarterly.”
The BUGS Advisory program differs from other middle school programs in that it incorporates key elements of our sustainability mission, community focus, design thinking, and service learning. As Jess and Anali describe in the Quarterly, “...In Advisory, we focus on the ‘impact of each other’ component of sustainability. Students use Kid Talk (active student-focused conversations) to build close relationships that are sustained throughout their time at BUGS. Advisories also take on action projects as a means of community building. These are small scale, student-driven projects that arise from group discussions. For example, after a series of facilitated discussions on LGBTQ+ rights and intersectionality, one group of 8th grade students decided to start a school club called the People’s Equity Group. This group welcomed students from all grades, made posters for our hallways, and advocated for a Pride Celebration and Kindness Month.”
This past school year BUGS added an additional day of Advisory each week to provide space for students to talk about the anxiety, trauma, and grief they were experiencing and check in with their mentor-teacher and small group every day. Resources were also provided to support open form discussions and the teaching of coping strategies such as movement breaks and breathing exercises.
The authors conclude the article with key takeaways and recommendations for schools looking to reinforce a sense of safety and build community. They include:
Build Advisory, academic check-ins, and Kid Talk into the school schedule at least four mornings a week.
Support staff in facilitating or moderating weekly optional “lunch tables”.
Provide a virtual library of student-facing social-emotional learning (SEL) resources that is accessible on the school’s virtual education platform.
Develop culturally-response Advisory lessons that can be amended as current events take shape.
“This has been such a tough year for BUGS students having to deal with the stress, anxieties, isolation and trauma of the pandemic, the loss of loved ones, having to enter a new school virtually, a wrench in their adolescent development, and the drastic change to their middle school lives. Our Advisory program was so important to help provide a supportive space for dialogue, share perspectives, build community and create connections. Thank you to Jess and Anali for sharing our Advisory program with other schools. And we hope to learn from other schools as well,” said Susan Tenner, Executive Director, BUGS.
We invite you to read How BUGS Builds Community and Social-Emotional Safety and please share with your colleagues too. A big thank you to Jess and Anali.