Sonya Roberts Woods/Contributing writer
Editor’s Note: This is the first in a two-part series detailing a new Jefferson ISD student-centered partnership destined to produce lasting benefits.
Next week: Read positive feedback from additional students and learn ways the program plans to make connections outside of the classroom.
An intentional conversation about ways to increase academic performance and decrease grade-level behavioral concerns has now turned into a class that teaches every single sixth grader at Jefferson Junior High School (JJHS) about the importance of good character in the classroom and in the community.
Now destined to close academic gaps one student at a time, this unique partnership, between the district and the HOPE (Helping Others Prioritize Education) Initiative, has resulted in the creation of a Character Counts class. The program is now in full swing as a direct result of initial discussions between JJHS teacher and coach Larry Allen talking with campus administrators earlier in the summer.
“Our (JJHS) Assistant Principal, Mrs. (Lauren) Anderson and our principal, Dr. Phy, had been thinking about doing a character class and told me that they thought I would be perfect for it,” Allen explained. “I got goosebumps when they told me. I was honored that they wanted me to do it. I was thrilled that they would consider me and then they told me about how they wanted the class to be set up. I told them that if they really wanted to do it we needed to do it right and I knew exactly how we could do it the right way.”
Allen, now in his second year at Jefferson ISD, had just spent most of the summer traveling with one of his childhood friends to assist with several two-day self-discovery and college-enrichment workshops, hosted by the HOPE Initiative, in the Dallas/Fort Worth and Houston areas.
“I knew the impact the HOPE Initiative could have on our students here at Jefferson Junior High,” he said. “I just knew that’s what we needed.”
“We saw a need for a class like this in our sixth grade,” Anderson said. “It was at this grade level that we noticed an uptick in behavioral issues and a downward turn in academic performance.”
Now in their second year attending the junior high campus, the Character Counts students were mere third graders when the pandemic first hit in Spring 2020 forcing virtually everything, including all schools, to shut down.
“Teachers across the state have shared anecdotes noting that student behavior has shown a downward turn since COVID,” Anderson explained. “We hoped to utilize the character class to address social deficits from COVID along with our efforts already in place to address COVID-related academic deficits. We knew Coach Allen had been involved with the HOPE Initiative outside of school and that he has a passion for helping students excel beyond just the standard school curriculum. We approached Coach Allen about teaching a character class and he told us about Dr. Harper and the HOPE Initiative.”
As CEO and founder, Dr. Robert Harper has over 15 years in higher education administration previously working in colleges throughout East Texas and the Dallas area. Created three years ago, the HOPE Initiative, a non-profit organization, has primarily focused on advocating for social justice in the community and preparing high school and college students for their next steps. One of the organization’s newest priorities is to have that same level of impact on even younger students.
“The HOPE Initiative specializes in college, career and life readiness programming primarily for high school and post-secondary students,” Dr. Harper explained. “We want to help them be prepared for the 21st Century. We also want to support school districts by developing customized curricula with a focus on character building, academic enrichment and community engagement.”
After listening to the specific needs of the district, Dr. Harper submitted a comprehensive proposal detailing what the HOPE Initiative would deliver.
“The proposal touched on every single thing Mrs. Anderson had in mind for how she wanted this class to be set up,” Allen said. “She was definite about the fact that she didn’t want this to be a ‘fluff’ class. She wanted it to really have impact on the students.”
And she wanted all 68 of the sixth graders to benefit from the class on a daily basis. After getting final approval from upper administration, Anderson assembled a team of three, which included Allen and fellow coaches Devin Mathis and Casey Schubert, to teach a combined total of four sections of the class.
But before they did that, Dr. Harper summoned the trio together and hosted an informal, but informative training session prior to the start of the semester. In role-reversal fashion, the three teachers, along with district counselor Tami Whitington, suddenly became students themselves completing the same assessment the incoming sixth graders would take once school started.
“At Jefferson Junior High, we knew we specifically wanted to focus on addressing academic gaps,” Dr. Harper explained. “The Naviance platform, if used in the right way, can help students get a leg up on meeting their individual academic goals. This type of assessment identifies each student’s top 3 strengths, specific learning styles, personality types and environmental preferences. It’s the starting point, or road map, for determining everything else that is needed to make each student successful.”
“Collecting and analyzing the data, from these assessments, drives or guides us in determining the type of programming to provide to the district,” Dr. Harper explained. “At Jefferson Junior High, we are focusing on addressing learning loss, increasing community involvement and promoting re-engagement through positive social skills development.”
While it’s her first year at Jefferson ISD, Coach Schubert is a seasoned teacher with 23 years of experience in education. Teaching the Character Counts class was a no-brainer opportunity she wholeheartedly welcomed.
“When I was asked by my administration if I would teach one of the character classes I said ‘of course!’”, Schubert explained. “As a coach, I feel this is a concept I try to instill in my athletes on a daily basis so teaching it in a classroom setting was a bonus! I have loved seeing the students learn more about themselves with the assessments and then having real, honest and open conversations about their discoveries.”
“I love the character class because I have learned my three strengths and I love Mrs. Schubert,” sixth grader Madison Q. said. “I have enjoyed wearing the t-shirt I won the first week and knowing that I am an Organizer-Dependable-Confident.”
For Jefferson native Devin Mathis, returning to teach and coach at his alma mater has been very rewarding. Getting the opportunity to teach a section of the Character Counts class is simply icing on the cake for the 2016 JHS graduate.
“First and foremost, I didn’t believe this class would be this much fun and engaging for the kids. So that part alone already has the kids more alert and more interactive,” Mathis explained. “They are already learning lifelong skills. Because they have learned so much about themselves like whether to have the lights bright or dim when they are studying and just different factors like that, this information will play a tremendous role in determining what works best for them in the classroom now and in the future. This is also great information when they take the STAAR test. If we can group those students who have similar learning styles together, we will be able to accommodate everybody; not just a few students.”
“What I have enjoyed the most about character class is when we took the assessments and found out more about ourselves,” sixth grader Ella G. said. “I thought that was really fun because I learned stuff that I would have never learned unless I was in this character class.”
Ella’s fellow classmate, Za’Rhian B., had this to say about the Character Counts class so far.
“’Cool,’ that’s what most people would probably say if I told them that I am in this character class,” Za’Rhian said. “I would tell them that it is not cool because it’s simply awesome! This class will teach you more about yourself than your parents know about you, or even more about you that you, yourself, didn’t know.”
For more information about the Character Counts class or the HOPE Initiative, call (214) 259-6060 or send an email to: drharper@the-hope-initiative.org.