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Story posted March 19, 2009

Results:
• Over 80% of students met or exceeded state mathematics standards in 2008, compared to 49% in 2003 
• School consistently makes Adequate Yearly Progress in all areas
• Serious disciplinary offenses (as defined by No Child Left Behind) fell 71% (79 to 23) between 2004-2005 and 2006-2007
• First recipient of the New York State School of Character Award and a 2008 National School of Character

Just eight years ago, Waterloo Middle School, located in the heart of New York’s scenic Finger Lakes region, was anything but an educational beacon. The story of its transformation from a school struggling with disciplinary and academic problems into an award-winning model school is proof that committed teamwork can revolutionize school culture.

Principal Mike Ferrara recalls his first impression of Waterloo: “I knew immediately that the school I was now in charge of was in very serious condition. Staff morale was very low, student achievement was not a priority of the students or community, and school management was a serious problem.”

Fortunately for Ferrara and for Waterloo, foreign language teacher Karen Moretti had just attended the Summer Institute on Character Education at the Center for the 4th and 5th Rs in Cortland, New York. Energized by what she learned, she shared the materials with the new principal, who was eager to try an advisement program. The two drafted an advisement proposal, and Moretti visited 25 veteran teachers individually to get their input. From these meetings came the PRIDE team, the PRIDE student advisement program and a new vision that saw a dual emphasis on academics and character as the way to recovery.

Taking Pride in PRIDE
PRIDE is an acronym describing the advisement program’s daily focus: Monday—planning; Tuesday—reading; Wednesday—improving grades; Thursday— developing character; and Friday—enjoying the day. However, the effects of the program extend far beyond these immediate goals. Technology teacher Doug Barg, who has taught at Waterloo for 33 years, can readily testify to the amazing change in school culture. He says that the student advisement program has helped to create a “strong sense of family and build a culture of caring.”

In groups of 12–15, students of different grades meet daily for half an hour with the guidance of one or two advisers. These groups choose their own strategies for making a positive difference in the school and community. For example, one group created the “Welcome to the Middle School” program to aid the transition process for students who are new to the school. Another group, after conducting interviews and doing research, made presentations to the faculty and board of education that resulted in a district-wide recycling program.

Ferrara’s Source of Pride: A Committed Faculty
If establishing the PRIDE advisement program was the first step in the school’s character education efforts, Ferrara points to the buy-in and commitment of the faculty as the dynamic that ensured success. Waterloo teachers, in their quest to develop inquiring minds, became avid students themselves as they learned from experts to educational design strategies that would work in their own school culture. Every year since 2001, Waterloo has sent representatives to the annual [character education] Summer Institute at Cortland and to the Character Education Partnership (CEP) National Forum. Moretti says, “We learned from people all over the United States and brought their ideas back, and our committee would take the seeds and grow our own plants.” Barg’s very apt inquiry—“How do we do it the Waterloo way?”— is always at the forefront in adopting and adapting initiatives.

Waterloo’s approach to character places a strong emphasis on the way students learn. Staff development training in learning styles, differentiated instruction, understanding the plight of children who live in poverty, cooperative learning, anti-bullying strategies, and motivating the unmotivated learner give teachers valuable tools to improve instruction. Students are quick to see that “teachers walk the talk.” On a large poster prominently displayed in the main hallway, teachers earn a high ranking in “What WE Like Best about Waterloo Middle School.”

Parents as Caring Partners
Each summer the PRIDE team examines survey results, test and disciplinary data, and Character Education Partnership recommendations to frame the next steps. The school also courts parents to play a role in the quest for excellence. Janelle Bradshaw, a member of the Parent Liaison Committee, says, “We reach in as parents, but the school is always reaching out to us as parents.” In addition to the school’s monthly newsletters and event calendars, each Liaison Committee member “mentors” a group of parents, notifying them of upcoming events and personally answering any concerns or questions that they might have about the school. Parents are asked to identify any special talents or stories they might like to share with the students and are also invited to assemblies. Patti Battley, whose two daughters attend the school, says she is very impressed with its “great lines of communication.”

Parents and other adults weren’t particularly eager to attend school assemblies before Waterloo embraced character education. Vicki Bauder-Rivet, a board of education member for 12 years and a former kindergarten and first-grade teacher, says, “I used to come to assemblies and kids would be off the wall and so rude. It wasn’t that the teachers did not care; the kids just did not care. I came to an assembly years later, and I was amazed at how the kids immediately listened and responded to the principal and the speaker. Speakers now come back to us and say how well-behaved [our] kids were.”

Students Spreading the Goodness
Assistant principal Susan Burgess comments that the school’s planned programs “bombard the students with goodness.” The students, in turn, spread that goodness through their active involvement. To promote an environment free of bullying, harassment, and intimidation, students lead an anti-bullying R.E.S.P.E.C.T. team that sponsors events held in connection with National Anti-Bullying Week and No Name-Calling Week. During morning announcements each day, students recite the Purple Hands Pledge: “I will not use my hands or my words for hurting myself or others.”

Service projects abound at this school, and students display a strong commitment to helping others, particularly in the Seneca County Community Christmas project that provides needy families with holiday food and gift baskets. Since 2002, Waterloo Middle School students have raised close to $24,000 for the cause. Whether partnering with the Rotary Club in a sneaker drive or sending care packages to our service men and women, the students take their obligations to their community quite seriously.

A Vision of Character-Building
Waterloo’s dual focus on academics and character education has indeed led to recovery. The school that was once considered “the black sheep of the district” is now “celebrated as a National School of Character.” Academic achievement has increased on a yearly basis on both state tests and local assessments. Especially when combined with a 97 percent daily student attendance rate, a low staff absence rate and a decreasing disciplinary referral rate, these achievement data prove that “the Waterloo way” is working.

Ferrara says the school’s character-building efforts will have a two-pronged focus next year. At home, the PRIDE team plans a continued emphasis on performance character, and teachers will receive training in classroom strategies that can be implemented on a regular basis. Yet Ferrara also envisions “a seamless integration of character at all levels in the Waterloo Central School District.” With this goal in mind, the PRIDE team will devise ways to include the high school in its efforts.

Guidance counselor Mark Pitifer tells a poignant story of a sixth-grade boy named Ryan who epitomizes the Waterloo spirit of perseverance. One of the physical education requirements for sixth graders is to run the mile in gym. Although primarily confined to a wheelchair, Ryan wanted to attempt this goal while walking without his crutches. The youngster went a short distance and fell, but then he used his crutches to continue. After completing two laps, he fell once again. At this point, he actually began to crawl for a short distance. Pitifer and all the other students then began to walk with Ryan, encouraging him every step of the way. Ryan persevered and finished the race. At the next school assembly he received a trophy, and the entire student body rose spontaneously to give him a standing ovation. Linzi, an eighth-grade student, states, “I thought what Ryan did was awesome. I cried when he came up to get his trophy. It was amazing to me how he persevered.”

In many ways, Ryan’s story mirrors the story of Waterloo Middle School, an extraordinary place that does not recognize defeat as an option and regards a setback as an invitation to try harder. When the school failed to win coveted National School of Character (NSOC) status last year, there was no sighing or lamenting. After applying for the last two years to NSOC, the PRIDE team decided to poll the entire staff and ask, Should we reapply to be considered a National School of Character? The result: a resounding 100 percent voted Yes! They went on to say that “the application process has been a learning experience and it is both challenging and validating. We know where we were and how far we have come. We can say with PRIDE, ‘We are a school of character!’” It is easy to see that Ryan has many role models.

For additional information, please contact:
Michael Ferrara
Principal, Waterloo Middle School
(315) 539-1540
mferrara@wcs.k12.ny.us
www.waterloocsd.org/MiddleSchool.cfm

This school came to LFA's attention after being honored by the Character Education Partnership as a 2008 National School of Character.

Story adapted with permission from the Character Education Partnership.

Full citation:
"Transforming School Culture the Waterloo Way," by the Character Education Partnership.  In the 2008 National Schools of Character Award Winning Practices book.

Copyright © 2008 Character Education Partnership.

Click here to access the original article as contained in the 2008 National Schools of Character Award Winning Practices book.