My Perfect School Addendum

Of course, as soon as you send anything off or hit publish, your brain is flooded with all the things you DIDN'T include in the original.

So here are my additions to my perfect school, which I'll add to as things occur to me, so it'll be a "live" post in a way my other ones are not.

My perfect school:

• Will not have security cameras or police, or security. Our staff will be trained how to intervene as necessary with students, because familiar faces are always better than strangers. But the school is designed so things don't get here. Students are taught respect, responsibility, and honor. They tell the truth when asked, and volunteer it as a moral imperative. 
• We will not have lockdown drills. Studies show that school shooters predominantly were bullied, suicidal, felt there was no other way out. So we'll build a school where we head off those issues. Lockdowns operate in a culture of fear, and our school won't be party to that.
• Our dress code will focus on self expression and self respect. Teaching boys and girls to respect who they are, their culture, and their voice. We will not slut shame, or punish children for representing their culture. However, we will have honest conversations about how our culture presents sexual value as a commodity, and we will push back on this.
• As a community, we believe in restorative justice. And we will work both in school, and with resources outside the school so students can see the consequences for behaviors but also the value of second chances.

More to come...