Engaged Leadership at Brentwood School

At the start of the school year, classes within the lower school unite as students begin the process of constructing their own “class charters.” Led by their grade level teacher, students meet several times during the first month of school to answer three questions: how do we want to feel in class?; what will we do to have these feelings?; and, how will we resolve differences when they arise? Students begin by brainstorming their desired feelings. They discuss often subtle differences between certain words as they strive to agree upon five or six emotions. We invited Dr. Marc Brackett, founding director of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, to our campus. According to Dr. Brackett, students can experience significant growth in emotional intelligence when learning to define feelings, aiding later recognition and regulation. When hearing third-grade students engage in discussion about feeling proud versus accomplished, it is clear Dr. Brackett’s findings hold true. After much deliberation, students elected to feel proud of themselves and others, whereas feeling accomplished may only be attributed to themselves. At 8 and 9 years of age, they collectively decided on a feeling that is inclusive. The emotional growth in this classroom, and within similar conversations throughout the school, stemmed from democratically negotiating responses to the three questions. This process elicits a strong sense of pride and ownership of their classroom and learning, empowering students to take greater responsibility for honoring their agreement. As teachers reinforce the charters, emotional awareness continues to heighten, and students are better able to manage the spectrum of emotions and challenging situations they may experience. Faculty, staff, and administration create their own charter as well, further emphasizing the importance of voice and unity.

Weekly class meetings, wherein classrooms break into small groups every Friday from 12:20-1:00 P.M., teach students to express feelings, listen to others, and engage in problem solving. Discussion and role play surrounding Brentwood School’s core values and their application to the lives of students are instrumental in fostering positive relationships, helping students learn the value of demonstrating respect for varying opinions, and supporting one another. Topics include friendship, sportsmanship, empathy, kindness, and the impact of social media. Class meetings also serve to strengthen student-teacher relationships. Students initially respond to the written prompt “3 Things I Wish My Teacher Knew.” The exercise invites students to share feelings, challenges, and aspects of their lives that their teachers might not otherwise know, and the results are often quite moving. Teachers are able to respond to any fears and concerns with follow-up discussions. The exercise itself denotes care and, similar to class meetings, cultivates an open, safe, and supportive classroom environment that strengthens relationships and student engagement.

Affinity groups, such as Crayon Club, offer additional camaraderie and support as themes of diversity and identity are explored. Students and their families are invited to present their cultural treasures during designated lunch periods, fostering inclusivity. presentations include a family’s adoption experience, a grandfather’s travels while serving in the military, the celebrations of Dia de los Muertos and Chinese New Year, and Armenian culture, to name a few. Letters of gratitude from parents whose children are exposed to different traditions and customs are heartwarming. Similarly, Brentwood holds a biannual “Diversity Day” to celebrate and honor the personal stories of people from all backgrounds. Speakers with diverse identities and perspectives make for rich conversations between our students. Sharing the day’s profound impact on her daughter, one parent wrote:

The “Buddy program” is a simple, yet effective, way to provide older students frequent opportunities to showcase their leadership skills and for younger students to feel connections with upper elementary students. Students are matched for the school year and engage in regular activities and play. As one fifth-grade student recently shared:

With grade levels alternating buddies each year, all students engage with each grade level, creating a nurturing and safe community.

Other leadership opportunities are attributed to specific grades. For example, during the first week of school, fifth-grade students traditionally design and create banners that display a personally meaningful phrase or quote. Banners have read, “The best exercise on earth is to reach down and lift people up,” “I have failed over and over in life, and that is why I succeed,” and, “Life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.” The 3' x 2' felt banners are adorned with creative borders, materials, and lettering and are showcased throughout the year in the Arts and Athletics Building. The school community is inspired each Monday morning as two fifth-grade students share their banners and explain the significance of the quotes. The presentations emphasize the importance of the selected quotes within the students’ lives, modeling valuable life lessons that promote good character and kindness.

Throughout the year, grade level assemblies demonstrate student creativity and provide further opportunity for leadership. For example, fifth-grade students created a video, filming scenes of students, faculty, staff, and administration filling each other’s “buckets” with compliments. A kindness chain, with hundreds of colorful paper links noting acts of kindness observed by the community, lined the building. Assemblies also introduce new character education initiatives. The Student Leadership Team collaborated with students and teachers to create a “Contain-It-Cube” for each classroom, where students who might be hesitant to voice feelings can anonymously deposit questions or concerns for teachers to broach in Friday class meetings. Students from the Upper School also demonstrate the power of peer leadership, most recently leading grade level workshops on the power of words, upstanding, and core values. Lower School students listened attentively to the seniors’ personal anecdotes about their elementary school years, describing times they were faced with a difficult situation, how they handled it, what they learned, and what they would have done differently.

Within the service-learning program, students have age-appropriate opportunities to lead outside of the classroom as well. Service projects are linked to grade level curriculum and include distributing lunches to people that ar4e homeless, sending cards and candy to veterans, sponsoring fundraisers for student selected organizations, befriending students with disabilities at a wheelchair-accessible playground, sorting food packs for shelters, visiting centers for the older adults, and cleaning a regional summer camp for chronically ill children. The service learning director meets with each class prior to the activity to ensure students understand the purpose and expectations of their service. Students see the difference they are making and, in reflection meetings held after each service, discuss and journal their perspectives, and the profound impact felt from the relationships they develop. Service-learning enables students to engage in the community while putting the school’s core values into action. Administration sets aside in-service days for faculty and staff to collectively engage in service projects to help those in need. Clear benefits are felt from giving to others, and faculty, staff, and administration serve as positive role models for students.

The annual African American Read-In, whereby guests of African heritage are invited to read to students to promote literacy and share words of wisdom and personal stories, is one of many events during Black History Month. This year, 18 readers, including former professional boxer Laila Ali, daughter of Muhammad Ali, inspired students. Upper elementary students were equally captivated as they listened to the story of Dr. Terrence Roberts, a member of The Little Rock Nine. Upon reflection, one parent wrote:

Author and speaker visits, along with the “It’s Our Turn: Young Women’s Conference at Brentwood School,” are among other events that regularly draw members of our greater community to campus to share knowledge and empower students, parents, faculty, staff, and administration to engage in meaningful conversations that inspire leadership.

Parent involvement is an important part of the Brentwood School culture, from touring prospective families, volunteering in classrooms and service activities, participating in various affinity groups and committees, to organizing events through the Parents Association. Additionally, an array of educational and student-focused opportunities are sprinkled throughout the year, such as grade-level conversational coffees, book clubs, Harvest Festival, pancake breakfasts, and Parent University, offering an informative day with opportunities for parents to connect, as they learn from experts in parent education. Parents are encouraged to participate in monthly SEED (Seeking Educational Equity and Diversity) groups to learn about themselves and others, fostering greater equity and diversity. Faculty facilitators, trained by the National SEED Project, offer groups for faculty, staff, and administration as well. Professional development and growth opportunities are welcomed by faculty, who return from conferences to share best practices at various faculty meetings.

Collaboration and shared leadership are at the heart of Brentwood School. All stakeholders within the community are engaged in working together toward the shared purpose of inspiring every student to “think critically and creatively, act ethically, and shape a future with meaning.” Intentional practices and leadership opportunities create a positive, compassionate climate, where inclusiveness is both vision and action and where diverse perspectives are embraced and valued. The result is a community of people who feel connected with a sense of belonging.