Over the last couple of years, one of our main focuses at Adairville School has been on incorporating our Profile of Success characteristics into daily learning activities and encouraging students to practice these at school, as well as, out in the community. Logan County’s Profile of Success has 5 main competencies: collaboration, global citizenry, empowered learning, communication and innovation.

There was one particular project last spring that incorporated all of these competencies. In Mrs. Jennifer Jenkins’ 6th Grade Social Studies class, she asked students to work with a partner (collaboration), choose something that they were passionate about (empowered learner), develop a plan using their passion (innovation) that would benefit our school (global citizen), and pitch their idea to me and Principal Lori Bouldin (communication).

These 6th grade presentations were some of my favorites from last year. The students had some great ideas, spoke with confidence and were passionate about their ideas. Since the presentations came at the end of the year, Mrs. Bouldin and I talked with a couple of groups about implementing these projects at the beginning of the next school year and that’s exactly what we did.

Emotional Support Circles

Over the course of the first nine weeks of this school year, we worked with Kailynn Adler and Ka’lani Bailey on developing a specific plan to get their Emotional Support Circles up and running. These girls had a very specific goal in mind and wanted to create a safe space for students to learn about and deal with mental health issues. They wanted this to be student-led, which would allow students to feel more comfortable sharing and allow them to focus on topics that are relatable to middle school students.

The girls began student sign ups before Fall Break and they began having their circles when we returned from Fall Break. Students were required to get parent permission and had to sign a confidentiality agreement before they could attend.

Kailynn and Ka’lani are partnering with Alaina Hallums, our mental health specialist. She is a valuable resource as they prepare lessons and she also supervises their weekly meetings. They have had such a response and the group became so big, they have broken it into smaller groups and they now meet on two different days. These girls are passionate about their work and put a lot of time and effort into their weekly meetings. They truly want to make a difference for Adairville School and are putting the Logan County Profile of Success to work!

Reading Awareness Club

Another duo that pitched their idea to us was Kaitlin Paddock and Logan Dodson. These two were passionate about their project, as well, and wanted to help the younger students in our school. Kaitlin and Logan have a love of reading and wanted to share that with the younger students at Adairville School. Their plan was to create a club that allowed middle school students to read with younger students, to become a mentor, and to encourage a love of reading.

We began to plan for this club after Fall Break and they quickly got this club started. Kaitlin and Logan began by presenting their idea to K-4 teachers. The teachers were excited and were willing to have students come into their classrooms. Once they had the teachers on board, they had to inform students of this opportunity. We thought the best way to do this was by having them join us on the Morning Show, so that they could inform all middle school students of this opportunity.

Students were encouraged to sign up if they were interested, and the next step was to hold an orientation meeting. During this meeting, they went over the guidelines and expectations that they had developed. The club has been going to the primary hallway and meeting with students for about a month now. We can’t wait to see how their relationships grow with these students and how their love of reading grows too!

Allowing students the opportunity to take their ideas, help them develop a plan and see it come to fruition is one of the best parts of my job. Our students are capable of so much more than we realize and having teachers that bring that out in them through projects or in classroom activities is a special thing to witness.

Mrs. Jennifer Jenkins became a stay-at-home mom at the end of that school year, but her legacy will live on through what she instilled in her students and through some of these projects that are becoming a reality this year.