“When discipline problems arise, we know a suspension doesn’t work,” says Brownsville Area School District Superintendent Keith Hartbauer. “We need to really ask: What’s the root of the problem? Why is this kid doing this?”
As the pandemic subsided, district leaders realized returning to a structure of full weeks in school wasn’t easy as students’ mental health issues surfaced. Kids needed to learn how to manage their emotions after feeling disconnected for so long, but they felt unsupported: In a district survey, 85 percent of K-12 students said their teachers didn’t really know who they were.
“Our kids felt they weren’t really known by their teachers, even though our teachers felt they did know their kids,” Hartbauer says. “We needed to do something more student-centered.”
That something was “WIN” — a “What I Need” period, used by all students from kindergarten through high school. This free period, which takes place at least once a week, focuses specifically on students’ well-being and what they need and want. It has three goals:
- To help students with their academic needs and offer extra support with something they’re struggling with, or extra exposure to something that really appeals to them
- To enable students to learn new skills in small groups with a teacher — anything from crocheting to archery to changing a tire
- To enable kids and teachers to connect as people, excited about the subjects they’re exploring and the skills they’re building
“A lot of students really like that extra time for academic help, because they might be behind or they have things to do at home, especially if they have a job after school or sports,” says Kellie Stout, the Brownsville Area High School principal. Teachers are also more engaged because they’re excited to convey their skills and passions to students in new ways.
Innovations like WIN are one reason why Brownsville Area is a member of the Western Pennsylvania Learning 2025 Alliance, a regional cohort of school districts led by local superintendents and AASA, The School Superintendents Association, who work with support from The Grable Foundation to create student-centered, equity-focused, future-driven schools.
Because the WIN period gives students more agency and freedom — two things young people often feel they’re lacking — it’s helping Brownsville Area make big improvements in two key student areas: attendance and discipline.
“It’s still a work in progress,” Hartbauer says. “Change isn’t easy. But we’re a lot further along than we were a year and a half ago.”
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