Manhattan New School has more than 550 children working in 22 different classrooms.  It is a regular neighborhood public school with approximately 45 percent of the students  from minority backgrounds and 55 percent from a wide range of nonminority backgrounds.  The students speak upwards of 30 different first languages.


           Educators everywhere are talking about reaching new heights.  Everyone is calling for high test scores, high standards, and high levels of community involvement.  The children at our school do have high test scores, our teachers have always had high standards for themselves and their students, and our parents and community members have high levels of energy and commitment.  But I have discovered that in order for a school to be truly successful, the children, teachers, family members, and administrators must consider yet another factor.  We need to create schools in which peoples' spirits are on high.  There is a Ladino proverb that reads, "It's not how many commandments you fulfill but the spirit in which you fulfill them."  So too, it's not how many books a student reads in a semester, or how many summer institutes a teacher attend, or how many committees a parent joins.  What really matters is the spirit in which we carry out these tasks.
            I learned a long time ago that it doesn't matter what curriculum decisions we make, what instructional strategies we try, or what assessment tools we select, if students and teachers don't care about each other.  It doesn't matter how brilliant our minilessons are or how clever our conferences are if children make fun of each other's handwriting, dialect, or choice of topic.  These things don't matter at all if the really important stuff isn't in place.  Children will not share significant stories, take risks as spellers, or accept new challenges if the classroom is not secure or supportive.  The tone of the classroom can make or break your writing workshop.  Similarly, experienced staff developers who are attempting to make change in a school know that they must begin by establishing trust and building collegial relationships before they make suggestions for turning classrooms into reading and writing workshops.  If the first is not in place, the second will never take place.  At the risk of sounding "touchy-feely" (or "crunchy-granola), we must give top priority to creating a caring school culture.
            I hope all the children in our school feel that everyone love them.  I hope the adults feel likewise.  School faculties need to be thought of as an ensemble, one that works in caring and kind ways.  Gary David Goldberg, the producer of the television shows Family Ties and Spin City, who is known for running friendly and stress-free sets, once explained, "If something goes wrong on this set, it's because I was not able to communicate to people how much I care about them and how much I respect them.  Somehow I let them down by letting that slide, because otherwise this would be the safest place they've ever been, the place they are more loved than any place in the world.  People only behave badly out of fear and out of neglect."  I couldn't craft a better description of what schools have the potential to be.

CURRICULUM OF CARING
            Children's scores on standardized reading tests don't keep me up at night; children that do not turn to help a neighbor do.  Likewise, children sneaking off with someone else's snack, stuffing toilets for fun, or walking by rubbish without thinking about picking it up, do cause me to lose sleep.  We spend a great deal of time at school talking about treating people and property kindly and respectfully.  I tell children all the time, "I don't know if my neighbors are good spellers, but I know if they are caring citizens."  It's no surprise that when children misbehave, when they take away from community, they are expected to provide community service and give back to community.  We have as rigorous expectations for students in their social lives as we do in their academic pursuits.  A visiting superintendent from Texas commented that she saw no, "Ay pobrecita!" attitude in our school.  She was right.   We don't coddle students.  We hold our students and ourselves to high standards when we read and write as well as when we play, break bread, sing and dance together.  Other visitors have commented that the social tone brings to mind the concept of "smart love."  So be it.  We must be as thoughtful and demanding about relationships as we are about reading.
           It's very typical for people to talk about social relationships and responsibilities during the first few weeks of school.  That's the time when teachers and children establish class procedures, priorities, and protocols.  That's the time when everyone is still thinking about having the best year ever.  But talk about social tone needs to continue well into the autumn, winter, and right on into the spring. 

SCHOOLWIDE STRATEGIES TO CREATE A CARING SOCIAL TONE
Create Occasions for Student Discussions     
           Teachers bring up important social concerns at regular, whole-class gatherings and encourage students to do likewise.  Lorraine's first graders request special meetings when they've been offended or have witnessed an injustice to others.  Regina and her students develop their own peace compact, sort of a classroom bill of rights.  It hangs prominently in their classroom all year.  One year it read, "You have a right to be yourself in this room.  This means I will not kick, push, pinch, or hurt you.  You have a right to be respected and treated kindly in this room.  This means I will not laugh at you or hurt your feelings.  You have a right to hear and be heard in this room.  This means I will not yell, scream, shout, or make loud noises.  You have a right to learn about yourself in his room.  This means you will be free to express your feelings and opinions without interruptions or punishment."

Share Relevant Writing
           Individual pieces of student or teacher writing can also be shared in ways that promote important class conversations about appropriate ways of living our lives together.  Children often focus on schoolhouse injustices when they write in their writer's notebook. With the writers' permission, I have shared carefully selected notebook entries with whole classes in order to spark conversations about the ways we want to live together.  I simply ask, "So, what do you think?" after sharing student jottings. 
           Letters containing positive sentiments can also be put to good use, spreading the spirit of camaraderie if they are given recognition and children are shown that kind thoughts are appreciated.  One kindergarten child wrote to her upper-grade reading buddy expressing gratitude for help and friendship.  This note deserved to be publicly recognized.
           We also have a sign posted that encourages students to write to friends who have moved away.  We keep a running list of the names of children who unfortunately had to leave our school.  The message is clear for our students:  "We take our friendships very seriously.  People should keep in touch with people they care about."

Serve as Models
           Perhaps the most important way we invite students to become part of our caring community is to continually serve as models.  The late Garth Boomer reminded us that some things can be learned through language, but some things must be learned through demonstration. 
           Our students see teachers launch campaigns to collect toys for children in homeless shelters, canned goods for a nearby food pantry, clothing for hurricane victims in the Caribbean, and books to send to a rural library in Puerto Rico.  They know that Layne participates every year in the AIDS walkathon, Judy marches to raise money for cancer research, and Mike encourages all his lasses to jump rope to raise funds for heart research.  They also see adults rally around the child or the colleague who has lost a parent, is worried about a sick relative, or whose family has broken up. 
            Compassion is contagious.  It comes as no surprise to me that Madeline has started a very determined third-grade effort to save endangered animals or that Paula's former students accompany her each year to a candlelight vigil to protest child labor.

Provide Environmental Reminders
            In my office hangs a framed copy of that popular slogan, "Practice random acts of kindness and senseless acts of beauty."  On Sharon Taberski's door hangs the question, "How can I help?"  A parent gave the school a frame plaque that reads, "It's wonderful to know someone who makes the earth a better place to live."  These are not mere decorative items.  They are words to live by. 
            I've gathered newspaper stories of New York acts of kindness, creating an ongoing display of wonderful ways people in our community have treated one another.  One headline read, "Police Offer Baseball-Like Trading Cards, but of Themselves."  Officers gave these cards as collector's items to students, hoping they would encourage children to feel more comfortable with their local police.  Another read, "Enjoy the Silence," describing a window manufacturer who is donating a special windowpane to city schools to cut down on the sounds of traffic, sirens, construction, and garbage pickups. 

Call for Schoolwide Meetings
            Those of us in school-based leadership positions need to call for special meetings.  As a staff, we also need to talk about treating one another respectfully, with compassion and humanity.  One time I announced an emergency meeting with the words, "I think we need a heart-to-heart at lunch.  There are some hurt feelings in the building.  Please let's clear the air before the weekend."  Grown-ups need to create their own curriculum of caring. 
            Out-of-the-ordinary meetings with students also elevate their importance.  Students know we are serious when we call for a special large group meeting in the ballroom.  They know we rarely interrupt their regular classroom studies.  This dramatic gathering announces that we have serious concerns.  We use these get-togethers to talk about responsible and respectful behavior in the cafeteria, hallways, stairwells, playgrounds, etc.  We can add even more drama to these meetings by inviting guest speakers.  For instance, I can easily image asking our custodian to speak.  He gets very tired of cleaning unnecessary messes.  Meetings such as these provide the perfect opportunity to air our concerns and to invite students in on the solution to these problems.

Send Letters Home
           Parents need to know that caring is part of the curriculum.  They need to be invited into these conversations.  Occasionally my letters to families address these issues.  One read, in part,

I've decided to periodically celebrate small moments of kindness
In our schoolhouse.  Here, then are some personal acts of goodness
that have been noted with a great deal of pleasure around our school.
I think you'll agree they demonstrate little ways to repair our world:

• Billy Sage was home sick on his student teacher's last day at school.  Billy called the school, asking to speak to her.  He wanted to thank her for her help, wish her well, and say good-bye.
  
• On AIDS Awareness Day, Sharah Sehlzi read aloud a book she had written on AIDS and brought in a bagful of red ribbons to teach her class how to make this important symbol.