Positive. Hopeful. Excited. Resolute. Determined. Pumped. Optimistic.
These are the words that members of the REACH team at Rantoul City Schools' Broadmeadow Elementary School used to describe how they were feeling about the team's next steps. Team members used their participation in the REACH Statewide Initiative to assess areas of strength and opportunity so they can support the mental and emotional health of students and staff. The team, led by Principal Amy Blomberg, completed its assessment, and developed an action plan based on the areas that needed the most work.
“Everyone did the assessment individually and then we completed the consensus process and were able to pinpoint the lowest areas. There were some surprises, but other areas weren't a surprise. We felt like it was important to own those scores, so we were very honest in the scoring process. It was hard to see that as a leader of the building, but we had to own where we were at," said Blomberg.
Broadmeadow has completed the assessment and developed an action plan and the next step will be to implement that plan. One of their first steps was to dedicate spaces for self-care spaces for students, teachers, and parents (pictured here).
“My hope is that this will not be another plan on a paper. And that this will be implemented the way it is written with fidelity to address the impacts of the pandemic," said Blomberg. “We were already dealing with the effects of trauma before the COVID-19 pandemic -- kids with a strong emotional response and students with high needs who had experienced trauma. We know we have to do something. This is our second year of COVID, and we owe it to our kids to take some actions steps and do something about this."