Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Student Belonging And Climate topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Lowell Middle School presents student‑belonging initiatives; students and staff cite increased engagement
Summary
Middle school staff and students described a year of activities aimed at increasing student belonging, citing survey data and several schoolwide initiatives that teachers and student council say raised student engagement and participation.
Lowell Middle School staff and students told the Lowell Area Schools Board of Education on March 10 that a yearlong focus on belonging has produced new activities, data-driven interventions and increased student engagement.
Abby Wiseman, the middle school principal, told the board the school set a primary improvement goal of increasing students’ sense of belonging after reviewing the Student Voice perception survey. "If they could feel understood as a person by their peers and by their teachers," Wiseman said, "that would positively affect everything else."
Seventh-grade lead James Brokey described practical steps: a teacher‑student connection poster activity to identify which students each teacher knows by name and face, periodic focus groups split by subject, end-of-trimester assemblies and expanded use of the new auditorium to bring grade levels together. Brokey said the school also reworked passing-time supervision so more teachers see students between classes and can make brief, personal connections.
Student council members listed climate initiatives organized this year: themed spirit days ("countdown to spring"), lunchtime board games, a "wishes wall" for student reflections, and a Valentine distribution that gave 777 valentines so every student received a note. The student council reported large participation in music festival events: 143 seventh- and eighth-grade orchestra students, 73 advanced orchestra students, and 99 choir students — figures the presenters said represent roughly 40% of the middle-school population.
Wiseman said grade-level teams use the survey results to create targeted action plans and that advisory, enrichment and RTI-scheduler time gives students choices and allows teachers to pull smaller groups for focused instruction. She described short, regular gestures to build relationships — for example, "thumbs-up Thursdays" and quick check-in questions at the door — and credited this day-to-day contact with improved student connection and teacher morale.
Board members praised the presentation, and administrators said the middle school’s work aligns with district K‑12 literacy and social‑emotional goals. The presentation emphasized measurement, small-group instruction and student leadership as levers for belonging rather than single large programs.
Principal Wiseman and teachers asked that student speakers not be filmed unless the speaker’s parent or guardian was present, and asked the board to continue supporting teacher‑led initiatives that create opportunities for students to be seen and connected to adults in the building.
