Bay Trail principal details student advisory, community-building days and reengagement process

Principal Tracy Sabine told the Penfield Central School District Board of Education on May 27 that Bay Trail Middle School’s yearlong school climate plan centered on student voice, restorative practices and an expanding reengagement process.

Sabine said the student advisory began with 15 members in spring 2024 and grew to 39 members this school year. “All interested students were accepted because we wanted to make sure we had as much of a diverse group of representation,” Sabine said. She described monthly meetings in which students helped design community-building activities and gave feedback on major changes, including split lunches.

The student advisory helped design “community base” sessions that met outside the regular schedule in groups of about 20 with two adult facilitators, Sabine said. Bay Trail ran 12 community-building days between September and May, with themes that included teamwork, communication, gratitude, and history-month observances. The lessons were developed by Bay Trail’s restorative practices team in collaboration with district partners, she said.

Sabine said the school adopted a structured reengagement process for students returning after an extended absence, medical leave, suspension or other disruption. “To date, we've held 52 reengagement meetings to transition students back,” Sabine said. She described the meetings as held in a designated reengagement space with the student, a family member or guardian, a trusted adult from the building, administrators, a counselor and a trained tier-2 facilitator.

Board members praised the approach and asked how staff and families are experiencing the changes. Sabine said teacher and student surveys and periodic faculty feedback sessions were used to adapt the program and that administrators plan continued refinement. She said part of the work is training student leaders to co-facilitate future community-building days.

Sabine acknowledged partners who helped develop the work and named district staff who supported the restorative-practices rollout. Board members emphasized that the reengagement process is intended for all students returning after an absence, not only those suspended, and described the normalizing, supportive tone of the meetings as important to student success.

The presentation included a video highlighting student voice and Bay Trail’s theme for the year: “You belong at Bay Trail.”