Promising Practice
RBCS has been recognized three years running for our Promising Practices!
Internship Program
The teachers sit down with the 8th grade students as part of a round table discussion to gauge career readiness. In addition, students take a career interest survey to help match them to their desired career choice. Once this has been established, the teachers look into what local businesses align with student interest. With teacher input, eighth grade students select a local business to partner with. Once accepted, students go to the business site one time weekly to learn about how it is run, developed, and sustained. Students are not just casual observers however. They are encouraged to actively ask questions, while increasingly immersing themselves into the experience. This newfound growth and confidence allows the eighth graders to build good rapport and trust with the business owners, leading to the students being given small, independent jobs and/responsibilities at the site. After six months of service, the Internship Program culminates with a Capstone Project, which encapsulates everything that the students have learned. Overall, the students build communication skills, set goals, reflect, develop good work habits, forge community partnerships, and realize that 'school' goes far beyond the four walls of the classroom.
Mentos
At Red Bank Charter School, a character value is assigned to each month. Under the umbrella of respect and responsibility some of the values include humor, empathy, friendship, and citizenship. Our Mentos program allows our students the chance to meet with students from grade 4 thru grade 8 and teachers they normally would not have contact with during the school day. This allows the students to meet new people and learn from their peers. This program helps to break down barriers between students of different ages. During this time each group will have activities and discussions about our character values and what they mean to them and why they are important parts of everyday life. For example, during our Month of Cooperation, students participated in a “human knot.” Students joined hands by crossing arms and had to work together to untangle themselves to become one large circle.
Charter Champion Assemblies
The character education values are interwoven throughout the school day in both academic discussions and morning meetings. Furthermore, a multicultural literature selection for each grade level aligns with each monthly value and is read aloud and discussed with students in their classroom. At the end of each month, the value of the month culminates into an assembly known as Charter Champions. At this event, two students per grade level are celebrated for their demonstration of that particular value. Parents and family members are personally invited to join this monthly celebration and their presence serves two extremely important purposes: First of all, it validates for the child just how invaluable the relationship between the school and families really is as we work together to ensure their success. Additionally, the Charter Champions assembly not only highlights the established tenets of character displayed by each child being celebrated, but also motivates the other children to put these values into action so they can be honored at a future ceremony.