HEART Academy kicks off House system

Dec. 1—The HEART Academy at Julian Newman kicked off a "House" system this year modeled after the Ron Clark Academy.

The system will serve to build character, relationships, and school spirit.

The News Courier spoke to HEART Academy Principal Sharla Birdsong, who provided the following answers to frequently asked questions.

Q: What is a House system?

A: This system was developed by well-known educator, Ron Clark, at his very own Ron Clark Academy in Georgia. Our school used the House System foundational guidelines and adapted them to align with the mission and vision of our school and District, Portrait of a Graduate. The Portrait of a Graduate focuses on the whole child and defines the specific characteristics and skills that ACS is committed to developing in each and every student to prepare them for success now and in the future. With these expectations in mind, we began defining those characteristics and collectively developed child-friendly criteria that would represent each House. Each House has a color, special chant, motto, and animal.

Q: What is the purpose of a House system?

A: The purpose of the House System is to create a positive climate and culture for students and staff through character building, relationships, and school spirit.

Q: What Houses will students be sorted into and what are the Houses based on?

A: The four houses within the HEART family include House of Global Citizens, House of Collaborators & Communicators, House of Golden Ideas, and House of Quality Character. (For more information on the houses, see enewscourier.com.) All the houses are based on the 6 characteristics that make up our Portrait of a Graduate.

Q: How are the students sorted? Is it random selection or is it deliberate? If deliberate, what goes into determining what House a class will be in?

A: Students are sorted into a house through a random selection process, similar to what our teachers did this summer during their Staff Retreat. Students will participate in a House Reveal where they will open envelopes revealing colored bracelets that represent the color of their House family.

Q: Once students are sorted into Houses, what types of activities or initiatives will the students participate in as part of the system?

A: Students will participate in house activities each month. Some activities will include lunch with their grade level house mates, Christmas cards and Sing-a-Long, food drive, STEM activities, etc.

Q: How will students benefit from the House system?

A: The overall goal of implementing the House System to our students is for everyone to feel a sense of belonging through opportunities that will strengthen the academic and social lives of students.

Q: How will the school address or prevent unhealthy rivalry between Houses?

A: Each house has its own important characteristics and holds equal value. We want to bring awareness to the House characteristic when relevant in our everyday activities. For example, when students are working together they are using characteristics from the House of Collaborators and Communicators. They share ideas and respect each other's voices. They are working together to accomplish their goal, build relationships, and listen to each other.

We did consider implementing a point system by distributing points for various task to students and staff; however, we reflected on our goals and decided not to move forward with a point system to prevent rivalries. All of our house characteristics work together to empower students for success.

Q: How will the school mitigate disappointment if a student isn't placed in the House they wanted?

A: It's understandable that students might be disappointed if they did not get into the house they initially wanted to be a part of; however, our focus remains on how they all work together for the success of each student. Teachers mention how students exhibit different aspects of each house when applicable in a lesson.

Q: Does the House system cause an increase in workload for teachers? If so, how will the school address this?

A: As with anything new, there is always more work on the front end. We wanted to carefully design a sustainable initiative that would feel natural and align with our vision instead of "one more thing." Since August, when our launch began, additional time and resources have been required. We have set aside time during and after the school day to collaborate, plan, and create when needed.

Q: How will the school prevent the House system from distracting from regular coursework?

A: Since the House System is centered around our district's mission and vision, it enhances the coursework rather than being viewed as distracting.