Chapter+5

Chapter 5 - Rich D

Why Advocacy?
 * The middle level student faces a wide gamet of emotions and experiences entirely new to them.
 * These new experiences bombard the middle level student with new situations and feelings to deal with on top of the general stress of school
 * Students who experience these problems will benefit from having a advocate for them, someone who will listen and guide them in there everyday life at school.
 * //This We Believe// says, "the obligation of a developmentally responsive middle level school is to provide a continuity of caring that extends over the student's entire middle level experience so that no student is neglected" (This We Believe p. 36)
 * Schools that have sucessful advisory have increased academic performances (p. 36)

What is Advocacy and what is its purpose?


 * A sucessful advocate would be a teacher or staff member who would be assigned a small group of students. He/she would be responsible for meetings and community contact, such as parent contact.
 * Its purpose is to ensure that each student is recognized and known. If a student is not known by any one professional in the school, that student would not be able to be helped.
 * Not only does it help students, but teachers and other advocates get reminded of what young adolescent life is like, ensuring a better understanding of he student as a whole
 * "Young adolescents are concerned about issues other than school, and they need assistance in facing the future" (p. 38)

Initiating a Program


 * First step in starting any advocacy program is creating an effective and genuine mission statement that clearly states all goals of the advocacy program.
 * Advisors need to know what is expected of them (p. 39)
 * The advisor becomes the primary person to talk to when concerning family and student issues, because he/she will know the student best.
 * When beginning advisement, it is best to look to those who have done it before, and work on specific issues during staff development meetings.
 * Scheduling must allow time for advisor events to occur. ie) Individual meetings, group meetings, etc.
 * Small numbers always work best in advisory settings- it leaves more time to concentrate on a few individuals.
 * "The more humane and caring the school is, the more readily a strong sense of cummunity will flourish" (p.41)

Click on the links below for information and resources on student Advocacy:

[|Advocacy Tools] [|School Wellness] [|Student Advocacy.net]