• What does character education look like at Berkshire?

    The Berkshire Way​
    • ​The Berkshire Way communicates our ideals to students, staff, and all who visit our building.
    • The "Way" is located in classrooms, throughout hallways, in common gathering areas, and in student planners. It is also addressed on our student reflection forms and verbally communicated.
    • The "Way" encourages clear, consistent, and high-expectations for all behaviors at Berkshire. 
    • C3 Class: Creating a Caring Community
    • All Berkshire students and staff members have a C3 class each day. C3 is about 21 minutes long.
    • During this time teachers and students participate in intentional activities that create community within our classes, school, and community. Although all C3 classes take on the persona of the teacher and students, all C3 classes participate in the following activities throughout the week:
    Make a Difference Day:
    Students brainstorm, organize, and implement solutions to making a difference.
    • Some classes pick up the recycling bins, others clean up the environmental-study area, still others organize food drives or clothing drives or fundraisers.
    • Academic Day: Students focus on their academics, check PowerSchool, set goals, review standardized test scores, facilitated by their teacher.
    • Reading and Writing Day: Students explore a variety of news articles, short stories, novels, or inspirational stories during this time. Students also respond to creative-writing prompts.
    • Free Day: Classes are encouraged to challenge each other to healthy competition through board games, sports games, etc. This is also a time for students to do ice breakers, socialize, or work on their homework.
    • What's Up Day: Students tune into student news or read news articles and discuss local and global events. ​
    • ​​Restorative Practices
    • ​Restorative practices seeks to help students grow in their behavior and attitudes and actions. Restorative practices, like the name implies, encourages students to restore their behaviors by practicing behaviors that are positive rather than negative, help instead of hurt. 
    • ​LIVE Announcements
    • ​With the assistance of Mrs. Garbutt, student volunteers in seventh and eighth grade share announcements with the students and staff at Berkshire. 
    • Announcements help build character through clear communication, student leadership, and by promoting events, activities, and quality behaviors. 
    • The LEADERS Class
    • ​Under the leadership of Mr. Baldridge, select students participate in a C3 class and Directed Studies class that focuses on building character through honest and applicable discussions and service-learning activities. 
    • Common Core Curriculum 
    • ​Our curriculum in all content areas reflects the diverse nature of our learners and participants. Our curriculum intentionally addresses concerns and needs of present-day learners while encouraging character and academic growth through reading and learning from historical and classical documents. 
    • Character Education Committee
    • ​Our Character Education Leadership Team consists of a diverse group of adults and students from Berkshire. Teachers, administrators, counselors, parents, and two student representatives meet monthly to reflect upon and work towards improving character at Berkshire. 
    • Proud Dad's Club
    • With genuine, hard-working Proud Dads as the captains, this group encourages all parents and guardians to get involved with their children and the Berkshire staff members to create a giving community that creates and seeks opportunities to benefit the entire community in Birmingham, Beverly Hills, Southfield, and other surrounding neighborhoods. 
    • Character-Worthy Comments
    • ​"Demonstrates respect", "Is accountable", "Conscientious, hard-working student" = these are some of the comments parents/guardians and students may see on their online report card indicating the character they demonstrate in their classes at school.
    • Town-Hall Meetings
    • Students meet as a grade level with administrators during these quarterly town-hall meetings. During these meetings students are encouraged to continue modeling The Berkshire Way and challenged to continue to live up to high expectations and "be amazing" as one of our recent assemblies reminded us.
    • Dedicated Team Members
    • ​Berkshire staff members (secretaries, administrators, para-professionals, counselors, social workers, speech pathologists, support staff, teachers, cafeteria workers, custodial staff) care about their students and strive, through direct instruction, role-playing, modeling, ice-breakers, and other intentional lessons, to create a welcoming environment where positive relationship flourish, active learning happens, and academic and behavioral growth is supported and celebrated. 
    • Visual Displays of Character
    • Under the leadership of Mr. Orlando, artwork around the school celebrates Berkshire's diversity. Moreover, our bulletin board created by Mrs. Garbutt and Mrs. Jefferson, creatively displays our character word of the month through visual representation and student interpretations of that word in action.