Homerooms Staying the Same
As the bell rings, and students take their seats in homeroom, they recognize familiar faces from last year. This year, a new policy has changed at BSM, allowing students to remain in their same homeroom throughout their high school career. The goal is to allow more space for students to build relationships and feel included at school. This will allow students and teachers to connect more.
Allowing students to stay in the same homeroom and build relationships with their teacher and fellow classmates is going to be the new normal at BSM. BSM Administrators have been working on this change for a few years now and their hope is to make sure each student feels a sense of belonging while at school. “Part of what has come out of advisory research is that there’s a greater connection if you stay in the homeroom for an extended amount of time,” Assistant Principal Matt Weingartz said.
With students having eight classes to juggle and activities outside of school, homeroom can be a place for them to come back to every day and have a comfortable and relaxing space. “It makes it comfortable because this environment provides a third space for them; when they have their third space it makes it much easier to communicate and it makes it easier to build a better relationship with them,” Theology and homeroom teacher Andretta Hanson said.
It makes it comfortable because this environment provides a third space for them; when they have their third space it makes it much easier to communicate and it makes it easier to build a better relationship with them.
— Andretta Hanson
Not only are students connecting more with their classmates, they are going to be able to have a greater connection with their teacher. It’s important for students to have a trusted adult in their lives to talk to at school. BSM’s goal is to give each student the opportunity to become more familiar with their teacher which can help with better communication skills. “I think that relationships are extremely important especially with…teenagers…It makes it easier for the students to communicate with you and it makes it easier for the students to come to you,” Hanson said.
As students are at school for a long time each day, it’s important for them to feel accepted and included. Feeling a sense of belonging is a main principle at BSM. “I would say one of the benefits would be relationships, you building a relationship with your teacher, first and adults in the building, which research or educational research has shown that if there is a student that has connections with adults, they’re more apt to feel like they belong to the school, which is a big initiative for us,” Weingartz said.