AAPS: Students ponder the question: `What are your hopes & dreams for school this year?’

Video, story and photos by Jo Mathis/AAPS District News Editor

“I hope I can be smarter.”

“I hope I can have lots of friends.”

“I hope to get bettr at spelng.”

Take a walk down the halls of any AAPS elementary and you’ll see all sorts of answers to the question posed to students last month: What are your hopes and dreams for school this year?

“As a part of the Responsive Classroom, we asked all of our students the first week of school; `What are your Hopes & Dreams for the school year?’” explained Melita Alston, principal of Pittsfield Elementary. “Hopes and dreams help students to think about their personal goals, make a connection to the school, and to see the joy in learning. This essential question sets a positive tone at the start of the school year.”She said each student was invited to share their hopes and dreams which helps to promote a vibrant school community-with emphasis on unity.

King Elementary Principal Mary Cooper explained that the “Hopes and Dreams” initiative ensures each child feels safe, welcomed, and supportive.

“All members of King Elementary School, including children, teachers, and staff, wrote and posted their Hopes and Dreams for the 2019-20 school year,” she noted. “They were then foundational in each class’s creation of their constitution, which is displayed in the classroom as a reminder of the commitment to help one another achieve their Hopes and Dreams for the year.”

Research proves that people who wrote down their goals were 42 percent more likely to achieve those goals than those who did not. Unless, perhaps, that dream involves bringing a pony to school…

These photographs were taken at Eberwhite, King, A2 STEAM and Haisley: