Core Values were part of the guiding mission statement for BBCHS. The Core Values system, established back in 2017, has had a troubled time sticking with students. Originally devised as a simple mission statement for students, Core Values turned into a separate grade greatly affecting each student’s overall grade. This change has now been reverted and Core Values are back to what they were originally planned to be.
Core Values were created over multiple meetings throughout 2017, in which a committee made up of a select group of teachers, students, faculty, and board members was tasked with creating a plan for the future of BBCHS. BBCHS alumna Bethany Seyden, a member of that committee, described the original plan for Core Values. The plan was to create guidelines for education greatness, that each Core Value taught — Character, Citizenship, Collaboration, Communication, Critical Thinking, and Creativity — would help students improve their grades. All of these values were meant to be taught and explained to students, that each value taught would result in an improved mindset and work ethic.
The original Core Values plan was not as effective as hoped, not being taught as strongly as the administration wanted. Students were not receiving the intended instruction for Core Values and students were not displaying them. This led administration to decide that a change needed to be made.
The original Core Values plan had no impact on grades, according to BBCHS Director of Curriculum and Instruction, Mrs. Tiff Kohl, and the change to make them graded occurred a year later. Core Values being put into the grading system was an attempt to have Core Values more strongly taught in each classroom. Those plans fell short as described by Mrs. Kohl, “We (BBCHS) were not pleased with the way they (Core Values) were being measured in classes; it felt inconsistent and unfair.” The Core Values grading system was measured very widely; each teacher had their own way to grade them without a consistent rubric. These issues were too prevalent to keep them part of the grading system. As of now they’ve been removed from the grading system, but not from the heart of the school.
While Core Values may not be graded anymore, they are not gone. Mrs. Kohl describes that Core Values are not disappearing with this change; they are still a major foundation of the school. Mrs Kohl. hopes that teachers will start to implement Core Values in their instruction, and she also wants these to be modeled by all staff so that Core Values are not just an expectation of students, but a way to model their academic lives.
It is too early in the school year to fully see if these changes are effective, but that is up to the students and teachers if they’re willing to accept them and continue to develop them.
