Walking Students Home

Many of the students at Josephine Chrysler Elementary in Modesto, California, walk to and from school each day from a nearby housing development. The principal, Thomas Freeman, found that he and the assistant principal were constantly dealing with conflicts springing up during the afternoon walk home. Neighbors complained about students wrecking their yards or getting into fights. Not knowing exactly what happened, the administrators would spend hours after school trying to sort out and solve problems.

Freeman decided that he and the assistant principal would start accompanying students to the housing development after school. Each day they would walk with different groups of students and chat with them. Often the administrators would spend some time at the housing development touching base with parents. Sometimes particular students, fearing potential conflict with another group, would ask Freeman to walk with them, for they had grown to trust him. What began as a stopgap necessity became a positive experience for Freeman and his administrative staff. They became known throughout the neighborhood, and overall rapport with students and parents increased greatly. Also, the 30-45 minutes spent walking students home saved them hours of dealing with discipline problems that no doubt would have otherwise escalated.

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