Education Week

It's 9:30 a.m. the first week of September; the doors of our school opened for the eighth year just an hour ago. Walking the hallways, you hear the murmur of students talking and laughing in small groups. Climbing to the third floor, I find Mr. Fitzgibbon with his 12th grade Crew in the hallway doing an activity called "minefield," which requires collaboration, risk taking, and leadership. His Crew is recommitting to our motto "Crew, not passengers."

Two stories down in the auditorium, sixth graders gather for their first community meeting. They listen to the origin story of "hailstorm," the rhythmic exercise we use to open every community meeting. Then they jump into a whole-grade hula hoop pass. Students are learning the traditions of MELS students and from the first day they see that everyone plays an important role in the community circle...