Ethan Tso
How Arcadia Unified School District Fosters Development in School
Arcadia Unified School District fosters acceptance and promotes the development of students’ education and real world skills in many ways; electives, counseling, and in all classes. AUSD’s purpose is to “challenge and inspire students to make a positive and profound impact on their world”; and they do so by providing windows of opportunities to students.
Arcadia Unified School District produces and provides opportunities to students through electives. Arcadia’s high school and middle schools offer elective courses for students. To many students, these extra classes only seem like extra work. However, studies show that when we are interested, we tend to pay closer attention, process information more efficiently, use critical thinking, make connections, and work harder. When schools give and/or promote choice in what students want to learn, this leads to interest. Robert Marzano, an educational researcher had said, “Research has shown that providing choices to students of all age levels often increases their intrinsic motivation. Choice in the classroom has also been linked to increases in student effort, task performance, and subsequent learning.” Middle Schools in Arcadia provide electives like art, music, photography, tech, theatre, dance, etc. These courses provoke interest in students and it leads to opportunities in students.
Many elementary schools in Arcadia also do things that motivate students. Hugo Reid, an elementary school in Arcadia, uses slips of paper that are given to students when they do good things, such as helping the teacher, or being kind to other students. These slips are collected by the students and are able to be used in raffles; prizes will be given out to students whose names are on slips of paper. These slips give students a sense of accomplishment and they develop real world skills such as confidence and self-worth. Schools in Arcadia also provide counseling classes that facilitate student achievement, help students develop socially, and help students with emotional turmoil. I’m a student at Rancho Lab School, and my school counselors give us mindfulness activities such as breathing exercises, meditation, etc. My school provides these resources because they help students focus and find interest in subjects. This leads to the development of student’s education.
AUSD has many ways of fostering acceptance and promoting the development of student’s education and real world skills; through extra resources or just class in general. My school district does not only help the development of students, but help make a difference in our world.
Works Cited
Paul, Annie Murphy. “How the Power of Interest Drives Learning.” KQED, 4 November 2013, https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/32503/how-the-power-of-interest-drives-learning. Accessed 11 November 2021.
Pickering, Debra J., et al. The Highly Engaged Classroom. Marzano Research, 2011. Accessed 11 November 2021.