Embedded Files
Campus-Wide Community Building Tools
Campus-Wide Community Building Tools
Purpose:
To build stronger relationships and trust with students across the school—starting in the teacher's classroom. These tools support emotional awareness, shared expectations, and inclusive dialogue, creating a consistent foundation for a positive campus culture.
1. Mood Meter
1. Mood Meter
What It Is:
A visual tool that helps individuals identify and communicate their current emotional state using four quadrants: (example)
🔴 Red (high energy, unpleasant)
🔵 Blue (low energy, unpleasant)
🟢 Green (low energy, pleasant)
🟡 Yellow (high energy, pleasant)
How to Use It:
Begin class with a quick check-in. Ask: “Where are you on the Mood Meter?”
Normalize emotional expression and validate all feelings.
Use responses to guide support, tone, and classroom strategies for the day.
Track patterns over time to build deeper understanding of your students.
2. Community Agreements
2. Community Agreements
What They Are:
Shared norms created collaboratively with students to guide behavior, communication, and mutual respect.
How to Use Them:
Co-create agreements at the start of a semester or after a reset moment.
Prompt students with questions like:
“What helps you feel safe and heard?”
“What should we all commit to in this space?”
Display agreements visibly in the classroom.
Revisit them regularly—especially before discussions or group work—to ground the class in shared values.
3. Culture Cards
3. Culture Cards
What They Are:
A tool that promotes conversation, reflection, and connection through questions and prompts designed to explore identity, values, and experiences.
How to Use Them:
Use cards as a warm-up, discussion starter, or closing activity.
Great for advisory, morning meetings, SEL lessons, or relationship-building circles.
Sample prompts include:
“What’s something most people don’t know about you?”
“What’s one value that’s important to your family?”
Encourage sharing at a comfortable pace—no pressure to respond if students aren’t ready.
Final Tip:
Consistency is key. These tools are most effective when used regularly and with intention. When staff across the campus use the same strategies, students experience a sense of safety, trust, and belonging—no matter where they are.
The Rowlett Way – Campus-Wide Community Building Tools
The Rowlett Way – Campus-Wide Community Building Tools
🎯 Purpose:
To build stronger relationships and trust with students across the school—starting in each teacher’s classroom. These tools support emotional awareness, shared expectations, and inclusive dialogue, creating a consistent foundation for a positive campus culture.
RHS Pilot Program: A Year of Prototyping
RHS Pilot Program: A Year of Prototyping
Rowlett High School piloted three campus-wide community-building tools this year with a team of 5 teachers. Each tool was used intentionally to support connection, classroom climate, and emotional safety. Here's what we learned:
1. Mood Meter
1. Mood Meter
What It Is:
A visual tool that helps students identify and express their emotional state using four colored quadrants:
🔴 Red – High energy, unpleasant
🔵 Blue – Low energy, unpleasant
🟢 Green – Low energy, pleasant
🟡 Yellow – High energy, pleasant
How RHS Used It:
Dr. Morgan and her English team used a color-stick system: students grabbed a red, yellow, or green stick when entering the classroom.
Before implementation, she explained what each color meant and how she would support students differently based on their mood.
This daily check-in became a reliable way to build trust and adjust classroom energy.
How to Use It:
Start class with a quick emotional check-in
Normalize emotional expression—no mood is “wrong”
Adjust tone, tasks, and support as needed
Track patterns to better understand students over time
2. Community Agreements
2. Community Agreements
What They Are:
Collaborative norms that guide classroom behavior, communication, and respect.
How RHS Used Them:
Each teacher led a one-day conversation around productive academic dialogue.
Students then co-created an agreement that was posted in the classroom and used consistently during discussions and open-ended conversations.
How to Use Them:
Facilitate agreement-building early in the semester or after a classroom reset
Ask guiding questions:
“What helps you feel safe and heard?”
“What do we want this space to feel like?”
Post agreements visibly
Revisit regularly to ground classroom expectations in shared values
3. Culture Cards
3. Culture Cards
What They Are:
Cards with prompts designed to spark conversations, encourage reflection, and build deeper understanding between students.
How RHS Used Them:
Ms. Cooper, RHS Drill Team Director, used Culture Cards regularly with her team.
The results were powerful—students built deep trust with one another that carried over onto the dance floor and into competitions.
How to Use Them:
Use as icebreakers, SEL warm-ups, or closing circles
Great for advisory, morning meetings, or clubs
Sample Prompts:
“What’s something most people don’t know about you?”
“What’s one value that’s important to your family?”
Allow students to share at their own pace—never forced
✨ Final Tip: Consistency is Key
✨ Final Tip: Consistency is Key
These tools are most effective when used regularly and with intention. When staff across campus implement the same strategies, students experience a sense of predictability, safety, and belonging—no matter whose classroom they enter.
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