By Robin Hilmantel
Correspondent
When Carrboro High School Principal Jeff Thomas interviewed teachers last year, he made sure to ask them one question that, while seemingly off-handed, played an important role in his decision to hire them.
“What club could you see yourself sponsoring?†he asked each teacher before explaining that all members of his staff would be required to act as adviser for at least one club.
“My vision was pretty clear for this school,†he said. “I wanted school spirit to be high, and the expectation was clear that all faculty members would sponsor a club.â€
But teachers aren’t the only ones required to get involved at Carrboro. By incorporating about a half-hour for club meetings into the school day once a month, starting Oct. 31, Thomas has made it possible for every student to be part of at least one club.
“Research shows that when students are involved in school, they’re going to do very well academically,†he said.
“We have several students who are not engaged in school, so my thinking was that if they were required to be a member or required to participate in an extracurricular, co-curricular or club-day activity their participation would enable their academic achievement to improve and therefore their attendance also to improve.â€
Freshman Laney Meyer was considering joining the Photography Club, Improvisation Club and Rock (music) Club at “Jaguar Jump-In,†an event held the last hour of the school day on Sept. 14 for more than 40 clubs to advertise to students and recruit members.
“I didn’t know they would make us, but I kind of like it,†she said.
Not all students were as enthusiastic as Meyer about the attempt to get students involved.
“I think it’s stupid,†said Ratosha Florence, a freshman who signed up for Step Team and Community Clean-Up. “I like having my regular schedule.â€
Daniel Matchar, a junior and co-student body president, said while most students seem content with the setup, he has heard from a few who are unhappy. “There are some people who are threatening to boycott,†he said, although he doesn’t understand their frustrations. “There’s nothing to do [during that time] besides go to a club.â€
Alyssa Shuster, a freshman who was interested in joining the French Club, agreed.
“At first I was kind of disappointed because I wasn’t planning on doing any clubs,†she said, “but now I’m excited.â€
Jan Gottschalk, an English teacher and the newspaper sponsor, said students expressed “a little bit of furor†about being required to join a club. A few students hadn’t signed up for anything at the end of Jaguar Jump-In.
Thomas said that because of this complication as well as others — such as certain clubs having too many members sign up — the school was planning on surveying students. After asking for their top two choices of clubs that would meet on Wednesdays, the school planned to assign students to one attend on the designated club meeting days.
“As I have told the department chairs, we’re going to find a way for this to work,†Thomas said.
Most teachers support Thomas’ efforts.
“It creates a stronger sense of community,†said L.J. Randolph, a Spanish teacher and sponsor of Carrboro’s Key Club, which was so popular that Randolph had to make more copies of the sign-up sheet in the middle of Jaguar Jump-In. “If they don’t see a club that they’re into, they can start one. It encourages them to be leaders.â€
Randolph said he was especially impressed at the number of students who approached him wanting to create new clubs.
“They would normally just stand on the sideline,†he said.
Since most clubs meet after school or during lunch in addition to the monthly school-day meeting, students can balance more than one.
“Some kids would just go four years without joining a club,†said Melvin Griffin, a math teacher and co-sponsor of the Strength and Conditioning Club. “This way gets everyone involved.â€
Pat Lewis, an English teacher, said the new experiences available at Carrboro, including club day, contributed to her decision to move from Chapel Hill High to the new school. “I’ve never worked at a school where that has been a possibility,†she said. “It’s a time in the middle of the day for everyone to take a deep breath and do something they love to do.â€
In addition to club day, Carrboro also instituted what is known as “Third-Friday,†a day each month when an hour is blocked off for an assembly or school event.
Thomas said student-recognition assemblies, cultural-awareness assemblies, guest speakers, talent shows and pep rallies all are potential Third Friday events.
“My hope is that they will enhance a sense of pride that kids have in the school, give them a sense of school spirit and give kids something to which they can look forward,†he said. “There needs to be something that kids can have fun with and something that can boost morale.â€
Gottschalk said the Third Friday schedule is something that couldn’t have been implemented at Chapel Hill High, her former workplace, because of its size.
“The school was just simply too large, and it really had no spirit and no unity,†she said. “And that’s really one of the things that we’re really trying to turn around. It’s a way of really building a community and taking advantage of our size to do it.â€
Both special schedule days were suggested by the design team — a group of parents, students, administrators and teachers, including Lewis that met every Thursday for three hours before Carrboro opened.
“Everyone came together, and they actually developed a vision for the school, and they developed the rules and looked at mascots and picked furniture,†Lewis said. “I think the students are going to find much has been built into the schedule for them to have a rounded high school experience, not just an academic one.â€
This was a very informative and interesting article. I’m glad to see the principal take a risk to encourage student participation and an overall sense of school spirit. I’d like to know how well this initiative works.