Homewood City Schools create way for inclusion

Over the past year, elementary schools in the Homewood school system have created ways for students to get to know more of their peers and receive help from them and other teachers.

The schools put students into “house groups” or “nest groups” that have monthly meetings and other activities designed to be fun.

At Hall-Kent Elementary School, Brooklyn Scoggins helps lead the Junior Patriot House system.

“It’s a way for us to build positive relationships with kiddos throughout the school building,” Scoggins said.

Having positive relationships and helping children feel comfortable at school are important, she said.

The plans for the groups began in 2018, but as soon as they were about to get started in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic changed everyone’s plans, Scoggins said. Since bringing it back during the 2021-22 school year, it has been received very well, she said.

“It has been a very positive experience for both students and staff,” Scoggins said. “The students are more excited to be at school.”

Eight groups exist at Hall-Kent, and all of them are based on character traits such as friendship, respect, strength and more, Scoggins said.

She wants students to be excited, and they want to represent their house well, she said.

There are about 10 to 15 faculty members and 80 students in each house. Each house has five families and about 15 to 18 students are assigned to each family with two staff leaders. That opens a door for students to have a home and safe space while they are at Hall-Kent, Scoggins said.

As the art teacher, Scoggins gets to know every student, but many teachers only interact with the students that are in their classes. The house groups are a way for students and teachers from different classes to get to know each other and for the teachers to encourage and look out for the students, Scoggins said.

“It’s great for students who aren’t comfortable in a classroom setting or have trouble making friends,” Scoggins said.

With three to four students per grade level in each family, it also provides an opportunity for some peer-to-peer mentoring, allowing older students to interact with younger students, Scoggins said.

The idea stems from The Ron Clark Academy in Atlanta, which popularized the method. Teachers from different schools visited the academy to gain a better understanding of house groups and how they could be implemented throughout Homewood City Schools.

Students are learning how to be better people, learning manners and more, Scoggins said.

Now, one day a month, the houses meet. On that day, students wear their house colors and dress up, Scoggins said.

The groups are called “nests” at Shades Cahaba Elementary, whose mascot is an owl, said Jennifer Harden, an instructional coach for teachers.

They help give an additional advocate for students and the staff, she said. Staff members have an opportunity to nurture each student, and the student’s group does not change from kindergarten to fifth grade, so they are growing together, along with the two teachers assigned to each group. Older students are encouraging younger students, she added.

At meetings, groups will share character education lessons and news and play games. But the largest benefit is seeing older students share their experiences with younger students, Harden said.

At Edgewood Elementary, Principal Laura Tate said the school has about 800 kids in 10 houses. Students are learning about “character words” and what they mean, she said. With accreditation, reviewers are looking to see if each student has a trusted adult outside of their classroom, which is one of the goals of the school’s house groups.

There was a lot of hype and excitement over the random drawings for each house group, Tate said. “We try to make it as fun as can be.”

Tate said in the future, she’d love to have a points system, as used by The Ron Clark Academy. That might help reach the goal of more buy-in from teachers and leaders, she said.

Relationships are important, Tate said, recalling a quote that said “kids don’t learn from people they don’t like.”

Students and staff can both benefit, Tate said. “We all need relationships and community.”