Community, Outstanding, Learning and Teamwork (COLT Time Project)

Senator Riley School, Foothills School Division No. 38
Contact: Linda Blackstock

  1. What problem were you trying to address when you launched this program?
    As a staff, we felt that our students needed to improve in the areas of respect and responsibility.

  1. Describe the program/project?

    1. COLT time is our adaptation of the Advisory philosophy of Middle Schools. COLT time occurs in homeroom groupings for one, fifty-minute period in every four-day cycle.
    2. The first portion of COLT time is focused on Character Education. Each class begins COLT time with “Compliments and Appreciations,” (Positive Discipline in the Classroom, Jane Nelson). During this time students give and receive compliments and words of thanks from their peers in a safe, non-threatening environment.
    3. “Compliments and Appreciations,” is followed by a classroom meeting (Positive Discipline in the Classroom, Jane Nelson). The purpose of this meeting is to help students learn conflict resolution skills, problem-solving skills and develop social interest.
    4. During the remainder of COLT time, students work in one of the following areas on a rotational basis:
      1. Personal goal setting (at the beginning of each trimester).
        We believe that learning to set goals and to achieve them will teach our students to be responsible, successful citizens.
      2. Entering their work into portfolios, which shows that the students are working towards or have achieved their goals.
      3. A proactive bullying program delivered by our Youth Development Counselors.
        • At the Grade 6 level, the focus is building self-esteem, the importance of reporting and how to report incidents and strategies to use when dealing with bullies. As part of these lessons students are taught how to make anonymous reports to a trusted adult (our youth development counselor) at a virtual drop box, www.stopbully.com
        • At the Grade 7/8 level the focus is; understanding individuality, self- esteem and how to respond when you are being bullied
      4. Health (Grade 6) and value focused lessons (Grade 7/8).
        Lessons at the Grade 7/8 level teach students how to make decisions based on values, ethics and the interests of others
    5. All students in Grade 6 work on the same lessons during COLT time. All students in Grade 7/8 also work on the same lessons. These lesson plans are created for teachers in order to ensure consistency in content and delivery throughout the school. At the end of each trimester, a COLT Time Evaluation is included in each child's report card.
    6. Senator Riley’s COLT Awards are based on the students’ goals that are set during COLT time. Goals are set in the areas of Community, Outstanding, Learning and Teamwork. These goals are set by students at the beginning of each trimester, in consultation with their teacher, and are then sent home to parents. At the end of each trimester, the students conference with their teacher to review their goals. Students are awarded points for achieving their personal goals at either the excellent or acceptable level. Their progress is reported to parents as an insert in their report card. The total point accumulation at the end of the year will determine whether the student receives a gold award, a silver award, or no award. This system is entirely based on students’ individual achievement, according to individual goals set by individual students. Personal effort and responsibility are two of the major factors that determine whether or not students will successfully reach their goals.
  1. How did you involve your school council/community in developing this approach?
    We presented our rationale and format for COLT time to our school council. They asked questions and provided feedback. Discussions were held with our school council in 2001-2002 to get feedback with respect to our awards program at that time. The school council indicated that they felt our awards program could be improved and gave suggestions. A staff committee worked to develop a new awards program and presented it to the school council for feedback. It was well received. With the exception of the students' "Learning Goal," the students' goals are not limited only to school, but extend to the community at large, including church, family, athletics, business, etc. For example, many students have set "Community," goals that involve volunteer work in the High River community.

  2. How do you know it is working?
    Our data on the effectiveness of COLT time is observational. Teachers have observed the positive effect that it has had in their classrooms. The administrative team has noticed a dramatic decrease in the number of major discipline issues since the implementation of this program. It is felt that this can be partly attributed to this program. Comments from teachers:
    “ My favourite component of COLT time is the ‘compliments and appreciations,’ time. It's heart-warming for kids to think of what they're grateful for and give thanks to others. It's neat to see them consider the great qualities in others.” “ ‘The power of our "Sharing Circle:’
    [1] Early in the year, it was clear that students were uncomfortable giving and receiving compliments - a huge change occurs with repetition.
    [2] Self-concept - some students with low self-concept almost "glow" when they receive a compliment from someone, particularly someone that is not a friend.
    [3] Positive things that the students notice about each other and get commented on are more likely to be repeated.”
    “ ‘Compliments and Appreciations,’ circle is the highlight of the week! Students love that time, and feel that they are getting to know each other on a deeper level."

  3. What would you do to improve this program?
    We have implemented various changes to the program this year. We will review the effectiveness of these changes at the end of this school year. The changes include:
    1. Incorporating a bullying program into COLT time.
    2. Moving into values/ethics lessons for Grade 7s and 8s, as they were already skilled at the, "Compliments and Appreciations," portion of COLT time.
    3. Rather than setting goals each semester, students set goals each trimester, as they are now more experienced at goal setting.
    4. Revising our point system for silver and gold to make it more challenging.
    5. Goals are signed by parents at the beginning of each trimester. Goal reports are sent home in report cards at the end of each trimester.