Palmer Trinity School is among the nation’s first schools to join a new national campaign to mobilize middle and high schools to prepare young people to be constructive community members and citizens who create a better world.
Led by Harvard’s Making Caring Common project, the Caring Schools #CommonGood campaign aims to motivate schools to take action to help mend our country’s fractures and strengthen democracy.
“Palmer Trinity School is committed to developing ethical thought leaders who will stand up and commit to making a difference in the world,” said Susana Cetta, LMHC, director of Student Activities and Service Living. “We want them to use their voice and the power of their words and actions to create a more caring and compassionate world. We look forward to working together with Caring Schools #Common Good campaign,”
The campaign seeks to advance the following specific goals by working with schools nationwide:
• Deepen students’ care for others and their communities;
• Increase equity and access for all students in the college admissions process; and
• Reduce excessive achievement pressure in communities where it is detrimental to students.
These goals align with and build on Making Caring Common’s successful Turning the Tide initiative that has engaged more than 175 college admissions offices nationwide.
“Our country is at a crossroads,” said Dr. Richard Weissbourd, senior lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and faculty director of the Making Caring Common project. “We need to mobilize the great strengths of Americans to prepare young people to build strong, inclusive communities and to protect democracy. This work has perhaps never been more important.”
To join the campaign, schools commit to taking substantial, meaningful action to advance one or more of the campaign’s goals and to engage in a self-assessment or evaluation process to measure the impact of their action(s). Schools that commit to, implement, and evaluate the impact of their efforts will earn a special designation from Making Caring Common.
Palmer Trinity School was one of more than 135 schools that joined the campaign as “early leaders” who helped to inform, shape, and build momentum for the campaign.
Palmer Trinity School’s commitments includes:
• To build a caring inclusive community via its Mosaic diversity and inclusivity program;
• Leverage the power of student leaders to create more welcoming, inclusive, and caring school environments via SGA (student government association) and peer counseling program;
• Engage students regularly in meaningful, low-burden, and fun activities in the school and classroom that promote empathy and build community, and
• Support high-quality, sustained community service activities in the local community and in the global travel service partnerships to which we are committed. This work will be led by Susana Cetta, director of Student Activities. For more information, send email to scetta@palmertrinity.org.
As part of the launch, Palmer Trinity School joined other early leaders on Facebook and Twitter using the Caring Schools #CommonGood hashtag to express support for the campaign, publicly commit to a chosen action(s), and encourage schools nationwide to join the effort.
New schools interested in joining the campaign are encouraged to share a photo and use the text “Count us in! We joined the Caring Schools #CommonGood campaign” on Facebook and Twitter on March 6.
More information about how schools, parents, and students can join the campaign can be found at commongoodcampaign.makingcaringcommon.org.
