Frick United Academy of Language Advisory Program

In order to respond to these concerns, members of the culture team created an advisory curriculum that was responsive to the needs of students and educators. At Frick, advisory classes take place four days a week for 35 minutes. The school leadership team collaborates to provide every teacher with additional support and capacity building in two key ways: 1) They integrate time on the professional development calendar for additional training and peer exchanges focused on advisory; and 2) They offer one-on-one classroom-based support and coaching for teachers during their advisory classes.

What Does Advisory Look Like?

The Advisory Program is part of the larger Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) and Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) strategy that all staff practice.

During advisory, staff facilitate Community Building Circles (Restorative Circles) as a practice for students to be heard. It’s a space where students who are coming with different kinds of educational experiences can bring their wonderings to a trusted adult and have disagreements in healthy ways; a space where students who are introverted can practice stepping up and sharing their voice; and a space where diverse voices and identities can emerge to build real community.

Advisory is also a space where students can practice multi-racial democracy. At Frick United, the Leadership Class often brings school-wide decisions for a vote in the advisory classes. For example, for school-wide celebrations, the Leadership Class sends out a list of recommended themes and students have an opportunity to discuss and vote on them in every advisory class. This allows more diversity of voice in school-wide decisions and reinforces the value that every student’s voice matters.

Multi-Racial Solidarity Building

At Frick United Academy of Language, advisory also creates space for students and educators to celebrate the diversity of its community and each other’s cultures, finding ways to build cultural pride and cultural humility. Each month, on Friday Community Building Days, students are taught a curriculum that exposes them to different racial/ethnic identities and cultures (e.g. Arab American Heritage Month). The curriculum is often interactive (i.e. videos) and solicits deep discussions. This integration of ethnic studies allows students to build understanding, connections and relationships across race, ethnicity, culture, and language. Most importantly, this builds a sense of safety through creating a real community where everyone belongs.

Advisory Lessons Learned

Over the last few years, Frick United Academy of Language has gathered these best practices in order for advisory to have a real impact:

• Advisory is not a magic pill that transforms school culture by itself. Advisory needs to be embedded in a comprehensive school-wide approach to creating restorative school culture that includes creating deep authentic relationships and supportive systems and structures, like MTSS.
• Implement the advisory structure school-wide. In order for every student to have access to advisory, every educator needs to commit to engaging in the practice. If it’s not done school-wide, inequities develop - where some students have great experiences and feel supported while others don’t.
• Create structures of support for educators. Hold trainings at the beginning of each school year, allocate professional development and reflection time throughout the year, and provide one-to-one coaching and peer support structures on how to hold advisory.
• Learning happens through trying and failing… and trying again. This kind of practice is new for many of us as adults. Creating a culture of support for educators to be learners is essential. If you’re not doing that, you’re just spinning your wheels.

Have fun, play games - don’t just do talking circles. Students get really invested in games. They provide a space to connect and have fun. Talking circles alone can become boring. Balancing what is light with what’s heavier provides opportunities to build deeper connections and creates a space for more vulnerability.