Middle school focuses on developing the whole child New program teaches respect, responsibility, integrity, communication BY JENNIFER KOHLHEPP Staff Writer UPPER FREEHOLD - The middle school values good character as much as it does academic excellence. As the Upper Freehold Regional School District prepares for the September 2010 opening of a new middle school, middle school Principal Mark Guterl wants parents to know that the well-being of its current students is not being neglected. Guterl said the school wants to relate to its students that their social enterprises are of equal importance to their academic endeavors. He said that there are generally three types of people in the world: those who see a piece of trash and walk right by it; those who see garbage and tell someone else to pick it up; and those who find trash and clean it up themselves. He said the middle school's focus is on developing people who will take charge and change things for themselves and others. In an effort to do so, the middle school developed a more positive, studentfriendly handbook that aims to create a value system for kids. The school's administrators polled its students and teachers and narrowed down the collected information to four characteristics that they believe make individuals successful. Called the "Redbird Four," respect, integrity, responsibility and communication are the four values students and staff at the school are expected to live by, Guterl said. "These are four things all students have inside, but we recognize that some students have to figure out how to demonstrate all of these things," Guterl said. Implementing the Redbird Four into every aspect of the school community will create an environment where kids are healthy and feel safe to take academic risks, according to Guterl. "We want to foster the development of the human being," he said. "We want to make these kids ready for a lifetime of making good choices and decisions." Guterl said the school has incorporated the four characteristics into hallway and classroom decor, lesson planning and extracurricular activities, as well as in the ways teachers and administrators act toward students and how students interact with one another. "This is what we are all going to live by," he said. For instance, Guterl said that when students are sent to his office this year, the first thing he will ask them is which of the four characteristics they think they have and which they may have to work on. "Brainwashing is a part of this, yes," Guterl joked. The schools will also focus on eliminating hypocrisy this year, according to Guterl. He said young students often cannot stand being told not to do something, such as chewing gum or drinking soda, by teachers and others who are in fact doing it themselves. Guterl has asked staff to refrain from such acts and quoted Jack Canfield, saying, "Kids don't care what you know until they know you care." He said he believes the program is already working as exemplified by the lack of litter in the hallways and by students working through issues with a focus on compromise rather than meeting their own ends. Board member Elizabeth Trent said she's happy that the new character-education program is working. "It's great to see the middle school kids and teachers excited about this," she said, adding that she believes it is vitally important for schools to help teach integrity to people at a young age. Superintendent of Schools Dick Fitzpatrick commended the Redbird Four program, saying that it seeks to create a culture in the schools using staff as positive role models. From his own experience, Fitzpatrick said, he has learned that "children live what they learn and learn what they live."