Social
Support & Communicaton
Overview
Social support and communication are fundamental to creating a positive, supportive, and functional school. Every social policy works to both support student's socially/emotionally, increases communication between students and freshman caucus, and increase communication amongst students.
Social & Student Communication Policies
A Place for Freshmen
Issue: Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors all have a designated place to hang out and spend time, while freshman, who debatably need a designated place the most, do not.
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Solution: Benches in the half floor will improve socialization, and we want to formalize it as the Freshman Lounge. Most freshmen hang out there anyway due to a lack of a Freshman bar, and we think it would and make it more welcoming to freshmen.
Travel Buddies
Issue: Many freshmen commute to school alone. However, the commute to Stuy holds potential to connect with other students who share commutes.
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Solution: We (Maxanne and Mitali) met because we commute together, so we want to establish a system to help students who share commutes connect like we did. Students would fill out a quick google form stating which stop they go to at what time, and we’ll work to connect them with other students who depart from the same place at the same time.
Lunch Groups
Issue: Lunch time shouldn’t be the most stressful part of student’s days. However, with lunch times scattered throughout the day, students often don’t know anyone who shares their lunch period, and may feel alone during lunch.
Solution: Similar to the travel buddies policy, we also want to make a google form where you input your lunch period, and are then added to a group chat via discord with others who share a lunch period. This would assist students in connecting with peers with whom they share a lunch period with.
Academic & Teacher Communication Policies
Peer Study Groups
Issue: Stuyvesant currently offers educational support from upperclassmen and teachers; however, there are many cases in which studying alongside peers who are currently learning the exact same content as you would be beneficial; they understand it to the extent that you do, and can therefore meet you where you’re at. Even if you have friends in your class, there are times when you might have fallen behind them, and are in need of support from peers who are at your level.
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Solution: We would establish a Peer Study Group system in which students could sign up to be part of a group with other students with the same teacher. These groups would be given classrooms to work in after school, and because the groups are likely to be small, only one or two classrooms would be needed to support these groups.
Teacher Reporting System
Issue: There are existing policies, including the 30 minute homework policy, test warning policies, and quiz length policies, etc. However, there are many situations where teachers find loopholes or blatantly ignore existing policies. Another issue is the fact that freshmen aren’t confident enough to speak out when they feel like a teacher is being unfair, and they are afraid of getting on a teacher’s good side for complaining.
Solution: We propose a policy in which students can submit a form with their complaints about a teacher. If we receive multiple complaints about a certain teacher, or if we see numerous students say a teacher violated a policy, we will be able to get further details and make sure that teacher is held accountable. We will collect emails and reach out to students to ensure complaints are serious and we will also request further information to deal with the issue.
Lunch Groups
Issue: Most students will go through out-of-school difficulties that deter them from completing homework at one point or another. Regardless, many teachers continue to dock points from late assignments.
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Solution: We’ve noticed some teachers give late homework passes; for example, one teacher allows five late homework assignments before your grade starts being affected. We want to encourage other teachers to give more passes/second chances, especially for freshmen. If students email teachers in advance about conflicts/the circumstance, and offer to make up work, then exceptions should be made.