CENTRAL SCHOOLS
Central High School and Central Freedom School
Central Schools prepare students for life by:
- Empowering students to achieve their personal best
- Inspiring students to value education
- Providing a culture of acceptance
- Helping student succeed
- Demonstrating accountability for learning through measurable results
- Providing academic standards that align with state requirements and other Mankato Area Public High Schools
- Having staff that are trained in unique teaching strategies
- Building relationships that are key to student success
- Creating a learning environment that is respectful and has a focus on safety
Fostering Student Wellness Together
We want to work with you to foster wellness in our children. We have committed staff that will be alert to the issues our students bring to us. We want you to know that in each of our buildings we have school nurses, school counselors, school psychologists, and school social workers along with our teachers, administrators and staff that will be available to our students to process their concerns. Open communication between home and school is critical to the well-being of our students.
In our schools, we work daily to help students deal with the stresses they face. Parents are our partners in helping their children learn to face challenges successfully, whether it is the stresses of everyday life, such as academic difficulties or problems with friends, or severe adversity, such as a serious illness or family crisis.
The National Association of School Psychologists recommends the following to build resiliency:
1. Think positive! Modeling positive attitudes and emotions is very important. Children need to hear adults thinking out loud positively and being determined to persist until a goal is achieved. Using a “can do” problem-solving approach to problems teaches children a sense of power and promise.
2. Express love and gratitude! Emotions such as love and gratitude increase resiliency. Children who are cared for, loved, and supported learn to express positive emotions to others. Positive emotions buffer kids against depression and other negative reactions to adversity.
3. Express yourself! Resilient people appropriately express all emotions, even negative ones. Adults who help kids become more aware of emotions, label emotions appropriately, and help children deal with upsetting events are giving them useful life skills.
4. Get fit! Good physical health prepares the body and mind to be more resilient. Healthy eating habits, regular exercise and adequate sleep protect kids against the stress of tough situations. Regular exercise also decreases negative emotions such as anxiety, anger, and depression.
5. Foster Competency! Making sure that children achieve academically is great protection against adversity. Also, children who develop individual talents are such more likely to feel competent and are able to deal with stress positively. Working together we can help children see their strengths.
Protecting our children against all of life’s unexpected painful events is not possible. Giving them a sense of competency and the skills to face adverse circumstances can be a valuable gift
to our children. Resiliency can be built by understanding these important foundations. The more we practice these approaches; the better able our children will be to weather whatever life brings.