You may be a bit surprised as you walk down the hall at Davenport Middle School. What you will not see are many students in the classrooms, hallways or common areas.
If you were to drive around the homes surrounding our school, what you will see are students in yards raking leaves and cleaning up for a few our beloved Gorilla senior citizens. This is just one of the many ways our Gorilla middle schoolers show citizenship throughout the year.
PACE defines citizenship as “positively contributing to society and community as well as dutifully respecting authority and the law.” Citizenship is a foundational skill that we try to teach and model at DMS.
As you walk through the glass doors of Davenport Middle School you will see a giant compass on the floor with “Discover, Contribute, Create, and Explore” on each of the cardinal directions.
From its inception seven years ago, DMS staff and students have focused on contribution as the theme for the school.
Every school year the student body collects hundreds of items for Treats for Troops, collects food for our local Care and Share, stuffed toys for the Spokane hospitals and picks up garbage around the town on community clean up day.
But, beyond the big acts of contribution, if you were to come to Davenport Middle School you would also see small acts of citizenship from the staff and students every single day.
You may see a group of boys who clean up after lunch every day regardless of if it’s their mess or not.
Or signs on teachers’ doors from a group of girls who call themselves the RAK (Random Acts of Kindness) Kids who leave notes and treats for the staff members once a week. You may see staff greeting students at the front door giving high-fives to every student walking through. To put it simply, DMS shows citizenship in as many ways as they can.
I encourage anyone to make the short drive to our beautiful little town and stop by what I believe to be the best school in Washington: Davenport Middle School where students are respectful, responsible and ready!
Sarah Raugust is a middle school educator who has been teaching in Davenport for 17 years. She teaches sixth-grade English/Language Arts and is the PACE coordinator for the school. Raugust is involved in several school and community activities and believes that social emotional education is vital for all students.
Partners Advancing Character Education (PACE) is a grassroots Spokane Valley initiative to promote the importance of good character through partnerships with schools, businesses, public agencies, residents, faith based organizations and community service groups. Working from this common list, partners promote and integrate each monthly trait into the regular activities of the organization. Schools participating in PACE include Cheney, Davenport and Medical Lake.
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