Michelle Brouse

Best Practices in School Culture Leadership (October 2006)

Michele Brouse, principal
Island Lake Elementary, Mounds View

In November of 2005, I took a team of staff members (two office personnel, one paraprofessional, one parent, and myself) to a training session on Wakanheza at the Minnesota Children’s Museum. Going into this experience we knew that this Dakota word translated to English as child or “sacred being”. We also knew that the impetus behind this effort was violence- and abuse-prevention to children. I was intrigued by the welcoming invitation that MESPA sent through the MESPA E-News to come and learn.

What exactly is Wakahneza?

So, exactly, what is the Wakanheza Project? At its core it is about intervening in an empathetic, helpful, nonjudgmental way in a difficult situation between an adult and a child. It is not about counseling an adult to respond in a better way when confronted with a painful moment. The Wakanheza emphasis is on dissipating the stress level, and thus limiting the development of further anger and frustration.

We have all experienced moments in grocery stores, on airplanes, in toy stores, in restaurants, and in schools when we have either been frustrated with a child who is having a tantrum, or have witnessed a family struggling in this way. On a personal level I can tell you that there were moments that I could hardly wait to get my children out of a store. At those times I was embarrassed and concerned about what others would think of my parenting skills when my children were out of control. Those feelings of inadequacy are even more intense when children have tantrums in a school setting -- where parents feel they are surrounded both by experts and an institution with a legacy of doing “what is right.”

Does a Wakanheza response really make a difference?

An empathetic statement such as “my child did the same thing at that age” can really help an adult put some levity on a tough situation and stay in control. A distracting comment, such as “that is a stroller full of two beautiful babies” (who might very well be screaming or fighting) helps to entirely change the focus of the highly stressed adult. Sometimes a helping offer such as “please let me take the backpacks while you bring the kids in; your hands are full” can diminish the stress level of a parent who is feeling overwhelmed. Parenting is tough duty. Everyone benefits from peaceful outreach; even an encouraging smile can send support that can relieve negative emotions.

The work of Wakanheza is not new or cutting edge. At the same time, how many of us have held back from intervening in this manner? Maybe we have just looked the other way, because we did not know how to respond or were fearful of getting involved. However, emotionally charged situations have the potential of leading to violence either on the spot or later on, if the pattern of stress isn’t broken.

Island Lake Wakanheza journey

With the addition of our social worker, our Island Lake Elementary team formed our initial Wakanheza plan. Step one was to send positive messages throughout our staff in order to generally uplift people after a semester full of stress. Our messages were filled with empathy, distraction, understanding, and appreciation.

Step two was to acknowledge that our certified staff was deeply involved in a couple new district initiatives, and so we chose the support staff to train on Wakanheza. These employees embraced the project immediately; they moved forward planning opportunities throughout our school community to both respond in a Wakanheza manner and to proactively alter our environment to prevent or lessen difficult moments between adults and children. One such step was to install “busy bags” in our office for families who need to come to school with young children in tow. Thanks to our PTA, another simple step was to install benches in front of our school to make it more comfortable for parents at the end of the day when they arrive as they wait for their children.

At the end of the school year, our building leadership team made the decision to bring all Island Lake staff members on board during workshop week 2006. This took place through a collaborative presentation led by our social worker, our art teacher, and a staff member from the Minnesota Children’s Museum. Wakanheza is applicable to larger life, which was very apparent in our staff workshop. The leaders geared all of the Wakanheza concepts to the school setting where staff members enthusiastically joined.

At Island Lake we see the tools of Wakanheza as helpful to bringing down the stress level in a tough situation between two people of any age. We see this thinking as a proactive way to avoid further anger or possible out of control behavior. Using these tools will aid us in spreading positive supportive messages, peaceful behavior, and caring contact to others at school and beyond.

I looked forward to greeting the Island Lake “sacred beings” on their first day of school this fall. And as we move through the year, I will be thinking about the growth and achievement our learners need to make in reading and math. I also will be working with my team to plan the next steps we need to take in developing our community-wide Wakanheza outreach and support.

Wakanheza (wah-kah-ee'-zha) Enhancing schools by creating caring, welcoming environments.

The Wakanheza Project is based on the Dakota word for child, which translates to English as "Sacred Being". Implementing The Wakanheza Project in your school is simple. It is based on the same fundamental principles that all educators know will enhance student learning and success, as well as teacher, staff, and parent satisfaction: creating caring, welcoming environments. For information on bringing Wakanheza to your school community, visit the MESPA Web site at www.mespa.net; click on Professional Development/Wakanheza.