YSC also sponsors peer mediation and conflict resolution. The director surveyed students to find out who their choices would be for peer mediators, then trained those selected by the students. We observed a wide variety of instructional strategies and a curriculum that is constantly related to students' personal experiences. We saw numerous connections being drawn across disciplines, including math in a language arts class and language arts in a social studies class. DWoK connects professional development for teachers and administrators with a standards-based, interdisciplinary history and social studies curriculum that integrates literature, the arts, writing, reading, math, and science.
Students help develop rubrics and participate in decision-making.
They are clear that the adults make decisions that have to do with students' safety. The school rewards all students via Renaissance cards, which recognize grades, attendance, behavior, and positive office referrals, which recognize community service, leadership, and random acts of kindness. A copy of this referral is sent to the student's home. The school reaches out in extraordinary ways to parents. Some 70 parents are actively involved as volunteers under the leadership of a volunteer coordinator.