CNHS POD program was selected as a "MODEL" for advisory on a national website
Overview
Advisory is a regularly scheduled period of time, typically during the school day, when small groups of students gather together for the purpose of community building, social-emotional development, and support. These groups are typically led by an adult who advises on academic, social, emotional, and/or future planning topics. It is most common at the middle and high school levels because students transition between classroom spaces and would otherwise lack a physical and psychological home base. However, elementary schools also often engage in advisory-like practices in their self-contained space. The overarching goal of advisory is to build strong relationships between the advisor and students, as well as peer-to-peer relationships. The advisor serves as an advocate to ensure every student and family is known well—academically, socially, and emotionally—by at least one adult in the school. Advisory can also be a structure for community building across the school.
The Coalition of Essential Schools says, “At its heart, advisory forges connections among students and the school community, creating conditions that facilitate academic success and personal growth.” Current published research indicates that this kind of program leads to various positive outcomes—such as increased attendance and sense of belonging—that correlate with improved academic outcomes.
For this Collection, we define Advisory as an umbrella term for experiences that foster relationships and social-emotional development in a school environment. These experiences often include routines and structures that focus on:
Community building
Goal-setting and reflection
Conflict resolution
Self-exploration
Emotional regulation work
Academic support
City Neighbors High School - Pod
Pod is an enhanced advisory model developed by City Neighbors High School (CNHS). Often considered the heart of the school, Pod is frequently described by students and advisors as a “second family.” Pods serve three core purposes: providing academic support, providing safe social-emotional spaces, and building community. All students belong to a Pod with no more than 17 others, and each Pod sticks together with its advisor through all four years of high school. A Pod is also a reserved meeting, working, and living space for students. Pod becomes a place where students feel at “home away from home” in school, and it strives to ensure that every student is “known, loved, and inspired.”
The Pod model entails some common activities while also leaving ample space for teacher autonomy and student voice. Activity blocks, special programming, and Individual Learning Plans are important parts of the Pod experience. City Neighbors offers site visits and a resource toolkit to support schools in implementing Pod.
