An Appreciative Inquiry Summit was held on April 12 and 13, at Bobby Duke Middle School. Teachers, administrators, students and parents all gathered to discuss how to improve Coachella Valley High School and make positive changes, as well as to share their opinions in an optimistic way.

The Coachella Valley Teacher’s Association worked with a group of teachers and staff members, as well as by administrators from both the school and the district to plan the event.

“Appreciative Inquiry (AI) went well. The best thing about it was the conversations that were taking place that were long over due. Seeing the students speak openly with teachers and administration was wonderful too,” said Alexis Willis, President of CVTA. “So often adults in general discount the importance of the life experiences our students bring to the table, but in this setting there was parity between all parties involved so the lines of communication were open.”

Vanessa Alvarez, a senior who attended the summit, said, “I think my contribution there was to voice my opinion as a student. It was very helpful and I thought everything I said was heard and carefully evaluated. I got to express my feelings about school and how it should improve for future students.”



One teacher who attended and was pleased with the experience is Mrs. Elaine Bishop. “It was the first time in a long time that I felt positive about change and that teachers were not only included but instrumental in the process of change,” she said. Mrs. Bishop has been an English teacher at CV for more than thirty years.

At the end of the summit, those in attendance formed committees to continue working on some of the things identified for change including: communication, career awareness, vocational education, small learning communities and a unified schedule.

“It would be great to see more students and even parents join these committees. We laid the ground work for positive change at CV, but the hard work is still ahead and that’s the follow through with the committees that was started,” said Alexis Willis.