Students are encouraged to develop and share their interests by facilitating a whole-school crew meeting. They build leadership and communication skills by opting to create presentations on topics of their choice. When a student feels passionately about a topic, they work with the instructional coach to build their presentation. Sometimes these presentations are purely informational, sharing something about their cultural background or information about a hero like Martin Luther King, Jr. Other times, students work to organize a project to make the world a better place, raising money for animal foundations through Pennies for Pandas and Change for Cheetahs, or inviting their peers to gather during lunchtime to fold origami butterflies with positive messages for patients at St. Jude’s. Closer to home, they have collected donations for our local animal shelter, Charlie’s Place, and they have helped organize luncheons with the local senior center. This is one of many ways that we use crew to help us build community.