Student Well-Being

Handle With Care

By Kate Ryan — January 01, 2001 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Like many American schools, Lenoir City High in Knoxville, Tennessee, has security cameras and a counseling department to prevent fights among its 1,000 students from escalating into Columbine-like incidents. But perhaps its best weapon against violence is Dave Moore, a veteran football coach and physical education teacher, and his “Care Club.”

In 1997, Moore decided to create a group for students adrift socially. He invited kids to join him at a Care Club table outside the cafeteria one Friday during lunch. To increase the club’s draw, Moore recruited local celebrities such as former NFL kicker Fuad Reviez to talk with Care Clubbers. As the year progressed, more people—including teachers and custodial staff—gathered for musical performances, prize drawings, donation drives, and a chance to hang out with each other.

These days, the Care Club boasts 450 members who proudly wear their club T-shirts on Fridays. While members gather for community service activities as well as weekly meetings, the focus of the organization is practicing acts of kindness that create a supportive environment at the school. Students give baked goods to teachers to show appreciation for their work. The club sends cards to each student and staff member on their birthdays, enclosing coupons from local merchants for free putt-putt golf, movies, and pizza. Club members also call students who are absent for three days or more or have gone home sick for the day. “It is not a truancy call but just tells them we care about them and they were missed,” Moore explains.

Mary Blakney, who’s worked in the cafeteria for 34 years, believes the club has improved the social atmosphere at the school: “I’ve noticed there is less focus on cliques. Students will move around and talk to everyone now.”

“The Care Club has given me a sense of belonging and responsibility through my involvement,” says Adam Waller, a Lenoir City graduate and freshman at the University of Tennessee, who helped Moore start the program. “At first everyone thought it was a joke. But then they realized that the club was here to stay and that we were sincere.” Genuine caring is the secret to the group’s success, says Moore: “You have to give all of yourself because young people are better detectors of sincerity than most adults.”

Events

Artificial Intelligence K-12 Essentials Forum How AI Use Is Expanding in K-12 Schools
Join this free virtual event to explore how AI technology is—and is not—improving K-12 teaching and learning.
Federal Webinar The Trump Budget and Schools: Subscriber Exclusive Quick Hit
EdWeek subscribers, join this 30-minute webinar to find out what the latest federal policy changes mean for K-12 education.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Curriculum Webinar
End Student Boredom: K-12 Publisher's Guide to 70% Engagement Boost
Calling all K-12 Publishers! Student engagement flatlining? Learn how to boost it by up to 70%.
Content provided by KITABOO

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Student Well-Being Netflix's 'Adolescence' Sparks Debate Over Sex Education in Schools
Sex education, generally ill-equipped to handle subject matter to which teens are exposed, is getting further squeezed.
6 min read
052025 abstinence sex education computer access 476732252
iStock/Getty
Student Well-Being What Schools Can Do About Climate Change Right Now
A new report details how schools can adapt for climate change in both small and big ways.
7 min read
Ceiba Phillips, an 11-year-old Eaton Fire evacuee, visits his school gutted by the fire in Altadena, Calif., Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025.
Ceiba Phillips, an 11-year-old Eaton Fire evacuee, visits his school gutted by the fire in Altadena, Calif., Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025. A new report from EdTrust outlines how schools can adapt for climate change, from incorporating the concept into the curriculum, tending to students' climate anxiety, and making climate-resilient facility upgrades.
Jae C. Hong/AP
Student Well-Being Netflix’s ‘Adolescence’ Sounds an Alarm on Troubled Teens. What Can Teachers Do?
The popular Netflix series "Adolescence" raises questions about what schools can do for troubled teens.
6 min read
Illustration of a depressive boy that is sitting and thinking on a window at night (dark blue background)
iStock/Getty
Student Well-Being 4 Ways Schools Can Ease Student Anxiety During Trump's Immigration Crackdown
Changes in the federal immigration enforcement landscape can cause increased anxiety among all students
4 min read
Illustration of a large hand holding an umbrella over a person of color who is sitting with her head in her hands.
iStock/Getty