Jim Graves joined
Oak Creek Ranch School earlier this year as the director of residential life, bringing with him more than two decades of experience working with kids as well as a passion for helping teens realize their potential. Here, Jim shares a bit about his background, the changes he’s made at the Sedona boarding school, as well as his hopes for the future of
OCRS.
Q: Where did you grow up?
A: I am from New England and grew up outside of Boston. I came to Phoenix in 1980, only planning to be in the Southwest for a couple of years. Thirty years later, here I am.
Q: What do you do for fun?
A: I like to go camping, hike, read and be involved in my church.
Q: Did you like school when you were a kid?A: Not until high school. I think that’s when the cognitive skills kicked in and I developed a passion to succeed and to learn.
Q: Are there any teachers you remember having a significant impact on you, and why?
A: An English teacher and the faculty advisor for the drama club. They encouraged creativity.
Q: What did you study in college and how did you start working with teens?A: I have an undergraduate degree in sociology and social work and a master’s degree in counseling. Early on in high school and college, I thought about becoming an Episcopal minister, and thought a social background would be beneficial. But life takes its turns and different paths, and those led me from business to working with teenagers.
Q: Why do you love working kids?A: It keeps me young. I’m 53 going on 17. These are kids are our future. If we can help provide them the environment where they can develop the tools they need to be successful both academically and socially, then we’ve done our job as they go onto college and truly become adults. I love that aspect about it. In boarding schools such as this, it’s like growing up in a family. When you’re a kid, your parents don’t seem so smart. The older you get, the smarter your parents become. The longer students are away from
OCRS, the more aware they are of the academic and social lessons they learned here. It’s all about planting seeds that will come to fruition in the years to come.
Q: What are some lessons you’ve learned from working with kids?
A: The biggest lesson is to be able to laugh at myself. Kids are quick to point out all of our foibles. And another big and perhaps more important lesson is that kids will rise to the level of expectations we hold for them. They’re so full of potential, and they possess a great ability to learn, grow and mature. They’re also resilient and have the capacity to grow and move beyond past discouragement, difficulty and failure.
Q: How is the job so far?A: I’m loving it!
OCRS has put me in touch with fantastic kids who show so much potential. The faculty is personally involved and desires to do the best for the kids.
OCRS also is special because of the experiential learning that takes place in the classroom, the activities, the beautiful location and the caring residential staff.
Q: What changes have you brought to the school?A: Ultimately, we are working toward developing an academic and residential boarding school community in which the students experience respect, accountability, support and encouragement they need to be successful and to try new things.
At the start of summer, I did away with the discipline program based on demerits and points. Kids received so many demerits that they were buried and didn’t have hope of working themselves out of trouble. The new system is based on choices and consequences and puts the accountability on the student.
Every student arrives here with a clean slate and the ability to take advantage of all the things and privileges
OCRS has to offer. They are made aware of the new system which provides information about behavior infractions and how they might lose privileges or end up being on restriction, which is basically equivalent to being grounded.
The feedback I’ve gotten is that it’s nice that things are consistent and students understand the consequences for the choices they make. During parents weekend this fall, parents of returning students said they noticed a big change in the atmosphere and attitude at the school.
This year there have been fewer problems on campus, and students have been more positive. I have seen students take responsibility without arguing and without becoming destructive and angry with staff. I’ve seen them make better choices because they didn’t want to deal with the consequences. One student decided it’s not worth smoking because of all the restrictions and the trouble you can get into. This was a student who, during the summer, didn’t care.
Q: What new programs are on the horizon?A: I’m working on implementing a character development and leadership program geared toward helping students to identify the core values that are important to them and determining whether their thoughts and actions are in line with those values. Also, we are exploring if those values and behaviors are working for them, and if not, what changes can be made.
Additionally, I hope to put into place a volunteer program that has kids doing 30 hours of volunteer work throughout the year in Verde Valley communities.
