Freshman Academy
Habits of Highly Effective
Schools
“Commit to a process of continuous improvement in professional practice”.
Clear mission: Rigor, relevance and relationships
Establish criteria by which to measure daily practices against goals and priorities
Agreement on Key Elements = Non-negotiables
Ø Practices
← Held
sacred by us
Ø Philosophy
Such as:
- equity for all students
- common planning time for all teachers
- high expectations curriculum
- student’s voice and interests matter – personalization
- literacy development a necessity
*Following Habits – nurtured, practiced – become commonplace
1. Demonstrate high expectations/vision to match
o academic and personal development of students
o all students can achieve at high levels
o commitment to giving strong foundation in:
→ skill development
reading writing problem-solving
math critical-thinking
Learning environments provide an atmosphere of respect by caring adults and are supported in social and personal development for students.
o Create meaningful mission and vision statements
o Call each member to a standard of performance excellence
2. Build capacity to create a true climate for success
o
Focused on a set of high
expectations for ourselves
o
Clear expectations for
interactions with colleagues, students and community
o
Professional Learning Community will:
- Look at current data
-
Share best practices
-
Share student work
-
Deliver high-quality instruction
-
Lead and manage classroom and
school
-
Use data to document continuous
improvement
-
Provide personal support to
students
-
Develop fundmental skills students
need to succeed
-
Reflect on needs of individual
staff members
-
Provide opportunities for growth
3. Think small and dream big
o How can we more effectively meet our mission?
o Change and improvement are possible
o Commit to process of study, reflection, and work
Essential Question: “What is the best structure and instructional approrach to meet the needs of our students?”
o Create schools within schools
4. Engage in legitimate community support
o Need widespread support from community and business leaders, colleges, social services agencies, private organizations and families
o Partnerships and shared sense of accountability necessary for the success of our school
5. Thrive with strong, sustained, and shared leadership
o Recruit and develop strong, sustained, stable leadership at all levels
*Leadership is not defined by job description
o Work actively for continued improvement
o Share data in meaningful, straightforward manner
o Ask the hard, essential questions
o Be honest
o Share work and best practices
o Offer suggestions for improvements
o Accept accountability
6. Align and manage resources
o Every member in organization should know and articulate the plan to meet the mission
o Align resources to the mission of reform
o Budgeting and staffing aligned to essential priorities
o Hold consultants accountable for outcomes directly linked to mission (Skillful Teacher)
o Involve faculty and union reps in reform particularly with delivery of instruction and management of organization
7. Understand Time
o Create a sense of urgency for reform and set a rigorous timeline
o Create checks and balances to assess each teachers’, each students’ and the overal reform process.
o Ensure that reform is not just a superficial effort to “get test scores up”
o Spend time in process of study and discovery
o Create a meaningful, time-sensitive plan
o Stay the course!!!
Mission
Rigor, Relevance and Relationships
↓
Vision
Philosophy and Practices
↓
Habits of Effective Schools
Numbers 1-7
↓
Freshmen Academy
Priorities
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Freshman Academy:
6. What is the most effective way to meet our timeline?