Three characteristics of high achieving, high poverty schools include the belief that all students can succeed at high levels, a situation that leads to high academic expectations; a focus on relationship building that includes the whole child, their families, and teachers, a situation that helps create a caring school environment; and the use of data to drive improvement not only of instruction, but to target specific student and system needs within the school and community setting.
I think that Ulysses is starting to develop many of the characteristics of a successful high poverty school system. Examples are porch visits by teachers to the homes of their students, use of assessment data to drive instruction, the development of professional learning communities and the provision of time to meet on a regular basis, the development of after school and summer programs to help under achieving students, and the development of a school wide system of positive behavioral supports.
That is so important to add all of these characteristics when working with any child in any given situation. I think that we need to be in close contact with the parents. If the line of communication is broken then the ball will get dropped somewhere.
Three similarities that I think my school does well are: 1 - Orderly climate: My school uses PBS which helps us develop an orderly climate throughout the classrooms and in our after school programs. 2 - Use of assessment data to improve student achievement and instruction: Our integrated improvement plan is used to look at our assessment data, find areas of weakness in our students/subgroups and then find ways to address those weaknesses. 3 - Availability of instructional resources: We have quite a few resources available to us such as reading, math, ss, and science curriculums and all of their components, Orchard Math, and various computer programs to address reading and math in our afterschool programs.
Some similarities I think my school is lacking are: 1 - Clear curriculum choices: Even though we have the core subject curriculum available to use, not all teachers use it consistently. Some don't use the reading series at all, which makes it hard for our students to have consistency. It seems like there shouldn't be a choice - if the school adapted it, then it should be used - at least as a base for teaching with added supplements as needed. 2 - Collaborative decision making: I think our staff would like to have more collaborative decision making but it doesn't seem to happen. Again, we have programs we are supposed to use, but a lot of confusion about how to use them. Some grade levels use AR as an individual reading time, while other grade levels do not use it. This confuses parents and does not lead to consistent expectations for the students. If the staff could talk about these things, we could probably agree on what we should all use or not use, and how we are going to use it.
The three similarities I think are in most schools rather they be high achieving or high poverty. It is necessary for these similarities to be in most schools in order for them to maintain a curriculum for all students no matter what their socioeconomical status is.
I think having consistent curriculums - -especially that transition from elem school to middle school to high school -- is very difficult to do. It takes an effort on the part of administrators to make sure expectations are being met.
The three characteristics that I picked from the list are as follows: caring staff and faculty, coherent, standards-based curriculum and instructional program, and use of assessment data to improve student achievement and instruction. I believe that in most schools no matter if the are high achievement or high poverty the staff members and faculty care about the students. It is important that all students are cared about, without caring staff members, I feel that the students wouldn't do as good as they could. Coherent, standards-based curriculum and instructional program was the next characteristics that I picked. In most schools it is required that they have a set curriculum and instructional program set up for the students. It is important to be able to assess the imporvemntes along with the challenges that all students face.
The school system that I belong for the most part has a very patient and carrying staff. We try to understand the accomplishments of our high achieveing students and also the struggles of our students faced with poverty. We have an after school program that is designed to help students that struggle to learn or just need a safe place to stay after school. We also have adopted a new curriculum that goes along with the Common Core State Standards. Each grade level is working to create lesson plans and units that is directly tied to each reading, math, and writing Common Core State Standards that their grade level is exptected to teach. And finally, assessments are also used in my district. We are currently using AIMS web to monitor the progress of our students in reading and math. This information allows to differintiate our learning in the area of reading in order to create stronger readers.
I believe my school also has a caring staff who understands the needs of kids in poverty. We had a "poverty simulation" before school, which was very enlightening. Many teachers have made points not to ask for extra materials from home and to respect the very different needs that these families have.
I have seen a huge change in general education over the years with keeping data to monitor student progress. I think we are all doing a better job now and see it's importance.
1.) Caring Faculty & Staff 2.) Emphasis on Reading Skills 3.) Regular Teacher-Parent Communication
I believe all of these characteristics are found in all of the buildings I work in, at varying levels of course, but still there. In all of my districts, I believe a majority of students feel as though school is a safe place, and if they’re having problems with something, there is a person there who cares about them and will help them. Also, all of my districts are in some phase or another of the MTSS process. All of them have chosen reading as their first target area, which I think speaks to their focus of wanting to improve students’ reading skills. Also, because all of my districts are in very small towns, you can’t help but have regular teacher-parent communication. I think there are probably always informal P/T conferences going on at the ball games, the grocery store, church, etc.
Alan~ I think that home visits are a great way to foster open communication between the school and parents (I’ve heard CRAZY stories about these situations too, though, which make me a little leery, haha!). I know if I were a parent, and school faculty/staff sent home hand written notes about my child, gave me their cell phone number, or took time out of their day to meet with me at my home, I’d be beyond and appreciative and think “Wow, they really DO care about my kid, and they really DO want him/her to succeed, and they really DO want to help.”
Rae Lynn~ I imagine there are probably staff members from several schools that would like to have more collaborative decision-making. Everybody has good opinions to share, and I think everybody likes to feel like they are in the loop. Sadly though, with time constraints, personal viewpoints, etc. sometimes this can be a difficult thing to achieve.
1. Caring staff and faculty-- That old adage about catching more flies with honey is true. The students will respond better if we show that their education matters to us and is not just a job. I believe this characteristic is shown my about 85% of the staff at my school.
2. High Expectations--So many times I have seen teachers and staff see a student's background or disability and set their expectations low. High expectations not only push the student to achieve higher, but it pushes us as teachers to teach to a higher standard. At out school, we are still combating this with our students in the special education program but it is improving.
3. Orderly climate-- So many times children living in poverty deal with total chaos or very little to no structure at home. Having a calm, orderly and structured environment at school may help them to put aside those home turmoils and concentrate on school work. I think some teachers do a wonderful job of ordering t heir classroom environment while others do not. I have noticed that my children with disabilities, especially with behavioral problems do so much better in an orderly and highly structured setting.
An orderly climate is very important. I can see the differences in children's behavior in different classrooms. Teachers with good behavior management, an organized room, and a daily routine have fewer behavior problems than others. I can't think of any kid who doesn't benefit from knowing what to expect from their teacher on a daily basis - but it is especially important for kids who live in poverty.
I also agree that an orderly climate can make children feel secure in what is often for them chaotic and insecure. Some teachers seem to do this with ease and other teachers have to work harder to achieve this.
There are several characteristics that are shared in high poverty, high achieving schools. Three of these are the belief that all students can succeed at high levels, high expectations, and support for teacher influence (paraprofessionals). All three of these are found within the seventh and eighth grades. The influence paras have within the classroom can offset the teachers attitude. The students can sense this and can feel more comfortable with the paras presence. Another characteristic is a caring staff and faculty which we are growing. Most of my teachers do understand and make allowances for some behaviors displayed by students from poverty. I try educating through small discussions of what I have gleaned or through handouts.
Three characteristics of high poverty, high achieving schools, that my districts have are: (1) Caring staff and faculty (2) Regular assessment of student progress combined with feedback and remediation and (3) Regular parent-teacher communication. Caring staff and faculty can help children attain their goals by providing a safe place for them where the teachers are not just 'putting in their time', but they are doing whatever they can in order to help their students improve. My districts are in the process of implementing MTSS, which will be an ongoing process in assessing student's skills and identifying weaknesses so they can be improved upon. Regular parent-teacher communication occurs often in my districts because they are small towns.
Blhoryna - I agree that informal P/T conferences occur more often and they are perhaps easier to acheive in a small town. Because everyone knows everybody, they have a sense of 'family', and perhaps staff is more accessible in the community.
3 examples of shared characteristics: 1. Strategic assignment of staff 2. Use of assessment data to improve student achievement and instruction 3. Unequivocal focus on acadmeic achievement, with a no excuses mind set
Placing teachers in areas that they are highly qualified to teach would increase level of instrcution and content knowledge. One of the districts I support writes and ILP on EVERY STUDENT in their grade school - -just so that the data is tracked to ensure student progress. Also, this same building has tutoring throughout the day by paras as well as tutoring after school. Any student (and I mean any, IEP or not) that has a D or F in a class has to stay after school every day and get teacher instruction in a small group setting until the concept is learned and the grade improves. Kids don't have a choice if they want to attend or not.
Our school is trying to imprement ILP's. It was tried once before with little success so I think that makes it harder to get teachers to buy-in a second time. Hopefully teachers will see the importance and realize that in the long run it is good for students. Jen, do your parents support the after school instruction for the students with D's or F's. Our district has implemented Saturday school at the high school level. Some students and parents are having a hard time taking it seriously.
I am very impressed with the level of dedication required to provide after school tutoring. The idea of tutoring after school to improve grades rather than just detention is great.
1. High expectations 2. Orderly climate 3. Caring staff
Our school is being supported by the state for improvement, so we are working on those three areas. I think that the caring staff is something you have to build on. There has been some rough transitions in our school, but I think we now have a principal who is trying to build a stronger staff climate. We do have porch visits, which is great. As far as order, a fellow teacher and I are going to try to implement PBS in her class after the break (since I was trained in Denver). We hope that this explicit teaching and reward system will help students.
I would agree about the caring staff. Kids know when teachers really care. It's something that each staff member has to want to develop. I work in a building that does SWPBS. The program as a whole has done so much for the behavior and respect in the building. Hopefully it works well for you also.
Jen Jones- I am impressed with the dedication of teachers to keep students who are failing in after school. It is small steps like that which will make such a difference.
Raelynn- Classroom climate and order is so important. I agree that the management of a class will directly impact the students ability to learn.
High Poverty, High achieving schools share similar qualities and characteristics. List 3. Caring Staff and Faculty; emphasis on reading skills; use of assessment data to improve student achievement and instruction. A caring staff and faculty and an emphasis on reading skills are two of the characteristics that are found in my school. I also believe that my school is using assessment data to improve student achievement and instruction.
3 qualities on the list are: • an Emphasis on reading skills, • Dedication to diversity and equity, and a • Belief that all students can succeed at High Levels. I have worked in a building that was considered a high poverty school. While working there, the school received a Reading First grant. The school had a dramatic turn-around in teaching style and strategies used in the first 2 years of implementation of the grant. After that implementation period, the teachers truly had an emphasis on reading skills. All teachers (music and P.E. included) had to meet with a literacy coach monthly to show how they were incorporating reading into the curriculum (and including it in other areas). I would definitely say that I saw a dedication to diversity and a belief that all students could succeed at high levels when I taught there. I think that one way I do foster an emphasis on reading is by talking with my students about books they are currently reading or just finished. We have quick talks about what books they like, ideas for new books to start, and favorite books they’ve read. This isn’t an emphasis on the skills, but it’s a way to show that reading is important and is something they should continue even if it's not required for school.
I also think reading is important. I work with preschool children and often times services are provided in the home. I have been fortunate that the early childhood group has devised a lending library for parents. I have had some parents who have learned and utilized reading/literacy activities with their young children at home. In addition, their are some community resources that gets free books into children's homes.
I work in more than one building or district, so I see different ones strongest in each setting. I appreciate the buildings where high expectations are the rule - we don't think about trying to get kids to meet the standard, as much as keeping a large group exceeding it. Athletes are expected to demonstrate better behavior at events than the competing teams. I also appreciate shared leadership, where staff strengths are recognized, several teachers have leadership opportunties, and joint planning times are build into the schedule. I notice more staff than not are caring teachers and their model carries that on to new staff with a little encouragement from administration.
Three qualities evidenced in our school are: caring staff and faculty; orderly climate; and a belief that all students can succeed at high levels. I believe these qualities are exemplified by our not only the administrators and teachers, but also by the staff members working in the school. There are numerous instances where adults go way above and beyond what is expected in order to assist students. We have a firm discipline policy that is fairly enforced across the student body and the fact that we have and continue to meet the State Standard of Excellence shows we believe all students can succeed at high levels.
Caring staff and faculty: I believe that the teacher and staff at my school are very caring. They ask questions about how best to help children and share the successes of their students. Clear curriculum choices: I think that this is done better in grades above preschool. In preschool their is a lot of ambivalence about what is best practice in regard to teaching math to preschoolers. Ongoing data collection and formative assessments: This process is improving in preschool but there is more to learn. I think there is more procedures in place for some of the upper grades.
I chose 2 qualities/characteristics that I feel our building demonstrates and 1 that could use some help. Emphasis on reading-reading is a priority and I feel that is demonstrated by all staff. I also think the design of our school fosters reading also, because all the classrooms radiate out from our library-it is the center of the school. An orderly climate is another characteristic that is expected in our building. Even the beginning of the school day routine and the end of the day routine-both times children are expected to be quiet and respectful to everyone. A quality/characteristic that I feel needs improvement on is "teachers' acceptance of the role they play in student success or failure". May times I hear teachers' blame the kids for things instead of trying to understand where they are coming from and try to make it better for them at school. One way I try to foster that feeling of acceptance is during my monthly team meetings. I try to give them background information about the child and where they are coming from to help them be more accepting and maybe give the child a little more attention.
Caring staff and faculty - our school has staff who care what happens to the students under our care. Everyone is willing to go above and beyond what is normal to make sure students get the help they need and are improving.
Support for teacher influence - we have a great support staff who help teachers to better reach students needs. Other teachers are also willing to help cover for each other and help out when they can.
High expectations - Everyone in our building has high expectations for students. We realize there are limitations for some, but we still expect them to work and get better over the course of the year.
Three characteristics of high achieving, high poverty schools include the belief that all students can succeed at high levels, a situation that leads to high academic expectations; a focus on relationship building that includes the whole child, their families, and teachers, a situation that helps create a caring school environment; and the use of data to drive improvement not only of instruction, but to target specific student and system needs within the school and community setting.
ReplyDeleteI think that Ulysses is starting to develop many of the characteristics of a successful high poverty school system. Examples are porch visits by teachers to the homes of their students, use of assessment data to drive instruction, the development of professional learning communities and the provision of time to meet on a regular basis, the development of after school and summer programs to help under achieving students, and the development of a school wide system of positive behavioral supports.
That is so important to add all of these characteristics when working with any child in any given situation. I think that we need to be in close contact with the parents. If the line of communication is broken then the ball will get dropped somewhere.
DeleteThree similarities that I think my school does well are:
ReplyDelete1 - Orderly climate: My school uses PBS which helps us develop an orderly climate throughout the classrooms and in our after school programs.
2 - Use of assessment data to improve student achievement and instruction: Our integrated improvement plan is used to look at our assessment data, find areas of weakness in our students/subgroups and then find ways to address those weaknesses.
3 - Availability of instructional resources: We have quite a few resources available to us such as reading, math, ss, and science curriculums and all of their components, Orchard Math, and various computer programs to address reading and math in our afterschool programs.
Some similarities I think my school is lacking are:
1 - Clear curriculum choices: Even though we have the core subject curriculum available to use, not all teachers use it consistently. Some don't use the reading series at all, which makes it hard for our students to have consistency. It seems like there shouldn't be a choice - if the school adapted it, then it should be used - at least as a base for teaching with added supplements as needed.
2 - Collaborative decision making: I think our staff would like to have more collaborative decision making but it doesn't seem to happen. Again, we have programs we are supposed to use, but a lot of confusion about how to use them. Some grade levels use AR as an individual reading time, while other grade levels do not use it. This confuses parents and does not lead to consistent expectations for the students. If the staff could talk about these things, we could probably agree on what we should all use or not use, and how we are going to use it.
The three similarities I think are in most schools rather they be high achieving or high poverty. It is necessary for these similarities to be in most schools in order for them to maintain a curriculum for all students no matter what their socioeconomical status is.
DeleteI think having consistent curriculums - -especially that transition from elem school to middle school to high school -- is very difficult to do. It takes an effort on the part of administrators to make sure expectations are being met.
DeleteThe three characteristics that I picked from the list are as follows: caring staff and faculty, coherent, standards-based curriculum and instructional program, and use of assessment data to improve student achievement and instruction. I believe that in most schools no matter if the are high achievement or high poverty the staff members and faculty care about the students. It is important that all students are cared about, without caring staff members, I feel that the students wouldn't do as good as they could. Coherent, standards-based curriculum and instructional program was the next characteristics that I picked. In most schools it is required that they have a set curriculum and instructional program set up for the students. It is important to be able to assess the imporvemntes along with the challenges that all students face.
ReplyDeleteThe school system that I belong for the most part has a very patient and carrying staff. We try to understand the accomplishments of our high achieveing students and also the struggles of our students faced with poverty. We have an after school program that is designed to help students that struggle to learn or just need a safe place to stay after school. We also have adopted a new curriculum that goes along with the Common Core State Standards. Each grade level is working to create lesson plans and units that is directly tied to each reading, math, and writing Common Core State Standards that their grade level is exptected to teach. And finally, assessments are also used in my district. We are currently using AIMS web to monitor the progress of our students in reading and math. This information allows to differintiate our learning in the area of reading in order to create stronger readers.
I believe my school also has a caring staff who understands the needs of kids in poverty. We had a "poverty simulation" before school, which was very enlightening. Many teachers have made points not to ask for extra materials from home and to respect the very different needs that these families have.
DeleteI have seen a huge change in general education over the years with keeping data to monitor student progress. I think we are all doing a better job now and see it's importance.
Delete1.) Caring Faculty & Staff
ReplyDelete2.) Emphasis on Reading Skills
3.) Regular Teacher-Parent Communication
I believe all of these characteristics are found in all of the buildings I work in, at varying levels of course, but still there. In all of my districts, I believe a majority of students feel as though school is a safe place, and if they’re having problems with something, there is a person there who cares about them and will help them. Also, all of my districts are in some phase or another of the MTSS process. All of them have chosen reading as their first target area, which I think speaks to their focus of wanting to improve students’ reading skills. Also, because all of my districts are in very small towns, you can’t help but have regular teacher-parent communication. I think there are probably always informal P/T conferences going on at the ball games, the grocery store, church, etc.
Alan~
I think that home visits are a great way to foster open communication between the school and parents (I’ve heard CRAZY stories about these situations too, though, which make me a little leery, haha!). I know if I were a parent, and school faculty/staff sent home hand written notes about my child, gave me their cell phone number, or took time out of their day to meet with me at my home, I’d be beyond and appreciative and think “Wow, they really DO care about my kid, and they really DO want him/her to succeed, and they really DO want to help.”
Rae Lynn~
I imagine there are probably staff members from several schools that would like to have more collaborative decision-making. Everybody has good opinions to share, and I think everybody likes to feel like they are in the loop. Sadly though, with time constraints, personal viewpoints, etc. sometimes this can be a difficult thing to achieve.
1. Caring staff and faculty-- That old adage about catching more flies with honey is true. The students will respond better if we show that their education matters to us and is not just a job. I believe this characteristic is shown my about 85% of the staff at my school.
ReplyDelete2. High Expectations--So many times I have seen teachers and staff see a student's background or disability and set their expectations low. High expectations not only push the student to achieve higher, but it pushes us as teachers to teach to a higher standard. At out school, we are still combating this with our students in the special education program but it is improving.
3. Orderly climate-- So many times children living in poverty deal with total chaos or very little to no structure at home. Having a calm, orderly and structured environment at school may help them to put aside those home turmoils and concentrate on school work. I think some teachers do a wonderful job of ordering t heir classroom environment while others do not. I have noticed that my children with disabilities, especially with behavioral problems do so much better in an orderly and highly structured setting.
An orderly climate is very important. I can see the differences in children's behavior in different classrooms. Teachers with good behavior management, an organized room, and a daily routine have fewer behavior problems than others. I can't think of any kid who doesn't benefit from knowing what to expect from their teacher on a daily basis - but it is especially important for kids who live in poverty.
DeleteI also agree that an orderly climate can make children feel secure in what is often for them chaotic and insecure. Some teachers seem to do this with ease and other teachers have to work harder to achieve this.
DeleteThere are several characteristics that are shared in high poverty, high achieving schools. Three of these are the belief that all students can succeed at high levels, high expectations, and support for teacher influence (paraprofessionals). All three of these are found within the seventh and eighth grades. The influence paras have within the classroom can offset the teachers attitude. The students can sense this and can feel more comfortable with the paras presence.
ReplyDeleteAnother characteristic is a caring staff and faculty which we are growing. Most of my teachers do understand and make allowances for some behaviors displayed by students from poverty. I try educating through small discussions of what I have gleaned or through handouts.
Three characteristics of high poverty, high achieving schools, that my districts have are: (1) Caring staff and faculty (2) Regular assessment of student progress combined with feedback and remediation and (3) Regular parent-teacher communication.
ReplyDeleteCaring staff and faculty can help children attain their goals by providing a safe place for them where the teachers are not just 'putting in their time', but they are doing whatever they can in order to help their students improve.
My districts are in the process of implementing MTSS, which will be an ongoing process in assessing student's skills and identifying weaknesses so they can be improved upon.
Regular parent-teacher communication occurs often in my districts because they are small towns.
Blhoryna - I agree that informal P/T conferences occur more often and they are perhaps easier to acheive in a small town. Because everyone knows everybody, they have a sense of 'family', and perhaps staff is more accessible in the community.
3 examples of shared characteristics:
ReplyDelete1. Strategic assignment of staff
2. Use of assessment data to improve student achievement and instruction
3. Unequivocal focus on acadmeic achievement, with a no excuses mind set
Placing teachers in areas that they are highly qualified to teach would increase level of instrcution and content knowledge. One of the districts I support writes and ILP on EVERY STUDENT in their grade school - -just so that the data is tracked to ensure student progress. Also, this same building has tutoring throughout the day by paras as well as tutoring after school. Any student (and I mean any, IEP or not) that has a D or F in a class has to stay after school every day and get teacher instruction in a small group setting until the concept is learned and the grade improves. Kids don't have a choice if they want to attend or not.
Our school is trying to imprement ILP's. It was tried once before with little success so I think that makes it harder to get teachers to buy-in a second time. Hopefully teachers will see the importance and realize that in the long run it is good for students. Jen, do your parents support the after school instruction for the students with D's or F's. Our district has implemented Saturday school at the high school level. Some students and parents are having a hard time taking it seriously.
DeleteI am very impressed with the level of dedication required to provide after school tutoring. The idea of tutoring after school to improve grades rather than just detention is great.
Delete1. High expectations
ReplyDelete2. Orderly climate
3. Caring staff
Our school is being supported by the state for improvement, so we are working on those three areas. I think that the caring staff is something you have to build on. There has been some rough transitions in our school, but I think we now have a principal who is trying to build a stronger staff climate. We do have porch visits, which is great. As far as order, a fellow teacher and I are going to try to implement PBS in her class after the break (since I was trained in Denver). We hope that this explicit teaching and reward system will help students.
Rachel, my school started doing porch visits this fall. Good luck with your PBS implementation
DeleteI would agree about the caring staff. Kids know when teachers really care. It's something that each staff member has to want to develop.
DeleteI work in a building that does SWPBS. The program as a whole has done so much for the behavior and respect in the building. Hopefully it works well for you also.
Jen Jones- I am impressed with the dedication of teachers to keep students who are failing in after school. It is small steps like that which will make such a difference.
ReplyDeleteRaelynn- Classroom climate and order is so important. I agree that the management of a class will directly impact the students ability to learn.
High Poverty, High achieving schools share similar qualities and characteristics. List 3. Caring Staff and Faculty; emphasis on reading skills; use of assessment data to improve student achievement and instruction.
ReplyDeleteA caring staff and faculty and an emphasis on reading skills are two of the characteristics that are found in my school. I also believe that my school is using assessment data to improve student achievement and instruction.
3 qualities on the list are:
ReplyDelete• an Emphasis on reading skills,
• Dedication to diversity and equity, and a
• Belief that all students can succeed at High Levels.
I have worked in a building that was considered a high poverty school. While working there, the school received a Reading First grant. The school had a dramatic turn-around in teaching style and strategies used in the first 2 years of implementation of the grant. After that implementation period, the teachers truly had an emphasis on reading skills. All teachers (music and P.E. included) had to meet with a literacy coach monthly to show how they were incorporating reading into the curriculum (and including it in other areas). I would definitely say that I saw a dedication to diversity and a belief that all students could succeed at high levels when I taught there. I think that one way I do foster an emphasis on reading is by talking with my students about books they are currently reading or just finished. We have quick talks about what books they like, ideas for new books to start, and favorite books they’ve read. This isn’t an emphasis on the skills, but it’s a way to show that reading is important and is something they should continue even if it's not required for school.
I also think reading is important. I work with preschool children and often times services are provided in the home. I have been fortunate that the early childhood group has devised a lending library for parents. I have had some parents who have learned and utilized reading/literacy activities with their young children at home. In addition, their are some community resources that gets free books into children's homes.
DeleteI work in more than one building or district, so I see different ones strongest in each setting. I appreciate the buildings where high expectations are the rule - we don't think about trying to get kids to meet the standard, as much as keeping a large group exceeding it. Athletes are expected to demonstrate better behavior at events than the competing teams.
ReplyDeleteI also appreciate shared leadership, where staff strengths are recognized, several teachers have leadership opportunties, and joint planning times are build into the schedule.
I notice more staff than not are caring teachers and their model carries that on to new staff with a little encouragement from administration.
Three qualities evidenced in our school are: caring staff and faculty; orderly climate; and a belief that all students can succeed at high levels.
ReplyDeleteI believe these qualities are exemplified by our not only the administrators and teachers, but also by the staff members working in the school. There are numerous instances where adults go way above and beyond what is expected in order to assist students. We have a firm discipline policy that is fairly enforced across the student body and the fact that we have and continue to meet the State Standard of Excellence shows we believe all students can succeed at high levels.
Caring staff and faculty: I believe that the teacher and staff at my school are very caring. They ask questions about how best to help children and share the successes of their students.
ReplyDeleteClear curriculum choices: I think that this is done better in grades above preschool. In preschool their is a lot of ambivalence about what is best practice in regard to teaching math to preschoolers.
Ongoing data collection and formative assessments: This process is improving in preschool but there is more to learn. I think there is more procedures in place for some of the upper grades.
I chose 2 qualities/characteristics that I feel our building demonstrates and 1 that could use some help. Emphasis on reading-reading is a priority and I feel that is demonstrated by all staff. I also think the design of our school fosters reading also, because all the classrooms radiate out from our library-it is the center of the school.
ReplyDeleteAn orderly climate is another characteristic that is expected in our building. Even the beginning of the school day routine and the end of the day routine-both times children are expected to be quiet and respectful to everyone.
A quality/characteristic that I feel needs improvement on is "teachers' acceptance of the role they play in student success or failure". May times I hear teachers' blame the kids for things instead of trying to understand where they are coming from and try to make it better for them at school. One way I try to foster that feeling of acceptance is during my monthly team meetings. I try to give them background information about the child and where they are coming from to help them be more accepting and maybe give the child a little more attention.
Caring staff and faculty - our school has staff who care what happens to the students under our care. Everyone is willing to go above and beyond what is normal to make sure students get the help they need and are improving.
ReplyDeleteSupport for teacher influence - we have a great support staff who help teachers to better reach students needs. Other teachers are also willing to help cover for each other and help out when they can.
High expectations - Everyone in our building has high expectations for students. We realize there are limitations for some, but we still expect them to work and get better over the course of the year.