Centennial : A School for Expeditionary Learning
About the School
School Mission: Centennial, A School for Expeditionary Learning is an inclusive school where students, staff, and families are honored for their identities and perspectives. We celebrate our uniqueness and progress, and bring out the best in ourselves and others. Students engage in joyful and purposeful learning, flourishing academically as contributors to a more equitable world.
Centennial is one of 55 public elementary schools in the Denver Public Schools. It is located in northwest Denver and serves 444 students in grades PK-5.
Centennial's EL (Expeditionary Learning) model focuses on critical thinking and real-life problem solving. To define behavioral expectations, Centennial uses the acronym WoRLD CARE (Wonder. Responsibility. Leadership. Determination. Compassion. Advocacy. Respect. Empathy). By focusing on these qualities, students "will do good work: work that is good in quality, good for the soul, and good for the world."
About the School: Centennial serves 444 students in grades PK-5 in the Denver public schools. The population is 61.1% White, 31.4% Hispanic/Latino, 4.8% Multiracial, 1.3% Black, 1.1% Asian/Pacific Islander, and 0.2% American Indian/Alaska Native. The school's population includes 4.3% ELL, 25.3% receiving free or reduced lunch, and 16.9% SWD.
Key Takeaways
There’s a culture of student ownership and leadership, including students giving each other feedback and running meetings.
Family connections are very important, with students posting photos and families invited into school regularly (Breakfast and Books).
Crew is used to help build relationships, and families are included in the crews.
Restorative practices are more effective because of the strong family relationships.
Transitions are managed through a variety of routines to avoid having any wasted moments.
Every teacher was expected to loop, either by having a multi-grade classroom or by alternating between two grades, to build deeper connections with students.
Detailed Summary
Criteria for Success are well-defined at all levels. Each class creates and revisits the criteria for success so that students know exactly what is expected of them.
There's a strong connection to families of the students. Students post family photos around the school. Every Friday morning, the school offers Breakfast and Books, where parents can come in and eat breakfast with their kids. The "Crew" includes family members and also involves home visits and family engagement.
The school focuses heavily on restorative practices. Increased family engagement helps these strategies to be successful.
Students take leadership roles: They lead conferences and morning meetings.
The transitions that students made were efficient and focused, due to the routines that had been established, like songs/chants and counting/skip-counting. Every moment was a moment of learning - students were engaged even during transitions.
Other routines were present as well, like restating a question before answering it.
Even in kindergarten, students gave peer feedback and used it to make improvements. There was a reliance on student voice.
The staff had their own crew, creating the conditions for teamwork, support, risk-taking, and vulnerability.
Students displayed very advanced vocabulary, which they used correctly in explaining concepts. There was a clear focus on academic language.
Every teacher is expected to loop, but they had two options for looping. They could either do a mixed-grade class (K-1, 2-3, or 4-5) and keep each student for two years, or they could alternate between two grades to keep the same students from K-1, 2-3, or 4-5. The idea was to know students well in order to individualize learning.
There was a history wall in the conference room, showing the changes that had been made over the past number of years. It gave a great illustration of how far they’d come.