Successful Schools
Schools need to support the development of adults and children, attending not only to their academic but also their social, emotional, physical and creative needs. Schools need systems to ensure each student knows they matter, so each feels like their experience is coherent from class to class and grade to grade, so each child is appropriately challenged to manifest their potential. Schools need to support adults to be reflective practitioners. They need to prepare students not only for the next assessment or grade, not just for college or careers, but for life's responsibilities, challenges, and opportunities. School leaders need to be able to synthesize the needs of all the adults and children and all the demands of systems and society, set a clear path for the school, and support continuous improvement and innovation as the schools prepare students for lives we haven't yet imagined.
What's the work?
Developing and articulating a clear instructional philosophy. Identifying and developing programs for students and teachers. Organizing professional work to support school-wide success. Identifying and aligning resources to meet the school's goals.