Culture

3.1: SCHOOL SUPPORT

The Governing Authority promotes and supports the school in the community.

KEY QUESTIONS

• Does the Governing Authority have a strategic plan that addresses the promotion or support of the school in the community?
• Is there a review of the strategic plan to determine the progress of the plan and make revisions if necessary?
• Are Governing Authority members aware of the expectation that they promote and support their school in the community?
• Do members understand the ways they can promote and support their school in the community?
• Are there opportunities for members to communicate their activities to the Board and the public during public meetings?
• Does the agenda template for Governing Authority meetings allow for member updates?

EVIDENCE

• Copy of the strategic plan that addresses the expectations of Governing members in supporting their school
• Evidence of promotional and support activities, i.e., letters, fliers, agendas from community forums or programs
• Governing Authority agendas that provides time for members to communicate their promotional and supporting activities
• Governing Authority minutes from meetings, specifically minutes from annual review of the strategic plan
• Identification of appropriate activities for Governing members to participate

3.2: COMMUNICATING MISSION AND VISION

Leaders engage in regular professional development and reflective practice.

KEY QUESTIONS

• Does the leader have a plan to communicate the school’s mission, vision and values?
• Was this plan developed in collaboration with stakeholders?
• Does this plan identify various methods and opportunities to communicate this information?
• Is there evidence that the leader is implementing the communication plan?
• Does the leader evaluate the effectiveness of the methods that are being used and the opportunities that are identified?
• Is there evidence that stakeholders understand the school’s vision, mission and values?
• Does the school appear to operate with a unity of purpose?
• How does the school engage families and stakeholders in the education of their children?
• How does the school encourage, support, and facilitate family/community participation? Whose responsibility is it to engage parents and stakeholders?

EVIDENCE

• A communication plan for the school’s mission, vision and values.
• Various communication methods, i.e., direct mailings, handouts, print ads, etc. are identified in the plan and used by the leader.
• The leader implements a variety of opportunities for stakeholder engagement -Back to School events, PTO meetings, hosted meetings with principal.
• Evaluation of the effectiveness of the methods that are being used survey results, focus groups/discussions indicate stakeholders understand school mission, vision, and values?
• Documentation of consistency of practice by teachers and other adults in the school
• Documentation off parent involvement activities, i.e., newsletters, flyers, website etc.
• Policies that foster the participation of parents and community members in all aspects of the learning environment
• Welcoming environment for families and community members
• Documentation of strong school-parent collaboration i.e., parent teacher conferences, email, minutes of meetings with parents and the leader

3.3: SCHOOL CULTURE

The school generates and sustains a school culture reflective of the charter’s mission and vision that is conducive to the learning and growth of students, staff, faculty and stakeholders.

KEY QUESTIONS

• What expectations are communicated to students, teachers and the community about the learning environment of the school? Are all students and teachers expected to meet high standards?
• Are students and teachers actively engaged in learning opportunities that are purposeful?
• What structures in place that foster or facilitate collaboration among teachers?
• How do teachers engage in professional learning?
• What products and/or outcomes are teachers expected to create based on their collaboration?
• How does the school utilize the continuous improvement model?
• How does the leader monitor the implementation of the improvement plan?
• What data is used to track and report the accomplishment of the school’s goals?
• How does the leader use historical data to make adjustments to the school improvement plan?
• What types of rituals or celebrations does the staff engage in when goals are met?
• How does the leader communicate with stakeholder the results of the improvement process, the data monitoring and outcomes?

EVIDENCE

• Announcements, posters, school motto, celebrations for academic achievements emphasize high expectations.
• Memos, minutes from staff meetings, teacher handbook, coaching and support, etc.
• Classroom walk through observations, samples of student work from grade level or content areas indicate consistency of practice
• Documentation of essential learning outcomes by team, creation of common assessments to monitor progress, implementation of intervention and enrichment based on data
• Rigorous curriculum units that emphasize deep understanding of important concepts and the development of essential skills
• Use of interdisciplinary approaches to reinforce concepts
• Flexible groupings of students for intervention and enrichment with the most effective teachers for that skill
• Master schedule that provides time for instructional team members to work together to support student achievement
• Designated time for teacher collaboration- formalized by the leader
• Use of a formal improvement model to support student achievement with aligned curriculum, instruction and assessment, i.e., Performance Management, Consolidated Plan, School Improvement Plan etc.
• Evidence of data analysis and reporting to stakeholders, i.e., data walls, reports, memos, minutes from data team meetings, etc.
• Survey data from teachers, students, parents and the community regarding school culture

3.4: COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS

The school actively fosters collaboration with and solicits knowledge and skill of community entities and stakeholders to support student learning and achievement.

KEY QUESTIONS

• Does the leader have an established list of community members and stakeholders with whom regular communication is maintained?
• Does the leader monitor the amount and quality of the communication with community members and stakeholders?
• How does the school engage the community in the education of children?
• Does the school leader engage community members using established organizations, i.e., Rotary, etc.?
• How are community members and businesses included as partners with the school?
• Does the school encourage, support, and facilitate community participation?
• How are new community members and businesses engaged in the life of the school?
• Whose responsibility is it to engage the community?
• How is the community used as a classroom to increase the rigor of student learning?
• How effective is the leader in gathering resources and support from the community?
• What types of opportunities are available for students to learn from community members either at school or in the field?

EVIDENCE

• Community contacts list
• Calendar of communications/tracking system
• Journal/notes of conversations and outcomes
• Policies that foster the participation of community members in all aspects of the learning environment
• Evidence of a welcoming environment for community members
• Memos and/or minutes of meetings where community involvement has been addressed
• Evidence of all staff working to develop community partnerships, i.e., project based learning experiences created by teachers, mailings and letters from school staff, etc.
• Evidence of resources and/or support received from the community, i.e., tax credits, donations, sponsorships of equipment or events, etc.
• Internship programs available for students within the community
• Learning opportunities that are done “in the field”, i.e., field trips, site visits of community locations, businesses, etc.
• Attendance and participation in community organizations, i.e., Rotary, Boys and Girls Clubs, etc.

3.5: COMMUNICATING SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT RESULTS

The school communicates the expectations for student learning and goals for improvement to all stakeholders in the spirit of open communication and transparency.

KEY QUESTIONS

• How does the school communicate expectations to students, teachers, parents and the community about student learning and school improvement goals?
• How frequently is this information shared with stakeholders?
• What data is used to track and report the accomplishment of the school’s goals?
• How is disaggregated data communicated and used to focus school improvement efforts?
• How does the leader use historical data to make adjustments to the school improvement plan?
• How are adjustments communicated to all stakeholders?
• What types of rituals or celebrations does the staff, school or community engage in when goals are met?
• How does the leader communicate with stakeholders the results of the improvement process, the data monitoring and outcomes?
• Is there evidence that stakeholders understand the school’s school improvement goals and expectations of student learning?
• What types of student achievement data are shared with students and parents?
• What systems are in place to share student’s achievement and growth scores with students, teachers and parents?
• Do students participate in setting academic goals and tracking their progress?

EVIDENCE

• Evidence of communication about student learning and school improvement goals- both ongoing and related to specific changes to the improvement plan, i.e., letters, programs, fliers, newsletters, websites, meeting minutes, etc.
• Evidence of data analysis and monitoring for student and school achievements, i.e., data notebooks, reports, meeting minutes, etc.
• Evidence of adjustments to school improvement plans, as needed based on data, i.e., historical documents, changes to Title I plan), narratives and revisions to the Performance Management Plan and Annual Report (if applicable), etc.
• Survey results/needs assessment data regarding the school improvement plan, focus, etc.
• Evidence that teachers share student achievement data with students and parents, i.e., enabling online reporting of grades and/or test scores, teacher notices, newsletters, access to formative and summative results, student lead parent/teacher conferences, etc.
• Student journals, data charts or portfolios establishing goals and tracking progress