Rigor, Relevance, Relationships

Okay, okay, so Amy didn’t really get a tattoo. I drew them myself—I told you I was bored. But, not half bad, if I do say so myself! That being said, as Becky hinted at, Amy DOES have a wild streak, just not enough to get a big “R” tattooed on her foot. However, you might see something to do with henna in the near future.

Not much has gone on today. Tonight I have a board meeting where we will present what we learned from our trip in Chicago. The following was taken from the slide show put together by some of those who attended. These are just some of the things that successful high schools are doing around the country. A major emphasis is placed on Rigor, Relevance, and Relationships with the students. Many of them are also going to the Freshmen Academy concept.

2007 Model Schools Conference

Rigor

Stretch Learning

Grading Systems

Mandatory Tutoring

Increased AP course offerings

Co-Teaching

Credit Recovery

Teacher Training

Relevance

Literacy Initiatives

Curriculum Mapping

Integration of CTE

Rigor/Relevance Framework

Teacher Training

Relationships

Teacher/Student Relationships

Feeder Schools

Culture of Celebration

Staff Collaboration

Teacher Mentoring Program

Passionate Administrators

Teacher Training

9^th Grade Academy

Every student belongs to a smaller learning community

Early interventions

Common/closed lunch period

Smaller class size

Common planning for teacher teams

Report Card Night

Freshman administrative and guidance team

Home visits