E XCELLENCE B Y C HOICE

“H ONOR THE P AST. D EFINE T HE F UTURE.” Original Vision : “The CCSD in cooperation with interested parents and educators will implement a school for academically advanced, motivated students. The school will focus on high student achievement and commensurate academic growth through rigorous study of language arts, math, science, social studies, and foreign language along with the creative integration of art, music, drama, technology, and PE. The school will be designed to facilitate learning on a flexible continuum that is individually paced that offers acceleration, enrichment, and multi-age grouping.”

“I F YOU BUILD IT, T HEY WILL COME …”

“H ONOR THE P AST. D EFINE T HE F UTURE.” Our Current Mission : “To inspire, empower, and challenge motivated students who are academically advanced or gifted. Inspire students’ love of learning. We spark the intellectual curiosity of our students and foster the understanding that learning is active and on-going. Empower students to excel. We teach students to recognize their abilities and build upon their strengths. Challenge students in all areas of development. Through a rigorous academic program, we encourage our students to become compassionate and critical thinkers able to communicate their ideas.

“To Whom Much Is Given, Much is Expected.” John F. Kennedy

20 Y EARS OF R EACHING E XCELLENCE

“To improve is to change, to be perfect is to change often.” Winston Churchill

C ONTINUING E XCELLENCE o Continue to engage our students ( Inspire a love of learning ) o Focus on asset-focused factors/currencies of our students ( Empower to excel ) o Clarify what grades convey and set expectations ( Challenge students in all areas of development )

A SSET - FOCUSED FACTORS (E MPOWER ) The responsibility of schools is to identify risk factors that threaten academic success and provide protective factors What protective factors can we provide for all of our students: Mindful Life Executive Functioning Clear, consistent message on what grades convey

Mindfulness is paying attention to the present moment with kindness and without judgment M INDFUL L IFE – W HAT ?

R – Recognize O – Observe S – Soak it in E - Engrave ROSE

E XECUTIVE F UNCTIONING S KILLS (E MPOWER )

G RADING /H OMEWORK (C HALLENGE ) Leadership Team o 15 members o Administration, teachers from a variety of grade levels and subject areas o 2 meetings over the summer,will continue to meet this school year o Our Focus o “What meaning do we want our grades to convey? o “Who is (are) the primary intended audience(s) for this message

G RADING /H OMEWORK (C HALLENGE ) What meaning do we want our grades to convey? Achievement Intended learning outcomes Comprehension Proficiency/mastery Growth in content and process skills Internalizing behaviors that lead to success (separate category i.e. Work Habits): Work completion Organization Following directions Responsibility Effort Attention to detail

G RADING /H OMEWORK (C HALLENGE ) Who is (are) the primary intended audience(s) for this message? Students and Parents Feedback should be timely, useful, and actionable Clearly stated grading policies and what grades convey

G RADING /H OMEWORK (C HALLENGE ) Common Agreements: If we value and are assessing work habits, we must teach it daily Use of planner/organization system to help students organize and plan for assignments and homework Late work policy developed as a department Connections is a graded course Homework may not count more than 25% of a final grade

E NGAGEMENT (I NSPIRE ) Affective Engagement o Conferences o What is the purpose? o Provide parents and students with feedback on student strengths and areas of needed growth o What is the process? o Self-assessment of Work Habits o Teacher-assessment of Work Habits o How Work Habits relate to grades o Goal created based on work habits

E NGAGEMENT (I NSPIRE ) Affective Engagement o Work Habits Rubric o Work Completion o Organization o Following Directions o Responsibility o Effort o Attention to Detail o Assessed every 6 weeks by Connections teacher and student; included in Trimester report cards o Connections teacher will reach out to core teachers for kids who appear to be either struggling or excelling