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January 12, 2010
Atul Gawande Reads from ‘Better’January 10, 2010 Rituals to Reinforce Culture and Create Alignment Around PurposeHigh performance schools have powerful cultures…which support high expectations…from the top all the way to the student. Rituals are one way cultures are maintained. This video shows some of the rituals used to reinforce culture and alignment for expectations. (North Star Academy, RISE Academy and TEAM Academy (the former is part of the Uncommon Schools network and the latter two are part of the KIPP network in Newark, NJ). Share January 9, 2010 Best Practices – Ritz Carlton CultureRitz Carlton currently has 32,000 ladies and gentlemen, as they call their employees. They plan to bring on 30,000 more within three years. Primarily, the growth will be abroad (e.g. 7 Chinese hotels), which raises a great concern for the retention of a traditionally deep-rooted culture. Though the culture at Ritz Carlton has always been strong, they now realize the importance of maintaining culture even more as growth occurs. Share Tapping into Federal Programs to Fund Tutoring ServicesTapping into Federal Programs to Fund Tutoring Services, MATCH Charter Public High School, Boston, Massachusetts. Many charter schools across the nation serve high-risk students who need academic interventions to raise their achievement levels. One popular approach among charter schools is to create supplemental programs that provide students with additional assistance in core subject areas. Creating and operating these types of programs, however, requires extra resources. In this promising practice profile, the National Resource Center on Charter School Finance and Governance highlights MATCH Charter Public High School strategy of tapping two widely available federal programs–AmeriCorps and work-study programs–to find personnel and funding for its tutoring programs that provide intensive academic support for students in Boston, Massachusetts. Click for more Share Enhancing Charter Schools Through Parent InvolvementEnhancing Charter Schools Through Parent Involvement, Amy Biehl High School, Community Montessori, East Mountain Hight School, Florida Consortium of Public Charter Schools, Pacific Collegiate School, Taos Chater School, and Timpanogos Academy. Charter school laws in numerous states require charter schools to involve the parent community. However, most laws require only peripheral participation, such as garnering parent support for the school during the application process or keeping parents informed of student performance. These participation requirements do not take full advantage of charter schools’ potential to draw on the knowledge and expertise of their parent community. In response, some charter schools have taken a proactive approach by establishing programs that incorporate parent involvement systemically into school operations. In this promising practice profile, the National Resource Center on Charter School Finance and Governance highlights innovative methods for harnessing meaningful parent involvement. Practices range from creating a parent governing board to requiring parent participation at school events. In each case, parents play an active role in school decision-making, taking on responsibilities that include school financing, facilities acquisition, and accountability for student learning. Click for more Share Implementing an In-House Approach to Teacher Training and Professional DevelopmentImplementing an In-House Approach to Teacher Training and Professional Development, High Tech High, San Diego, California. Charter schools, like all public schools, often have trouble attracting and retaining high-quality educators who subscribe to their mission and educational vision. One innovative solution is to offer teacher training and professional development on site. This enables schools to incubate aspiring teachers for a range of career options, from teaching positions to leadership and administrative positions. In this promising practice profile, the National Resource Center on Charter School Finance and Governance highlights the Teacher Intern Program and newly established Graduate School of Education of High Tech High (HTH), a charter school development organization in San Diego, California. The programs enable HTH to train educators in house to prepare them to work under the guiding principles that define the organization’s schools. Click here for more Share |
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