HAPPY NEW YEAR

I am excited to join you in 2018 as we continue our journey to improve students across all three dimensions of achievement;

MASTERY OF KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS

• Students
• Demonstrate proficiency and deeper understanding: show mastery in a body of knowledge and skills within each discipline
• Apply their learning: transfer knowledge and skills to novel, meaningful tasks
• Think critically: analyze, evaluate, and synthesize complex ideas and consider multiple perspectives
• Communicate clearly: write, speak, and present ideas effectively in a variety of media within and across disciplines

• Teachers and Leaders
• Ensure that curriculum, instruction, and assessments are rigorous, meaningful, and aligned with standards
• Use assessment practices that position students as leaders of their own learning
• Use meaningful data for both teachers and students to track progress toward learning goals
• Engage all students in daily lessons that require critical thinking about complex, worthy ideas, texts, and problems

CHARACTER

• Students
• Work to become effective learners: develop the mindsets and skills for success in college, career, and life (e.g., initiative, responsibility, perseverance, collaboration)
• Work to become ethical people: treat others well and stand up for what is right (e.g., empathy, integrity, respect, compassion)
• Contribute to a better world: put their learning to use to improve communities (e.g., citizenship, service)

• Teachers and Leaders
• Elevate student voice and leadership in classrooms and across the school
• Make habits of scholarship visible across the school and in daily instruction
• Model a school-wide culture of respect and compassion
• Prioritize social and emotional learning, along with academic learning, across the school

HIGH-QUALITY WORK

• Students
• Create complex work: demonstrate higher-order thinking, multiple perspectives and transfer of understanding
• Demonstrate craftsmanship: create work that is accurate and beautiful in conception and execution
• Create authentic work: demonstrate original thinking and voice, connect to real-world issues and formats, and when possible, create work that is meaningful to the community beyond the school

• Teachers and Leaders
• Design tasks that ask students to apply, analyze, evaluate and create as part of their work
• Use models of excellence, critique, and multiple drafts to support all students to produce work of exceptional quality
• Connect students to the world beyond school through meaningful fieldwork, expert collaborators, research, and service learning

I am going to work on January 2nd from 8-4.  the building will be open to staff members who want a little extra time in their rooms before welcoming students on Wednesday.