The School Culture
I thought for this blog I would look at the “Effective Design for Small Schools” and compare to the school that I am currently working in. My school is far from small and I would LOVE to try out working in a small school some day but I thought it would be interesting to look at these factors and see where we are at. Of course this is not for every single teacher –this is just my overall perception of our school.
Personalization–We do not have the ideal smaller classes of 15 per class
Continuous relationships–I have yet to see a teacher loop in our school–it is not a practice that seems open unless you ask and then it might get thought about
Standards and performance assessment–We do have the GPS that we use and I am excited to say that I have been on the K report card committee for the county and we are moving to a standards based report card with a rubric this next school year–very exciting
Authentic curriculum–in depth learning–how about “teach to the test” learning–to me teach to the test is not real-world connection. The principal is excited about the new CRCT Coach books. But I do know teachers use real world connections in their teaching.
Adapted Pedagogy–Differentiated instruction–we have some teachers that just are not open to change and this kind of teaching. We have teachers that still put assignments on the board ands say “go at it”. We have others that do differentiated instruction all day long in all grades–so at least it is happening–that is a start
Antiracist Teaching–Not sure our school seeks out diversity–we are still working on a respectful community for all students–this needs to include everyone in the school–from administration to teachers to cafeteria etc… We are models…
Qualified Teachers–We have incredible teachers in our school. I hate to say not so good ones too because that is just the word out and I actually have not seen their teaching habits.
Collaboration and development–This year we are starting to get more collaboration time
Family/community Connections–I think we could be more family and community oriented
Democratic Decision Making–Shared governance? Common Vision? Not now anyway–I hope this changes. I did see a spot on our committee choices for next year for a “Professional Development Committee” –not sure what that will entail
I see the importance of all of these conditions to promote a positive school culture. All schools should have these conditions as goals to success.
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Jen, I have taught in a very small school, and I loved it! Our school is at the opposite end of the spectrum, but it is much more diverse. I’m a better teacher at our school because I’ve been challenged more. I sometimes wonder if I would be content to go back to that community school!
Your comments on this blog paint a good picture of our school. The big “positive” is that we are collaborating more. Time will tell if our vertical teaming and new emphasis on literacy will be sustained for more than a year!
I currently teach in a school that totals over 1800 students. It is huge to say the least…last year before our relief school was built, our school had over 2400 students enrolled. We were at that time the largest elementary school in the state of Georgia. Prior to working at the school in which I currently teach, I worked in one of the smallest schools in Gwinnett County. I think we maybe had 800 total students enrolled. I loved working in a small school, but I also love working in the school in which I currently teach. Our school does encompass many of the factors you spoke of above…we do have more than 15 students in our classes. Looping is common in our school as well. I guess it all depends on the school culture and the administration that leads the school culture.