Document 13
Hagerstown Jr-Sr High School
We believe all students deserve:
The ideal learning environment this school generates is housed in an up-to-date, well-maintained, safe, and comfortable physical facility which is conducive to learning and where a student's basic needs are met. Students first learn the necessary and basic skills of reading, math, science, and technology and are then given adequate opportunities to develop individual talents and abilities—academically, artistically, and kinesthetically. A comprehensive, teacher-designed curriculum is articulated K-12 to ensure instruction does not overlap or allow gaps. A routine and systematic evaluation procedure for instruction and curriculum further facilitates quality programming for all students. Scheduling is flexible, attuned to individual needs, and is not bound to the industrial model. Up-to-date technical training and use of technology pervade all aspects of this curriculum, ensuring graduates leave high school prepared for college, further technical training, or employment. As part of this environment, a climate of discovery is created and enhanced through free expression, risk-taking, problem solving, and trust. Activities within this ideal classroom environment meaningfully engage students, meet their diverse needs, and focus on critical and creative thinking skills applied to hands-on, real-life situations in and out of the classroom. Students are required to analyze, question, interpret, and utilize information in new and unique ways. Time is allowed to explore topics in-depth, to develop individual talents, and to help students learn from both successes and failures. Through the development of mutual trust and respect within this environment, students learn to listen to the thoughts and opinions of others and develop an understanding of human diversity.
All adults in our community are living by these core convictions daily and as a result, show the following attitudes and actions:
The ideal school serves as the hub of learning for community members, parents, teachers, and students, promoting life-long learning and personal growth. It recognizes individual needs and strives to challenge and develop fully the talents and abilities of each learner. An active partnership among students, teachers, administrators, parents, and community members makes educational decisions and changes based upon thoughtful evaluation of new trends and innovative programs and the shared beliefs of all stakeholders. Furthermore, they will provide a supportive, respectful environment in which all students succeed.
Instructors in the ideal school are dedicated, caring, and knowledgeable, modeling and teaching the attributes of responsible, productive citizenship. They are educational visionaries who lead in curricular innovation and grow personally and professionally through continued course work, professional reading, and research. They are able to adequately to meet the needs of all students academically and socially because of a low student to teacher ratio. They provide relevant, challenging curriculum, designed to actively engage learners and prepare them for successful futures in a global community. Within the classroom they are well-prepared, personable, effective managers who seek student and parental input. Sufficient teacher planning time for collaboration and professional growth makes possible innovative instruction and outstanding curriculum based upon new ideas, trends, and methods. They create trusting, nurturing climates in which all students receive individual academic and personal attention. Such instructors both model and teach scholarship, responsibility, citizenship, and character development.
Administrators serve as both educational leaders and managers. They work as teacher advocates and instructional innovators; they promote staff development and actively help instructors create ideal learning environments and maintain personal accountability. They also work as student advocates, providing adequate counseling and advisement, visibly supporting student activities, and learning to know and appreciate students as individuals. Administrators deal with discipline in a consistent and fair manner. They consider and respect the viewpoints of all stakeholders and involve them in the decision-making process. Ideal administrators also effectively budget and spend to ensure that excellent materials and facilities exist.
Parents provide a home environment which ensures students arrive at school geared for success—well-fed, rested, and free from undue stress and personal problems. They prepare children in their pre-school years for the educational process by instilling within them self-discipline, respect for authority, and a love of reading. Parents in the ideal school consistently stress the importance of educational success and demand academic accountability from their children. They are actively engaged in their children's academic, social, and extra-curricular activities. They are involved in the school decision-making process, working closely with teachers and administrators to ensure the best education possible for their children. They support school policies, which they have helped shape, and support teachers and administrators in issues of student discipline when necessary.
The community surrounding the ideal school also works closely with other stakeholders to ensure a high quality of education for the community’s youth. These activities include help in decision making, support of student activities, financial support, and the lending of work and personal expertise to classroom and real-life learning. Community members recognize the importance of well-educated youth to the future and do not end their commitment to the school once their children have graduated.
In this environment where all adults are living by their core convictions, all students:
Students in the ideal school arrive ready to learn. Students have a positive relationship with faculty and staff members that allow the student to approach them with confidence. They are inquisitive, positive, and aware of the benefits of educational success. They exercise self-discipline by arriving on time to school and class, having perfect attendance, and completing all of their homework on time. They show respect and responsibility by following all rules, and exhibit a serious approach to their studies. Students have created goals that allow them to become valued members of society.
As a result of these efforts, our school's student achievement data is as follows: