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The Comprehensive CenterRegion
VI provides on-site teacher training and technical assistance
to schools enrolling large numbers of migrant, bilingual, or
American Indian students. As I have worked in and observed these
schools, seven common qualities seem to characterize successful
schools (Kailin, 1999, November). This article defines those
qualities and provides an example of each.
Central Academy is a charter school
in Ann Arbor, Michigan which serves a primarily Arabic population.
Mr. Luay Shalabi, its dynamic and highly effective principal,
took over leadership in Central's second year of operation. One
of Shalabi's primary goals is to provide a comprehensive program
of professional development for teachers to, ultimately, improve
the achievement of the school's large bilingual student body.
This program is based on the Seven
Cs of Successful Schools.
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The Seven C's of
Successful Schools |
Central Academy:
An Example |
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COHESIVE |
A
cohesive school has a well-integrated curriculum that provides
a common focus for all students. The professionals work
well together and are aware of each other's strengths. They areknowledgeable
about teaching practice and curriculum at all grade levels, and
they accept change as a positive organizational concept. |
Professional
development at Central Academy is a team effort. All staff members
participate on several committees. Time is set aside for committees
to share their thoughts, decisions, and the products of their
labor in ways that benefit the entire school. In order to develop
consistency in teachers' instructional approaches, all staff
members receive training in content area strategies for second
language learners and in the use of rubrics to teach the writing
process. This provides a common language to be used by both staff
and students. |
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COLLABORATIVE |
In
a collaborative school students, staff members, parents,
and community members are part of the effort to build a culture
of collaboration. All of these participants accept
the notion that they can learn from each other and that individuals
must be open to changing their own practice for the benefit of
the entire school. |
As a charter school, Central Academy
has been a collaborative effort from the beginning, and Mr. Shalabi
has established a variety of committees which guide the school's
improvement efforts. Parents are partners in the educational
enterprise at Central. Staff members understand this, and improvement
of student achievement is seen as a cooperative effort.
Students are released a half day early
every Friday, and teachers devote this time to collaboration
and in-service training. This has enhanced professional development
efforts at Central and shows, symbolically, that the parent community
understands that this investment of teacher time is valuable
to their children. To promote cohesion among staff, team-building,
and consensus-building, a portion of the Friday in-service time
now an integral part of Central's collaborative effort is devoted
to social activities such as cooperative lunches and birthday
celebrations.
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COMPREHENSIVE |
A
comprehensive school educates the whole child.
Teachers are advocates for student achievement rather than subject
matter specialists. There is a sense of "we" in the
school, and the curriculum is designed around student needs and
interests. Teachers take school-wide responsibilities, and, rather
than taking ownership of just their own classrooms, view all
students in the school as their students. |
Central
Academy has adopted William Glasser's Quality Schools
model (Glasser, 1992) to enhance the comprehensive nature of
the school. This has provided a cohesive and child-centered focus
for all staff development. Discussions at staff meetings frequently
revolve around how to make the school more student-centered or
how to adjust the program to better meet students' needs. Professional
development, rather than focusing on a particular curriculum,
has featured child-centered teaching techniques such as cooperative
learning and multiage grouping. |
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CONTINUOUS |
A
continuous school has curricula and instructional practices
that are not only developmentally appropriate but build from
one grade to the next. There is a common instructional
language throughout the school. Expectations for behavior and
achievement are clear and are consistently applied. Teachers
are aware of standards and benchmarks, not only for their own
grade, but for grades both below and above. |
Central
Academy has implemented multiage teams across the school. This
was begun at the preschool/kindergarten level and is progressing
up the grades. The goal is to have multiage teams through grade
eight. These teams have greatly enhanced the continuous nature
of the curriculum at Central. Part of the Friday in-service time
is frequently taken up with dialog -- both within and across
these teams -- about instruction. Such dialog promotes the use
of common language and instructional practices. Multiage teams
actually build collaboration, cohesion, and the comprehensive
nature of the school. |
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COMMITED |
A
committed school has stakeholders who are all committed
to the success of students and of the school as a whole.
Everyone who is involved with the school works together for
its success. Staff, students, and community members are aware
of the school's mission, and they support it. A culture of success
pervades the organization, and reform efforts are due, in large
part, to broad-based support. |
Due to the efforts of Mr. Shalabi and
to the nature of a charter school, there is a high level of commitment
between the staff and parents at Central Academy. Charter schools
have a distinct advantage in developing commitment, because parents
choose the school for their children. In general, parents at
Central hold common, or similar, cultural values which are also
shared by many staff members. This forms a strong bond which
is often not present in other public schools. There is a concerted
effort at Central to serve the bilingual student population by
providing Arabic classes for all students.
Professional development initiatives
at Central reinforce the strong commitment already present. The Comprehensive CenterRegion VI has provided training in the
Cognitive Academic Language Learning Approach (Chamot & O'Malley,
1994) giving teachers techniques
especially suited to teaching bilingual students.
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COGNITIVE |
A
cognitive school spends more instructional time on cognitive
work than on discipline and administrative tasks. Professional
development centers on achievement issues and on instructional
practices that enhance student achievement. There is a concerted
effort to organize the school schedule to provide as much uninterrupted
instructional time as possible. School administrators facilitate,
whenever possible, team planning and instructional dialog among
all staff members. |
The
majority of the Friday afternoon in-service time (discussed above)
focuses on teaching techniques that lead to improved student
achievement. Topics have included the following: developing integrated
thematic units, Cooperative Learning strategies (Kagan, 1994)
and other direct instruction reading strategies as well as ways
to assist bilingual students in the content areas. Central's
training to improve student achievement is enhanced by the comprehensive
nature of its staff development program which concentrates on
student-centered strategies rather than focusing on subject matter.
Since all teachers receive this training, it becomes both cohesive
and continuous. All students experience similar instructional
practices and use a common academic language. Furthermore, exposure
runs across grade levels. |
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All within a
culture that is CONTEMPLATIVE |
The
culture of a contemplative school fosters and supports
self-reflection and change of practice based on critical reflection.
All stakeholders view change as positive and inevitable. If --
based on what is best for the students they serve -- their school
and their own practice are not changing, they are moving backward.
Staff members willingly devote time to staff development that
actually brings about change in instructional and/or school practice.
Contemplative schools celebrate their culture of success. |
Mr. Shalabi is known as Central Academy's
"lead contemplator." He is a leader who holds strongly
and firmly to practices that he believes are best for children
-- even if these practices are not especially convenient for
staff or parents. Mr. Shalabi is the first to be self-reflective
and open to constructive criticism. He is also the first to support
positive change at Central. Mr. Shalabi will not long tolerate
those who refuse to examine their own practices and work toward
positive change.
Central Academy's strong mission statement,
which all stakeholders in the school community support, enhances
the contemplative nature of the school. This strong widely supported
mission statement anchors and guides the changes that can, and
should, occur in the school. Central is working toward validating
their mission statement and making it part of a broader document
that will truly guide all changes that occur at the school.The
culture of a contemplative school fosters and supports self-reflection
and change of practice based on critical reflection. All
stakeholders view change as positive and inevitable. If based
on what is best for the students they serve their school and
their own practice are not changing, they are moving backward.
Staff members willingly devote time to staff development that
actually brings about change in instructional and/or school practice.
Contemplative schools celebrate their culture of success.
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As the result of a strong professional
development program -- lead by Principal Shalabi, endorsed by
parents, and actively engaged in by staff members -- Central
Academy is a charter school on the rise. It has challenges to
face, but, because it has paid attention to the Seven Cs of Successful
Schools, it is well positioned for continued improvement in student
achievement. It is an excellent example of a charter school working
at fulfilling its educational mission.
REFERENCES
Chamot, A. U. & O'Malley, J. M. (1994). The Cognitive
Academic Language Approach handbook. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley
Publishing Co.
Glasser, W. (1992). The quality school: Managing students
without coersion. New York: Harper Collins Publishers.
Kagan, S. (1994). Cooperative learning. San Clemente,
CA: Kagan Cooperative Learning.
Kailin, S. (1999, November). The seven Cs of successful
schools. Presentation at Saint Paul Schoolwide Planning Conference.
Saint Paul, MN.
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CENTRAL ACADEMY MISSION STATEMENT |
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The mission of Central
Academy shall be to provide an education of the whole child by
integrating the different aspects of children's learning and
lives to make them fuller and more meaningful.
The Academy shall offer
an integrated theme and project-based curriculum which draw on
experiences at home, in the community, and which encourages parents
and other community members to participate in the school and
share their expertise.
The Academy shall supplement
a carefully planned Michigan core curriculum with a special component
of international cultures, including study of language, culture
and history.
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