Oakland Park can have an XQSuperSchool

Here is my profile on XQSuperSchools

Click here

My friend Enrique Gonzalez has an excellent website showing useful information to make school "the second home." Look for "second home school enrique"
www.SiSePuedeLearning.com
The idea is to PERSONALIZE the school work. How can we organize the classwork around Personal Learning Plans for each student?? BigPicture.org has some useful worksheets ... it's worth a visit to go to "Dennis Littky Small Schools" . read excerpts from Littky's 2004 book? www.TinyURL.com/LittkyChapter1

It is useful for people who don't know about "how public schools operate" to have opportunities to describe how THEY wish their school could be.

The Boston Public Schools system has some useful summaries of suggestions.

The reality is that organizations like Big Picture schools are already doing the suggestions that are shown in the Boston Public Schools' checklist.

Why not contact bigpicture.org?

Look at their Principles...

Here's what Big Picture does...

Statement of Big Picture School Principles

A philosophy of personalization, a far-reaching vision, and a unique design

Big Picture Schools are defined by their commitment to educate “One Student at a Time.” Our schools are built around the recognition that each child has unique interests, needs, and abilities that the educational program must take into account. We believe that the key to achievement lies in fostering students’ individual interests and encouraging their active participation in the learning process. Big Picture Schools

focus on authentic learning in order to develop students’ ability to apply knowledge and skills to real life experience and challenges.

Each Big Picture School has a small student population but is connected to a greater whole, both locally and nationally. Each small school is expected to grow and branch into multiple schools in a given district or region in two to four years. All Big Picture Schools will be electronically networked and will participate annually in our national conference.

Because of our philosophical commitment to interest-generated, real-world, personalized learning, Big Picture Schools have a markedly different structure than other high schools. These differences may necessitate waiver language, particularly around curriculum requirements and personnel regulations. Some circumstances may require the pursuit of charter status.

Core Educational Principles

Those who start Big Picture schools agree to follow the guiding philosophy of "One Student at a Time" by

incorporating the following core principles in the school structure:

• Small school size

• Advisory structure

• Personalized education

• Real world learning

• Authentic assessment

• Focus on community

• Family engagement

• Eye on the Big Picture

Small School Size

Big Picture Schools are personalized learning communities that serve students of all abilities and interests. Each school may have no more than 150 students, with a student to teacher ratio of up to 17:1. Up to six autonomous schools may constitute a Big Picture School Center. Big Picture Schools may not be a “school within a school.”

Advisory Structure

A core student group of between 10 and 17 students serves as a student's advisory and center of accountability. Advisories meet daily and serve as the core learning community

for that group of students for two to four years. An advisor (teacher) facilitates the advisory for two to four years. He/she serves as a teaching generalist, finding educational resources for the students, ensuring that the personalized learning plans target key academic learning goals, working with mentors to ensure the rigor of internships, and actively involving parents in their children’s education.

Personalized Education

Each student at a Big Picture School has a comprehensive, individualized learning plan that the student crafts with the guidance of the advisor, parent, and, where applicable, the internship mentor. The learning plan identifies the student’s particular academic and developmental needs, describes authentic project work to meet these goals, and outlines expected outcomes and timelines. It is revised as needed and updated at quarterly learning plan meetings.

Five general learning goals provide a framework around which the student and advisor organize this customized plan. The learning goals are:

• Empirical reasoning – How do I prove it?

• Quantitative reasoning – How do I measure, compare or represent it?

• Social reasoning – What are other people’s perspectives on this?

• Communication – How do I take in and express ideas?

• Personal qualities – What do I bring to this process?

Additionally, general grade-level expectations are incorporated into the personalized learning plan.

Real World Learning

Big Picture Schools foster learning through consequential work in the community. Internships provide the primary structure in the Big Picture School for engaging students in the real world and, thus, the school should aim to have each student spending two days a week engaged in meaningful project work outside the school building. Advisors coordinate this work, ensuring that it is integrated with the student’s learning goals and school-based study. It is important to note that such real-world work is intended to foster broad learning applicable to all fields, to be developmental as opposed to than vocational.

Authentic Assessment

Although students take state-mandated tests, by philosophy and design, Big Picture Schools focus on authentic assessment and rigorously assess student learning and development through a variety of performances. Each student must create a portfolio of his/her work; present quarterly exhibitions; receive in-depth written narrative assessments from advisors; and pass a gateway exhibition at the end of the second year and graduation requirements at the culmination of the final year. Additionally, each Big Picture School must create an annual school portfolio that documents a range of qualitative as well as quantitative data about the students and school.

Focus on Community

Big Picture Schools are vibrant and inclusive learning communities that value diversity and respect. Each in-house school day begins with a “Pick Me Up,” an all-school gathering at which students showcase their work and guests from the community give performances and presentations. Whole community events for staff, students, families, and mentors are scheduled throughout the year as well. To promote cooperation and communication within the staff, each Big Picture School puts out a weekly TGIF, an informal staff newsletter that includes reflective writing as well as logistical updates. Schools submit copies of their TGIFs to the Big Picture Company for purposes of data-collection and documentation.

Family Engagement

Big Picture Schools enroll whole families and empower parents to play an active role in their child’s education and in the school community. Parents/guardians in Big Picture Schools must agree to take part in quarterly learning plan meetings and are expected to attend a number of functions throughout the year. Each Big Picture School must hold an orientation for new families; organize social, cultural, and educational activities for them; and support parents/guardians in their role as educator.

Eye on the Big Picture
Though each Big Picture School has a small student population, the vision extends far beyond the building. Big Picture Schools are literally and figuratively networked to promote the philosophy of “one student at a time” and share best practices. Schools agree to use and contribute to development of Big Picture’s school design materials, and staffs from all Big Picture Schools attend an annual retreat in the summer.

Design of the Organization

Leadership

Each school is led by a principal whom local decision-makers select together with the Big Picture Company. This principal comes on board full-time by August, one year prior to the school’s opening. During the year before opening, this individual participates in Big Picture’s leadership training which includes consultation in Big Picture’s philosophy and design and start-up issues. As part of the training, each principal develops a thorough learning plan that identifies leadership development needs and timelines the organizational development of the school.

Principals of Big Picture Schools are expected to engage stakeholders– including staff, students, and families– in democratic decision-making while simultaneously functioning as the “keeper of the vision” to ensure that decisions support the school’s philosophy. Each Big Picture Center must organize an active Advisory Board that meets four to six times a year, giving guidance and support to the principal(s) in the center. This Advisory

Board should be in addition to any district-based school board.

Decision-Making on the Site

Each Big Picture School needs considerable autonomy to fully implement the school’s

philosophy and design, as laid out in this document and in Big Picture’s extensive

materials. The principal, with board approval, must be able to hire, evaluate, and terminate staff as necessary and in accordance with all terms and requirements of the San Diego Education Association contract. The principal must control allocation of the school’s budget and have direct and easy access to funds.

Student Population

Big Picture Schools are designed to serve students of all abilities, interests, aspirations, and socio-economic backgrounds. Because of the individualized approach, Big Picture Schools can successfully meet the needs of all students, from the most severely at-risk to the highest achieving. Students must be recruited throughout the given district and selected by a lottery system to ensure that the school population reflects the demographics of the community as a whole.

Contract Language

Two basic tenets underlie staff contracts in Big Picture Schools: 1) trust, respect, and open communication characterize relations between the principal, teachers, and families;