December 2007 - CHS News from the Principal
December 01, 2007
In January, our junior and senior high faculty will spend some time on their professional development day looking at the book “Breaking Ranks II: Strategies for Leading High School Reform”. In this book, the authors outline Seven Cornerstone Strategies principals and teachers need to concentrate on to lead their schools to the next level, from good to great. Concordia, like many public schools, has been successful in educating a diverse population, with dwindling resources and ever increasing mandates from the state and national levels. However, as a school leader, I have to ask myself and my staff each day, “Are we engaging each student who enters our school system, regardless of socioeconomic status, ability level or ethnic background?” Being a good high school is about maintaining the status quo; being a great high school is about something else entirely.
To be a great high school, we as a staff need to address these cornerstone strategies, including: establishing what the essential learnings of each student should be; increasing the quality of interactions between students and teachers; ensure that each student has frequent and meaningful opportunities to assess academic and social progress; ensure that teachers use a variety of instructional strategies and assessments to accommodate individual learning styles; implement schedules flexible enough to help students learn most effectively. With these addressed by the faculty and principals, and a plan in place to ensure that they are met, Concordia Junior/Senior High will be more effective and engaging for all of our students.