Good schools have strong professional teachers who hold current certification in the classes they are teaching and have mastered the subject matter they are teaching. Maintain high expectations for student achievement. Teach students how to learn. Provide ample opportunities to practice skills taught in order to grasp concepts. Create consistency in learning methods that include problem-solving, thinking and creative activities. Hold students responsible for completion of work assigned within established standards of quality. Set challenging and interesting classroom assignments that are appropriate to the subject and that clearly relate to other lessons taught. Use a wealth of materials and many different approaches to teaching concept. Relate, as often as possible, the objectives of lessons taught to student’s backgrounds, communities and cultures. Maintain discipline in the classroom to foster the optimal learning environment. Keep students consistently informed on how they are doing and what they will be doing next, and discuss the significance of each step and its relationship to concepts previously taught. Keep students informed as to how well they are doing. Use testing and evaluation as a tool to measure student progress as well as determine curriculum changes and teaching strategies in order to accommodate the need of ethnically and culturally diverse groups of students.
Good schools have counselors who know the school and its community and understand the strengths, assets and goal of each. Serve as a bridge between students, parents and school personnel. Assist students in class selection. Understand the system of testing and assessment, and explain it to parents, teachers and staff.
A good school recognizes the great diversity in backgrounds, need and aspirations of its students and develops a curriculum that meets these needs. Good schools offer a broad curriculum within the guidelines established by both state and local mandates and appropriate to the students’ age and educational background. Place a strong emphasis on basic curriculum including Science, Math and History. Have a visual and performing arts curriculum. Value the importance of multicultural education and encourage students to explain other cultures. Constantly seek ways; wherever possible, to enrich the curriculum by offering more courses that supplements a strong academic program. Believe that all children can learn if properly taught. Show great flexibility in the presentation of subject matter to maintain interest. Keep athletics proper relation to academics. Evaluate school offerings on a continuous basis; so as to include students appropriately related to the social and academic changes in our society. Review on regular basis requirements for students’ entry into college or university and made sure needed courses are offered. Keep abreast of work-force requirements and incorporate those skills needed in the curriculum of the school. Make every effort to help students develop proper interpersonal skills needed for college workforce or everyday living.
In good schools, high expectations for student achievement are observed throughout the school. The surroundings of the school give a message to all that enter that academic achievement is valued in this place. In good schools learning is promoted as the most important reason for attending school. High standards for class work are carefully set with students and are maintained on a consistent basis. Class time is used as learning time and few interruptions are permitted. Homework is assigned with a purpose, usually to reinforce a concept taught or to give additional practice. Homework is always checked reviewed and feedback is given. High standards for classroom behavior are established and adhered to in order to permit class work to proceed on an established schedule. In keeping with the high expectations of each teacher and each class, awards for outstanding work are presented at assemblies and community meetings, this is done to advertise and maintain the goals established for a high achieving student body. Improvement in achievement is high on the list of priorities, and resources to assist teachers and students are continuously made available.
Learning requires time and a conductive atmosphere. Since learning is as much a social activity as it is an individual activity, much of what students learn comes from interacting with each other people. Good schools develop a social and academic climate that gives students a strong feeling of belonging; students feel proud of their school, feel they belong, and feel they are wanted and nurtured by the school. Have high morale due to the cooperation of teachers, staff and parents who work closely together to provide the best school environment for their students. Offer appropriate supervision so that only those persons eligible are found on the school grounds. Students are given, on a continuous basis, instructions as to how t responds to visitors on the school grounds. Buildings are kept in good condition, making them safe at all times. Students know well the safety drills held at the school and respond with precision when the signal is given. Good schools recognize and respond to students who come from many different home environments. In good schools, staff expects and accepts some divergent responses to school rules and makes appropriate preparations for effectively responding in a positive and constructive manner. Every effort is made to create an atmosphere in which the student feels the school offers him or her an understanding and a caring response to life’s inequalities.
Good schools are very concerned about the overall achievement of their students and make testing and assessment an integral part of their programs. In good schools clear goals are established as to what students are expected to learn. Curriculum is guided by these carefully constructed instructional goals, with texts, resource materials and experiences orchestrated to promote success. A variety of types of tests and assessments are used. Commercial publishers may develop some of these, state departments of education and districts may develop some, and teachers to use their classrooms construct some.
Good teachers use assessments to hold student to high standards. Examine the effectiveness of their teaching strategies. Diagnose the strengths and weaknesses of a class and of individual students. Determine whether the class, a group within it or individual students is ready to go on to the next unit or next class. Gather a balanced picture of student ability and mastery; do not use the results of one particular pencil-and-paper test as the sol determinant of student achievement.
Where assessment results are less than satisfactory, good teachers help students read and review concepts presented. Determine if they have adequately reviewed materials, asked questions and shared additional materials to reinforce a given concept. Question if they have consistently reviewed and encouraged students to relate class experiments with some of their own personal experiences. Determine if the tests used mirror the material used by the class. Determine if the tests are testing what was actually taught.
In good schools, students are encouraged to use assessment results. It conveys to them the level of success they are meeting. It helps them see the continuity in their learning and offers them the encouragement to apply learned skills in one field to other fields and to everyday living experiences. They are encouraged by an assessment system that reveals both their growth and areas in which improvement is needed. It empowers them to share in the responsibility for their own learning.
Parent and Community involvement is critical. One of the most prevalent and consistent findings in research on good schools is that parent involvement makes a difference. In good schools, parents participant with the school in establishing its organization goals. Actively participate in developing the school’s policy on discipline, grading, attendance, testing, promotions and retention. Visit with teachers and administrators at the school on a regular basis. Inquire as to what happened at school on any given day and help children clarify concerns. Inquire about homework assignments, provide a place and time for students to complete their work and offer assistance to students as needed. Speak well of the school. Take stock periodically to determine if they, their children and the school are together in their plans for their child’s future. Recognize that children spend only a portion of the day at school and that much more of their time is spent at home; therefore, much can and should be done at home to increase their child’s learning.
Good schools are an important part of a community. Recognized leaders of the community often share their talents and experience with a school, thereby projecting positive images and serving as role models for students. The utilization of office space by agencies, corporations and businesses to display outstanding work accomplished by students makes a positive display of the togetherness that exits between the school and the community. Good schools know that they and the community are one. Failure on the part of either can bring discredit to the other. Good schools receive broad support from their communities and identify with the community and its agencies in multiple ways and on a continuous basis. In good schools, social agencies are active participants in the life of the school, often providing additional counseling, tutoring services, and food and clothing to the needy. Members of the community visit the school regularly and participate in assemblies, often addressing some of the critical issues of the community and indicating where and how help can be obtained. Good schools make every effort to schedule events at times and places that are convenient for parents and encourage maximum participation by the entire school community.
