School Improvement Plan 2020-2021

(With COVID-19 Pivot)

our theory of action: "design culture"

OUR GUIDING QUESTION(s)?

If our staff focuses on "how" we design real, meaningful projects and learning tasks that address authentic issues around social and environmental justice, will our students;

Engage with perseverance & rigor both online and during face to face learning?
Be reflective learners (set personal goals and embrace challenges when the learning gets hard)?
Be able to advocate for self, and for others, and make choices that support their personal and collective well-being?
Increase our student’s capacity in their overall competency development?

* In order to be responsive to changes due to COVID-19 learning design should take a form that allows for easy adjustment from face-to-face and online learning.

THE COVID-19 PIVOT

Coming back from the pandemic teachers identified a widening gap between students in their ability to work with text (reading and writing). Some students excelled with the online learning, yet many got further behind their peers. The gap seems to be widening.

Our plan to address this is to foster the "culture of literacy" the extends beyond our school. Our plan is to get students excited about literacy and see themselves as;

1) ferocious readers that think critically about text

2) capable authors that have a voice in their writing

Perseverance, Purpose and Authenticity

What reasons do you have for selecting this aspect of student learning for school improvement?

In The Global Search for Education: Education and Jobs (2013), Tony Wagner discusses "the ability to initiate, discern, collaborate, persevere and solve problems creatively will be the qualities most in demand in the future." Wagner prescribes that we need to “coach students for skill and will in addition to teaching content." With this end in mind, we have targeted cultivating perseverance (students who embrace challenges and see them out) as our school learning goal.

We believe that we can only cultivate perseverance and determinations by building an environment/school culture where all students feel safe, respected, encouraged to take risks and try new things, and are intrinsically invested in their learning. Further, we believe that students are intrinsically invested in authentic learning environments, where they see the purpose and reasoning for each learning intention, and are willing to enter into a framework for success. It is our belief that working in this area will enable more students to move from meeting expectations to exceeding expectations in reading, writing and numeracy and all areas of their competency development.

Our Enduring Understandings:

Know the Child to Teach the Child
Better Questions = Better Learning
What we do in the classroom is not “practice” for real life, it is real life.

What process is used to review and revise your goal or inquiry?

Ongoing discussion and conversations regarding school development and progress among staff
Continued work to develop visioning and alignment
We are using teaching strategies and structures that align with the direction of the school goals
We are monitoring our progress with data that will keep us accountable for our goals and will also allow us to see if we are making a difference.

How are your staff, students and School Planning Team engaged in working on the School Learning Plan?

We have built a collective vision for our Teaching Team and Staff. This Values and Vision has been utilized and communicated to our parent body in parent presentations and is displayed proudly outside of our office.

OUR VISION for Pathways to Learning

We are a passionate, nurturing

community that makes our school and

the world a better place, empowering

each other to engage in our learning and

to be our best selves.

OUR TEAM VALUES

Shared Courage : We support each other

in being adventurous and brave.

Integrity: We are respectful of others and

accountable for our actions.

Kindness : We are supportive, compassionate,

open-minded, flexible and encouraging.

Passion: We are enthusiastic, engaged

and committed to delivering our best.

Purposeful Growth : We are committed to learning and growing,

embracing our curiosity and exploring new opportunities.