We hear the word “reform” almost daily; yet don’t have a common definition. For some, it means redesigning a school, for others, “fidelity” (my personal favorite), and yet others, it means implementing research-based practices through a rigorous standards based curriculum. At the Mathematics and Science Leadership Academy, reform assumes the latter. We designed our school based on what works best with our students. This model includes designing the curriculum, classroom materials/furniture, technology, student contact day, class size, wrap around programs, and peer evaluation.
As the first DPS “Performance School”, we feel the pressure to perform. Being the only teacher-led school, with union backing, definitely ups the ante. Our twelve teachers range from a first year teacher through nearly 30 years of experience. One fourth of our staff in National Board Certified, and our entire staff is going through the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards’ Take One! Process. In fact, our professional development is relevant, differentiated, and designed by and for our staff.
We are “on the clock” for 40 hours a week. We all have an hour for lunch, and 55 minutes of planning a day. Wednesdays are early release days, where we do service learning with multi-age groups. While our students are in enrichment programs, led by DCTA-R member Joann Estrada-Mast, we are actively engaged on team meetings led by our own colleagues. Decisions are made by consensus.
For your data team… we are 94% free and reduced lunch, over 90% ethnic minority, and over 50% of our student population is English Language Learners. We are not a charter school, and we did not seek Innovation Status. In fact, our school operates within the contract, and is still able to implement meaningful reforms, based on research and best practices. We did waive state statute so that we could operate without a principal, which is required for teacher evaluations.
The Mathematics and Science Leadership Academy allows teachers to use their professional expertise to best meet the needs of our students. We are constantly reflecting and refining our model and practices. Following our motto, we are “learners, teachers and leaders”… implementing meaningful reform for our students, without giving up our rights.
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W. Edwards Deming, the father of system transformation, believed that if you want to build a better car, you had to ask the guy on the line how to do so because of his personal experience. DPS is making little statistical progress improving fundamental performance metrics because it refuses to ask its teachers how to improve the system. This is a fundamental mistake in system transformation. It is not, however, unusual in the practice of reform, which is typically undertaken by demagogues to change a system based on ideology rather than performance. No where is this more true than at DPS.
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