BEST Centre Annual Report 2011 ..............................................
Domain 1 : Focusing on engaging pedagogy and curriculum including ICT and assessment
and
Domain 4 : Ensuring and supporting high quality staffing
2011- A year of Curriculum Growth
Improvement in educational outcomes for our students remains our highest priority . To achieve this change we worked in the following areas in 2011 :
• culture change for teaching staff
• professional development for teaching staff
• coaching and mentoring for our teaching staff
• new curriculum resources
• very thorough testing and evaluation of student progress .
Berry Street Model of
Building the Learning Culture at the BEST Centre
A key strategy in improving student outcomes for the BEST Centre has been the decision to collaboratively work on raising expectations for student outcomes , accountability for visible learning , and diligently holding students accountable for their behaviour .
Our 2011 work centred around the question : How do teachers design student learning programs and a school culture to specifically increase stamina for learning and develop resiliency skills ? We wanted a transformational culture shift based on expectations by putting the responsibilities for excellence upon the daily practice of our teachers . Tom Brunzell led an extensive staff professional development program around curriculum , school culture and student management . This was coupled with support through mentorships with school leaders , lead teachers , and content teaching teams .
By the end of the school year , teachers were giving differentiated stamina goals to students , measuring , and celebrating success . Our students went from nonreaders to reading on average thirty-minutes a day in their literacy class - a huge accomplishment to build upon . Students are gaining the belief that at the BEST Centre , their effort is paying off and day by day , they are learning the specific strategies needed to become readers and writers . There is a significant shift towards celebrating academic success ; made possible by our increased effort on finding supportive ways to hold teachers accountable to daily lesson planning , regular assessment data , and constant communication with their team on the daily struggles and goals . Student growth mindset directly mirrors teacher mindset , and our attention for 2012 is now focused on how to make these processes visible to each and every student .
Education
BEST Centre Annual Report 2011 ..............................................