If we expect our students to fail, they will. All schools can and do make a difference in the quality of children's lives. No matter what the challenges, we know enough about the nature of the learner and the process of learning to teach all students well. This includes the expectation that students will demonstrate their skills and apply what they have learned with increasing expertise. Our second responsibility is to make sure that what we teach, how we teach it, how we support the learner and how we measure what is learned all reflect those higher expectations.
All children can learn.
All schools can teach them. Every decision we make and every action we take must improve student achievement. Students at every skill level must be challenged and helped to do their best work, with no limits on what any student can learn. No ceilings, no watering down. We must strive for the highest possible student achievement in reading, writing, listening, speaking, computing, problem solving, independent learning and responsible citizenship.