Teachers visited exemplary inner city schools, had intense discussions about what they had seen, and brought their own ideas to the table. They decided to extend their school day an hour longer than in other Newark public schools, and they created an 11-month school year. They designed July to be different from other months. Students attend half-day classes that include a poetry workshop, an interdisciplinary course on the Italian Renaissance, and a class that uses sports to teach statistics. Intensive remedial work is offered for students who need it.
Teachers spend the second half of the day improving their own skills.
This past summer, the faculty chose to focus on technology and performance assessment. For a few days, North Star staff with expertise conducted workshops on how to use PowerPoint and Front Page in the classroom. Teachers spent other joint sessions in workshops on assessment. The faculty focused on what they wanted students to know and be able to do in different disciplines, and on designing tasks that targeted these goals. They also spent time refining rubrics, aligning them so that teachers are all using the same criteria to assess students' work.