Larry Lezotte presented the following characteristics of effective schools. I encourage you to read them thoughtfully and reflect on the current status of the Campus School. In the effective school, there is an orderly purposeful, businesslike atmosphere which is free from the threat of physical harm. The school climate is not oppressive and is conducive to teaching and learning. In the effective school, there is a clearly articulated mission through which the staff shares an understanding of and a commitment to the instructional goals, priorities, assessment procedures, and accountability.
Staff accept responsibility for students learnings of the school s essential curricular goals.
In the effective school, there is a climate of expectation in which the staff believes and demonstrates that all students can attain mastery of the essential school skills and they believe that they have the capability to help all students attain that mastery. In the effective school, teachers allocate a significant amount of classroom time to instruction in the essential skills. For a high percentage of this time, students are engaged in whole class or large group, planned, teacher-directed learning activities. In the effective school, student academic progress is measured frequently. A variety of assessment procedures are used.