Transcript The Principles of a Smart & Good High School are intended to

The Principles of a Smart & Good High School
are intended to provide a blueprint for building a
school committed to excellence and ethics. We
expect these Principles to evolve as we work with
schools seeking to put them into practice.
Make the development of performance
character and moral character – the
integration of excellence and ethics – the
cornerstone of the school’s mission and
identity. Define performance character and
moral character in terms of 8 strengths of
character needed for human flourishing over
a lifetime.
Place the development of performance character and
moral character at the center of your school’s mission
and identity. View this integration of excellence and
ethics as essential for realizing success in school, work,
and beyond. Commit to promoting excellence and
ethics by developing the eight strengths of character
and moral character:
(1) lifelong learner and critical thinker, (2) diligent and
capable performer, (3) socially and emotionally skilled
person, (4) ethical thinker, (5) respectful and responsible
moral agent, (6) self-disciplined person, (7) contributing
community member and democratic citizen, and (8)
spiritual person engaged in crafting a life of noble
purpose.
Work to establish the conditions that
support the implementation of the
Smart & Good High Schools vision..
Take steps to create the conditions that support
the development of Smart & Good High School.
These conditions include strong leadership, optimal
school size, time for planning and reflection,
supportive scheduling, manageable teaching loads, a
safe and orderly environment, trusting and
respectful relationships, and adequate budgetary
resources. Continually address these factors in order
to create the optimal conditions for successful
implementation.
As individual practitioners, capitalize on
the Power of One – your personal
contribution to the performance character
and moral character of every student
While striving for a whole-school environment that
supports excellence and ethics, work as individual
practitioners in your own sphere of influence to
maximize your personal contribution to the character
development of every student. Educational research
and students’ own voices point to the Power of One –
an adult who has made an enduring difference in the life
of a young person. Whether as a school leader,
classroom instructor, coach, advisor, parent, or member
of the support staff, examine your practices – including
your modeling of performance character and moral
character – with the goal of optimizing your impact on
students’ growth in character. To amplify the Power of
One, seek out other, like-minded individuals – another
teacher, another coach, another parent – and work
together.
Develop an Ethical Learning Community
(ELC) – a partnership of staff, students,
parents, and the wider community.
Work to develop an Ethical Learning Community
(ELC) – an active partnership of staff, students,
parents, and the wider community – that shares
responsibility for modeling and fostering
performance character and moral character. View
the ELC as the school culture that provides support
and challenge for all its members in developing
excellence and ethics. Build this culture of character
around six ELC operating principles:
Develop shared purpose and identity.
Cultivate a school wide sense of purpose,
identity, and community based on a shared
commitment to promoting performance
character and moral character.
Align practices with desired outcomes
and relevant research. View everything in
the life of the school – curriculum, cocurricular activities, discipline, routines, and
traditions – as opportunities to develop
performance character and moral character.
Ask, How does a given practice contribute to
the integration of excellence and ethics –
performance character and moral character?
What is the evidence of its effectiveness?
Have a voice; tae a stand. Create a
democratic community that maximizes
participation in the quest for excellence and
ethics; challenge all members of the Ethical
Learning Community to use their voices with
courage and integrity.
Take personal responsibility for
continuous self-development. See yourself
as a work in progress; pursue your personal
best.
Practice collective responsibility. Care
enough to expect the best from others;
commit to the norm of care-frontation in
relationships..
Grapple with the tough issues – the
elephants in the living room. Address the
critical issues – in school and outside school
– that affect excellence and ethics.
Develop a Professional Ethical Learning
Community among faculty, staff, and
administration.
Build a Professional Ethical Learning Community
(PELC) that provides the essential leadership for
developing the ELC and that acts upon Gandhi’s
exhortation to be the change you wish to see in the
world.
Define the PELC to include all staff –
administrators,
teachers,
counselors,
coaches,
custodians, secretaries, and all other adults whose
example and work affect the character of the school and
the character development of students. Develop the
PELC around the same operating principles that guide
the ethical learning community. Promote collegiality,
collaboration, and a culture of critique in order to help
all staff continually reflect on their own development of
performance character, moral character, and the eight
strengths of characters.