Guiding Principles

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ACADEMIC BELONGING
The teacher builds a strong sense of academic belonging in the classroom where students see themselves as members of not only a social community, but also an
intellectual community.

  • Design culturally-relevant learning spaces where students’ cultural identity is widely represented
  • Honor students’ individual and collective strength

CULTURAL-BASED KNOWLEDGE
The lessons incorporate implicitly the cultural knowledge, prior experiences, frames of reference, and performance styles of diverse students to make learning more appropriate and effective for them.

  • Affirm students’ cultural identity
  • Celebrate students’ cultural values
  • Students are allowed to use their personal culture to enhance their quest for educational excellence

COMMUNITY-BASED KNOWLEDGE
The teacher engages students in academic tasks and topics that connect in some way to their lives and communities, future educational pursuits or current interests.

  • Teaching and learning is contextualized by connecting what is taught to students’ lives and communities

INQUIRY-BASED LEARNING AND SOCIAL JUSTICE
Teachers implement inquiry-based learning and promotes student’s intellectual skills to recognize societal problems, ask critical questions, develop robust investigations

  • Students ask questions effectively to build literacy skills and content knowledge while engaging in expert thinking
  • Students participate in social justice events either through critical dialogue, advocacy, or activism

MINDSET
Both the teacher and the students embrace a mindset that we all possess the intelligence and capabilities to engage in rigorous academic learning experiences.

  • Teacher sets high expectations for rigorous learning
  • Students are held accountable despite difficult circumstances
  • Teacher sees promise and possibilities in students
  • Mistakes are part of the learning process
  • Teacher praises students’ effort rather than intelligence

HIGH LEVERAGE STRATEGIES
The teacher develops critical and complex teaching practices to engage all students

  • Adjust teaching styles to engage all students and meet individual needs
  • Promote cooperative, collaborative and collective learning
  • Provide instructional scaffolding that support students success