All parents want their children to attend a great school. But, do we know the characteristics or factors that make one school better than another; one greater vs. one not-so-great? The National Education Association, the largest teachers organization in the United States, shares some information in this article that parents may use while making a determination whether a school is, or is not "great." Is your child's school a "great" school? The following is a listing of the 35 factors that are the "KEYS to Excellence for Schools" from the National Education Association A shared understanding about achievable education outcomes 1. Commitment to long-range, continuous improvement--parents and school employees 2. Commitment to long-range, continuous improvement--central and building administration 3. Clear, explicit goals Involvement of all school-community groups in improving education 4. Everyone must be involved in improving education. This includes teachers, educational support personnel, parents, administrators, students, the school board, district administrators, and civic groups Belief that all students can achieve under the right conditions 5. Teachers, ESP, students, and parents believe that all students can learn 6. School district administration and school boards believe that all students can learn 7. Adequate space 8. Adequate supplies 9. Adequate support services 10. Psychological and social work services are available 11. The school is an overall learning environment for employees and students Barriers are identified and removed 12. Specific barriers are sought 13. General willingness to remove barriers 14. Efforts to remove barriers by educational personnel 15. Efforts to remove barriers by students and parents 16. Efforts to remove barriers by administration Barriers removed through a cooperative problem solving process 17. Using cooperative, collaborative (not top-down or bottom-up) processes
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