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
Daily assessment of students for improvement
18. By teachers
19. By administrators
Using:
20. Teacher-made tests
21. Oral classroom assessment
22. Exhibitions for assessment
23. Student background for assessment
Consistent assessment of programs, not individuals
24. Use of program assessment
25. Use of teacher ratings of program quality
Use of assessment results for decision-making
26. Assessment results are actually used, and school and classroom decisions
of teachers and administrators are based on how well programs and behaviors
accomplish goals
Selection of materials/resources based on quality and appropriateness
27. Selecting materials based on quality
28. Selecting materials based on appropriateness to students
29. Not selecting materials based on cost
Ongoing, consistent staff development
30. On decision-making skills (data collection, analysis, assessment),
problem solving skills, leadership skills, and communication skills
31. Is an ongoing, high-quality, state-of-the-art, practical experience for
all school employees
Two-way, non-threatening communication
32. Communication with school administrators
33. Communication with district administration
34. Communication with teachers
35. A climate for innovation
