Restorative Justice from Diverse Perspectives

Cultural and academic data shows that Black students and students with disabilities have fewer positive academic outcomes and school experiences at our school compared with white students. Most school systems are directed at student behavior as the problem and are ineffective. We believe this is because behavior is a symptom of unidentified systemic issues. Our project will identify the systemic problems causing student behavior issues, and use trauma-informed practices to improve student outcomes. Our team of six educators across content areas will attend the Innovative Schools Summit Student Discipline Conference, using this learning experience as the starting point for a two year cycle of student data collection and analysis. Our goal is to change at least one school system to create better experiences and outcomes for our struggling students.

Building Equitable Access to Learning for Multilingual Learners in the Secondary Classroom

Across subject areas, our project will build teacher knowledge and use of Tier 1 supports for English Learners (ELs), particularly newcomers and long-term ELs. In year 1, the team will engage in a book study and professional development, exploring research-based strategies and best practices for supporting ELs. In tandem, teachers will engage in a lesson study cycle that incorporates the new strategies, focusing on embedded formative assessments that gauge whether these strategies effectively enhance learning outcomes for ELs. in Year 2, our team will lead their respective departments in a similar cycle that is revised based on Year 1 learnings.

Operation RISE Above

At this team’s school, every staff member serves as an advisor to a cohort of 12-16 students (a ‘RISE’) from freshman year to graduation. The team of teachers plans to create a professional learning series that codifies the expectations and supports for teaching lessons during daily RISE time, mentoring advisees, maintaining relationships with RISE-ee’s guardians, and other advisor duties.