Many of you know that I've been deeply involved with the founding and operating of a charter elementary school in a very poor and very tough ward here in Chicago for the past 5+ years ~ the school is a gift to the community from the lawfirm I spent my entire working career with until retirement a year ago as the firm's 100th anniversary celebration ~ my [then] boss and now friend was elected to oversee/manage everything ~ so I've been, and remain, very deeply involved from day one ~ we spent over a full year, full time, planning and creating a school, knowing that education is the strongest and best tool in defeating abject poverty, and hiring a truly spectacular principal and teaching staff ~ a charter must be renewed every 5 years, and we are in our first renewal period ~ this is a report that my [former] boss emailed to the entire firm last weekend, following a 2-day site visit as part of our charter renewal investigation ~ I have redacted identifying information from the message only because VoC is open to the public to read ~ obviously, we are thrilled, proud, and deeply gratified by this report ~ this has been [and continues to be] one of the most profoundly rewarding experiences of my life ~ Sooz
As many of you know [school name] Charter School is in the process of its five year charter renewal. A key part of that process is a site visit by a team of educators. On Friday, the [school name] Charter Renewal Site Visit Team completed its visit to [school name]. The Team, consisting of two outside educational consultants, who have evaluated about 2/3's of the CPS charter schools and many other schools around the country and, indeed, the world, and four CPS people. The team spent two very full days at [school name], working from 7 AM to at least 6 PM, observing classes, conducting numerous focus groups (with school leaders, teachers, staff, board members, parents and scholars) and reviewing voluminous materials, including our renewal application. Late Friday, the Team gave a preliminary oral report to us. (A formal written report will follow.)
The report was detailed, specific and enormously affirming of [school name].
One consultant said that, as an educational reformer, [school name] is her "dream" -- a school that she knew was possible, but has not seen. The other consultant repeatedly said that [school name] was "thrilling" and "stunning". They repeatedly said that it was a "privilege" to have been at [school name].
They said that best practices permeate everything that is done. They described [principal's name], our principal, as "visionary" and the rest of the leadership as outstanding. [Dean's name], our Dean of Academics, "knocked their socks off." They commented that teachers said they had blossomed at [school name] and although the work was hard and stressful, they wouldn't want to be any place else.
An understanding of mission and high expectations were all pervasive. Unlike so many other schools, [school name] actually lives what it says. In the parent focus group, parents teared up talking about how important [school name] is to their children. In the scholar focus group, scholars said "everyone" at [school name] was responsible for their education.
In discussing instruction, they started by saying "wow". There is a deep knowledge of student learning and instruction is "relevant, authentic and meaningful." They have a rubric to determine how much instruction promotes higher order thinking. Unfortunately it is typically in the range of 15-20% and about 40% at a good school. At [school name] they judged it to be 85%. And 96% of the instruction was at a nationally appropriate grade level.
They commended the Board, saying it was well informed about the school, smart, had high expectations, is involved, and provides provident stewardship. They said that the relationship with [firm name] is the ideal, dynamic, business-educator partnership -- what they have looked for from the business community -- the best that they've seen. It should be a model that others follow.
They said that there is lots of love at [school name], [school name] is a Chicago treasure, and others should see it.
The Team's final comment was that [school name] is an "optimal learning community of continuous self-improvement, where everyone was growing and nurtured."
After the meeting one of the CPS people sent an email to [principal's name] captioned "[school name] Rocks", saying: "Definition of a school: [school name] CHARTER SCHOOL. Now, that's what school is all about. I am honored to be a part of your team."
For those of us who are close to [school name] on a daily basis it is sometimes impossible to see just how extraordinary it is. To observe it through the eyes of experienced educators and to see how affected they were by the experience, was profoundly moving. When they finished their report there wasn't a dry eye in the room. The impact that [school name] has on everyone who is touched by it is truly amazing. We can be very proud of [school name]. The Firm has made an incredibly meaningful contribution to education.
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