There are many different areas that are key to the success of high-performing schools from culture to human capital systems to use of data and academic rigor. Here you can find profiles on schools in the region that are excelling in different areas and what they’re doing that other schools can emulate.
Read last week’s post introducing Eric and Katherine Acosta-Verprauskus and their schools, Verde Elementary and Montalvin Elementary
“I think once you believe that every child can learn, but it’s up to the adults to get it right to make sure that happens, that changes everything,” says Eric Acosta-Verprauskus, the principal of the long-struggling Verde Elementary in North Richmond.
Two years ago, Eric Acosta-Verprauskus told his wife he was interviewing for a job as principal at Verde Elementary. The school had a reputation as an incredibly tough place to work. The last four principals had lasted an average of less than two years. “All the terrible things you hear about rough public schools were true here,” says Mr. Acosta-Verprauskus.
Traditionally, what the high school lesson type looks like, is that the teacher tells students about something and they get a chance to practice with it. Unfortunately, that’s not what college classes look like.
A young man in a suit rises and stands before a panel of judges. For an hour, he walks through the challenges he faced in his past four years of study and how he took them on. He goes in-depth in explaining his academic work, including graphing parabolic functions and...
The community meeting is a staple at many schools, but at RoMo it happens every month, and upwards of eighty percent of parents routinely attend – a level of participation that’s practically unheard of.