Roosevelt High School
Letter to Seniors and Their Families - 2012
School News
Roosevelt High School Instructional Model Information for Families
Roosevelt High School was awarded a substantial School Improvement Grant in 2009. With this grant comes a commitment to transform the culture of learning here at school. Part of this effort to improve includes defining the instructional framework that all teachers use to help your student achieve. This instructional framework includes the following:
- Learning Targets: There are clear learning goals for each class your student takes. These learning goals are the focus of every activity and assignment and they are posted in student-friendly language in the classroom and on assignments.
Ask your student what his/her learning targets are for each class. Your student should be able to tell you the targets, what he or she will have to do or show to reach those targets, and progress made so far in reaching those targets.
- Feedback: To help students meet learning targets, teachers give students multiple opportunities to succeed. One way they do this is to provide feedback on student work in time for students to revise their work for a grade. Once students have received this feedback (either verbal or written), students will know what they need to do to improve.
Ask your student about the feedback he or she is receiving and how he or she is using that feedback to make progress.
- Engaging and rigorous classroom instruction: All teachers are committed to helping all their students reach the learning targets. They do this by planning lessons that build knowledge and skills over time, first offering lots of help, and then, gradually, allowing students to do the hard work on their own. In this way, education is a lot like constructing a building, scaffolding is put up to enable workers to get to higher levels. Once the higher levels are built, the scaffolding is taken away. Each lesson includes reading, writing and discussion.
Ask your student what he or she has been reading, writing and discussing in each class Ð and your studentÕs thoughts and opinions about what he or she has been reading, writing and discussing.
This instructional framework is based on a large body of research on instruction and assessment (see below for key references). Every teacher at Roosevelt High School is committed to using this instructional framework to teach. However, teaching in this way is hard work. To help teachers use the framework, Roosevelt High School has provided coaches to work with teachers in all subject areas. These coaches, along with the administrative team, provide professional development, observe in classes, and give feedback to improve teaching and learning.
Would you like to learn more about the ideas and research that inform the instructional framework? Check out these references:
Art and Science of Teaching: A Comprehensive Framework for Effective Instruction
by Robert J. Marzano
Advancing Formative Assessment in Every Classroom
by Connie Moss and Susan Brookhart
Focus: Elevating the Essentials
by Mike Schmoker
So What Do They Really Know? Assessment that Informs Teaching and Learning
by Cris Tovani
