Philosophy of Education
The overarching mission of the Community Charter School of Paterson (CCSP) is to inspire and empower our students, families and staff with opportunities to successfully shape and transform their lives by becoming successful, lifelong learners.
In order to accomplish this mission, we have implemented a variety of strategies to help our students achieve academic and social success. Because we understand that a solid foundation in literacy is critical to academic success, we have identified an “unrelenting focus on literacy” as the cornerstone of our work. Generally speaking, and in keeping with the School’s philosophy, teachers are very intentional in integrating Language Arts across the content areas with an interdisciplinary approach to learning, particularly in writing. Additionally, a culture of reflection, planning and implementation will result in the delivery of sound instruction that leads to student success. For example, it is this philosophy that led to an examination and restructuring of the instructional program to include transition classrooms, the dual teaching model and the co-teaching (inclusion) classroom.
Dual Teaching:
In response to the analysis of the third graders’ performance on the 2011 NJPASS and DIBELS, the School implemented a dual teaching model in every third grade class to increase the level of support and opportunities for small group instruction. Of note, the School has developed a partnership with Teach For America this past summer in order to improve its ability to continuously attract high-quality, well-trained teachers. The three inaugural Teach For America teachers (TFA’s) are all participating in Dual Teaching classrooms.
Transition Classes:
CCSP has decided not to retain students at the present grade level but to create a Transitional Class at each 1-4 grade level to serve identified students. Decisions for placement were based on teacher observation, DIBELS assessment, benchmark assessments, and report card grades. The transitional class is intended to serve those students who may have been traditionally retained in the present grade due to poor academic performance in Language Arts and Mathematics. Students in these classes are in need of additional time or specific instructional focus, which is provided by a classroom teacher along with a Basic Skills Instructor. Low student/teacher ratio, coupled with individualized instruction increase, the probability of student success. Teachers provide an intensive and prescriptive plan for differentiated instruction and closely monitor student progress and the need for additional support. The goal is to prepare the students to be successful in the next grade the following year.
Inclusion Co-Teaching Classroom
This service provides a heterogeneous, co-teaching, inclusive environment for placement of many classified students with the general education population. Students in this placement are classified students in need of complete replacement services as specified in their IEP. Students are provided with in-class replacement and are taught and graded using a modified curriculum for the identified subject areas by the special education teacher. Each classroom has no more than 8 special education students with a certified special education teacher.
In addition to implementing new instuctional models, the School has also employed other strategies to empower our teachers with best practices and to increase academic success:
Teacher Leaders- The School has indentified teacher leaders in each grade level. These experienced teachers will provide peer support on each grade level and will turnkey instructional strategies that will lead to student progress over time. They will also conduct demonstration lessons, assist with lesson planning, accompany administrators on walk-throughs and provide feedback to their colleagues to strengthen instructional practices. Teacher leaders will also have the opportunity to share their experiences and expertise with grade level colleagues through facilitating “Lunch and Learns”.
SMART Boards- In an effort to remain deliberate in the infusion of technology into the curriculum, the School purchased SMART Boards so that teachers will be equipped to integrate technology into daily instruction and to increase student engagement. Teachers received professional development during the summer of 2011 and will receive ongoing support via seminars as well as technical support as dictated by the consistent implementation of technology infused instruction.
Data Driven Instruction and Data Walls- At CCSP, we believe that anything that is valued is measured; therefore, students are assessed formally and informally. Teachers analyze the data to note school wide, grade level, class and individual trends so that their instruction is targeted. Through the administration of benchmarks and informal assessments, teachers are able to chart grade level, class-wide and individual growth. The implementation of data walls allows the teachers to utilize available data to support data-driven instruction. These walls are displayed in a common hallway and are used to consistently involve students in individual learning plans that are created using a constructivist approach to learning.
AmeriCorps Program- CCSP has 8 full-time AmeriCorps Members assigned to our School. This program supports the School in a variety of ways including the instructional program, the character development program, and the extended day program which includes an educational component. The program collaborates with our Community Schools team to coordinate services to the students and families. The AmeriCorps partnership allows the School to provide additional individualized support to students.
