As an ELA teacher, you are responsible for scholar growth. All of your scholars must be significantly better readers, writers, and historians by the end of the year. You are responsible for both the scholars you teach and those you advise.
- First and foremost, you must get 100% of your advisees reading at least four independent reading books each month. You must also ensure that your scholars are leveraging all available platforms for independent reading, including Audible and OverDrive.
- You are responsible for 100% of your scholars completing nightly literacy homework that will develop them as readers. To achieve this, you must inspire your scholars and hold their parents accountable. We cannot educate scholars without their parents, and we must insist that parents support us at home.
- There are specific goals for teachers on all internal and external assessments; you are responsible for meeting these goals. Familiarize yourself with all goals. If you are struggling to meet your goals, ask for help.
- You are responsible for getting your scholars to excel in reading.
- We use the Fountas & Pinnell Reading Assessment to determine scholars’ reading levels. All fifth- and sixth-grade teachers must get 90% of their scholars on or above grade level in reading — at a minimum. All seventh- and eighth-grade teachers must get any of their scholars who are still reading below grade level to a Level Z.
- Study last year’s reading levels so you know where every single one of your scholars is coming in. Then, use all of the tools in your tool kit — including guided reading, independent reading at school and at home, conferencing, the intervention block, and tutoring — to ensure that you are meeting these goals.
Education is for the kids, but it’s about the adults. Do not blame scholars or family circumstance for your outcomes. Hold yourself to sky-high standards of classroom management, inquiry-based learning, and PRESS. The more demanding you are intellectually, and in terms of work habits, the better your scholar outcomes will be. Our goal is to reverse the achievement gap. When you are teaching, hold your scholars to the standards that will allow them to graduate from college in four years, and to compete in the global economy.
