A+ Essentials™: A Set of Commitments
The Oklahoma A+ Schools® network delivers whole school reform through ongoing professional development that focuses on collaborative, research-based practices. A+ schools adhere to a set of commitments that include daily arts instruction, experiential learning and enriched assessment. The schools collaborate around curriculum, mapping the instruction so that interdisciplinary concepts emerge that encourage cross-curricular integration, and the use of multiple intelligences to structure learning opportunities for students. Ongoing research documents changes in the climate of A+ schools that foster an engaging learning environment. The infrastructure in A+ schools supports common planning time, shared vision, and faculty commitment to the goal of schools that work for everyone.
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Arts
In A+ Schools the arts are:
* taught daily
*inclusive of drama, dance, music, visual art and writing
*integrated
*valued as essential to learning
*included in planning
*practiced
*a part of personal experience
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Curriculum
In A+ Schools curriculum is addressed through the use of:
*mapping that reflects alignment
*thematic webbing
*development of
essential questions
*creation and use of
interdisciplinary
thematic units
*cross-curricular integration
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Experiential Learning
In A+ Schools experiential learning:
*is grounded in
arts-based instruction
*is a creative process
*acknowledges
entry points
*includes differentiated instruction
*provides multi-faceted assessment opportunities
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Multiple Intelligences
In A+ Schools multiple learning pathways are:
*used within planning
& assessment
*understood by students
and parents
*studied, and new research is explored by teachers
*creating balanced learning opportunities
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Enriched Assessment
In A+ Schools enriched assessment:
*is on-going
*is designed for learning
*is used as documentation
*is a reflective practice
*helps meet school system requirements
*is used to self -assess
by teachers and students
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Collaboration
In A+ Schools collaboration:
*is intentional
*occurs within &
outside of school
*occurs during planning time:
classroom teachers
with arts teachers
*occurs with teachers,
students, families,
the community,
& local businesses
*includes broad-based leadership
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Infrastructure
In A+ Schools infrastructure supports the philosophy by:
*addressing logistics,
such as schedules that
support planning time
*providing appropriate space
for the arts
*continually developing
faculty commitment
*creating a shared vision
*providing related
professional development
*continual team building
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Climate
In A+ Schools climate improves because:
*teachers can manage the arts
in their classrooms
*stress is reduced
*teachers are treated
as professionals
*morale improves
*excitement about the program grows
*A+ whole school reform
is invigorating
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