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The Maya Way
Our schools share 12
design elements that help us focus day-to-day on achieving
our mission. Each site may carry out these elements slightly
differently, but each frames its work and practice around
them, and, in so doing, around our students and their needs.
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1
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At Maya Angelou, our school
is personalized and prepared to foster student achievement
and growth
At Maya Angelou, we meet our students where they are.
Through high expectations, relevant and rigorous curriculum,
individualized instruction, and a range of wrap-around
supports, these students achieve at levels they had
not reached before.
Our schools offer a holistic
approach to learning and growing. We build on our students'
strengths and interests to engage them in the learning
process, even as we help them address weaknesses and
needs. We believe in constant striving, we push and
pull and prod, but attempt to not dictate or punish
students.
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2
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At
Maya Angelou, our students learn in the real world
We believe that students deserve
the chance to work, earn and save money, and learn to
invest that money toward their future while in our high
schools. Paying work opportunities may include on-campus
vocational programs, advisory-based projects in the community,
or student-directed internships with community partners
in nonprofits, corporations, and other institutions. Through
their workplace experiences, all students are expected
to learn the key skills known as SCANS competencies, and
to engage in critical analysis of the larger social and
economic environment in which their work sites exist.
All students work at least one "shift" a week
while they are at school. They also save a portion of
their earnings, open bank accounts, and are taught about
basic personal finance. All seniors have the option to
participate in the Individual Development Account (IDA)
program, in which external funders match their savings
for college or other post-secondary education. |
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3
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At
Maya Angelou, we believe in authentic and multiple assessments
that focus on student understanding and performance
We believe that students learn best when challenged with
relevant and real-world learning. We also believe that
accurate assessment of such learning requires a range
of measures designed to determine students' ability to
perform in a variety of settings. Our assessments include
portfolios, standards-linked rubrics in major subject
areas, more traditional assessment tools chosen by the
school community, standardized tests required by the District
(or state) or by college admissions offices, and career-oriented
assessments. Students present work in class and to the
broader community at multiple points during the year,
demonstrating mastery and preparedness for promotion and
ultimately, graduation. Our educational philosophy is
based on the principles espoused in Understanding by Design
(Wiggins and McTighe, 1998), which emphasize the value
of having students explain, and apply what they have learned--not
merely repeat it. By focusing our curricular planning,
instruction, and assessment on these kinds of performance,
we enable students to explore diverse perspectives and
thus to gain in both empathy and self-knowledge.
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4
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At
Maya Angelou, we maintain a school culture based on trust,
respect, responsibility, and nonviolence, and one that
celebrates student accomplishments at every opportunity
Our school was founded on
the notion that all students, even those who may have
dropped out, been disengaged, or forced to leave school,
deserve to attend a school permeated by a sense of community.
From the start of orientation through retreats, family
nights, and graduation ceremonies, our campuses strive
to be places of hope, where students form trusting relationships
with each other and with the staff, where students and
staff respect each other and the school community, and
where students and staff share responsibility for maintaining
the unique feel that exists within our walls. Our schools
are safe and comfortable, both physically and emotionally.
They are places our students come to and want to stay
at. Through celebrations, advisory structures, school
activities, rituals, and maintenance of the physical space,
a culture of achievement and positive support is built
and maintained. |
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At Maya Angelou PCS, we offer
extended support & opportunities for students
At our school, students are afforded a range of opportunities
and supports that extend beyond standard school days,
hours, and programs. These are designed specifically
to meet the needs and interests of the population we
serve.
Extended services include on-site,
comprehensive mental health and student support services,
integrated into the school day and school design. We
also provide housing for students who need it in order
to achieve their academic goals.
School continues until between
7pm and 8pm at least three days per week during the
traditional academic year. This extended program includes
evening elective classes, dinner, and an hour of study
hall in which students receive one-to-one tutoring from
community volunteers. Both electives and study hall
are made possible through extensive community engagement.
In addition, our school year continues through the summer,
when all students participate in internships, tutorials,
or off-site exposure opportunities, including pre-college,
leadership, outdoor, and art programs.
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At
Maya Angelou PCS, we have strong ties to the community,
enabling our students to learn from others, and others
to learn from them
We actively engage the community in the lives of our students.
Community members participate in the school by serving
as volunteers in the evenings and by hosting student interns
during exposure periods. In addition, we enhance our students'
experience and bring additional expertise into our schools
by inviting community members to teach elective classes
in drama, music, art, and athletic activities. We also
students engage with the broader community through service
projects, school-community partnerships, and community
events hosted by the school. |
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At
Maya Angelou PCS, we are committed to bringing social
justice into the school community
We founded our program in large part to address the inequities
and failures of the education and juvenile justice systems
in the District of Columbia. Through our classes, our
school governance structures, and community involvement,
our students learn to analyze the social, political, and
economic institutions that govern their lives and to advocate
for change in policy areas critical to them and their
communities. |
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8
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At
Maya Angelou PCS, we focus on the future as well as the
present
We are committed to seeing all of our students graduate
from our schools and obtain continuing opportunities to
learn, increase their earning capacity, and advocate for
change. For many students, this will mean moving on to
a 2- or 4-year college. For others, it will mean participating
in ongoing course work, building on a skill or interest
that can translate to a meaningful job and a living wage.
And for some, it will mean transitioning to a supported
work setting that meets their specific needs and prepares
them for productive, independent lives. With these goals
in mind, See Forever is developing strong ties to a range
of colleges and universities, apprenticeship and certification
programs, and transition service providers. |
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At
Maya Angelou PCS, we engage parents and families in the
lives or our students
Because we believe in active parent and family participation,
we engage parents and families in a range of school activities.
When students apply to our schools, their parents or guardians
attend an orientation and commit to supporting their child's
academic and personal growth. We offer parenting workshops
on Saturday mornings, schedule parent-teacher conferences
at midterms and at the end of each quarter, and host celebratory
family nights and tribute nights throughout the year. |
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10
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At
Maya Angelou PCS, we believe strong, accountable, shared
leadership is a key to school success
We believe that exceptional leaders require support along
with significant autonomy. We work with school leaders
to establish mutually acceptable frameworks concerning
performance. We look for school leaders who have experience
raising the aspirations and achievement of urban teens,
who are committed to developing and nurturing small schools
for the students who most need them, and who appreciate
and are committed to helping us achieve our mission. We
anticipate using our Accountability Plan as well as our
guidelines for budgeting and staffing, to govern our relationships
with our principals. Within these frameworks, we believe
that our role is to support our school leaders by providing
training, exposure, and a range of services that enable
them to concentrate on student achievement and staff development.
We also foster leadership in our staff, students, and
community partners. Staff are actively engaged in key
decisions at the school, and encouraged to grow and develop
professionally. Students are actively engaged in creating
and maintaining school climate, participating in decision-making
and on planning teams. Community members are involved
as partners in much of what we do. |
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At
Maya Angelou PCS, we are committed to providing an alternative
option for students to return to high school, earn a diploma,
and move on toward a productive future
We actively recruit students who have experienced difficulty
in school. We do this by maintaining contacts with probation
officers, social workers, special education advocates,
and community groups that provide support to teens. We
also work in partnership with larger public schools in
the city to identify students who are struggling in school
or who may have recently stopped attending. We reach out
to these students and encourage them to consider applying
to MAPCS. We strive to build a school culture that will
be attractive to students who may have felt out of place,
lost, unwanted, or simply uninterested in larger, more
traditional schools. Our campuses have fewer than 175
students. Class size ranges from 6 to 16. Through advisory
structures, school-wide activities such as retreats and
family nights, and work experiences, students have the
chance to form close relationships with fellow students
and staff. By maintaining small size and ensuring that
all students have a place to excel, we enable students
with histories of failure or dissatisfaction to find their
voice and place. Our schools are decorated with student
work and awards -on the walls, in the stairwells, everywhere-testifying
to our unyielding belief in our students and our conviction
that a building's look and feel substantially determines
how students see themselves, their school, and their future.
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At
Maya Angelou PCS, we believe our staff is our most valuable
asset and strive to provide support, training, and time
for reflection
At our schools, all staff must engage in the process of
continual learning and improvement. By allowing time for
staff to work together-reviewing student performance,
sharing instructional practices, analyzing data, planning
curriculum, reading and discussing relevant research-we
believe that we create the conditions for our staff to
grow and develop as professionals. In addition, we believe
that with ongoing professional development, especially
around literacy and numeracy, teachers will provide the
highest-quality instruction to our students. Staff from
all disciplines work collaboratively in response to students'
academic and social-emotional needs. |
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