Happy Memorial Day!
After reading the article "Why Great Teachers Matter to Low Income Students" what was the most important sentence in the article to you? For me it was "The question is whether we have the political courage to take on those who defend a status quo that serves many adults but fails many children." This stands out to me because it is the reason why I chose to be a turnaround principal. I don't believe that being poor is equal to low academic achievement and it is my goal in life to prove that theory wrong and to constantly challenge the status quo.
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This blog was created as a communication tool for the Bradwell School of Excellence teachers and staff as we begin this journey to reclaim Bradwell! Join us as we share the joys, triumphs and challenges of building excellence together in an inner city school in Chicago. At Bradwell we NEVER blame the lettuce!
Never Blame the Lettuce!
We never blame the lettuce. If a lettuce fails to grow we look for the reasons it is not growing. We check to see if it needs more water, more sun, or more fertilizer. But we NEVER blame the lettuce!
Principal Kimberly Henderson
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- Kimberly Henderson
- Chicago, Illinois, United States
- My name is Kimberly Henderson and I am the principal for Bradwell School of Excellence, a turnaround school for 2010-2011 in Chicago. I am excited to begin this journey of giving our students the world class education they deserve with a staff that has been handpicked to lead this challenge! Anyone can lead a school, I seek to transform the lives of our students who in turn will transform the lives of our staff forever!
The most important sentence(s) for me was, "Apologists for our educational failure say that we will never fix education in America until we eradicate poverty. They have it exactly backward: We will never eradicate poverty until we fix education."
ReplyDeleteThis stood out to me because it is a belief that I already hold. It also adds to the optimism and hope that I hold for the students at Bradwell. Eradicating poverty seems nearly impossible without school improvement. We will collectively improve the lives of Bradwell students and I cannot wait to get started!
The most important sentence for me was, "...but plenty of evidence demonstrates that schools can make an enormous difference despite the challenges presented by poverty and family background." Students can exceed beyond belief with a powerful school structure and amazing teachers despite the environmental factors that may attempt to hinder or distract them everyday. The culture that is enriched inside the school walls can definitely positively impact students learning as well as their mental, physical, social and academic development.
ReplyDelete“Academic Excellence! No Exceptions, No Excuses!”
I absolutely love our school motto and it is directly related to the idea that schools make a huge difference in student’s lives despite the adversity they experience outside the school. Although the empathetic Bradwell staff will understand all adversity our students face daily, we must also remind ourselves and students that they can succeed despite their curcumstances and that we strongly believe in our school motto:
“Academic Excellence! No Exceptions, No Excuses!”
The most important sentence for me was, "Teacher quality is the single most important school factor in student success." The sooner we start believing this as a country, the sooner we can stop blaming low academic achievement on low poverty! We need to take responsibility for our students and understand that we do make a difference (and that goes both ways: positive & negative)!
ReplyDeleteThe most important sentence for me was,
ReplyDelete"we should look closely at those whom we attract and retain to teach, with regard to their quality and to ensuring that they are distributed equally across our school districts."
Something that I have really been thinking about since my involvement with AUSL is that yes WE are making a difference, but there are plenty of other teachers that can achieve the same gains in urban school but they aren't! How do we attract them, just as this article talks about? Offering incentives may be one route to go but then are these teachers here for the perks or are they here to do the dirty work in order to achieve excellence in urban schools? I really do believe that the success of AUSL in Chicago is just the start to what is to come in the next 10 to 20 years in promoting future teachers to choose to teach in high needs areas.