Humanities Q1 Priorities
2014-2015 School Year
Our First, Region-Wide Priority for the 2014-2015 School Year is:
Cultivating Academically-Accomplished, Culturally Competent, and Critically Conscious Student Leaders : “Mississippi students are mastering
rigorous content, building critical consciousness and cultural competence and developing their leaderships skills in and out of their culturally
responsive classrooms.”
In the Humanities, we are uniquely poised to ensure this priority is met in service of our teachers and our students acting as forces for social
justice and equity.
In fact, we hold the following vision for our Humanities classrooms:
THE HUMANITIES VISION FOR CONTENT
We believe that the Humanities are critical contents in the actualization of Social Justice and Equity in students’ lives.
As such, we act with the knowledge that every Humanities classroom must aggressively pursue the dismantling of systems of oppression
through the provision of rigorous Humanities content and Culturally Responsive Teaching.
As such, we must act as the vanguard of Humanities teachers in Mississippi. We prepare our students for the highest national standards in
Humanities education by looking at the Regents and AP assessments as setting our bar for rigor. With the advent of Common Core this year, we
are called upon to increase our bar for rigor across ALL contents: we have an opportunity to ensure that our students are thinking critically, and
building analytical and communicative skills. As traditionally poorly assessed or undervalued “extras”, we are committed to ensuring that we
and our students have an undeniably rigorous guide and measure for success, as well as strong proof of progress that we can celebrate and use
for future advocacy and planning. We must find and share methods that prepare our students for these rigorous assessments—and develop our
students as the holistic thinkers and leaders they need to be. Most importantly, however, we believe that the Humanities are a crucial part of
Mississippi culture, history, and life – to know Mississippi, ourselves, and America, is to know Mississippi history and culture. This is not just
about rigor: this is about our students better understanding and expressing their own identities.
Humanities Q1 Priorities
2014-2015 School Year
Given this vision, we pursue the following student outcomes, so that they are the primary leaders in the dismantling of oppressive systems.
Humanities Academic Achievement
Critical Thinking – Students engage in real problem-solving every day. They
believe that there are multiple ways to solve any problem, and that this ability
is transferable to other contexts. They think about text and history. They
believe there is value in new ways of thinking. They believe that the most
important questions have no “right” answer. Students are not satisfied with
finding the same solutions as everyone else.
Creative Communication – Students write in genuine and reflective ways in
relation to their content. They believe in writing as a powerful tool to make
their voices heard, to communicate, to reflect, to analyze, and to plan.
Leadership
How are students leading within the class? Within the school?
Within the community? How are students accessing other leadership
opportunities?
Students believe that they can be agents of change in the world and in their
own lives. As such, learning has personal and intrinsic value.
curricula. They value the process as much as the product of what they
accomplish. They are resourceful in their learning and communication, using a
variety of tools from a variety of disciplines. Students engage with each other
and with the teacher in genuine discussion, on a daily basis. They believe that
understanding others’ ideas and opinions will strengthen their own. They feel
they have a unique perspective that is valuable.
Students believe that they have something to contribute, but that they can
also learn from listening to others. They understand that the world is complex
and interconnected, and that problems in the real world often don’t have a
“right” answer. They believe that they will always have opportunities to
cultivate themselves and become better people, and that
academic/professional work is only one part of being a successful person.
They understand that their work is made stronger when they work with
others. They know their own personal values, and thoughtfully leverage their
leadership strengths towards these aims.
Critical Consciousness
Awareness of Social Systems: Students are identifying, understanding, and
Pride in Self and Community (Cultural Competence)
Dimensions of Community: Students are aware of overlapping and
responding to systems that shape society.
Historical and Root Cause Analysis: Students identify the root causes,
both historical and modern, of symptoms of inequality.
They examine the lenses and perspectives of their content. They connect their
own experiences and context to historical trends.
disparate communities. They value difference, and learn from other cultures.
Personal and Community History: Students discuss relevant aspects of
their community and personal history. They embrace and are proud of that
history, even in light of challenges and negativity. Students understand
themselves and their community as part of an evolving story.
Critical Dialogue: Students are familiar with typical critiques of systems.
Conscious Identity Construction: Students deconstruct negative messages
They engage with multiple perspectives on a single issue.
and images associated with their culture and community. They actively
construct positive messages.
Connecting – Students create connections between each other and across
Humanities Q1 Priorities
2014-2015 School Year
In order to start driving towards these outcomes, we know that we want to ensure the following priorities are met within Quarter 1 of the 20142015 school year:
Leadership
Academic Achievement
We accomplish this by…
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We will measure this with…
Student data:
 % Benchmark Achieved
 Rigor above Passive/Confused
 Can articulate progress towards goals
Holding visions that are oriented towards Social Justice and Equity for our
 Student surveys
students.
Teacher data:
Providing rigorous instruction guided by strong visions, data-analysis, and unit
 Transformative Vision
plans.
 Culture of Achievement plan that includes student and parent
Bringing Essential Questions into the classroom on a daily basis to guide
communication around academic progress
discussion, exploration of primary sources, and creative challenges.
 Corps Satisfaction Index
 Essential Questions being asked in the classroom daily.
 Daily lesson plans include student-student interactions.
 Unit Plan and Assessment
Student data:
 % Benchmark Achieved
 Culture of Achievement above Destructive
 Can articulate progress towards goals
 Can articulate roles/responsibilities as a student in this
classroom
 Student surveys
Holding visions that are oriented towards Social Justice and Equity for our
Teacher data:
students.
 Transformative Vision
Create a learning environment that allows for “safe failure” and multiple
 Culture of Achievement plan that includes student and parent
leadership opportunities.
communication around academic progress
 Culture of Achievement plan that includes classroom
roles/responsibilities for students.
 Corps Satisfaction Index
 Essential Questions being asked in the classroom daily.
 Engagement in Professional Development
 Retention
 Feedback on Professional Development opportunities
Cultural Competence
Critical Consciousness
Humanities Q1 Priorities
2014-2015 School Year
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Holding visions that are oriented towards Social Justice and Equity for our
students.
Providing rigorous instruction guided by strong visions, data-analysis, and unit
plans.
Bringing Essential Questions into the classroom on a daily basis to guide
discussion, exploration of primary sources, and creative challenges.
Student data:
 % Benchmark Achieved
 Rigor above Passive/Confused
 Student surveys
Teacher data:
 Transformative Vision
 Essential Questions being asked in the classroom daily.
 Daily lesson plans include student-student interactions.
 Unit Plan and Assessment
 Engagement in Professional Development
 Feedback on Professional Development opportunities
Student data:
 % Benchmark Achieved
 Rigor above Passive/Confused
 Culture of Achievement above Destructive
 Can explain moments of collaboration with others, and times
Bringing Essential Questions into the classroom on a daily basis to guide
they have learned something about themselves in class.
discussion, exploration of primary sources, and creative challenges.
 Student surveys
Build relationships with parents, administrators, and community stakeholders
Teacher data:
in order to communicate our vision and learn about our students and their
 Transformative Vision
lives.
 Essential Questions being asked in the classroom daily.
 Daily lesson plans include student-student interactions.
 Unit Plan and Assessment
 Engagement in Professional Development
 Feedback on Professional Development opportunities
Since there is considerable overlap in how we achieve our prioritized outcomes for students, we are working towards 5 “headline” teacher
actions during this first quarter.
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Holding visions that are oriented towards Social Justice and Equity for our students.
Providing rigorous instruction guided by strong visions, data-analysis, and unit plans.
Bringing Essential Questions into the classroom on a daily basis to guide discussion, exploration of primary sources, and creative challenges.
Create a learning environment that allows for “safe failure” and multiple leadership opportunities.
Build relationships with parents, administrators, and community stakeholders in order to communicate our vision and learn about our students and their
lives.
Humanities Q1 Priorities
2014-2015 School Year
Consequently, we are going to be offering the following professional development opportunities (more details, such as time and location, TBD):
Jacob
Ali
- Understanding - Building
by Design 1-3
Writing
- Introduction
Skills in
to Inquiry
Social
- Collaborative
Studies
Learning
- Long Term
Planning
- Norming on
DBQ rubrics
- Norming on
Music and
Dance rubrics
- Norming on
Art Rubrics
Alice
- Structuring
rehearsal
time in the
Music and
Dance
classroom
Digna
- Intro to
TPRS and
Unit 1
(shared
with Nels)
- Norming
on
Speaking
and
Writing
Rubrics
Nels
- Intro to
TPRS and
Unit 1
(shared
with Nels)
- Unit
Planning
in the
World
Languages
Amanda
- Introduction
to ChoiceBased Art
During this first quarter, we will also be instituting the following support systems:
-
Community-based Office Hours with Jacob
Mentorship structures
Humanities Extravaganza Saturdays (now including informal time with your specific content!)
Content team blasts and resources
(Claire)
- Circling
TBD
- Sample
Lesson
Workshop
s