“I’ve never experienced a school that is so on top of understanding what kids know and designing lessons around what they’re struggling with, what they need to learn.”
“I always knew it but never saw it-but you can teach and make sure all the kids are learning. There is an implicit learning requirement here, it’s structured and backed from every direction.”
“I’ve learned more in my first five months here than in all my five years teaching. I like that I’m always pushed to do better, to keep refining.”
“There is a different kind of conversation you have at Village Academy. We ask real questions. It’s not just ‘what are the test scores?’ but ‘what do the assessments really mean?’ I chose Village Academy because of the intellectual energy here.”
“The support from the school’s leadership is unlike anything I’ve experienced before. If there is a problem, they are immediately on top of it. We are building something together.”
“Here I feel that every week, I am improving. It’s very challenging. I thought I was pretty good as a teacher, but the standards are much higher here for everyone, for everything.”
“A parent will walk in and I will know the parent’s name. It was established from the beginning to get to know students and families. The sense of community, it does not feel like a regular school. I’ve never heard of anything like it in a public school. There is more order yet at the same time it’s a homey environment. Even the security guard is on board.”
“The faculty meetings are very specific, we tackle a specific issue, we resolve specific things. We have a best practices effort, that’s how each meeting opens-the principal shares with the team an observation of something a particular teacher or staff member did well.”
“In other schools, I was told, ‘you have to finish x book by x time.’ Here the entire focus is on student work and real data, what did the students learn this week or this month, who needs tutoring or practice? The data informs our instruction every week in a very real way. The assessment system makes it virtually impossible for a student to slip through the cracks academically.”
“The school has a vision, and does not settle for getting halfway to a point. This brings in results.”
