| Student
Organization
Newton Learning
partnership schools are organized to facilitate teaching and
learning. We have embraced a new direction in summer and AfterSchool
organization. The basic principles of our organizational model
are simple.
We organize student
learning utilizing small, flexible student groupings where
students generally do better. This way it is easier for teachers
and principals to know one another as individuals and to work
as a tightly-knit team.
The curriculum
is well-integrated, with each subject reinforcing the others
as well as being explored in real-life contexts. To further
this integration, all lessons are characterized by a distinctive,
multidisciplinary theme. Successful schools begin with a clear
sense of purpose, and Newton Learning programs are
especially strong at achieving such a focus.
Teams provide teachers
with a CORPS OF COLLEAGUES with whom they share explicit responsibility
for a group of students. Teachers can build STRONGER RELATIONSHIPS
with students and their families because they are together
for years, not months. Students are LESS LIKELY TO GET LOST
in a summer or AfterSchool program when they are grouped into
manageable units and advised by a principal and a few teachers
who know them well. This is especially important for middle
and high school students, who benefit from the guidance of
interested adults but do not always get as much individual
attention as they need in more traditional settings.
Benefits
of Flexible Grouping
The multi-age team
offers students many chances to learn from others. Students
grow from such interactions. From older students, younger
ones benefit from assistance and tutoring. Older students
learn to lead and to stretch their minds by teaching their
peers.
Professional
Organization - Principals (Site Directors)
Managing the Newton
Learning school sites are local school principals or
site directors, one for each facility. Principals are the
program's educational leaders. In this capacity, they are
responsible for:
RECRUITING, INTERVIEWING,
AND SELECTING TEACHERS from the local talent pool and from
a roster of candidates assembled by Newton Learning;
EVALUATING teacher
performance;
REMOVING TEACHERS
when necessary;
CREATING TEACHING
TEAMS with the collaboration of teachers;
COMMUNICATING
the school's mission to teachers and students, and inspiring
them to fulfill it;
OVERSEEING the
implementation of the curriculum;
HELPING teachers
become familiar with Newton Learning's new materials,
as well as reviewing materials developed by teachers themselves;
ADVISING on instructional
strategies;
ASSISTING with
student assessment;
Principals (Site
Directors) provide vision, encouragement, and know-how. Their
priorities are student learning and staff development.
Professional
Organization - Teachers
Teachers are organized
with a high regard for teachers' professionalism. We hire
teachers with talent and expertise, give them the freedom
and resources to do their jobs, and hold them responsible
for bringing (and keeping) their students up to Newton
Learning's high standards. Newton Learning recruits
teachers who not only are effective instructors but who also
have a solid knowledge of their field. Most often, these teachers
come from the site faculty, but given the demands on teachers'
time, occasionally teachers from outside the school are employed.
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