Reviewing Correlates of Effective Schools

I was reviewing the correlates of effective schools, as developed by Lawrence W. Lezotte. And for fun, I came up with an acronym that I am hoping will help me remember the seven correlates of highly effective schools. Here goes it:

I nstructional Leadership
'
M ission that is clear and focused

S tudent monitoring that is frequent
H ome-school relations that are positive
E xpectations that are high
E nvironment that is safe and orderly
T ime on task and opportunities to learn

So, the seven correlates of highly effective schools have been found consistently in, well of course, schools that are considered highly effective.

Instructional leadership: Leaders are found spread among the faculty. Teacher-leaders abound. Principals grow and inspire others to lead. Expertise is not centralized but distributed among the professionals.

Clear and focused mission: the mission of the school must be learning for ALL. It must also focus on the balance between higher-level learning and basic prerequisite skills.

Frequent monitoring of student progress: Assessments for learning will be common place. Assessments will be used to drive instruction. There will be more connection among the written, taught, and tested curriculum.

Positive home to school relationships: Parents and teachers work as true collaborative partners to ensure optimal student learning.

High expectations for ALL: Reteaching and regrouping are pinnacle to achieve this correlate. The cycle of planning a lesson, teaching a lesson, and testing the students is no longer satisfactory. High expectations of student success means that teachers are now sensitive to the individualized needs of each student based on formative and ongoing assessments.

Safe and orderly environment: Children are working together and helping each other learn and grow as students. Teamwork is an evident expectation school wide.

Opportunity to learn and time on task: In this world of high expectations, it is critical for teachers to closely evaluate what instructional practices are essential to students and which ones are unnecessary.


So, next time you wonder what a great school does differently, think "I'M SHEET"!