The Year Ahead

We’re three weeks into our 2021-2022 school year and it’s been, by all measures,  a fantastic start. We have all of our students back on campus full-time for the first time since March 2019, our twelfth-grade students were welcomed back with most of the traditional hoopla, and students are learning, collaborating, and enjoying their time on campus. We truly are living our motto by Leading Forward, Together.

So, what’s next?

We have ambitious plans for the 2021-2022 school year in terms of student learning, both in and out of the classroom. Our academic classes are off and running, our art and athletic programs are practicing and gearing up for performances and events, and our entrepreneurial teams are planning programs for students and teachers alike. There’s sure to be surprises as the year goes on, but we’re not letting uncertainty stop us from dreaming or doing.

We also have a newly-minted Strategic Plan to guide our work. Our new plan has five “anchors” and within each, a set of ambitious but achievable goals to support our students and our community. There will be many initiatives aligned with these efforts, some of them school-wide and others by division.

In the High School, there are three specific areas of focus that we’ll be starting with in the coming days. We’ll be working together on these initiatives throughout the year, starting with a meeting to do some reading in these areas and to give each teammate the chance to participate in one of three PLTs to research and lead our work in that area for the year. Once we’ve self-selected our groups, each team will research their topic and create a professional development workshop to share their learning and ideas for best practice with the rest of the faculty. From that, teachers will take their learning back to their classrooms to implement one of the strategies discussed. We’ll do “rounds” to provide time for peer-observation and feedback, and then schedule time later in the year specifically to discuss our learning and plan next steps. The plan is that by “jig-sawing” our work we’ll each be able to focus on an area of interest, develop our own mentorship skills, and improve individually and collaboratively in multiple areas more efficiently. Our three areas of focus for this work: differentiation, diversity, and impact.

Differentiation

Strategic Anchor #1 calls on Lincoln School to “Develop a set of key student-centered instructional practices and training plan” and to “Train all staff in student-centered practices.” To meet these goals, members of the High School faculty will form a PLT to lead our effort in identifying research-based, proven differentiation strategies. Once the team is identified, they’ll meet to learn about current trends and identified best practices in differentiation. As a team, they’ll then lead professional learning in the area of differentiation strategies with the rest of the faculty. Teachers will be asked to implement at least one new differentiation strategy with their students, and opportunities for peers to observe one another throughout the process will be provided. Later, we’ll attempt to use observational tools to document their implementation and surveys to measure faculty and student response.​ The hope is that we’ll be able to come back together later in the year to share our experiences and review the data before making decisions about moving forward.

As a complement to the instructional differentiation strategies implemented in academic classes, the High School faculty will also continue to develop a robust advisory program with the goal of supporting student-centered relationships focused on students’ social-emotional wellbeing and academic success. While this falls under a different initiative, it is thematically adjacent in that it provides an opportunity to create strong one-on-one relationships with our students. Our thinking is that the initiatives will complement one another as culture builders in the High School.

Diversity

Strategic Anchor #2 includes a mandate to “foster an inclusive learning environment” and to increase the diversity of the student population based on academic ability, socioeconomic status, and nationality. It also establishes the need for a “strong DEI committee” to develop a school-wide DEI statement and policy. ​To support these initiatives, the High School faculty will focus on diversity within the written curriculum and available instructional resources. This work will begin with the formation of a PLC to research best practices in curriculum development and instructional methodologies in support of inclusive learning environments. A systematic review of the Lincoln School curriculum will be completed, and revisions undertaken as necessary, to ensure student exposure to diverse viewpoints based on differences by gender, nationality, ethnicity, etc. Where necessary, new curricular and instructional materials will be identified to be included in the next high school budget.​

In support of these efforts, the High School will also review and revise guiding documents (for example, the Student Handbook, Faculty Handbook, etc.) to reduce systemic bias and create a more inclusive environment for all stakeholders. We’ll be working together to examine our practices through the lens of equity and inclusion in order to ensure that all present and future stakeholders feel equally included and represented in the Lincoln community.

Impact

The Lincoln School Mission Statement states that we will “empower students to positively impact local and global communities.” To that end, the High School faculty will continue to engage in work designed to ensure both in-course and out-of-course opportunities for “real world” student contributions.​ To do so, a PLT will be formed in order to evaluate and catalogue existing  opportunities and to lead faculty workshops to plan additional opportunities within each department/course. This work will also include an evaluation of unit guides and other curricular materials to ensure that we embed entrepreneurial language and the 3IR process throughout ALL academic courses.​ The High School will also continue to expand its “entrepreneurial strand” offerings to include courses in coding, robotics, and computer science. Additional, content-specific courses will be investigated and implemented according to student interest, facilities permitting​. Finally, the Lincoln High School is currently developing the first AASCA Entrepreneurial Event and has invited all AASCA schools to participate. This event will showcase student products/ventures as well as the work of the Lincoln/Babson partnership.

…

There’s so much more that we’re doing on a daily basis to provide student-centered, equitable, and relevant learning opportunities for our students. Our science team is investigating partnerships with local environmental organizations to learn from and help protect the biological diversity of Costa Rica. Our teachers are engaging in assessment moderation to ensure academic alignment and internal/external validity of feedback. Our facilities teams are moving forward with planning for our Entrepreneurial Center in order to provide additional facilities in design, audio/visual arts, and entrepreneurial initiatives. And best of all, our students and staff are coming together on a daily basis to learn, laugh, and lead forward, together.