|
Science Leadership Academy (SLA)
Curriculum Summit-I
As part of the School District of Philadelphia's (SDP's) interest in small, innovative schools, the Science Leadership Academy was created in partnership with The Franklin Institute. Chris Lehmann, the school's new Principal, called together a cohort of educators to plan the curriculum in a process that incorporated "backward design."
In October, 2005, participants agreed on designing a "Senior Capstone Project" that would unify students' 4-year learning experiences around inquiry, research, collaboration, presentation and reflection. The Senior Capstone Project will be the starting point to design the G9-12 curriculum.
Grant Planning
The Pa. Department of Education (PDE) established Project 720, a three-year program to support high schools that "...are student-centered, results-focused, data-informed, and personalized ...." SLA, under Chris' leadership, is a school that meets these criteria. In order to fully consider a Project 720 grant application, ProgressEd prepared a Project 720 synopsis and submitted it to Chris and Dr. Leonard Finkelstein, SDP's consultant for SLA. |
Curriculum Summit-II
With an ongoing interest in building a community of reflective educational practitioners, SLA held its second Curriculum Summit in Jan, 2006.
ProgressEd assisted SLA with the design and implementation of the day-long planning session. Representatives from the fields of science education, special education, educational technology, development & fundraising, human resources, and school leadership worked together to formulate recommendations for sustained dialogue, planning and implementation. A sample of the day's workshops is included in the Curriculum Summit-II Briefing Booklet.
A recurring recommendation was to link faculty's professional development to the Senior Capstone Project and ongoing school planning and revision. |
