ERIC Number: ED553643
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2014
Pages: 13
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
A Culture of High Expectations: Teacher Leadership at Pritzker College Prep
Aspen Institute
Relying on teachers as culture leaders is a solution embraced by many high-performing charter schools. This profile focuses on the design of the Grade Level Lead roles at Pritzker College Prep, a member of the Noble Network of Schools in Chicago. The successes of this school and network are well-documented: Of non-selective public high schools in Chicago, the Noble Network had the nine highest scores in the city on the ACT test, a marker of college readiness. Ninety-one percent of the Noble Network's student body receives free and reduced lunch, yet 100 percent of its graduates go on to college or post-secondary school. The school's success is not based on a singular principal exercising most of the leadership in the building. Instead, the school has succeeded because there is a strong sense of shared ownership among both teachers and students and because exceedingly high cultural expectations lead students to tackle ambitious work, maintain focus, minimize disruptions, and aspire to post-secondary education. How did the school's leadership create this strong culture? What roles do teacher leaders play in the creation and maintenance of culture? And most importantly, what lessons can be learned from this model and what are the limitations of these lessons? This paper analyzes how teacher leader roles were developed as a mechanism for shaping and driving culture in this high-performing school. [This paper was produced with the writing and editing contributions of Walter Stern, Chong-Hao Fu, Maria Bourgeois, and Steph Bates.]
Descriptors: Expectation, Teacher Leadership, College Preparation, Charter Schools, College Readiness, School Culture, School Effectiveness, Teacher Role, High Achievement, Effective Schools Research, Leadership Effectiveness, Context Effect, Outcome Measures, Strategic Planning, Total Quality Management, Educational Administration, Educational Practices
Aspen Institute. 1 Dupont Circle NW Suite 700, Washington, DC 20036. Tel: 410-820-5433; Tel: 202-736-5800; Fax: 202-467-0790; e-mail: publications@aspeninstitute.org; Web site: http://www.aspeninstitute.org
Publication Type: Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Joyce Foundation; Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
Authoring Institution: Aspen Institute, Education & Society Program
Identifiers - Location: Illinois
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A