The Power of 'A feel of a school': A Visit to The Urban School


The Urban School of San Francisco on the corner of Haight and Ashbury street is such an impressive locale and structure, one could easily settle that its location is the focal point of the school's vision. It was anything but that. There is a mindful edge, to what seems, everything about this place. Sitting through classes and bearing witness to a feel of the school, it is fair to say 'Urban', as referred to by the faculty is a glimpse of everything hopeful in education.
What constitutes a feel of a school? Some highlights:

It's a simple concept, they walk their talk. Administrator Kristen Bailey explains at Urban, high school is an important experience in its own right, not merely a stepping stone to college. By far a concept that is so easily diluted in marketing paraphernalia; however, one can easily conclude this school embraces the moment within students.

Their core values are apparent in the air of self-motivation within a regular class. "People [students] believe they have 'made it' to make it work" says  Dean of Faculty Jonathon Howland, with an office in ground zero in the middle of the gathering area. Who is big on specific lesson design, commonly overlooked within big picture details. In regards to the 2 hour block classes, teachers must be thoughtful on lesson design with concentrated classes in a trimester program. A fundamental advantage to narrow the playing field for the students to have fewer things on their plate to 'get deeper and enjoy the subject. A 45 minute class no way to make students sweat and struggle. "Teachers must organize the lesson to put the student as the principal agent rather than me [the teacher]".
The quality and 'feel' of the school is generated by a Wiggins directive of 'causing learning' and in turn a quality of the program has moved from being hugely teacher dependent to build strong centres of gravity.

When asked what our schools can take away from their success, Howland further adds in regards to a culture with intention: "Be able to not just speak to that within curriculum and design, but trace it all the way down to individual lessons and students experiences and structures they inhabit from those core values" and tease through pressures by "engineering a culture from the inside out...and have everyone sign on to: What constitutes common assessment?"

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