The future of our children is determined by the quality of the educational program or system within a particular city or state. Across the nation children are enrolled in poor educational programs that are ruining their chances for a progressive future. Educational institutions with weak curriculum, poorly trained staff, and ineffective administrative support must be fixed if the nature is to remain competitive in world that is steadily advancing in innovative trends and technology. The answer lies in building strong educational system that will accelerate academic excellence in schools across the nation. By fostering strong administrations, highly trained teaching staff and challenging and creative curriculums, the state of education in America will become a model of excellence. A strong, innovative and effective education program must consist of a number of stellar qualities:
Recruit Teachers who are dedicated to High Achievement
Strong educational programs have teachers who are one hundred percent dedicated to providing a quality education for all students. They engage and inspire their students to study hard and to be the best in every area of academic success possible. Dedicated teachers are consistent in believing that all students have the capacity to be great learners under the right people and circumstances.
Promote Excellent Student Behavior and Academic Performance
Excellent student behavior and Academics are very high on the priority list of strong educational programs. Behavior and academic goes hand and hand. If one is less the satisfactory then the other will suffer also. For example, if a student is disruptive and has to be constantly redirected, this child’s academic performance will also be inadequate. Creating strong behavior rules and enforcing them consistently will most likely produce students who perform well academically. In addition, a program with strong behavior and academic priorities will be highly competitive and will gain a reputation for greatness.
Stay On Top of the Latest Educational Trends and Practices
Forward thinking is the hallmark of strong educational institutions. Because they are always asking “what’s next” they are constantly looking beyond he “now” toward something bigger and greater. Strong institutions are able to formulate academic strategies that will propel students toward a life of progressiveness. They are able to consider all options as well as consequences. Once this is accomplished, they are able to choose the most effective academic practices and implement them into the classroom environment. Forward thinking allows an educational organization create as wells as to stay ahead of the competition and stay up on the new ways of learning and educational change.
Encourage Strong Collaboration between Institutions and Families
Having a strong relationship with the family of the students goes a long way in equipping students to perform better academically. Professional intimacy with parents helps the institution to connect more effectively with the students’ needs and weaknesses. Once these are known, the institution as well as the parents can work together to closes the performance gaps. These collaborations will lead to improved behavior and better classroom performance. Studies show that parents who work with their children along with the teachers encourage and empowers student to achieve a quality education.
A strong educational program has many, rewarding years of experience that outshines the competition. Educators know that superior knowledge comes with experience, and knowledge equips them to effectively meet the academic needs of the students and fulfill expectations of the parents. In addition, new teachers who get hired in an educational program that has a number of experienced teachers are blessed to be an ideal situation. These new comers don’t need to worry about how to prepare a lesson plan or what to do if students up act up in the classroom. They will be to get all the training they need because they will be in an atmosphere of brilliance.
Hold Longer School Hours for Academic Success
Great educational organizations will most likely spend more time on academics than their competition. This means greater understanding and growth for the children. Strong institutions invest in smaller classrooms that will allow one-one-tutoring, longer school hours that gives teachers more time to create effective lesson plans, after school programs geared toward closing the achievement gap among students and on-line learning which enables students to study extensively in the evening and on weekends. Research shows that schools that spend more time on academics will most likely provide a better quality of education. According to Governing, Education Secretary Ame Duncan, stated that “longer school hours are crucial in America’s fight to stay competitive. He asserted that Students in China and India spend on average 30 to 45 more days in the classroom than American counterparts.”
Boast Test Scores that Rival or Surpass the Competition
An institutional program without competitive test scores will not last long. In order to be a top notch school and attract funding from the state and to fulfill the expectation of parents, students must perform well on their academic test. What separates a great program from those which are just surviving is the determination of teachers to make sure their students are equipped to master the subjects. Competitive test scores let the School District as well as the state education board know that a program is meeting the requirements necessary for a quality education. A learning institution with competitive test schools will gain a reputation for high achievement.
Enrich Your Teaching Skills
All students don’t learn on the some pace. Academically outstanding students surpass their fellow classmates in a number of subjects, including math, reading, science, social studies, history and many other endeavors. Therefore, strong educational institutions have accelerated academic programs for these types of students. Teachers engage exceptional students with the most recent research and innovative practices in education. Students are exposed to materials perhaps two or three times above their grade level. These best practices are designed to challenge them and increase the quality of academic superiority even more. Most likely such students will be well prepared to enter into a college or university upon graduation from high school.
Engage in Constant Research for Innovative Teaching Styles and Ideas
Strong education programs are geared toward closing the achievement gap, improving student performance and equipping them with the capability to move on to higher learning. Therefore, great educational institutions are always looking for innovative ways to enhance student achievements. Such programs are on top of the latest research and best practices. They consider many ideas, including classroom size and environment, student/teacher interaction, family/school connection, investment in specialty programs such as student leadership and entrepreneurship. Ideas that go beyond the classroom environment will provide the student s with a new perspective toward their future as responsible citizens and adults.
Possess an Overriding Determination to Close the Achievement Gap
Closing the achievement gap must be the number one priority of all educational institutions that desire to be great. Strong academic programs consist of an administration and teachers who are determined to close the gap between disadvantaged students and those who are well educated. This has been an issue for many years and has only been successful in some instances. Students who live in oppressive communities tend to do poorly in academics and score much lower on state wide performance test. This is the achievement gap that must be closed.
Best practices such as John Gardner’s’ multiple intelligences have targeted the different ways students learn and develop. Studies show these practices have been successful in many instances. The theory involves seven ways in which people learn, including Linguistic-words and languages, Logical/mathematical-logic and numbers, Musical-music, sound, rhythm, Bodily/kinesthetic-body movement, control, Spatial-Visual-images and space, Interpersonal-other people’s feelings and Intrapersonal-self-awareness. A student may learn dramatically in one or more of these styles. For example, one student may learn better by visual stimuli while another more learn more by musical sound or audio. Strong institutions apply such theories as these in an effort to close the achievement gap in their schools.
Educational programs that possess these magnificent qualities rise above the competition and break new ground. Therefore, attaining such status must be the priority of every educational system in American, including institutions of higher learning such as colleges and universities. Teachers, parents, business leaders, churches, communities and all who believe in the future of our children must participate in supporting the emergence of superior educational programs and systems.
