Our Mission Statement
We are a community of learners. We will do whatever it takes to learn. We are building a strong foundation by believing we can, working our plan, then FEELING the POWER of SUCCESS!
Schoolwide Desired Results for Student Learning (DRSLs)
George Washington was:
- An Effective Communicator
- An Innovative Thinker
- A person of Strong Moral Character
At George Washington Academy, our Desired Results for Student Learning (DRSLs) are derived from these qualities.
Students will communicate well through oral, written, and technological means.
CHARACTER AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY:
Students will exhibit moral integrity and demonstrate positive interactions with the world in which they live.
THINKING AND REASONING:
Students will employ critical thinking skills to solve problems, communicate ideas, and apply this knowledge within the 21st century.
P- Provide an environment where students can learn, question, and explore.
A- All students have the ability to learn and succeed.
T- Teaching character developmentbuilds a strong foundation for life.
R- Responsibility for education lies with the student, family, school, and community.
I- Individual and unique differences enhance learning.
O- Open communication is essential for success.
T- True learning requires consistency and creativity.
Building a Strong Foundation
Our main purpose at George Washington Academy is to improve student learning. In the book Cultural Literacy by E.D. Hirsch, Hirsch stresses the importance of background knowledge necessary for functional literacy and effective national communication. He said “If each local school system imparts the traditional reference point of literate culture, then everybody will be able to communicate with strangers.” At George Washington Academy, we improve student learning in a variety of ways. Primarily, we offer a comprehensive, solid, sequential curriculum known as Core Knowledge. This program stresses the importance of background knowledge and functional literacy in promoting effective national communication. We seek to establish in our school a traditional reference point of literate culture that enables our students to express themselves in academic and non-academic settings. Our school is different not only in the curriculum that we teach, but also in the instruction methods that we use. We have direct, hands-on instruction, with a variety of modalities to reach every learning type. We consider it our responsibility to keep students engaged and enthusiastic. Our teachers provide scaffolding, by building on prior knowledge, and continue with direct instructions, opportunities for guided and independent practice, appropriate homework activities, formal and informal assessments, and continued independent practice as students work towards mastery. We find opportunities to challenge advanced students. George Washington Academy improves learning by what we teach and how we teach.
We realize that there are a variety of teaching philosophies and methods. We also realize that teachers come with different levels of preparation and experience. Our goal at George Washington Academy is to focus on the methods that have been proven to be successful, and provide support, training, and mentoring for teachers in those curricula. Our designated curriculum offers varieties of teaching methods and modalities. Staff members are expected to meet together as grade level teams and as a school team to exchange ideas and successes. In this manner, teachers capitalize on the strengths and talents of one another.
We have developed a curriculum committee that oversees curricular decisions. We have representation from each grade level. Each grade level is responsible for reviewing the curriculum and delineating how they plan to meet state standards. On a yearly basis, our committee reviews and assesses the strengths and weaknesses of our curriculum, and makes necessary adjustments, including the adoption of new programs when necessary. In this manner, we hope to not only align ourselves closely with state standards, but also to remain open to adopting new academic programs. We expect our teachers to feel confident and prepared to instruct the curriculum. To this end, we provide thorough teacher training and staff development for any program we consider.
At George Washington Academy we seek to provide a comprehensive education for our students. While we focus the majority of instruction time on math and language arts, we do not allow other academic areas to remain in the periphery. As part of our Core Knowledge Curriculum, weekly lesson plans include time for art, music, social studies, science, and physical education. In addition, we offer a variety of enhancement activities that enrich the learning opportunities of the students.
George Washington Academy feels strongly that Character Education is a critical component of our school. This program ties in with our school’s Desired Results for Student Learning and is an integral part of creating the ‘whole’ student. Our Character Education program is reinforced daily and monthly. Each day during announcements, we reinforce Character Education. The student body president reads an inspirational quote and we repeat our goals for student success, which include, “building strong character and social responsibility.” Additionally, each month, a different character trait is focused on that mirrors our school’s guiding values. All of the students look forward to the assemblies, in which the new trait is introduced with a fun skit, and winners of the previous month’s character trait are honored. A student from each class who has shown to represent this trait from the previous month most often is chosen as ‘Student of the Month.’ Faculty and staff members are also recognized. Winners are invited to a special “Lunch with the Principal” to celebrate their accomplishment.