An open letter from Principal Cotty:
I came to Calvin Simmons Middle School in 2000, the same year that Jenny Rienzo and Jesus Alvarez arrived. Little did we suspect that six years later we would be offered a chance to design a small school to replace what had become Oakland’s lowest performing school with the highest disciplinary rates. I was asked to assemble a design team of deeply committed parents, students and teachers and then was given a year to incubate our design before opening to 200 students in 2006. At the end of our first year, we posted one of the highest API point gains of any school in Oakland.
We had developed strong beliefs regarding the dysfunction and low performance at our large school. We believed that neither the students, nor their parents, nor the teachers were at fault for the mayhem and lack of learning. We believed that what would turn things around was a fierce commitment to rebuilding trust and relationships, especially reconnecting with parents and inviting them back into their students’ schooling. We get over 90% of parents showing up for Student-Led Conferences, and a very high proportion of parents supporting their children at our spectacular Project Expo’s. Our students pay attention in class, and our halls have become orderly. And the founding teachers who also taught at the old Calvin Simmons are getting a remarkably different set of results. Relationship is everything.
We aligned our school to the values and expectations of dozens of parents with whom we visited in our design phase. They spoke to high achievement and giving their children a strong voice in school and the community. They asked that their children be actively engaged, and that the school value collaborative culture. From these conversations, we developed our 8 Habits. These habits drive self-assessments and grading in all of our classes, including advisory. Two years in, we still feel that these habits accurately express the qualities we look for in our graduates.
Because of our success in year one, we were asked to double our enrollment in our second year. The sudden leap in new teachers and families has forced us to become much more explicit in our expectations, protocols and support structures and this consistent school culture has been a great aid in everything we do.
Having transformed school culture on our site in our first two years, we are now able to focus intensely on student learning. Now in year three, our teachers are becoming very strong at assessing learning and analyzing data to modify and differentiate instruction. Teachers collaboratively critique their learning targets, lesson plans, student engagement activities, and formative assessments. Teachers create their own professional growth plans and work with a coach on a regular basis to improve their practice and the performance of their students. One result is a very high retention rate for our teachers who feel supported and successful in their work. Another result is a continual rise in rigorous expectations. We see this in our public Expo events as well as in the way students present their learning during Student-Led Parent Conferences.
So, in addition to rigorous teaching and ample academic support, we work hard to level the playing field with services that more affluent families take for granted. Our Parent Center offers tax preparation, eligibility support for county services, job and language skills, parenting classes, and a host of other programs. Our Medical Center will provide free medical, dental and mental health services for our students and their families. We have a dedicated mental health staff of therapist, case manager, conflict mediator, parent advocate, counselor, school psychologist, intervention specialist, and services coordinator. And we have a fabulous after-school program and summer school with strong academic and enrichment offerings.
The hallmark of our school remains our relationship-building and intense collaborative culture. We support teachers to assume leadership roles, and we pay our staff to work long hours planning together. Now, we are seeing strong parent leaders emerge, and our students are stepping up as well as mediators and student leaders. We look forward to going into our third year retaining almost all of our teachers and therefore being able to focus our energies all together in building a culture of excellence and a community based on trust.
Phil Cotty – Principal