2015 Program Summary
Mastery schools are organized around a common vision: “Mastery schools
are joyful, authentic communities where students learn how to think critically
and act independently so they are truly prepared for post-secondary
success.” Our work is rooted in an unwavering belief that our students can
achieve at the highest levels. To fulfill our vision, we recognize that we must
attend to the whole child – we value personal as well as academic skills, and
we match our high expectations for students with high levels of support. Our
program is comprised of four interlocking systems:
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Curriculum, Instruction, and Teacher Development
School Culture
Assessment & Data
Student Support
1. Curriculum, Instruction, and Teacher Development
Mastery’s Common Core-aligned curriculum integrates specific instructional
strategies and robust teacher support so that all teachers can deliver
engaging, rigorous instruction.
Rigorous Curricula
Mastery’s curriculum is Common Core-aligned and is designed to develop
students’ critical thinking and problem-solving skills. We believe in “pitching
high” – exposing our students to rigorous material and concepts that
significantly stretch and challenge them. Our curriculum develops students’
conceptual understanding and analytical skills and fluency with foundational
academic skills. To ensure quality and coherency, curricula and materials
are developed by Mastery’s central academic team with ongoing teacher
input. By using common curricula across our network, teachers are able to
work collaboratively with their peers and focus their energy on refining
lessons and instruction rather than creating or finding materials.
Active, Engaging Instruction
Mastery instruction requires students to think and carry the cognitive load.
Learning is active, enabling students to construct meaning and develop a
deep understanding of difficult material. To achieve this level of
instructional quality, Mastery lessons revolve around a series of common
subject and age specific instructional approaches or structures. These
structures are essentially pedagogical best practices – lesson formats and
routines that require students to think and do. The structures are synced to
specific elements and materials in the curriculum, thus ensuring that difficult
material and concepts are taught in the most effective manner.
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To ensure a common bar for success, Mastery has developed a set of
instructional standards that describe core teacher actions and student
outcomes regardless of subject; these standards set the bar for Rigorous
Instruction, Student Work, Classroom Culture and Responsive &
Individualized Instruction. The standards are tangible and thoroughly
described.
Collaborative Planning
Mastery believes that teachers’ intellectual preparation, planning, and
practice drive quality instruction. We allocate planning time and use a
common meeting protocol for teachers to learn content, plan, and rehearse
together in subject-grade level teams or 1-1 with expert administrators.
Through this collaboration, they develop an in-depth understanding of lesson
content and the nuances of lesson delivery. Planning and professional
development time includes two weeks of preparation before school opens,
daily common planning periods, and two hours every Wednesday afternoon.
Comprehensive Teacher Development
We believe teaching is a craft that is developed through an ongoing cycle of
feedback, reflection, and practice. By adopting common instructional
structures and standards we are able to closely align our professional
development to the content and actual classroom instruction. Accordingly,
we provide detailed manuals, videos, and ongoing training sessions on the
structures and standards.
Leaders as Instructional Experts
We believe the role of school leaders is to work directly with teachers on
planning and instruction. Mastery school leaders are trained as content and
pedagogical experts so they can effectively fulfill this role. They, together
with Instructional Coaches from Mastery’s central office and school-based
Teacher Leaders, provide intensive feedback and support that is ongoing,
real-time, and specific so teachers can rapidly develop their skills. Our goal
is to be one of the nation’s best places for teachers to master their craft. We
are proud that the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation recognized our teacher
development system as a national model.
2. School Culture
Mastery’s school culture systems are designed to create joyful school
communities that support students’ sense of belonging and the development
of their independence and personal responsibility. Mastery believes a
positive school community – based on genuine relationships between
teachers and students and rooted in a belief in students’ ability to achieve at
the highest levels – is the foundation of a successful school.
Intentional School Culture Model
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Each Mastery school has a dedicated school culture team that is responsible
for ensuring a positive and safe school community. Our schools adopt
common rituals such as morning circles, community meetings, and school
events that celebrate the school community and the joy of learning. At the
same time, we ensure that school rules and values are consistently
supported and enforced. Our teachers adopt common school-wide classroom
behavior systems so students are held to consistently high expectations.
We intentionally create a community that balances structure and student
independence so schools feel both orderly and joyful. College banners and
hallways full of student work send the message that students are expected
to achieve at the highest levels.
Restorative Practices
Our school disciplinary system is organized around Restorative Practices, an
approach that supports students in taking personal responsibility for their
wrongdoing and repairing any negative impact their actions caused to
relationships within the school community. Our approach blends emotional
support systems, leadership opportunities, restorative consequences,
traditional consequences, and well-defined expectations and limits. Our goal
is to establish clear boundaries for behavior while building students personal
effectiveness and reinforcing the value of relationships and the school
community.
Mindset & Social-Emotional Programming
Mastery intentionally develops grit and resilience in students by fostering a
“success through hard work” culture. Teachers develop students’ “growth
mindset”, encouraging them to persevere through difficult work and
providing them opportunities to lead. We believe social-emotional skills can
be explicitly taught and nurtured. At the elementary level, social emotional
skills curricula is integrated into the regular school day. At the middle and
high school level, students take social emotional courses focused on decision
skills, conflict resolution, and emotional self-management. The capstone to
the program is a required 18-week workplace-based internship for all 10th
grade students.
Cultural Context & Professional Learning Communities
We believe that culture, race, and identity strongly influence how we teach,
how students learn, and how the school community interacts; we also
believe the cultural backgrounds of our students and families are a source of
strength and opportunity. Consequently, Mastery has initiated a
comprehensive training program to develop staff’s ability to be aware of –
and responsive to -- cultural, racial and individual identities. We believe
candid conversations about race and bias create a healthier and more
effective school community.
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All school-based staff members participate in professional learning
communities (PLCs) once every three weeks. These peer-led, small groups
are designed to facilitate thoughtful reflection about teaching and the way in
which staff members’ individual experiences and background affect their
work. The ultimate goal of the PLCs is to positively influence staff members’
interactions with one another and their students.
3. Assessment & Data
Mastery has built a comprehensive data tracking and reporting system that
enables staff to focus on the areas of greatest student need and drive
results.
Benchmark Assessments
Common-core aligned benchmark assessments form the foundation of our
data system. Students take the assessments in all primary subjects at the
end of each nine-week report period. These benchmarks assess the skills
and knowledge students are expected to master in a given report period.
Mastery Value-Added System
To pinpoint student growth and areas of need, we have also built a
sophisticated “Mastery Value Added System” (MVAS) that considers students’
previous performance trajectory to determine the value-added -- the change
in students’ growth in each new assessment period relative to their previous
growth trajectory. This system enables us to efficiently and accurately
identify students whose progress is lagging as well as teachers who are
exceptionally effective or require additional support.
Data-Informed Decisions
Mastery teachers use the benchmark and MVAS data to inform individualized
student support and differentiation. A professional development day at the
conclusion of each report period provides teachers the time to review data
and develop plans for re-teaching and reassessment. At this time school
leaders also review a streamlined data dashboard of academic and behavior
data and develop intervention plans. New goals are set for the upcoming
report period and the cycle begins again.
4. Student Support Systems
To ensure all students succeed, Mastery has developed a comprehensive
safety net to support students in overcoming their academic and emotional
challenges.
Response to Instruction & Intervention
Our data systems enable us to identify students who are not responding to
classroom differentiation and require more assertive interventions. All
Mastery schools have a Response To Intervention & Instruction (RTII) period
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built into the regular school day. During this period, students in need of
additional support participate in small groups where they receive individually
targeted reading and math interventions. We use a limited set of researchbased interventions and align staff training and support to ensure
effectiveness.
Emotional Support & Trauma Informed Care
Mastery’s schools are located in some of Philadelphia’s most impoverished
neighborhoods. According to the Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) study
(a survey of exposure to trauma events such as death of a family member,
violence, and sexual abuse) our students are exposed to trauma at a four to
eight times greater rate than the general population. Such exposure
correlates with difficulty regulating emotions, inability to concentrate, and
depression. To support our students, Mastery trains staff on trauma informed
approaches and contracts with trauma- trained therapists. At the secondary
level, students in need participate in support groups based around Dialectical
Behavior Therapy (DBT), a research-based emotional skills curriculum.
Finally, Mastery contracts with an outside provider to provide an off-campus
intensive therapeutic program for students who are unable to thrive in a
regular school setting.
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