Why Apply? A message from NCUST Executive Director Joseph F. Johnson, Jr.

WHY APPLY? At NCUST, it has been our honor to visit and learn from over 150 amazing schools that achieve multiple evidences of outstanding learning results for every racial/ethnic/income group of students they serve. We look forward to recognizing, celebrating, and learning from more urban schools during this coming year. Why do we invest the […]
Leadership Moves…Specifying Who Will Benefit from Change

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Leadership Moves…Specifying Who Will Benefit from Change. [/vc_column_text][vc_column_text] While each high-performing urban school might have emphasized different details as they framed reasons for change, they all shared surprising consistency and impressive clarity as they emphasized that change efforts were intended to benefit all students. Leaders made extra efforts to clarify that the proposed efforts […]
Leadership Moves…Leadership that Influences the Desire to Change.

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Leadership Moves… Leadership that Influences the Desire to Change. [/vc_column_text][vc_column_text] It’s all about leadership. She [the principal] came in here with a vision and the rest of us followed suit. She came with a vision. She changed patterns, she changed mentalities, and she changed perceptions. Students started buying into it. Teachers started buying into […]
Leadership Moves…Opening the Door of a Model Classroom in a High Performing Urban School

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Leadership Moves… Opening the Door of a Model Classroom in a High Performing Urban School [/vc_column_text][vc_column_text] Whether it’s inside a brand new building with modern architecture, or an older school with lots of character, opening the door of a classroom in a high performing school has common characteristics that make it educationally magical. In […]
Leadership Moves…Positive Transformational Culture | Leading stakeholders to feel valued and capable. Pt. 2

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Leadership Moves…Positive Transformational Culture | Leading stakeholders to feel valued and capable [/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Positive Transformational Culture | Leading stakeholders to feel valued and capable. Pt. 2[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text] As part of a coherent system, educators in many of the high-performing urban schools developed or implemented programs for creating a positive learning environment for students. In many cases, the school […]
Leadership Moves…Positive Transformational Culture | Leading stakeholders to feel valued and capable. Pt. 1

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Leadership Moves…Positive Transformational Culture | Leading stakeholders to feel valued and capable [/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Positive Transformational Culture | Leading stakeholders to feel valued and capable. Pt. 1[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text] As part of a coherent system, educators in many of the high-performing urban schools developed or implemented programs for creating a positive learning environment for students. Programs like Positive Behavioral […]
Leadership Moves…Positive Transformational Culture as the Foundation

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Leadership Moves…Positive Transformational Culture [/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Part 2: Positive Transformational Culture as the Foundation[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text] The positive transformational culture influenced every aspect of schooling: student behavior, classroom instruction, extra-curricular activities, professional learning communities, professional development, school routines, procedures, policies, and more. As well, the positive transformational culture influenced changes that improved learning results for every racial/ethnic group, every […]
Leadership Moves…Positive Transformational Culture

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Leadership Moves…Positive Transformational Culture [/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Part 1[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text] When a kid walks through this door, the principal feels like that’s her child. Every single one of us feels that way ….That’s the caring that is in this building. Some of these kids don’t get any of this love at home. Homework will go, and it may […]
Leadership Moves…Vertical Planning

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Leadership Moves…Vertical Planning [/vc_column_text][vc_column_text] To support teachers to introduce content logically and clearly, leaders in high-performing urban schools make time for teachers to work together to identify learning goals, create assignments and discuss if their efforts lead to student learning. By working together, leaders know teachers are better able to identify all steps in […]
Leadership Moves…Introducing Content Logically, Clearly, and Concisely

[vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1509477617117{padding-top: -100px !important;}”][vc_column][vc_column_text] Leadership Moves… [/vc_column_text][vc_column_text] Introducing Content Logically, Clearly, and Concisely [/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] The task of dividing learning goals into logical, clear and concise steps may not be necessary when one is teaching simple concepts with minimal depth. But, in the high-performing urban schools we studied, teachers had learning goals that required substantial utilization […]