Highland Charter Public School sets high academic standards and provides rigorous, meaningful instruction and support so that all students can meet the standards. Our structure makes it possible to give students individual attention. Our teachers take an interest in the students' lives, drawing on their real-world experiences and current understandings to build new knowledge. Highland Charter’s teachers also show students the connections between success in school and long-term career plans.
Why choose Highland Charter Public School? Call to discuss rigor, relevance, relationships and results at Highland Charter.
Rigor, Relevance, Relationship, Results – the four R’s at Highland Charter Public School:
Rigor – Highland Charter defines “rigor” as a condition of the learning environment which stretches the individual learner to move beyond his/her current “comfort zone” and grow as an independent learner.
Too often, rigor is viewed through the lens of how much homework the teacher requires and how many hours the student has to study to prepare for a test Rigor should be thought of in terms of how often we require our students to solve complex problems, apply what they have learned, and critically analyze the results. At Highland Charter, the focus of rigor is on helping the students develop a deeper understanding of the subject matter that goes beyond memorizing, reciting and restating. The development of critical thinking skills is paramount to "rigor".
Relevance – In the information age, schools that rely on content delivery as the primary purpose for teaching are under-serving their students. While we cherish the importance of in-depth content in our curricula, we insist upon an emphasis on skills of inquiry, problem solving, and analysis in the work of all of our students. To the greatest extent possible, our lessons are relevant to the experiences of the 21st century citizen. In addition, engagement of the student is of vital importance when examining both content and the approach to learning.
“Relevance” refers to how the subject matter relates to the student's interests and needs. Real relevance cannot be developed unless students are allowed to utilize their learning in real-life situations and contexts. Highland Charter students are allowed to apply their learning to real-world situations (relevance); they are required to use higher-order thinking skills (rigor).
Relationships – Although "rigor" and "relevance" are keys to meaningful student learning, this learning cannot occur in the absence of "relationships" in the school. Students cannot learn if their social and emotional needs have not been satisfied. We can have the most rigorous and relevant classrooms in the country, but if our students' affective needs are not being met, we will not be successful. Highland Charter is a school focused on relationships; we have a caring, student-centered environment where every student feels a sense of connection.
Results – Highland Charter has a balanced and pragmatic understanding of “results” using meaningful indicators of progress and clear descriptions and examples of the kinds of work we want our students to be able to produce. “Results” is the demonstrable product of rigor, relevance and relationships.