Creating a Culture of Achievement at Excel Academy Charter School / Boston, MA

Excel Academy Charter School Principal: Komal Bhasin School schedule: 7:30am3:45pm Early release: 7:30am1:30pm (Fri.) Additional time compared to surrounding district: 120 min/day and 7 days/year Student Population Grades served: 58 Number of students: 212 Qualify for free/reduced lunch: 72% Students Scoring At or Above Proficient on the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System Test in 2010 (difference compared to surrounding district) ELA: 95% (+46%) Math: 91% (+54%)

he walls, hallways, and classrooms at Excel Academy, in Boston, Massachusetts, communicate a sense of achievement and a focus on college. Adorning the walls are college pennants, class cheers, and pictures of former students who have since enrolled in college. Most of the schools physical spaces are intentionally decorated to create the schools culture, but they are just one aspect of a highly intentional set of activities that the school uses to emphasize its high expectations for all students. Excel also uses time in its expanded day schedule and the summer to set and reinforce this culture.

cheers that celebrate achievement throughout the year. During the summer orientation, incoming students also meet in community circles for the first time to learn school policies as well as the schools core values, captured in the acronym PREPstanding for Prepared, Respectful, Engaged, and Professional. Inside their classrooms, teachers use the summer session to establish expectations of academic rigor, including nightly reading and an average of three hours of homework. They also begin to build a sense of classroom community, creating a class chant and encouraging students to support one another. During the summer orientation, says Bhasin, we tell students that they are part of a wolf pack and to think of their classmates as teammates. Both the school-wide and classroom expectations are also communicated to parents during summer orientation. The week culminates with the signing of a parent and student contract, committing both to working toward the goal of college enrollment. From the first day of school until the last, the expectations that were taught during Excels summer session continue to play a vital role. At any time throughout the day, students may receive merits and demerits for exhibiting or failing to meet the schools core PREP values. Students may exchange merits for supplies and prizes at the schools store or specific privileges, such as visiting other classrooms during breaks, or dress-down days. In addition to the daily reinforcement, Principal Bhasin also leads a weekly 35-minute community circle for each grade, focused on drawing connections to the outside world, building school community, and celebrating student success. Even during breaks throughout the day, teachers recite their classroom chant and often play games promoting teamwork. Immediately following February vacation, Excel commits additional time towards a re-orientation to remind students, once again, of the expectations taught during the summer. Having the time during the summer and the school year to build the culture at Excel is an invaluable part of what we do, Bhasin confirms. By establishing high expectations for all students, it makes the time they have in class even more effective and efficient in helping them learn the skills they need to succeed.

The rules for school are the rules for life, declares Komal Bhasin, Excels principal, during the schools summer orientation. For one week each summer, Excel students learn and re-learn the schools high expectations for achievement and college entry. Incoming students hear from older students about their experiences at the school and the hard work they engaged in to prepare for college. Students learn and practice

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