Advanced Creative Writing: Core Values Poems

Dr. Kefor's Advanced Creative Writing students composed poems based on the Core Values.

Respect: Ms. Birkett's Stereotype Exercise

Ms. Birkett’s English I honors class recently spent a week exploring the world of stereotypes and identities prior to reading Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. Students were asked to read and/or watch and analyze specific poems, articles, and videos surrounding stereotypes that many people face. Then, they applied the literature to their own lives by creating identity charts and looked at how they define themselves - and how many of these factors they could or could not control. The class discussed how stereotypes, judgments, and assumptions are formed from a variety of different factors - including gender, age, height, weight, hair color, race, religion, interests, friend groups, location, social class, and so forth. To conclude the unit, students completed the stereotype vs. identity profile summative assessment, where they wrote the stereotypes they have personally faced on the outside a face’s profile, and how they truly identify themselves on the inside of the profile. Students were overwhelmingly open, accepting, and willing to share with their classmates; this assignment helped foster a positive and respectful classroom learning environment as well as prepare students for the stereotypes and discrimination found in Lee’s novel.

Essential questions: What are stereotypes and identities and what factors influence both? What stereotypes have I faced in my lifetime and how do they differ from my true identity? How greatly do stereotypes influence how I live my life?

Student Videos

Dr. Kefor's Film as Literature students created Core Values videos, which were evaluated with the school-wide rubric. Below is a sampling of videos that were published to YouTube.

Student Survey

Please click here to complete the survey. 

Core Values, Beliefs, and Learning Expectations: NEASC Standards

Effective schools identify core values and beliefs about learning that function as explicit foundational commitments to students and the community. Decision-making remains focused on and aligned with these critical commitments. Core values and beliefs manifest themselves in research-based, school-wide 21st century learning expectations. Every component of the school is driven by the core values and beliefs and supports all students’ achievement of the school’s learning expectations.

1. The school community engages in a dynamic, collaborative, and inclusive process informed by current research-based best practices to identify and commit to its core values and beliefs about learning. 
2. The school has challenging and measurable 21st century learning expectations for all students which address academic, social, and civic competencies, and are defined by school-wide analytic rubrics that identify targeted high levels of achievement.
   
3. The school’s core values, beliefs, and 21st century learning expectations are actively reflected in the culture of the school, drive curriculum, instruction, and assessment in every classroom, and guide the school’s policies, procedures, decisions, and resource allocations.
   
4. The school regularly reviews and revises its core values, beliefs, and 21st century learning expectations based on research, multiple data sources, as well as district and school community priorities. 
   
   
   We welcome comments, critiques, and questions in regard to our updated values, beliefs, and expectations and their correspondence to the above standards. Simply click "Comments" below and enter text.