HARBORSIDE ACADEMY
EL Education Credentialing Portfolio
CHARACTER
Harborside Academy places a very high value on the formation of character amongst their students, as evidenced by policies and practices. Character education and fostering Habits of Success rate as equal to academic traditions and policies.
Harborside has implemented a wide-reaching program that teaches, reinforces and takes stock in these traits. With such a high emphasis on character education, Harborside has developed an integrated plan for fostering strong character development. This emphasis permeates daily activities and directs decision-making processes.
CLAIM
Harborside students demonstrate their character through positive contributions to their school and community.
EVIDENCE
Click each link below to explore the evidence that supports the claim above.
POSITIVE CONTRIBUTIONS TO SCHOOL & COMMUNITY
ATTENDANCE & DISCIPLINE DATA
Harborside's sustained focus on character has positively impacted the rates of student attendance and disciplinary infractions.
REASONING
Since Harborside opened its doors in 2007, we have been dedicated to the character development of our students. Since our first Credential five years ago, Harborside has really focused on two EL Core Practices: Core Practice 22: Fostering Habits of Character and Core Practice 31: Communicating Student Achievement:
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Core Practice 22: Fostering Habits of Character: "Students regularly self-assess how they are working to become ethical people. Students document their Habits of Character qualitatively with examples and other evidence in reflections. They can articulate the link between their Habits of Character and their relationships in the community."
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Core Practice 31: Communicating Student Achievement: "Students can articulate what they have learned and speak to their own strengths, struggles, goals, processes of learning, and preparation for college and career success.”
Harborside's character development program relies on the foundation of our Habits of Success traits: Cooperation, Leadership, Tenacity, Integrity, Respect, and Humor. These six traits, which were initially created with the help of Harborside's first graduating class but later revised, are an integral component of the climate and culture of our school.
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In fact, through our own constant reflection of our Habits of Success traits, we have implemented feedback on these traits in every academic class at Harborside Academy. This implementation five years ago has allowed for a structure of sustained focus and constant reflection.
When students at Harborside are constantly focusing on and reflecting on their character development through the systems and structures developed, they feel empowered to make a change within themselves, their school, and community. They become ethical leaders who look to make positive impacts in order to build a better world.
NEXT STEPS
As we move into this next cycle of multi-year strategic planning we are making moves to collect data and evidence that supports us in working towards equitable outcomes. Some next steps we are considering and implementing are:
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Using Crew surveys with students and staff
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Using HoS matrices to support objective assessment of character
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Disaggregating HoS data, along with attendance and discipline data
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Engaging students in focus groups
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See Performance Benchmarks and Work Plan 2020-2021 for more (*note that the work plan is a work in progress holding initial thinking, next steps are in August 2020)