Chapter 1: Why We're Here

What makes a school great, and how do schools sustain greatness over time?

YouTube embed code:

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/LzXOmDVHXug" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

or share this link:

http://youtu.be/LzXOmDVHXug

Prezi embed code:

<iframe src="http://prezi.com/embed/ftfsnhhbvyfr/ bgcolor=ffffff&lock_to_path=0&autoplay=no&autohide_ctrls=0" width="550" height="400" frameborder="0"></iframe>

Twitter sized messages from this chapter:

What is it like to go to a great school? Follow a #YearatMH http://youtu.be/LzXOmDVHXug

#YearatMH, follow a remarkable public school in Boston where “everyone has value.”

How can our nation’s values be the design principles for learning? #YearatMH

Mission Hill Voices

The names and spellings of key people in this chapter: Ayla Gavins (principal), Melissa Tonachel (K/1), Deborah Meier (founder)

Complementary Resources for Chapter 1

WATCH

A Day in the Life of a Typical American School District (from the Go Public Project)

Good school, bad school (from Learning Matters TV)

Arielle: Pushing Your Limits (from What Kids Can Do)

Kenneth: Being Someone, Doing Something (from What Kids Can Do)

“Youth and Adults Transforming School Together” (feature story on WKCD.org)

Responsive Schools (from Responsive Classrooms)

A high school weighs in on sustaining greatness over time (from Eagle Rock PDC)

On Play and Learning (from The Center for Children's Learning)

The World Becomes What You Teach (from the Institute for Humane Education)

My School (from Ashoka's Start Empathy Initiative)

READ

OK, Obama Won. Now What? by Sam Chaltain

New Rules for School Reform by Sam Chaltain

Fires in the Mind: What Kids Can Tell Us About Motivation and Mastery by Kathleen Cushman and the students of What Kids Can Do (Jossey-Bass Books, 2010)

“The Classroom is Obsolete, It’s time for something new.” by Prakash Nair

Redesigning High Schools: What Matters and What Works by Linda Darling-Hammond and the School Redesign Network at Stanford University

In Our School: Building community in elementary schools (from Responsive Classrooms)

Getting to the heart of educational reform: Social and emotional learning for academic success (from CASEL)

No new wars needed (from CASEL)

Project Based Learning (from Edutopia)

Teacher Development (from Edutopia)

Parent Engagement Resources (from Edutopia)

Democratic Education in Practice: Inside the Mission Hill School by Matthew Knoester

A Year at Mission Hill: How do Schools Sustain Greatness Over Time? by Michelle Hughes

The Power and Promise of Humane Education by Zoe Weil

A Visit to Mission Hill: 5 Lessons from a Leading Chagemaker School (from Ashoka's Start Empathy Initiative)

LISTEN

What’s the Big Idea? A conversation Between Josh Starr & Sam Chaltain (Montgomery County Public Schools podcast

Respecting and Reflecting School Culture (from ASCD)

BAM Radio piece on 2/7/13

DO

Connect with others on Facebook about "A Year at Mission Hill"

Share Your Most Powerful Learning Story (from Faces of Learning)

Take a snapshot assessment of your school (from IDEA)

Start a Friday morning coffee talk session, like the Koinonia Coffee Friday Forum in Jackson, MS

Start building positive community at your school (from Responsive Classrooms)

Nominate an Ashoka Changemaker School! (from Ashoka)

Take an online course Teaching for a Postive Future (from the Institute for Humane Education)

Download some of the free activities and lesson plans (from the Institute for Humane Education)

Consider and online M.Ed. or Graduate Certificate in humane education/education transformation (from the Institute for Humane Education and Valparaiso University)