EL Videos
Researcher Camille Farrington and students and staff from Metropolitan Expeditionary Learning School (MELS) in Queens, New York, discuss and demonstrate the power of integrated identity in school-- how students being able to bring their full selves to a learning space impacts them positively and significantly. They make a case that Crew, a culture and structure of support in EL Education schools, provides the space and tools for belonging rather than just inclusion.
Sierra Academy has worked with Dr. Farrington on our development of character education and equitable classrooms here at SAEL as well.
This video is part of a series of videos about Crew. The full collection can be viewed here: eleducation.org/resources/collections/crew-videos
At SAEL we believe in creating a culture of excellence and achievement. We know this comes from creating clear targets and supporting students to reach these targets. Using mastery-based grading at SAEL, we will implement similar teaching and learning strategies as seen in this video with veteran teacher Susan McCray. In this video, 11th grade English Language Arts teacher Susan McCray from Casco Bay High School in Portland, ME, supports all students in reaching writing standards through descriptive feedback. Casco Bay is an EL Mentor School that was founded in 2005.
Students at SAEL will use learning targets that are standards-based and carefully crafted by the teachers. Students will receive mastery-based grades on the learning targets in order to ensure the goals of learning and assessment are clear. In this video, 7th and 8th grade students in Jeanne Boland's class at the Odyssey School in Denver, CO, discuss the power of "unpacking" learning targets to that they can articulate a clear vision of the intended learning criteria for success. The Odyssey School is one of the oldest and most successful Expeditionary Learning mentor schools in our national network.