What is Expeditionary Learning?

Expeditionary Learning is a nationally recognized whole school model for educational reform. EL partners with schools, district, and charter boards to open new schools and support the transformation of existing ones. Student achievement is the focus as EL supports schools by providing professional development, curriculum planning resources, leader and teacher coaching, and access to a large national network of like-minded schools. SAEL is an EL school because we know this partnership is essential for the development of our student engagement, character, and achievement.

EL's Core Practices

Dynamic leadership

We support school leaders in building effective, collaborative teams focused sharply on student achievement, continuous improvement, and celebrating learning across the school.

Compelling curriculum

We make content and skills standards come alive for students by connecting learning to relevant issues, identified needs, and authentic audiences. Academic content is charged with rigor through the curricular structures of learning expeditions, case studies, projects, fieldwork, consultation with community experts, service learning, and exhibitions of student work. 

Engaging instruction

We teach effective instructional strategies during off-site institutes and on-site professional development sessions. Our school designers work one-on-one with individual teachers in the classroom and outside of class to plan, model, critique, and support best practices.

Continuous assessment

We equip teachers to infuse ongoing formative assessment into their lessons and to build effective summative assessments to track student learning. We support a whole-school focus on using multiple sources of data to refine instruction and improve student achievement. 

Positive school culture

We help our schools build cultures of respect, responsibility, courage, and kindness, where students and adults are committed to quality work and citizenship

For more information, please go to the Expeditionary Learning website or download the complete brochure.