Striving for Alignment Between Cluster Schools

In early January, Gear Up arranged for the the Taft ELA department to visit Kearny 9th grade classrooms and debrief with Kearny teachers and administration. They walked through 9th grade English and Global Political and Economic Decision Making (literacy support) and observed the continuity of expectation between the two classes, as well as the tools and strategies students are using to develop critical reading and analytical writing skills. In the debrief, vice principal Rob Meza-Ehlert shared about the importance of structures such as common classroom expectations and policies, and then Taft teachers heard from Kelly Parker and Sarah Murray about how they collaborate and emphasize common strategies in both classes, such as the 9th grade compendium of resources. Taft teachers then spent the remainder of the day reflecting on ways to bring alignment between grade levels and how to implement some of the common structures in order to prepare students for the demand of high school literacy.