School Type: Public	School Setting: Suburban
Level: High	School Design: Charter
Content Presented By:
The Education Alliance at Brown University

Design and Implementation

The mission of the Francis W. Parker Charter School in Devens, Massachusetts is "to move the child to the center of the education process and to interrelate the several subjects of the curriculum in such a way as to enhance their meaning for the child" (Charter, October 1994). To achieve this aim, the school employs the ten common principles of the Coalition of Essential Schools through the following features:

• An academically challenging, integrated curriculum at the secondary level
• Teachers working in cross-disciplinary teams with small groups of students
• Performance-based assessments for course work and as gateways to higher levels of schooling
• Using technology to provoke active learning
• Flexible scheduling that allows for teacher planning time and in-depth focus on student work
• An advisory system that allows teachers to know their students well and serve as academic and personal guides
• Mentoring for junior staff members by senior teachers; critical reflection and peer observation built into teacher's daily schedules
• A volunteer service component in which students learn by contributing to the school and the larger community
• A student-faculty governance system
• An administrative system that puts student advisement and management decisions in the hands of the teaching staff

Students at Parker do not advance by grade levels. Instead, they move toward graduation at their own pace through three divisions according to their own individualized learning plan. Graduation to a new division depends on demonstrated mastery of the previous division's criteria in each of the two domains of study: Arts and Humanities (which includes Spanish) and Math, Science, and Technology. Students also must demonstrate understanding of a Wellness curriculum in which they tackle health and self-esteem issues.

Students demonstrate their knowledge through projects, portfolios of work, and exhibitions that progress in complexity from one division to the next. To graduate from the school, seniors must present a project based on an essential question of their own choosing. These exhibitions are juried by teaching staff and outside experts and resemble a graduate qualifying exam in their sophistication and standards.

In the spring of each year, the school solicits input from students and community members regarding an essential question around which teachers will build the curriculum for the coming year. In the past, these questions have included, "What is community?" (1995-96) and "What's the limit?" (1999-2000). Teachers take the input and pick out themes that stand out across the many suggestions. Once they have whittled the list of themes down to a few interesting ones, the students and the community vote for the question they think is best.

Professional development for teachers is also focused on a yearly theme, such as improving advisory strategies or regional accreditation work. Each teacher is part of a critical friends group that provides individual support and peer discussion about student work and protocols. The teachers also have built-in common planning time by division and by academic domain.

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This resource is developed and maintained by The Education Alliance at Brown University. Seed funding was provided by the U.S. Department of Education. Send comments to: loom@alliance.brown.edu