Strategies for Success

When applying for the Gates Foundation grant tin 2009, we committed to achieve the following academic outcomes for MCS students by the end of the 2013–2014 school year:

• Increase average ACT score from 17.5 (with 68% student participation rate) to 19.0 (with 100% student participation rate)
• Increase average TCAP score from the 30th percentile to the 63rd percentile
• Increase graduation rate from 66.9% to 75%

We believe we can produce these dramatic gains in student achievement by ensuring an effective teacher for every child, in every class, every year, 

The underlying premise is straightforward: of all school-level factors, it is the effectiveness of a child’s teacher(s) that most greatly impacts how much he or she learns. Simply put: students learn more when they are better taught.

To realize our goals, we are implementing the following strategies:

1. Use a common, agreed-upon process to define and measure effective teaching.
2. Make smart decisions about who teaches our students.
3. Better support, utilize, and compensate our teachers.
4. Improve the surrounding contexts for teachers and students to foster effective teaching.

Like any major transformation, this is a journey with evolving milestones. The best measure of where we are is how far we have come.