Get Organized!

With schools in some parts of the country well into the routine, while others are about to start, handling the daily onslaught of kids' permission slips, bills and junk mail can be a full-time job. To keep track of your family's incoming and outgoing messages and mail, set up a "communication station" in a convenient location (like the mudroom or kitchen). A wall-mounted magazine rack gives each family member a slot for their papers, while a "look here: calendar is for quick references. Flyers, invites, and such stay in view on a bulletin board.

Below are 3 ideas that can help keep you organized during the busy school months according to an article in the September 2010 issue of Good Housekeeping.

1. Sort Smart. Stop mail clutter at the door in a tiered bin with three sections. IN, OUT, READ. The IN slot is for mail that needs to be dealt with fairly soon (bills, paperwork, etc. that should be addressed weekly); OUT is for outgoing mail; READ is for materials to peruse later (magazines, coupon books, and so on, to be purged monthly).

2. Make Notes. A sticky note on the door is the perfect can't-miss-it reminder. Tuck the notepad and pen in a bin (near your station) meant for holding outgoing items, like those library books that are due tomorrow.

3. Pen It In. A color-coded calendar (with a different color for each person) will keep the family on schedule. But don't write everything here, save personal activities for your own datebook. Just jot down events that involve multiple family members (things that require a driver etc.). Purge your bulletin board of no-longer-needed papers when you change the calendar page.

I truly hope everyone has a good working relationship with their children's school this year, 2012-2012. Make it a priority to get involved and stay informed. Your children need you to be a positive partner in their education and the school needs your participation and support. Most school districts are operating on limited or less funding, so any assistance you can give, I know will be appreciated.

Tip 81: Watch Your Words

Children are always listening to what we say and how we react to situations.  They learn from our actions.  That brings us to tip # 81.

Tip #81: Watch your words

Whenever you are talking about school or your child's teacher, try and refrain from saying negative things in front of them.  In many cases school was not a positive experience for the parent, so they think and speak about the school and teachers in ways that will make the child think and act negative at school.  Try to be  positive in front of the child and deal as positively with the teachers and administration, so there can be a partnership between the two to help your child have a good school year.  Usually if a parent is calm and positive the school will do whatever they can to help.

Raising Middle Schoolers' IQ Through Character Education: Part 5

Raising middle schoolers’ EQ and IQ

According to an article from greatschools.com, if you think tweens and teens don't listen and don't care? Think again. If this seventh grade math teacher can get kids to be kind and work hard, you can, too.

By Jessica Kelmon

Finding inspiration

This type of leadership didn’t just happen. Schumacker might have burned out of teaching if it hadn’t been for character education. When a local elementary school invited Hal Urban, the granddaddy of moral character education, to speak, Schumacker was inspired to start immediately. The district reacted similarly, and now moral character education is taught at all of the elementary schools and both middle schools, says Nick Verhoff, Superintendent of Beavercreek City Schools (GreatSchools Rating 9).

Schumacker takes it a step further with performance character education. In 2008 he met Lickona and his colleague Matt Davidson, who taught him about class meetings, setting goals, and letting kids redo missed problems. “[It] was my ‘Aha’ moment,” Schumacker says. “Everything I do comes from them.”

It starts with kindness

Recently, a student gave Schumacker the ultimate compliment: “You definitely taught me how to be a better person.” The accolade echoes the “Caught Being Good” messages that Schumacker uses to model kindness while inspiring kids to do their best. And it’s a sign that his character lessons, which always start with kindness, are working. “It’s almost a self-fulfilling prophesy,” he says. “If you tell them they’re an amazing student, they live up to it.”

Raising Middle Schoolers' IQ Through Character Education: Part 4

Raising middle schoolers’ EQ and IQ

According to an article from greatschools.com, if you think tweens and teens don't listen and don't care? Think again. If this seventh grade math teacher can get kids to be kind and work hard, you can, too.

By Jessica Kelmon

Methods to avoid the madness

Schumacker uses an almost scientific trial-and-error approach to improving his craft — each time with the goal of better reaching and teaching his students — though parents aren’t always immediately on board. Tom Lickona, one of Schumacker's mentors and director of SUNY Cortland’s Center for the 4th and 5th Rs (Respect and Responsibility), recalls: “He got notes from parents saying, ‘My daughter never liked math and I disagreed with your high expectations in math, but now she feels differently and knows what A work looks like.’”

Over time, Schumacker’s overcome the urge to force kids into submission. For a while he required struggling students come to class at lunchtime. “It became clear I could force them to come at lunch every day, but I can’t force them to work hard,” he says. To avoid the inevitable (and unproductive) stand-offs, he created his revisions policy to encourage students to improve their work of their own volition. Perhaps thanks to his counseling degree, he’s cultivated a safe, open environment for class meetings, where kids can give him feedback. “If something’s not working, [they] can tell me,” he says. “I won’t be mad.”

For Schumacker, success is about more than scores; it’s about instilling a passion for excellence in learning. Sally Coberly-Hough says her son Mark learned the nuts and bolts of hard work — and the value of it — in Schumacker’s class. It was laborious for both mother and son, she wrote in an email, but “it paid off!” Julie DiNapoli says her three daughters learned lasting lessons in Schumacker’s class, too. Now in high school, “they still look back at their notes from his class,” she says.

Raising Middle Schoolers' IQ Through Character Education: Part 3

Raising middle schoolers’ EQ and IQ

According to an article from greatschools.com, if you think tweens and teens don't listen and don't care? Think again. If this seventh grade math teacher can get kids to be kind and work hard, you can, too.

By Jessica Kelmon

Character education… in math?

At first blush, pre-algebra and character lessons are odd bedfellows. Traditionally, the gateways for integrating character lessons are courses like humanities and social studies, where IQ and EQ lessons are more closely linked. But Schumacker's academic alchemy is working for many reasons.

For one, he’s discovered effective ways to reach the kids. His classroom walls are lined with handmade posters. Words like “honesty,” “perseverance,” and “opportunity” are written next to words like “gossip,” “put downs,” and “swearing” — with slashes through them. These posters surround the clock where, says Schumacker, “kids’ eyes tend to go first.” Instead of the daily roll call, he starts class with a question of the day: ‘What’s one song on your iPod?’ or ‘Did anyone give you a compliment today?

The daily question helps his students feel heard, he says, and it’s an unqualified hit: “In every single class it's one of their favorite things.” Also popular are weekly writing prompts, which are typically responses to a moral character challenge — focusing on trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, or citizenship — such as not complaining for a day or naming someone they’re grateful for. Recently, he asked the kids to write about what's helped them be successful (or not) in his class. The answers show tremendous insight on the part of the seventh graders — a group seldom credited with deep thinking. Kids who aren’t faring well academically own up to causes like laziness and not trying. Others opened up about problems at home, such as financial stress and divorce. But nearly every student who wrote about academic success credits Schumacker's revisions policy, which allows them to redo missed homework and test questions. His revisions policy is part of a performance character lesson — focusing on effort, goal setting, and perseverance — that helps kids take ownership of their learning.

Raising Middle Schoolers' IQ Through Character Education: Part 2

Raising middle schoolers’ EQ and IQ

According to an article from greatschools.com, if you think tweens and teens don't listen and don't care? Think again. If this seventh grade math teacher can get kids to be kind and work hard, you can, too.

By Jessica Kelmon

Teaching kids to work hard

Schumacker, who teaches at Herman K. Ankeney Middle School in Beavercreek, OH (GreatSchools Rating 9), has success as the result of a unique teaching approach that combines math curricula with what's known as character education, which teaches kids important qualities like honesty, empathy, and determination. The ultimate goal is to inspire them to excel in school and in life.

Character education has been gaining attention and momentum both within the U.S. and abroad as studies find that social-emotional learning (SEL, also often called EQ) goes hand in hand with higher test scores, increased attendance and graduation rates, more engaged students and staff, and better behavior. According to a 2008 Casel (Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning) report on three scientific reviews,“SEL programs improved students’ social-emotional skills, attitudes about self and others, connection to school, positive social behavior, and academic performance; they also reduced students’ conduct problems and emotional distress.”

Incorporating character education into curriculum isn't easy, but it pays off. Data from the Character Education Partnership’s 2011 National Schools of Character showed all reporting schools have increased their state reading and math scores and/or earned passing rates above 90 percent.

Raising Middle Schoolers' IQ Through Character Education: Part 1

Raising middle schoolers’ EQ and IQ

According to an article from greatschools.com, if you think tweens and teens don't listen and don't care? Think again. If this seventh grade math teacher can get kids to be kind and work hard, you can, too.

By Jessica Kelmon

A few months ago, Trish Tingler and her teenage daughter Kelsey found a note from her middle school days in a box of keepsakes. The note, Trish recalls, meant a lot to her at the time. “As for what it meant to Kelsey," she writes, "all I can tell you is she immediately took the note and placed it front and center on our refrigerator.”

Under the heading “Caught Being Good,” the note lauds Kelsey for her hard work and determination. It came from Mark Schumacker, a teacher who regularly sends notes home when he sees students being kind or working hard in class. With its dorky font and homemade look, it's the last thing you'd expect a middle schooler to respond to — especially since it came from her seventh grade math teacher.

Teaching an oft-reviled subject to the most ugh-inducing of stages, Schumacker has a job with notoriously high turnover. His students are at an age when parents endure a spike in eye-rolling and a reticence to engage in almost everything. Some parents exhaust themselves trying to break through the hormone-induced self-absorption. Others simply give up, concluding that middle schoolers just can’t be reached. Yet this buttoned-up math teacher, who looks more like a tech exec, has discovered how to do the near miraculous — help his middle school students learn and even enjoy math while teaching them how to be kind, hardworking kids.

“Believe it or not,” he says, chuckling, “seventh graders once told me in a class meeting that I didn’t give enough homework.”

The 10 Most Legendary Prep Schools in America: Part 5

The 10 Most Legendary Prep Schools in America

Posted on Tuesday May 22, 2012
by Staff Writers from bestcollegesonline.com

While many students set their sights on top colleges by toiling away at public schools, a select few are able to afford the luxury of studying at highly exclusive prep schools. Many of these schools were established as feeders for renowned universities like Harvard, Yale, and Stanford, and are designed with the express goal of high-level college in mind. Often, the students at these schools are the sons and daughters of government figures, celebrities, business magnates, and even royalty. Many go on to fill these types of roles themselves. Naturally, there is a major air of prestige, history, and even legendary status when it comes to these schools. We’ve highlighted 10 of the most legendary of college prep schools, full of history, famous alumni, and even a few interesting stories. Below are prep schools nine and ten:

9 Horace Mann School

Horace Mann is continually ranked as one of the best prep schools in the country, with a highly selective admissions process and a high rate of admissions to the most exclusive colleges including Harvard, Yale, and Princeton. The school was founded as an experimental unit of the Teachers College at Columbia University, so naturally, Horace Mann graduates often matriculate to Columbia as well. Located in the Bronx neighborhood of New York City, students are able to study in the school’s 100-acre nature laboratory in Connecticut for a week at a time. Horace Mann has graduated several notable alumni, including former U.S. Attorney General William Barr, Jack Kerouac, William Carlos Williams, and Pulitzer Prizewinners Robert Caro and Elliott Carter.

10 Brearley School

Considered the sister school of several prep schools including the Collegiate School, Spence, and Chapin School, Brearley is one of the most prominent all-girls private schools in the U.S. Top college destinations for Brearley graduates include Yale, Harvard, Columbia, Princeton, Williams College, and Johns Hopkins University. Brearley boasts many famous women as their graduates, including Caroline Kennedy, silver medalist Emily Cross, and Kyra Sedgwick.

To read the entire article go to http://www.bestcollegesonline.com/blog/2012/05/22/the-10-most-legendary-prep-schools-in-america/

The 10 Most Legendary Prep Schools in America: Part 4

The 10 Most Legendary Prep Schools in America

Posted on Tuesday May 22, 2012
by Staff Writers from bestcollegesonline.com

While many students set their sights on top colleges by toiling away at public schools, a select few are able to afford the luxury of studying at highly exclusive prep schools. Many of these schools were established as feeders for renowned universities like Harvard, Yale, and Stanford, and are designed with the express goal of high-level college in mind. Often, the students at these schools are the sons and daughters of government figures, celebrities, business magnates, and even royalty. Many go on to fill these types of roles themselves. Naturally, there is a major air of prestige, history, and even legendary status when it comes to these schools. We’ve highlighted 10 of the most legendary of college prep schools, full of history, famous alumni, and even a few interesting stories. Below are prep schools seven and eight:

7 Deerfield Academy

Founded in 1787, Deerfield is among the oldest prep schools in the U.S., and is rumored to attract some of the most prestigious students, including European royalty. Even early on, Deerfield produced influential alumni that became the governors and congressmen of New England. Deerfield graduates include Medal of Honor recipient Rufus Saxton, Thomas Keating, gold medalist Allen Stack, members of the Rockefeller family, and Matthew Fox. Many Deerfield students go on to study at top-tier schools. Impressively, the academy is home to its very own printing press, Deerfield Academy Press, which publishes the work of student and faculty members.

8 Choate Rosemary Hall

Deerfield’s fierce rival, Choate Rosemary Hall, stands up to its reputation with an incredible history of excellence, with many students regularly participating in high-level academic, scientific, and artistic competitions like the American Mathematics Competitions and performances at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. The campus is home to many historic sites, including the 1774 homestead with a secret passage that may have been a part of the Underground Railroad. Some of Choate’s most famous alumni include President John F. Kennedy, Edward Albee, Jamie Lee Curtis, Glenn Close, and Nicholas Negroponte.

To read the entire article go to http://www.bestcollegesonline.com/blog/2012/05/22/the-10-most-legendary-prep-schools-in-america/

The 10 Most Legendary Prep Schools in America: Part 3

The 10 Most Legendary Prep Schools in America

Posted on Tuesday May 22, 2012
by Staff Writers from bestcollegesonline.com

While many students set their sights on top colleges by toiling away at public schools, a select few are able to afford the luxury of studying at highly exclusive prep schools. Many of these schools were established as feeders for renowned universities like Harvard, Yale, and Stanford, and are designed with the express goal of high-level college in mind. Often, the students at these schools are the sons and daughters of government figures, celebrities, business magnates, and even royalty. Many go on to fill these types of roles themselves. Naturally, there is a major air of prestige, history, and even legendary status when it comes to these schools. We’ve highlighted 10 of the most legendary of college prep schools, full of history, famous alumni, and even a few interesting stories. Below are prep schools five and six:

5 Milton Academy

Milton has long been recognized for its prestigious educational values, producing graduates that go on to do great things. Alumni include several members of Congress, Medal of Honor recipients, and Nobel Laureates. Historically, Milton has been a feeder school for Harvard University. Some of the incredible amenities found on Milton’s campus include the Ruth King Theater (a gift of novelist Stephen King) and the Ayer Observatory which is home to a dome refractor. Both Robert F. and Ted Kennedy were educated here, as well as Nobel Prize-winner T.S. Eliot, current Governor of Massachusetts Deval Patrick, and former U.S. Attorney General Elliot Richardson.

6 West Nottingham Academy

Founded by Samuel Finley, a former president of Princeton, West Nottingham Academy is the oldest boarding school in the United States. The academy has educated many prominent colonial Americans, including two signers of the Declaration of Independence: Benjamin Rush and Richard Stockton, as well as John Filson, the founder of Cincinnati, Ohio. The campus is on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places, and many of the buildings are considered to be historic pieces of architecture. West Nottingham’s small athletics community has risen to prominence, boasting a successful figure skating program with Olympic athletes.

To read the entire article go to http://www.bestcollegesonline.com/blog/2012/05/22/the-10-most-legendary-prep-schools-in-america/

The 10 Most Legendary Prep Schools in America: Part 2

The 10 Most Legendary Prep Schools in America

Posted on Tuesday May 22, 2012
by Staff Writers from bestcollegesonline.com

While many students set their sights on top colleges by toiling away at public schools, a select few are able to afford the luxury of studying at highly exclusive prep schools. Many of these schools were established as feeders for renowned universities like Harvard, Yale, and Stanford, and are designed with the express goal of high-level college in mind. Often, the students at these schools are the sons and daughters of government figures, celebrities, business magnates, and even royalty. Many go on to fill these types of roles themselves. Naturally, there is a major air of prestige, history, and even legendary status when it comes to these schools. We’ve highlighted 10 of the most legendary of college prep schools, full of history, famous alumni, and even a few interesting stories. Below are prep schools three and four:

3 Trinity School

Considered to be one of, if not the, best college prep schools in the U.S., Trinity School is renowned for its excellent academic reputation. It is the oldest continually operated school in New York City, and the fifth oldest in the U.S. Trinity has traditionally educated its students for Columbia University, and still does, but students go on to other exclusive colleges, including the Ivy League, MIT, and Stanford, with Trinity boasting an incredible 41% matriculation rate to those schools. Notable Trinity School alumni include Truman Capote, Ivanka Trump, and Oliver Stone.

4 St. Paul’s School

This private boarding school in New Hampshire is among the most selective college preparatory schools in the U.S. Serving just 533 students on its 2,000-acre campus, St. Paul’s attracts pupils from all over the world. Students study six days a week, with half days on Wednesdays and Saturdays to allow for athletics. St. Paul’s has several time-honored traditions and special holidays unique to the campus, including concerts with legendary bands like the Grateful Dead and Phish. The history of St. Paul’s is full of interesting stories, including the claim that the first hockey game in the U.S. was played on St. Paul’s ponds in 1883. Senator John Kerry, FBI Director Robert Mueller, John Jacob Astor IV, Michael Kennedy, and William Randolph Hearst are among St. Paul’s most notable alumni.

To read the entire article go to http://www.bestcollegesonline.com/blog/2012/05/22/the-10-most-legendary-prep-schools-in-america/

The 10 Most Legendary Prep Schools in America: Part 1

The 10 Most Legendary Prep Schools in America

Posted on Tuesday May 22, 2012
by Staff Writers from bestcollegesonline.com

While many students set their sights on top colleges by toiling away at public schools, a select few are able to afford the luxury of studying at highly exclusive prep schools. Many of these schools were established as feeders for renowned universities like Harvard, Yale, and Stanford, and are designed with the express goal of high-level college in mind. Often, the students at these schools are the sons and daughters of government figures, celebrities, business magnates, and even royalty. Many go on to fill these types of roles themselves. Naturally, there is a major air of prestige, history, and even legendary status when it comes to these schools. We’ve highlighted 10 of the most legendary of college prep schools, full of history, famous alumni, and even a few interesting stories.  Below are the first two prep schools:

1 Phillips Exeter Academy

Founded in 1781 as a feeder school to Harvard University, Phillips Exeter Academy is considered to be one of the most prestigious prep schools in existence. Exeter has, hands down, one of the largest endowments of any U.S. prep school at $1 billion. The school boasts the largest secondary school library in the world with 160,000 volumes on nine levels and is recognized as one of the Masterworks of Modern American Architecture. Alumni of Exeter include U.S. Presidents, Secretaries of State, members of Congress, Attorney Generals, notable writers, business figures, and celebrated artists, including Mark Zuckerberg, John Irving, Gore Vidal, and members of the Rockefeller family.

2 Phillips Academy

Commonly referred to as Andover, Phillips Academy was founded by Samuel Phillips Jr., the nephew of Phillips Exeter founder John Phillips. Andover was established just three years prior to Exeter, and the two schools have enjoyed an intense rivalry from the beginning. The academy established a pedigree of excellence early on: Paul Revere himself designed the school’s seal, and upon visiting the campus, George Washington was so impressed that he encouraged his nephews to attend (and they did). The school’s articles of incorporation boast the signature of John Hancock. The Andover campus is home to not one, but two museums featuring major works; The Addison Gallery of American Art boasts more than 16,000 works in all media, and the Robert S. Peabody Museum of Archaeology is one of the foremost Native American archaeological collections. Andover has educated two American Presidents — both George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush — as well as inventor Sam Morse and actor Humphrey Bogart (who was expelled). Graduates of Andover typically matriculate to top-tier colleges including Yale, Stanford, Harvard, and Columbia, as the school was originally set up to send its students to Yale. Like Yale, Andover has secret societies, although officially, they were terminated in the 1940s.

To see complete article go to http://www.bestcollegesonline.com/blog/2012/05/22/the-10-most-legendary-prep-schools-in-america/

Tip #73: Administration and Teachers Must be Effective.

The one thing I want every parent to understand is that they are the most important influence in their child's life. Therefore, you must be a positive partner with the schools and work together to see that your child is meeting all academic benchmarks. That brings us to tip #73.

Tip #73: Administration and Teachers Must be Effective.

The school administration and teachers are there to educate and assist in developing your child academically and socially. You are there to make sure your child respects you, adults, peers, and themselves and values an education.

According to New Visions for Public Schools an effective school has a clear focus and high expectations of their staff, parents as well as their students. Effective schools motivate and engage the entire school community and inspire their members to strive constantly to ensure the success of every student. In effective schools there is a clear focus. Further, the school has high expectations coupled with an action plan for achieving excellence for every student and the belief that every student can learn. Does your child's school meet these criteria so that your child is getting the "Best Education Possible"?

Questions to Ask or Things to Do:

1. Are the principal, teachers, parents, and community partners working closely together to make the school successful? An example would be is there an active Parent Teacher Association (PTA), and the officers should meet with the administration to assist with the overall school program and goals?

2. Encourage your child to go to school with a purpose of learning and try to keep them excited about learning by checking papers, checking homework, and praising accomplishments.

3. Try to make sure your child feels successful in and out of the classroom. Have your child involved in after school activities such as sports, dance programs, art or singing lessons, or academic team competitions.

4. Are there programs and curriculum in place for advanced learners at your school, and is your child being challenged?

5. Are there tutoring and other programs in place for students having difficulties in learning? Check with local churches, Girls and Boys Clubs, civic organizations, and some college students tutor for service learning credits.

6. If your child is having academic difficulty, is there a group of professionals at school diagnosing and working to help that child? (And are you working with your child to help them keep up with the the class at home?)

7. Have you gone to teacher conferences to know your child progress academically? And are you working with the teacher to make sure your child is successful and truly understand what you should be focusing on?

8. Does the teacher make suggestions as to what you could be doing at home, and is the plan being followed?

9. Can your child do most of the homework independently and complete it in a timely manner? If not talk to the teacher to find out exactly why the homework is taking so much time and see what can be worked out. (In my opinion, homework should take 30-60 minutes, increased or decreased based on the student's performance behind or ahead of their class.)

10. Is there good communications between home and school through newsletters, emails, telephone calls, and visits? (there should be weekly communication of expectations of your child and a mid term progress reports /meeting as to the progress and grade the student is getting at midpoint).

11. Do you feel good about your child's academic progress? If not, partner with the teachers to learn what you can do to help and what your child needs to do to be accountable.

Tip #72: Your Child's School Should Have the Ingredients for an Effective School.

In order for a school to be truly effective, there must be the perfect recipe and perfect ingredients. That brings us to tip #72.

Tip #72: Your Child's School Should Have the Ingredients for an Effective School.

INGREDIENTS

4 cups of a superintendent, principal, and school board with vision and energy

6 Tablespoons of skilled, dedicated, willing to learn, motivated teachers

3 teaspoons of concerned, involved, willing to discipline when necessary, parents

4 1/2 cups of excited, hard working, well behaved students

1. Preheat school building to 72 loving degrees Fahrenheit.

2. First you must pour in 4 cups of leaders that have a vision for success and know how to make that vision come alive for everyone involved. They can verbalize the vision and get everyone to buy in. You must combine the 4 cups of leaders in a large functioning building with all the staff, materials, curriculum, and technology needed to make it smooth and fluffy.

3. Next you mix in 6 heaping Tablespoons of skilled, dedicated teachers. They must be able to do whatever it takes to make this school the perfect consistency. They should be able to apply the latest research strategies and individualize lessons so all students are engaged in learning. They should also be deeply in love with the process of learning, sharing ideas and seeing every student as a perfected work in progress. You blend that with the principal and vision until the consistency is thick and blended well.

4. Blend in 3 leveled teaspoons of concerned and involved parents. The parents are the right spice of partnership that is needed to give every school the sweet aroma of success. They cover their children with encouragement and positive attitudes about learning and consistent appropriate discipline. They turn off the heat of the TV, video games, and cell phones during the process of baking "The Best Education Possible". They attend PTA meetings, conferences, and special programs. Roll out the batter on the cooking board of knowledge and kneed the dough until the vision of the school leaders, teachers, and parents have rise together.

5. Finally, you add 4 heaping cups of excited, hard working, well behaved students. They respect the entire recipe and understand the importance of mixing well with all the other ingredients. They are self-motivated and rise to every occasion and want the baking process to be perfect until all knowledge has been significantly added for easy consumption. They feel a sense of belonging and ownership to the recipe of excellence. Slowly add the future leaders of the world and sprinkle in respect, responsibility, and resourcefulness.

6. Allow the effective school to stand in a warm place until well done. Lastly, spread the icing of "Core" academic standards on top and enjoy "The Best Education Possible For Your Child!"