10 Essential Ideal School Attributes:
Inquirers – We nurture our curiosity, developing skills for inquiry and research. We know how to learn independently and with others. We learn with enthusiasm and sustain our love of learning throughout life.
Knowledgeable – We develop and use conceptual understanding, exploring knowledge across a range of disciplines. We engage with issues and ideas that have local and global significance.
Thinkers – We use critical and creative thinking skills to analyze and take responsible action on complex problems. We exercise initiative in making reasoned, ethical decisions.
Communicators – We express ourselves confidently and creatively in more than one language and in many ways. We collaborate effectively, listening carefully to the perspectives of other individuals and groups.
Principled – We act with integrity and honesty, with a strong sense of fairness and justice, and with respect for the dignity and rights of people everywhere. We take responsibility for our actions and their consequences.
Open-minded – We critically appreciate our own cultures and personal histories, as well as the values and traditions of others. We seek and evaluate a range of points of view, and we are willing to grow from the experience.
Caring – We show empathy, compassion and respect. We have a commitment to service, and we act to make a positive difference in the lives of others and in the world around us.
Risk-takers – We approach uncertainty with forethought and determination; we work independently and cooperatively to explore new ideas and innovative strategies. We are resourceful and resilient in the face of challenges and change.
Balanced – We understand the importance of balancing different aspects of our lives — intellectual, physical, and emotional — to achieve wellbeing for ourselves and others. We recognize our interdependence with other people and with the world in which we live.
Reflective – We thoughtfully consider the world and our own ideas and experience. We work to understand our strengths and weaknesses in order to support our learning and personal development.
Dress code
All staff are expected to wear approved clothing when they are conducting official business on behalf of Ideal School on its interactive platform. The approved clothing includes the following (as possible and appropriate): official Ideal School name badge, polo or dress shirt with Ideal School official logo and name, and dress pants or slacks. Prohibited clothing worn by employees and independent agents include the following: jeans, pants or shorts with holes or frays, tank tops, sweat pants, sweat shirts, t-shirts that do not display the Ideal School logo and name, swim suits or, extremely low-cut or overt cleavage-revealing shirts or blouses, and any apparel that could be deemed as offensive or distracting because of lettering, messaging or design.
Job description for all teachers
This job description should be read in conjunction with the teacher’s contract.
The teachers are the essence of the work of Ideal School. Each teacher is responsible for the education of the students in their class(es). In addition, it is the role of each teacher to be sure that all students are safe, secure and properly supervised at all times.
A teacher’s duties include to:
- Work collegially with their departmental team to support the school’s vision, mission and philosophy, support the school’s curricular and philosophical commitments, and to assist the team in meeting its planning goals.
- Work to ensure that at all times the school’s curriculum provides a safe, supportive learning environment for students, teachers and all other members of the Ideal School community.
- Help promote a culture where diversity is encouraged and where students learn to respect differences, take responsibility for their actions, exercise leadership and strive for academic excellence.
- Work with colleagues, students and the school community to create a thriving, dynamic, aspirational, and academic culture.
- Assume responsibility for the effective delivery of the agreed curriculum to the students in their class(es).
- Be informed about the curriculum of the area in which they teach.
- Provide a welcoming, safe, and secure classroom environment, at all times, for all children in their care.
- Select the lesson content and activities which are appropriate to the needs of each student in their class(es), in relation to the school’s philosophy and objectives and in the light of the agreed curriculum.
- Maintain appropriate records of work covered in all their class(es). This includes: Assessment records; Progress records; Classroom planning records; Attendance information.
- Meet all internal deadlines for the production of school reports
- Inform parents of students’ progress by way of report cards and, where necessary, letters or individual meetings.
- Be available for all parent-teacher conferences
- Attend all relevant meetings, including planning and all-staff meetings.
- Keep themselves informed, by way of personal files, of all factors relevant to each student
- Be familiar with new developments and methods in the teaching of their field.
- Ensure appropriate behavior of students in class.
Teacher evaluations
Ideal School uses the Charlotte Danielson instructional framework. During our weekly professional development meetings, we will review the 4 dimensions of the instructional framework and calibrate our lenses of understanding of the framework rubric by watching short videos and then reflecting around specific criteria within the framework. The process for teacher evaluations is cyclical and evidence-based. Teacher will have a minimum of 2 pre-observation conferences, followed by official observations and post-observation conferences. The purpose of these conferences and observations is to gather evidence of the framework’s domains and criteria and to reflect on areas where improvement is necessary. This is a collaborative process where both administration and teachers work together to improve instructional practices in order to help all of our school’s students.
School staff meetings
Mandatory attendees: All teaching staff
Dates for meetings: every Friday
Time for meetings: 2:00-3:00pm (Pacific Standard Time)
Purpose:
- To provide leadership in the school by:
- Sharing long and short-term school strategic goals
- Presenting major school planning/initiatives for discussion
- Sharing progress toward our goals
- Leading major teaching and learning initiatives
- Fostering and maintaining shared values, expectations, and purpose
- Providing a forum for staff concerns.
Chairperson for meetings: Eric C. Franzen, owner and director
Supporting student learning
The teacher has primary responsibility for classroom management and the successful delivery of the curriculum. Very broadly, this means ensuring that each student is able to access the curriculum successfully, learning collaboratively with their peers. This would be evidenced by a student being challenged and successful in their learning a) Meeting expectations for completing class assignments and homework b) Meeting expectations for final grades/levels of achievement c) Supporting and respecting other students’ learning
Staff absence
Personal days
Independent agents and employees are expected to use the NO SCHOOL days to take care of personal business such as medical appointments, dental appointments, or personal or family needs. No additional personal days are allocated.
Emergency absence
Teachers and Teacher Assistants are allocated 7 paid emergency days. In the case that you are sick or injured or hospitalized and cannot work, all teachers are expected to contact the Synchronous Teacher Coordinator (as of April 20, 2022, Mariacarmen González is the Synchronous Teacher Coordinator), and the School Director (Eric Franzen) and inform them of your absence and the reason of it. You are responsible for keeping your lesson plans up-to-date on the shared Google Drive folder so that the Teacher or Teacher Assistant may be able to substitute for you. Once you have returned from your emergency leave, you must email the school administrator documentation of proof of your emergency. You must email the documentation to [email protected] Finally, you must contact the person who substituted for you and find out how the class went and how the students behaved/perform.
Taking attendance
As with any class that you are responsible for, you should take the register at the beginning of the lesson using the online tool.
Policy regarding use of IT resources
Please remember that access to Ideal School IT resources is a privilege, not a right, and that access requires responsibility. Individual users of the school’s resources are responsible for their behavior, actions and communications.
The following rules have been established and access to the school’s systems implies acceptance of these rules.
Independent Agents and Employees must:
- Respect and protect the privacy of others
- Use only assigned accounts
- Not view, use, or copy passwords, data, or networks to which they are not authorized
- Not distribute private information about others or themselves
- Respect and protect the integrity, availability and security of all electronic resources
- Observe all network security practices, as posted;
- Report security risks or violations to the administrator
- Not destroy or damage data, networks, or other resources that do not belong to them, without clear permission of the owner
- Conserve, protect, and share these resources with other employees and Internet users
- Respect and protect the intellectual property of others
- Not infringe upon copyright or intellectual property rights (no making of illegal copies of music, games, or movies
- Not plagiarize
- Respect and practice the principles of community
- Communicate only in ways that are kind and respectful;
- Report threatening or discomforting materials to the administrator
- Not intentionally access, transmit, copy, or create material that violates the school’s code of conduct (such as pornographic, threatening, rude, discriminatory, or meant to harass)
- Not intentionally access, transmit, copy, or create material that is illegal (such as pornography, obscenity, stolen materials, or illegal copies of copyrighted works)
- Not use the resources to further other acts that are criminal or violate the school’s code of conduct
- Not send spam, chain letters, or other mass unsolicited mailings
- Not buy, sell, advertise, or otherwise conduct business, unless approved as a school project.
Consequences for violation
Violations of these rules may result in disciplinary action, including the loss of privileges to use the school’s IT resources and up to termination.
School Leadership Roster
Board of Directors
E.C. Franzen – Chair
M.P. Chávez– Vice Chair
