Core Beliefs
At Harry Bridges Span School, all members of the school community believe that the provision of a high quality educational experience is the foundation of our commitment to social justice. Staff, both certificated and classified, will work in a professional learning community that meets the needs of adult and student learners through differentiated learning activities with uncompromising high academic expectations.
Harry Bridges Span School will provide a rigorous, standards-based instructional program that engages all students around a solid academic core curriculum, while also ensuring that diverse student learning needs, particularly those of a student population anticipated to be comprised of nearly half English Learners, are met with differentiated and research-based pedagogy. All students will receive a strong academic foundation organized to promote the importance of attitude and effort, active student involvement and accountability for their own learning. In this way, every Bridges student will matriculate from 8th grade securely prepared for high school success and ready to negotiate a pathway to college eligibility and career readiness.
From the earliest grade levels, English/Language Arts will focus on readability (i.e., Leveled Reading with literal and inferential comprehension). In addition, all students will be expected to write on a daily basis across the different subject areas, with the support structure of the writing process and framework of Units of Study. In mathematics, our unrelenting focus will be on building the foundation of Number Sense so that students authentically understand the language of Mathematics and how to perform mathematical operations. We will infuse algebraic thinking from Kindergarten onward, so that students display and portray quantitative relationships. In addition to knowing how to execute mathematical procedures, students will understand how and why these procedures are utilized.
Staff will hold themselves and each other to a high level of involvement and responsibility for the success of students. A rigorous interview process and Commitment to Work Agreement will be implemented to ensure that all team members are equally dedicated to student success. The most important relationship is that of the student and the teacher in the classroom and all resources, professional development, and activities will be marshaled to support the positive, personalized relationships that ensure success for each student.
Harry Bridges Span School will provide a rigorous, standards-based instructional program that engages all students around a solid academic core curriculum, while also ensuring that diverse student learning needs, particularly those of a student population anticipated to be comprised of nearly half English Learners, are met with differentiated and research-based pedagogy. All students will receive a strong academic foundation organized to promote the importance of attitude and effort, active student involvement and accountability for their own learning. In this way, every Bridges student will matriculate from 8th grade securely prepared for high school success and ready to negotiate a pathway to college eligibility and career readiness.
From the earliest grade levels, English/Language Arts will focus on readability (i.e., Leveled Reading with literal and inferential comprehension). In addition, all students will be expected to write on a daily basis across the different subject areas, with the support structure of the writing process and framework of Units of Study. In mathematics, our unrelenting focus will be on building the foundation of Number Sense so that students authentically understand the language of Mathematics and how to perform mathematical operations. We will infuse algebraic thinking from Kindergarten onward, so that students display and portray quantitative relationships. In addition to knowing how to execute mathematical procedures, students will understand how and why these procedures are utilized.
Staff will hold themselves and each other to a high level of involvement and responsibility for the success of students. A rigorous interview process and Commitment to Work Agreement will be implemented to ensure that all team members are equally dedicated to student success. The most important relationship is that of the student and the teacher in the classroom and all resources, professional development, and activities will be marshaled to support the positive, personalized relationships that ensure success for each student.