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Harmony
Schools have a unique and replicable school model
The school model is rigorous (prepares students for
college), relevant (reinforces
math and science skills) and is underpinned by a tight web of relationships (a strong culture
reinforced by teachers and parents). Harmony’s intended impact is for
all Harmony students to graduate high school ready for college and to enroll
in 4-year colleges with the skills to succeed. Harmony
attributes its strong outcomes to three core principles within the school
model: a challenging math and science curriculum supported by theory; a focus
on assessment; and a culture of constructive competition, discipline and
parental engagement. Harmony utilizes
technology across all of these dimensions to reinforce its school model and
curriculum.
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Challenging curriculum
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“When I pick up my children,
they are smiling, they are excited about learning. As a parent, I am so
grateful of what we have at Harmony”
-- Parent
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Harmony’s
core curriculum meets the Texas Distinguished Achievement program and
offers honors and AP coursework
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The Piaget, Vygotsky, and Gardner-influenced curriculum challenges students just above
their current level with scaffolding
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Students are grouped by their skills to maximize educational outcomes
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Ongoing assessment
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Unique community of teachers: Most math, science and computer teachers at
Harmony hold higher education degrees in their disciplines; these teachers are recruited from around the
world. Also Harmony’s model encourages
teachers to perform home visits with
student families to build on the
parent-student-teacher triad.
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Continuous
assessment and prep exams promote high
TAKS pass rates
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Harmony
teachers are given flexibility in
teaching and are not
constrained by the testing focus
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The mandatory use of the technology-enabled student database by teachers allows for information to be
consistently updated
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Culture of high expectations
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Focus on constructive competition enables academic
achievement to be the primary student focus
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The “discipline point system” allows teachers to focus on instruction, not on discipline
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The student
database allows students, teachers and parents to access and monitor discipline history
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Character education cultivates a community of respect
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Harmony is
strengthening its school model by further developing and codifying its
college-preparatory curriculum, fine-tuning its method of grouping students
according to their skills, bolstering the professional development
available to teachers/administrators, and outlining a consistent parental
engagement strategy. Harmony has
allocated responsibilities for these initiatives and will be monitoring
progress over the years.
Finally, Harmony
will hold its students, teachers and administrators accountable to a set of
challenging metrics to gauge progress against its intended impact. Harmony’s intended impact whereby
students; 1) graduate high school prepared for college; 2) have college
ready support; and 3) enroll in four-year colleges.
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