Hello and welcome to Blue Spark! We invite you to look over our website, subscribe to our newsletter, and become part of the Blue Spark Community. As director of Blue Spark Associates, I hope you also take the time to read our mission, beliefs, vision, and values.

DATA AND SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT:

Know

1. where you stand,
2. where you’re going,
3. and how you’re getting there

See

1. Clear and informative graphics not available in database reporting programs
2. Extreme lows and highs achieved by schools much like yours
3. What lies just within your reach
4. The differences between practical, hopeful, and fantastic goals for your school
5. Which disciplines and courses taught at your school are leading your move forward
6. Which disciplines and courses taught at your school are holding you back

Plan

1. A path for success, combining your school data with educational theory
2. Professional development using your staff to build its own capacity

BELIEFS

1. A flywheel is far superior to a pendulum: Education has denied itself momentum because it has allowed its organizational and instructional methods to swing from one extreme to the other.
2. Continuous improvement requires continuous focus and continuous, often subtle, adaptation
3. Each school’s unique situation should guide its organizational and instructional approach to student success.
4. A few sticking points within a school’s internal system often are the main inhibitors of student success, therefore,
5. A few thoughtful and relatively simple changes often result in immediate gains in student success.
6. Genuine, lasting student success depends on a sustained commitment to a mission and vision.
7. The degree of success depends on the degree of stake-holder buy-in and ownership of the school’s mission and vision. Stake-holders include the community, parents, administration, teachers, and students.
8. All students want to learn.
9. Engagement is the highest factor in student learning.
10. The best schools are fun, challenging, purposeful, and offer hope to all their students.
11. America’s public school graduates will amaze the world with what they create with their hearts, hands, and minds.