Our Vision
Recognizing and addressing the need for a college-preparatory elementary school in south Memphis, Vision Preparatory Charter School (Vision Prep) provides a rigorous, high-quality education to address the academic needs of an underserved and underperforming student population. To achieve our mission of laying a foundation for students culminating in college graduation, Vision Prep adheres to the following five key principles.
1. High quality teachers lead the way to exceptional student results. We believe that the quality of educators is the most important factor driving student achievement. We recruit and hire the highest quality applicants and develop them along the way. Professional development begins with 16 days of summer training focusing on teaching school culture and planning for the academic year. To provide ongoing teacher training, Vision Prep requires teachers attend 8 more professional development days through the school year. Teacher training also includes observation of the highest performing charter schools upon which Vision Prep is designed. Continuous observation and feedback from instructional leaders as well as scheduled, systematic planning between teachers contributes to a professional culture of instructional refinement and exceptional student results.
2. Extended time is critical. Extended school days and school years will ensure that students gain the learning time-on-task critical in developing the skills, content knowledge, and ethical character necessary for success in secondary school, college and in the professional path they choose. Research by Betty Hart and Todd Risley has shown that by age 3 children in wealthy families have heard 30 million more words than children living in poverty. In an effort to close this gap Vision Prep offers a longer school year (187 days) and operates during an extended school day (8:00 a.m. β 4:00 p.m.). Students benefit from the 274 instructional hours gained over the traditional district schedule.
3. A no-excuses school culture, imbedded with joy and rigor, stimulates academic achievement. To continually strive for academic excellence, Vision Prep provides a positive, no-excuses school culture constantly focused on academic performance and character development. Vision Prep is academically demanding every minute of every school day and permeates these demands with energy, excitement, and a joy for learning. Because the entire school community embodies the culture of the school, Vision Prep parents, teachers, school leaders, and board members must join together in assuming the collective and individual responsibility of modeling the same no-excuses philosophy expected of its scholars. All members of the Vision Prep learning community sign a common core values contract to uphold these values at every level.
4. Literacy and Mathematics are essential. Successful scholars must master fundamental literacy and numeracy skills to be able to comprehend, analyze, and evaluate rigorous academic content. In preparation for more challenging academic work in upper elementary and middle school, Vision Prep ensures that all scholars are reading at or above grade level by third grade. Placing an instructional and financial emphasis on what we value most, two highly-qualified teachers team-teach during the 1,000 minutes spent on literacy instruction per week and the 415 minutes per week spent on mathematics instruction.
5. Assess, analyze, and intervene regularly. To ensure every scholar remains on track to reach academic goals, there must be an intense focus on the continuous monitoring of academic progress. At Vision Prep interim assessments are administered every nine weeks. While these internal assessments provide teachers individual scholar data used to guide instruction throughout the year, Tennessee state mandated criterion-referenced tests are also administered at the end of each school year. Results from these tests are used as part of the planning process for the upcoming year.
