VALUES AND BELIEFS

At Bay High School, we believe…

• Curriculum, instruction, and assessment should be aligned to state competencies and meet the needs of all students.
• Assessment and feedback should be efficient and ongoing providing data which drives instruction and guides programming toward meeting state and national objectives.
• Teachers must have high expectations of all students – academically, socially, and ethically (each student must act responsibly in reaching his/her potential).
• Students should feel safe, emotionally and physically, both inside and outside of the classroom. Respect should be the basis for all teacher/student interaction.
• All teachers need time, resources, and training to achieve successful student learning.
• Teachers and administrators should demonstrate a high work ethic, a high degree of professionalism, and be role models for all students.
• Instruction should go beyond acquisition of knowledge to promote higher order thinking skills including application skills, critical thinking skills, and synthesis of information.
• All stakeholders should be involved in and are responsible for the educational process – administrators, teachers, paraprofessionals, students, parents, and the community.
• Organization, both inside the classroom and throughout the school, promotes consistency, positive discipline and authority. A strong teacher and administrator presence further promotes an orderly environment.
• Students, teachers, and administrators should demonstrate strong ethics, personal responsibility and character.
• A supportive atmosphere where school spirit is positive provides a sense of belonging, a source of encouragement and a more enjoyable overall school experience which leads to less apathy among students and faculty.
• Student ownership in the educational process promotes regular attendance and motivation to set and achieve personal goals which allows them to be more competitive in global society.
• Instruction must:
• Incorporate (enrich) student’s real-life experience and connect to relevant, creative instruction;
• Provide encouraging, yet challenging experiences;
• Consider individual learning styles and differentiated instruction;
• Be flexible, paying attention to detail and individual student needs.
• Shared decision making supports a quality school.
• The comprehensive learning environment must understand, care about, and work for students. Leaders in the school work to prevent student failure through early intervention rather than reacting to the failure.
• Clear expectations for student behavioral and academic outcomes leads to a greater degree of perceived fairness for all stakeholders.
• The overall learning environment must be structured, well-maintained, with a high degree of student time on task.