College Focus
For many students in the communities we serve, college has not been a reality.  It is our job to make college real and attainable for all of our scholars. Our rigorous curricular programs provide students with the academic, cultural, and social foundation in order to be prepared for college. In addition, college is a focus that permeates our school culture.

Arts Infusion
Arts infusion is a pedagogical technique that infuses art into core subject areas.  Arts infusion increases student engagement and helps develop a deeper understanding of core concepts, ultimately leading to increased student achievement.  LHA schools collaborate with local arts partners (AP) and identify a school-based arts infusion specialist to support this element of the design.

We believe arts-infused instruction is:

• A better way to engage students (activator)
• Research shows that the study of art and music is linked to higher test scores.
• A better way to teach the research-based curricula (reinforce and extend learning)
• Teachers and visiting artists plan lessons that include artistic techniques and demonstrations in all subject areas.
• An alternative way to assess student understanding of content and concepts
• Teachers use exemplars to facilitate group feedback focused on work products, not students.

Every day, art is an integral part of the teaching and learning processes at LHA schools. Through an emphasis on classic techniques, creative exercises, critiques, gallery-style shows, and appreciation for professional artists from a variety of genres, teachers help students think artistically.
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Standards-Driven, Rigorous, Research-Based Curricular Programs
The content for the core subjects is based on the state standards and LHA Mastery Objectives.  High quality research based curricular programs, including Open Court Reading®, Saxon Math®, FOSS®, Pearson Core Knowledge®, as well as varied instructional frameworks such as Understanding by Design and readers/writers’ workshop, provide the foundation for school-wide instruction and enable students to meet learning standards.

Classroom instruction will include a mix of whole-class, small group, and individual work. Teachers will follow a pattern of presenting engaging mini-lessons to demonstrate new skills, creating flexible groupings in which students can practice those skills on related content and then giving students practice work that they can do independently. All work gives students numerous opportunities to demonstrate what they know and are able to do in terms of mastering specific standards.
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Social Curriculum and SHINE
Lighthouse Academies believes the social curriculum is as important as the academic curriculum.  We believe there is a set of qualities (social skills and character traits) that all children need to develop in order to be successful through college and life, and are essential traits for being a responsible and productive citizen. LHA’s SHINE program celebrates a different character trait each marking period.  These traits are celebrated through literature, student artwork, family involvement and classroom displays.  These qualities are included in our SHINE program: 

• Self-Discipline
• Humility
• Intelligence
• Nobility
• Excellence

The social curriculum is developed through the school-wide use of the Responsive Classroom® (K-4); Developmental Designs for Middle School (DDMS) (5-8) and Advisory (CPA) approaches.   These programs ensure that all children develop their social skills simultaneously with their academic skills. LHA believes that we can develop these skills and qualities in every child and by doing so we support our scholars in being successful academically and prepare them to work collaboratively with others as well as build self-management skills to help prepare them for college. All teachers and leaders participate in targeted and ongoing professional development on these programs in order to continue to develop and refine their practice.

Developing a positive school culture is an outgrowth of a solid social curriculum. The small community environment developed at LHA creates a learning environment where students are known well, develop unique talents and interests, connect with adult mentors and develop the life skills they will need for life after high school. 
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Data to Drive Instruction
At LHA, we use a variety of assessments and data tools to inform instruction, identify areas of growth, and increase student achievement across the Network. The three main categories of data are (1) State Assessments, (2) NWEA Measures of Academic Progress (MAP), and (3) Curricular Assessments aligned to state standards.  In addition, individual schools may also assess and progress monitor student achievement using other assessments, including state specific diagnostics and/or Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS), Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA), etc. 

As required by state policy, students participate in the state’s student assessment program that is designed to measure proficiency relative to the State standards.  Three times throughout the school year, the school administers interim assessments from the Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA) – the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) for students in grades two and above, and the Primary Grades Assessment (PGA) for students in grades Kindergarten and one. These instruments provide timely and specific feedback to teachers and allow student growth to be monitored closely throughout the school year.

All of these measures –State Assessments, NWEA, and curricular assessments– combine to create a rich data set that teachers and school leaders will use to inform instruction as well as monitor student, grade and school progress on an ongoing basis. In addition, each student has an Individual Learning Plan (ILP) that targets specific skills that both teachers and parents will agree to work with the child to develop both inside and outside the traditional classroom environment.
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Professional Development
LHA teachers have a minimum of 20 professional development (PD) days during the year. The PD calendar begins with a five-day network summit in July. In August, principals reconvene their staff members before the opening of school for a professional development institute (PDI). Additional professional development days are scheduled on the school calendar during the academic year.

LHA leaders engage in professional development and learning opportunities throughout the year. They participate in a leadership strand at the Network Summit, and new leaders attend a weeklong Responsive Classroom® (RC) and/or Developmental DesignsTM (DDMS) training.  All school leaders gather several times each year for Network-wide leadership workshops and/or regional meetings.
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More Time on Instruction
To ensure that every child masters the work necessary to prepare them for college, LHA provides more time on task.  This means a longer school year (190 instructional days) and a longer school day (8 hours).   Instruction begins promptly at 8:00 A.M. and students work diligently throughout the day until bus dismissal at 4:00 P.M.  We believe this is urgent work and that every second counts, therefore we push the limits and ensure students have learning opportunities through the last possible minute of the day.
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College Focus

Arts Infusion

Standard-Driven, Rigorous, Research-Based Curricular Programs

Social Curriculum and SHINE

Data to Drive Instruction

Professional Development

More Time on Instruction

 

Meet the Education Team

Click here for team bios

Annual Education Report

Click here for 2008-09 report

Pre K-12 model

• Lower Academy (K-4)
• Upper Academy (5-8)
• College Preparatory Academy (9-12).

Average Class Size
Not more than 25 students per class

Looping
Looping is an instructional strategy used at LHA to foster relationship building between students and teachers and to provide a stable and predictable environment for students.

Academy	Looping Structure
Lower Academy	K
	1-2
	3-4
Upper Academy	5-6
	7-8
College Prep	9-12