Rock Canyon High School (A traditional high
school)
Component
What is the vision and mission of the
school design or educational innovation?
Is it…
•Clear, focused and compelling
•Likely to produce high quality education
outcomes
What values and/or mental model
about learning does it reflect?
What are the goals and are they aligned
with the mission?
Who does the school serve? What is their
competitive advantage? Does the mission
align with this population and niche?
How does the school communicate about
diversity? Special needs?
Evidence and Rating
- Mission: “To empower, to
explore, to encourage, and to
excel in education.”
- This mission statement could
be more specific, but I think it
adequately represents RCHSs
commitment to creating
autonomous students
- There is no information about
goals on the website.
- The school serves a middle
to upper class white population.
- Their competitive advantage
is that they really focus on
preparing their students for
college, which I would assume
a middle- to upper-class
demographic would greatly
appreciate.
- I didn’t see much
communicated about racial or
ethnic diversity, but the
principal did make the following
statement in her latest letter:
“Our focus this year will be to
close the achievement gap with
student sub-groups, examine
instruction related to student
performance and recognize and
implement data collection and
analysis. Focusing on these
ideals will enable Rock Canyon
to achieve adequate yearly
progress by all students.”
- This shows me that they

What is the educational program and/or
philosophy?
What is evidence of their results? How do
these results relate to mission?
How are parents and the community
involved?
respect diversity in terms of the
varied learning needs of
students
- The educational philosophy is
very traditional: the school has
an explicitly stated program of
preparing kids for college
entrance and for making
average-yearly-progress on the
CSAP
- The school doesn’t share
hard-core data, but they do
share---through principal letters
and school bulletins---highlights
of their academic
achievements. The following is
a quotation taken from the
latest principal letter:
- “This fall, two seniors were
honored by the National Merit
Scholarship Program based on
their exceptional PSAT scores.
Furthermore, 127 students
were selected as Advanced
Placement Scholars based on
their multiple AP courses and
qualifying scores. Four of these
students were named National
AP Scholars for their
outstanding scores on eight or
more exams.”
- As you can see, data like this
supports the school’s mission
of college prep and academic
growth.
- From what I can tell on the
“Parent Central” page, parents
are given volunteer
opportunities to participate in
activities like homecoming,
prom, and parent/teacher
conference dinner preparation.
- Much of what is shared to

Who controls the organization?
What can you tell about the facility,
transportation and other services of the
school?
What constitutes the majority of the
information (description of program,
results, marketing info, etc) provided to the
consumer?
How would you describe the aesthetics and
organization of the website? What
inferences do you make?
parents, though, is information
about bell schedules, codes of
conduct, and Infinite Campus
- I don’t see any evidence that
the school would like parents to
get involved in some sort of
substantial way---like tutoring,
for example.
- The principal seems to be in
sole charge of the school
- I can’t tell much about these
specific items, but their list of
clubs, activities, and societies
(which I’ll classify under
services) is extensive. A
student wouldn’t have a hard
time finding at least one thing
he or she is interested in.
- The majority of the
information on the website is a
description of the program,
from department and faculty
pages to pages on activities,
athletics, and counseling.
- The only venues where the
school markets itself---talking
about their students’ academic
performance, their participation
in clubs, etc.---is in the principal
letter and in the school’s
quarterly newsletter.
- The website is designed
really well. The aesthetics, I
would say, convey a sense of
orderliness, structure, and
business, which, when I
consider their overall
philosophy---which appears to
be one concerned solely with
academic growth and
achievement---is a perfect
expression for the school.
How would you describe this school design or innovation to someone?

I would say that it’s a very traditional school that focuses on college prep
to the apparent exclusion of other aims, such as vocational education, and
character education, to name a couple alternatives to which the school could talk
to, but doesn’t
 Big Picture Schools (BPS)
Component
What is the vision and mission of the
school design or educational innovation?
Is it…
•Clear, focused and compelling
•Likely to produce high quality education
outcomes
What values and/or mental model
about learning does it reflect?
What are the goals and are they aligned
with the mission?
Evidence and Rating
- Mission: “Big Picture
Learning’s mission is to lead
vital changes in education, both
in the United States and
internationally, by generating
and sustaining innovative,
personalized schools that work
in tandem with the real world of
the greater community.”
- They also go on to say: “We
believe that in order to sustain
successful schools where
authentic and relevant learning
takes place, we must continually
innovate techniques and test
learning tools to make our
schools better and more
rigorous.
- This mission statement seems
very specific, and because BPS
seems to be data-driven in a
good way, this mission
statement seems likely to
produce good outcomes.
- The following quotation about
Big Picture School’s 5 Learning
Goals is taken directly from the
Big Picture Schools Website.
“Big Picture Learning believes
that high school graduates must
know how to reason, problem-
solve, and be active members of
the community. At Big Picture
Learning schools, there is no

Who does the school serve? What is their
competitive advantage? Does the mission
align with this population and niche?
How does the school communicate about
diversity? Special needs?
canon of information that all
students must know. In a world
where available information is
growing exponentially, we
believe that the most important
thing a student needs to know is
how to learn. Integral to the Big
Picture Learning design are our
five Learning Goals, a
framework for looking at
concepts, skills, and abilities
and help guide the creation of
personalized student curriculum.
The five Learning Goals are:
• Empirical Reasoning
• Quantitative Reasoning
• Communication
• Social Reasoning
• Personal Qualities”
- I would say these goals are
100% aligned with their mission.
- Since this is an educational
innovation, I can’t speak to
particular schools.
- From what I can gather,
though, the schools serve
students who don’t fit with a
lockstep, impersonal curriculum.
- Their mission definitely aligns
with this niche of students. Big
Picture Schools realize that the
best learning happens
organically, emerging naturally
from the students’ own interests
and passions. For those
students who chafe under an
externally-mandated curriculum,
this must be a Godsend.
- Big Picture Schools
communicates about diversity
primarily by underscoring (again

What is the educational program and/or
philosophy?
What is evidence of their results? How do
these results relate to mission?
and again!---which I myself
particularly like) the radically
individual nature of learning.
- It’s the diversity of learning
styles and interests that Big
Picture Schools seem to want to
cater to the most; catering to
racial and ethnic diversity (which
they definitely do) seem to be of
secondary importance.
- The educational philosophy is
radical in that it doesn’t just pay
lip service to the idea of
differentiated learning. Indeed,
from what I can tell, this
philosophy is imbued in every
aspect of the school curriculum
and design.
- Also, after pouring over their
website, I would say their
philosophy is designed to help
each student achieve a state
known as Flow. The intro to one
of the Big Picture Schools
Podcasts states, “The
psychologist Mihaly
Csikszentmihalyi, author of
Flow: The Psychology of
Optimal Experience, describes a
state of being as flow, when a
person is wholly engaged in an
activity and a deep focus and
connection with that activity is
achieved. These are ultimate
experiences for people –
experiences like these provide
the best internal motivation to
learn.”
- Big Picture Schools talk a lot
about their assessment
methodology, which they refer to
as “authentic assessment.” This
kind of assessment seeks not to
foist externally-mandated

How are parents and the community
involved?
assessment criteria on kids.
- Instead, as their website says,
[a”]ssessment criteria is
individualized and fit to each
student based on the real world
standards of the student’s
project (as gauged by the
student’s mentor).
- And interestingly, there are no
grades or tests: every
assessment instrument flows
naturally out of the students’
own interests.
- The BPS “Parent/Family
Engagement: Adult Support”
page states, “Big Picture
Learning believes that
parent/guardian engagement in
a child’s learning is essential to
student success. Big Picture
does not only enroll students,
we enroll families – and involve
them in all aspects of student
learning.”
- That about says it all, but to go
further, the school is intentional
about inviting parents to their
child’s learning plan meetings,
and about inviting them to their
child’s project exhibitions, which
at BPS, are frequent.
- Lastly, at BPS, there is
considerable community
involvement. One of their “Top
Ten Distinguishers” is “Learning
in the Real World,” of which they
say, “The most important
element of the education at a
Big Picture Learning school is
that students learn in the real
world. The main component of
every student’s education is the

Who controls the organization?
What can you tell about the facility,
transportation and other services of the
school?
What constitutes the majority of the
information (description of program,
results, marketing info, etc) provided to the which they both came
consumer?
LTI (Learning Through
Internship/Interest). In this
internship with an expert mentor
in the field of the student’s
interest, the student completes
an authentic project that benefits
the student and the mentor at
the internship site.”
- BPS is set up to foster
community involvement in this
way because they believe 3
major things:
“Students Learn How to Be
Adults by Being With Adults”
“The Expertise is Out in the
Real World”
“The Guidance is
Invaluable”
- According to their website, 2
essential elements of school
culture include:
- Democratic governance
- Student leadership
And I probably could have
determined this from just looking
at the site. You really do get the
sense that the school is student,
and not adult, run.
- Since this is a school
innovation, I don’t know if this
question applies.
- The majority of the information
on the website is a description
of the school’s philosophy and
program and the history from
- Also, the site provides
embedded videos on student
projects, video and text news
 releases, information on how
BPS is influencing educational
policy, and information on how
BPS is continually innovating.

How would you describe the aesthetics
and organization of the website? What
inferences do you make?
- The website is sleek, hip, and
professional, and it offers a nice
complement to their hip (in my
opinion ) educational
philosophy.

How would you describe this school design or innovation to someone?

In a nutshell, I would say that BPS is about radically personalized learning

that grows out of students’ natural interests, and which connects students to their
local community to help them fully tap into these interests.

Out of all of the sites I’ve see, Big Picture Schools is the one I’m most
excited about. I could truly see myself working at one of these sites.
 The Coalition of Essential Schools
Component
What is the vision and mission of the
school design or educational
innovation?
Is it…
•Clear, focused and compelling
•Likely to produce high quality
education outcomes
What values and/or mental
model about learning does it
reflect?
What are the goals and are they
aligned with the mission?
Evidence and Rating
- The following quotation is from the
school’s vision statement on their
website:
- “We envision an educational system that
equips all students with the intellectual,
emotional, and social habits and skills to
become powerful and informed citizens
who contribute actively toward a
democratic and equitable society.
Acknowledging that no two schools are or
should be alike, we envision schools that
necessarily differ from each other in size,
scope, and programmatic emphasis while
that sharing common principles, practices,
and the hallmarks of powerful learning
communities within and among each
other. Finally, we envision that these
schools positively influence the
conditions in which all schools operate,
serving as examples of and advocates for
education policy that supports meaningful
teaching and learning that allows all
students to use their minds well in school
and throughout their lives.”
- To me, the vision is compelling, but it
could be more focused. The first
sentence, for example, seems somewhat
generic, like it could be found on any
school’s website.
- As far as values of learning go, I believe
their vision statement shows a concern
with holistic learning. They don’t seem
to be content with a purely academic
focus, but pursue emotional and social
intelligence in their students as well
- I couldn’t find a statement of their goals,
but they do have “Common Principles”
which probably serve as their goals; these
principles include:

Who does the school serve? What is
their competitive advantage? Does
the mission align with this population
and niche?
How does the school communicate
1. Learning to use one’s mind well
2. Less is more; depth over coverage
3. Goals apply to all students
4. Personalization
5. Student-as-worker; teacher-as-coach
6. Demonstration of mastery
7. A tone of decency and trust
8. Commitment to the entire school
9. Resources dedicated to teaching and
learning
10. Democracy and equity
- I think these principles would help CES
achieve their vision, and particularly
principle #1 and #5---it’s hard to imagine,
for example, students who can help
achieve a more democratic and equitable
society if they don’t know how to work
with their own minds and without
someone constantly telling them what to
do.
- On their “Who We Are” page, CES
claims to have schools in rural, suburban,
and urban areas, so they don’t seem to
target a particular demographic. Like Big
Picture Schools---but perhaps not to the
extent that BPS does---CES’s competitive
advantage lies in their espousal “real
world” education in addition to an
education that is holistic, and one that is
relevant .
- Their vision seems perfectly aligned to
serve a population that wants a more
relevant, holistic education.
- Under their “Benchmarks” page, CES
about diversity? Special needs?
What is the educational program
and/or philosophy?
What is evidence of their results?
How do these results relate to
mission?
lists “Culturally Responsive Pedagogy”
and “Differentiated Instruction” as two of
their classroom practices. This bodes
well for diversity.
- However, I can’t find much on their
website about students with special needs.
This would be a concern if I had a special
needs child (which, in fact, I do ).
- Their educational philosophy centers
around creating small learning
communities that grow organically from
their local communities, and which focus
on creating holistic, relevant, and “real-
world” learning opportunities for
students.
- The following quotation is taken from
the CES website:
- “Essential schools focus on helping all
students use their minds well through
standards-aligned interdisciplinary
studies, community-based "real-world"
learning and performance-based
assessment.”
- This sounds like the authentic
assessments that Big Picture Schools
conduct, but CES doesn’t seem to take
these assessment to near the extreme that
BPS does.
- And, on the following webpage on their
site
(http://www.essentialschools.org/items/3),
CES makes the following claim:
- “New schools started through the Small
Schools Network perform as well or
better on state standardized tests
compared to district averages while
serving percentages of students from low
income and under-served populations.”
- On this page is additional information to
back up this claim.

How are parents and the community
involved?
Who controls the organization?
What can you tell about the facility,
transportation and other services of
the school?
What constitutes the majority of the
information (description of program,
results, marketing info, etc) provided
to the consumer?
How would you describe the
aesthetics and organization of the
website? What inferences do you
make?
- This evidence would seem to support
their vision of “all students” using their
minds well.
- I can’t find any information about how
CES aims to get parents involved in their
organization, and all I can find about
community involvement stems from what
CES says about their goal to provide “real
world” experience to their students.
- On their website, CES claims the
following: “Modeling democratic
practices with a strong commitment to
equity, Essential schools work to create
academic success for every student by
sharing decision-making with all those
affected by the schools and deliberately
and explicitly confronting all forms of
inequity.”
- This is more of a flattened leadership
model and less of a top-down approach.
- This fact, plus the fact that CES believes
no two schools should be the same, makes
me believe that their leadership model is
truly decentralized.
- Because CES is an educational
movement, I don’t know if this question
applies.
- The majority of the information on the
site deals with the CES vision and
principles, how to join CES, information
about the CES Network, and the results
that CES claims to get for its students
- The aesthetic of the school is pretty no-
nonsense and very well organized.
- They do show a tech-savviness by
having links on their site to their
Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube pages,
and they do a nice job of sharing links to
CES in the news.
 - CES seems to be aware that in the 21st
century, networking is a must.

How would you describe this school design or innovation to someone?

Honestly, I wouldn’t know what to say. The school seems well-rounded in its
vision and the principles are hard to argue with, but in some sense, they all seem a little
generic. Maybe that’s because at my school, I feel like we’re already doing a lot of the
things---like small learning communities, “real world” learning, etc.---that CES is, and
we’re not a CES school.

Also, CES’s statement that no two school are the same is a little mystifying.
How, for example, can you know that the schools perfectly implement the principles CES
espouses? It just seems that you would need more structures in place---and not just
principles---to ensure that the CES movement doesn’t just devolve into unrecognizable
factions.