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The hiring process at our school will have a heavy focus on maintaining diversity in the instructor population. Ensuring that the teachers are diverse in terms of gender, race, socioeconomic background, etc. will help create a more inclusive environment within the school and provide more students with representation in different subjects. This will be particularly helpful in the science department where students from underrepresented backgrounds often are unable to envision themselves pursuing the field. Having a diverse staff will also be beneficial in improving the school as each person will provide a unique perspective on different issues. Additionally, the process of hiring teachers will include a review from a panel of parents and teachers. Allowing parents and teachers to be part of the hiring process will likely increase parents' trust in the school and help instructors create a good workplace culture.

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Qualifications for teachers will be based on much more than one's education. At our school we prefer instructors to have classroom experience as well. Ideally, new hires will have already worked as a student teacher or assistant teacher, a few years of head teacher experience, and a masters in fields related to education, child psychology, education philosophy, etc. In order to not limit our school to an extremely small population of teachers seeking jobs, however, there will be opportunities for less experienced teachers to be hired. Departments with a good amount of highly experienced instructors may take in a new hire. This will ideally lead to the newer teacher gaining a great deal of insight and knowledge through the more experienced teachers, thus making up for any disparities caused by their lack of experience. Additionally, to provide further opportunities, our school will employ student teachers so future educators will be able to get classroom experience early on. Ensuring the teachers at our school are qualified is of utmost importance. Author Linda Darling-Hammond includes limited access to qualified teachers as one of the main causes of the opportunity gap. Our school aims to serve people of all backgrounds, so ensuring that our teachers are qualified is vital in working towards closing the opportunity gap.

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Our school's teaching philosophy revolves around catering the curriculum to fit the students rather than the opposite. Teachers will be provided a curriculum guideline that ensures students are taught the necessary information, however these guidelines will leave much room for adjustment. Instructors will be encouraged to base and constantly tweak their lesson plans to fit their students needs. This means both taking deeper dives into topics that students express great interest in as well as focusing on students' weaknesses so they are able to grow all around. Further, students will be granted a degree of freedom when choosing topics for larger assignments such as papers and projects. This will allow them to choose a topic that interests them, likely increasing depth of study, the student's enjoyment of school and amount of effort put into the assignment.

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Prior to taking their position, new hires will be required to complete diversity and inclusion training. This requirement is put in place to ensure all students feel a sense of belonging in each classroom. Experiencing this sense of belonging is vital to being successful in a subject and can prevent students from becoming averse to education and, resultantly, falling into the school-to-prison pipeline, so ensuring all students feel safe and welcome at school is of utmost importance. In addition to this training, new hires will be required to observe other more senior teachers prior to starting. This will be beneficial for teachers of all experience levels as things such as teaching methods and  classroom environment and culture vary from school to school so familiarizing oneself with our school's norms will likely help new teachers acclimate.

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At our school, we strive to ensure that instructors' full skillsets are being acknowledged, so teachers are evaluated in multiple different ways. First, yearly classroom observations will take place as a way to make sure the class is running smoothly. The dates of these observations will be discussed ahead of time so evaluators will visit at an appropriate time, however, if needed, unannounced observations may take place. Additionally, students will be given the opportunity to speak with administration about their instructors. This will give them the opportunity to provide feedback, both positive and negative, on different instructors. These comments will be a smaller factor in teachers' overall assessment. Teachers also will be required to do a self evaluation. As teachers have been employed by the school longer they will need to complete these less frequently, however new teachers will need to complete one annually. The focus of these self evaluations will be reflecting on how one has grown and what can be done in the coming year. Generally, instructor assessments will be used as a light check to make sure all is well, and only in cases where there are clear issues will an intervention take place.

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A majority of the funding for our school will come from the state and local government. We have chosen to receive funding from sources closer to our school as it will increase the likelihood that the money is allocated in a way that reflects the needs of the school, students and surrounding neighborhoods because local politicians and community members are much more in-touch with the area's needs. To supplement this funding, our school with have annual fundraising events. These events will seek to gain funding from parents, companies and other community organizations. Additionally, our school will seek sponsorship from companies that reflect our school's values. Many public schools in the U.S. today receive funding from corporations like Coke and Pepsi. We will seek to mimic these sponsorships except with companies that fuel students academic interests. In order to ensure the money our school receives is spent in the best possible way, all purchases will be reviewed by a board consisting of a mix of teachers, parents and administration.

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Our school is a public school with a tiered entrance system. This decision is mainly based on prioritizing diversity, similar to the hiring process, while also providing a rigorous academic curriculum. We believe exposing students to people of different races, genders, socioeconomic backgrounds, neighborhoods, etc. is essential. This is because it creates a very interesting learning environment where students can gain a better understanding of the world and others' experiences while also growing academically. The tiered entrance system aims to create this environment. Further, providing students from all backgrounds with access to the same academic and social resources can aid in lessening the social reproduction cycle. Prospective students will take an entrance assessment which will be evaluated in tandem with grades from their prior school. Admission to our school will be based on the outcome of this evaluation and the scores required to be admitted will vary based on the student's financial background. This system, ideally, will prevent the school from becoming populated with only students who have access to infinite resources while also ensuring that all students are academically driven. Further, to ensure students with less resources are not discouraged from attending our school, we will provide transportation, tutoring services and free lunches.

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My ideal school will follow an inquiry-based curriculum where the learning stems from students' questions generated from their interests, curiosities, and perspectives/experiences they have. This curriculum will allow students to learn and grow from their curiosities. The learning will be organic and motivate them to want to learn, making it enjoyable. The curriculum will allow for students to have some autonomy over their learning and they will be able to pursue their interests. The content that my ideal school teaches will still follow the content that the state says we should teach but teachers can choose to use any curriculum they want within the classroom. Although school-wide the curriculum followed is inquiry-based, teachers know their students best so they can construct a curriculum that matches their students.

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My ideal school will focus on the learning of the students and not stress them out with high-stakes exams. Instead of teaching a test, teachers will focus on teaching content. Teachers will give a short survey before a unit to see what knowledge students have on the topic. During the unit, teachers will give small short quizzes to see how students are doing on the topic and make any necessary modifications to their teaching plan. After they finish teaching the unit, the teachers will give the same survey and compare the results of the first survey with the second one. They will use the surveys and quizzes to know what worked and what didn't and use that in their future teachings.

Our school will give very little homework. Most of the work and learning will be done inside the classroom. The homework we do give will be to check how students are following the topic. Worksheets will be given out every week with problems on them having to do with what they’re learning in class. The first couple of questions are required but the other questions are not. Worksheets are free to use as study guides or for students to refresh their knowledge. We want to give students free time outside of school. We encourage them to join extra-curricular activities, sports or indulge in any activity they want. We want our students to have the option to use their time on what they feel passionate about or what is worth their time.

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Teachers will pick what activities to do during class. The activities should engage the students and be exciting. In science classes, the activities will be labs to give students hands-on experience. In math classes, they might have to conduct projects using the math they are learning. For statistics, they will do surveys on a topic of their liking and present the statistical results to the class. In English, the book reports they are assigned can be submitted in any shape or form. Students can paint a painting, write a song, or write a normal essay-type book report. Students are encouraged to personalize the assignments they are given. We don’t want the learning to become stagnant by giving students worksheets, problem sets, and assigning essay after essays. We want students to be creative with assignments and apply the things they learn in class to the real world.

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There will be a wide range of activities for students to choose from after school. Some activities are sports, art classes, music classes, clubs, and volunteering.

Our school will work with local non-profit organizations so students who want to volunteer can do so through these organizations. We will have after school peer tutoring and study groups where students can help each other on topics they are struggling with. An older student who has already taken the class and passed with a good grade will supervise and answer any questions. The tutoring and study pods are completely optional. For the sports teams and art/music classes, the students pick what type of commitment they want with the coach or teacher teaching the class.

Students who choose to volunteer, pick what type of volunteering they want to do, the commitment, and which organization they want to volunteer under. The clubs will be student-led, the club can be of any topic. The students will have a sponsor that is a teacher that offers their classroom for the club proceedings. The teacher will supervise but not intervene unless students want them to. For STEM clubs teachers from STEM departments will work with students closely. It's important to note that students don’t have to be a part of activities offered by the school. They can be a part of activities and events outside of school.

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Our school will have shared governance with administrative decision-making being done by a group of teachers along with the principal and assistant principals. This committee will meet weekly to talk about any needs they have and the progress of students. A teacher from each department (i.e. Science, English, Math,..) should be a part of the committee. Each department has a voice in the committee through this person. Additionally, the committee will be diverse in terms of race, ethnicity, and gender. The committee should reflect our student body. Teachers will be able to advocate directly for their students and learn about administrative roles. By having a group of people govern, the role will not fall solely on one person. Decisions will be done democratically with people voting on them. Teachers spend the most time with students and know them best. Teachers communicate well with each other and therefore any issues will be talked about more comfortably. The committee will also host once a month public meetings where parents can attend to see how the governance at the school occurs and bring to the table any topic or inquiries they may have.

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Our school will have an ethnic studies class that is required for all students to take. The class will follow a culturally responsive and place-based curriculum. Ethnic study classes have been a topic of debate but we believe our students need to learn about it. By being culturally responsive the class will pull on the experiences of our students and contextualize the learning. Using a culturally responsive curriculum will do the following:

make cultural differences assets

create a space where culturally different individuals and heritages are valued

challenge racial and cultural stereotypes, prejudices, and other forms of intolerance

make comparisons to current events

By being place-based the class will teach on historical topics unique to our region. Students will build from what they have learned in the classroom by applying their knowledge to solve “real-world problems”.  Students will interact with the local community and make project-based explorations of the issues in their community.

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We will have an in-school psychologist, the mental health of our students is as important as their physical health. The in-school psychologist will work with counselors and teachers to make sure every student's psychological needs are met. The psychologist will be able to make referrals and connect students with resources outside of the school.

Students will meet with their counselor two times a semester. In their initial meeting, they will talk about how they feel about the upcoming semester, make sure they are in the classes they need to be in, and discuss anything they want to discuss. The second meeting will occur a little after the middle of the semester, counselors want to know how they are doing, if they need any assistance, and what they can do to help before the semester ends. Students are encouraged to come to their teachers and counselors at any time during the semester. Teachers should maintain a professional relationship with students but also emphasize that they care for them and their students can come to them. We want the communication between our students and faculty to be strong.

There will be a peer mentoring program all year round where students can meet with older students and sometimes alumni of the school for any advice they may need. In their senior year, students will all be part of a mentorship program where they meet with their mentors to go over college applications. Mentors will assist them in anything they may need during their senior year. We understand it can be stressful for students and we will try our best to match students with a mentor that will be able to accommodate them best.

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Acknowledging the school-to-prison pipeline our school will never punish students harshly for bad behavior, make them feel like bad kids, expel/suspend students, or ever bring authorities into the situation. Instead, when conflict occurs students will meet with their counselor to talk about it before meeting with everyone involved and discussing what had occurred. Students are encouraged to talk things out instead of resorting to other things that could harm others. All of our students are good and we understand that there can be outside factors that affect their behavior. Teachers know their students and should report to counselors if they start to see concerning behavior. Counselors then talk to the student and decide where to go from there. Our school tries to avoid conflicts between students with other students and faculty.