Teacher Agreements

Expectations for Horizons Community Members
Education at Horizons is a team effort that involves students, teachers, and parents working together to implement the school's vision. Horizons teachers and parents are expected to share the responsibility for ensuring successful learning experiences for our students by:

• Creating and maintaining a respectful school climate
• Collaboratively developing, refining, and implementing the vision of the school through the work of the Horizons Council

Teachers will support the Horizons mission by:

• Educating themselves about the Horizons philosophy and goals, which guide the learning activities at the school
• Working together to develop and implement curriculum, activities, procedures, and policies that support the Horizons philosophy
• Advocating for the social and academic growth and development of students
• Strengthening the climate of trust, respect, and shared problem-solving by practicing the Horizons Communications Agreements
• Providing constructive feedback, in a timely fashion, to the faculty and/or the Horizons Council to assist in the resolution of school issues
• Facilitating shared decision-making
• Thinking positively and critically about Horizons and contributing ideas that will help the school continue to become stronger and more successful
• Regularly attending Horizons Council meetings to participate in the school governance process
• Regularly attending school events to build and strengthen the Horizons community
• Regularly attending and contributing to faculty and team meetings

Teachers will support students in becoming successful learners by:

• Maintaining high standards for student academic performance
• Maintaining high standards for student behavior
• Guiding students to become self-directed learners through conferencing with students and their families in order to identify and evaluate individual learning goals
• Responding to the needs of individual students and differentiating instruction to reflect abilities, needs, and interests
• Maintaining organized, attractive, eco-friendly classroom environments conducive to learning
• Offering appropriate learning activities for all students to facilitate student progress
• Supporting students in completing their assignments on time
• Developing and implementing clear and consistent classroom procedures
• Allowing students to express their ideas and make choices in their learning
• Helping students appreciate and value different opinions and points of view
• Planning for and utilizing classroom volunteer time effectively
• Helping students develop good study habits
• Communicating to students that homework is important, is an opportunity to improve skills, and is an extension of the school learning process
• Evaluating student learning using performance and product assessments, portfolios, observations, and standardized assessments
• Providing natural/appropriate consequences to students when necessary
• Holding students accountable for quality work and appropriate behavior

Teachers will develop effective communication links with families by:

• Modeling the Horizons Communication Agreements in word and example
• Explaining classroom expectations and procedures to students and parents
• Being clear about homework expectations and school requirements
• Providing on-going, timely feedback about student progress to students and parents
• Communicating information, questions, and/or concerns to parents in a timely fashion
• Responding to and/or requesting meetings with parents to clarify information and concerns, and to participate in joint problem-solving

Teachers will support the emotional and physical health and safety of all Horizons students by:

• Guiding students to value individual differences
• Receiving training in CPR/First Aid procedures on a regular basis
• Participating in supervision of students during recess and student pick-up
• Guiding students to participate in cleaning their classrooms, the school, and the grounds
• Understanding student and family life changes and transitions

Teachers will guide students to become community contributors by:

• Modeling community service as they support the operation of the school through a contribution of two hours per week of school service and regular participation in the Horizons Council
• Communicating the value of service learning to students and parents, and helping students identify opportunities for community service experiences

Teachers will demonstrate a commitment toward professional growth by:

• Attending all faculty and team meetings, in-services, and Council meetings
• Taking risks, and working in an open and supportive manner with each other to continuously improve the Horizons program
• Modeling life-long learning through individual professional development activities
• Participating in the Horizons Peer Review process