2013 Pathways to the Prize - School Winners | Page 18

Pathways to the Prize
Lessons from the 2011 SCORE Prize School Winners

Pathways to the Prize
Lessons from the 2011 SCORE Prize School Winners

workshops to promote financial literacy, entrepreneurship, and self-sufficiency. The Power Center reinforced
two critical points of view: the importance of financial literacy and the belief that education was the central
institution the community must embrace to break the pattern of despair for current and future generations.
An inspired and inspiring leader. The district recruited Ms. Yetta Lewis, an energetic leader, to develop the
concept and embrace the challenge. She aspired to be a principal after attending a presentation by New Leaders
for New Schools in Washington, D.C. She left her position with National Geographic to commit her energies to
becoming a principal. “It’s the next civil rights movement, in my opinion,” Ms. Lewis said. When the Memphis
superintendent called with a job offer, she assumed a resident principalship at a Memphis elementary school for a
year, and then was appointed to lead the Power Center Academy.

As principal of the new school, Ms. Lewis faced many difficult tasks. The school needed new staff members, new
students, new furniture—pretty much everything except the building itself, which had been donated by a local
church. She advertised for staff members, teachers, and students. She also had to learn about charter schools. For
example, in 2008 Tennessee’s charter law required that charter schools only accept students who were below proficient on TCAP or attended a school who had not met AYP. On the first day, she found that all of her students—
who were in the sixth grade—were testing at a third-grade level in reading, mathematics, and science.

Embracing high standards
According to Ms. Lewis, the community’s expectations for the school
had to change before anything else could be done. The pervasive culture
of defeat had to become one of self-efficacy, mutual support, and challenging but
realistic expectations. For example, the school worked to give students the sense that they
mattered, that they are individuals on a quest for success. Teachers and administrators greet students at the door
every morning, calling them by name, and welcoming them as part of a positive, successful community.
The student scholar. The entire staff embraces the idea that every student can and will achieve at high levels,
and that every student is a scholar. Adults and children share the responsibility for student learning and achievement. However, with high expectations came the realistic appraisal that students had some catching up to do. They
needed to accelerate their learning. PCA realized that more learning time was needed, resulting in the longer school
day and teaching blocks that supported appropriate depths of knowledge.

Ms. Lewis decided that the new venture needed veteran teachers with experience and wisdom and new teachers
with energy and creativity. Her new teaching staff comprised just six teachers. Half were new teachers from Teach
For America (TFA) and half were experienced, although the most experienced teacher had taught for only 10 years.

The scholar concept has become definitive for PCA. “Operationalizing high expectations starts when we select and
train our teachers. We look for teachers who have a strong sense of efficacy. Teachers have the belief that our scholars can perform at high levels of academic success no matter their socioeconomic background,” Ms. Lewis said.
Calling students “scholars” accentuates the value of high performance. “A scholar is someone who is an expert in
his or her field,” Ms. Lewis said. “It denotes a higher level of learning and ownership for their learning.” She added,
“We exist in an environment where there is 100 percent accountability for all stakeholders.”

Swift action. When the school opened, teachers had just three weeks to develop the curriculum and lessons. PCA

The principal said that high expectations are embedded in their values:

decided not to replicate the district’s curriculum. Rather, the school used problem-based learning as its primary
pedagogy, featuring elements of financial literacy and entrepreneurship as key instructional components. The
learning day is divided into hour-long instructional blocks, which includes an enrichment period for interventions
and re-teaching. The extended day starts at 7 a.m. and ends at 4:45 p.m., but learning continues after that time.
Students contribute to the local community through service projects that are designed to meet community needs
while helping students master learning objectives. Students also work a minimum of five hours each school year
with senio r citizens, helping the homeless, and improving the environment, among other projects that promote
students’ civic engagement.
“Power Center
Master Schedule”
tnscore.org/PowerCenter-Schedule.pdf

Both students and the teachers needed time to adjust to these major
changes. However, as principal, Ms. Lewis inspired everyone to take a leap
of faith. Teachers, staff members, students, and parents bought in to the
vision of what a school could be and do.

Over time, the school has expanded to all middle grades and a high school in 2011. It has brought on new partners, such as the Memphis Teacher Residency (MTR). Teachers from TFA and MTR are committed to two- and
three-year stints, respectively, guaranteeing new energy and change each year. The curriculum has been refined with
the help of external consultants hired by the Power Academy through a competitive-bid procurement process. The
school remains focused on its curricular cornerstones of problem-based learning, financial literacy and entrepreneurship, and service. As the “scholars” of PCA accelerate their progress and levels of achievement each year, the
high expectations of school leaders and teachers are being met.

•

Achievement — We strive for excellence in the classroom and the community.

•

Community — We believe that collaboration is key to personal growth and neighborhood revitalization.

•

Humility — We know that the work we do is bigger than us. We are accountable to our scholars, our peers,
and the neighborhoods in which we serve.

•

Innovation — We strive to evolve faster than the world around us. We believe we can be our best only if we
are willing to re-evaluate and refine what we do.

•

Zeal — We believe the core of our drive to succeed is derived from our compassion for the communities we
serve.

Technology, uniforms, and high standards for every student. Each
PCA student receives a laptop for use during the school day for two reasons:
to promote the appropriate uses of technology and to provide a useful learning tool. The underlying message is that scholars deserve—and are worthy
youtu.be/yOyJUoET-SE
of—cutting edge technology, and must demonstrate responsibility for the
proper care of the equipment. PCA afforded the laptops with help from Apple. Students use their new MacBooks
for assessments, creating iMovies and podcasts for class assignments, and multimedia presentations.
Video:
“Building a Culture of
High Expectations”

To foster a visual representation of community cohesion, students wear uniforms with navy blazers and white
shirts. Boys wear ties and girls wear skirts. “Scholar dress should reflect the importance of the school as well as
respect for the institution,” Ms. Lewis said.
High academic expectations are expressed quantitatively, so educators, students, and
parents alike can assess progress. Each student scholar is expected to achieve mastery of all objectives. Teachers do not move on until at least 85 percent of
the students achieve mastery. Teachers assess progress daily and weekly.
Any child who falls behind receives immediate intervention.

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2011 SCORE Prize Middle School Winner: Power Center Academy Middle School

2011 SCORE Prize Middle School Winner: Power Center Academy Middle School

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