At Schechter, we are about to complete our first term and report card comments are being thoughtfully written. As I read through each and every one, I am struck by how teachers synthesize eighteen weeks of student behavior and participation and summarized their thoughts through the lens of Schechter's core values: wisdom, community, and kind heartedness.

Last year, the faculty redesigned the report cards, which are now skills based. A skill based report card means that a set of skills for each class have been articulated and that mastery of each skill is the goal by the end of the year. Student learning is not linear; rather it spirals back as students work for a deep conceptual understanding of the material and work toward application in diverse situations. As such, student understanding is not assessed at one given time and determined as fact. Instead, each student has the opportunity to continue to develop his/her understanding throughout the semester and the year in order to achieve the learning goals. As our understanding of the learning process evolves and becomes more sophisticated, so do our practices in the school. This is reflected in both the teaching and the assessing of students. At Schechter, we honor that each student is on a learning trajectory that doesn't come to an artificial end when he/she is assessed allowing for his/her learning to continue in a natural progression.

Schechter is different from other independent schools. Schechter is not solely an academic institution, it is a place where community is built and strengthened and where we strive to support the moral, social, and emotional development of each and every student. Our mission shines through clearly when reading the individual narratives Schechter teachers write about each student. Each student is written about with extreme care and understanding for who he/she is, acknowledging the development, the struggles, and the goals for each student as he/she grows.

Several times this week, I sat in awe of how deeply students at Schechter are known, how their entire being is cared for, and of the teachers' craft when communicating this important information in honest and kind ways.

At Schechter, we made a commitment to be guided by our core values at every turn and so while asking whether report cards reflect values may seem, at first, an odd question, we are proud that we can declare with certainty, "YES!"

Shabbat Shalom,
Andrea

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