What Does it Mean to Be a Young Scholar?

Greetings!

"What does it mean to be a Young Scholar?"

Last week, as one of the three operators selected for the School District of Philadelphia's Renaissance School Initiative, Scholar Academies had the opportunity to introduce itself to the parents of three Philadelphia neighborhood schools. I found myself thinking about the above question more and more with each parent we met, understanding the uncertainty they must be feeling. For me, the answer to the aforementioned question is complex, but on Thursday night at our 6^th Annual Art Auction, it had never been clearer.

That evening, Martina, a 6^th grader from Young Scholars Charter School and a member of the College Graduating Class of 2023, stepped up to the podium to address our guests. "My favorite thing about being a student at Young Scholars is that they push me to do my best. And when I do my best, they push me to do even better than my best." And there it was. A tidal wave of pride rushed through me and I looked out into the sea of students, staff, and distinguished guests who gathered together in celebration of the hard work of the students and staff of Young Scholars. To be a Young Scholar means to be a part of a community that goes above and beyond to ensure that our Scholars will succeed in the classroom and beyond. To be a Young Scholar doesn't just mean an expectation to do your best. It means being surrounded by teachers, school leaders and supportive community members who also have an expectation to do their best. And once they've achieved that, they ask one another to do even better.

Scholar Academies exists because every student has a dream, and the people in the Scholar Academies community choose to work here, volunteer with us, or contribute to the funding of our mission because they want to help make those students' dreams come true. We have always said that at Scholar Academies, people are paramount, and it doesn't stop with our teachers.

Every week, members of our team are dedicating extra hours during their evenings and weekends, working together to find new ways to better educate more students. Last week, teachers were giving up their evenings to attend our Renaissance School presentations to show their support for our mission, in hopes that more children will have access to the kind of education the students in their classrooms receive. I witnessed Evette Robinson - a parent of four students at Young Scholars Frederick Douglass CS - reaching out to parents at this year's Renaissance schools to reassure them that positive change is on the horizon. At the Art Auction on Thursday evening, I saw students, parents, teachers, staff and friends gathered together as a community of people who want something better for our children's future, raising over $123,000 to support Young Scholars Charter Schools in the process.

What does it mean to be a Young Scholar? It means being surrounded by people who are committed to doing their best to help students achieve their dreams, and then doing better - together.

I am so thankful to all of you for being a part of the Young Scholars Community that is transforming lives every day.

Best,

Lars Beck, CEO

Scholar Academies

Ms. Bass

Jessica Bass, 7th Grade Reading, English and Language Arts instructor at Young Scholars Charter School

We Are...Empowering Students in the Classroom

When you walk by Jessica Bass's 7th grade Reading, English and Language Arts classroom, you may encounter an unfamiliar sight. The students are gathered in the center of the room - their desks pulled out of their normal rows to form a circle. It's a student who is leading a group discussion on the day's literature assignment, with each classmate making observations fueled by textual evidence. Lively debate ensues as each observation is either challenged or supported by the next student.

Ms. Bass sits just outside the circle. She observes intently, but rarely interrupts as the conversation rises and falls in time with the focus on the students' faces.

"That's all them," she says of the students in her literature circles. Ms. Bass is a master of her craft, and over the years she has successfully incorporated an innovative instructional style that encourages students to take ownership of the classroom. "[My students] are responsible for daily objectives and holding each other accountable. They are accountable for knowing exactly what's expected."

In Ms. Bass's classroom, students are also responsible for posing every discussion question and facilitating the ensuing discussion.

"Whatever comes out of that discussion counts toward their grade: one class, one grade. That's why it's important that they hold each other accountable," says Bass, who counts the discussions among her proudest moments this year. "They are constantly challenging one another because everyone wants a good grade, so everyone's bringing their best."

Bringing her best to the classroom is what drew Ms. Bass to teach at Young Scholars Charter School in the first place, so it's no surprise she expects the same from her students. "That no excuses attitude brought me in," she says. "Everyone is here to push the kids and make sure they succeed: whatever it takes." For Ms. Bass, what it's taken is constant reflection and feedback from her coaches and peers - and most especially from her students.

"I've grown a lot instructionally since I've been here, especially in celebrating student successes and increasing student discussion. Now they actually make my lessons, based on their feedback. They have very meaningful input to make successful lessons."

Ms. Bass's instruction often focuses on strategies that students can take and own, building a toolbox of reading and comprehension strategies they can use in whatever way works best for them.

"They have a voice to tell me if [the tools] are not working for them. When they read or write in class, they have the liberty of choosing what's going to make them successful. All of them choose a strategy that helps them," she says.

Ms. Bass and her students also conduct feedback lessons at the end of the quarter, a day where they look at strategies introduced throughout the quarter or unit, divide into small groups, and discuss advantages of each strategy and any changes that they would make.

She says that trusting her students to rise to the occasion has become essential to their success and her advice to teachers joining the network.

"It's hard sometimes for teachers to let go and let students own their learning. Trust students to lead when you give them that opportunity. I'm never disappointed. They're our leaders, and if you give them the chance to lead, trust them with that job, [then] students take it and run with it. "

Our Mission

The Young Scholars Charter Schools prepare students for the path to college and provide students with a foundation of life skills required to become productive members of their communities.

The Young Scholars Charter Schools are members of the Scholar Academies network of high-performing charter schools. Scholar Academies exists to close the achievement gap in urban public education. The organization operates two schools in Philadelphia - Young Scholars Charter School and Young Scholars Frederick Douglass Charter School - and DC Scholars Stanton in Washington, DC. Scholar Academies opened two new schools this year - DC Scholars Public Charter School in Washington, DC and Trenton Scholars Charter School in Trenton, NJ.