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TABLE OF CONTENTS I Welcome Letter: Matt Gossage, Head of School • Cannon School: SAIS Accreditation Steering Committee

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II School Snapshot • Mission Statement • Core Values • Cannon School Fundamental Vision • Brief History • Leadership • Description of Self-Study • Improvement Plan

3 4 4 4 4 4 4 5

III Getting to Know Our Community • School History • Current Leadership and Governance • 2014-2015 Administrative Team • Cannon School Quick Facts • Cannon School Master Plan • Academic Calendar for 2014-2015 • Student Enrollment and Retention • Enrollment History • Diversity • Financial Aid • Admission Data • Tuition Rates and Operating Budget • Understanding Our Educational Philosophy • Mission, Vision and Values • Understanding Our Educational Philosophy: Adaptive Expertise (AE) Model • Divisions • Cannon School Student Performance Data • The Arts at Cannon • An Athletics Education at Cannon • Diversity • Parent Groups • Community Service Program • Extended Day and After School Programs • Enrichment Programs-Beyond the Bell Classes • Camp Cannon

6 7 8 8 9 10 11 12 13 13 14 14 14 15 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 22 23 23 23

Executive Update- The Last 5 Years at Cannon School

IV Overview of Strategic Plan and Self Study Process • Vision Cornerstone Committees (VC) • The Admission Committee, the “Who” of Teaching and Learning • The Curriculum Committee, the “What” of Teaching and Learning • The Learning Committee, the “How” of Teaching and Learning • Process of Building Strategic Plan • Finalized Strategic Plan • Self-Study Process • Self-Study Working Groups

27 28 28 28 29 32 32 34 35

V A Plan for Growth • A Caring Community • A Learning Community • A Sustainable Community

37 38 39 40

A Plan for Growth: The School We Want to Become • Goal #1 The Primacy of Teaching and Learning: Adaptive Expertise • Goal #2 The Primacy of Teaching and Learning: Relational Teaching • Goal #3 Mission-Appropriate students • Goal #4 People, The Most Valuable Resource: Faculty and Staff Evaluation Process

41 42 43 43 44

I. COVER LETTER FROM MATT GOSSAGE March 19, 2015

Dear Visiting Team, On behalf of our entire community, I want to thank you for the time you have given and will give Cannon School in your role on this visiting team. All of us who work in schools know how precious a commodity time is. We are humbled by your willingness to be away from your school and give time in tangible hours and days to assist us in this process. We welcome you as special visitors. You come as volunteers with a purpose of helping us become a better school. We hope you see what other visitors have seen—that Cannon is a warm and welcoming place. We also hope you see our commitment to personal and professional growth and our aversion to the sense of having “everything figured out.” We genuinely look forward to what we can learn from this visit and your report. As Co-Chairs of this effort, Nancy Rogers and Fabio Hurtado, have done an amazing job with our faculty and staff maintaining a purposeful pace while realizing everyone has a full-time assignment of teaching and serving. They want you to know that the self-study process of the past two years has been a meaningful and engaging Cannon community experience. Along with the self-study steering community, they look forward to your time here with us. An outline for your visit (April 19-21) follows. We have tried to think of everything in an effort to facilitate your work here and allow you to focus on the task at hand. But if we have forgotten something, or if something does not seem quite right, please let us know. We realize how important the details are during a visit that is so full. And please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have prior to the visit. Sincerely, Matthew E. Gossage Head of School

I. COVER LETTER FROM MATT GOSSAGE

Cannon School: SAIS-SACS Accreditation Steering Committee Accreditation Co-Chairs Steering Committee

Fabio Hurtado Nancy Rogers

Upper School Academic Dean Associate Director of Admission

A Caring Community Sue Ramsey Dean of Students/Upper School English Teacher Krista Johns Lower School Art Teacher Eric Ruddy Upper School Dean of Academic Technology

A Learning Community Jeremy Mattsson Fifth-Grade Science Teacher Emily Davis Kindergarten Teacher

A Sustainable Community Nicole Diskin Middle School Administrative Assistant Alex Segura Associate Director of College Counseling

SAIS Accreditation Visiting Team Dr. Stuart Gulley SAIS Team Chair President Woodward Academy Mrs. Gail Holtz Teacher Consultant and Educator Hawken School

Dr. John King Director of Studies Ransom Everglades School

Mr. Christopher Cox Assistant Head of Middle School Ravenscroft School Mr. Tom Morris Upper School Director St. Georgeâ€™s Independent School

II. SCHOOL SNAPSHOT

II. SCHOOL SNAPSHOT Mission Statement The Cannon School community instills academic excellence and personal responsibility, inspires athletic and artistic accomplishment, and promotes a respect for diversity within a challenging and safe educational environment.

Cannon School Core Values Courage, Integrity, Passion, Respect, Teamwork, Kindness

Cannon School’s Fundamental Vision The Cannon School community has the responsibility to prepare students for a world that promises to be unpredictable. Our goal is to equip this next generation with habits of the mind and spirit that will provide them with an expertise to confront new situations and overcome new challenges with a steadfast resolve. In this preparation, we want our students to develop an ethical center and to be at home with diversity. We fully believe students graduating from Cannon will help our nation and our world become a better place.

Brief History Cannon School, established in 1969 as Cabarrus Academy and renamed in 1998, originally occupied the historic Concord residence of textile entrepreneur J.W. Cannon. In the four decades since it was established, Cannon School has transformed itself from a small school in downtown Concord to one of the Charlotte region’s top independent college-preparatory schools. In 1994, the School relocated to a 65-acre campus on Poplar Tent Road, one mile east of Interstate 85—a major step toward regionalization and growth. Today, under the leadership of Head of School Matthew E. Gossage, Cannon School serves approximately 980 students in Lower, Middle, and Upper School divisions. More than 50% of Cannon students live in the Lake Norman area. While one in five come to Cannon from Charlotte, Kannapolis, and Salisbury, one quarter live in the Concord area.

Leadership Cannon School has an organizational structure that includes separate entities that carry out the distinct functions of governance and day-to-day management. Cannon School is governed by a Board of Trustees, numbering from 18-25 members. The Board has focused on the responsibilities associated with governance to identify respective charges, policies, and relationships with management. Cannon’s Board of Trustees has established policies and procedures that recognize and preserve the executive, administrative, and leadership prerogatives of the Head of School. The Head of School acts as the chief executive officer and the official advisor and executive agent of the Board and exercises general management of all of the affairs of the school. The Board delegates the general management responsibilities for the school to the Head of School while maintaining general oversight of these activities.

Description of Self-Study The preliminary work of our 2015 self-study process began in the spring of 2013 with the creation of Vision Cornerstone (VC) Committees and with the development of a five-year financial plan. The strategic plan was developed beginning in late fall 2013 using the work described above. The strategic plan, approved by the Board of Trustees in the summer of 2014, identified specific and meaningful institutional goals for the next five years and became the basis for our self-study process. The 2014-2015 self-study process was structured around three communities: A Learning Community, A Caring Community, and A Sustainable Community. The three communities helped us organize a study comprehensive of all

II. SCHOOL SNAPSHOT

areas of school life with broad involvement from our stakeholders, allowing us to inform and to gather feedback from our community in order to define a plan for growth.

Improvement Plan While the strategic plan has identified six broad focus areas, each having multiple sets of initiatives and goals, our selfstudy working groups process has, based on that plan, identified four mission-driven and measurable goals which target the following areas: our Adaptive Expertise teaching philosophy, a model of relational teaching and learning, the identification of mission-appropriate students, and the development of a robust faculty and staff evaluation model. The self-study strategic planning process has allowed us to answer the four guiding question for each goal: Where are we now? Where are we going? How will we get there? How will we measure that we have arrived?

II. SCHOOL SNAPSHOT

III. GETTING TO KNOW OUR COMMUNITY

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III. GETTING TO KNOW OUR COMMUNITY The purpose of this section is to familiarize the reader with our community by giving you a more detailed overview of all aspects of school life. The section may be used to access information about each aspect separately or can be read in its entirety for a detailed picture of our school community. Some of the areas which were introduced in the School Snapshot are developed in this section.

School History Cannon School, established in 1969 as Cabarrus Academy and renamed in 1998, originally occupied the historic Concord residence of textile entrepreneur J.W. Cannon. In the four decades since, Cannon School has transformed itself from a small school in downtown Concord to one of the Charlotte region’s top independent college-preparatory schools. In 1994, the School relocated to a 65-acre campus on Poplar Tent Road, one mile east of Interstate 85—a major step toward regionalization and growth. Today, under the leadership of Head of School Matthew E. Gossage, Cannon School serves more than 980 students from Charlotte, Davidson, Huntersville, Mooresville, Cornelius, Kannapolis, and Salisbury, in addition to Concord. Cannon School provides strong academics, integrating its Core Values—Courage, Teamwork, Respect, Integrity, Passion, and Kindness—into its curriculum. It boasts a strong character development and advisory program, excellent fine arts opportunities, a strong record of student placement at top colleges and universities nationwide, and provides students a safe and nurturing learning environment. Cannon’s athletes have won state and conference championships between 2001 and 2014, and compete on two baseball/softball fields, a lacrosse/soccer field, a state-of-the-art track, six tennis courts, and in two gymnasiums. Cannon’s Cougars are members of the highly-competitive Charlotte Independent Schools Athletic Association (CISAA) with Charlotte Christian School, Charlotte Country Day School, Charlotte Latin School, Covenant Day School, and Providence Day School. Campus facilities include approximately 90 classrooms, two media centers, a wireless laptop environment, a multipurpose auditorium, a lecture hall, four computer labs and a technology center, four music suites, three art studios with a dark room and pottery area, nine science labs, a full-service dining center, an arts wing, and a dance studio. In 2008, Cannon School completed two campus improvement projects that expanded its Upper School educational facilities and modernized its track and field. A nearly 18,000-sq. ft. addition to the Upper School building added 18 new classrooms and three new state-of-the-art science labs. Cannon’s newly configured, modern track and field accommodates the school’s track and field, soccer, lacrosse, and football programs and gives every student a new place to exercise as part of Cannon’s physical education curriculum. In addition, the school is now able to host state track championships and regional invitational meets on a new eight-lane, rubberized track. On October 10, 2009, Cannon School marked another major milestone in its 40-year history of excellence. On that date, the Cannon community came together to celebrate the school’s 40th anniversary. From 2012 to 2014, more than 400 Cannon families, friends, alumni, faculty, and staff raised more than $7.4 million for the Building Bright Futures Capital Campaign. Together, the Cannon community created new opportunities for Cannon’s artists, athletes, and scholars with six construction projects including the new Cannon Performing Arts Center, Strength Training and Conditioning Center, Randy Marion Family Field House, and Central Green, along with enhanced locker spaces, coaches’ offices, and plans for an expanded Middle School. The new Cannon Performing Arts Center (CPAC) provides a gathering space for the entire Cannon community with a 450-seat auditorium, an art gallery, a full stage and backstage, and state-of-the-art acoustics, audio and video capabilities. The CPAC also provides a collaborative learning space for students participating in chorus, band, theater, dance, and visual arts. Expanded and modernized athletic facilities include the new Strength Training and Conditioning Center, renovated locker spaces, and the new Randy Marion Family Field House. These spaces enhance physical education for students in all grades and enable student-athletes on Cannon’s forty sports teams to reach the next level of athletic performance. The Randy Marion Family Field House is a permanent welcome center with a press box, restrooms, and concession stand. In 2015-2016 the Middle School expansion will transform the School’s current facilities to create additional classrooms, administrative offices, a student lobby, and a student innovation lab. A leading-edge technology center will support a Middle School curriculum that teaches students to embrace the adoption of new learning tools.

III. GETTING TO KNOW OUR COMMUNITY

Current Leadership and Governance

2014-2015 Board of Trustees

Chairman Mr. Russ Andrews Vice Chairman Mr. Hans Peterson Secretary Dr. Kristin Baker Treasurer Mr. Sharif Metwalli

Members

Mr. Bob Bratton Mr. Fred Bryant Mr. Matt Gossage Mr. Steve McLeod Mr. John D. Phillips, Jr. Mr. Richard Schachner, Jr.

Mrs. Kathy Bray Mrs. Blake Evans Mr. Tom Kabasakalian Mr. Jim Michaels Mrs. Kim Reynolds Mrs. Susan Schneider

Mr. Horace Bryan Mr. Mark Fromke Mr. Jerry Kurtz Mr. Adam Oritz Dr. Susan Sanders Mrs. Bianca Wittgraefe

2014-15 Administrative Team Mr. Matthew Gossage Head of School

Mrs. Deb Otey Head of Upper School

Mrs. Carla Moyer Head of Middle School

Mrs. Michelle Alexander Head of Lower School

Mr. William Diskin Director of Admission and Financial Aid

Mr. Todd Hartung Director of Advancement

Dr. Pat Moyer Director of Athletics

Mr. Whit Brown Director of Business and Finance

Mrs. Anne Shandley Ms. Angela Pennington Director of College Counseling Executive Assistant to Head of School

Mrs. Beth Way Director of Human Resources

Here you will find the schoolâ€™s current organizational chart.

III. GETTING TO KNOW OUR COMMUNITY

Cannon School Quick Facts: History • Founded: 1969 • Head of School: Matthew E. Gossage (2006) • JrK-12th Grade • Enrollment: 980 • Average class size: 17 • Percentage on financial aid: 20% • Core Values: Courage, Teamwork, Respect, Integrity, Passion, and Kindness • School Motto: “Go Beyond”

Academics • Cannon’s educational philosophy, Adaptive Expertise, defines how we teach and learn. Adaptive Expertise combines habits of mind and habits of spirit to provide our students with a strategy to find purpose, seek mastery, communicate, and live with empathy. • AP classes: 20 • Percentage of students scoring 3+ on AP exam: 85-91% in last 5 years • SAT middle 50% range: 1130-1330 (1600 scale), 1690-1960 (2400 scale) • Seniors with National Merit recognition: 9 (Class of 2014) • World languages offered in Lower, Middle, and Upper School: Chinese, French, Spanish • Advanced electives include: The Voice: Fiction and Poetry Writing; Film: Science Fiction and Fantasy; Movies and the American Experience; Discrete Mathematics, honors; Mathematics of Finance, honors; Anatomy and Physiology, honors; Electricity and Magnetism, honors; Introduction to Engineering, honors; Topics in Sociology, honors; Latin American Literature, honors; Jazz Combo • An Upper School Capstone experience for twelfth graders and a Middle School Cornerstone experience for eighth graders to culminate studies in each respective division. • Seventh and eighth graders have art-intensive weeks in the fall and spring.

III. GETTING TO KNOW OUR COMMUNITY

Athletics • Team name: Cannon School Cougars • Middle School sports: baseball, basketball, cheerleading, cross country, football, golf, boys lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, track and field, volleyball • Varsity sports: baseball, basketball, cheerleading, cross country, football, golf, boys lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, track and field, volleyball • Varsity state championships/semifinals, past three years: girls’ golf (state champions three years in a row), softball, lacrosse • Athletic conference: GCMSAA (Middle School), CISAA (Upper School)

Arts • Annual Middle School theater productions: 1 • Annual Upper School theater productions: 3 • Musical ensembles: 14 • Art studios on campus: 4

What’s New in 2014-2015? • Lower School students participate in Adaptive Expertise Days. • First- through fourth-grade classrooms are using iPads. • The Middle School schedule provides unstructured playtime in conjunction with lunch. • Upper School students have Winterm, a new learning experience.

What Will 2015-2016 Hold? • New Middle School Media Specialist position • Building of Lower School Leadership Team • Addition Upper School Dean of Students • Renovated Lower School Library space • Renovated Lower School Playground area

Here you will find Cannon School’s master plan. Here you will find the plan for the 2015 Middle School expansion. Here you will find plans for the 2015 Dining Hall expansion.

III. GETTING TO KNOW OUR COMMUNITY

Cannon School Academic Calendar for 2014-2015 AUGUST

18 School Begins

SEPTEMBER 1 Labor Day - No Classes – School Closed

2 Classes Resume 16-19 US Class Trips - Grade 10 17-19 US Class Trips - Grades 9, 11, 12 26-27 Homecoming Weekend

OCTOBER

10 13 14 15 24 30 31

NOVEMBER

3 Classes Resume 26-28 Thanksgiving Holiday – School Closed

Teacher Workday – No Classes Fall Break – No Classes – School Closed Classes Resume Family Day at Cannon – Early Dismissal NCAIS Conference – No Classes Parent Conferences – Early Dismissal Parent Conferences – No Classes

DECEMBER 1

Classes Resume 10 Family Day at Cannon – Early Dismissal 15-18 US Exams 19 Noon Dismissal – LS/MS; US – Make up Exams 22-31 Winter Holiday (through January 4)

JANUARY

1-2 5 19 20

FEBRUARY

MARCH

APRIL

Family Day at Cannon – Early Dismissal Presidents Day – No Classes – School Closed Classes Resume Teacher Workday – No Classes

2 16-20 23 26 27 30

Classes Resume Spring Break Classes Resume Parent Conferences – Early Dismissal Parent Conferences – No Classes Classes Resume Good Friday – No Classes – School Closed Easter Monday – No Classes – School Closed Classes Resume Family Day – Early Dismissal

TBA 14-15 22 25 26 26-28 26-29 27 28 29

AP Exams MS Exams (8th grade only) Graduation – No Classes Memorial Day – No Classes – School Closed Classes Resume MS Exams (6th and 7th grade) US Exams Last Day LS Last Day MS Last Day US

4 16 17 27

3 6 7 15

MAY

Winter Holiday Classes Resume Martin Luther King, Jr. Day – No Classes – School Closed Classes Resume

III. GETTING TO KNOW OUR COMMUNITY

Student Enrollment and Retention Admission Procedure: Our goal is to make the appropriate match between our school community and motivated, hardworking students who seek the benefits of a Cannon School education. We actively seek a diverse student body that embraces learning, discovery, and personal growth. Enrollment decisions at Cannon are based on an assessment of each applicantâ€™s ability to succeed in a challenging, yet supportive, college-preparatory environment. Academic records, teacher recommendations, entrance testing results, and a student visit form the basis of this assessment. In an effort to ensure a high probability of student success and create a diverse student population, Cannon School accepts students based on a variety of criteria. Those criteria include: readiness and motivation to learn, appropriate academic skills, and academic potential. The goal of Cannon School is to serve children and their families within the context of our available resources. Families wishing to pursue enrollment at Cannon School should complete and submit the online Application for Admission, with the required application fee, to the Cannon School Admission Office.

Required steps in the admission process: Campus tours are encouraged for all families. Completed application, with accompanying $90 non-refundable fee, is accepted within one year prior to desired enrollment date. Student visits are required for all applicants. These visits vary by grade level. Entrance evaluations are required for all candidates. Teacher recommendations should be completed by the teacher(s) and mailed by the teacher directly to Cannon School. Transcript release requests should be signed by the parents and given to the previous school, permitting the school to forward copies of transcripts, standardized testing reports, and any behavior or discipline reports. An applicantâ€™s file is presented to the Admission Committee only when the entire admission process is complete. Cannon School accepts students without regard to race, religion, sex, or national origin.

III. GETTING TO KNOW OUR COMMUNITY

Enrollment History

Total Enrollment

New Students

2010-11

816

141

2011-12

882

175

2012-13

906

170

2013-14

938

165

2014-15

981

165

Diversity

African American, 61 Asian American, 54 International, 27 Latino/Hispanic American, 34 Middle Eastern American, 5 Multi-racial, 27 Native American, 1 Pacific Islander, 3 Caucasian, 734 Unreported, 35 Here you will find the zip codes where Cannon students live. III. GETTING TO KNOW OUR COMMUNITY

Financial Aid Cannon School strives to make an independent school education available to families of diverse financial means. Monthly payment plans and financial aid are available beginning in kindergarten. Financial aid grants are need-based and are determined through the School and Student Service for Financial Aid application process. Financial aid awards will be made without regard to race, nationality, ethnic origin, religion, and gender.

• Financial aid will be determined on the basis of the need of the family. • The financial aid process is totally confidential. • The parents of each applicant must submit annually the financial statement required by SSS.

Admission Data 2014-15 Financial Aid Statistics

Number of Students

Total Awarded

$346,410

$938,262

Totals

199

$1,511,130

Avg. Award

$226,458

$4,043

$6,185 $10,784 $7,593

Tuition Rates and Operating Budget: Tuition Rates

2010-11

JrK/K

$9,956

LS MS US

2011-12

2012-13

$10,495

$10,985

$13,425

$14,075 $14,710

$14,995

$15,645

$16,885

$17,535

2013-14 $11,440

2014-15 $11,890

$15,315

$15,905

$16,280 $16,910

$17,580

$18,170

$18,860

$19,590

Operating Budget 2010-11 $11,628,767

2011-12 $12,878,402

2012-13 $13,822,196

2013-14 $14,471,155

2014-15 $15,623,537

III. GETTING TO KNOW OUR COMMUNITY

Understanding Our Educational Philosophy Mission, Vision, & Values Cannon’s Mission Statement answers the question, “Why does Cannon School exist?” Cannon School exists to provide a college-preparatory education with a purposeful balance:

•academic excellence and personal responsibility

•athletics and the arts

•challenging and safe

Our school motto, “Go Beyond,” uses the mission statement and our core values as its base and captures the spirit and energy that inspire faculty, students, staff, and parents at Cannon. Cannon’s Fundamental Vision honors the school’s mission by specifically addressing the question, “What can Cannon contribute now to the good of society?”

Mission Statement The Cannon School community instills academic excellence and personal responsibility, inspires athletic and artistic accomplishment, and promotes a respect for diversity within a challenging and safe educational environment.

School Motto “Go Beyond.” These two simple words say everything about a Cannon School education. They go right to the heart of the School’s passion for excellence and readiness to embrace change. They speak to our students’ desire to stretch themselves beyond their comfort zones and exceed expectations in all that they do. They encapsulate the myriad ways that teachers inspire in their students a lifelong love of learning.

Core Values • Courage: Willingness to take risks, be innovative, and embrace change. • Integrity: Knowing and doing what is right. • Passion: Enthusiasm for excellence. • Respect: Valuing self as you do others, their differences, and their property. • Teamwork: Cooperating, communicating, and collaborating to achieve a common goal. • Kindness: Taking the time to care for others.

Fundamental Vision The Cannon School community has the responsibility to prepare students for a world that promises to be unpredictable. Our goal is to equip this next generation with habits of the mind and spirit that will provide them with an expertise to confront new situations and overcome new challenges with a steadfast resolve. In this preparation, we want our students to develop an ethical center and to be at home with diversity. We fully believe students graduating from Cannon will help our nation and our world become a better place.

III. GETTING TO KNOW OUR COMMUNITY

Understanding Our Educational Philosophy: The Adaptive Expertise (AE) Model When we recently Googled “Adaptive Expertise,” we found that Wikipedia’s explanation of the construct has claimed the top spot in the list of references and links to the cornerstone of our educational philosophy. The explanation is actually helpful. Just a few years ago, the top online link for Adaptive Expertise would have been an article or lecture presented by an expert in the field of education such as John Bransford. The shift from Bransford to Wikipedia captures the move the concept has made from the realm of educational research to the marketplace of culturally current. More and more people believe we need to look at the challenges confronting us with a different mindset. But Adaptive Expertise is more than a concept at Cannon School. It is something that we as teachers, parents, and students consider daily in our respective roles. We create opportunities to talk about it, to live it in the classroom, and to build creative partnerships between parents and the school. The type of expertise we advocate is built upon effort and a daily commitment to hard work. This type of expertise includes habits of mind and habits of spirit that acknowledge there is always more to learn and that growth can be of itself a desired destination. We are convinced that Cannon School has a responsibility to prepare our students for an unpredictable world. Our teaching and learning model is built upon a presupposition that children are learners who come into classrooms wanting to continue to make sense of things and to construct meaning. Our model encourages our teachers to begin by asking students what they think about and know on the topic at hand. And our teachers take those insights to guide students in asking the right questions and in breaking down the problem into the essential pieces. The goal is to seek deeper experiences, engage relationally, and assess beyond the content, thereby equipping our students to learn how to learn. Further afield, Cannon School’s commitment to Adaptive Expertise acknowledges that today’s and tomorrow’s jobs will call for people who have skill sets that transcend boundaries between one profession and the next, who have the emotional quotient to contribute on teams of individuals bringing important perspectives, and who realize that challenges and opportunities exist in a global market. Adaptive Expertise, as a cornerstone to an educational philosophy, seeks to develop habits to help students confront life’s challenges, both seen and unforeseen, and offers our children the opportunity to meet challenges head on with resolve and a true sense of hope. In the past eight years, we have continued to develop our understanding of how the AE model impacts how and what we teach, and how it intersects with the daily business of the classroom. This past summer, the work of the Vision Cornerstone Committees culminated in the research and writing of a more developed iteration of our AE model as the “language” of education at Cannon. This work furthers the effort to make AE culturally current, not as theoretical research, but as a practical classroom experience at Cannon School.

Here you will find the Adaptive Expertise Wheel.

III. GETTING TO KNOW OUR COMMUNITY

Divisions Lower School ( Junior Kindergarten – Fourth Grade) Cannon Lower School stresses academic excellence with a balance of enrichment opportunities and an emphasis on character development. Our program provides a strong foundation for a child’s total education in a challenging yet supportive environment. Our curriculum offers a variety of exciting developmentally appropriate learning experiences and is designed to encourage each student to achieve growth toward his or her potential. Students are challenged to develop the habits of intellectual curiosity, creativity, and a love of learning. Small class sizes afford the opportunity for all students to participate, accept responsibility, and develop autonomy. Organizational skills and study habits are nurtured, and students are expected to accept increased responsibilities in both social and academic situations as they progress through the Lower School.

Middle School (Fifth – Eighth Grade) Our Middle School is alive with the incredible energy of our students and faculty. We strive for full engagement in the classroom and a sense of camaraderie and teamwork as we face challenges together with a willingness to take risks and try new things. We believe that through a strong partnership with families, we enable students to develop as learners, athletes, artists, and young people of character. The academic program in Middle School emphasizes knowing yourself as a learner, using your strengths while improving weaknesses, and pushing yourself to achieve growth toward your potential. Students support each other as they work toward excellence in the classroom, as collaboration is a hallmark of our Middle School philosophy. Teachers focus on process rather than product, deeper learning of concepts as they work through content, and student ownership and autonomy in learning. Our daily advisory program enables students to grow in confidence through the support of their peers and teachers. Throughout the week, students get help with organization, participate in discussions related to character and core values, and engage in advisory games and weekly trivia. We model balance for students and encourage them to “Go Beyond” in ways that fuel their passions while striving for academic excellence. In addition, our students take advantage of many opportunities to thrive outside of the classroom. Seventh- and eighthgrade students participate in interscholastic athletics, and students at all grade levels can choose from various clubs, academic competition teams, and enrichment programs. Teachers work with students in building their time-management skills as they balance their academic excellence with their co-curricular activities.

Upper School (Ninth – Twelfth Grade) Every morning, the halls of Cannon’s Upper School echo with “cougar growls” as our Advisors celebrate students who have demonstrated extraordinary commitment to our core values and Adaptive Expertise habits. Students “Go Beyond” in myriad ways at Cannon’s Upper School. We offer a rigorous academic environment, competitive athletics, sophisticated arts, and a range of leadership and social opportunities. Every student is assisted in designing a personal program of study and extra-curricular activities that supports their interests, passions, and talents. Service learning connects students to the world around them. Cannon’s 1:1 laptop program helps ensure that students are fluent with twenty-first century tools as they engage our core curriculum. While the Upper School has a successful track record of effectively preparing students for the rigors of the finest colleges and universities, we feel our mission is to prepare students for the challenges they will encounter throughout their lives in a future we cannot predict. To that end, we are deliberate about designing a program that empowers students to seek mastery, be reflective about growth, and become accustomed to managing uncertainty. This Adaptive Expertise philosophy runs through academics, student life, athletics, and service-learning. It is a vision of teaching and learning that inspires and compels.

Here you will find the School Profile for 2014-2015 as prepared by College Counseling.

III. GETTING TO KNOW OUR COMMUNITY

Cannon School Student Performance Data Currently, all students in grades 4 – 12 participate in standardized testing annually. The information below highlights our students’ results on standardized tests during the past few years.

Educational Records Bureau (ERB) Students in grades K – 2 participate in standardized testing by taking Children’s Progress in early fall, winter and late spring. Created by ERB, this dynamic and interactive assessment, completed on the computer, focuses on acquired reading and mathematics skills. Students in grades 4 – 8 participate in standardized testing by taking the ERB in late September/early October each year.

PSAT Each October, students in grades 9 – 11 take the PSAT. Teachers in the English and Math Departments work with students to improve their knowledge in preparation for this test. The registration fee for the PSAT is included in the annual tuition.

SAT and ACT While not a requirement, nearly all of Cannon’s seniors have taken the SAT prior to the start of their senior year. By December of the senior year, all students have taken the SAT at least once, and some have taken the SAT as many as three times. In addition to the SAT, Cannon’s College Counselors also strongly encourage students to take ACT at least once. With the coming changes in the SAT format, we will strongly encourage all of upperclassmen to take the ACT at least once.

Advanced Placement (AP) In 2013-2014 Cannon School offered 19 Advanced Placement courses. The following chart highlights the increase in students and tests over the past few years as well as improvements in passing rates.

Here you will find ERB scores from 2010-2014. Here you will find a chart with our SAT and AP scores from Class of 2010 – Class of 2013.

III. GETTING TO KNOW OUR COMMUNITY

The Arts at Cannon Cannon’s arts program develops abstract thinking and problem-solving skills, ignite creativity and passion, and cultivate an appreciation of the arts and their influence on the world. Students in junior kindergarten through fourth grade receive extensive art and music instruction by full-time instructors in large, light-filled studios. Beginning in fifth grade and continuing through twelfth grade, students have the following fine arts options: • Ten instrumental ensembles • Four choral ensembles • Three theater courses • Fourteen visual arts courses • Four dance courses Cannon’s student-artists have received regional and state awards for visual arts as well as superior ratings in band, choral, and orchestral competitions. Cannon’s drama department was one of forty high school drama programs in the nation to perform at the renowned Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Lower School Students participate in weekly classes in music and visual art. Specially trained teachers utilize a fully equipped music suite and a light-filled art studio to expose students to many forms of artistic expression. In addition, students have the option of taking private lessons in piano, strings, theater, and dance. Beginning in junior kindergarten, children are exposed to the elements and principles of art in two-dimensional and three-dimensional projects and are taught through verbal, visual, and tactile means. Projects are designed to build on past knowledge and awareness of concepts presented, as well as enhance classroom learning through the integration of art with other subjects throughout Lower School. An Art Appreciation Program prepared by parent volunteers provides additional exposure to masterpieces and other works of art. Cannon’s Lower School music program uses movement, instrument play, speech, song, and improvisation. The multidisciplinary approach incorporates literature and art into the music classes. Students first experience and practice musical pieces and then create their own music to share with others.

Middle School The Middle School arts program begins in fifth and sixth grade with optional daily classes in chorus, strings or band, as well as weekly visual art classes. In the seventh grade, daily instruction in drama, dance, and visual art is added to the fine arts mix. In addition, all Middle School students may choose a weekly exploratory class in strings, jazz, chorus, dance or visual art. Students also have the option of taking private lessons in piano, voice, woodwinds, brass, percussion, strings, theater, and dance. One hundred percent of Cannon Middle School students participate in the arts on a daily basis. The Middle School art program builds the foundation for self-expression and art appreciation through the use and understanding of the elements and principles of art and design. Students have the opportunity to explore a variety of art mediums in the context of drawing, painting, printmaking, ceramics, and sculpture. Classes in chorus, orchestra or band, dance, and theater are offered. Performance classes teach theory, music styles, instrumental techniques, and stage skills. Private lessons in piano, voice, woodwinds, brass, guitar, percussion, strings, theater, and dance are also available.

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Upper School Fine arts are considered an integral part of a Cannon School education. Upper School students are required to take two year-long arts courses to fulfill two credits of fine arts graduation requirement. Students are encouraged to take as many fine arts electives as ability, interest, and academic load will allow. Upper School students have a wide selection of courses from which to choose, including wind ensemble, jazz ensemble, chorus, music theory, theater production, advanced acting, directing, playwriting, and offerings in visual and media art. Plus, students have the opportunity to take private lessons in dance, strings, piano, woodwinds, brass, and flute. The Upper School visual arts program is designed to stimulate the students’ natural creativity and promote freedom of expression. Classes include visual foundations, drawing, painting, advanced drawing, advanced painting, advanced sculpture, courses in media arts, senior seminar, and a media arts production course.

An Athletics Education at Cannon Participation in athletics provides unique opportunities to grow as individuals and collectively. Within Cannon Athletics, we strive to provide a positive, encouraging, rigorous, and fun environment in which students can 1.) challenge themselves and take risks at levels that may make them uncomfortable, 2.) learn how to make mistakes with grace, humility, and courage, and 3.) learn how to deal with that impending failure in a constructive and meaningful manner. The opportunity to participate in athletics at any level is viewed as a privilege at Cannon—a gift that should be valued and honored every minute of every practice, and every instant of every contest. The opportunity to identify the highest possible athletic challenge, and then to commit to it with a team of equally invested coaches and teammates, offers an educational experience with no parallel. Competing with passion, courage, enthusiasm, and integrity are the hallmarks of a quality athletic program. Such is the goal of Cannon Athletics. Athletics is not viewed independently of the academic curriculum. Focus on Cannon’s core values is stressed as is a constant pursuit of Adaptive Expertise. Cannon’s coaches undergo professional development that is designed with strategic planning principles and core values in mind so that coaches provide a seamless educational environment for student-athletes. Cannon coaches are often Cannon faculty members or staff members. Cannon Athletics is not just about the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. The Cannon community strives to honor and celebrate the hours and hours of hard work that go into improving, that go into making each other better, making teammates better, and making their teams better. Emphasis is put onto taking care of each other, competing together, playing the game the right way, and having fun. Student-athletes at Cannon have the opportunity to play for coaches with coaching and playing experience at the highest level in their respective sports. Coaches have won national championships at the Division I level, they have coached professional athletes, and they have coached and played on many state championship teams around the country. And, most significantly, they care deeply about the students at Cannon School.

III. GETTING TO KNOW OUR COMMUNITY

Diversity Many Perspectives. One Foundation. Going Beyond by Respecting Each Other. We believe having a commitment to diversity and inclusion is the right thing to do and is essential to providing a full and complete Cannon School educational experience. We welcome qualified students and provide educational, arts, athletic, financial assistance, and employment activities without discriminating based on race, ethnicity, color, gender, national origin, age, religion, socio-economic status, sexual orientation, or physical ability. Our commitment to diversity and inclusion is rooted in three guiding principles: 1.) Learning is enhanced when diverse viewpoints are present, analyzed, understood, and respected. 2.) Leadership potential is enhanced when one is able to constructively interact with people from all walks of life. 3.) Life’s experience is enhanced by having positive contact with an ever-changing but increasingly interconnected world. We believe students succeed and develop best when they are introduced to multiple perspectives. We want Cannon School to be a place where adults—teachers, parents and administrators—model acceptance and understanding in a way that helps young people to grow into even more tolerant and productive individuals. We strongly endorse a Cannon community that respects the similarities and uniqueness of its members. We strive to provide an unmistakable learning advantage – one that safely exposes Cannon students to perspectives that may be different or unfamiliar to their own. We are committed to having Cannon students achieve their fullest potential as part of a lifetime of learning. We strive to have them learn from those around them. Although we come from a broader community consisting of many perspectives, we choose to build upon a foundation of respect for all. Our steadfast belief that the virtues of diversity and inclusion should be embraced is at the heart of all we do and motivates us to believe in the possibilities of tomorrow. Diversity and inclusion offer ways to “Go Beyond” in our commitment to our students and those around us by including perspectives that may be different or unfamiliar to our own.

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Parent Groups Parents At Cannon (PAC) is Cannon School’s active parent volunteer group dedicated to enriching school life for our students, teachers, and parents through membership and volunteerism. The PAC Group is comprised of four individual organizations that work together to organize PAC events for the School community. In addition, each organization specializes in support of a particular area of school life. • Cannon Connections supports school-wide social and educational events and activities. • Cannon Cultures supports school-wide diversity awareness events and activities. • Cougar Club supports the school’s athletic and physical education programs. • Cannon Advocates For The Arts (CAFTA) supports the school’s performing arts and visual arts programs. Membership in PAC helps to fund meaningful social, cultural, athletic, and arts events and activities for our school community. Membership in PAC demonstrates a commitment to Cannon School and in particular, our students. Cannon families are annually encouraged to join PAC groups.

Community Service Program Community service at Cannon School is a cross-divisional, developmentally appropriate program. Our mission is to develop in our students a respect for others and a sense of personal responsibility for the environment and the broader community. Our program begins in the Lower School with outreach to build community relationships and continues to mature through the Middle and Upper divisions into a program that involves students in active and direct service.

Cannon School Community Service Program Goals:

• Create meaningful relationships with organizations within Cannon and broader communities • Foster future leaders empowered to serve our communities • Teach empathy by creating opportunities for students to put kindness into action • Promote teamwork through community outreach projects • Develop the ability to communicate respectfully with all individuals • Promote personal integrity through the breaking down of stereotypes and misconceptions • Encourage students to explore and step out of their daily routines and interactions • Encourage a respect for and a commitment to the well-being of the planet • Instill passion for lifelong commitment to service and advocacy

Lower School The focus of community service in the Lower School will be to build a relationship with one organization that offers opportunities for meaningful and developmentally appropriate service from JrK-fourth grade. Each year, the goal will be to enrich the commitment students have with the organization as they grow and develop. Teacher led reflection will be an integral piece of the program.

Middle School The Middle School believes in building a sense of community while helping others within and beyond Cannon School. Outreach activities are designed as class projects for each grade level through advisories. Two Middle School grade levels will participate in community outreach activities that give students the opportunity to positively affect the lives of individuals beyond Cannon School. The other two Middle School grade levels will focus on having a positive impact on the Cannon community. The specific focus of the eighth-grade program will involve leadership activities and instruction to prepare these students to be active participants in future self-directed service. All grade levels will participate in advisor-led reflection and evaluation of their service experience.

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Upper School The Upper School service program strives to instill in its students a sense of personal responsibility and commitment to contribute to and serve our community. Upper School students are encouraged to use their passions, interests, and individual gifts to first identify needs and then engage in and develop relationships with organizations both within and beyond Cannon School. Students will execute service projects on an individual, advisory group, or class wide basis through direct service, advocacy, and fundraising. The goal is to give students enough autonomy to allow them to experience the altruistic and mutually beneficial sense of giving and receiving that occurs through community service.

Extended Day and After-School Programs The Extended Day and After-School Programs provide students with a comfortable, safe, and caring environment in which to participate in constructive activities during after school hours. Based on this foundation, our instructors recognize each child as an individual while teaching values and creating experiences that go beyond the classroom learning environment. Parents can enroll students from one-to-five days per week or choose the â€œdrop-inâ€? option.

Enrichment Programs: Beyond the Bell Classes Beyond the Bell offers a collection of extracurricular enrichment programs for Lower, Middle and Upper School students. These varied offerings provide students with the opportunity to ignite their imagination, pursue their passions, and develop skills in a variety of areas including the arts, athletics, and the humanities. Beyond the Bell classes are offered in three sessions of ten weeks each.

Camp Cannon Camp Cannon strives to provide the community with fun and enriching summer programs that promote personal growth and instill a lifelong love of learning in a safe, diverse, and inclusive environment. Camp Cannon is in operation for seven weeks each summer and it is open to both Cannon School and non-Cannon students.

III. GETTING TO KNOW OUR COMMUNITY

Executive Update: The Last Five Years at Cannon School Since our last SAIS accreditation and self-study process in 2010, the school has made substantial progress on the recommendations made by the 2010 visiting team as well as on the initiatives of our last strategic planning model. The highlights below underscore our tangible and results-oriented commitment to a growth mindset as a school community. Here you will find the complete document “Progress on Action from the 2010 Visiting Team.” Below are some of the yearly highlights:

2010-2011 School holds first ever Homecoming on October 2011 with alumni race, family activities, football game, Homecoming court, and dance. Beginning in 2011-2012, the following statement is added to the school profile: All courses not designated as AP are taught at the Honors level. Plan created for graduation Capstone experience in Upper School for 2013-2014; discussion ongoing in Lower School and Middle School about similar projects. Camp Cannon’s attendance increases by 50% in summer 2011. Director of Advancement works with Head of School to build a Board of Visitors at Cannon School. Board of Visitors first meets in October 2011.

2011-2012 Upper School Student Council announces “Kindness” as school’s sixth core value in all-school assembly. Communication and roll-out plan followed August 2011- April 2012. Spanish is taught throughout Lower School ( Jr.K-fourth grade). Mentor teachers in Lower School were identified and better trained in differentiation. The Integrating Mission through Pedagogy, Assessment, Curriculum, and Technology (IMPACT) Committee is formed. “FedEx Day” is held, where faculty and staff use a professional development day to think about how the School can be even better by developing teacher-led initiatives. Decision is made to name three Directors of Arts in the areas of visual arts, music arts, and theater arts, respectively. Lower School adds a section of first grade. Haiku Learning Management System is adopted in all divisions.

2012-2013 Integration of education and technology through the hiring of a new Director of Educational Technology. Upper School Learning Specialist is hired to work with students with learning differences as well as act as liaison between students, teachers, and parents. Completion of first year of Upper School Student Life House System. Program includes opportunities for student leadership, collaboration, and spirit building. Creation of official committee to develop Winterm in Upper School.

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Creation of official committee to analyze grades and assessment in the Upper School. Media Arts Lab is upgraded to serve 12-seat classes. Outdated Microsoft tools are replaced with appropriate Apple hardware and software. Creation of a new view book to have in place by September 2013. Creation of a timeline for the capital campaign that includes fundraising targets and dates that include plan to enter public phase. Arts Intensives in the Middle School, a two-week period in fall and spring when all faculty teach an art themed class and students get additional choice. Start new Exploratory Fine Arts rotation for fifth grade to allow more informed choice in future years. The school implements a new door access system across campus to enhance security. Visitor access points are limited to two entrances. New policies and procedures are in place to complement the access system.

2013-2014 Development of Adaptive Expertise Days in Lower School, designed to further enhance the habits of an adaptive expert. Students are involved in interdisciplinary, experiential learning opportunities. The IT Department begins the migration of certain software programs to cloud-based applications. Lower School adds third section of kindergarten. Development of a plan to hire Learning Specialists for Middle School and Lower School. Implementation of strategic plan for diversity through year-long staff and faculty professional development program designed and implemented by outside consultant. Lower School Playground is renovated and Upper School/Middle School Library space is reconfigured and renovated.

Two Significant Developments in 2014- 2015 Kimbrough Fellowship for Faculty The Kimbrough Fellowship for Faculty Professional Development is supported through a generous grant by longtime friend of Cannon School, Lawrence Kimbrough. A native of Davidson, Mr. Kimbrough is a retired banking executive, Chair Emeritus of the Cannon Board of Trustees, and currently serves as Co-Chair of the Cannon Board of Visitors. The 20142015 inaugural fellows: Dr. Xiaozhao Sun (Middle School World Languages) and Ms. Teresita Hurtado (Upper School Learning Specialist). The Kimbrough Fellowship for Faculty Professional Development is designed to provide financial resources to support Cannon faculty as they pursue self-designed professional learning experiences. The Kimbrough Fellowship will allow Cannon faculty to explore in depth their teaching content and/or pedagogy in order to enhance and impact their classrooms, colleagues, and community. Developing IMPACT (Integrating Mission, Pedagogy Assessment, Curriculum, and Technology) In 2014-2015, IMPACT was reconfigured in order to begin the work for the teaching and learning portion of the strategic plan and align those initiatives with the schoolâ€™s core values and its model of Adaptive Expertise to continue to develop a twenty-first century, forward-looking curriculum. The IMPACT group is composed of division heads, administrators, department chairs, and lead faculty members from all three divisions and meets five times during the academic year for twoto three-hour blocks.

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Our vision: In this highly effective learning community, innovative teaching and learning is first and foremost about being relational. As such, motivated professional educators engage in inquiry with one another, individually, and in groups. The IMPACT group commits to continuously assessing our program’s effectiveness in preparing students for a world that, while unpredictable, promises to value asking insightful questions over giving right answers. IMPACT’s purpose is to make sure that our vision is embodied in the Cannon experience. This means: • Staying current on research and development • Supporting meaningful professional growth • Assessing and adapting curriculum vertically and horizontally • Providing a forum for evaluating and communicating new initiatives • Supporting the work of the strategic plan in teaching and learning

What’s New in 2014-15? • Lower School students participate in Adaptive Expertise Days. • First- through fourth-grade classrooms are using iPads. • The Middle School schedule provides unstructured playtime in conjunction with lunch. • Upper School students have Winterm, a new learning experience.

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IV. OVERVIEW OF STRATEGIC PLAN AND SELF-STUDY PROCESS

IV. OVERVIEW OF STRATEGIC PLAN AND SELF STUDY PROCESS Vision Cornerstone Committees (VC)

The preliminary work of our 2014-2015 self-study process began in March 2013 with the creation of three Vision Cornerstone Committees (VC) and with the development of a five-year financial plan. These committees made up of teachers and administrators from all three divisions looked at the who, the what, and the how of teaching and learning at Cannon School.

The Admissions Committee, the “Who” of Teaching and Learning, was charged with examining our admissions process through the lens of our current students. What makes a student successful at Cannon? What characteristics do those students have? We examined 25-30 current students in each division to gather information about their work habits, their characteristics, and in some cases, their scores and grades. We split the students into three categories: students who thrive at Cannon; students who are solid and are still developing skills that will eventually make them more successful; and students who are challenged by the Cannon academic environment.

The Lower School team was able to look at students longitudinally through our Reading Specialist, who works with students from JrK through sixth grade, in some cases. They examined a group of third- and fourth-grade students to evaluate their growth, developmental changes, their ERB scores, Children’s Progress scores, and their Gesell testing. Because Lower School does not issue grades, anecdotal information was used to draw characteristics of students. The Middle School team chose 30 students from the three categories across all grade levels, five through eight. They examined advisor report card comments (which summarize the year for the student), anecdotal advisor comments, extracurricular activities, ERB scores, and admissions files. The admissions files in many cases contained teacher recommendation information, ISEE scores, previous grades, and comments from both the parent and the prospective student. The Upper School team chose approximately 25 students throughout four grade levels, nine through twelve. They created a rubric with categories based on what makes a student successful here at Cannon, and rated our current students as if they were going through the admissions process. The rubric calls for information about grades and scores, but adds information about the interviews between the student and our Deans, potential athletic and artistic contributions, and overall attitudes towards learning. Two other populations were examined. We looked at students who have left the school in the past five years and determined why some of those students were not a good fit, why they were not thriving, and what we could do differently to keep those students, if anything. In the past few years we have had approximately ten international students, and we looked at how they improved the school, caused a burden on our current resources (if any), and if we thought we wanted to continue the trend of accepting international students. Once the data was collected, each division drew conclusions about the three different types of students and how we can use that information to shape our admissions decisions. Each division made specific recommendations, some of which will be immediately implemented. Lower School wrestled with the instruments used to evaluate students and looked more closely at the visit day for the applicants. Middle School explored the role of faculty on the Admissions Committee, how we best use our student ambassadors, and what a “risky” applicant might look like. Upper School considered adding a parent interview component to the application, and looking at the overall composition of the grade level before adding “risky” applicants. This names a few of the ideas that were considered, and more extensive documentation exists on this process.

The Curriculum Committee, The “What” of Teaching and Learning, was charged with looking at the elements

of a curriculum truly committed to teaching students to become adaptive experts. What are we not teaching that we should be teaching? The driving question for this committee centered on how we could transform our curriculum and the need to have our internal stakeholders and external partners understand that transformation. The committee began work by reading Dr. Ken Bain’s What the Best College Students Do. Reading was followed by committee discussions and the compiling of committee research in order to create a synopsis of findings and a list of recommendations that were then filtered through Cannon’s IMPACT group. The recommendations were shared with Chris Gruber (Davidson College), President Brien Lewis and Dr. Michael Bitzer (Catawba College), and Stephen Farmer (UNCChapel Hill) in the months of January and February 2014 as well as with Dr. Ken Bain when he visited Cannon in October 2013. The Committee Chair and Head of Upper School Ms. Deb Otey also presented recommendations and feedback to

IV. OVERVIEW OF STRATEGIC PLAN AND SELF-STUDY PROCESS

parents in six focus group town hall meetings held at Cannon between September and December 2013. After reading and research, discussions with division colleagues, department chairs, and IMPACT leaders, and feedback from industry leaders, the committee shared the following: As we purpose to be an educational organization focused on developing students to be adaptive experts, we must consider these educational cornerstones:

• Integration/Connectedness (Understand the interconnectedness of skills and content. A complete education does not exist in the silo of one subject area or skill.)

• “The Curriculum of Self ” (Know yourself, know others, know the world around you. Integrate emotion, character, authenticity, metacognition and citizenship.)

• Creating passionate learners (Lifetime learners comprehend the value of learning inside/outside of their own interests.)

The committee considered what we could currently accomplish by making recommendations in the area of integration and connectedness of curriculum. A desire to analyze and refine current interdisciplinary/collaborative efforts through a process of identification, evaluation, and adaptation rose to the surface. Some existing programs with which to begin the process would be Winterm and Capstone (Upper School), Cornerstone Experience (Middle School), Multidisciplinary Units (Lower and Middle School) and Adaptive Expertise Days (Lower School). The need to continue to foster an atmosphere that nurtures organic collaboration by providing faculty opportunities to innovate—professional development, school visits, and coffee talks—also became apparent. Developing “Curriculum of Self ” educational opportunities through grade-level essential questions and authentic assessments, as well as investigating online opportunities to expand curriculum options for students should also be pursued. The following audits and initiatives were also discussed:

• Finalizing a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) philosophy and plan for the Upper School as early as 2015-2016

• Audit current student life curriculum (Middle and Upper School)

• Audit current counseling program (All Divisions)

The Learning Committee, The “How” of Teaching and Learning, was tasked with responding to four essential

questions dealing with teaching and learning:

• How would our teaching practice differ if we made a deeper and clearer commitment to teaching students to become adaptive experts?

• Where has our teaching practice stagnated, if it has?

• What is missing from our teaching practice, if anything?

• How do we begin a process to reform/transform our teaching?

After reading Ken Bain’s What the Best College Teachers Do in the summer of 2013, we began to look at finding a way to define what a “best” teacher is at Cannon and how we could list the traits and habits of a “best” teacher. Discussions in committee led us to develop two definitions. The first came strictly from the Bain text; the second was an amalgam of Bain plus the Cannon community. First definition of the best teachers: 1. Most students are highly satisfied with the teaching. 2. Most students are inspired by the teaching to continue to learn. 3. Students learn in ways that the teacher earns praise of colleagues. IV. OVERVIEW OF STRATEGIC PLAN AND SELF-STUDY PROCESS

Second definition of the best teachers:

1. Know their subject matter extremely well

2. Demonstrate the art of teaching

3. Prepare for their teaching sessions as serious intellectual endeavors 4. Expect more from students while providing appropriate care and support 5. Create a natural critical learning environment 6. Treat students fairly 7. Regularly check progress and evaluate efforts of students 8. Regularly check progress (professional development) and evaluate efforts of self 9. Work successfully as part of a team of colleagues 10. Live out and model the core values, philosophy, and mission of Cannon School

Our next step as a committee was agreeing on a manner to gather data in each division using an age-appropriate and teacher-appropriate approach. The idea was to find out how we could observe and measure the “best teacher” definitions we had agreed to as a committee. Our goal was also to compare what we were saying about the “how” of teaching with what students and teachers keenly felt mattered in the “real world” of the classroom. We gathered data from students as a group and individually by developing a standard four-question questionnaire and using it for a Q&A discussion by Middle School and Upper School Advisories. In the Middle School we targeted seventh and eighth graders; in the Upper School we targeted eleventh- and twelfth-grade Advisories. The thought was to get at students who had a few years of experience in a division and would be able to speak from experience regarding the “how” of teaching and learning. Here are the four questions we used:

1. What are the characteristics of a teacher in a class you loved? Think about those. Don’t name names, just share and explain. Discuss.

2. How do teachers teach in ways which have inspired you to learn?

3. What is the best, academically speaking, experience you’ve had in the Upper School?

4. What is the worst experience you have had related to how a teacher teaches?

We also used a survey in December 2013 with all Upper School students. Here you will find a link to a December 2013 survey of Upper School Students. In the Lower School, we surveyed one class at each grade level using the same four statements/ questions.

• Your teacher needs to ________ to help you have a good year.

• Your classroom should be______________.

• You can do ________________ to have a good year. • Teachers who ___________________ are good teachers.

Students were asked to respond to each of the questions verbally ( JrK- 1) or by writing an answer on a post-it note (grades 2-4). All of the surveys were conducted by a committee member with no classroom teachers present. We were able to support Bain’s research on environment through the responses of our Lower School students. Students feel it is important to have a connection with the teacher, that the teacher must enjoy what they do, and that the classroom environment must be organized but welcoming. 30

IV. OVERVIEW OF STRATEGIC PLAN AND SELF-STUDY PROCESS

We gathered data from teachers as a group by using a survey which asked teachers to celebrate their accomplishments and acknowledge their need for growth in areas related to teaching, learning, and assessment. From there, we gathered to look at the data and analyze for patterns, repeated call-outs, and concern areas. The same was done with the data gathered from transcribed conversations with students. Our work was supplemented and influenced by opportunities to have visits and discussions with Chris Gruber, Vice President of Admissions at Davidson College, Mr. Michael Bitzer, Provost for Academic Affairs at Catawba College, and Mr. Brien Lewis, President of Catawba College. The November visit to Cannon by Dr. Ken Bain gave our committee the privilege to spend an hour privately discussing our work and findings with Dr. Bain. Our reflection of the shared vision and wisdom of these administrators on the “how” of teaching and learning, coupled with the knowledge of Cannon brought by our committee members, is the findings document and the recommendations put together by the How Committee. A concise summary of our responses to the original essential questions would look this way: How would our teaching practice differ if we made a deeper and clearer commitment to teaching students to become adaptive experts? We would focus on the relational aspect of teaching and learning; we would work on crafting assessments which allow students to display the AE habits. Where has our teaching practice stagnated, if it has? What is missing from our teaching practice, if anything? The findings push us to not look for stagnation by following a deficiency model, but rather to look for the ways in which we create an environment that fosters Adaptive Expertise and deeper learning from a growth model mindset. How do we begin a process to reform/transform our teaching? We do so by engaging our Cannon teaching community in professional development about the “how” of teaching, and providing professional development training for teachers to create assessments which put AE first, therefore helping teachers create a classroom environment which fosters a “relational” classroom. We do so by looking at assessments and seeking (in both Middle School and Upper School) to expand current grade reporting and comment writing. And lastly, by crafting a workable synthesis of the lessons of Daniel Pink, Carol Dweck, and Ken Bain, in order to allow us to further integrate ideas about motivation, brain research, and deeper learning, along with the VC work, into one “Cannon language.” In the fall of 2013, the Board of Visitors, Board of Trustees, and parent focus groups were gathered on separate occasions to hear presentations and give feedback to the findings of the VC work and the financial plan model. Surveys were developed and gathered from these focus groups. Here you will find the link to the survey done during the five parent focus group meetings on the future of Cannon School.

IV. OVERVIEW OF STRATEGIC PLAN AND SELF-STUDY PROCESS

Process of Building Strategic Plan The school’s previous strategic plan was built around seven “enduring objectives” (living by our values, a sense of community, effective operations, academic excellence, strong resource base, focus on the teachers, and focus of the students), and it was written in 2009 as a result of our self-study process which guided the building and implementation of the plan. The strategic plan we have now was developed beginning in early winter 2013 and through the rest of the 2013-2014 academic year under the guidance of an Oversight Committee composed of representatives from the Board of Trustees, the school’s Administrative Team, and the Self-Study Co-Chairs, using the work of the Vision Cornerstones Committees described in detail above, as well as the work of members of the school’s Administrative Team in the areas of finances and enrollment. This strategic plan led the school’s self-study process which formally began in August 2014. The process to create our new strategic plan began in December 2013 when the Oversight Committee retreated to talk about our aspirations for Cannon and to confront the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats in our present iteration using a S.W.O.T. analysis model. The Oversight Committee met three additional times in half-day sessions to review progress, weigh in on revisions, and agree upon the next set of steps. The bulk of the work was accomplished in between meetings by six teams each working on a separate focus area. The exchange at the meetings was marked by both a healthy respect to question and a sense of trust that everyone wanted what was best for our students. Our strategic plan is structured around the following six focus areas: 1. Teaching and Learning 2. People 3. Culture 4. Enrollment 5. Facilities 6. Finances The strategic plan was presented to the Board of Trustees during a Board Advance meeting and then approved by the Board of Trustees at a subsequent meeting in August 2014. The strategic plan has identified specific and meaningful institutional goals for the next five years.

Finalized Strategic Plan The basic outline of the school’s strategic plan is as follows: Focus Area #1 – Teaching/Learning: We want to enrich the learning experiences of our students by deepening our application of Adaptive Expertise and emphasizing the centrality of relationship in teaching and learning.

• We will develop a synthesis of the main ideas of the writers/thinkers who have influenced us to use as a living guide for our community.

• For purposes of improving current and building new experiences, we will evaluate the student experiences intentionally committed to Adaptive Expertise.

• We will build an environment that cultivates a relational approach to teaching and learning.

• We will rethink how grades are built and transform how students view grades.

• We will replace strategic learning with deep learning.

• We will encourage a better use of the summer months to deepen the learning experience for teachers and students.

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Focus Area #2 – People: We will nurture our greatest strength, the faculty and staff of Cannon.

• We will review and improve our hiring process.

• We will develop a solid plan to improve the compensation package of our faculty and staff.

• We will develop an effective and meaningful model to evaluate and coach faculty and staff.

• We will build and commit to a clear plan for professional growth for faculty and staff.

• We will ensure that our faculty and staff help us build the bridge between our self-study and our strategic plan.

Focus Area #3 – Culture: We will build upon one of our key strengths, a community committed to living by our core values.

• We will become even more intentional to ensure parents feel connected to Cannon.

• We will be sure students receiving financial aid have every opportunity to maximize their learning experience at Cannon.

• We will align the respective missions of our parent organization with the needs of the school.

• We will work with students to transfer to them more ownership of community and culture.

• We will repurpose service learning at Cannon.

Focus Area #4 – Enrollment/Admission: We will remain a school focused on our front door and earning the trust of every prospective family and student.

• We will refine our assessment of students applying to Cannon to capture what we emphasize and how we teach.

• We will increase the number of families living in our base communities.

• We will seek out new growth opportunities for marketing the school and enrolling students.

• We will build an enrollment model that supports the school’s educational goals.

• We will be the school of choice for people making a difference in the community.

• We will engage a research and consulting firm to develop and implement a comprehensive institutional identity program. Focus Area #5 – Facilities/Space: We will build a plan to address facilities across our entire campus that enhances and supports our mission.

• We will build a list of short term facility goals along with a list of larger projects including infrastructure needs with technology to be prioritized over the next five years.

• We will seek out partnerships and alliances with organizations outside of Cannon to enhance our mission. • We will develop the discipline of an annual safety/security review and audit.

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Focus Area #6 – Financial Stability: We will maintain and build upon our healthy financial position.

• We will utilize Cannon’s endowment for financial support of school operations.

• We will consider alternative revenue streams.

• We will produce a financial model for strategic planning purposes.

• We will continue to retire debt and not take on any additional debt.

Here you will find the complete strategic plan document as approved by Cannon’s Board of Trustees: Focus Area # 1: Teaching and Learning

Focus Area # 4: Enrollment/Admissions

Focus Area # 2: People Focus Area # 5: Facilities/Space Focus Area # 3: Culture Focus Area # 6: Financial Stability

Self-Study Process Moving forward, the 2014-2015 self-study was built around the approved strategic plan and structured around three communities to give faculty and staff an opportunity to both weigh in to the strategic plan and give feedback to the plan’s six focus areas. We decided to frame the self-study process around three communities: • We are a LEARNING COMMUNITY: Covering the strategic plan focus area of Teaching and Learning (1) which deals with writing a synthesis of the “Cannon language,” deeper learning, assessment, essential questions, and relational teaching. • We are a SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY: Combining areas 4 and 5 of the strategic plan in order to take stock of facilities, financial stability, and enrollment models. • We are a CARING COMMUNITY: Combining areas 2 and 3 of the strategic plan in order to account for the culture at Cannon, and the people, and how we take care, respect, and honor one another. This is the growth aspect of being a member of community as well as the communication piece of how we make sure we are all connected. The three communities allowed us to do a self-study that is comprehensive of all areas of school life with broad involvement in order to inform and to gather feedback in each area during the 2014-2015 academic year. Because our self-study was built from the strategic plan, which in turn was developed from our three Vision Cornerstones, we feel it contains a broad and robust involvement of stakeholders from faculty, to staff, to parents, and students. During post-planning, in June 2014, we gathered feedback from faculty and staff using a personal change readiness assessment and an organizational change readiness assessment tool. This data, along with cohort conversations, allowed us to sense how ready we were as a school community and as individuals for the changes called for by the strategic plan that would be investigated during the self-study. In the summer of 2014, we formed the Self-Study Steering Committee to help guide faculty and staff through a continuation of the self-study process organized around these three communities. The Steering Committee, along with the Self-Study Co-Chairs, prepared our time together during Pre-Planning time and Family Days (in August, October, December, February, and April) in order to inform faculty and staff, as well as gather feedback and input on the initiatives from the strategic plan. The goal of our time together was to find commonalities and identify clear areas for school improvement.

IV. OVERVIEW OF STRATEGIC PLAN AND SELF-STUDY PROCESS

Self-Study Working Groups During the October, December, and February Family Days, the entire faculty and staff was divided into Self-Study Working Groups. Each group was assigned a specific area of the strategic plan. Each working group had a Chair who reported work completed during meetings to one of the members of the Steering Committee. Here is the organizational chart that details our three communities, working groups, and Working Group Chairs. Time during Family Days was set aside for groups to meet in order to look at the school’s strategic plan to answer the questions: Where are we now? Where are we going? How will we get there? How will we measure how we get there? Some working groups met at other times in addition to Family Days in order to complete their assigned tasks. Time during Family Days was set aside to share portions of the strategic plan with the community that did not require a working group. Informing the faculty and staff about strategic plan initiatives was the responsibility of members of the school’s administrative team. By the December and February Family Days, we had working groups share with the whole faculty and staff the feedback and progress made in specific areas. This allowed all stakeholders to be informed about the work of the whole strategic plan, and specifically, the accomplishments and decisions of other working groups. The Steering Committee and Self-Study Co-Chairs wrote the School Report in time to allow the report to be vetted by the school’s administrative team and then the entire school community prior to submitting it to SAIS. The School Report identified four major institutional goals coming out of the strategic plan and the feedback from the SelfStudy Working Groups. The Self-Study culminates in the visit by the SAIS Accreditation Team on April 19-21, 2015.

IV. OVERVIEW OF STRATEGIC PLAN AND SELF-STUDY PROCESS

Details of the Three Communities of the Self-Study: Structuring the self-study in terms of a Learning Community, a Sustainable Community, and a Caring Community allowed us to frame the conversation around three objectives. Cannon School is a Caring Community. Cannon School is a Learning Community. Cannon School is a Sustainable Community. In order to make the diverse parts of the strategic plan understandable to members of the community, as well as to be able to gather feedback in certain areas across the three communities, we decided to make the following distinction in each of the three communities: 1. Areas of each community to be shared with stakeholders to inform. 2. Areas of each community to be shared with stakeholders to seek input. 3. Areas of each community to begin to study and implement.

In August 2014, we shared with faculty and staff the plan to use each faculty professional development day of the academic year to commit to working through a self-study process. Our calendar allowed for Â˝ day in October, December, February, and April for this work, and during each time together, we presented a plan to share from each of the areas above. We chose to create self-study working groups for each area where we looked to seek input or to begin the work of the strategic plan. There were areas of the strategic plan around financial stability and enrollment where we found it made better sense to inform the community, and so we set aside time to have the right person share the work and goals with the faculty and staff in that area. To ensure that all faculty and staff were familiarized with the financial components and the areas of enrollment and financial stability in the strategic plan, Whit Brown, Director of Business and Finance, and Bill Diskin, Director of Admission, developed presentations during professional development days for all staff and faculty. Since these two areas did not have self-study working groups, we encouraged a Q&A time as well as direct feedback to the presenters. Working groups were created with each having a Working Group Chair who reported directly to a member of the SelfStudy Steering Committee responsible for that community. In that way, we connected each working group with a Steering Committee member who then reported to entire Steering Committee including the Self-Study Co-Chairs. After each faculty professional development day the Working Group Chairs and Steering Committee members met to check progress and agree on the next set of steps, as well as process the feedback of working group members. Working Group Chairs were also asked to upload notes of each meeting as well as any created documents onto a Self-Study Haiku page to facilitate communication among groups and oversight by the Steering Committee. Some working groups, depending on the nature of the group, chose to meet at other times in addition to the days set aside by the school. At the end of the December faculty professional development day, the Steering Committee met twice to gather the work of the working groups who were giving input or beginning the work of the strategic plan. The purpose of our time together was to find the areas in each community to which the school could commit during this self-study to identify as areas to develop a plan for growth. The next section of the School Report identifies a plan for growth for four school-wide goals identified during our selfstudy time. The section will also include a brief description of the accomplishments of each self-study working group by community.

IV. OVERVIEW OF STRATEGIC PLAN AND SELF-STUDY PROCESS

V. A PLAN FOR GROWTH

V. A PLAN FOR GROWTH Our time together during our self-study process helped us to highlight a plan for growth as a community coming out of the strategic plan and the work of self-study. In this section we have done the following:

• Provided a synthesis of the self-study working groups which met during this past year organized under each selfstudy community.

• Mapped out the plan for growth from the deliverables of the self-study working groups which met during this past year.

A Caring Community Our core belief is that people are Cannon’s most valuable resource, and we wanted to honor that commitment to the individuals who make up our community by organizing many of our self-study discussions under the premise of being first a caring community. There are six working groups in our Caring Community and each considered an aspect of who we are as a school. The groups included Professional Growth, Service, Parent Leadership, Evaluation, Inclusivity, and Support. The Professional Growth Committee built a consensus that good professional growth most often stems from growth opportunities chosen by individuals. It is believed that mandated growth opportunities were not as meaningful and effective, and that growth does not necessarily result from “going” somewhere outside of school. As much as there is a desire to systematize the process, a level of flexibility for each division would serve the community. A more clearly communicated plan for how funding is distributed for professional development would also be desirous and should be developed within each division and communicated to departments. The Service Committee identified a coherent vision going forward for each division to guide the Cannon community when providing opportunities to serve. Each service opportunity should be a student driven, developmentally appropriate service learning opportunity that affords short-term experiences and ongoing cross divisional collaboration. Service happens both inside and outside of the school day. The committee is mindful of balancing time and commitment for students and wants to build on what has already been in place to ensure service continues to be meaningful and spirited. The Parent Leadership Working Group was charged with evaluating our current parent volunteer organizations and investigating ways to diversify the parent volunteer base, as well as provide training. Guidelines are being developed to enhance communications and outline expectations between parent leaders and teachers. The Evaluation Working Group has been tasked with developing an effective and meaningful process by which to evaluate faculty and staff. Comprised of administrators, faculty, and staff, this group has worked to create a system for performance evaluation and development that is sustainable, while offering clarity and opportunity for growth. The Inclusivity Working Group focused on attempts to continue to maintain a strong sense of community with programs that create a more inclusive environment. Ongoing assessments, including surveys to parents, assessing tools, and 1:1 new family mid-year interviews were discussed in order to provide yearly data to provide constant improvement. Lastly, the Support Working Group discussed that Cannon families in challenging financial situations often have difficulties taking advantage of academic assistance and optional school-related travel. Through our self-study process, we identified a need for academic, fine art, travel, and extra, co-curricular activity assistance. With attention to continued financial assistance, Cannon School could also attract more economically diverse families. We discussed putting support systems and resources in place to help students with financial needs.

V. A PLAN FOR GROWTH

A Learning Community While many aspects of community life fall under the banner of care, we acknowledge the primacy of teaching and learning in our mission and vision and therefore sought to build robust and meaningful conversations around our hopes and vision around our community of learners. What follows is a synthesis of the rich discussions that took place in each of the working groups under our Learning Community, which included Adaptive Expertise synthesis, Experiential Learning, Relational Teaching, Assessment, Deep Learning, Learning Together, and Global Citizenship. The Adaptive Expertise (AE) Working Group assisted Laura Huffman, Upper School History Department Chair, who researched and wrote the AE synthesis by working through the deliverables as well as providing a focus group for a presentation that would go to the entire faculty, staff, and Cannon community. The updated “Wheel” and AE model informs the rest of our work as a learning community. The Experiential Education Working Group considered our current Lower, Middle, and Upper School interdisciplinary and collaborative experiences through which AE is taught, but not fully articulated. They looked at ways to identify specific skills developed by each experience as well as potential new ways to continue to teach AE experientially. The Relational Teaching and Learning Working Group spent a great deal of time developing a definition of relational teaching and learning and then finding concrete examples of how relational teaching affects areas like assessment, curriculum, lesson planning, and delivery. The group was also presented with a summary of David Streight’s Breaking Into the Heart of Character as well as the revised and updated Adaptive Expertise Wheel, in order to use both to inform the conversation and planning for the next five years. The Assessment Working Group confirmed the need to construct formative and summative assessments, as well as overall grades that seek first to promote the habits of AE and a growth mindset during the learning experience for each student. Working group members have worked to hash out the many facets of mission-appropriate assessments. Some of the philosophical beliefs of the school will need to be further clarified before this group can continue to move forward. The group acknowledges a tension between the concept of college-preparatory and the teaching of Adaptive Expertise habits as well as the relational and personal aspects of our teaching and learning philosophy. Our goal continues to be the clarification of a new way to see “college-prep” which seeks to maintain our nurturing elements within an environment that prepares students for the reality of college level study. This clarification will solidify the direction of assessment conversations in and across Lower, Middle, and Upper School as well. The Deep Learning Working Group has confirmed that the majority of teachers use a curriculum map to chart their curriculum and scope and sequence. Many faculty members use and promote essential questions in their classrooms as well, but this is an area of focus in the future. Using essential questions in teaching, and also in assessment, should be worked into Cannon’s professional development opportunities. The “curriculum of self ” concept was investigated by the group. This conversation worked its way into the connection to best practices in assessment. Linking the curriculum of self to AE through the use of essential questions can be the next step for this group, using the leadership of the school’s IMPACT group. The Learning Together Working Group discussed and provided feedback to the ideas proposed by the strategic plan in the area of on-campus professional development among the divisions and during all-faculty and staff professional development days. The development in 2013-2014 of the Kimbrough Fellowship opens the opportunity for faculty to design their own growth and development that is funded by the school. Conversations centered on how to continue to make those experiences relevant to the community as a whole. The Self-Study Working Group on Global Education first looked at defining what global citizenship means by analyzing the NC Board of Education Goals for the 21st Century, World View Program at UNC, and National Benchmarks for Global Education. The group checked mission statements and core values from several independent schools in the area and completed a survey given by the National Benchmarks for Global Education. The group noted that a great deal of work is being accomplished in all three divisions around the teaching of global citizenship. With this information, we would like to better articulate Cannon School’s goals in implementing global education in its curriculum to prepare students for the twenty-first century.

V. A PLAN FOR GROWTH

A Sustainable Community Our recent extensive campus-wide improvement and building projects have followed a well-planned, funded, and executed plan now allowing us to look at facilities in the light of those accomplishments. We studied our Sustainable Community in order to add a process by which we continue campus-wide improvements as well as affirm the financial model that will sustain us during the next five years. There are four working groups in this community: Facilities, Security, Mission Appropriate Students, and Diversity. During the working group meetings with the Facilities Chair we discussed structural needs throughout the school. While we currently have a formal, methodical process to identify and address facilities needs on campus, the current process does not have a formal way to include input from all constituents to make it more inclusive in nature. Currently, the list of needs is ultimately prioritized by the Administrative Team in conjunction with the Board of Trustees without broad participation from other constituents. The idea has been proposed that going forward, the school will annually request feedback from faculty and staff via Division Heads with regard to facility needs and projects. To cite a concrete example, one need that was echoed throughout the group was a need for more storage. In our work with the Security Working Group, many items were discussed regarding the safety and security of our campus, including the newly installed camera system, emergency management, planning of drills, safety and security of the inside and outside of the buildings, and an annual safety review. The group noted that there are many things that we do very well in regards to security and that local law enforcement is very happy with the security process and procedures that we currently have in place. There was a suggestion that there should be a Safety and Security Committee, and that said committee would implement the following: review incidents or cases, many not currently known to most on campus, consider informing the community about security incidents so they have a raised awareness, review how incidents are handled and the protocols in place, and update changes to policies. The committee could also implement an annual safety review/audit at the beginning of the school year. In the Working Group for Mission Appropriate Students meeting, we discussed ways to assess students other than the traditional assessments. We want to know that a student is motivated, engaged, intellectually curious, and developmentally ready for Cannon School. There were several suggestions on how to assess an applicantâ€™s non-cognitive skills. This is one area where we would like to focus. In the Diversity Working Group meeting, the group discussed the many accomplishments since our last self-study process, which included a mission statement for diversity, a greater presence of minority students at Cannon, a robust parent diversity group, as well as an entire year of dedicated faculty professional development around diversity facilitated by an outside contractor. Looking forward, the group then developed, from the strategic plan, conversations around hiring, students, partnerships, and changing attitudes. The conversations during self-study have also sparked a continued need to communicate our growth to the community.

V. A PLAN FOR GROWTH

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Adaptive Expertise

A Plan for Growth: The School We Want to Become The time devoted for Self-Study Working Groups from August 2104 to February 2015 has yielded four major school-wide goals we would like to target for growth. These four goals are listed below along with a profile, vision, plan, and result for each goal. From the working groups above, we were tasked with focusing on two to four institutional goals. We used the criteria below to choose the four goals we present and commit to as a school. Each of these goals in our Plan for Growth must have the following characteristics. The goal:

• is connected to the strategic plan as developed and approved in 2014-2015.

• has been communicated and vetted by our entire community.

• received broad stakeholder support and consensus during self-study process.

V. A PLAN FOR GROWTH

Goal # 1: The Primacy of Teaching and Learning: Adaptive Expertise Profile: The Adaptive Expertise model (AE) has been at the core of Cannon’s educational philosophy since its inception several years ago. Our commitment to AE stems from the school’s belief in the responsibility to prepare students for an unpredictable world through expertise in habits of mind and habits of spirit. Through the professional development opportunities of the last five to seven years, faculty members have explored the work of Daniel Pink on motivation, Carol Dweck’s material on developing a growth mindset, and Ken Bain’s work on what the best teachers and learners do. As we gathered our stakeholders for the work of Vision Cornerstones, there was a clear demand for both moving forward with AE and honoring the history of what we had accomplished and learned as a community. There had never been a clear synthesis of our professional development, our community beliefs, and our mission as it related to Adaptive Expertise and Cannon’s educational philosophy. We lacked the clarity of “one language” as we navigated all that we had learned and implemented in teaching and learning through the AE model. Vision: Our compelling vision is to develop a synthesis of AE, Pink, Dweck, and Bain to be used by teachers and students as the cornerstone to all our educational endeavors. The synthesis, once completed, will be used to inform the work we will do in assessment, our commitment to a model of deeper learning, and a relational approach in teaching and learning. By developing the “language” of teaching and learning at Cannon, we will be able to move forward with a coherent curriculum that honors and serves our educational cornerstone. The synthesis will also provide a new tool to bring orientation for new families, students, and employees, and will become part of our communication to external constituents. Once finalized, the synthesis will give the classroom teachers a framework for working with each other and with students, and will inform the faculty evaluation model as well. Plan: Through the efforts of a Cannon Upper School teacher and faculty working groups, a complete synthesis of AE, Pink, Dweck, and Bain was developed during 2014-2015. Using a process that sought feedback in order to inform the work as well as allow for corrections and input from our stakeholders, the synthesis was revealed and explained to the Board of Trustees, the Head of School and senior administration, the school’s IMPACT leadership group, and then to the entire faculty and staff, in that order. The varied groups of stakeholders provided input with the understanding that this iteration of the AE model will be used as the framework to all our educational endeavors. The finalized AE model and synthesis will be presented to the entire school community in 2015-2016 and will be followed by professional development opportunities for faculty to engage with the new model and complete their understanding of Adaptive Expertise, as well as allow classroom teachers a more complete and consistent language for collaborating with each other and students. The synthesis will also begin to be used as a tool to bring clarity and orientation for new Cannon families, new students, and employees as well. The previous version of Adaptive Expertise involved a Venn diagram that linked habits of mind and habits of spirit. The new model of AE involves a wheel with the belief that all of the AE traits work together to shape the total Adaptive Expert. Each of the AE traits is now supported by the work and research of Pink, Dweck, and Bain. A few of the previous traits have been modified and renamed in order to incorporate what we have learned in the past as a community. Find here the new AE model with the research, and here is the AE Wheel. Results: Each year the Administration Team will consider the AE model and evaluate its implementation regarding teaching, learning, and curriculum through all divisions. Cannon faculty will be encouraged to explore growth opportunities related to AE through professional development. The school’s IMPACT team will be used as the driving force for this work. In all three divisions, the AE model will be used to align assessment, deeper learning, and relational teaching to our educational philosophy. The school will continue to synthesize any new material into the new working model of Adaptive Expertise as it continues to be the framework of Cannon School’s educational philosophy. 42

V. A PLAN FOR GROWTH

Goal # 2: The Primacy of Teaching and Learning: Relational Teaching and Learning Profile: Currently at Cannon School, we have an awareness of the importance of relational teaching. While many members of our faculty naturally exhibit the best practices of relational teaching, we are not fully utilizing a relational teaching and learning approach to shape assessment, curriculum, lesson planning, and delivery. We currently lack a defined approach, as well as coherent and robust professional development in order to fully implement a model of teaching that supports AE, our mission, and our fundamental vision as a school. Vision: Moving forward, we would like to educate ourselves in a formal process of creating a learning environment that is centered upon a relational teaching and learning approach. We would also like to integrate the relational teaching approach into our new Adaptive Expertise â€œWheel.â€? Incorporating this approach will guide and improve many aspects of the educational experience at Cannon School including assessment, deeper learning, parent/teacher communication, and community atmosphere. Philosophically, we are a community that seeks a person-centered environment, always placing understanding of the person above numbers, grades, and cold facts. A relational approach will continue to help us be mission-driven and data-informed, and never the other way around, in all we do in the classroom and in our curriculum. The relational teaching approach works in tandem with our AE model. Plan: Our plan of action will include a visit in August 2015 from David Streight, who authored Breaking Into the Heart of Character, a text we will used to define and develop our relational teaching approach. We plan to offer our faculty both a lecture and time for questions with Mr. Streight as well as further work on relational teaching and learning during divisional professional development days. David will also meet with a team of faculty and administration members to formulate the plan for ongoing professional development in relational teaching. We will also look at how relational teaching connects with our AE model, assessment, and deeper learning in all three divisions. Results: To measure our success in this endeavor, our Relational Teaching Task Force and our IMPACT leadership group will develop a benchmark system which encompasses the definition and the essential elements of relational teaching and learning. We will use this to assess our faculty on their success with implementing this approach in their classrooms. We will also seek feedback via surveys from students and parents on their perceived growth in the area of relational teaching at Cannon School.

Goal # 3: Mission-Appropriate Students Profile: Currently our school has several forms of applicant assessments in place. Standardized testing gives us useful information regarding acquired knowledge and skills. This is, however, only a partial picture of the applicant. We receive faculty input after an applicantâ€™s visit day, but we would like for the input to be more effective. We receive teacher recommendations if they attended a previous school. We need a structure in the admission process to consider Adaptive Expertise and other non-cognitive traits which predict success at Cannon School. Vision: Our vision is for our community to align our assessment of applicants with the philosophies we emphasize in what and how we teach. We will show a positive trend in retention rates for new students beyond their second year of enrollment. We also envision an admission process with broader faculty input. Plan: In order to achieve our vision, we need to research and explore additional ways of accessing non-cognitive traits of applicants. We will develop a model to understand the financial costs of this endeavor. We would also like to increase V. A PLAN FOR GROWTH

meaningful faculty input in the admission process. Ways to achieve this are being considered including, but not limited to, more teacher input, possible parent interview with Upper School applicants, and feedback from the student ambassador after the applicant’s visit day. We’ve also considered different types of assessments for student applicants and how they can be successful at Cannon School. The findings from the Vision Cornerstone work with regards to the Admission Committee will be utilized in this process. Results: Over the next couple of years, we will implement ways to successfully assess, enroll, and retain mission appropriate students. We will create an Adaptive Expertise rubric to be included as part of the enrollment decision process, basing our work on the newly developed AE synthesis and “Wheel.” We will record faculty input and use this information in the decision making process. We will research and implement two to three ways to assess non-cognitive traits. We will continue to use standardized tests along with other assessments.

Goal # 4: People, The Most Valuable Resource: Faculty and Staff Evaluation Process Profile: Because of the amount of time needed to evaluate each teacher in all three divisions, some teachers may currently not receive a thorough evaluation each year. In addition, there is prevailing thought that the staff evaluation needs to be deepened and broadened beyond a checklist for a defined set of skills. Vision: We will build an effective, meaningful, and sustainable process to evaluate, coach, and develop faculty and staff. Our faculty and staff will have greater clarity on what is expected of them. We will have a healthier fit quotient evidenced in the retention figures which will be tracked annually. Plan: A key group of administrators, faculty, and staff will meet to confront the challenges in evaluating faculty and staff and bring to the Administration Team a system for performance evaluation and development that is meaningful and sustainable. A separate faculty group and a staff group has met during the self-study year in order to study past models, look at current models, and develop a document and model for our faculty evaluation. Both groups have included administrators, veteran staff and faculty members, and employees new to Cannon as well. During a professional day in February, each working group presented work accomplished in order to get feedback and input from the larger group. The presentation was followed by a Q&A time. A document was finalized for use with a test group of teachers from January to May of the 2014-2015 school year. We will make any necessary changes or additions as we work through the process of beta testing. In May 2015, we will formalize our model and have it ready to implement during the 2015-2016 academic year. A digital “toolbox” will be created where the entire professional development process will be housed—including available learning opportunities, all related documents, and a place to share what has been learned. The school’s IMPACT group will provide oversight of the work of the “toolbox” as well as the continued emphasis of a philosophy of a growth mindset in adults. Results: To measure our level of success, the new evaluation program will include individual growth plans, accountability, and clarity around expectations in performance. By the close of the 2017-2018 school year, every faculty and staff member who has been at the school for more than one year will have received a performance evaluation and developed an individual growth plan based on the new evaluation process.

V. A PLAN FOR GROWTH

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