Consistency of Procedures and Systems
Cornerstone Prep is a systems-driven school, using distinct
procedures and processes to create efficiency. This includes procedures for
homework submission, entering and exiting the school, meal and snack time,
reading, and daily routines.
These routines provide students with the
structured environment they need and create a space of order that is conducive
to learning[1].
The first few weeks of school are designed to teach students
Cornerstone Prep processes and procedures. Students learn how to enter class,
stand in line, go to and from the lavatory, submit homework assignments and how
to organize school binders. Students are taught to be silent in the hallways
and to always be prepared for receiving instruction. Students are taught how to
be respectful of classmates, faculty, staff, and the school building. These
routines are taught in conjunction with academic lessons.
Cornerstone Prep “sweats the small stuff” by not allowing small
infractions to become large problems[2].
Students are taught how to behave and the entire school staff enforces the conduct
code with an intense focus on details.
This philosophy is embraced by many high
performing urban charter schools which generate great results. This philosophy
is inspired by the works of James Q. Wilson and George Kelling’s Broken Windows theory: “If the first
broken window in a building is not repaired, then people who like breaking
windows will assume that no one cares about the building and more windows will
be broken. Soon the building will have no windows.” [3]
Students who choose to misbehave lose privileges such as recess
time or other special activity time. Parents of students who continue to
misbehave receive a phone call from the Principal and parents are required to
attend a meeting with the Principal and the child’s teacher to determine a plan
of action.
As noted previously, if the student has a medical disorder that
requires special needs treatment, accommodations, or individualized education
plans, Cornerstone Prep will work with the parent to find appropriate placement
for the student.
[1] From Transforming Children’s Lives, a talk that
Dr. Monroe delivered at a Building Excellent Schools conference in Boston, MA,
2000.
[2] From Sweating
the small stuff: Inner-city Schools and the New Paternalism (2008) by David Whitman.
[3] Wilson, James, Q. and Kelling, George E., “Broken
Windows: The police and neighborhood safety,” Atlantic Monthly, March 1982.