Our Model

History behind the Teaching for Excellence Model

Spence Rogers, one of the co-founders of Peak Learning Systems, invested 17 years with the Glendale Union High School District. Dr. Jerry George, the superintendent of the district for about 20 years began his leadership by developing the Glendale Educational Management System (GEMS) driven by a well-defined curriculum (in observable, behavioral terms) and accompanying secure assessments for each objective. The assessment data provided the fuel that drove reform within the district until it became a system in which continuous improvement as supported by data and research became the norm.

As the data provided the need for improved instruction, the district adopted the Madeline Hunter’s Model for Instruction and Clinical Supervision. The Effective Schools Model was used as the structure to support continuous growth in student achievement and reductions in achievement gaps. The outcome-based (later known as standards-based) movement brought a tight focus on specific learnings driven by higher level standards and incorporation of mastery learning. Finally, the higher level standards brought a commitment to ensure the effective teaching and assessment of complex processes and deep understandings in addition to critical knowledge and skills.

Teaching for Excellence

Teaching for Excellence is an approach based on the following premises—

• All students can learn well.
• Students must learn essential content to maximize their choices and opportunities.
• All students must be taught to their maximum potential, and potential can never be used as an excuse to limit learning and expectations.
• Students must learn to meet standards and, as such, they must be coached until they do.
• Most adults and adolescents are effective teachers when teaching loved ones content they value outside of school.
• Teaching practices and approaches typically found in school have never been effective for all students. This often leads to inadequate learning, failure of students to reach standards, and a general lack of preparation of the world beyond school.
• Typical teaching practices and approaches throughout school are highly dependent upon support from the home.

Teaching for Excellence™ is a set of concepts, methods, approaches, strategies and techniques that are tools used by master teachers and reach Performance Excellence
for All Kids. This approach is similar to the way that best friends and parents teach their children critical abilities such as riding a bike, driving a car and getting along with
others.

“Tried and true” teaching approaches used outside of school tend to be very effective, but often translate differently “inside” school because of numbers of students, motivation
factors, common regulations, policies, procedures, and past practices. The Teaching for Excellence Model™ provides the means for bringing the powerful ways people
teach outside of school into the classrooms.