Growing into Equity-Professional Learning and Personalization in High-Achieving Schools

School communities can grow into equity and excellence through personalizing learning. This is the opening sentence of the book, so how could I not be intrigued as the author highlights the core values of Waukesha North High School. We are striving for equity, excellence and expectations through our personalized learning practices so that students and adults alike can achieve optimal learning success.

High achievement and equity means attending to each student and emphasizing each students' individual gifts and needs. A commitment to equity and excellence means recognizing that every student is a complex and compelling story, as a person and a learner.
So, as Principal, I must provide direction and exercise influence so that deep innovation for these practices can take hold. High-performing schools have cultures that support ongoing teacher collaboration and professional inquiry. This in turn goes hand in hand with positive student outcomes.

Sustainable change is all about building capacity. Empowering teachers, holding them accountable, and ensuring that these personalized learning practices take hold in more than just pockets. They need to happen in every classroom, for every student. The more students experience personalization, the greater their level of engagement and connection to our school and even achievement.



So, when we talk about making equity commitments, we need to ask ourselves:
* Are we committed to all students scoring at least a 3 or higher on key assessments?
* Are we committed to making sure every student will graduate ready for college?
* Are we committed to making sure that every student and every teacher achieve their personal best?
* Are we committed to achieve social justice through the development of the complete individual?

If you cannot say a confident, YES, to each of these things, you might want to check yourself at the door before you walk into the Purple Palace. Our focus on equity begins with understanding students as individuals and working together to achieve collective capacity in personalizing student learning.