> Founding & Driving Principles
Founding Principles of Thurgood Marshall Academy
In order to enable students to reach their full potential, Thurgood Marshall Academy pledges to provide:
- Intensive academic curriculum that first addresses
remedial needs and then challenges all students
to achieve their full potential.
- Extended day, extended week, and extended year
that allows students to receive the attention and
opportunities necessary to reach their full potential.
- Law-related education that integrates issues of
justice, equality, and law and government throughout
the curriculum.
- Curriculum that develops students' voices so that
they graduate as persuasive and articulate speakers
who can advocate on behalf of themselves and their
community.
- School community that draws on the resources and
skills of families, parents, students, businesses,
and community groups to help our students become
confident in their abilities and proud of their
communities, their culture, and their histories.
- Staff and infrastructure that are capable of meeting
the entire need of all students.
- Educational environment that fosters critical
thinking and requires high academic performance
among all its students.
- Curriculum and programs that develop students
with strong character and ethical values capable
of responding to life's challenges.
- Parents involved as partners in ensuring the success
of our students.
- Fundraising efforts and a budget reflecting the true cost of providing a first-rate education.
Driving Principles
These are the principles of our school culture—the
beliefs under which all members of our school community
operate.
I. Community
We believe that students belong to multiple communities—educational, familial, cultural, national, global—each with its own benefits and responsibilities.
We believe that a learning community where all students
and staff thrive requires genuine respect among all
members.
We believe justice is a key component in a healthy
community, and practicing justice in our school prepares
us to pursue it elsewhere.
We believe that Thurgood Marshall Academy must be
an active, just, and respectful member of the Ward
8 community.
II. Diversity
We believe that a rich education promotes the respect
of multiple perspectives and experiences.
We believe that in order to meet the needs of each
community member and create opportunities for success,
we must respect that individuals learn and demonstrate
learning in different ways.
III. Democracy / Participation
We believe that with the privilege of being a citizen
of the community comes the charge of service and responsibility.
We believe that our school reflects democratic principles
of fairness, due process, equality, and justice.
We believe that when we are decision-makers in our
educational and social experiences, we become agents
of change in our own communities.
We believe that preparation for post-secondary education
demands that we integrate the elements of a liberal
education—science, the creative arts, mathematics,
technology, and the humanities—in order to possess
the skills to understand and influence our world.
IV. Excellence
We believe that excellence requires passion, focus,
and commitment—and nothing less.
We believe that when we are confronted with uncompromisingly
high expectations, challenged with meaningful work,
and provided with appropriate tools, the best is brought
out in each of us.
We believe that true learning occurs when we question,
investigate, and evaluate ideas.
We believe that genuine growth requires constant
reflection.
We believe that we must support each other's wellness,
because it is paramount to our individual and collective
success.
To realize these principles, we must work as a team.
We each bear responsibility for the success of the
entire community of Thurgood Marshall Academy.
