Stepping out of the box is more than a cliché at Canton Charter Academy — it’s an act that’s strongly encouraged, said Principal Catherine Henkenberns, who gives her teachers room to stretch themselves as educators.
“I want them to feel free to take risks and to really do what they think is going to be best in the classroom,” said Henkenberns, “but to know that even if it did not work, they learned something from that, which will still bring improvement down the road.”ATTENTION TO DETAIL: Canton Charter Academy instructor Marcy Hunter works with eighth-grade student Shannon Wilson on her math during class Feb.2. Canton eighth-graders in the 2010-11 school year scored high enough on state math testing to earn an Academic State Championship from Bridge Magazine. (Bridge photo/Lon Horwedel)
That improvement included a 97.5 percent proficiency rate for 8th grade math on 2010-11 state testing, a score qualifying Canton for a Bridge Magazine Academic State Championship.
BRIDGE DATA: List of winners and searchable database of charter performance
While taking risks inside the classroom may not always be easy, it is, at times, necessary.
“We all have a curriculum that we have to fit in by the end of the year,” said Kristy Hagan, middle school math teacher. “Sometimes there is pressure that you have got to fit everything in and sometimes teachers follow that pace because we have to fit curriculum in, and taking a risk is taking the time to slow down and hone in on those areas where you are weak and not be afraid to slow down.”
Canton Charter attributes its success in math, in part, to teacher collaboration. Such collaboration helped the school identify a deficiency through analysis of math data.
“The more the math teachers talked about it, they started to fill in the blanks and said we need to be a little bit cohesive in teaching measurements. So by time the students get to 8thh grade, they have had all of these other skills put into place,” said Hagan.
As part of its “Academic State Championship” coverage, Bridge Magazine used a database to analyze results from all of Michigan’s charter schools on eight academic measures, then divided the results into two groups based on the socioeconomic characteristics of their student bodies. Canton scored best for 8th Grade Math among charters serving a student population with 39 percent or less eligible for free lunches.
In addition to collaboration Canton Charter also credits student tracking as a way to ensure student accountability.