Mission
The three statements in our Mission.
What is Fostering Ideas, Connecting Learning, Personalizing the Process?
TCDS uses “power standards” which are a carefully selected subset of the total list of the grade-specific and course-specific standards within each content area that students must know and be able to do by the end of each school year in order to be prepared to enter the next grade level or course.
What is Guided by AZ State Standards?
Formatives and summatives will guide teachers in determining what skills and concepts their students need to practice.
What is Assessment?
Life outside of school is full of projects, many of which involve having and developing a set of skills, often in collaboration with others, each with a tangible outcome or product.
What is Relevance?
The TCDS slogan!
What is Creating the Future?
Encouraging and nurturing creativity, innovation, and critical thinking by creating an environment where new concepts and solutions can emerge and be explored. This involves supporting collaboration, open dialogue, and experimentation to generate fresh perspectives and approaches.
What is Fostering Ideas?
The main drivers and decision makers in terms of what new concepts and skills students will learn throughout the school year.
Who are the teachers?
Practicing a new skill and the process of acquiring knowledge is personal and can look different for each student.
What is Personalized?
Project units provide great opportunity for student voice and choice and should involve student input where appropriate.
What is Teacher and Student Driven?
Innovations Pursued, Passions Realized, Champions Made
What is the TCDS Vision?
Linking various concepts, skills, or subjects to create a more integrated and cohesive learning experience. This approach helps learners see relationships between different areas of knowledge, enhancing their understanding and promoting deeper, more meaningful learning.
What is Connecting the Learning?
Inherently engaging for students, providing the opportunity for a deeper conceptual understanding of what is being learned through active participation.
What are Experiences?
Before having students engage in any type of practice task, teachers should be able to clearly explain “why” the particular task is important and what it’s building towards.
What is Purposeful?
PBL units allow students to apply learned content and skills in a meaningful way that results in a tangible outcome.
What is Application?
An established area in a classroom that can help a student(s) regain their composure.
What is a "safe place"?
Tailoring educational experiences, strategies, and approaches to meet the unique needs, preferences, and goals of individual learners. This ensures that instruction, support, and feedback are customized, enabling each student to progress at their own pace and in ways that suit their learning style.
What is Personalizing the Process?
Teachers (and students) play a valuable role in facilitating learning through open communication and discussion. These are often most impactful after students have had an experience with the concept being presented.
What are Explanations?
What students practice should be determined by what students are showing they are ready for. Having a choice allows for ownership of their learning.
What is Student Driven practice?
All projects are built using this template which is intended to provide a board overview of a project unit.
What is the Project Planning Tool?
Safety, Connection, Problem Solving
What are the 3 tiers of the Social Framework that support the 3 brain states?
A concise, clear declaration of an organization’s purpose, core values, and objectives.
What is a Mission statement?
A common template all instructional staff use to ensure new learning plans align with key instructional components.
What is a Quarterly Planning Framework?
Tailoring the learning journey to each individual student, before engaging in any practice task, educators ensure that students understand the importance of the task and how it contributes to their overall learning objectives.
What is a Practice Pathway?
When deciding what project unit to create, think about the needs of TCDS and our surrounding community.
What is Guided By Community Needs?
The TCDS founding year.
What is 1968?