After two weeks of vacation at the end of the school year, teachers return for the TEP Summer Development Institute, an intense 6-week planning and professional development institute for all TEP teachers, including new teachers who will be joining the school for the upcoming year. Participation in the Summer Development Institute is mandatory and is compensated through TEP’s salary structure. At the Summer Development Institute, TEP teachers and the TEP Principal work to achieve the following three objectives:

1. Rigorous Assessment of the Past School Year
The teachers and principal analyze student data – both quantitative data such as performance on statewide assessments and qualitative data such as student work portfolios – to determine strengths and weaknesses of the school’s instructional program. The teachers and principal also perform rigorous peer and self-assessments to identify targeted areas for improvement with respect to pedagogy and curriculum as well as school operations and culture.

2. The Annual Teaching Challenge
Each year the Institute is thematically organized around one particular teaching challenge that TEP teachers have identified during the immediately preceding school year as an important area for further study and exploration. The goal of the institute is to create an intense focus on this pedagogical challenge and arrive at concrete solutions that can be implemented during the upcoming school year. TEP teachers focus on the Teaching Challenge using structured discussions and experiential exercises that are grounded in educational research and make use of external resources and experts that visit the Institute. At the end of the Institute, the TEP team is expected to have produced a tangible deliverable that addresses the Teaching Challenge and can be utilized during the upcoming school year.

One example of a Teaching Challenge & Tangible Deliverable is as follows: How can technology be maximized to collect student data that informs and improves teaching? Deliverable: Create or identify an exemplary piece of data-collection technology and integrate it into the TEP student and teacher experience.

3. Plan Concrete Changes for the Upcoming School Year
The Institute culminates around planning concrete changes for the upcoming school year. TEP teachers refine curriculum, pedagogical practice, and school operations to address weaknesses identified in the end-year assessment and spur innovation in the school’s instructional program. These changes reinforce a dynamic culture focused on constant growth.

During this phase of the Institute, teachers also meet in teams to develop individualized Academic Support Plans for struggling students, focusing on those who failed to meet promotional criteria due to a combination of failing course grades and standardized exam scores. An Academic Support Plan consists of a set of strategy changes that the school plans to implement for a particular student for the upcoming year.