Excellent Teaching

“The strongest teachers are the ones who never stop learning. At Capitol Collegiate, I feel honored to be a part of a community of learners dedicated to providing high quality instruction for each one of our students. Core teachers are members of content teams which meet weekly for collaboration and professional learning rooted in best practices. Each cycle, content teams use data to set instructional priorities that drive teacher development. Teachers engage in peer observations as a means to learn and grow from one another. Most importantly, CCA teachers own their professional learning. They lean into collaboration and self-reflection which has powerful effects on teaching and learning.”
Brandi Arendt, ELA Instructional Coach

Instructional Staffing & Program Coherence

Capitol Collegiate strategically designs teacher roles and responsibilities to meet our ambitious academic achievement goals most effectively.

In our elementary K-5 CCA limits the number of content areas taught by each lead teacher. Our multiple subject kindergarten through fifth grade teachers are not the traditional ‘generalist’ teaching all subjects. Rather, they specialize in teaching either math and science or ELA and social studies to all the students on the grade level. By “departmentalizing” beginning in kindergarten, teachers focus on and develop deeper expertise for two subjects. As a result, they can better differentiate their instruction to meet the needs of all learners. Also, when teachers can teach what they love, they’re likely to remain highly invested in the content.
In addition, students in kindergarten through second grades each have an additional, dedicated foundational skills teachers who teaches direct instruction in phonics and foundational literacy skills. Through this model, Capitol Collegiate lowers the student/teacher instruction ratio to 1:9 during critically important phonics and guided reading instruction.

Our programs are coordinated and consistent with our goals for student learning. Curriculum, instruction, and learning materials are well coordinated across the different grade-levels, and there is consistency in curriculum, instruction, and learning materials among teachers in the same grade level.
Our instructional leaders are an active and skilled group that coordinate the instructional program, ensuring consistency, continuity, and fidelity across the school. In short, all Capitol Collegiate students work with content aligned to the appropriate state standards for their subject and grade.

Quality Professional Development

We recognize that content is most effective when expertly delivered to students. Capitol Collegiate selects teachers who demonstrate our school’s core values and believe teachers deserve and expect the kind of top-quality development that will support their efforts executing at a high level and driving student achievement.
Professional development at Capitol Collegiate is sustained and coherently focused; includes enough time to think, try, and evaluate new ideas; is designed in alignment with school and team priorities; and goals includes opportunities for collaboration.
Capitol Collegiate employs content-specific instructional coaches who provide direct coaching and content-specific instructional support to our teachers. Coaches are seasoned teachers who focus 100% of their time on leading and developing their team of teachers. The ELA, math, and foundational skills coaches are a key lever for Capitol Collegiate’s academic progress and success.

Given the high expectations for teachers, we ensure teachers receive two and a half hours of professional preparation time daily and an average of twelve to fifteen hours of professional development and preparation time during the week. This time accommodates the often unrecognized time teachers spend grading, planning, and communicating with families that is not part of the regular school day. Capitol Collegiate Academy gives teachers the opportunity to do this important work within the collegial structure of the school day and allow them to protect their personal and family time in the evenings.
Regular, consistent professional development experiences include:

Three weeks of professional development and collaboration prior to the school year beginning
Weekly instructional coaching with a content-specific instructional coach
Weekly content team meetings to plan, prepare to assess, analyze data and student work, and reflect
Observation, feedback and support from an Instructional Coach around classroom culture