Guiding Principles

ATLAS Learning Communities™ are guided by five principles that are
fundamental assumptions about the hopes and expectations for schools:

• Authentic teaching and learning is driven by questions; focuses on habits and understanding; and involves challenging, purposeful and sustained learning.
• Ongoing cycles of planning, action and reflection characterize effective teaching, learning and organizational change.
• Relationships matter, because learning is a social activity.
• Shared leadership, commitment and communication build a collaborative culture for learning.
• Members of ATLAS schools and pathways see themselves as part of broader, more integrated learning communities.

The ATLAS Vision

What are the ideas behind ATLAS Communities?
Our hope is to enable all students to be lifelong learners, productive workers, and thoughtful members of our families and global community.

• ATLAS Communities is a comprehensive school reform design dedicated to improving student learning.
• Each ATLAS community can be thought of as a single school housed on several campuses, and committed to providing continuity for students from preschool to high school.
• ATLAS communities align innovative, challenging learning experiences, PreK-12, with state and local standards, ensuring that all students achieve at high levels.
• In ATLAS communities, students, teachers, administrators, and families work together to graduate students who exhibit a deep understanding of their world and the habit of living by and with that understanding.