Seven Schools Receive EL Education Credential

Recognized for Mastery in Academics, Character, and High Quality Work

New York, NY /PRNewswire/ - EL Education, a leading K-12 non-profit organization, has announced that seven schools from across its national network have received the EL Education Credential. The hallmark of EL Education's approach to reinventing school is an expanded definition of student achievement that combines student character and high-quality work with mastery of knowledge and skills. The EL Education Credential recognizes schools that have attained remarkable achievement impacts with all students in each of these the areas. Thirty-six of the more than 150 schools in the organization's network have attained the EL Education Credential.

"The EL Education Credential marks a milestone on each school's journey to put character and quality work on equal footing with the mastery of knowledge and skills. The recognition represents a multi-year focus on the three dimensions of student achievement and is proof that there doesn't have to be a trade-off between challenge and joy in teaching and learning," said Mark Conrad, Chief Schools Officer at EL Education.

The seven schools that received an EL Education Credential will be recognized at EL Education's National Conference, a gathering of more than 1,000 educators in Philadelphia from November 9th to 11th, 2018. The Newly Credentialed Schools Are:

• Amana Academy, Alpharetta, GA
• Brighten Academy Charter School, Douglasville, GA
• Christa McAuliffe Charter School, Framingham, MA
• Meadow Glen Middle School, Lexington, SC
• Palouse Prairie Charter School, Moscow, ID
• West Bath School, West Bath, ME
• Westchester Elementary School, Decatur, GA

Amana Academy has been implementing the EL Education model since its founding in 2005. "Achieving the designation as an EL Education Credentialed School reinforces to our internal and external communities that we are steadfast in our commitment to this model that is grounded in equity, respect, and spending the precious time that we have with students on learning that matters," said Cherisse Campbell, Principal of Amana Academy.

Redefining how performance is measured in K-12 education, EL Education in 2014 began recognizing schools that demonstrated high levels of implementation and achievement with a credential. EL Education defines achievement as mastery in three areas, all of which are powerfully associated with success in college and career:

• Mastery Of Knowledge And Skills. Students show evidence of proficiency and deep understanding of a subject, critical thinking, the ability to communicate clearly, and application of their learning. Performance on state assessments over a period of several years is one measure.
• Character. EL Education schools establish consistent school-wide "Habits of Scholarship" (such as perseverance and responsibility), which are then tracked by students and teachers to provide evidence of growth over time.
• High-Quality Student Work. Schools present evidence showing the quality, depth, and authenticity of student work during the school's multi-year partnership with EL Education.

The Seven Schools Join 29 Schools Holding An EL Education Credential:

• Anser Charter School, Boise, ID
• Arbor Vitae-Woodruff Elementary School, Arbor Vitae, WI
• Capital City Public Charter School, Washington, DC
• Casco Bay High School, Portland, ME
• Clairemont Elementary School, Decatur, GA
• Downtown Denver Expeditionary Learning School, Denver, CO
• Evergreen Community Charter School, Asheville, NC
• Four Rivers Charter Public School, Greenfield, MA
• Fox Creek Elementary School, Highlands Ranch, CO
• Genesee Community Charter School, Rochester, NY
• Grass Valley Charter School, Grass Valley, CA
• The Greene School, West Greenwich, RI
• Harborside Academy, Kenosha, WI
• King Middle School, Portland, ME
• Leaders High School, Brooklyn, NY
• Marsh Avenue Expeditionary Learning School (MAELS), Staten Island, NY
• Marathon Venture Academy, Marathon, WI
• Metropolitan Expeditionary Learning School (MELS), Queens, NY
• Oakhurst Elementary School, Decatur, GA
• Odyssey School of Denver, Denver, CO
• Open World Learning Community, St. Paul, MN
• Pocatello Community Charter School, Pocatello, ID
• Polaris Charter Academy, Chicago, IL
• Presumpscot Elementary School, Portland, ME
• Rimrock Expeditionary Alternative Learning Middle School (REALMS), Bend, OR
• Sierra Expeditionary Learning School, Truckee, CA
• Springfield Renaissance School, Springfield, MA
• Two Rivers Public Charter School, Washington, DC
• William Smith High School, Aurora, CO

About EL Education
EL Education (formerly Expeditionary Learning) is a leading K-12 nonprofit helping to build great schools in diverse communities across America. For over 25 years, EL Education has been bringing to life a three-dimensional vision of student achievement that includes mastery of knowledge and skills, character, and high-quality student work. EL Education promotes active classrooms that are alive with discovery, problem-solving, challenge, and collaboration. EL Education drives results: teachers fulfill their highest aspirations and students achieve more than they think possible. EL Education students have both the capacity and the passion to build to a better, more just world.

EL Education's expert educators work with public schools—both district and charter—across 35 states, serving over 200,000 students and 16,000 teachers in our school network and literacy partnerships. Rigorous impact studies by Mathematica Policy Research demonstrate that EL Education's approach works: teachers significantly improve their craft and students achieve more, regardless of background.

Grounded In Decades Of In-Depth Work With Educators, EL Education Creates Highly Respected, Widely Distributed Open Educational Resources, Including:

• An acclaimed literacy curriculum that has been downloaded more than 10 million times and received the highest possible ratings from EdReports.org.
• The world's largest collection of exemplary student projects.
• Inspiring instructional videos with millions of views.
• Hundreds of free online resources.
• Best-selling education books.

EL Education was founded in 1992 by the Harvard Graduate School of Education in collaboration with Outward Bound USA based on the belief that learning and achievement flourish when teachers and students are engaged in work that is challenging, adventurous, and meaningful.