Statement of Principles

Statement of Principles for the USASB Constitution

The Academy asserts the goal of education is to:

1. Include each and every student.

2. Serve the needs, desires, and interests of each and every student.

3. Respect and honor each and every student.

Therefore:

All education offerings, activities, opportunities, and spaces must be open to and accessible by each and every student, irrespective of any student attribute or characteristic, including but not limited to all of the statutory categories, plus age, ability level, effort, behavior, language, location, household, and other circumstances, so that each and every student is included. No student shall be excluded.

Teachers must develop positive and meaningful relationships with each and every student, and listen to, work with, study with, learn alongside, and advocate for each and every student, so that each and every student’s needs and desires can be identified, understood, and planned for.

Teachers must identify, understand, and plan for the needs, desires, and interests of each and every student so that appropriate offerings, activities, opportunities, and space can be provided to each and every student.

Teachers must provide offerings, activities, opportunities, and space, including but not limited to facilities, materials, equipment, resources, curriculum, teaching and learning strategies, instruction, assistance, tutoring, coaching, guidance, and counseling, to each and every student, so that each and every student’s needs, desires, and interests are met, satisfied, and fulfilled.

Teachers must learn each and every student's home language, value that language, and offer instruction in that language, in addition to English and any other language requested by each student, so that each and every student’s home language is respected and honored.

Teachers must learn about each and every student’s home culture, value that culture, and offer instruction in and activities related to that culture, in addition to any other culture requested by each student, so that each and every student’s home culture is respected and honored.

Teachers must learn about each and every student’s home life, value that home life, and take each student’s home life into account relative to all offerings, activities, opportunities, and space, so that each and every student’s home life is respected and honored.

Teachers must respect and honor each and every student’s home language, home culture, and home life, so that each and every student is respected and honored.

Teachers must advocate for each and every student, do the right thing for each and every student, and demand the right thing be done for each and every student, so that each and every student is respected and honored.

Teachers should spend a portion of their work schedule teaching, and another portion of their work schedule should be freed up, so that they have time available to develop positive and meaningful relationships with, and learn alongside, students.

Teachers must be able to request and receive money and resources so that they can develop positive and meaningful relationships with, and learn alongside, students.

Teachers must have time, money, and resources to learn each and every student’s home language, to learn about each and every student’s home culture, and to learn about each and every student's home life, so that each and every student’s home language, home culture, and home life is honored and respected.

Teachers should spend a portion of their work schedule teaching, a portion of their work schedule developing positive and meaningful relationships with and learning alongside students, and another portion of their work schedule should be freed up, so that they have time available to be involved, to the extent desired, in the oversight, governance, administration, and operations of the Academy and of education in general.

Teachers must be able to request and receive money and resources so that they can be involved, to the extent desired, in the oversight, governance, administration, and operations of the Academy and of education in general.

No teacher should be excluded from the governance, administration, and operations of education. All teachers must be included.

Everyone involved in the school will foster and nurture a learning environment and community atmosphere that is supportive of all students, that values, respects, and honors each and every individual student and their needs, desires, interests, beliefs, abilities, personal choices, content and curriculum choices, participation choices, and preferred pacing of learning and doing.