School Model

Harmony Schools have a unique and replicable school model

The school model is rigorous (prepares students for college), relevant (reinforces math and science skills) and is underpinned by a tight web of relationships (a strong culture reinforced by teachers and parents). Harmony’s intended impact is for all Harmony students to graduate high school ready for college and to enroll in 4-year colleges with the skills to succeed. Harmony attributes its strong outcomes to three core principles within the school model: a challenging math and science curriculum supported by theory; a focus on assessment; and a culture of constructive competition, discipline and parental engagement. Harmony utilizes technology across all of these dimensions to reinforce its school model and curriculum.

Challenging curriculum	“When I pick up my children, they are smiling, they are excited about learning. As a parent, I am so grateful of what we have at Harmony” -- Parent
· Harmony’s core curriculum meets the Texas Distinguished Achievement program and offers honors and AP coursework · The Piaget, Vygotsky, and Gardner-influenced curriculum challenges students just above their current level with scaffolding · Students are grouped by their skills to maximize educational outcomes
Ongoing assessment	Unique community of teachers: Most math, science and computer teachers at Harmony hold higher education degrees in their disciplines; these teachers are recruited from around the world. Also Harmony’s model encourages teachers to perform home visits with student families to build on the parent-student-teacher triad.
· Continuous assessment and prep exams promote high TAKS pass rates · Harmony teachers are given flexibility in teaching and are not constrained by the testing focus · The mandatory use of the technology-enabled student database by teachers allows for information to be consistently updated
Culture of high expectations
• Focus on constructive competition enables academic achievement to be the primary student focus • The “discipline point system” allows teachers to focus on instruction, not on discipline • The student database allows students, teachers and parents to access and monitor discipline history • Character education cultivates a community of respect
Harmony is strengthening its school model by further developing and codifying its college-preparatory curriculum, fine-tuning its method of grouping students according to their skills, bolstering the professional development available to teachers/administrators, and outlining a consistent parental engagement strategy. Harmony has allocated responsibilities for these initiatives and will be monitoring progress over the years. Finally, Harmony will hold its students, teachers and administrators accountable to a set of challenging metrics to gauge progress against its intended impact. Harmony’s intended impact whereby students; 1) graduate high school prepared for college; 2) have college ready support; and 3) enroll in four-year colleges.