The Common Principles’ Staying Power

A CES Big Idea (with video!) by Linda Nathan This is my Coalition of Essential Schools (CES) story. In 1984, I drove to Providence with Abbie Schirmer for our first Fall Forum. I was the assistant director of the newly formed Fenway Program at Boston’s English High School. Abbie was our computer and math teacher. In a workshop on scheduling, at the Providence Fall Forum, we were asked to examine a bunch of different schedules to determine various schools’ priorities. It was a fascinating exercise. One schedule had Community Service twice a week, while another had Advisory every day. Also, some
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Common Principles: From 9 to 10

When it was founded, the Coalition of Essential Schools was founded on nine Common Principles developed by Theodore R. Sizer as an extension of the research on the American high school that led to the publication of Horace’s Compromise. The tenth Common Principle, known as “Democracy and Equity” joined the group in during Fall Forum 1997, as recounted by Kathleen Cushman in “Democracy and Equity: CES’s Tenth Common Principle.” In full, it reads: Democracy and equity: The school should demonstrate non-discriminatory and inclusive policies, practices, and pedagogies. It should model democratic practices that involve all who are directly affected by the
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Translate, Transform, Transcend

A CES Big Idea by Teri Schrader In the early days of the Coalition of Essential Schools (CES), my school, Watkinson School in Hartford, Connecticut, was in many ways the school it is today: small, vibrant, creative, and naturally inclined to see in each of its students their capacity for growth and for reaching their own version of brilliance. Founded in 1881 as a farm school in the city, the school had a way of developing authentic learning experiences that countered many of the traditions and confines of its more conventional peer schools. Watkinson has always occupied a unique place
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CES Essentials: Our Great Books and More

As part of the Year of Demonstration, we’re highlighting the essential books and resources that have shaped the Coalition of Essential Schools’ history. This series, called the CES Essentials, offers thoughts on these works from educators and others who create schools and school systems that demonstrate the power of the Common Principles in action. We’re starting with books written by our founders. The first set of CES Essentials includes: → Theodore R. Sizer’s Horace’s Compromise, with a reflection by Larry Myatt → Theodore R. Sizer’s Horace’s School, with a reflection by George Wood → Theodore R. Sizer’s Horace’s Hope, with a reflection by Eileen Landay → Deborah Meier’s The Power of Their Ideas, with a reflection
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