Who We Are

WMA Portrait of a Teacher

Purpose: articulates the skills, responsibilities and attributes of excellent teaching at WMA that supports students meeting the qualities in the Academy’s Portrait of a Graduate.

Professional responsibilities:

• Continually seeks out methods to improve their teaching
• Reflects on progress/their own work
• Is a professional and helpful colleague
• Provides timely, clear and cordial communication to parents, students and colleagues
• Contributes to advance the goals of the school and the Character & Citizenship qualities identified in the Portrait of a Graduate
• Provides student support outside of the classroom
• Meets administrative responsibilities
• Skilled in the use of educational technology
• Employs culturally competent methods and approaches to meet the needs of a diverse student population

Curriculum & Instruction

• Designs purposeful lessons demonstrating subject expertise and curriculum aligned instruction
• Identifies clear short and long term learning objectives
• Prepares variety of instructional techniques and diverse assessments
• Encourages work that promotes student choice and creativity
• Provides timely and meaningful student feedback
• Models the desired skills and learning behaviors necessary for success
• Challenges students to solve complex problems that require evidence based reasoning

WMA Portrait of a Coach

Purpose: articulates the skills, responsibilities, and attributes of excellent coaching/activity leadership at WMA that support students meeting the qualities in the Academy’s Portrait of a Graduate.

Professional Responsibilities

• Seeking out professional development opportunities
• Building the program
• Monitoring and promoting physical, mental, and emotional health and safety
• Overseeing logistics and designing team sessions that meet short and long-term objectives

Supporting Individual Development

• Helping participants identify their personal short and long-term goals in the program
• Providing support to individual participants as they strive to meet their goals
• Managing participant expectations

Setting Team Culture

• Exemplifying and promoting school and team values
• Setting and maintaining standards of teamwork and sportsmanship
• Creating cohesion within the program through the pursuit of a shared goal
• Encouraging passion and enthusiasm among all participants

Portrait of a Dorm Parent

Purpose: articulates the skills, responsibilities and attributes of an excellent dorm parent at WMA that supports students meeting the qualities in the Academy’s Portrait of a Graduate.

Professional Responsibilities

• Upholds community rules, expectations, and core values
• Is active during dorm duty from beginning to end, weeknights and weekends
• Sets appropriate boundaries with students
• Has effective and timely communication, through Reach, whiteboard notes, and dorm phone, with students, dorm team, AODs, counselors, nurses, and reports issues as needed
• Collaborates frequently with the dorm team
• Being consistent with enforcing rules (per dorm team)

Community Building

• Establish individual connections with dorm students to support their growth (happy, healthy, empathetic)
• Establish, understand, and maintain dorm’s culture
• Being engaged in and outside of duty time
• Be responsive to how community events impact student life
• Listens actively and adjusts to student input and feedback
• Employing culturally competent methods and approaches to meet the needs of diverse student populations
• Creating student agency when appropriate, involving students in decision-making if/when possible