The SSAR is an assessment tool used by the School Leadership Team to measure progress towards developing a college-going culture and becoming an effective middle school community. This tool promotes visible shared goals and helps to identify staff expectations.
The SSAR identifies six conditions of a college-going culture as:
- Development of a College-Going Culture
- Rigorous Academic Curriculum
- High Quality Teaching
- Intensive Academic and College-Going Support
- Multicultural College-Going Identity
- Family-Neighborhood-School Supports
At the Fall Institute, each Leadership Team member reviews the SSAR and makes a determination of where the school is now. The assessments are discussed to see where the agreements and differences are, and a school profile is created. Schools rate themselves each year on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 representing a model program. This process of guided discussion and reflection promotes the beginning of a shared vision, the identification and coordination of resources, and the use of student data to develop and implement a unified schoolwide plan.