Choose Odyssey Elementary School
ABOUT ODYSSEY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Odyssey Elementary School, located in POWER Zone at 6275 Bridlespur Avenue in Colorado Springs, strives to inspire students through caring relationships and meaningful learning. Odyssey's mission states, "Working together, we create a fun, safe environment that: builds positive relationships, nurtures character development, engages all through choice, provides purposeful opportunities, and fosters collaboration".
Learning
Odyssey Elementary School is dedicated to creating experiences that develop character and purpose through daily personalized learning opportunities that are second to none. To further this approach, students will have a choice in how they engage, with options in methods, tools, and ways of demonstrating learning based on preference and need. Personalization will be enhanced through regular collaborative, experiential activities that utilize integrated technologies.
We will embrace competency-based learning that will empower students to move freely through their learning progression. Our learners will be co-creators of their educational pathways, engaging in goal setting that is both individual and collaborative in nature. Mastery of standards and competencies will be demonstrated in multiple areas that reflect the attributes needed for success in today’s world as well as in the future. Performance assessments and portfolios will provide authentic, measurable outcomes that go beyond test scores.
Innovative spaces coupled with any time, anywhere access to resources will facilitate experiences tailored to learner needs, preferences, and interests that are not bound by time or specific classrooms. A wide range of environments will be created that support authentic, hands-on learning enhanced by state-of-the-art technologies. Odyssey Elementary will be warm and welcoming and will reflect the values of our school and community.
An innovative culture united with purposeful learning opportunities and personalized environments will promote the development of thoughtful problem solvers, ultimately enabling each learner to develop his or her internal compass to guide them through life.
Teaching
At Odyssey Elementary, the role of educators will evolve from a traditional model of information delivery to a model in which educators design dynamic learning experiences and coach students at the point of need. Our teachers will be innovative while implementing practices that engage, motivate, and challenge. A wide range of tools will provide educators with a variety of methods for accessing and personalizing their own work. A blended model will enable teachers to transform the classroom from a place to sit and receive instruction to one where learners share ideas, build team capacity, and leverage individual talents.
To enhance personalization, our teachers will have point-of-need access to relevant learner data that focuses on a range of demonstrated whole child competencies, enabling them to better know their learners. We will adapt planning, delivery methods, and options to individual needs, designing experiences that are strengths-based and interest-driven.
A positive school culture that extends beyond the walls of the school will promote collaborative planning and delivery with other teachers as well as local and global experts. We will provide access to authentic challenges for learners facilitated by “best fit” human resources both in school and beyond their assigned teacher. Mentors, coaches, and guest speakers will be accessible through digital communication, face-to-face meetings, and virtual field expeditions to career-centered sites.
By cultivating an environment conducive to innovation and personalization, teachers at Odyssey Elementary will experience the highest levels of job satisfaction.
Leadership
At Odyssey Elementary, leadership is not defined by title or position, but rather by actions. Our leaders will model, encourage, cultivate, nurture, and support innovation while prioritizing their work to reflect the values of the school. To maximize the reach of innovative practice, we will provide regular opportunities for students, teachers, and community members to develop and apply leadership skills through a shared decision-making model.
Leaders at Odyssey Elementary will serve as ambassadors for our school. We will regularly participate in community events and district engagements promoting our school to potential students, parents, and high-quality educators. Partnerships with middle and high schools in our zone will be established and strengthened to enhance learning opportunities.
The Odyssey Elementary leadership team will communicate our vision as “the work of the organization” and utilize a wide range of evidence to strategically plan for, monitor, and evaluate the impact of personalization on learning. Resource allocation at Odyssey Elementary will be directly tied to vision-related priorities and needs. In doing so, our leaders will create a purposeful community with a culture of excellence, collaboration, and proactive communication based on our vision.
Collaborative relationships, effective communication structures, and the intentional nurturing of leadership attributes amongst our students and the staff will ensure academic excellence and sustainable leadership.
Professional Learning
At Odyssey Elementary, ongoing professional growth will be a cornerstone to evolving personalized models throughout our school. Purposeful, targeted, and meaningful professional learning will ensure that transformative practices are effective, evident, and widespread. We will focus on opportunities that support authentic problem-based inquiry, technology integration, collaboration, and pedagogical best practices. Robust structures of self-directed professional learning will be based on need, interest, and passion.
To model the expectations for our classrooms, professional learning will include individualized and collaborative opportunities for face-to-face engagements, online modules, and blended options. To enhance authenticity, we will engage multiple partners to provide professional learning opportunities based on individual needs and preferences. Teachers will collaborate with and learn from in-building coaches, district support staff, other educators from across the state, and consultants.
Professional learning communities will be focused on teacher and student needs identified and driven by the vision. An awareness of strengths, areas for development, preferred modes of learning, optimal work/productivity time(s), and favored learning styles will help each staff member craft his/her own personal plan to realize growth. Routine self-assessment and reflection will enable staff members to benchmark their skill development against district-defined and globally relevant standards.
Through a personalized approach to professional development, educators at Odyssey Elementary will be empowered to hone and advance their skills, ultimately establishing themselves as world-class educators.
Wider Community
A positive relationship between the school and community is essential to the continued growth and success of both. Odyssey Elementary will build reciprocal partnerships with local, regional, national, and international businesses, community and civic organizations, as well as our parent stakeholders. We will actively foster, nurture, and maintain these positive partnerships through regular empathy-building engagements to further develop knowledge, skills, and an understanding of local and global working structures. Partners will collaborate with teachers, leaders, and learners to ensure learning experiences have a direct connection to the needs of the wider community.
Proactive communication and community engagement structures will be developed to raise awareness, empower community voice, and promote solutions to both local and global issues. We will have frequent, timely communication with the wider community through a variety of media, including social networking, video, email, blogs, and tweets.
Odyssey Elementary will promote a community-focused approach to facilities usage. Our school will serve as the community hub for learning with outreach branches to higher education, businesses, and civic organizations. We will offer before and after school programs that help keep kids safe, assist working parents, and extend the school day with enriching experiences.
Through effective stakeholder engagement and support structures, learners throughout our community will experience a vast range of new possibilities while building lifelong, positive relationships that strengthen the school, neighborhood, and surrounding areas.
POWER Zone Overview
CKLA- ELA Curriculum with integrated science and social studies
Eureka Engage New York- Math
ST Math, Reflex Math, Scootpad (Math and ELA)
Understanding by Design Performance Tasks for each unit
Interventions: Lexia Learning, SIPPS, LIPS, Six-minute Solution, Foundations
Marzano New Art and Science of Teaching
7 Habits of Highly Effective People
Leader In Me
Job-embedded professional development during Professional Learning Communities weekly
Foundational Professional Development: 7 Steps to Language Rich Environment, Kagan, Understanding by Design, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Reading Foundations, Marzano New Arts and Science of Teaching
PTO- Community In Action Parent Group
POWER Zone's educators and support staff are dedicated to facilitating a mission focused on purposeful risk, ownership of learning, whole child-student concept, engaging inquiry and respectful relationships (POWER). Their values involve climbing with confidence where everyone has permission to fail and try new ideas. The zone is creating a loyalty effect, where working together to solve problems helps everyone succeed.
POWER Zone administrators and teachers strive to treat everyone as the most important person, ensuring a positive culture. And a focus on community service ensures their community's support in critical times. A family-first focus for a well-rounded life helps each student’s family enjoy each other, increasing academic productivity. School faculty are dedicated to nurturing respectful relationships. Teachers are given autonomy to teach and through the proposal process, anyone can bring ideas to the entire zone community for approval and implementation. All suggestions are considered with respect. The zone's administration believes in an innovative change in education with comprehensive engagement, so all seek mastery.