Crosby Park Named Great Expectations Model School

Crosby Park Elementary has been named a Great Expectations model school for the seventh year in a row.

Students, faculty and staff celebrated the distinction during the school’s morning assembly Thursday. Regina Farquhar, Great Expectations instructional coach, was on hand to present principal Dana Moore with a new certificate and flag to signify the honor. Farquhar watched and listened as students sang a pair of songs about common sense and responsibility that exemplified what Great Expectations is all about.

“Common sense and responsibility, those are two things that Great Expectations leans upon,” she said to the students. If you know the right thing, you should do the right thing. Your teachers know what’s right about creating a culture with the Great Expectations.”

Created in 1991, Great Expectations establishes 17 behaviors that teachers must foster and encourage in the learning environment, including critical thinking, using positive discipline and speaking in complete sentences. To become a “model school,” the school administration must apply in advance and 90 percent of teachers must use the 17 behaviors in the classroom when an instructional coach is in attendance. Farquhar said she spends a lot of time at Crosby Park, but she never announces ahead of time when she will stop by. It’s up to the teachers to maintain the Great Expectations behavior throughout the year.