Marzano High Reliability School
VALE's fundamental objective is to provide an alternative educational experience for students, recognizing that the traditional high school environment and classroom may not be suitable for everyone. Our school has adopted Marzano's evidence-based "High Reliability School" model, and integrated several key elements.
VALE was awarded Level 1 at the end of the 2023-2024 school year, with distinction. We are very proud of the work we do here and are currently pursuing obtaining a Level 2 status from Marzano High Reliability Schools.
"The high reliability school (HRS) program was created by Marzano Resources to help transform schools into organizations that take proactive steps to ensure student success. Using a research-based five-level hierarchy, along with leading and lagging indicators, educators learn to assess, monitor, and confirm the effectiveness of their schools. Schools must collect data and validate their performance to climb each level of the hierarchy. Certification is determined by Marzano Resources analysts in cooperation with school data teams. Using the HRS framework and indicators, schools can drive sustained, positive, and significant impacts on student achievement by synthesizing multiple complex initiatives into one harmonious system.”
(Marzano Resources, High Reliability Schools)
Level 1: Safe and Collaborative Culture
VALE embeds Brene Brown's concepts of vulnerability, trust, rising, and values at all levels to create a safe and collaborative culture.
Level 2: Effective Teaching
VALE adopts Problem-Based Learning (PBL) and entrepreneurship to encourage students to learn by solving authentic, engaging, and challenging problems, presenting solutions to relevant audiences for feedback.
Level 3: Guaranteed and Viable Curriculum
Teachers use Marzano's 'Critical Concepts' to design unit plans aligned with Colorado Essential Skills and WorkForce Readiness. Fridays follow a Flex Mod schedule for personalized instruction and access to industry experts.
Level 4: Standards-Referenced Reporting
Students build a comprehensive portfolio demonstrating learning competencies and reflections of learning, applying knowledge and skills across disciplines and contexts to demonstrate mastery.
Level 5: Competency-Based Education
VALE's competency-based education enables students to advance based on skill mastery, identified, practiced, rated, and reflected upon with frequent progress updates.