We Believe in Dreaming Big
We Believe in Dreaming Big
It's a simple fact that the last few years have been characterized by change and uncertainty, but they have also given us the gift of clarity around what our Gateway community needs to grow into a bigger, brighter future. As we look ahead to what our students and teachers need to keep dreaming big, three priorities become clear:
- Resilience - The pandemic and its aftermath have presented additional barriers for students from our most historically marginalized communities. We must plan to do right by our students as they continue to recover from COVID's academic, social, and emotional setbacks.
- Sustainability - We must ensure the sustainability of our schools while we plan for growth. Support from our sustaining donors provides the resources to prepare for our next phase of growth.
- Growth - After more than two decades in the San Francisco community, Gateway is ready to Dream Big about our future and growth for our students and teachers.
As with all of our work, this vision is informed by the Pillars of Gateway's Approach to Learning and Teaching. Read on to learn more about what are Big Dreams will look like at Gateway in the months and years to come.
Unlocking Student Potential
Dreaming Big starts with a re-commitment to making sure each student feels safe and supported at school, with time during the school day spent explicitly teaching social and emotional skills and expanded access to counseling and support services. It means continuing to provide the kind of education that we know leads to incredible outcomes for students, with small class sizes, a year of mandatory college and career counseling for each student, and access to supports tailored to each child's learning style, offered freely and without stigma to all. And it means building out our relationship with our alumni community, which will allow us to better evaluate the long-term impacts of our approach and connect our current and former Gators and Griffins for mentoring, service opportunities, and more.
Supporting Expert Teaching
Gateway's greatest assets are our incredible educators, and making sure they're able to bring their best selves to the classroom each and every day is critical to fulfilling our mission. To that end, we've developed a unique compensation model that recognizes teachers for their ongoing learning, growth, and community leadership while ensuring that our faculty earn enough to live in the city they serve. We commit to connecting all teachers with best-in-class professional learning opportunities, along with the structured time during the workweek and budget to allow them to take full advantage. Moreover, we just launched our state-approved Teacher Induction program, which will support not only our own teachers with mentorship and coaching in the first years in the classroom, but grow to serve new teachers in neighboring schools, as well.
Partnering with Community
At Gateway, we know that behind every successful graduate is a powerful, supportive community, and we go the extra mile to connect students with the many powerful resources and opportunities available to young people in San Francisco. We partner closely with community organizations to provide wrap-around services for students who need additional support with basic needs, mental health, attendance and more, including onsite COVID testing and vaccine clinics freely available to the entire community. Both of our campuses are Boys and Girls Clubs of San Francisco Clubhouses, with trained staff who support students throughout the day and after school, and provide access to the many benefits of the trusted national organization. And in the summer, we partner with the University of San Francisco to fight summer learning loss for our most vulnerable rising middle school students at our Summer Academy, where veteran Gateway educators mentor USF student-teachers through some of their first experiences leading a classroom.
Sharing Best Practices
Since our earliest days, Gateway has been committed to sharing what works in our classrooms with all schools and educators open to collaborating. Through our Gateway Impact initiative, we offer incredible professional learning opportunities to educators of all kinds at low or no-cost, including our popular Powerful Learners annual convening. And in 2023, we're looking forward to launching ongoing communities of practice, in which educators will have the opportunity to work alongside colleagues toward shared goals around inclusion and equity, as well as our new Teacher Fellows program: an opportunity for a select cohort of public educators to complete a deep dive into Gateway's approach to teaching and learning.
