Liberty School in Sallisaw was one of 22 schools recently named a Great Expectations Model School.

Principal Debbie Phillips said this is the third year the school has received the award.

The honored schools are in Oklahoma, Missouri and Texas. The Great Expectations Program, founded in 1991 in Oklahoma, is a research-based educational reform model that is bringing change and innovation to pre-kindergarten through 12th grade public school classrooms. The program is spreading across the nation, Phillips said.

Local teachers attend a summer institute at Northeastern State University in Tahlequah where the program was begun by Professor Kent Lashley.

Phillips said the program represents an approach to learning that empowers teachers to expect and to get the best from students; it rekindles the excitement of discovery among both students and teachers, and it pushes everyone involved to greater heights of achievement.

The basic principles of the program are high expectations for students, a learning climate based on mutual respect between student and teacher, healthy student self-esteem, a belief that all students can learn, positive teacher attitude and responsibility, and highly skilled and knowledgeable teachers who inspire and enable students to achieve success, Phillips said.

The school's principal, faculty, and staff work to accomplish these goals by teaching six basic principles or tenets. Phillips said the tenets provide guidelines for program training and implementation and serve as standards for evaluating schools.

The tenets are as follows:

High Expectations - Teachers must hold high expectations of students. When students recognize those expectations, they are expected to respond by reaching upward to achieve them.

Teacher Attitude and Responsibility - Teachers who have positive attitudes possess the influence necessary to shape the attitudes of students. The teacher's attitude is one of a facilitator of learning who encourages and believes in students, and who requires excellence in every detail.

All Children Can Learn - All children can learn no matter what labels are placed upon them, whether it is learning disabled, low socioeconomic status, unstable home life, inner-city, or rural.

Building Self-Esteem - Building self-esteem is the key to helping students believe they are capable of learning and motivating them to try.

Climate of Mutual Respect - Students are empowered to take risks necessary for growth when encompassed in a climate of mutual respect in which mistakes are seen as opportunities to learn and their ideas and efforts are appreciated. The teacher must extend the same respect to students that he or she desires to receive from them.

Teacher Knowledge and Skill - The teacher must be knowledgeable and skillful in learning theory and teaching methods that enable students to achieve academic and social success.

"A mentor then visits the school five times a year and basically sees if we walk the talk," Phillips said.

Being named a Great Expectations Model School "is quite an honor," Phillips said.

Phillips said the elementary school staff attends the annual summer institute which "is very motivational, and where we educators share strategies. Everything is pointed toward student achievement."

Teachers from 26 states attended last year's institute as the program spreads throughout the country, Phillips said.

More information about the program can be found at www.greatexpectationsok.org or by calling (918) 456-5511, Ext. 3744.