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Faculty Advisors & Assessment


Working Together
FACULTY ADVISORS 
 
The advisory program is an integral component of Beacon Academy. The student-advisor relationship is the bedrock of our student experience. Advisors attend to the whole person when dealing with their advisees and serve as their advocate and confidante. Advisors are often the first point of contact between the school and the parent. Advisories meet as a group regularly during the school week, and advisors will also spend individual time helping their advisees construct academic, athletic, and community service plans. 
 
ASSESSMENT
 
At Beacon, we think it is important that students receive substantial feedback in order for them to better understand the areas in which they are finding success, as well as places where they can improve. At the midpoint of each term, students will be issued a midterm report in order to help them monitor their own progress. Beacon students are formally assessed at the close of each term with a grade and a narrative comment from the teacher that addresses the specifics of the student’s performance. Additionally, students are asked to participate in written self-assessments of their progress and struggles in a given course at the end of each term. We intentionally do not rank students against each other. Rather, they are assessed against the parameters of the course and the expectations that they set for themselves. Although grades and results have a place in our assessment of students, we emphasize the learning process and mastery of skills as the most important components.
 
GRADING RUBRIC
 
Beacon Academy intentionally assesses students with a rubric focusing on the stages of learning: Developing, Proficient, and Mastery. Students receive percentage grades on formal assessments that indicate the level of mastery or work still needed in order to achieve proficiency in a given area. The chart on this page uses the analogy of riding a bike to illustrate the Beacon grading philosophy and reflect common feedback from and discussions between teachers and students on a daily basis.