A Holistic Approach to Education

Seated in the heart of Philadelphia's Germantown neighborhood, Imani Education Circle Charter School strives for high student achievement. And with the help of Philly TAP, Imani is seeing promising results.

For eleven years, the public charter school has used an African-centered approach to the teaching of reading, math, science and technology. By combining a holistic, integrative, constructivist curriculum infused with the cultural richness of African heritage concepts, Imani develops young people who are competent, confident and conscientious.

With Room to Grow

Prior to the implementation of Philly TAP, a formalized structure for analyzing classroom instruction did not exist at Imani. Consequently, teachers were not held accountable for high-quality instruction nor did they receive consistent feedback and coaching support. Adrienne Davis, who began at Imani as a classroom teacher 11 years ago and has since held the position of master teacher and CAO of Imani, notes:

"During the eleven years Imani has been in existence, we have tried many different programs to raise student achievement, but nothing provided us with the tools we needed to make significant and lasting changes."

Focusing on Effective Teaching

As a result of participating in Philly TAP, teachers and administrators at Imani now have a common language with which to define and describe effective instruction.  All teachers now receive weekly coaching that includes specific ways they can strengthen their instruction and meet the needs of their individual students. The focus for these sessions is based on a continual analysis of student and teacher data.

"Through Philly TAP, my lesson planning has become more intentional, which has resulted in my teaching becoming more focused. My students are taking greater ownership of their learning, which has resulted in a higher level of confidence and student learning.  Not only are test scores increasing, but I now have the tools to identify why students are not achieving and develop strategies to meet their needs."

Atiya Harmon, 6^th grade teacher

In addition to classroom teachers receiving coaching support, the teacher leaders at Imani receive coaching from specialists with Philly TAP and from the school administrator. This type of support structure ensures that educators at Imani continue to grow professionally, like Henry Mahasi, a second year teacher of African-American History:

"Coming from a different educational background, when I came to Imani it was like walking in darkness. But when I received the TAP training, I finally had the direction and support I needed to become an effective teacher. Without the TAP training and support, I would have become frustrated and left the field of teaching."