Formal Organizational Practices that Support the Academic Program and School Culture
UPCS has implemented a set of formal organizational practices that support the execution of the academic program and sustain the culture of excellence. These practices allow staff to maintain a disciplined focus on mission and results while building the organization’s capacity to adapt to new circumstances and learn from mistakes. Development of these critical  practices has enabled UPCS to not only exemplify a well-planned school, but also to serve as a true model for others.
Shared Leadership and Collective Decision-Making: Leadership at the school is shared amongst all faculty. The leadership discusses all major decisions with faculty. This shared leadership model creates the shared vocabulary and shared vision that are essential to the school’s success.
Data-Driven Approach to Curriculum, Instruction, and School Design: Monitoring of student progress and school performance is never left to anecdote or impression. All decisions about students, curriculum, and school-improvement strategies are made based on the best available data and research detailing best practices from the field.
Mechanisms to Support Culture of Achievement and Rigorous Academic Program: Students are empowered with meaningful ownership of the school culture. In turn, they become vigilant against erosion of its norms or standard of behavior. Faculty assess their progress against external standards including state frameworks, A.P. content standards, and Clark's expectations for introductory level coursework.
Mechanisms to Develop Common Language, Tools and Approach: The centerpiece of instruction at UPCS is its school-wide literacy program, developed in response to research showing that proficiency in literacy skills is critical to overall academic success. To that end, all teachers at the school are teachers of literacy, and the culture of the school is one that focuses intently on developing reading and writing. This culture of writing, reading, and “showing a mind thinking,” cuts across all subject areas and focuses the staff (and students) on achieving the mission of the school, which is to prepare every student for college
Through the collaborative staff culture and weekly common planning time, the faculty at UPCS align expectations across all subject areas and grade levels. Staff use a common vocabulary and portfolio of teaching strategies and tools to ensure that student expectations and instructional approaches are consistent across content areas and grade levels.
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