University Laboratory School Philosophy

Mission Statement

Founded in 1915 as a state demonstration school for College of Education, the Laboratory School of Louisiana State University is committed to the development, implementation, and demonstration of exemplary programs and instructional practices across the K-12 spectrum.

The Laboratory School utilizes five key functions in pursuit of that mission:

1. providing exemplary K-12 education.
2. demonstrating a model educational environment.
3. serving as a center for educational innovation and research.
4. providing professional development opportunities for the state's educators.
5. offering clinical teaching experiences for pre-service teachers.

Beliefs

1.  Students are the center of our school's professional learning community and actively participate in our community of learners.

2.  Students benefit from working with teachers and pre-service teachers who model exemplary, best teaching practices that are research based.

3.  Students benefit from participating in a diverse community in which values and attributes are modeled and communicated to all members.

4.  Students enjoy access to a balanced curriculum rich in liberal arts and sciences, that is holistic, trans-disciplinary, inquiry driven, and develops international-mindedness.

5.  Students are held accountable to clear and concise expectations that foster positive behaviors and independence and help them develop into responsible, caring, and principled citizens. 

6.  All students have an equitable opportunity to learn.

7.  All students enjoy a safe environment that promotes teaching and learning and encourages students to be reasoned academic risk takers.

Vision

The Louisiana State University Laboratory School will improve student learning by building a learning community in which actions and policies are directed towards a shared purpose that is based upon the school's mission and beliefs.  The Lab School Learning Community will be characterized by the following:
 

• Partnerships and engagement among stakeholders evident through trust, sharing, participation, fellowship, reflection, and continuous learning and improvement

• Decisions regarding school change which are data-driven, research based, and considered best practice

• High academic and behavioral standards for students communicated clearly to all stakeholders

• High instructional and professional development standards for teachers communicated clearly to all stakeholders

• Expectations for parents communicated clearly to all stakeholders

• Efficient scheduling which maximizes instructional time and enrichment or intervention time for students and which allows for common planning time for teachers within the school day

• Teachers collaborating during common planning time to deepen their subject matter knowledge, examine teaching practices, and consider issues of school wide change

• Assessment of student learning that is an ongoing process of establishing clear, measurable expected outcomes of student learning; systematically gathering, those expectations; and using the resulting information to understand and improve student learning (http://pages.towson.edu/assessment/Welcome.htm)

• Personalized intervention for students through the implementation of a comprehensive advisory program so that each student has frequent contact with a faculty member who will help the student with setting personal, meaningful goals and assessing academic and social progress, particularly for those students who fail to meet expectations as evidenced through assessment

• Opportunities for students to earn privileges for appropriate behavioral and/or academic success

• Opportunities for celebrating the successes of the learning community