Story provided by Stillwater Public Schools

Stillwater Public Schools is proud to announce that Richmond, Sangre Ridge, and Skyline Elementary Schools were named Great Expectations Model Schools this year. This is Richmond’s twentieth year to receive the honor. Will Rogers Elementary, in its first year using the program, has applied for consideration as a Progressive School.

“It’s an incredible honor to be named a model school for the twentieth year,” says Richmond Principal Joy Cawood. “This is in large part due to former Richmond Principal Gay Washington’s vision when becoming a GE school. That strong start along with the commitment of teachers has allowed us to sustain this over so many years.” 

The Great Expectations Program is designed to build a culture of respect between students and teachers. It helps schools set high expectations and generate a positive learning environment.  Founded and based in Oklahoma, Great Expectations has trained more than 40,000 educators in its supplemental program. 

“This program gives our building common language and goals for our teachers,” says the principal. “It prioritizes respect and character traits such as perseverance, integrity, and flexibility. It not only helps students develop who they are, but sets a high bar for staff so that we can model those traits for students.”

Cawood announced the twenty year milestone to the school last week during Rocket Launch, the school’s weekly kickoff assembly, so they could begin planning celebrations. She says Richond will host a school-wide event on the last day of school. On the evening of Thursday, May 11, Richmond will hold a reception and tour for current and former Richmond staff, district administrators and board members, and Great Expectations representatives.

Great Expectations is a pivotal part of the school environment at Richmond says Cawood. “Who we are as a school is largely defined by GE principles and celebrations. The fact that we’ve been doing this for so long, and that it permeates so much of what we do, is one of the things that makes Richmond so special.”

About Great Expectations

The Great Expectations Program, founded in 1991, is a scientifically-based research educational reform model that is bringing major change and innovation to PK-12 public and private school classrooms in Oklahoma and beyond. 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, student self-esteem, a belief that all students can learn, positive teacher attitude, and highly skilled and knowledgeable teachers who inspire and enable students to achieve success. Over 40,000 educators have been trained in the GE Methodology. 

More information about the program can be found at www.greatexpectations.org.