We believe that not only is education a right, but success in education is a right for each and every student, regardless of race, ethnicity, or economic status.
BARR Elementary (Building Assets, Reducing Risks) is a proven model based on more than 20 years of research on BARR’s two pillars of data and relationships showing that systemic change in schools results in enhanced educator experience and student achievement. BARR’s mission is to create equitable K-12 schools where each and every student has access to high-quality education where adults know them, recognize their strengths, and help them to succeed. Built from a foundational belief that schools have the capacity to make key changes using their current staff, BARR produces proven significant results.
Helping K-12 Students Succeed
BARR eliminates inefficiencies in the K-12 school system by breaking down the silos that get in the way of a student’s needs and using existing resources to better align everyone around the success of each and every student. Equity is a core value of the BARR model, which has been shown to have especially powerful results in closing gaps for students furthest from opportunity.
The Benefits of BARR Elementary
Through BARR elementary, schools receive elementary specific tools and resources to support implementation in their school. Every BARR school receives a coach who is available for weekly calls, onsite visits up to 4 times a year and professional development training each year of implementation. BARR provides a collaborative and systemic approach to supporting staff, students and their families. The model embraces current family organizations within a school to support and strengthen family partnerships, recognizing families as active partners in their child’s education, in addition to working in conjunction with pre-existing programs within the school.
BARR has enabled me to deepen my relationships with my students and families. It has also provided a structure that encourages me to collect and use data with purpose.
BARR gives educators the tools to work together to better understand and build on students’ strengths, proactively address the non-academic reasons why they may fall behind in school and identify what they need to thrive within and outside the classroom.
Lake Elmo is thrilled to be part of the BARR team and our staff is looking forward to implementing BARR this year. We recognize the variety of ways BARR will enhance our focus on equity holding us accountable to ensure we meet the needs of all our students!
I’ve told every BARR person that I’ve talked to that to me it really brought life back to me as an educator of almost 20 years and has been one of the things in the recent few years that has really made me have that excitement and glow.