St. HOPE is founded on five pillars. Pillar number three is More Time. Most know this translates into longer school days for our students, which is one part of the concept of more time, and one that may cause kids to cringe initially. But it makes sense. If you are behind it will take longer to catch up. If you are ahead then more time will help you get further ahead. However, the pillars are not just for our students, they apply to the adults as well. 

Teachers and staff at St. HOPE embody the five pillars and model them for students.

St. HOPE is an organization where we preach “do as I do,” not “do as I say.”

This concept of adults modeling for students, and the pillar of more time, were on full display on July 28th as the entire St. HOPE family from all departments and schools packed the Guild Theater for day one of the second annual St. HOPE Leadership Institute (SHLI). SHLI brings together educators from across our schools, home office, and partners from across the community to discuss and learn about all facets of the St. HOPE organization. Goals of SHLI include building community throughout St. HOPE as well as empowering staff to become leaders and change agents within their community.

In addition, at a time when most educators are in the middle of summer, all St. HOPE staff exemplify the pillar of more time by returning to work at the end of July to prepare for the upcoming school year and ensure schools and classrooms are ready for students. Annually, teachers at St. HOPE have a total of twenty-one days built into their calendar for professional development, of which four days are reserved for summer SHLI. While students are the ultimate benefactors of additional time on task, they would not be successful without their teachers and staff being able to dedicate more time to student achievement.