Every member of the school community should be part of a Crew that supports and strengthens one another.

Leaders and teachers establish a culture of Crew among staff, including structures for cultivating a positive team culture such as team building activities, protocols for discussing diversity and equity, and conflict resolution processes. They also participate in Crew meetings focused on staff relationships, emotional health, and more. In turn, teachers foster a culture of Crew among students through practices that help students feel a sense of purpose and belonging within the community. 

Crew is also a structure—similar to advisory in secondary classrooms or morning meetings in elementary classrooms—where small groups of students engage in a variety of activities focused on building relationships or developing character.

Adults must demonstrate a willingness and capacity to reimagine many aspects of their school’s systems and structures to implement EL Education’s comprehensive model.

In addition to learning and championing the Core Practices, leaders must also commit to facilitating one-on-one or small-group coaching cycles to help launch and improve the execution of new school-wide systems and structures. 

Teachers must be willing to implement changes to their curriculum, instruction, and assessment in line with EL Education’s Core Practices and Dimensions of Student Achievement—a task that requires hard work, time, and a belief in student-directed, real-world learning. In addition, staff must be prepared to assume the role of Crew leader and commit to developing meaningful relationships with a small group of students over the course of multiple years.

Time must be set aside for Core Practices such as daily Crew meetings, Learning Expeditions, and Student-Led Conferences.

When learning to implement the EL Education model, leaders are taught to align school calendars and schedules to the vision they establish for their specific EL Education school, which sometimes requires that they advocate for control over time in conversations with district leaders and school boards. Here are some examples of a few key Core Practices and their influence on school schedules:

• Crew: Teacher and student schedules include 30–60 minute Crew meetings, ideally every day. In elementary schools, this often takes the form of a morning meeting; in secondary schools, it serves a similar function to advisory. 
• Learning Expeditions: Teachers are supported in scheduling Learning Expeditions multiple times throughout the school year. Learning Expeditions are typically 6–12 weeks long and involve various experiences that immerse students in real-world learning and allow them to produce high-quality, professional work.
• Student-Directed Learning: The school also schedules periodic activities that promote student-directed learning, such as Student-Led Conferences, which occur twice per year, and Passage Presentations, which occur once per year for students transitioning between lower and upper schools or graduating.

The model is best supported when schools build relationships with community organizations and cultural institutions to support Learning Expeditions.

A hallmark of the EL Education model is the Learning Expedition. Students engage in fieldwork at community organizations and cultural institutions, and teachers bring experts into the classroom to mentor students in aspects of their profession. These experiences rely on the cultivation of strong relationships with community partners.

A strategy for continuous improvement is vital and EL Education supports partner schools to establish one in their context.

In the initial years of partnering with EL Education, schools that implement the full model are supported to establish a strategy for continuous improvement and are taught about the effective use of data and change management.