Star One: School climate. Funny how a person can sense the safety, friendliness, and sense of caring within minutes of walking into a school. Little things like cleanliness, displays of student work, open doors to classrooms, laughter, respectful talk, presence of volunteers, and genuine smiles from both adults and kids are the barometers of school climate. If a school doesn’t earn this star, a parent doesn’t need to bother looking at the other criteria. Get your kids out quickly

the library is the clearest sign of how much a school values reading, teaching for independent thinking, and life-long learning

collaboration and connections necessary for 21st century learning in the multiple and diverse ways of a true expert.

differentiation, collaboration and connections necessary for 21st century learning in the multiple and diverse ways of a true expert.

School libraries that adapt to the digital needs of their students not only continue to build a reading culture in the school, but provide the divergence and convergence in media needed to provide the materials for motivation, differentiation, collaboration and connections necessary for 21st century learning in the multiple and diverse ways of a true expert.