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"People are encouraged to run with their strengths." Any morning before school, the parking lot outside Hungerford School provides a dramatic introduction to this remarkable place. Students arrive by ambulances, handicap-equipped buses and vans, and private cars. Nurses and physical therapists join the teachers and paraprofessionals who make their way inside to serve Hungerford's special needs students, many of whom are classified as medically fragile and severely to profoundly retarded. While a number of students enter the building in wheelchairs, on crutches, or on gurneys, 100 of the 250 12- to 21-year-old students will soon be on their way to work-study placements at businesses and agencies around their Staten Island community. At Hungerford, these special students have attracted a special staff. Faculty turnover is low, but when new teachers are hired, they often have previously been paraprofessionals in the school. Staff voluntarily give up six Saturdays a year to learn about topics of their choosing, from CPR, to new educational technology, to special arts programming. The Saturday atmosphere is homey, as teachers' children filter through the school building, free to work on the school computers or watch videos rented by the PTA. Food is provided for everyone, and the men do the cooking. Attendance at these gatherings has grown over the years from under a third to an impressive 80 percent of the staff. The collegiality reflected in these voluntary sessions is also apparent in teachers' weekly team meetings. Instead of typical faculty meetings, teachers attend meetings of staff committees that function as self-directed professional development teams. The teams focus on technology, literacy, math/science, arts, behavior management, and school-to-work transition, and they establish standards for students in each area. Each team is free to set its own agenda, tied to goals for students. They may request funds to have experts come in, or conduct their own action research, or create curriculum or alternative assessments appropriate for Hungerford students. One team's action research, for example, found that students in group homes gained more weight than other students. The result was a program to get Hungerford students actively participating in the community gym program where students had been placed for work-study. Another team wrote a successful grant to extend a teacher-developed unit about hydroponics into a three-school Web site where students communicate about what they are learning. Parents are surveyed as well for ideas about professional development efforts that might help their children, and they are active members of the school-based management team. Individually, too, teachers participate in a wide variety of professional development opportunities – at the district level, as well as at the school. These range from off-site courses and visits to other schools, to on-site lunchtime meetings with other teachers and visits to each other's classrooms. "There is a lot of fluidity in the building," reports a 10-year veteran. "Teachers go into each other's classrooms. Every student is everybody's student. We're thinking constantly about preparing our students for life." Teachers' commitment to their students is documented in the professional development portfolios they keep. No matter how teachers choose to invest their professional development time and energy, the portfolio helps them reflect on everything they are learning and how it relates to the school's overall goals for students. The results include an increase in the number of Hungerford students able to use technology, placed in community-based work sites, achieving their individual educational plan goals, and participating in general education classes. "Nine years ago," says Principal Mary McInerney, "when the state first called for school-based management, a group of teachers wrote and received a grant to begin learning how to go about it. We met regularly and they took ownership, surveying the rest of the staff about their interests in learning." Teachers are still in charge of their own learning at Hungerford. They participate annually in discussions about where to focus, and the professional development budget is open to everyone. "We haven't had to turn down any requests yet," McInerney notes. This openness and flexibility on the part of the principal pays off for Hungerford faculty and their students. As one long-time teacher observes, "There is lots of communication. Our principal knows her people, knows their strengths. Two weeks ago I got notice of a grant I wanted to apply for. She got me the support I need to write a grant proposal for the school. She encourages people to run with their strengths."

Grades 12 to 21 years old Number of Students 250 Student Ethnicity 59% White 20% African American 15% Latino 6% Asian English Language Learners 14% Free/Reduced Lunch 67% Special Needs 100% Measures of Success more students use technology increased job placements more students achieve IEPs more students included in general education 155 Tompkins Avenue Staten Island, NY 10304 718-273-8622