Week 1 — Setting the Standard

01

The week at a glance

// guiding question

What does our excellent year look like, and what's our role in making it real?

// what gets built this week

Artifacts

Personal Working Guide v1 (every learner, guide models theirs first)
Studio Contract first brainstorm
Standard of Excellence posters started (Math · ELA · Quest · Town Hall · Snack · Maintenance)
Town Hall process draft
Share Chair Standard (what's appropriate to share publicly)
First Habit & Character Goals set
First ICEE survey baseline

// guide moves this week

What the guide does

Models alongside — opens IXL, writes their own Personal Working Guide, free-writes with the studio
Narrates facilitation moves out loud during Town Hall #1 ("Notice I paused for 5 seconds — that's intentional")
Holds every hard cutoff cleanly. No exceptions Week 1.
Names the equity-not-equality principle with a real-world example before any studio-specific accommodation comes up
Sets boundaries on hands & bodies before anyone has the chance to test them
Establishes "we build each other up with kind reminders" as the tribe response to mistakes

02

The five days

Each day has a focus that builds on the day before. Click into any day for the full minute-by-minute plan.

// day 01 · monday

Welcome & the Year Ahead

Names, schedule walkthrough, Hero's Journey opener, Studio Tour, first Personal Working Guide

// day 02 · tuesday

Equity vs. Equality

The fence/glasses launch. First Habit & Character Goals. Continue PWG.

// day 03 · wednesday

What is a Town Hall?

Town Hall #1 — guide-led, narrated demo. Studio Contract brainstorm begins.

// day 04 · thursday

Boundaries, Consent, Role-Modeling

What it means to be a leader/role model. School-Wide Town Hall #1.

// day 05 · friday

Standard of Excellence v1

Co-create the vision posters. First 360 Review + first ICEE survey + first Share Chair.

03

Key launches this week

The conversations that absolutely must happen before Friday.

non-negotiable

The Hero's Journey opener

What it is, where you are in yours, who's on this road with you. This is the spine of everything else.

Where: Day 1 Morning Launch · Time: 20 min

non-negotiable

Equity ≠ Equality

Real-world launch first (glasses, fence/baseball image), then connect to studio specifics. Fair means everyone gets what they need to fully participate.

Where: Day 2 Morning Launch · Time: 20 min

non-negotiable

Boundaries, Consent, Role-Modeling

Consensual handshakes/hugs/high-fives — yes. Wrestling, even play-wrestling — no. Especially because younger learners look up to us.

Where: Day 4 Morning Launch · Time: 20 min

non-negotiable

Standard of Excellence

What does each block look like at its best by May? Co-create the posters. They hang in the studio all year.

Where: Day 5 Morning Launch + ELA block · Time: 45+ min

build over time

Personal Working Guide

Started Day 1, completed during the week. Each learner's "how I work best" doc. Guide goes first — shares their own.

Where: Threaded through Math & ELA blocks all week

build over time

Studio Contract draft

Brainstorm at Town Hall #1, refine all week, get a first complete draft by end of Week 2. Signed Week 6.

Where: Wednesday Town Hall opens it

04

Common pitfalls Week 1

// from the last guide

What to watch for

Giving too much freedom too fast. The thesis is "freedom is the goal, structure stays only where the tribe hasn't shown it can hold the freedom." That's NOT "full freedom Day 1." The structure of the schedule IS the structure. Hold it.

Skipping the explicit "why." Every standard needs to be named, modeled, and discussed. Don't assume learners know why we wash hands before snack, why we don't wrestle, why the cutoff is real. Say it. Show it. Repeat it.

Letting one launch run long and skipping another. The Equity launch, the Boundaries launch, the Standard of Excellence launch — these have to happen. If you run out of time on Day 2, push the rest of the work, not the launch.