Executive Summary. Primavera Online High School. Maveonien Creamer 2471 N Arizona Ave Chandler, AZ

Transcription

1 Maveonien Creamer 2471 N Arizona Ave Chandler, AZ Document Generated On March 25, 2015

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 1 Description of the School 2 School's Purpose 4 Notable Achievements and Areas of Improvement 6 Additional Information 7

3 Introduction Every school has its own story to tell. The context in which teaching and learning takes place influences the processes and procedures by which the school makes decisions around curriculum, instruction, and assessment. The context also impacts the way a school stays faithful to its vision. Many factors contribute to the overall narrative such as an identification of stakeholders, a description of stakeholder engagement, the trends and issues affecting the school, and the kinds of programs and services that a school implements to support student learning. The purpose of the Executive Summary (ES) is to provide a school with an opportunity to describe in narrative form the strengths and challenges it encounters. By doing so, the public and members of the school community will have a more complete picture of how the school perceives itself and the process of self-reflection for continuous improvement. This summary is structured for the school to reflect on how it provides teaching and learning on a day to day basis. Page 1

4 Description of the School Describe the school's size, community/communities, location, and changes it has experienced in the last three years. Include demographic information about the students, staff, and community at large. What unique features and challenges are associated with the community/communities the school serves? Primavera Online is located at 2471 North Arizona Avenue, Building 1 in Chandler, Arizona. Primavera Online is a public charter school serving grades Although the school began as a high school, in the past three years the school has increased its grade levels to include 6th, 7th, and 8th grades. Since Primavera Online was incorporated in 2001, the school has transitioned from a brick-and-mortar charter school to one of the premier providers of online education for Arizona students. Primavera Online sought and was granted alternative school status. As an alternative school, Primavera Online accepted students whose needs are best met outside of the brick-and-mortar classroom because they could not find success or feel secure in the traditional educational environment. Aside from the Chandler building, there are three additional Primavera Online sites across the state of Arizona. A Blended Learning Center is located next to the Chandler facility. Primavera Online's Blended Learning Center offers a place where students can go to interact with teachers and administrators, receiving enrichment and remediation. Additionally, Primavera Online provides supplemental support and allows students to participatate in extracurricular activities. Two other locations were established with partnerships with a local technology school, East Valley Institute of Technology (EVIT). At these locations, students who attend EVIT and Primavera Online have the ability to work in their online courses as well as interact with teachers and peers. Primavera Online offers a variety of choices when it comes to earning a diploma. Whether students are looking for part-time or full-time enrollment, Primavera Online has a personalized academic program that caters to each student's specific needs. Primavera Online also offers a wide selection of rigorous courses for students to choose from that are designed to not only meet state standards, but challenge students to learn in new ways while engaging the world around them. Full-time students at Primavera Online have the opportunity to earn a fully-accredited high school diploma. Students currently attending another high school can make up credits or get ahead by taking advantage of the part-time (concurrent) enrollment offered at Primavera. Classes are organized into a rotating term schedule allowing part-time students to enroll in one course every six weeks. This often helps our part-time students make up courses or get ahead more quickly than they could in a traditional setting. One major change at Primavera Online was a shift in culture and leadership. Damian Creamer, CEO and founder of Primavera Online, recognized a need to modify the direction of the school and employ new strategies to increase student academic achievement. Because of this, new leadership was hired, departments were structured and reorganized, and academic supports and operational efficiencies were refined and established. With this change, many employees decided this was not the direction they would like to go, making opportunities for new leadership to hire highly-qualified and/or certified instructors, directors, and support personnel to focus on increasing student academic achievement. Primavera's Demographics: Enrollment Type Primavera Online enrolls full-time and concurrent students. The total enrollement is approximately 5500 students. Of this, the demographics are as follows: 88% full-time, 11% concurrent, and 1% over-age or private Grade Level (Based on full-time enrollment) 1% -6th grade 2% -7th grade 4% -8th grade Page 2

5 8% -9th grade 16% -10th grade 22% -11th grade 28% -12th grade 19% - Seniors Plus Gender (Based on full-time enrollment) 43% male 57% female Ethnicity 46% White 38% Hispanic or Latino 7% Black or African-American 5% American Indian or Alaskan Native 4% Asian, Pacific Islander, other Free and Reduced Lunch 43% of total population Alternative Status 80% of total population Staff 1 Superintendent 1 Assistant Superintendent 1 Principal 88 Adjunct Instructors 54 Full-time Instructors 19 Guidance Department employees (Director, Counselors, and Paraprofessionals) 25 Exceptional Student Services Department employees (Director, ELD Instructors, SPED Instructors, 504 Coordinators, Paraprofessionals, and Clerks) 14 Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment, Professional Development Department employees (Director, Instructional Coaches, Math and Language Arts tutors, Assessment Coordinator) 12 Submissions/Registrars Department employees Over the last three years, Primavera Online has made great improvements through developing a proficient leadership team and updating the organizational structure of all departments. The implementation of improvement plans and interventions have increased employee performance. In turn, these actions have created a positive school climate and culture, led by a unified leadership team. For the future, we foresee increased operational efficiencies and increased student achievement. Page 3

6 School's Purpose Provide the school's purpose statement and ancillary content such as mission, vision, values, and/or beliefs. Describe how the school embodies its purpose through its program offerings and expectations for students. Mission Statement Primavera Online provides a rigorous, relevant, and personalized education in a highly interactive virtual environment. As an alternative school, we are committed to educating all students seeking a high school diploma while engaging students who are credit deficient. Objectives of Primavera Online: 1. Provide a safe learning environment, committed to educating all Arizona students seeking to achieve academic excellence and an accredited high school diploma. 2. Promote self-esteem through setting and achieving challenging academic and personal goals, thus increasing self-reliance and confidence. 3. Provide a rigorous and personalized education through a challenging, engaging and highly interactive curriculum, set in innovative, easilynavigated platforms that position students for success, regardless of their post high school path. 4. Increased results on standardized achievement tests such as Stafford 10, AIMs, and now AzMERIT (Arizona Department of Education's accountability for End of Course Exams, in language arts and math.) Value Statement What we offer is valuable: Primavera Online offers the finest quality education in preparation for college and careers. Our online curriculum is rigorous and relevant. Our learning environment is fun, safe, and challenging. We offer a highly interactive experience, both in our courses and between our instructors and students. Rigor Relevance Relationships We value how it's done: Primavera Online strives to excel in all areas, and we do it with respect, partnership, and professionalism. We are committed to providing personalized attention and maintaining open communication with staff, students, parents, and the community at large. Collaboration Communication Commitment We value why it's done: Primavera Online believes in education for all, especially those students who may need a second chance. We accept the challenge of engaging students who are credit-deficient and welcome all students searching for a safer learning environment. Our duty is to motivate students towards graduation and our arena is the online learning modality. Second Chances Safety School Choice Primavera Online offers quality virutal education for both full-time and part-time students. Full-time students are enrolled in two, six-week classes at a time. To fulfill class requirements, students will complete thirty lessons and spend at least fifteen hours per week in each course. When students log into Primavera Online, they are brought to a splash page, which highlighs upcoming events and communicates announcements and reminders. From the PSP, students are able to view their classes, monitor their graduation progress, view and send messages to instructors, and log attendance. When students view their classes, they see a course progress chart, course announcements, grade notifications, and are able to view areas of focus to help increase academic achievement. Primavera Online offers numerous ways for students to get involved. A school-wide blog highlights student work, announcements, street team events, and all-school events. Students are encouraged to interact with their teachers and peers through school events and student clubs to complement their academic progress through our program. The clubs offered are: - Student Government - Young Parent Support Group Page 4

7 - Science Club - Art Club - Gay-Straight Alliance Club - Book (Literature) Club - Manga & Anime Club A comprehensive Guidance program assists students in many personal areas, such as career planning and graduation plans through our ECAP, online workshops, and career fairs. Page 5

8 Notable Achievements and Areas of Improvement Describe the school's notable achievements and areas of improvement in the last three years. Additionally, describe areas for improvement that the school is striving to achieve in the next three years. Notable achievements in the last three years: - Primavera Online presented for Flipswitch Consortium on Best Practices, Guidance Support, Special Education, etc. (2013, 2014) - Primavera Online presented at INACOL (2013) - Primavera Online was a Chandler 100 Company "Honoring Distinguished Stakeholder Businesses in Chandler" (2013) - Damian Creamer, CEO and Founder of Primavera Online, was nominated and given the award of Outstanding Individual Contribution to K- 12 Online Learning (2012) - 1 student received the Imagine America Scholarship (2014) - 7 students were awarded ACE (Achieving College Education) Scholarships (2014) Areas of improvement for the last three years: - Academic growth and achievement - Student retention - External communication to parents, students, and the community Areas of improvement for the next three years: - Continued academic growth and achievement - Increased student retention - Increased external communication to parents, students, and the community Page 6

9 Additional Information Provide any additional information you would like to share with the public and community that were not prompted in the previous sections. Primavera Online is most proud of the opportunities provided to our students in the online modality. All employees and leadership work together help our students overcome challenges they may or have faced in their education. Several departments have been developed and refined to see decisions are made based on the needs of our students. Primavera Online has a highly-qualified faculty and staff. All faculty and staff members are Highly Qualified/Certified defined by Arizona Department of Education and Arizona State Board for Charter Schools.Instructors who are hired at Primavera Online receive an extensive 8 week training providing opportunity to learn Primavera Online technology solutions, SIS, PSP, and Coursework. Because of the high levels of training, our staff members understand the best ways to teach in the online modality, and have time to focus on data driven decision making. Page 7