Executive Summary. Houston Learning Academy-Stafford. Ms. Diana Monn 3964 Bluebonnet Stafford, TX 77477

Transcription

1 Ms. Diana Monn 3964 Bluebonnet Stafford, TX Document Generated On March 7, 2013

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 1 Description of the School 2 School's Purpose 6 Notable Achievements and Areas of Improvement 7 Additional Information 8

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? Houston Learning Academy--Fort Bend Campus is a private, four-year high school located in the Fort Bend area of Southwest Houston in Fort Bend County. SACS first accredited the original campus in 1983 in Central Houston. The Fort Bend Campus was established in 1989 and was first accredited in 1993 under the Special Purpose Division of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). HLA's Fort Bend Campus serves students from ninth to twelfth grade with a population of approximately 35 day school students and 1200 summer school students. Houston Learning Academy is a member school of Nobel Learning Communities, Inc., which is comprised of approximately 180 schools nationwide from preschool through high school. Houston Learning Academy--Fort Bend Campus has an open enrollment policy and accepts students with principal interview and approval throughout the school year. The high school is divided into two different educational programs during the day. In the morning from 8 am to 12:30 pm, there are 31 students attending the traditional academic high school classes or college-prep high school classes. Course content is provided by CSCOPE, a college prep curriculum aligned to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) and the Texas College and Career Readiness Standards (CCRS). Odysseyware online curriculum is utilized for elective courses. In the afternoon, we offer Blended Learning which serves approximately five students. Blended Learning instruction is a combination of online content instruction in both core and elective classes with direct instruction from a certified teacher taught in a traditional classroom. Students use the virtual Odysseyware (approved by the Texas Education Agency as meeting the TEKS requirements for high school graduation) instructional modules at home and attend class for a minimum of 30 hours per ½ credit to complete additional research papers, seminars, laboratories, projects, and other class work that adds increased college preparatory rigor aligned to the Texas CCRS. Currently, one student is in both morning day school and afternoon Blended Learning classes. Current day school student enrollment by grade levels at HLA--Fort Bend Campus is: - Grade 9: 5 students - Grade 10: 12 students - Grade 11: 9 students - Grade 12: 9 students Currently, the school has four classrooms, two student computer labs, and seven professional and support staff members i.e., four full time teachers, two office administrators, and one principal. Each teacher is responsible for teaching all grade levels of the core content in the area of their certification. Teacher/student ratios may range from 1:4 to 1:12 per period depending upon the subject matter and the student demand. Teachers may also choose to teach one or two electives reflecting their expertise and passion in the course content. Classes are offered on a block schedule. Each class period is ninety minutes in length, and students attend 40 class periods within a semester. HLA--Fort Bend Campus is on a 6-weeks grading cycle. Students earn a minimum of three credits each semester. We offer Texas Education Agency (TEA)-recommended courses that correlate with the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) for a 22 (Minimum) or 26 (Recommended) credit diplomas: Page 2

5 Minimum English 4 credits Math 3 credits Social Studies/Economics 3 credits Science 2 credits Academic Elective 1 credit Foreign Language 0 credits Physical Education 1 credit Speech ½ credit Fine Arts 1 credit Electives 6 ½ credits Recommended English 4 credits Math 4 credits Social Studies/Economics 4 credits Science 4 credits Foreign Language 2 credits Physical Education 1 credit Speech ½ credit Fine Arts 1 credit Electives 5 ½ credits Current student demographics are: Race White: 57% Black: 26% Hispanic: 2% Asian: 9% Other: 6% Gender Male: 64% Female: 36% Students' County of Residence Fort Bend: 76% Harris: 24% Graduation Follow-up Information for : University: 39% Community College: 30% Page 3

6 Workforce: 18% Trade/Tech School: 9% Military 4% Students' Home School District: Fort Bend ISD: 62% Houston ISD: 19% Katy ISD: 8% Lamar Consol ISD: 5% Spring Branch ISD: 3% Stafford ISD: 3% Students who attend HLA--Fort Bend Campus, for the most part, are teens who, for one reason or another, have not been successful in large high schools. Most of their public school problems center on poor attendance, lack of teacher attention, overwhelming demands of a large school, and/or various personal issues. On average, students enroll and stay at HLA--Fort Bend Campus for approximately one school year. Students who have enrolled at the school in the past three years have entered with approximately 8 credits or typically are 10th graders. On average, they earn almost seven credits by the time of withdrawal and have an academic status of an 11th or 12th grader depending upon their graduation plan. Over the past three years, we saw that 40% of the students who enrolled at Houston Learning Academy--Fort Bend campus graduated with us. Current staff demographics are: Race White: 58% Black: 14% Asian: 14% Hispanic: 14% Gender Male: 43% Female: 57% Educational Level of Staff High School Diploma: 29% College Graduate: 42% Graduate Degree: 29% Years of Experience in Teaching 5 Years of Less: 75% 6-10 Years: 0% 11 or more Years: 25% Houston Learning Academy--Fort Bend Campus is located in Stafford, Texas, and in Fort Bend County. According to the 2011 United States Page 4

7 Census Bureau, the population of Fort Bend County, Texas, is approximately 607,000 residents. The majority of the county's population is 58% Caucasian, 21% Black, 0.6% American Indian, 17.5% Asian, and 24% Hispanic. Of the residents, 40.4% are college educated. The average household income in the county is $101,146. In Fort Bend County, 7% of residents are between the ages of Page 5

8 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. The school mission statement is: Houston Learning Academy, Inc. is a private, fully accredited high school that is dedicated to providing each and every student with: A flexible yet structured academic environment; A quality educational program that promoted individual success and is fully aligned to TEKS and Texas College and Career Readiness Standards; A caring community of certified and degreed professionals committed to the success of each student. To achieve this mission we envision a professional learning community where we: - Work together in collaborative teams of teachers and principal at HLA--Fort Bend Campus and with teachers and principal at HLA--North Campus; - Seek to achieve continuous improvement in student achievement; - Encourage effective communication with parents, teachers, and students; - Promote character education for a positive learning environment. In order to achieve our shared mission, we have made the following commitments: - We will actively engage all students, parents, and staff in the learning process. - We will align curriculum, instruction, and assessment to promote student academic achievement. - We will provide an inviting classroom environment with clear expectations and personalize and customize academic goals. - We will align our educational program to fully prepare students for post-secondary education and/or the workforce. - We will provide parents and stakeholders with useful information to support students' academic and personal growth. The school mission statement is exemplified in all aspects of the school including the curriculum and professional practice. Our high school program partners with its families to increase academic achievement, strengthen communication, and create a community relationship that greatly benefits a small-school setting. Our rigorous, standards-based curriculum prepares students for the next grade level of school and is robust throughout all of our classrooms. Promoting student success in the 21st Century is of upmost importance, and our course offerings support each student in being creative and critical thinkers who possess leadership qualities. Page 6

9 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. Over the past three years, Houston Learning Academy--Fort Bend Campus has under gone significant changes. First, the building facilities have been updated. We received new HLA signage at the entrance of the building as well as signage at the road for better visibility. Our entire school was newly painted in June, New furniture has been added to the student lounge, lobby, and hallway allowing for a more inviting and relaxed atmosphere. All desks in the classrooms were replaced with new student desks. A security-touch, keypad-locking system was added to the front door to provide safety for HLA students and staff during hours of school operation. All of these physical changes have changed the morale of the student body and created a more welcoming appearance for new families. Not only did we have changes in the facilities and technology equipment over the past three years, but we also changed many components of the education program itself. Two years ago we increased our teaching staff from three to four part-time teachers so that all core classes are taught by qualified, experienced teachers. This year we raised the requirements of our teachers to full-time positions offering full benefits. Each teacher is now required to be certified in their subject or enrolled in an alternative certification program that requires supervision. We also added two office administrators, support positions, to help handle the non-teaching administrative and operational aspects of the school. Finally and of utmost importance, we increased the rigor of our curriculum this past year by purchasing CSCOPE and Study Island. These curriculums enable our teaching staff to provide all students with challenging and equitable opportunities to develop learning skills, thinking skills, and life skills. Study Island is also utilized as a pre/posttest for new students to determine their skill set in each core subject. This information is used to appropriately place students in their class schedule for the semester. This April, we will administer SAT10 testing to all students. This will provide tremendous information for us in the comparison of our students' academic achievement with that of students in the same grade across the nation and in the continuous improvement of student learning and professional practice. Page 7

10 Additional Information Provide any additional information you would like to share with the public and community that were not prompted in the previous sections. Houston Learning Academy--Fort Bend Campus provides a flexible approach to learning. Students may attend HLA full-time in a traditional classroom program. CSCOPE curriculum ( is used as the framework for all core classes. Full-time students may elect to enroll in virtual courses via Odysseyware for electives and some core courses with teacher/principal recommendation. Students may attend HLA full-time in a blended-classroom program. Teachers select specific Odysseyware instructional modules for students to access at home and also provide direct instruction at the Houston Learning Academy school location in the afternoon between the hours of 1:00 pm and 4:00 pm. This seat time enriches the online program as students are expected to master deeper and more complex topics than are offered in the online course alone. Students may attend HLA part-time and take individual courses as needed in our evening and summer programs. The part-time courses are offered in a traditional classroom setting with direct instruction using the CSCOPE curriculum and the seat-time requirement of 60 hours per ½ credit hour. In the summer, students attend classes for 4 ½ hours per day for 14 days to complete a half-credit course. In the night school program, students attend school from 5:30 pm to 8:30 pm on Tuesday and Thursday evenings for ten weeks to complete a half-credit course. Enrollment in the Odysseyware online courses are by semester (fall or spring) and/or in summer school. The coursework is completed at home with tests proctored at the school in the computer lab monitored by a certified teacher. These courses may be taken for original credit or credit recovery with the counselor's permission/recommendation from the student's home high school. Students find this a fantastic way to relieve the pressure of a demanding schedule at their regular high school. Many students elect to take classes in the summer to lighten their class loads during the normal school year freeing up their time to participate in extracurricular school activities. Students choose to attend Houston Learning Academy full-time for a variety of reasons. The small class sizes promote individual attention to student learning. Teachers have time to work one-on-one with students to reinforce concepts and to enhance student mastery of the content. HLA is a nurturing environment. Bullying, teasing, and inappropriate language are not permitted at HLA. Teachers promote positive interactions between students and facilitate supporting respect for individual perspective and student opinion without fear of retaliation or humiliation. Promoting positive self-esteem and individual academic success create a learning environment that is evident in every classroom at HLA. Contact HLA's Fort Bend Campus for a tour and a meeting with the principal to discuss your student's options. Many students discover that by attending HLA, early graduation can be accomplished allowing students to enter college earlier than they ever anticipated. Page 8