Executive Summary. University High School

Transcription

1 Orange County Public Schools Dr. Anne Carcara, Principal 2450 Cougar Way Orlando, FL Document Generated On August 26, 2015

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 1 Description of the School 2 School's Purpose 3 Notable Achievements and Areas of Improvement 4 Additional Information 5

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? is located at 2450 Cougar Way, Orlando, FL in East Orange County and serves the East Orlando Communities from Econolockhatchee road to Alafaya trail (from east to west) and Curryford road to the Seminole County line (from south to north). The Middle Schools Union Park, Legacy, and Corner Lake feed in to. has an enrollment of 3,032 students as of May 2015 along with a minority rate of 74% as of May 2015 (.49% AMER IND / AK NAT, 6.96% ASIAN / PAC IS, 11.61% BLACK, 52.14% HISPANIC, 2.87% MULTIRACIAL, 25.92% WHITE). Instructional demographics break down to 2.48% ASIAN, 18.1% HISPANIC, 71.4% WHITE, AND 8.07% BLACK. Enrollment has increased on average of approximately 3% per year and this growth is expected to continue for the upcoming school year. is a school rich in tradition and includes a Global Technology Magnet, International Baccalaureate program, Advanced Placement courses, and Career and Technical opportunities. One of the major challenges that faces is that of student attendance and community support. experiences a high mobility rate of almost 20%. In relation to the two nearest high schools (Winter Park and Timber Creek) lacks the community and parent involvement to support our students. This is believed to be due to a correlation of our community and its lower socio-economic status (over 60% of our students receive free or reduced lunch) as compared to our neighboring schools. Page 2

5 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. 's purpose is to make sure that every student is college and career ready. In doing so, strives for excellence in providing a rigorous curriculum while making sure that student's social/emotional needs are supported as well. embraces the Orange County Public School's Vision, Mission, and Goals as a foundation to our site based organization. OCPS Vision To be the top producer of successful students in the nation OCPS Mission To lead our students to success with the support and involvement of families and the community OCPS Goals To focus our efforts to accomplish our mission and achieve our vision, the board and superintendent set five broad goals. 1. Intense focus on Student Achievement 2. High-performing and Dedicated Team 3. Safe Learning and Working Environment 4. Efficient Operations 5. Sustained Community Engagement Student and Staff expectations are communicated through various sources such as a faculty handbook that is revised annually, student code of conduct that is reviewed quarterly, the use of the ACHIEVE program which is a part of a system designed to display expectations within the classroom, common board configurations to not only display daily expectations of behavior but to also display to students the progression of learning and a scale to assess, and the use of Progressbook to communicate grading and classroom behaviors. University High School offers a wide variety of curriculum to assure that every student is college and career ready. Students are able to participate in the rigorous curriculum of International Baccalaureate, Global Technologies, Advanced Placement courses, AVID, Project Lead the Way courses, and technical courses that lead to industry certifications such as Veterinary assistant, Cisco Certifications, Culinary Arts, Certified Nurse's Assistant, and so much more. is proud of its diversity in that there are over 70 different clubs, arts, and sports that students can participate in (one of the highest in Orange County). After school enrichment continues with the use of daily tutoring and a dinner that is provided at no cost to our students while they participate in any after school enrichment activity. aims to support all students in their academic achievement and often provides mini camps for students who need additional assistance. Page 3

6 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. has earned the grade of an "A" school in the past year which was previously a "B" prior to the arrival of the new Principal Dr. Anne Carcara. Dr. Anne Carcara and her administrative staff helped support teachers by providing instructional leadership to increase rigor in the classroom and putting in place a system of supports that provided opportunities for professional development and assured accountability. Within the last 3 years, has increased Reading, Math, Writing, and Science scores (with the exception of writing in 2013). In addition, has also increased the graduation rate to 89% (2014). In Advanced Placement, student average pass rate has increased in the last 3 years by 5% each year, and enrollment continues to increase as well. Although the average pass rate has increased, Advanced Placement scores are lower than the national average. To increase the pass rate, administration has increased the support given to Advanced Placement teachers/students by providing resource guides to all subjects, increased tutoring opportunities, and increased attendance to professional development. International Baccalaureate students graduating with an International Baccalaureate diploma has continued to increase in the last three years from 57% to 77% in This diploma rate surpasses both state and national averages. The AVID success rate has continued to increase as enrollment increases and so has our rate of acceptance for our seniors that have been accepted o college. The increase of AVID seniors increased by 50% in 2014 and the number of AVID seniors accepted into college increased over 300%. Industry certifications continue to rise and is partnered with the district tech schools to house programs on campus to help provide an increased amount of opportunities for students. will continue its efforts to help close the achievement gaps of our minority students, specifically our Hispanic population and students with disabilities. Professional development continues and increases as cultural diversity and understanding is emphasized in an effort to increase understanding of our under performing students so that we may increase academic performance. A multi-tiered system of supports is implemented for our lower level students. With the addition of support staff to this process, University High School is making strides towards accomplishing the goal of closing the achievement gap. In addition, summer offerings for teachers to help be a part of the designing of classroom strategies and instructional focus calendars which will back plot instruction from the intended end goal will take place. To promote different styles of learning, has created a team of volunteers to head an Instructional technology group and devised a 5 year technology plan. Page 4

7 Additional Information Provide any additional information you would like to share with the public and community that were not prompted in the previous sections. has increased its Agri-science and Veterinary Science programs (which lead to industry certifications) to become the only program in the District to support a four teacher program. In order to assure that adequate opportunities are available to our students to become college and career ready, is working to increase enrollment into the technical programs, and dual enrollment. In the upcoming school year, University will introduce the National Academy Foundation program that is designed to prepare young people for college and career success and increases our Science Technology Engineering Math opportunities for students. Increases in community based instruction has increased with our Exceptional Student Education program which includes specific units for the Intellectually Disabled, and Autistic students. is a lead school to support students with Autism in our East Learning Community has one of the best, if not the best, Performing Arts Department in Orange County Public Schools. Just recently was recognized by the Dr. Phillips Center Florida Hospital School of Arts & Wellness Applause awards in the areas of Outstanding Musical, Outstanding Ensemble, Outstanding Technical Achievement, Outstanding Male Performer in a Leading Role, Outstanding Female Performer in a Leading Role, Outstanding Male Performer in a Supporting Role, Outstanding Female in a Supporting Role, Honorable Mention, Outstanding Director, Outstanding Musical Director, Outstanding Stage Management, Outstanding Lighting Design, and an Honorable Mention in Design. Page 5