How To Improve A School

Transcription

1 Washington State requires all schools to create School Improvement Plans as a condition for school districts to receive state and federal funds. The plans are to target the strategies each school community will use to improve student academic achievement. The following is a list of the components contained in this school improvement plan. Comprehensive Needs Assessment Schoolwide Reform Strategies Instruction by Highly-Qualified Staff Professional Development Activities Attract High-Quality, Highly-Qualified Teachers Strategies to Increase Parent involvement Transition Plans for Preschools and Between Grade Levels Teacher Included in Assessment Decisions Provide Assistance to Students Experiencing Difficulty Coordination and Integration of Federal, State and Local Services Comprehensive Needs Assessment Summary The High School will focus its energies on defining and finding solutions for question (1) What do we want students to learn? and how we engage students in that learning. We will align units with clear learning targets that can be consistently assessed for both formative (provides information for instructional adjustments) and summative (shows what students know) purposes. Our aim is to take these clear, learning targets and shape them into various learning models that will enhance relevance and increase engagement. As such, our SMART goals have shifted slightly to become Student Growth Goals (aligned with TPEP.) This 1

2 year we ll place special emphasis on Math and ELA Common Core State Standards. Teachers have reviewed data and performance reports to place students in appropriate levels for Math, Reading, and Science. A Math Lab is available 4 nights per week along with homework help. Forty-nine courses will be offered in all this year. Eleven courses will be for college credit or honors status; three are remedial in nature. Manson offers over 80 college credits to students and a variety of online college classes as well. We need to expand our college course offering s to keep students competitive when applying to colleges and universities; therefore, we are exploring additional options for bringing college courses to Manson. Review of key data elements used in assessment Key Data Elements used in assessment End of Course Exams High School Proficiency Exams SAT and PSAT Results Class Room Based Assessments Grades This information was analyzed and used, in conjunction with the standards-based approach, to determine learning needs for the new school year. All information is available to all teachers on Homeroom a new service provided through SKYWARD. We were more selective in what data we chose to review so that we could be more precise in how we addressed achievement gaps. Staff was led through this review with assigned tasks that ultimately led to the creation of SMART goals. These goals will focus staff on specific data points for making adjustments/improvements to instruction and improve the use of instructional strategies linked to student learning. 8 th Grade 9 th Grade 10 th Grade Reading Math Science EOC Math Year EOC Math Year

3 Review of previous year Smart Goal Attainment Progress Linked closely to the creation of SMART Goals was the review of previous goals. Looking at previous projections and the outcomes, helps staff tune up class room based assessments that more accurately predict end of course readiness. Under the direction of the Building Team teachers created SMART goals for the school year. All goals were reviewed by the Building Team and revised as needed. All goals were designed to achieve growth for both students and teachers.. Goals are checked through regular assessment and review. Teacher Subject Goal Result Mrs. Kronbauer Geometry Intervention * 80% of students in Geometry Intervention will show mastery of the state essentials by submitting a successful Collection of Evidence portfolio. Mr. Helleson Biology *75% of the Class of 2015 will pass the Biology End-of Course Assessment. Ms. Janet 9 th Grade Science * 80% of students pass the EOY cumulative final on Physical Science and the Scientific Method. * The goal was met with 81% of the Collections submitted were sufficient for passing. The students that didn t pass were able to meet graduation requirements through alternative methods. * My goal in Biology was met as 82% of my students passed the Biology EOC. * 88% passed and met standard on cumulative final. * 90% can write hypothesis, materials list, procedure and date table for a lab on their own. * 90% can write a conclusion. Mrs. Koth Language Arts *11 out of 11 of my L.A. Intervention 10 th graders to improve their reading of fictional, non-fictional and informational text through the cross-curricular inclusion of Biology material and reading strategies by scoring at least a L3 on the Reading HSPE and a 300 on the Biology EOC this spring. Mr. Fournier AP English * 80% of AP English students will demonstrate growth of at least one point on the AP scale (1-9) on timed essays by the end of the academic year. *7 out of 11 sophomores in LA Intervention passed the Reading HSPE. (Biology EOC scores pending until August.) Even though 100% of these students didn t pass their Reading HSPE, they all showed improvement from their 8 th grade scores. 2 of the non-passers only missed the cut off to passing by one question. * 85% of AP English students increased by at least 1 point on the AP timed essays by the end of the academic year. 3

4 Mrs. Teague Spanish *Students will show mastery of Spanish vocabulary by pronouncing & writing words correctly when presented with a corresponding picture. Mr. Soliday US History * Students will pass test demonstrating competency analyzing or evaluating a significant era of US History. Mr. Pauly Health & Fitness * 50% of the 9 th grade students will meet or exceed the Presidential Fitness Standards in the following events: Mile run, Pull ups/flexed wall hangs, sit ups, and push ups. Mr. Amsden MS Shop *90% of students score 90% or better on vocabulary. Mr. Brown Band *75% of HS Band students will be able to sight read their music CPBA s at or above standard. Mr. Thomas Art *80 % of art students will be able to show mastery of three main art skills. * 47/55 Spanish II students reached 80% mastery on the final quarterly assessment. All students improved pronunciation of vocabulary words. 47/55 met standard in writing skills in Spanish. *The results of the essays improved dramatically from the first assessment at the end of the 1 st quarter and the 2 nd assessment. On the first quarter essay only 8 students met standard, and over 16 did not meet standard. On the second quarter review 18 students met standard. The third quarter essay results flat lined and looked very much like the 2 nd quarter results. 18 students met standard and 7 did not. The top students in the class produced very good essays and several students were given extra credit for fantastic essays. Eight students received A s on the essay in the 3 rd quarter essay while only four received A s on the 1 st quarter essay. * Met goal. * Out of 24 students 9 met 90% goal, 5 met 80% or better and 7 met 70% or better and 3 met minimum standard of 70%. * 74% of the 26 students were able to sight read a musical excerpt that met the state rubric at a 3 or 4. * Goal#1 Drawing from Observation * Goal #2 Advanced Painting Technique * Goal #3 Communicating an Idea Both goals #1 & # 2 met 100%. The final projects, Artist Research/ Faberge Egg and Pet Portrait showed an increase in goal #3 from 52 % to 83%, meeting my goal of 80%. 4

5 School Wide Reform Strategies For the year we set SMART goals in all areas of instruction with each teacher setting at least one goal for one subject area. Our building goals are: CCSS/Standards Based Instruction- teach to clear targets and hold students to those targets as the primary indicator of learning. When considering the needs of all our students we know that we can best meet their diversified learning needs by aligning our courses to clearly defined learning targets or standards. Work successfully TPEP, and Marzano instructional strategies- Improving teaching with effective strategies will have the greatest impact on instruction. Monthly strategy instruction by the BLT will improve our work with these strategies. Vision HS- Develop new ways to offer education to all students. Improve engagement and relevancy. Allow for more competency based instruction. We are anxiously engaged in an effort to serve the needy and accelerate the gifted. Professional development for teaching students of Poverty- using Eric Jensen s work, staff will learn ways to better serve students facing the stressors of poverty. Teacher Subject Goal Mrs. Kronbauer Geometry *Geometry students in 5 th and 7 th period will understand and apply theorems about congruence, similarity, triangles, quadrilaterals and trigonometry in order to solve problems. I will use a pre-test in September and a post-test in May to establish student growth. In order to facilitate growth, I will focus on vocabulary development and organizing students in groups to process new knowledge and deepen understanding. Ultimately, this cohort group will improve from 67% to 80% in content specific knowledge domain on the State EOC in June Mr. Helleson Biology After analyzing the Biology EOC results, I have selected the Application domain as the area of focus for student growth this school year. Last year, only 55% of the students passed this domain. I will use a pre-test of EOC-like application questions before designing their aquariums testing why Milfoil is increasing in Lake Chelan. After going through the technological design process the students will be tested again on EOC-like application questions. The rubric will be provided by OSPI. The instructional strategies that I am going to use include having students examine errors in their logic with the design process and using application to understand cognitively complex tasks. 5

6 Ms. Janet Physical Science *Based off last year s MSP and EOC science data, I will be focusing on this year s 9 th graders taking Physical Science in the Application domain. As a department we will be giving a pretest, performing a technical design project of our choosing, and a post test to assess growth using the Biology EOC rubric as a guide. In addition to providing clear learning goals and scales, I will be organizing students for cognitively complex tasks involving hypothesis generation and testing as well as providing guidance as the students carry out these complex experiments. Mrs. Koth Based on prior MSP reading scores, I will target the 9 th grade class in the standards of Literary and Informational Text by testing them quarterly. 100% of freshmen will demonstrate improvement in Key Ideas & Details and Craft & Structure on four classroom based assessment (CBAs) and will track their own progress as I help them learn the identified critical information using modeling, guided practice and links to prior learning. In May, 100% will show growth on a summative multiple choice and short answer test measuring their knowledge in Informational and Literary Text. Mr. Montes Algebra *Algebra students in 4 th and 7 th period will efficiently and accurately translate words to expressions, use the order of operations to simplify/evaluate expressions, solve equations of one or two variables, and check their solutions for accuracy. In the second week of October 2013 I will use a pre-assessment to evaluate student s content knowledge of Algebra and then retest using a similar exam in May of The focus of my instruction between assessments will be on teaching and using specific academic language related to Algebra and chunking content into manageable pieces to facilitate student learning. Mr. Fournier English *Based on previous HSP reading scores, I will target the 11 th graders in my English classes (periods 3-4) in the standards of Literary Text by testing them on quarterly basis. Through these formative assessments, they will demonstrate improvements in understanding Key Ideas & Details and Craft & Structure. Further, they will monitor their own progress as I guide them in learning to identify critical information by using the instructional strategies of modeling, guided practice and making connections to prior learning. In May, they will show growth on a summative assessment (i.e. multiple choice and short answer test) measuring their knowledge in Literary Text. 6

7 Mrs. Teague AP Spanish *Based on previous AP Spanish Language tests I will focus instruction on the key strands of the AP test. Students will take tests quarterly to show evidence of continual growth in all strands. I will target their specific weakness by analyzing their assessment data and focusing intervention on the at risk areas. Students will interact with the new knowledge & work in small groups to improve their communicative skills. In May of 2014 students will take the Spanish AP test and 85% will pass the test earning college credit. Mr. Soliday CWP * CWP students (11 th and 12 th ) will significantly increase their content knowledge and understanding of specific thematic issues plaguing the US and the world. Students will demonstrate understanding in all five social studies domains (History, Geography, Economics, Civics, and Social Studies) by performing well on unit test and end of semester essays. Mr. Pauly Fitness *60% of my Fitness students will meet standards as measured by the President s Fitness Standards in 4 sub tests They will actively monitor their own progress based on the fitness goals they have set for the class. In order to improve on the students overall fitness, I will focus on the implementation of a wide variety of activities to keep the students engaged in their own fitness improvement. Mr. Amsden Shop *Jr High shop students in 1 st period will understand and be able to apply the meanings of tier 2 words that are used throught the class and shop to safely use tools and construct projects. They will be given a pretest within the 1 st 4 weeks of school and a post test to establish student growth, and all students should score at least 75% or higher, on the post test. There will be a large emphasis on vocabulary through small group instructions, one on one, and along with developing a manual to help students better understand tier 2 words. Mr. Brown Band *80% of 7 th and 8 th students in MS Band will increase their ability to use content based vocabulary to describe and understand music in a deeper way. A pre-test will be given in October and a cumulative in January to establish student growth. I will focus on helping students identify critical information as well as the way that I question students. Mr. Thomas MS Art I have targeted 6 th graders in middle school art class. I will give a pretest, teach the art vocab through art projects and then assess and compare scores. 7

8 High Achieving Opportunities: HS Students are given the opportunity to take an increasing number of College Credit and AP courses HS students are allowed to take online courses for enrichment purposes when the course is not offered in the current schedule AP US History AP World History AP Psych Zero hour Jazz Band Pre Calculus Calculus Physics Anatomy & Physiology Forensics Chemistry AP Lit U of W Language Arts AVID 7-8 elective courses in Spanish, Art, Shop, Band, Choir, and Technology, STEM, Service Learning grade Math students are placed, by ability, in Algebra 1 and Geometry classes with the option to earn HS credit. Emerging Schools utilize principles and indicators already developed N/A Instruction by Highly Qualified Staff All teachers and para-educators in Manson High School meet the standard of highly qualified as defined by state and national requirements (NCLB and IDEA). This means they have either completed appropriate educational coursework and required tests to teach a particular subject or have taught the course/subject area previously and been given grandfathered status by the state or federal government. Manson Middle School s statement will be slightly different re: Dane Johnson. Todd you and I will work on this language. 8

9 Professional Development Activities Guiding Beliefs 1. The best strategy for improving schools and districts is developing the collective capacity of educators to function as members of a professional learning community (PLC) a concept based on the premise that if students are to learn at higher levels, processes must be in place to ensure the ongoing, job-embedded learning of adults who serve them (Dufour and Marzano, 2011 p. 21). 2. Just like our belief that all students can learn, we believe that all teachers can improve. 3. The quality of a school of an education system cannot exceed the quality of its teachers (Barbour and Mourshed, 2007 p. 4). Our Focus Our professional development in the school year will continue to be focused on improving core instructional strategies for all students. We will also be providing our staff with additional professional development in implementing effective instructional strategies for ELL students, and students living in poverty. The state s new evaluation system and our chosen instructional framework (Marzano) provide our district with the tools necessary to discuss high quality instruction using a common vocabulary and a means to insure effective strategies are being implemented (evaluation that is clearly aligned to our instructional framework). In addition to these district-wide foci, Manson High School will be working on the new Common Core State Standards for Math and ELA, the new Teacher Principal Evaluation Protocol, and the new Vision for learning at the high school. To achieve these initiatives staff will participate in the following planned professional development opportunities: Monthly trainings provided by the BLT, including TPEP, CCSS, ELL Vocabulary, and Teaching with Poverty in Mind Collaborate with colleagues on articulation of standards Work collaborative with instructional teams Participate in further book studies 9

10 Attract High-Quality, Highly-Qualified Teachers Manson High School Improvement Plan Manson School District aggressively recruits high quality instructors for employment in our district. By advertising both locally (newspapers) and online (district website, Association websites) we experience relatively deep employment pools for most positions. We do not consider applicants not meeting NCLB/IDEA highly qualified standards. In our efforts to match our best and most qualified teachers to our most needy students we regroup students for basic instruction and in-day interventions. We have also encouraged and supported teachers in obtaining their national board certification. At Manson High School we currently have 5 teachers with their national board certificates. Strategies to Increase Parent involvement Manson High School Activities Purpose Target Group Contact(s) Expectations Manson High School Parent Teacher Advisory Committee Student Support Information sharing All 9-12 parents Addie Velasco Parent Input for Programs and Curriculum Gear Up/ Post Secondary Coordinator Provide intervention and support for students and parents 9-12 grade students Patti Stracener Keep Parents Informed and Involved Skyward Access & Keep parents informed on grades & missing assignments 6-12 grade students Christy Libbey Teachers will notify parents when students fall behind. May also send notices Remind 101 Keep parents informed on 6-12 grade Teachers can 10

11 student progress students send reminders and notices to students and parents Notes & Letters Home Keep parents informed on student progress 6-12 grade students Mid quarter grade checks required, Teachers must notify parents when students fall behind F-List Quarterly Letters from Principal Keep parents informed about concerns for student progress 6-12 grade students Don Vanderholm Todd Smith Additional notification to parents asking students to attend study sessions Manson, Inc District wide parent informational meetings K-12 Matt Charlton Adelina Velasco Manson School District Parent Activities/Events Activity Dates Who Attends Welcome Back BBQ August 29 th P-12 families and staff Elem. Open House August 29 th P-6 families and staff 11

12 Middle and HS Open House August 29 th 6-12 families and staff Fall Student Led SLP Conferences October P-5parent/staff 6-12 parent/student/staff Spring Student Led Conferences March P-5 parent/staff 6-12 parent/student/staff Visitor s Lunch at Elementary 3 rd Tuesdays Parents, community Community Thanksgiving Lunch Thursday before Thanksgiving Parents, students, community School Board Meetings 4 th Monday of Each Month 6:00PM Parents, students, community Music Program Concerts Winter and Spring Parents and Community Senior Presentations Late May /June Families and Community Transition Plans for Preschools and Between Grade Levels Preschool to Kindergarten: School district personnel observe, record, and collect data regarding preschool student progress throughout the school year. Pre-academics, oral language fluency, social/emotional functioning, and potential learning style are the components of this process. This information is shared with families so that goal setting meetings can take place. These meetings focus on goals for student learning and family goals. Preschool staff works with families in support of these efforts. This includes referral to any relevant support services in the community. In the spring student information is compiled and analyzed by preschool and kindergarten staff. The purpose of this data analysis is to determine the best possible groupings of students for their upcoming kindergarten experience. Families meet for the final time with preschool staff in late spring. During this meeting, team recommendations are shared for their child s kindergarten placement. In addition, families are scheduled for 12

13 kindergarten orientation. This is a series of individual family meetings held during the first week of school. Families come in, meet with their kindergarten teacher, and learn about the classroom routine, expectations for home, and general school procedures. Children also are afforded an opportunity to see their new classroom and begin to become familiar with their new surroundings. Fifth to Sixth: Students are observed and evaluated in the areas of school readiness (including reading and math concepts), oral language fluency, social/emotional functioning, and potential learning style. Parent teacher conferences include goal setting and family support services. Student learning data is compiled and shared with Kindergarten staff in the spring. Families participate in Kindergarten orientation meetings before school begins in the fall. In Manson School District, students switch from Manson Elementary to Manson Secondary at this time. Fifth grade teachers meet with middle school staff in the spring to review learning data and answer questions regarding student progress. Students with special needs are discussed at length with specialist present as well. In August, prior to school starting, Camp Manson is held. This is an orientation day where incoming middle school students spend a day in the middle school with their teachers and administration. Students receive an overall orientation to building procedures, as well as, individual teacher orientation. Transition between elementary and secondary school (grade five to grade six): Fifth graders are experiencing the skill of transitioning each period to PE/Band, Math, Literacy, Science, Social Studies, and Homeroom. These transitions happen both within the elementary and between the elementary and secondary building. Transition meetings between fifth grade team and middle school team to discuss classroom learning data. Students with specific needs are also discussed. A student orientation day is offered in August. Students are strongly encouraged to attend Camp Manson prior to the upcoming school year. Students get familiar with their teachers, classrooms, building procedures and routines. 13

14 Twelfth to post secondary: Manson School District employees a Post-Secondary Coordinator who leads students through a progression of activities and visitations designed to successfully transition students into a 13 th year of education. As part of their graduation requirements, students must: 1. Complete a High School and Beyond Plan 2. Complete a Culminating Project The high school and beyond plan involves career exploration activities and projects designed to help students create a focus for their post secondary experience. The culminating project also has a strong emphasis on future plans and next steps to accomplish student goals. Special education students participate in transition activities once they enter high school in ninth grade. Their IEP team meets annually to review their transition plan. This plan often includes linkages to adult service agencies prior to graduation so students with special needs have a seamless transition to their desired post school outcome. Teacher Included in Assessment Decisions Each school has a building leadership team (BLT) comprised of teacher leaders. This team works with the building principal to make instructional, curricular and assessment decisions and/or recommendations. During weekly collaboration times, teachers work with their grade/department level team to create formative and summative assessments that measure student s proficiency levels in each standard. After students have taken a given assessment, teachers then collaborate to analyze the results of the data. This allows teachers to identify holes within the assessment that need to be modified as well as any discrepancies in learning. Provide Assistance to Students Experiencing Difficulty 1-2 paragraphs detailing the specific strategies employed. Information should include classroom and building level interventions. Students with needs are served in a variety of ways. Students who experience difficulty mastering standards are provided additional assistance during the school day and after school. All students are placed in the appropriate math level using relevant data. Students not meeting EOC standards are placed in an additional in-day COE class. 14

15 Students are similarly placed in LA classes and those not meeting state standard in Reading are placed in an in-day COE class. Students who speak primarily Spanish are supported with English Language Learning instruction and an additional period of Spanish curriculum. Special Services meet the needs of many students with both self-contained and push-in models. The Student Intervention Team meets weekly to address the needs of any struggling learner. The school counselor heads up this team and coordinates efforts between teachers and parents. All students are provided with homework help and math tutoring after school, four days a week. Coordination and Integration of Federal, State and Local Services With our student population and the significant number of at-risk learners we have the opportunity to utilize federal, state, and local resources in a service model that blends support to all students. Our categorical funds (LAP, Title, Bilingual, etc.) programs directly benefit those students highest in need and indirectly benefit all students with increased resources, quality professional development opportunities, and lower ratios of teacher to students. 15