Executive Summary. Hope High School Online. Mrs. Jennifer Blackstone, Principal 5651 W Talavi Blvd., Suite 170 Glendale, AZ

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1 Mrs. Jennifer Blackstone, Principal 5651 W Talavi Blvd., Suite 170 Glendale, AZ Document Generated On February 5, 2013

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 1 Description of the School 2 School's Purpose 4 Notable Achievements and Areas of Improvement 5 Additional Information 6

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? opened as one of the first seven approved Technology Assisted Project Based Instruction (TAPBI) virtual schools in 2004 to serve Arizona high School students whose schedule or special life circumstances do not allow them to attend school in a traditional setting. TAPBI was a pilot program that has been renamed Arizona Online Instruction (AOI). HHSO is sponsored by the Arizona State Board of Charter Schools as a tuition free public school that serves students in grades 7 through 12. Any Arizona resident under the age of 22 can enroll as a student. HHSO has selected Blueprint Education as its curriculum provider. Blueprint Education is accredited by AdvancED; courses meet state academic standards and universities accept the core courses for admission. The administrative office is located in Glendale, Arizona. This school without walls is a non-traditional learning environment using the Internet and textbooks. Students report to class at a computer, anytime of the day or night whenever their schedule allows. Students are required to log 30 hours of attendance each week and make academic progress by completing 5 lessons in their courses. At any given time, HHSO has approximately 100 students enrolled. Students can be full online students or report to a HHSO learning lab. These learning labs are open as a result of partnerships with local community centers, schools, and churches that allow HHSO students to utilize the computers. HHSO provides a lab facilitator to monitor the on-site activities. Students can attend and utilize computers, meet their teachers for 1 on 1 instruction, complete hands-on science labs, and get various in person assistance from our caring staff. Who are HHSO students? o 34% are 18 years old or older o 14% are refugees to America o 27% learned English as a second language o 43% qualify for free and reduced lunch o 14% receive special education services o 28% were supposed to graduate before 2012 The flexible self-paced scheduling option that offers is the biggest attractant to students. HHSO usually attracts students that have a unique life situation that makes attending a traditional school setting where they have to attend a location on a set schedule unrealistic or ineffective for their learning needs. One unique challenge that HHSO faces is a large mobility rate. In 2011, HHSO had approximately 370 students that were enrolled throughout the school year, but a mere 99 was the Average Daily Membership for HHSO. A second challenge is that due to the small number of Full Academic Year students, standardized testing data is easily skewed. HHSO embraces the school improvement process to try to overcome these challenges. caring staff includes: Page 2

5 1 Principal 9 certified, highly qualified teachers (1 English, 1 Math, 1 Biology/Chemistry, 1 Earth and Space Science, 1 History and Government, 1 Economics, 1 CTE, 1 K-8 and Spanish, 1 Special Education) 2.5 Coordinators 1 Guidance Counselor 3.5 Lab Facilitators Partnership with Blueprint Education for Accounting, Marketing, and Technology staff also has the benefit of having two governing boards -- Blueprint Education Board of Directors and Blueprint Education Charter Schools Board. The Board of Directors includes a Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer, 3 Members, and 6 Advisory Board Members. The Charter Schools Board includes President, Vice President, Secretary, and 2 Members 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. Blueprint Education's values, mission, and strategic vision as well as the HHSO's school vision statement are at the core of every decision, everyday. These are not just statements on the website and printed in marketing collateral. We embody these statements and use them as the guiding principles in our decision making as well as daily actions. Below are just some general examples of how we incorporate the values, mission, vision, and strategic vision into our daily actions and decision making process. BLUEPRINT EDUCATION CORE VALUES 1. Integrity - We consult with an outside accounting firm to audit our financial documents twice a month. 2. Accountability - Each year we create school improvement goals including objectives, strategies, tactics, budget, and resources. 3. Caring - Every student is contacted by a staff member at least twice a month to check progress or attendance, to help set goals, or to motivate or encourage. 4. Innovation - We are piloting a program using Google accounts for students to set daily learning objective goals that are tracked by a lab facilitator. We also utilize Skype for teacher tutoring and all teachers have cell phones for calls and texting students. MISSION: We're committed to finding new ways to enable students to succeed. In 2011, when we saw a need for some students to have more support than what we currently offered fully online, we began opening learning labs to offer educational support to students. SCHOOL VISION: is committed to maximizing each student's potential for lifelong learning through high quality, student centered, technology driven, standards based curriculum in an alternative, nontraditional school environment. All students utilize a Mach Form (technology driven) to complete, and update annually, an Education and Career Action Plan (connects to life long learning). The school is self-paced (student centered). Every core area course and most electives have a standard alignment chart (standards based) and utilizes inacol National Standards of Quality for Online courses as a guide to course development (high quality). BLUEPRINT EDUCATION STRATEGIC VISION: By 2020, Blueprint Education will prepare 10,000 students for successful entry into the skilled workforce. Currently in the planning stages for implementation, we are 1. Defining what "prepared" means, 2. Developing a three year teacher professional development plan based on Marzano's "Classroom Instruction that Works," and 3. Establishing an Evaluation Committee to assess our methods of effective teaching and focuses on the 21st Century Learning Framework. Page 4

7 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: Increased student course completions over the last school year from 455 to 631 Created an Effective Teaching Committee to guide professional development Partnered with Maricopa County Education Service Agency for support in educational endeavors On average 53% of students earn A's in courses HHSO (all subgroups) met AMOs for last school year 95% or more tested in AIMS testing each year Created a Service Learning class to further our core value of caring and teaching students the value of giving back to the community. Areas of Improvement: Increase AIMS percent passing Increase AIMS growth Increase graduation rate Improve data analysis process by staff Increase methods of communication with all stakeholders Continue to build a volunteer base Page 5

8 Additional Information Provide any additional information you would like to share with the public and community that were not prompted in the previous sections. As our mission states, we are committed to finding new ways to enable students to succeed. We strive to do this in a variety of technology based, student centered, alternative ways. We are motivated by the challenge of helping students who have struggled and even failed in previous educational settings. To us, there are no exceptions to students' success. Page 6