Executive Summary. Emma Lee Broady Academy. RIcky L Lee Hooker, President/Owner 5020 Old Seguin Rd San Antonio, TX 78239

Transcription

1 RIcky L Lee Hooker, President/Owner 5020 Old Seguin Rd San Antonio, TX Document Generated On April 7, 2014

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. <br><br> 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? Emma Lee Broady is an online school located in San Antonio, Texas. From July 31, 2011 to February 28, 2014 the school has enrolled 431 students, 204 of whom were females and 227 were males. 20 percent in and 30 percent in The two major ethnic groups were African- American 10% and 90% Hispanic. Because of its physical proximity to the low income neighborhoods and schools on the southeast and southwest side of the city, between 2011 and2012, the high school served primarily students with attendance or behavior problems in the traditional school setting. The students were referred to us by the traditional schools or by the local truancy court judges in an effort to allow students the opportunity to earn a high school diploma instead of the GED. The school used career assessments and career planning to garner the interest of the students. Students responded well to a focus on the curriculum connections to their interests. We have used student interests combined with our teacher's creativity, to foster success for a population that needed alternative solutions in pursuit of their educational and career dreams. Beginning year 2012 and2013, enrollment shifted away from the truant student as our primary students. Many new students left the traditional school setting due to a necessity and as an alternative to the traditional campus where they were not flourishing. Beginning in school year , new enrollments included students that have wanted to accelerate their secondary studies and move to post secondary education. Our current students are successful in the traditional setting but crave the flexibility to move at their own pace and reach specified goals that include dual credit and other advanced courses. In 2011, ELB purchased the A+ content management system. After intensive research in 2013 ELB adopted our current content management system- PLATO along with STUDY ISLAND. Both curriculum components are Edmentum educational products. The Plato and Study Island systems meet the needs of our students. Edmentum's systems are heavily researched and standards driven, support our overall aim of helping our students connect their career interests, skills and goals into a career plans, and give meaning to every element of their Individual Education Plan (IEP). Owned by a minority and veteran-run corporation, ELB is located in San Antonio, Texas. ELB is surrounded by over 17 independent school districts (ISDs) and 3 military bases. Additionally, ELB enjoys a professional relationship with the 5 Alamo City Community College District Colleges in San Antonio (Palo Alto College, San Antonio College, St. Phillip's College, Northwest Vista College, and Northeast Lakeview College), both two-year and four-year colleges throughout Texas, numerous state and national Trade schools(including ITT Tech, Brown Mackie College, Milan Institute, DeVry Institute, Southern Careers Institute, and Hallmark Institute). Our future plans include establishing dual credit programs with our two-year, four-year, and trade school partners in order to offer our students additional educational opportunities. ELB faces two major challenges. The first challenge is that prior to the summer of 2013, ELB followed our state agency, Texas Education Agency, requirement of twenty-two-semester credits enrolled in courses to attain a high school diploma. The new requirements requires 25% of all coursework be completed in residency. (lowering the number of courses completed for transfer from other accredited schools) now requires our students to complete 6 online courses for the state minimum HS diploma (22 credits). The 25% rule mandated by AdvancED has caused a significant drop in enrollment for students that are above the age of 18 and for students who completed their senior year; had all of their credits, but didn't pass all of the exit level tests. The blanket rule is especially harmful since we are told on one hand to follow our state guidelines, but, on the other hand, not allowed to do so. The second challenge also affects enrollment. Because we are a privately owned and operated school, institutions in other states and countries often do not recognize our student's diploma without one-on-one contact and correspondence from our institution. Therefore, students question whether or not their diploma will be recognized outside of Texas. This sometimes discourages enrollment. Page 2

5 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. Emma Lee Broady digital high school has the philosophy that a focus on students' career choices and deep passions will open learning pathways for all students who attend our school. The motto, "It's never to late to graduate," has infused our interactions with students and helped them find their voice. Our philosophy is embedded in the principals of undergraduate learning Students will be ready to learn when the student physically, mentally, and emotionally sees and understands the value in learning. A student's ability to remember or retain information based on repetition and continual access of the online materials. The impact or effect learning has on a student satisfaction ultimately leads to success. Our purpose can also be found in Margaryan, Littlejohn & Vojt, "The integration of technology in every aspect of education, including curriculum, instructional delivery methods and physical learning environment serves to meet the needs of today's technologically astute students. In order to prepare students to be successful in 21st century as global citizens, schools must meet students where they are and support them in getting to where they can and want to be. They must reshape what education looks like and redefine how it impacts the life of young people and the local and global communities". Emma Lee Broady has embodied that our team can have an impact on educational system. ( Margaryan, Littlejohn & Vojt, 2011) 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. ELB has several notable achievements including 1. the integrating career exploration and educational planning, 2. Restoring hope among the disenfranchised that education can and will help them reach their goals, 3. Accelerating learning for those with higher academic capacity, 4. Developing strong partnerships, and 5. Celebrating the educational accomplishments of our graduates. 1. Integrating career exploration and educational planning. Our strong stance toward the integration of career exploration and educational planning as a cornerstone for success within the Individualized Educational Plan (IEP) has created a strong foundation for student success. Student enrollment begins with the question, "What do you want to be and where do you want to study after you get your high school diploma?" We use COIN Career Targets as our foundational career planning assessment tool as well as the career exploration course within the PLATO courseware. As students progress through the program, we intertwine these two tools with our suite of PLATO Trade Courses. This union provides the student with the essential purpose, goals, and the focus for the completion of their high school diploma and assists them in overcoming the challenges that may have led to failure in their past. 2. Restoring hope among the disenfranchised that education can and will help them reach their goals. Providing post secondary access to a disenfranchised segment of our society is essential for our society to become more competitive on a global scale. We help to restore hope which leads to greater faith and a belief in the personal and professional benefits of hard work. Students who were previously discouraged and disillusioned discover purpose and potential and are motivated to get their high school education as a prelude for future goal attainment. 3. Accelerating learning for those with higher academic capacity. Accelerated plans for those students seeking early graduation, dual credit classes, advanced course attainment, and early entry into college allow those students with higher academic capacity to progress at their own pace. We assist these students with SAT/ACT/ASVAB test preparation, college research, tours, and career assessment. 4. Developing strong partnerships. Partnerships with the 17 school districts within the Bexar County area, the truancy judges and courts, the 11 trade schools, 5 local community colleges, and four year universities, both private and public, will continue to develop and grow as ELB fills an important need in the Bexar county for an alternative to the traditional school. ELB also partners with non-profit associations focused on education in order to enhance the student experience. 5. Celebrating the educational accomplishments of our graduates. ELB has captured the imagination and hearts of our students by sponsoring a culminating commencement exercises that celebrate their educational accomplishments and legitimize their struggle to regain and advance their educational status. Parents, family, and friends are cordially invited to witness the elegant, traditional ceremony as a testament to their fortitude and the reality that "It's Never Too Late to Graduate!" Habitually, our graduates will invite no less than 10 guests to the ceremony. The event serves as a springboard for the graduate to take the next step in their educational journey, and as a catalyst for others in the audience to put their educational goals into action to reach a better life for them and their families. Areas in need of improvement include our data analysis, our dual credit offerings, and improved teacher proficiency in on-line course management. ELB is in need of improvement in identification of and data analysis of student academic benchmarks. ELB will strive to continually monitor student performance in each of their respected courses in order to provide a more quantifiable measurement of student growth. Our efforts to increase dual credit course offerings over the next three years will also be a strong focus for the school.. Administrators will offer additional virtual environment workshops to improve teacher proficiency in on-line course management. We have recognized a number of unique opportunities to advance our mission and address the growing need of students to reach their educational and career goals. As we grow, we look to continue, in the next three years, to be ever proficient and effective in the virtual environment. 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. Our community efforts along with partnerships with private, public and charter schools have been a large part of our engagement and our efforts to support the overall arching goal of helping students in our community and our city. Emma Lee Broady has participated in countless educational fairs, workshops and educational panels addressing issues affecting education. Emma Lee Broady is proud member of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and Texas Association of Private Schools in Texas. Our continued efforts to work with students in preparing them for their next phase in life is quintessential. Page 6