900-16 Robert Sartoris, Principal Luz A. Manson, Asst. Principal STRATEGIC SCHOOL PROFILE 2012-13 Connecticut Technical High Edition Howell Cheney Technical High Connecticut Technical High System Location: 791 West Middle Tpke. Manchester, Connecticut Telephone: 860-649-5396 Website: www.cttech.org/cheney/index.htm This profile was produced by the Connecticut Department of Education in accordance with CT General Statutes 10-220(c) using data and narratives provided by the school district or testing services. Profiles and additional education data, including longitudinal data, are available on the internet at www.sde.ct.gov. TYPE OF SCHOOL Type: Regional Technical High Grade Range: 9-12 STUDENT ENROLLMENT Enrollment on October 1, 2012: 685 5-Year Enrollment Change: 21.5% Need Indicator INDICATORS OF EDUCATIONAL NEED Number in Percent in High s % in District % in Students Eligible for Free/Reduced-Price Meals 270 39.4 40.3 31.8 Students Who Are Not Fluent in English 8 1.2 2.6 3.8 Students Identified as Gifted and/or Talented 16 2.3 1.0 5.0 Students with Disabilities 46 6.7 7.5 11.3 Juniors and Seniors Working 16 or More Hours Per Week PROGRAM AND INSTRUCTION 94 28.7 21.0 12.7 Instructional Time High s Total Days per Year 182 181 law requires that at least 180 days of school and 900 hours of instruction be offered to students in high school grades. Total Hours per Year 1,054 1,027 Average Class Size District Algebra I 23.1 18.7 17.6 Biology I 20.0 17.6 18.6 English, Grade 10 21.4 17.8 19.0 American History 19.4 17.1 19.8
900-16 Page 2 Lunch An average of 20 minutes is provided for lunch during full school days. % Jrs and Srs Enrolled in Course(s) for College Credit During the 2011-12 Year District 26.8 13.3 36.2 Minimum Graduation Credits The state requires a minimum of 20 credits for graduation. Number of Credits Required for Graduation Required for Class of 2012 29.0 23.8 Class of 2012 Percent of Graduates Who Earned Credit in Selected Subjects Special Programs High s % of Students in Bilingual Education Program or Receiving English as a Second Language Services District Algebra I 100.0 100.0 92.0 Chemistry 47.1 40.6 73.8 District 1.2 2.6 3.6 % of Gifted and/or Talented Students Who Received Services 0.0 N/A 30.2 % of Special Education Students Who Spent Over 79% of Their Time with Their Non-Disabled Peers: 97.8 99.9 72.5 LIBRARY AND COMPUTERS Free on-line access to periodicals, newspapers, and other resources is available to all Connecticut schools through the Connecticut Digital Library at www.iconn.org. Instructional Computers and Library Materials High s District # of Students Per Computer 1.7 1.6 2.1 % of Computers with Internet Access 100.0 100.0 98.6 % of Computers that are High or Moderate Power 100.0 100.0 99.0 # of Print Volumes Per Student* 14.3 13.2 16.0 # of Print Periodical Subscriptions 26 31 34 *Because a certain number of volumes are needed for a library of adequate breadth and depth, a small school may need a higher number of volumes per student. Interactive Distance Learning: This school utilizes interactive distance learning. Interactive distance learning ranges from on-line courses with student-instructor interaction via the internet to live classroom interactions through two-way audio and video transmissions. wide, 42.4% of high schools in the state utilize interactive distance learning. SCHOOL STAFF Teachers and Instructors High s District Average Number of Years of Experience in Education 15.8 13.0 13.9 % with Master s Degree or Above 27.4 35.8 76.8 Attendance, 2011-12: Average # of Days Absent Due to Illness or Personal Time 12.7 14.4 8.6 % Assigned to Same the Previous Year 93.5 88.1 87.9
900-16 Page 3 Full-Time Equivalent Count of Staff General Education: Teachers and Instructors 56.16 Paraprofessional Instructional Assistants 0.50 Special Education: Teachers and Instructors 2.70 Paraprofessional Instructional Assistants 0.00 Library/Media Specialists and/or Assistants 1.00 Administrators, Coordinators, and Department Chairs 6.24 Instructional Specialists Who Support Teachers (e.g., subject area specialists) 0.00 Counselors, Social Workers, and Psychologists 5.00 Nurses 1.00 Other Staff Providing Non-Instructional Services and Support 21.43 In the full-time equivalent count, staff members working part-time in the school are counted as a fraction of full-time. For example, a teacher who works half-time in a school contributes 0.50 to the school s staff count. SCHOOL DIVERSITY Student Race/Ethnicity Race/Ethnicity Number Percent American Indian 3 0.4 Asian American 18 2.6 Black 104 15.2 Hispanic 153 22.3 Pacific Islander 0 0.0 White 387 56.5 Two or more races 20 2.9 Total Minority 298 43.5 Percent of Minority Professional Staff: 15.3 Non-English Home Language: 9.3 % of this school's students come from homes where English is not the primary language. The number of non-english home languages is 15. EFFORTS TO REDUCE RACIAL, ETHNIC AND ECONOMIC ISOLATION Below is the description submitted by this school of how it provides educational opportunities for its students to interact with students and teachers from diverse racial, ethnic, and economic backgrounds. Cheney Tech is in its fifth year of an expanded recruitment area that includes the city of Hartford. Minority students constitute 47% of the class of 2016, 42% of the class of 2015, 54% of the class of 2014, 37% of the class of 2013, All freshmen at Cheney participate in a program called Trade Exploratory. During this time, they spend two days visiting each of the school s eleven technology areas during phase one of exploratory and four days during phase two of exploratory before making final trade selections for phase three. In each of the phases, groups are either randomly selected or based on trade area choice, increasing student exposure to new classmates of differing backgrounds. An after school academic success program continues during the 2012-13 school year to provide students with a safe and supervised setting to work on goal setting, challenging academic assignments, homework, projects and enhance basic reading and math. All minority students who came to Cheney Tech from urban areas who were struggling academically in the core academic subjects were specifically invited to apply to and attend the program. In order to facilitate attendance, after school transportation to Hartford was provided. All students that expressed an interest and applied were included and took advantage of having a teacher in the common core subjects in the Academic Success Program. There were a total of 95 students in the program including 42 residents of Hartford. Cheney has a full-time English Language Learner (ELL) teacher who provides support for our ELL students.
900-16 Page 4 Teacher E-Mail Addresses: Cheney Tech maintains active communication with our parents and the wider school community through a variety of outreach activities. First and foremost is our school s website: www.cttech.org/cheney. A member of the school faculty is the web content manager, who is responsible for uploading information on school activities, student achievements, and news on a regular basis. Our website is one of the most visited school sites within the CTHSS district. Our school uses Power for its student information system, and parents and students are able to access a secure website to access grades. Cheney Tech maintains an e-mail distribution list of more than 95% of parents in which daily announcements, updates to the website, upcoming school events and happenings as well as electronic copies of mailings are communicated. Parents and guardians also receive letters from school at least once per quarter announcing upcoming events of interest. The school scheduled Parent Conference Night in October, Open House for prospective students in November, an additional day time open house and tour for students and their parents with transportation in November, Career Night in December for the freshmen students and their parents, and Orientation for the incoming freshman class in May 2013. In an effort to include as many families as possible, transportation was provided for those parents with a need for the May 2013 orientation evening. Parents are invited into the school on a regular basis to attend faculty meetings, morning coffees with administration and staff, and afternoon and evening professional development sessions geared towards parents regarding instruction and expectations for student achievement. Cheney Tech was nationally recognized by NNCP for its Promising Partnership Practices 2013 in holding the freshmen exploratory fair. A resource for parent engagement now exists in the form of dedicated space for parents with curriculum, computer and internet access and a variety of resources for social and emotional development. The Dean of Students Office utilizes Messenger to make daily phone calls to notify parents of their child s absence from school. Messenger is also used to notify families of upcoming events. The Parent Teacher Organization meets on the first Thursday of every month at school. A parent and community run booster club has been formed in support of Cheney Tech athletics and also meets on at least a monthly basis. Our parents also organize Project Graduation, a substance-free after graduation party. June 2013 was the fifteenth consecutive year that our graduates have enjoyed a Project Graduation party. STUDENT PERFORMANCE AND BEHAVIOR Connecticut Academic Performance Test, Third Generation, % Meeting Goal. The CAPT is administered to Grade 10 students. The Goal level is more demanding than the state Proficient level, but not as high as the Advanced level, reported in the No Child Left Behind Report Cards. The following results reflect the performance of students with scoreable tests who were enrolled in the school at the time of testing, regardless of the length of time they were enrolled in the school. Results for fewer than 20 students are not presented. For more detailed CAPT results, go to www.ctreports.com. CAPT Subject Area District % of s in with Equal or Lower Percent Meeting Goal Reading Across the Disciplines 24.3 24.8 48.5 23.5 Writing Across the Disciplines 26.3 39.8 62.1 12.2 Mathematics 35.1 33.6 52.4 30.1 Science 35.1 30.6 48.8 34.5 Physical Fitness: % Reaching Health Standard on All Four Tests* District % of s in with Equal or Lower Percent Reaching Standard Grade 10 39.2 35.1 51.4 31.6 SAT I. The lowest possible score on each subtest is 200; the highest is 800. HOME AND SCHOOL COMMUNICATION AND SUPPORT All teachers at this school have been issued e-mail addresses. Online Homework Information: A portion of the school's website is devoted to homework pages. The following narrative about how this school promotes and supports parental involvement was submitted by the school. *Includes tests for flexibility, abdominal strength and endurance, upper-body strength and aerobic endurance. SAT I: Reasoning Test Class of 2012 Ave. Score To see the NCLB Report Card for this school, go to www.sde.ct.gov and click on No Child Left Behind. District % of s in with Equal or Lower Scores Mathematics 438 426 503 26.3 Critical Reading 444 436 499 25.3 Writing 427 426 504 19.5 % of Grads Tested 52.9 48.8 78.5 N/A
900-16 Page 5 Student Attendance District High s % Present on October 1 96.2 95.4 94.3 Disciplinary Offenses Disciplinary offenses committed by students include all serious offenses, offenses involving drugs, alcohol, or tobacco, and all incidents resulting in suspension or expulsion. In the 2011-12 school year, 254 students were responsible for these incidents. These students represent 37.7% of the estimated number of students who attended this school at some point during the 2011-12 school year. Truancy During the 2011-12 school year, 6 students qualified as truant under state statute. As these counts rely on school-level policies regarding unexcused adsences, they are not comparable between schools. Number of Incidents by Disciplinary Offense Category, 2011-12 Offense Category Location of Incident Other Location Violent Crimes Against Persons 3 2 Sexually Related Behavior 4 0 Personally Threatening Behavior 34 1 Theft 12 2 Physical/Verbal Confrontation 45 6 Fighting/Battery 2 0 Property Damage 7 0 Weapons 6 1 Drugs/Alcohol/Tobacco 15 3 Policy Violations 365 67 Total 493 82 Graduation and Dropout Rates District % of Districts in with Equal or Less Desirable Rates Graduation Rate, Adjusted Cohort Rate 2012 97.2 95.9 84.8 86.9 2011-12 Annual Dropout Rate for Gr. 9 through 12 0.1 0.2 2.1 84.9 Activities of Graduates District % Pursuing Higher Education 42.1 38.6 82.6 % Employed, Civilian and Military 46.4 42.1 9.8 Class of 2012: Percent of Graduates Employed or Available for Employment Who Are Working Full-Time Number of Graduates % Employed or Available for Employment % of Employed or Available Working Full-Time Automotive Mechanic 14 57.1 87.5 Carpentry 17 41.2 57.1 Culinary Arts 19 10.5 50.0 Diesel Mechanics Technology 14 57.1 87.5 Drafting:Machine 14 7.1 0.0 Electrical 12 50.0 83.3 Heating/Ventilation/Air Conditioning 13 46.2 100.0 Information Support and Services 15 33.3 20.0 Manufacturing Technology 6 33.3 100.0 Welding 16 50.0 100.0
900-16 Page 6 Advanced Placement Courses 2011-12 District High Sch. Number of Courses for which Students were Tested 0 0.6 11.1 % of Grade 12 Students Tested 0.0 1.7 28.6 % of Exams Scored 3 or More* N/A N/A N/A *A score of three or higher is generally required for earning college credit. The following narrative was submitted by this school. SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PLANS AND ACTIVITIES Cheney Technical High s improvement plan for 2012-2013 has a focus on the areas of Literacy Teaching and Learning, Climate, and Professional Development in the area of Data Driven Decision Making and SRBI as each relates to instruction and student achievement. All teachers use differentiated instructional strategies to address the learning needs and styles of their students as reflected and required in submitted lesson plans. Teachers have been trained in the use of multiple strategies to address students with varying need and on all tiers as determined through the SRBI process. Administrators look for evidence of these indicators when visiting classrooms through both informal walk throughs utilizing the Teachscape model and formal observations. The goal is for sustained improvement in CAPT in math and science with an increase of 9% and 6% respectively; and for a 10% improvement in reading and 10% improvement in writing across the disciplines on the CAPT test. Over 90% of sophomores scored at or above proficient in Math, 89.6% in Science 81.3% in Reading and 88.25 in Writing as measured by the 2012 CAPT administration. There was a Senior Mentor program that paired senior volunteers with freshmen who indicated their desire for a mentor. Seniors went through an orientation in June and have met formally and informally with their mentees. Students and faculty responded to a school wide survey on climate to assess connectedness. The results of which will be utilized for future decision making and program implementation. Faculty was trained in ways for students to report harassment, peer to peer initiatives to support student reporting, increasing student awareness, and ways to address peer pressure. SUPPLEMENTAL SCHOOL INFORMATION The space below was optionally used by this school to describe aspects of the school not presented elsewhere in the profile. N/A