EDA585 School Excellence Plan All Parts Arguelles

HHS School Excellence Plan

Running head: HIGHLAND HIGH SCHOOL EXCELLENCE PLAN

Highland High School Excellence Plan

Patrick Arguelles

Grand Canyon University

EDA 585

March 23, 2011

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Abstract

Just as an architect designs and uses blueprints to guide in the building of a new home,

Highland High School will use their strategic plan for excellence as a roadmap to guide and

prepare for the future. The way we define excellence dictates the way we achieve it, so the plan

carefully spells out both areas of success and areas of need. Continuous school improvement is

the overall theme as the paper moves through three sections: School Profile and Current State of

the Highland High School, the Desired State of HHS, and finally a Suggested Improvement Plan

for the School. The paper includes a detailed School Profile that includes demographic

information, as well as current information on the present state of the school. The paper also

discusses the desired state of the school in detail. Finally, the paper reports on a strategic plan of

action aimed at continuous school improvement and a measurable increase in student

achievement.

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Highland’s vision is to maintain the Traditions of Excellence established in its 62 years of

existence. Highland High School’s mission is to be the premier high school in Central New

Mexico. The school provides a learning environment that prepares young people for college and

careers. We accept the challenge to make a difference in the lives of our students, to recognize

their strengths, to prepare them for careers and to empower them to make a difference in the

world.

Administrative Team

Principal: Scott Elder

9th & 10th Grade Principal, in charge of 9th grade academy: Lupe Martinez

11th Grade Principal, in charge of finance and buildings and grounds: Larry D’Anza

12th Grade Principal, in charge of curriculum and instruction: Harriet Crawford

Assistant Principal in charge of Special Education: Ben Chavez

Coordinator of Small Learning Communities: Andy Legant

Activities Director, SAT Chair and Middle School Liaison: Patrick Arguelles

Athletic Director: Scott Peterson and Joe Williams

School Counselors: Christina Klave, Analisa Lujan, Teya Nguyen, Pamela Joseph

School History

Highland High School opened its doors in 1949. Today, Highland is the second oldest

public high school in Albuquerque, New Mexico and currently operates out of the oldest

standing school building in the state. The school occupies 33 acres. Currently the Albuquerque

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Public Schools District is the 28th largest school district in the nation and consists of 14 high

schools, 28 middle schools, and 90 elementary schools utilizing a K-5, 6-8, 9-12 grade-level

configuration. The student body of Highland High School is culturally diverse with a population

that is 8.5% African American, 3.6% Asian, 18.2% Caucasian, 57.2% Hispanic, and 12.5%

Native Americans. Highland High School is a comprehensive four year public high school

enrolling 1797 students in grade 9 through 12. Links to valuable data have been provided.

School Level High SchoolGrades Offered Grades 9 - 12

County Bernalillo County, NM

Students & Faculty HHS 2010-2011

Total Students 1629 students

% Male / % Female 48% / 52%

Total Classroom Teachers 115 teachers

Other Ancillary Staff 112 including secretarial, custodial, cafeteria, EAs,

administration, coaches

Teacher Status: 107 Highly Qualified in 178 Areas

8 teachers on I-licenses or getting SpEd Licensure

% American Indian Teachers 4%

% Asian Teachers 2%

% Hispanic Teachers 41%

% Black Teachers 6%

% White Teachers 46%

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http://www.publicschoolreview.com/county_schools/stateid/NM/county/35001


Students by Grade

2010-2011

Grade 9 – 567 students

Grade 10 – 428 students

Grade 11 - 369 students

Grade 12 - 265 students

Highland HS (NM) School Average

Teacher : Student Ratio 1:18 1:14

Students by Ethnicity 2010-2011

% American Indian 13% 14%

% Asian 4% 1%

% Hispanic 56% 51%

% Black 8% 2%

% White 19% 31%

Additional Student Information

This School (NM) School Average

% Eligible for Free Lunch 59% 44%

% Eligible for Reduced Lunch 9% 6%

% Migrant Students Enrolled n/a n/a

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School Performance: (NM) Statewide Testing Performance

School Statewide Performance View Education Department Test Scores

School District Name Albuquerque Public s School District

NM Public Education Department Highland High School Accountability Report

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http://www.publicschoolreview.com/agency_schools/leaid/3500060

http://sde.state.nm.us/


AYP Summary Details for Highland High School

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This School's Agency (APS) (NM) District Average

Number of Schools Managed 175 5

Number of Students Managed 95,083 students 637 students

District Total Revenue $909,023,000 $9,524,000

District Expenditure $902,192,000 $9,834,000

District Revenue / Student $9,560 $14,951

District Expenditure / Student $9,488 $15,438

District Graduation Rates 66% n/a

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Curriculum

The academic program is organized on a rotating block schedule. Students can earn seven

credits per year during a regular school day. Students take six 95-minute classes, and one 50-

minute class. Students attend 3 block classes and the 50-minute class daily, rotating Monday &

Wednesday and Tuesday & Thursday. On Friday, the students go to all seven classes lasting 50

minutes each.

AP courses are offered in Art History, Art, Calculus AB and BC, Chemistry, Biology,

English Language, English Literature, U.S History, World History, Government and Economics,

Spanish, French, and German. AP is an open-enrollment program. Honors classes are offered in

English, Algebra, and Geometry. Entry into the courses is determined by student commitment

and teacher recommendation.

Highland High School has dual enrollment with UNM and CNM which enables

sophomores, juniors, and seniors to enroll in college level courses and earn college credits at

local institution of higher education. The students also receive high school elective credit for

these courses.

Academic Philosophy

Highland High School provides a well-rounded college preparatory curriculum with

extensive offerings in English, social sciences, mathematics, foreign languages, sciences, art,

music and drama. Advanced placement classes are offered in biology, chemistry, physics,

psychology, European history, calculus AB and BC, economics, and statistics. Students are able

through their choices to create an individual schedule tailored to their needs and interests. Some

courses are required and some are recommended, but there are many electives, increasing in

number as the student progresses through school. Students make their own choice of study based

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on data from several career exploration assessments (ASVAB, PSAT, Accuplacer, etc.). This is

important because it develops responsibility, increases commitment, and encourages exploration

of new areas for learning.

The faculty and administration of Highland High School recognize the individuality of

each student and the right of that student to receive and opportunity in education to develop to

his/her fullest potential. Through dedication, hard work and effective planning, a flexible

academic and extracurricular program can be offered that will allow each student opportunities

to experience success. Through positive discipline, we believe an atmosphere can be created in

the school to enable academic, social and physical development. We further believe that through

cooperative interaction of the administration, faculty, students, parents, and community, each

student can achieve his/her academic goals, develop a love for learning, respect for self and

others, and an enthusiasm for life that will help to ensure his/her success and happiness.

Special Education Department

Highland High School special ed teachers are responsible for developing individualized

education programs (IEPs) for each of their special education students. The IEPs are based on

personalized goals tailored to each student's individual learning ability and style. Teachers also

formulate transition plans to prepare the students for postsecondary study or for jobs. There is a

wide variety of disabilities that require students to be in special education programs. These

include autism, mental retardation, emotional deficiencies, language and speech impairments,

visual problems, hearing impairments, mobility limitations, and many other disabilities.

Many of the daily job tasks of Highland’s special ed teachers mirror those of their general

education counterparts. Special ed teachers are responsible for things like taking attendance,

developing lesson plans, assigning and correcting homework, enforcing school rules, keeping

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inventory of supplies, and administering standardized tests. There is also an additional layer of

duties unique to special ed teachers that, among other duties, includes the following:

Meeting with parents to review the IEP and note progress and problems

Making referrals to sources within the community that may be able to assist the student

Helping students learn to use various tools such as computers, wheelchairs, hearing aids

or other devices

Developing new strategies to meet the needs of students with a variety of handicaps

Making modifications in the general education curriculum for special-needs students

Coordinating placement of students with special needs into mainstream classes

Monitoring teachers and teacher assistants to ensure adherence to special education program

requirements

Technology

Highland currently has four computer labs, each with an average of 35 computers. The

school also has two mobile computer labs, one with 20 laptops, the other with 15 units. The

recent addition of Figge Hall provides 2 more computer labs, promethean boards and projectors.

Accomplishment, Awards, Distinctions

We the People - 2011 State Champion and Regional Representative (5th consecutive

championship and 9th out of last 10 years)

DECA – 8 National Qualifiers

Track & Field - State Champions

3 National Honor Society Scholars and 1 Merit Scholar Recipient

Students Passing German AP Exam with a score of 5 – 9 out of 9

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1 NM Activities Association Pursuing Victory With Honor recipient (highest NMAA

honor awarded)

1 student earned early entry into Harvard

AYP Status

HHS has not made adequate yearly progress (AYP) based on the state’s accountability

system for math and reading for four consecutive years. The data bear out that HHS is scoring

lower and lower so drastic changes are necessary. Examining the data reaffirms that increasing

rigor is vital to turning it around. Students currently (class of 2012 and newer) must earn 25

credits to graduate. The district does not require the English and math classes to be college-

preparatory in nature but the HHS strategic plan calls for students to take at least one advanced

placement class and one on-line class in preparation for college or career. The plan calls for an

85% graduation rate. HHS currently has the lowest graduation rate in the district (49%) but the

Leadership team believes that by implementing change the grad rate will improve dramatically.

The grad rate must also contend with students who literally disappear (i.e. immigrants who

return to their country without taking transcripts or withdrawing properly) so the plan calls for

better record keeping. Only 14% of HHS students who took the ACT were found to be college-

ready in all four areas (math, English, science, social studies) so the plan calls for requiring AP

classes and college prep classes be offered and recommended. Through partnerships with CNM

and UNM, students can easily take dual enrollment classes for free at the local colleges.

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Goals for the Strategic Plan

Excellence is Highland’s commitment to provide an unparalleled education for all

students that enter our doors. We recognize that ensuring continuous academic achievement for

all students in spite of a 300% increase in the number of non-English speakers over the last four

years, aligning resource allocation to district priorities in the face of 35% budget cuts over the

last three years, raising expectations for accountability and strengthening relationships with our

students, parents and community, and finally, accelerating the path to excellence requires three

elements: effective classroom and leadership strategies, transparency in every area, and the time

to accurately implement research-based, data-driven change to ensure success. The proposed

guidelines allow the school to assign each department responsibility for the design and

implementation of specific areas of the strategic plan, progress monitor those areas by using

specific data targets, and then report out the results. The school’s Plan of Excellence outlines the

work we need to do and it is the work we will do.

Highland has an instructional vision that drives decision making in all facets of the school. We

have worked with all stakeholders involved (students, staff, administration, parents, community)

to develop a plan that will guide Highland toward achieving the goals set out by the state and the

district. The following points are utilized by the stakeholders to achieve these goals.

1. Shared Vision and Plan.

Highland has engaged stakeholders in the planning process and it has achieved incredible

results. Highland has a shared vision, mission, and educational plan for school and

student success. The school is developing an instructional vision based on shared

assumptions about teaching and learning. Staffing, schedule, budget, and professional

development plans are being developed to support the instructional vision. The Highland

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Leadership Team, the High Schools That Work (HSTW) team, department chairs and

teachers in their Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) have dedicated time and

resources to seeing through the proper implementation of the plan. Implementation

required that teachers have adequate and well-planned and facilitated time to deliberate

on teaching and learning together during the school day.

2. Personalization.

Students are more likely to succeed in an environment where staff know every student

and no student slips through the cracks. For this reason, Highland has broken 9th and 10th

grade academies into small groups of less than 100 students (all at the same grade level).

These groups are created based on assessments mentioned above so that members of each

group share some or many similar likes.

3. Flexibility and Accountability.

Highland has given teachers an opportunity to collaborate with each other, and has

empowered them to make mission driven decisions about staffing, schedule, budget, and

curriculum.

4. Equity.

The goal of the school is to ensure high quality education to ALL students in Highland’s

neighborhood.

5. Community Engagement.

Highland has made it a top priority to engage the community and seek their input into

decisions that affect the school and community. For change to occur, Highland’s

students, parents, community members, and teachers must have buy-in. The best way to

achieve buy-in is to involve these stakeholders in creating the plan for redesigning the

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school and involve them in the governance of the school as it moves forward. In addition,

Highland has moved to become a central hub for a community by inviting parents and

community members to come to the school for English lessons, GED classes, computer

classes, dance and yoga, and on and on.

6. High Quality Teaching and Learning.

Increasing rigor in the classroom has been at the top of the agenda and Highland has

made strides in reaching our goals. All students are engaged in a learning process that is

rigorous, relevant, and prepares them for both college and the workforce of the 21st

century.

Research has shown that a change in teacher behavior, regardless of the teachers’ beliefs,

can change student performance sufficiently enough to change teacher beliefs based almost

solely on their observations of improved student achievement. The foundation of this strategic

plan is based on this huge observation: changes in beliefs can follow changes in behavior. This

distinction is vital to the plan because leaders can mandate behaviors much easier than beliefs.

Believe That Students Can Do Better & Let Them Know You Believe

This is definitely a strong suit for HHS teachers. HHS leaders are promoting a culture of high

expectations and are providing students with many opportunities to receive the extra help they

need to reach these higher expectations. The plan calls for every teacher to provide a syllabus to

each student that includes rubrics and scoring guides, outlines course content, contains class

rules and lays out class and course expectations. The plan calls for teachers to post student work

and to specify daily objectives. Teachers also make bell-to-bell instruction the norm in ALL

classrooms in order to utilize every minute of instructional time to teach required content.

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In addition, the school has provided tutors to help in every area and in every language.

Students have access to tutoring from 6:00am to 6:30pm and this aspect is a big part of the plan

to continually improve academically. HHS has programs set up with LULAC, ENLACE, Sandia

Labs, Upward Bound, Project Diversity, Catholic Social Services, Kirtland Air Force Base, as

well as volunteers from Walmart, UNM, and the City of Albuquerque.

The plan utilizes the Advisory program fully by teaching study skills and habits of

success. Leaders make teachers accountable for reinforcing guidance and advisement as a means

of connecting students to goals beyond high school. Teachers provide advisement, mentoring,

support, and monitoring of students’ education and career plans in a purposeful way. Leaders

continually monitor, evaluate, and revise the program to meet emerging student needs. Finally,

teachers and leaders act in unison to provide students and in particular seniors a meaningful

academic experience. This strategic plan calls for every senior to create a portfolio listing their

accomplishments over the four years, including what they have done to prepare for college or

career. They have to defend it in front of a panel of stakeholders, which include their parents,

school leaders and teachers who have had a stake in their growth.

The Desired State of Academics at Highland High School

Over the past two decades, states across the country have developed strict accountability

policies in response to mandates from the federal government. The identification of schools not

meeting adequate yearly process based on No Child Left Behind (NCLB) standards of

acceptability has created a serious problem for state departments of public education because

they are now required to turn these failing schools around. School districts have given their

school administrators latitude to examine school-wide reform approaches and implement plans

specific to their school and its stakeholders. All students deserve a high quality, challenging

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education and Highland High School has used this philosophy to create a new vision of “college

and career readiness for ALL students.” Student success in today’s world requires the

implementation of successful school reform. Turning around a failing school like Highland starts

with a school staff willing to change the way they teach. Addressing school effectiveness means

placing high expectations on students, staff and administrators by employing a rigorous

curriculum and raising standards, nurturing a relationship with the community and increasing

parental involvement, finding creative ways to provide professional development for the staff

despite huge budget cuts, changing the way the school is governed to involve more stakeholders,

and providing 2ist century technology to staff and students.

Highland High School is utilizing a school reform initiative developed by the Southern

Regional Education Board (SREB) called High Schools That Work that focuses on continuous

school improvement. In addition, the school has implemented Advancement Via Individual

Determination (AVID), a program designed to meet the needs of kids on the cusp of nearing

proficiency by helping build academic and personal success through tutoring and mentoring. A

third piece that has led to changes in classroom instruction has been the institution of the three-

minute classroom walk-through. Administrators are in the classroom at least one hour per day

and teachers are observing teachers, using the same three minute walk-through as a means of

having conversations about instruction. By far the most productive tool has been SREB’s High

Schools That Work.

Utilizing many of the basic strategies available to schools that are part of the High Schools

That Work contingency, identifying improvement strategies was not a difficult process. The

premise behind High Schools That Work is that most students can master rigorous academic and

career/technical studies if they are in an environment that motivates students to make the effort

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to succeed. This effort-based school improvement initiative is changing high schools across

America and has given Highland’s plan most of the fuel to ignite positive change in the school

environment. The staff at Highland has taken the necessary steps to maintain continuous

improvement by adopting the seven HSTW core beliefs listed here:

1. Almost all students will make the effort to learn grade level and course standards if

adults in the school create the right conditions.

2. All students should be enrolled in a program of study that will prepare them for college

and/or career.

3. Students who have a goal and see meaning and purpose in learning are more motivated to

learn grade level and course standards.

4. Students learn best when they have a personal connection to the school.

5. Students learn best when teachers maintain a demanding and supportive environment that

pushes students to do their best.

6. All faculty should be involved in continuously improving teaching and learning.

7. Students change behavior and become more motivated to meet school goals when adults

use school and classroom practices based on effort rather than ability. (SREB website

2011)

In addition to using the 7 HSTW Core Values, Highland staff has worked for two years to

to establish a set of HHS Core Values that communicate how work is done on campus. The Core

Values are grouped into five areas that include:

Rigor & Relevance

Collaboration/Empowerment/Engagement

Diversity/Equity

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Efficacy/Effectiveness/Efficiency

Open Door to the Classroom/Community Involvement

Each area was shaped by teachers during PLCs (Professional Learning Communities). Each

group provided descriptors of each area, brought together the staff and voted on each set of

descriptors to narrow it down to those that clearly communicated the level of focus that either

existed or was desired. There were many factors expressed by teachers to lead this writer to

believe that even more drastic action is required to affect change in the school.

The area that needs the most attention in the near future is the establishment of measurable

goals that support continuous improvement. Setting goals and measuring progress is the key

element of continuous school improvement. The school must identify specific targets that will

measure school/student/teacher progress toward reaching the goal. It is just as important to

measure progress in improving both the experience and the achievement as it is establishing

measurable goals. The strategic plan needs to call for the implementation of measurable goals to

use in assessing continuous improvement. The two most obvious areas for measurement that

coincide with school goals are:

1. Academic Knowledge and Skills

2. College and Career Readiness

The strategic plan would call for aligning HHS core academic classes to college and career

readiness and to high school graduation. The curriculum must reflect college-readiness standards

that identify critical thinking knowledge and skills in both math and language arts. As part of the

plan, teachers must be given professional development opportunities on standards-based

instructional planning.

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HHS leaders are promoting a culture of high expectations and are providing students with

many opportunities to receive the extra help they need to reach these higher expectations. There

is still much work to be done but the school is on the path to improved academic growth. School

leaders, whether it be administrators, department chairs, members of HSTW, AVID, PLCs, or

SLCs, must constantly evaluate and reevaluate; analyze data to set new goals; use data to inform

instruction; make the hard decisions that will infuse rigor into the classroom; and establish

consistency in decision making. Highland leadership must empower teachers to take ownership

of school improvement efforts and ensure that teachers are able to fully understand how their

efforts help restructure the school. Following the path established by the Leadership Team and

teachers in their Professional Learning Communities (PLCs), Highland can expect positive

growth for years to come.

An Example from Highland High School’s Strategic Plan for School Excellence

Highland has an instructional vision that drives decision making in all facets of the school.

We have worked with all stakeholders involved (students, staff, administration, parents,

community) to develop a plan that will guide Highland toward achieving the goals set out by the

state and the district. As the new principal, this writer will stay committed to raising expectations

for students through continued school improvement. The biggest expectation is that students will

graduate within a four year time frame and be college-ready or career-ready. Based on available

data gathered from time on the leadership and administrative teams, my strategic plan for HHS

would be divided up into five parts.

First, the school must continue to use and improve on the current system of distributed

leadership it employs. This system works because it allows for ease in communicating core

beliefs, goals and values to all stakeholders involved in school improvement efforts.

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Second, HHS and the Leadership Team must create high expectations for all students.

This involves several stages of development, starting with increasing rigor in the curriculum. By

increasing rigor, teachers are better able to prepare students to be college and career ready. One

way to increase rigor is to require that all students must enroll in at least one Advanced

Placement class before they graduate. They will also be required to take a course on-line; even if

that course is facilitated on the school campus (over 45% of HHS students do not have access to

a computer at home). Both these suggestions better prepare students for life after high school.

Creating a culture of high expectations means that teachers must establish and communicate

these expectations to students. Teachers must develop grading and homework policies that will

be enforced and then utilize school resources to assist the students who struggle by providing

tutoring or extra help. Teachers must design curriculum that motivates students to learn and

achieve. Two ways to ensure teacher compliance is to give teachers time to collaborate by

department and by grade level and also by having teachers design rubrics and post student

exemplars matching the rubric.

Third, instruction must be researched-based, rigorous, and engaging. This instruction

should also be standards-based and relevant. One way to ensure success is to have the various

departments work together to create lesson plans, rubrics and projects. This will be done through

Professional Learning Communities. Teachers either by grade level “house” or department meet

three times weekly during a PLC. The APS school district arranged a prep from every teacher so

they have 230 minutes weekly to work on district, school, department or subject area goals. The

data on reading levels at the school suggests that literacy strategies should be incorporated into

as many lesson plans as possible regardless of subject. Additionally, professional development

must be provided to teachers for topics like differentiated instruction, rubric-building, effective

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learning strategies, alternative assessments, higher order questioning and multiple intelligences.

District budget cuts will cut into money available for professional development so the

Leadership team should consider identifying staff members who could lead PD sessions on

campus without incurring large expenses. In conjunction with High Schools That Work (HSTW),

the school will use three minute classroom walkthroughs as part of a continuous school

improvement plan to collect data for analysis, improve classroom instruction, increase the

graduation rate and provide mandatory training in study skills for all 9th and 10th graders.

Administrators will observe the teachers they directly supervise at least one time per month and

will observe all other teachers at least one time per semester.

The focal point of these informal, non-evaluative classroom visits by administrators can

lead to improved instructional practices and curriculum alignment. Cervone and Martinez-Miller

(2007) describe classroom walkthroughs as a tool to “drive a cycle of continuous improvement

by focusing on the effects of instruction.” Classroom walkthroughs answer many questions,

including whether new teachers are making the adjustment, whether students are engaged in

academic endeavors, even whether cross-curricular ideas or differentiated instruction are

occurring on the school campus. The collaborative nature of this type of supervision moves

schools away from the boss-subordinate plan to one that develops and nurtures self-reliant

teachers.

Fourth, the school will continue with the current Advisory system, but bolster it by

increasing the rigor of the advisory class curriculum. Increase the number of advisory classes to

one each day for the first week of each semester, followed by advisory classes every Friday. Step

up the curriculum to include study skills and interpersonal development skills. It is also vital

that more importance be placed on the mentoring opportunities that were the original reason for

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creating advisory classes. Advisory teachers must help students make the connection to some

goal beyond high school and how to achieve that goal.

Fifth, and finally, HHS will focus more energy on developing Career Technical courses

that align to career-readiness standards. HHS Leadership has an obligation to train CT and

academic teachers to work together developing curriculum, assignments, assessments and rubrics

and then delivering that curriculum at a more rigorous level. Make available to all students

Programs of Study and Career Pathway information and make sure it is in both English and

Spanish. When registering students, make sure counselors are prepared to make

recommendations to students on available classes geared toward specific careers or areas of

study.

Below are four tables designed by this writer as part of his duties on the leadership team.

These tables are part of a leadership plan that could be modified for any school that this writer

leads. They include a sample of a Plan-Do-Study-Act 6 Steps to Improvement chart (Figure 1), a

Goals For Analysis of Data chart (Figure 2), a Data “Questions to be Answered” chart (Figure

3), and a Data Flow Chart (Figure 4).

Figure 1: Plan-Do-Study-Act 6 Steps to Improvement chart

SIX STEPS TO IMPROVEMENT - PDSA

PL

AN

VALIDATE THE NEED FOR IMPROVEMENT. How are we doing? How do we know?

The school has not made adequate yearly progress in over 5 years. Examination of the NM Standards Based Assessment clearly indicates that tremendous growth for most subgroups must be made in order to increase graduation rates and avoid being taken over by the state.

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CLARIFY PURPOSE, GOALS, AND MEASURES. Why are we here? What do we need to do well together? How will we know how we are doing?

The team will study both short cycle assessments and national assessments to determine what progress has been made. The team will also do a Needs Assessment to determine the areas of significance to formulate the Math and Reading Improvement Plan around. The Short Cycle Assessment will either be the DBA or Assess2Learn. We are awaiting a determination from the district. The national test will be the NM Standards Based Assessment because students will not be able to receive a diploma without passing the math and language arts portion of that test.

DO

ADOPT AND DEPLOY AN APPROACH TO CONTINUAL IMPROVEMENT. How will we work together to get better?

The team will meet during Professional Learning Communities (PLC) to work together to develop, implement and monitor the plan. The team will meet one to three times per week as determined by group consensus and necessity to complete the various steps of the PDSA and Improvement Plans

.

TRANSLATE THE APPROACH INTO ALIGNED ACTION. What will we do differently?

The team will work during PLCs to review NM standards and utilize various tools including but not limited to Marzano’s strategies, Bloom’s Taxonomy, Gardner’s Principles and others to compare and contrast and make sure that the team’s actions are aligned with state and district standards.

ST

UD

Y

ANALYZE THE RESULTS. What Happened?

After the first short cycle assessment is taken in September the team will organize the data so that it can be used as base-line data for this part of the plan. The team will also be creating base-line data from last year’s NMSBA results. This data will be divided by subgroups

.

AC

TMAKE IMPROVEMENTS. What did we do with what we learned?

Once the short cycle assessment data has been reviewed and determinations have been made, the group will begin making recommendations to teachers that should inform instruction and drive changes. These changes are required to be made and will be monitored by administrators during their classroom walk-throughs.

Figure 2: Goals For Analysis of Data chart

GOALS FOR ANALYSIS OF DATAGOALS (in order of progression)

LEVEL OF ANALYSIS DESCRIPTION, DATA TO BE COLLECTED & EXAMINED SOURCE OF DATA

1. Examine School Demographics

1

Ethnicity of students Gender Grade level #s Attendance Free & Reduced Lunch recipients

APS School MaxScreens ST002, AT460,

ST295, SC321

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2. Examine Student Learning

1 District Benchmark Assessment (DBA) NM Standards Based Assessment (NMSBA)

APSNM Dept of Pub Ed

3. Examine School Demographics over time

2

Ethnicity of students-changes over time Gender- Grade level #s Attendance Free & Reduced Lunch recipients

APS Schoolmax andAPS Research,

Development & Accountability (team must submit written request)

4. Examine Student Learning over time

2

District Benchmark Assessment (DBA) from year to year by pre, mid, post assessments

NM Standards Based Assessment (NMSBA) from year to year for math and L/A only

APS

NM Dept of Pub Ed

5. Examine 2 Similar Variables 3

Compare and contrast Ethnicity of Students with Free & Reduced Lunch recipients

Use these results has base line data

APS Research, Development & Accountability (RDA)

6. Examine 2 Similar Variables 3

Compare and contrast Ethnicity of Students with Attendance figures

Use these results has base line data

APS Research, Development & Accountability (RDA)

7. Examine 2 Different Types of Variables – Free & Reduced Lunch against DBA & NMSBA

5

Compare DBA and NMSBA scores against Free & Reduced Lunch rosters

Look for any details that stand out or anything that looks unusual

APS Schoolmax andAPS RDA (team must

submit written request)

8. Examine 2 Different Types of Variables – Attendance against DBA & NMSBA

5

Compare DBA and NMSBA scores against students with 5 - 9 absences. 10 – 19 absences, and 20 or more absences




9. Examine 2 Different Types of Variables – Free & Reduced Lunch v. DBA/NMSBA

6

Compare DBA and NMSBA scores against Free & Reduced Lunch rosters over time




10. Examine 2 Different Types of Variables – Attendance vs. DBA & NMSBA

6

Compare DBA and NMSBA scores against students with 5 - 9 absences. 10 – 19 absences, and 20 or more absences




Levels of Analysis1. Measures of Data: Examine Demographics, Perceptions, Student Learning and School Processes in Isolation2. Measures Over Time: Examine measures listed in #1 but over time3. Two or More Variables: Examine more than one type of measure in each of 4 areas4. Two or More Variables Over Time: Examine more than one type of measure in each of 4 areas over time5. Intersection of Two Measures of Data: Examine data across two measures of data 6. Intersection of Two Measures of Data Over Time: Examine data across two measures of data over time

Figure 3: Data Chart-Questions To Be Answered

AREA OF MEASUREMENT QUESTIONS

What data do you have to answer

questions

What other data do you need to obtain

to answer questions?Demographics What is the demographic make-up of the

school? How many students are on Free/Reduced

lunch? How many students have 5-9 absences,

10-19 absences, and 20 or more absences?

We have data for all 3 bullets for the last

5 years

We do not need any additional data to

answer these questions

Perceptions How can we create a school culture that We will use We need to look at

25


supports standards? How can we help stakeholders (e.g.

parents) understand the importance of devoting more time to staff development?

guidelines provided by SREB

(Southwest Regional Education Board) for HSTW (High

Schools That Work)

teacher lesson plans and compare them to

the NM Dep’t of Public Ed Standards

Student Learning

What are the results of short cycle benchmark assessments for pre, mid and post testing?

What are the results of the NMSBA this year and over the last three years?

What do we know about how students learn?

How do we create situations that allow students to demonstrate what they have learned?

What does the data tell us about our student’s performance?

We have data from the APS School

District and from APS Research,

Development and Accountability for

all assessments over time and we have

HSTW Data Analysis Sheets to

monitor performance

We will need to look at educational

strategies, including works of Bloom,

Marzano and Gardner

We need to look at differentiated

instruction strategies

School Processes

How can school leadership help create a learning community?

How can we create a school culture that supports more intensive staff development?

What leadership support is needed to help us implement standards in the classroom?

We will use guidelines provided by SREB for HSTW

We will use processes developed

by Senge

We need to look at current information provided by APS RDA for use by administrators in

implementing progressive PD

Miscellaneous How do you lead the data analysis discussion? How do we draw inferences from the data? How well is our current curriculum aligned with standards? To what extent do our instructional methods help us meet accountability demands? What implications do standards have for teachers‛ instructional methods? To what extent are teachers able to design effective standards-based classroom assessments? How will we communicate students‛ progress on standards to stakeholders, in particular,

parents? How can we use student assessment data from both short cycle and classroom assessments to

guide staff development?

26

HHS School Excellence Plan 27


Glickman (1990) envisioned supervision as the “glue” that binds a successful school. The

administrator acts as the glue because he/she must unite the numerous elements of instructional

effectiveness into successful school achievement. This school success will be manifested as

quality instruction characterized by high levels of rigor and relevance and will ultimately result

in the goal of student academic success and continuous school improvement. It is here that the

effective school leader develops his/her educational philosophy for instructional supervision.

The systematic aspects of my school improvement plan will exemplify a plan that is wide-

ranging, all-inclusive, ordered, detailed, and focused on making data-driven, research-based

decisions about continuous school improvement. By integrating many of the SREB-

recommended instructional strategies through High Schools That Work, most of the specific

issues that put the school in the restructuring designation (R-2) will be addressed. By combining

efforts with the Southwest Region Education Board (SREB), the school will effectively attack

the problems that have been identified, and demonstrate to all stakeholders, including the state

and district, that Highland wants to regain its status as a top tier high school in the state.

Conclusion

With the intricacies and demands placed on the schools in the Albuquerque Public School

system in this 21st century, it is hard to imagine how a school can continue raising the bar

without effective and comprehensive strategic planning. Our Strategic Plan for School

Excellence calls for a new school culture that embraces and sustains public education as the

single most important function of our society. We need people – students, staff, parents,

community – to step up and do extraordinary things with an ever decreasing amount of money.

We need to resuscitate the processes through innovation, change and revolution, turning it into

28


an effective and efficient operation. This is not just a single event, it is process built around

continuous school and student improvement and must be treated that way. We will keep the

framework simple so everyone can understand it and we can effectively develop it and make it a

part of the school culture. Our framework is designed to answer the five questions that are vital

to our goal: Who are we? Where are we in this process? Where are we headed? How do we

know we get there? What do we do to get there? We will align the plan to our state and district

standards, and then communicate it out to everyone involved. We have invited all stakeholders

to become a part of what we are trying to accomplish and welcome them into the process. We

want to examine data to see if we are making progress toward our goals, so having the ability to

measure and track data is essential. We also must have the ability to make people accountable to

the process, and all stakeholders involved must set up a calendar of when things will get done,

determine their budget, and stay within the means of that budget. The bottom line is, we must

talk the talk, then walk the talk.

29


References

Arguelles, Patrick. (2010). HHS school profile and strategic plan for continuous improvement.

EDA575. Grand Canyon University.

Arguelles, Patrick. (2010). Low student achievement: causes and effects. EDA561. Grand

Canyon University.

Arguelles, Patrick. (2010). Educational Philosophy for Instructional Supervision. EDA551.

Grand Canyon University.

Bernhardt, Victoria. (2004). Data Analysis for Continuous School Improvement. Larchmont,

NY.

Eye on Education.

Cervone, L., & Martinez-Miller, P. (2007, Summer). Classroom walkthroughs as a catalyst for

school improvement. Leadership Compass, 4(4). Retrieved November 19, 2010 from:

www.naesp.org/resources/2/Leadership_Compass/2007/LC2007v4n4a2.pdf

Evans, G. W. (2004, February/March). The environment of childhood poverty. American

Psychologist. 59(2), 77-92.

Glickman, C.D., Gordon, S.P. & Ross-Gordon, J. (2009). Supervision and Instructional

Leadership: A Developmental Approach. Sixth Edition. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Green, R.L. (2009). Practicing the art of leadership: A problem-based approach to

implementing the ISLLC standards. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

High Schools That Work framework of goals and key practices to raise student achievement and

graduation rates. Retrieved September 17, 2010 from Southwest Regional Education Board

website: http://www.sreb.org/page/1078/high_schools_that_work.html

30


Marzano, R. J. (1998). A theory-based meta-analysis of research on instruction. Aurora, CO:

Mid-continent Regional Educational Laboratory.

Marzano, R. J., & Kendall, J. S. (1996). A comprehensive guide to designing standards-based

districts, schools, and classrooms. Aurora, CO: Mid-continent Regional Educational

Laboratory.

Marzano, R.J. (2000). Transforming Classroom Grading. Alexandria, VA: Association for

Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Ohle, N. and Mokley, C.L. How to solve typical school problems. ASCD Alexandria, Va 1994

page 3.

Razik, T.A. & Swanson, A.D. (2010). Fundamental Concepts of Educational Leadership and

Management. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Razik, T., & Swanson, A. (1995). Educational Concepts of Educational Leadership (2Ed).

Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Senge, P. M. (1994) The fifth discipline: The art and practice of the learning organization. New

York: Doubleday.

US Department of Education. Use of educational data at the local level from accountability to

instructional improvement, Barbara Means (2010). Retrieved February 9, 2011 from US

DOE

website:

http://www2.ed.gov/rschstat/eval/tech/use-of-education-data/use-of-education-data.pdf

31

EDA585 School Excellence Plan All Parts Arguelles

Documents

premier high school

largest school district

nm school average

na hhs school excellence

oldest public high school

continuous school improvement

school level grades

county high school grades