Creating a Culture of High Expectations Central R3

Creating a Culture of High Expectations Central R-3 High School Park Hills, MO. Brad Coleman, High School Principal bcoleman@centralr 3. org

Central High School l Park Hills, Missouri pop. 8252 l Located 60 miles south of St. Louis l Area economic situation is depressed with mining the major industry of the past. l Recognized for Distinction in Performance by State of Missouri for the past 9 years. l 2010 HSTW Gold Achievement Award l 2011 Outstanding HSTW School Award

Central High School enrollment is 600 students grades 9 -12, 98% white, 2% minority. l Free/reduced lunch rate is 63% l Traditional 7 period day. l Special Needs enrollment is 20% l 5 Math, 5 English, 5 Special Needs, 4 Science, 3 Social Studies, 3 Business teachers, and 7 other faculty members.

Central High School l Why search for a comprehensive school reform model? – We needed a vision and guidance. – We needed professional development and money!!! – Our test scores were stagnant. – We didn’t meet career tech standards, college placement standards, or ACT standards. – A new principal with new leadership district-wide. We became a HSTW site in 2002.

How Did We Change the Culture? l We developed steps to prepare a wholeschool improvement plan. l We connected state standards, HSTW goals and key practices and school improvement plans. l We planned staff development needed to implement key practices. l We formed focus teams.

How Did We Change the Culture? l We learned where we were by doing a needs assessment. l We involved all teachers in the needs assessment process. l We collected data from students, parents, teachers and employers. l We looked at and visited successful high schools. l We used case studies from HSTW.

HIGH EXPECTATIONS l We set a clear mission and vision. l We established goals for students and staff. l We established a Student Advisory Committee. l We developed comprehensive, common quarterfinal exams in all classes. l We established firm control of discipline and attendance.

HIGH EXPECTATIONS Established Focus Teams based on the key practices. The High Expectations Focus Team is made up of the principal, counselors and department chairpersons and oversees all other focus teams. l Six focus teams combined: Career Studies/Work Based Learning Focus, Literacy Focus, Professional Development Focus, Guidance/Advisement Focus, Extra Help Focus, ACT/Senior Focus, Freshmen Focus. l We have teamed up with middle school focus teams and departments to develop a relationship that has provided a plan of action for increasing rigor, relevance and relationships in a seamless transition. What is in the best interest of our students? l

HIGH EXPECTATIONS Analyzed and used data from state reports , ACT testing and NAEP testing to revise and rewrite curriculum to improve student performance and align standards. Department Improvement Plans are required based on assessment results. l Developed benchmark items in all classes with common assessments, common quarterfinal exams and common course syllabi. l I evaluate all benchmark and final exams using a scoring rubric that includes information on types of questions (MC, CR, PE), higher order thinking skills and student feedback. l

HIGH EXPECTATIONS We developed a Literacy and Numeracy plan to address literacy and numeracy issues and to help increase expectation levels for students in all classes. l We implemented an SSR 17 minute period in place of Channel One. l Provided all students with Writer’s Inc and student planners for use in classes. l Increased rigor and expectations in all classes. l

HIGH EXPECTATIONS Math—Eliminated basic and applied classes. All students must take Algebra I and Geometry. 4 years of Math required including Math in the senior year. l Science—Eliminated basic and applied classes. All students must take Physics First, Biology and Chemistry. l The elimination of lower level courses: English— English I, II and III are all College Prep, Honors English IV is either Dual Credit or the College Level Basic English. No Applied Classes. l NO WATERED DOWN CURRICULUM! l

Career/Technical Studies l We integrated the Applied Academics curriculum with higher level Math, English and Science curriculum. l We sent our entire staff to spend a half day with our local career/tech school to examine curriculum, see instructional practices utilized, and to meet with career technical teachers to discuss curricular issues.

Career/Technical Studies l l l We changed our tracks with students to require that students either select a career/tech track, a college prep track or both. We do not allow students to aimlessly take courses without following one of the above tracks. Rearranged our bell schedule to accommodate career/tech students to take a 7 period day. Added career/tech programs through the local community college. Expanded summer school offerings so career and music students could complete requirements.

Academic/Program of Study l Eliminated all lower level courses, teaching all courses to the College Prep level. l Increased graduation requirements: – 4 years of College Prep English. – 4 years of Math (must have Algebra I (can be 2 years) and Geometry) All seniors must take a Math class (Algebra II, III, Math Analysis or higher level). – 3 years of Science (must take Physics First, Biology, and Chemistry. – 3 years of Social Studies. – 1 year of Computer Applications required – 1 Fine Art, 1 Practical Arts, 1/2 Health, ½ ACT prep ½ Personal Finance, 1 P. E.

Academic/Program of Study Instituted and trained staff in the Literacy and Numeracy Initiatives across the curriculum. l Special needs CWC classes in all core areas with double doses in English and Algebra. l Developed common scoring rubrics for writing in all classes to provide consistency across the curriculum. l Developed Active Reading Strategies for all classes. l

Academic Studies Assessments are more hands on, application style in all classes. l Provided more training to the staff on developing project based and critical thinking activities with relevance and meaning to students. l Incorporated ACT benchmarks and objectives into all classes. l We pay for all students to take the ACT and provide scholarships for improvement. l

Teachers Working Together Rearranged the master schedule to provide common planning times for departments. l Each department meets weekly to examine what makes quality student work, to revise curriculum and establish benchmarks and common assessments. l Teachers develop curriculum (EAT) and use lesson plan notebooks. l All staff are required to use Goggle Sites for lesson plans and homework. l

Teachers Working Together R. A. P. —Rebel Advisement Period Established RAP Wednesday Schedule for students and staff. l We divided our seven, 50 minute period day (with 17 minutes of Silent Sustained Reading), into eight, 45 minute classes (no SSR). R. A. P. period is after fourth period before lunch every Wednesday. l Seniors are in senior seminar under the direction of the counselors and two teachers. l

Teachers Working Together R. A. P. —Rebel Advisement Period l Each teacher is assigned to mentor a group of 15 -20 students throughout their school career. l All students are divided randomly for each mentor by grade. Teachers for each grade are divided into interdisciplinary teams. l Special Needs students are assigned to their caseworkers by grade level.

Teachers Working Together R. A. P. —Rebel Advisement Period The goal is to help students, with support of parents, set after-high school goals, select courses that allow them to meet their goals, and review student progress and attendance. l Conferences with parents will take place in the spring of each year for scheduling purposes. l Conferences will take place over a 3 day period by grade level. Scheduling for the next year is completed, 6 -year plans are updated and third quarter report cards are issued. l

Teachers Working Together R. A. P. —Rebel Advisement Period What is different about our advisory period is that we provide extra help to students and extra help for teachers through professional development. l We developed a monthly calendar of lesson plans, activities and events for each grade level. l Each week, one, two, three or all classes may be involved in an activity or event supervised by the assistant principal and counselors. Teachers are in another location with a professional development activity planned. l

Teachers Working Together R. A. P. —Rebel Advisement Period l For example, in week one, the sophomore class may be involved in a meeting with the Josten’s rep. for class rings. Sophomore advisors are engaged in professional development. All other classes are meeting with their advisors, completing an assigned, grade specific lesson or activity. l Silent, sustained reading time is utilized during the RAP sessions when activities are complete.

Teachers Working Together R. A. P. —Rebel Advisement Period Any class or club meeting must be held during the RAP period. All guest speakers, assemblies, etc must meet during the R. A. P. period. There have been occasions where the R. A. P. period has been moved to another day or a different time to accommodate special activities. l The goal is to prevent students from missing valuable class time and to prevent before and after school faculty meetings for professional development. l

Teachers Working Together R. A. P. —Rebel Advisement Period l Topics covered in each grade level advisement: -9 th grade—library/research skills, study skills/outlining, time management, organizational skills, social skills/respect, teamwork, cooperative learning, driver’s education manual -10 th grade-- library/research skills, study skills, time management, job applications, interviews, responsibility, personal finance

Teachers Working Together R. A. P. —Rebel Advisement Period 11 th grade—personal finance, career focus, recruiters, college admissions, technical schools, occupations 12 th grade—personal finance, stocks and investments, banking procedures, credit cards, budgeting, insurance (health, car, life, home), real estate, careers, colleges and financial aid.

Teachers Working Together R. A. P. —Rebel Advisement Period l Teacher professional development has focused primarily on instituting our literacy initiative. We have also used the time to introduce the numeracy program, focus on data received from HSTW and our state, and to provide training on using demonstration classroom teachers. l All advisors have a buddy teacher who can help out when a teacher is absent.

Teachers Working Together l Demonstration Classrooms—successful schools translate professional development into improved instructional practices. We have trained 4 teachers to develop demonstration classrooms for other teachers to observe the learned strategies in practice. Each teacher has focused on different strategies (differentiated instruction, Socratic seminar, project based learning, cooperative learning) they model for other staff members. Quality teaching equals strategies that engage students.

Students Actively Engaged Interdisciplinary lessons are taught with writing, reading and math top priorities. l Failure is Not an Option and a new homework policy was developed to require student revision of work to meet standards. No zeroes are accepted or allowed. l More project-based and critical thinking activities are utilized in all classes with relevance and meaning to students. l Student Advisory Committee and Student Council are utilized to initiate programs and policies. l

Students Actively Engaged l Attendance Policy— 6 days or loss of credit per semester. Any days over 6, even with excuses, are required to be made up in the credit recovery program after school, on Saturdays or during summer. If more than 15 days, student receives an “F” and must retake the class.

Extra Help P. A. S. S. —Performance and Achievement System for Success l To meet the more rigorous demands and higher expectations in classes, we implemented an after school, extra help program we refer to as P. A. S. S. l PASS classes meet after school from 2: 45 -3: 30 p. m. on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. No practices, activities or events may begin on these days until 3: 30 p. m.

Extra Help P. A. S. S. —Performance and Achievement System for Success Students are required to attend if they have a “D” or “F” in any class at progress report time (midterm of each quarter). If a student fails one course, attendance is one day, two courses, two days, etc. l PASS attendance is required for any make-up tests, labs and projects. Students are not allowed to make-up tests or labs during the school day. l PASS is required to redo homework, projects or tests that do not meet the standards. l

Extra Help P. A. S. S. —Performance and Achievement System for Success l Students can attend but are not required to attend for the following reasons: -to get extra help -to use computer labs or the library -to take enrichment classes -to get A+ tutoring hours -to receive guidance and advisement -to regain credits lost to attendance in the Credit Recovery program.

Extra Help P. A. S. S. —Performance and Achievement System for Success All staff members stay 3 days a week for PASS with students scheduled into classes based on the following priority list: English, Math, Science, Social Studies, Business/Technology, all other classes. l There is no extra pay for staff members (career ladder is used). l Students receive schedules. Failure to attend results in Saturday PASS or ISS. l

Extra Help P. A. S. S. —Performance and Achievement System for Success l Buddy teachers are assigned for staff members who may be absent. l Bus transportation is provided. l PASS classes consist of true extra help with assignments, retaking tests or quizzes that do not meet standards, some extension lessons from the classes, enrichment, test review and make up work for labs and all missed tests.

Extra Help A Credit Recovery class is offered that meets after school , on Saturdays and in summer school. l Credit Recovery allows students who do not receive credit from a class due to poor attendance or failure, to make up the credit in an accelerated program. Final exams are included from the coordinating class as well as a writing component. l

Extra Help For students who drop out, we created a credit recovery program we refer to as Tier III. l Tier III students work at an accelerated pace with the ALS program to earn credits for graduation. A writing component and final exam is included for every credit earned. Assignment is either full or half day. l Developed Fish Camp orientation for Freshmen. l

Keeping Score We have continuously used student assessment and program evaluation data to improve the school climate, management, curriculum and instruction to advance student learning. l Quality professional development is the key to our success. l Using data from a variety of sources, including HSTW national and state data, have helped to provide the justification for the implementation of many of our programs. l

Keeping Score/The Results We developed common course syllabi for all courses. l We developed a Homework policy for all students and staff members. l We developed a Failure is Not an Option initiative that is followed by all students and staff. l

Keeping Score/The Results MAP TESTS 2001 Science Adv/Prof Basic/Below 2001 Math Adv/Prof Basic/Below 3% 65% 2010 Science Adv/Prof Basic/Below 65% 32% 7% 62% 2010 Math Adv/Prof Basic/Below 78% 20%

Keeping Score/The Results MAP TESTS 2001 Comm Arts Adv/Prof 15% Basic/Below 38% 2010 Comm Arts Adv/Prof 79% Basic/Below 19% 2001 Social Studies Adv/Prof 13% Basic/Below 37% 2010 Social Studies Adv/Prof 58% Step 1/Prog 38%

HSTW NAEP Results CHS Students Percent Reaching Goal All Students--National Percent Reaching Goal Reading Math Science MEAN SCORES Reading Math Science 79% 82% 76% 301 325 317 54% 59% 48% 277 298 293

End of Course Exams l Algebra I— 78% at prof/advanced, IEP 46% at prof/advanced l English II— 79% at prof/advanced, IEP 57% at prof/advanced l Biology— 65% at prof/advanced, IEP 40% at prof/advanced All groups and all levels met AYP standards for the 7 th straight year.

Keeping Score—ACT English Year CHS State 01 18. 4 21. 1 11 21. 4 21. 5 ACT Reading Year CHS State 01 19. 0 21. 9 11 22. 1 ACT Math Year CHS State 01 18. 7 20. 9 11 20. 8 20. 9 ACT Science Year CHS State 01 19. 3 21. 5 11 21. 0 21. 5

ACT Results ACT Year 01 11 Percent Tested ACT Composite CHS Year CHS State 44% 01 19. 7 21. 4 79% 11 21. 4 21. 6

Effects of the PASS Program 2003 2 nd qter midterms— 335 progress reports 2003 end of 2 nd qter— 339 progress reports 2004 3 rd qter midterms— 290 progress reports 2004 end of 3 rd qter— 224 progress reports 2004 4 th qter midterms— 216 progress reports 2004 1 st qter midterms— 210 progress reports 2004 end of 1 st qter— 189 progress reports 2004 -2010 — 125 -225 progress reports 2010 -2011— 251 -300 due to FINO 2011 1 st quarter— 111 progress reports

Keeping Score/The Results l l l Graduation rates have increased from 68% in 2000 to 99% in 2011. Students taking remedial classes at college has dropped from 71% in 00 to 15% in 11. Percentage of students and teachers who consider high expectations a priority is 94%. Attendance rates have increased to 96%. Parental participation at conferences has increased from 48% to 99%. Failure rates have decreased by over 70% because of FINO.

Keeping Score/The Results Special needs students met the state standards in Comm. Arts and Math the past four years. l Percentage of students in Career Tech programs has increased from 19% to over 40%. l Percentage of students taking the ACT has increased from 44% to 81%. l Disciplinary referrals continue to decrease for missing/late assignments and all other areas except cell phones and tardies. l

In Conclusion We have made the changes with a dedicated, cooperative staff who understands the mission and vision for our school. l Parents and students have also embraced our changes knowing that the ultimate goal is providing the best, possible education for our students. l We use our data, including our student and teacher survey results, to evaluate and implement programs and policies. l

In Conclusion Our next steps are to work together to reinvigorate our programs with a common mission and goals. l The high school mission is to provide all students with the knowledge and skills necessary to be successful in post secondary education or work. The middle school mission is to prepare students for high school. l Twice a year the combined high school/middle school focus teams and departments met to establish guidelines and goals for the future. l

In Conclusion For a school to change, the leaders and the teachers must first have a vision of how the school can be different. They need to determine where they are and where they want to be. To close that gap between what is and what you can be, the faculty must become a learning community that constantly searches for ways to advance the achievement of all students—career and college bound. l Our goal at CHS: What is in the best interest of our students. l

Conclusion l. A copy of this Power. Point along with the handouts is available on our website— www. centralr 3. org Click on the campuses link , high school link, and High Schools That Work. The Power. Point is titled, Creating A Culture of High Expectations. l If I can be of further assistance, please contact me at 573 -431 -2616 ext. 4101 or by email at bcoleman@centralr 3. org