High School Goals and Expectations

This is a big post and is meant for you to revisit throughout the course of the year.  If you like the cliff notes version of things, here it is

• Our High School data is not strong.  We need to figure out how to get 80% of our students to master learning targets and pass classes, including 80% of the lowest third.  Additionally, we need to make sure our Regents scores are college ready.  That means getting >80 on the Algebra and >75 on the ELA (and passing US History, Global, and at least one science).

• In order to meet these goals, you're expected to conference with each student at least 1 time per marking period, and double that if she is a member of our lowest third cohort.  Here's an example of how you might calendarize those conferences.  It also has the marking period dates and orientation schedule.

• In learning cultures classrooms, this same ratio extends to Unison Reading and Shares (the ratio is 1:2  e.g. for every Unison Reading group, there are twice that number for students in the lowest 1/3). 

• All grade and subject teams will have the freedom to set frequency and agendas of meetings.  
• Subject teams will be charged with monitoring schoolwide data (DRPs, Acuity Benchmarks, Regents Exams, Scholarship Reports, etc) and regulating scope and sequence coverage (Lesson Inventories and Standards Checklists).  
• Grade teams will manage conference calendars, format tallies, and student led conferences.

• You will also have the flexibility to use your PD and co-planning periods for what you need most to accomplish the goals.  Everyone is scheduled to meet with me at least once a month (those who are <3 years teaching experience and/or are new to Learning Cultures will have more conferences).  These conferences will be structured just like student conferences with these 

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Now, if you'd like to read the detailed version....

Mission and Vision

Since the start of this blog, I've spoken a lot abou the mission and vision of the school.  So, let me briefly reprise by saying the following.

Our mission and main has always been to graduate our young women from high school with the necessary skills, knowledge, and opportunities to successfully complete college.  With the right combination of rigorous academic courses, a bevy of experiences and seminars aimed at building the soft skills, and exposure to the opportunities in the world around them, our first graduating class stands at the very precipice of greatness.

It's an exciting year, but we have a lot of work to do before we start the party!  So, let's get to it..

Credit Accumulation

Our girls are lagging in comparison to our city and peer group in their accumulation of credits.  In their 1st year nearly 1 out 3 students fail to accumulate 10 credits.  Of those students in the lowest third, ONLY about 1 of 3 students earned credit.  Here's how the high school stood at the beginning of last year.

In response, I've set the following minimum goals for this year:

• The expectation is that a minimum of 80% of students pass your course (in each section).  So, in a class of 25 students, if more than 5 of students are failing at the marking period, we will need to work together to analyze and strategize how to get students to access needed resources and support to improve their achievement.

• A further expectation is that a minimum of 80% of students in the lowest third pass your course (in each section).  In this case, if you have 25 students, 8 of those girls are in the lowest third.  If more than 2 of those students are failing, then we will work together to review the intervention strategies and support resources to evaluate what needs to change.

Regents Pass Rates

For those courses with Regents exam, the additional minimums are in play

• English Regent
• 80% of all students score > 65
• 80% of all students in the lowest 1/3 score > 65
• 67% of all passing students score > 75

• Math Regent
• Algebra
• 80% of all students score > 65
• 80% of all students in the lowest 1/3 score > 65
• 67% of all passing students score > 80
• Geometry
• 80% of students in the highest 1/3 score > 65
• Minimum of 80% of students sit for the Regent
• Algebra II
• Minimum of 80% of all students sit for the Regent
• 80% of that cohort score > 65

• Global History, US History
• 80% of all students score > 65
• 80% of students in the lowest 1/3 score > 65

• Science Regents
• Living Environment
• 80% of all students score > 65 on Living Environment Regents
• 80% of students in the lowest 1/3 score > 65
• Chemistry 
• 80% of students in the highest 1/3 score > 65
• Minimum of 80% of students sit for the Regent
• Physics
• Minimum of 50% of all students sit for the Regent
• 80% of that cohort score > 65

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To achieve these goals, the following classroom expectations are in play

Conferencing

• a minimum of 1 standards based conference per marking period for every student
• a minimum of 2 standards-based conferences per marking period for every student in lowest 1/3
• a minimum of 1 advisor conference based on student work and/or JumpRope data (grades, attendance, and/or disciplinary comments) per week (e.g. student uses data from work and/or JumpRope to set goals).
• All conferences use the conference record and teacher file records in conference binder.
• Students generate their own goals based on data from work (and in an academic conference, in alignment to the standards).  Teachers can help name struggles or strategies, but the students' intentions are what need to be central to the conference.  For academic conferences, students should be able to identify the relevant standards around which they are goal setting.

Independent Work Time

• Lessons are structured to accommodate conference schedule
• 8 min Mini Lesson
• Short Work Habits & Processes Lesson (Learning Routines & Strategies) OR
• Short mini-lesson on content (specific, targeted, teachable in short time frames)
• 35 min Independent Work Time for Students 
• 15 Min Unison Reading/Table Share/Learning Group
• 20 Min Conferencing (2 conferences)
• 10 min Share
• 
  
• Independent activities are driven by learning targets and students can articulate which NYS standards they are demonstrating vis a vis the task and targets.  Students and families should have access to the actual standards.  I recognize that this is an abrupt departure from our work with Power Standards last year. Now, subject teams will use the Power Standards to track scope and sequence and teachers will use NYS standards as they are in planning and in JumpRope.

• Learning Targets align to scope and sequence and state standards (Standards Checklist)
• Independent Work Time Tasks are varied in Genre (e.g. an Essay, a Poem, a Research Paper or A Proof, problem set, or written argument) and Length (e.g. a Short, Medium, and Long piece of work)

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To support you in achieving this goal, the following structures are in place

• Subject Teams - Support for Conferencing and Independent Work Time
• Working together, subject teams will research and share resources, provide planning support, and review the NYS standards check in and monitor course coverage of established scope and sequence (Standards Checklist and Lesson Inventories)
• Subject teams will review schoolwide data, classroom data, and cohort data to track progress towards school goals.
• Subject teams will create their own meeting calendars to achieve common goals.

• Grade Teams & Advisory Check-Ins
• Grade Teams will work together to coordinate calendars and support one another in establishing common norms, grade-wide expectations, and track and tally student participation in required formats (e.g. conferences, and in LC classrooms Unison Reading, and SHares).
• Advisory - All advisories are expected to be independent work time ONLY as you conference with students.  The mission of advisory is to build student capacity to look at and reflect on efforts, products, and choices (as evidenced by their work and what is in JumpRope).  The role of the advisor is advocate and cheerleader.  Your role is to support and help students create and follow through on goals they set for themselves that will further their academic achievement.  

• Professional Development
• Model Classrooms
• As the most experienced LC teachers in the High School, Emily will be working directly with Darby and Noam to develop their classrooms into model LC classes where teachers can visit to see the formats in action.
• Monthly Workshops
• As we started in June, you guys will have an array of workshops from which to choose to structure your own PD.
• Monthly Conferences with Kiri
• At minimum, you'll meet with me and review your strengths, needs, and goals with respect to the objectives I've laid out for the year.
• Intervisitation
• With greater flexibility in your professional periods, you'll have the opportunity to visit each other.  Also, there is release time if you'd like to also visit teachers at other schools.
• Instructional Coaching
• This year Tara Silva as a Learning Cultures Instructional coach.  Her office is located with Emily next to the teacher's lounge.

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This is going to be an amazing year!!  We have a complete school, solid structures, talented & committed staff, and over 250 beautiful & amazing young women who are the reason we're all together in the first place! There will most certainly be some bumps along the way, but with the players we have and the structures in place, there won't be anything we can't handle!

Let's rock it out UAI High!  Give it up for 2013!!!!!!!!