Why is School Improvement Necessary? Increase student achievement through focused goals and strategies. Build a positive learning environment for students, teachers, and the community. As Yogi Berra says, "If you don't know where you are going, you probably aren't going to get there."

How will we work together to support each other in this process? Involvement by teachers at all levels of the plan Folders with goals, strategies and benchmarks Monthly updates on our school’s progress Provide teachers with support as needed

Where we are…. What the data shows… May – reviewing our data and identifying areas of strength and weakness --- AYP Celebrate Success! Our graduation rate increased from 71% to 78% ! Areas for Concern… We did not make AYP in the reading subgroups – free and reduced lunch AYP

More than AYP Looking at other data… Demographic data – lots of tardies. Strong teachers – all highly qualified with 46% having a masters degree or higher – but last year we have a high number of faculty new to Charming High School. According to PRIDE survey – the students feel safest in the classroom. Our committees met all summer and with input have developed our plan…

Moving on with our plan… Our plan consists of three parts… Goals and strategies for improving Reading Goals and strategies for improving Math Goals and strategies for improving our culture We also have a professional development plan to assist us in reaching our goals. It is important we all know where we are, where we want to go and what our plan is for getting us there…

Implement reading strategies in all content areas. Charming High School will increase the percent of students scoring proficient (Levels III and IV) by 18% in reading on the AHSGE to 92% during the school year. It is also our goal to increase proficiency of the subgroup of free and reduced lunch group by 10%.

Faculty will implement reading strategies in the content area. 1. In August, administrators will require an after school professional development workshop for teachers on how to integrate reading strategies in the content areas through an ongoing book study. Teacher will blog about the book once a month, responding to a principal generated question. Benchmark: Minutes, agendas, and sign-in sheets from the professional development, and online blog. Intervention: Teachers not present will view video taped of professional development meeting. Resources: EARIC will conduct professional development about teaching reading in the content areas. Purchase a fifty five copies of “Reading in the Content Area” by Michael Jackson $550.

Faculty will implement reading strategies in the content area. 2. Teachers will collaborate among departments to develop reading strategies to be used in the specific content area in monthly meetings. Benchmark: Minutes, agendas, and sign-in sheets from the professional development, and online blog. Intervention: Meeting with reading coach for additional professional development on content areas. Resources: Reading coach. McRel books to be utilized about reading in the content areas $300.

Faculty will implement reading strategies in the content area. 3. Teachers will utilize reading strategies that will be used in daily instruction. Benchmark: 100% of the teachers will document reading strategies in their lesson plans. Intervention: Pull out for non-mastery students. Resources: Curriculum specialist.

Faculty will implement reading strategies in the content area. 4. Students will use reading strategies to learn in all content areas throughout the school year. Benchmark: Walk through, observations, student notebooks, test grades, work samples, see improvement in the reading portion of the graduation exam. Intervention: Teachers not present will view video taped of professional development meeting. Resources: EARIC will conduct professional development about teaching reading in the content areas. Purchase a fifty five copies of “Reading in the Content Area” by Michael Jackson $550.

Implement intensive and explicit reading instruction to targeted students. ACTION STEP: The principal will meet with the departments in May to identify the students who did not pass the reading portion of the AHSGE. In August teachers will be trained on how to utilize accountability folders to monitor student progress. Teachers will develop an accountability notebook for each student identifying the skills of non-mastery and progress monitor students bi-weekly. Each teacher will teach strategic reading instruction during daily lesson. The students will receive tiered instruction by the teachers during the intervention time 30 minutes each day.

STRATEGY: Implement intensive and explicit reading instruction to targeted students. 1. The principal will meet with the departments in May to identify the students who did not pass the reading portion of the AHSGE. Benchmark: Minutes, agendas, and sign-in sheets from the department meetings. List of identified students.

Implement intensive and explicit reading instruction to targeted students. 2. In August teachers will be trained on how to utilize accountability folders to monitor student progress. Benchmark: Minutes, agendas, and sign-in sheets from the professional development. Resources: A consultant, Kendrick Myers, specialist on accountability folders. $1,000.

Implement intensive and explicit reading instruction to targeted students. 3. Teachers will develop an accountability notebook for each student identifying the skills of non-mastery and progress monitor students bi-weekly. Benchmark: 100% of teachers will have current accountability notebooks to monitor students.

Implement intensive and explicit reading instruction to targeted students. 4. Each teacher will teach strategic reading instruction during daily lesson. Benchmark: 100% of teachers will identify strategies in their lesson plans, walk throughs, observations. Resources: Corrective Reading Program. AHSGE workbooks.

CIP Goal #1 Charming High School will increase the percent of students scoring proficient (Levels III and IV) by 8% in Math on the AHSGE to 86% during the school year.

Plan and implement strategic teaching in all math classes. Action Step #1 Math department will meet bi-weekly to discuss strategies and resources used in the classrooms. Benchmark: Minutes, agendas, and sign-in sheets. Resources: TEAM Math Investigations

Plan and implement strategic teaching in all math classes. Action Step #2 Teachers will deliver daily standards based instruction Benchmark: 100% of math teacher lesson plans will reflect standard based instructions. Intervention: Attend monthly TEAM Math meetings. Resources: Alabama High School Graduation test prep.

Plan and implement strategic teaching in all math classes. Action Step #3 Common assessment will be administered three times each year by teachers. Benchmark: Students will pass the common assessment at 80% proficiency Resources: The common assessment test

Plan and implement strategic teaching in all math classes. Action Step #4 Teachers will reflect upon the common assessments, since this is the first time to administer the common assessment. Benchmark: Teacher notes and revision of common assessments Intervention: Teachers are available daily during planning time to help small groups of students who have not mastered skills Resources: AHSGE manual and website, TEAM Math lead teacher

Plan and implement strategic teaching in all math classes. Action Step #5 Following the common assessment, teachers will collaborate and interpret test data and plan interventions for students who have not mastered the skills assessed Benchmark: Lesson plans targeting students and strategies and minutes of collaboration

Plan and implement strategic teaching in all math classes. Action Step #6 Students, who do not reach 80% mastery, will be given tiered instruction with the math coach. Benchmark: Documentation of math coach rolls, results of common assessment, teacher observation of students who struggle to reach goal

OUR CULTURE CHALLENGE Charming High School had 355 referrals for excessive tardies (more than 4). We believe that more time in class will lead to high student achievement.

Put steps into place to alleviate tardy issues. Action Step #1 The office will highlight tardy policies in the student handbook regarding at the beginning of the year. Benchmark: Parent and student signing the signature page.

Put steps into place to alleviate tardy issues. Action Step #2 Beginning in August, teachers will implement bell ringers as a strategy to encourage student timeliness. Benchmark: Lesson plans with bell ringers. Resources: Teachers will be provided with a handout with potential bell ringers.

Put steps into place to alleviate tardy issues. Action Step #3 Teachers will establish a tardy log that students must sign when they are tardy. Students must provide the time they arrived and the reason. Benchmark: Tardy log

Put steps into place to alleviate tardy issues. Action Step #4 After second tardy, teacher will conference one on one with the student and send a note home to the parents notifying them of excessive tardies. Benchmark: Conference note documentation, signed parent notes.

Put steps into place to alleviate tardy issues. Action Step #5 After third tardy, the teacher will assign detention and will also make a list of students who are at high risk of tardies. This list will be sent to the assistant principal in charge of excessive tardies. Benchmark: Detention logs, assistant principal records.

Put steps into place to alleviate tardy issues. Action Step #6 After the first tardy referral, the assistant principal will meet with the students to establish an action plan to decrease tardies. Benchmark: Action plans.

Put steps into place to alleviate tardy issues. Action Step #7 After the second referral, school will inform the truancy officer of excessive tardiness. Benchmark: Documentation from truancy meetings. Resources: Karen County Resource Officer

Put steps into place to alleviate tardy issues. Action Step #8 All students who have less than 2 tardies per nine weeks will receive a coupon for a free sandwich from a local restaurant. Benchmark: Data for each nine weeks, teacher documentation of tardies.

OUR CULTURE CHALLENGE Charming High School needs to acclimate new and novice teachers into our school environment.

Teachers not feeling supported Decrease test scores High teacher turnover

Implement a new mentoring program at Charming High School Action Step #1 Before the school year begins teachers will attend a week long New Beginnings targeted professional development on classroom management, EDUCATE ALABAMA, Course of Study objectives, Alabama High School Graduation Exam objective, system and school policies, and will assigned their building mentor. Benchmark: Sign in sheets, workshop notes, work samples Resources: Participants will be paid $150/day for participation. Central Office staff, administrators, and seasoned teachers will lead workshop sessions.

Implement a new mentoring program at Charming High School Action Step #2 The school will host a Meet and Greet BBQ to introduce new teachers to the faculty. Benchmark: Sign in sheets, Resources: $300 will be allocated for Meet and Greet.

Implement a new mentoring program at Charming High School Action Step #3 New and novice teachers will meet monthly after school with Quing to discuss strategies and struggles that are faced in the classroom. Benchmark: Sign in sheets, workshop notes, minutes Resources: Quing will be given a stipend for monthly meetings and observations of $1200. Once a month subs for Quing will be $450.

Implement a new mentoring program at Charming High School Action Step #4 After the monthly meetings, teachers will utilize strategies in daily instruction and mentor teachers will observe and provide feedback and next steps. Benchmark: Observation forms, walk throughs, surveys from new and novice teacher about the programs.

How will our professional learning communities help us meet our goals? To help with Reading… Book Study and blog– Subjects Matter : Every Teacher’s Guide to Content Area Reading by Harvey Daniels Workshops on Reading in the Content Areas… Accountability Folder Training for targeting students and objectives

How will our professional learning communities help us meet our goals? To help with Math … Bellringer workshop Attend TEAMMATH workshops Grade level training on Common Assessments

How will our professional learning communities help us meet our goals? To acclimate new faculty to CHS… New Beginnings training ( 1 week) Monthly meetings with lead mentor teacher

Questions???? "Look at a day when you are supremely satisfied at the end. It's not a day when you lounge around doing nothing; it's when you've had everything to do, and you've done it.“ Margaret Thatcher