Report on Progress Board of Education Meeting September 13, 2011

 Whittier City School District grew 15 points on the Academic Performance Index (API) from 755 to 770  Sorensen School made an astonishing 66 points growth on the API!  Jackson School, with the 2 nd to the highest % of students on Free and Reduced Lunch in our district, made 39 points growth this year and almost 100 points growth over the past 5 years

 Dexter Middle School made 39 points growth on the API over the past two years  Hoover School grew 37 points on their API this year  Of our schools that are currently in Program Improvement, 3 of them (Sorensen, West Whittier, and Jackson) met all AYP targets through Safe Harbor * A school can meet Safe Harbor when it reduces the percentage of students not scoring proficient by 10%

Student GroupIncrease in Proficiency Rates Subject Area All Students5.3%Mathematics English Learners5.4%Mathematics English Learners5.1%English Language Arts Disadvantaged5%Mathematics All students5%Scored Advanced in ELA and Mathematics

 The sign of an effective learning organization is when it can identify clearly why there is improvement  Reasons we believe caused the growth are: Greater focus on standards Professional development from =M Math grant on effective instructional strategies Professional development in ELD strategies Emerging work on Common Assessments

 Three schools did not make progress on their API (although two of those schools had made growth the previous years)  Only two of our schools have met the 800 target  Four more schools have entered into Program Improvement

 While the statewide average API score rose 11 points to 778, with all racial groups making academic gains, 4,600 schools from throughout the state are now labeled as failing under the federal No Child Left Behind law  That means that 80% of all Title I schools are now in PI.  Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson has joined leaders in other states in calling for a reprieve from the No Child Left Behind law

 “(NCLB's) requirement that 100 percent of students reach proficiency by the school year means a rapidly escalating number of schools and districts are being deemed failures, despite rising test scores and rankings according to the state's formula…and the federally imposed labels cease to provide any meaningful information to stakeholders who deserve a more comprehensive understanding of a school's performance,” California Superintendent of Schools, Tom Torlakson in a letter to U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan

 Our goal is for all schools to reach or exceed 800 on the Academic Performance Index  Our pursuit of Professional Learning Communities will be a critical aspect of that work  We will begin classroom walk-thrus to give feedback on instructional practices as part of our improvement process

“Many schools operate as if their primary purpose is to ensure that children are taught, PLCs are dedicated to the idea that our schools exist to ensure that all children learn the essential skills and knowledge expected” ~ Richard DuFour

 Focus on learning not just teaching  Create a collaborative culture  Identify priority standards  Create formative assessments to frequently measure student learning: Identify best practices in teaching Identify students in need of immediate intervention

 Create creative structures for providing interventions to move students to proficiency  Provide enrichment opportunities for students who learn it the first time

We accept learning as the fundamental purpose of our school and therefore are willing to examine all practices in light of their impact on learning.