ANALYSIS OF CURRENT EDUCATIONAL
PRACTICE
The following
statements characterize educational practice at this school:
1. Alignment of curriculum, instruction and
materials to content and performance standards:
SFUSD
policy and practices are designed to ensure that each student has access to
instructional materials that are aligned with State core content
standards. The district has
adopted programs and materials that are aligned with and approved by the State
Board of Education.
Lowell
High School’s curriculum, instruction and materials are in alignment with the
District content and performance standards.
2. Availability of standards-based
instructional materials appropriate to all student groups:
The
SFUSD has identified and purchased adopted instructional materials for all
students including EDY, Special Education, EL, GATE, and Vocational Education.
Lowell
has purchased standards-based instructional materials appropriate to all
student groups including EDY, Special Education, ELL, and GATE. In many cases the school provides
supplemental supplies to augment the adopted textbooks to enhance student
comprehension.
Vocational education is supported by the
Cooperative Vocational Education (CVE) Marketing program funded by the San
Francisco Regional Occupational Program (ROP).
3. Alignment of staff development to
standards, assessed student performance and professional needs:
The
district holds Professional Development Institutes that provide a series of workshops
four times a year. These are
designed to deepen understanding of the skills required to assist schools in
aligning standards, assessments and best practices, assessing student
performance, and meeting professional needs of staff. In addition, central staff facilitates ongoing professional
development at school sites as part of federal and state awards programs in
coordination with external partners.
Lowell has committed to setting aside time throughout the
school term for meaningful and productive professional development so that
faculty and staff have the opportunity to collaborate within and across
departments, enhance their professional growth, and provide an effective
educational program for students that is standards and student performance driven. Additional, the Lowell Technology
Resource Center (LTRC) offers technology training to staff through a variety of
means, including after school institutes and in-service provided by staff and
LTRC trained students.
· A Professional Development Calendar has been developed to indicate scheduled opportunities for faculty and staff to receive professional development.
· The Professional Development Committee will meet with Administrative Council to set department of professional development priorities.
· The Professional Development Committee will develop an annual and long range Professional Development Plan.
· An orientation will be provided for new teachers to Lowell on Lowell’s school culture, resources, and teacher expectations.
·
A full-time Information Systems
Administrator maintains the school’s computer network, fileservers and desktop
computers and provides training to teachers and staff. The students in turn provide
computer support to teachers and staff.
4. Services provided by the regular program
to enable under-performing students to meet standards:
The
STAR Schools Initiative was developed using data on SFUSD school performance
and the most recent research on improving under performing schools. It provides additional school
personnel, support, and resources.
Summer School programs are designed to provide interventions to under
performing students.
Services provided
by Lowell to enable underperforming students to meet standards include the
following:
- Based on reading comprehension scores from the California
Standards Test and English teacher referrals, identified 9th
grade students participate in the Plato Literacy Program designed for
independent study in acquiring useful reading strategies during their
resource time.
- Math support and off-semester Algebra and Geometry courses are
B/C code, providing extra instructional minutes to help students meet
standards. In addition, our
support course provides access to ALEKS, an online math skills development
program, to provide extra help.
- Students requiring additional instructional support and
assistance beyond regular class time are encouraged to utilize three
on-site resource centers.
- Each departmental office has hours during which students may
seek tutorial help from teachers.
- All ninth graders are required to utilize the Resource centers throughout the year.
- CSF – As a requirement for membership in CSF, Lowell members of
the California Scholarship Federation (the California affiliate of the
National Honor Society) tutor students who need help in any subject. CSF students provide this service
in a room designated as a resource room/CSF Tutoring Center. Some of the students who sign up
and need tutoring are identified as under-performing students, and also
participate in the Plato Literacy Program; however, this program is open
to any student who feels he/she needs help in a subject.
5. Services provided by categorical funds to
enable under-performing students to meet standards:
The ELL funds at
Lowell have been used for extra hours to administer the CELDT and to
re-designate students. Computers
and appropriate books for the library were purchased with a portion of the ELL
funds, to enable English language learners to have easier access to print and
online resources. There are also
teacher-monitored, computer-aided instruction, given to specific
under-performing students in remedial math and English.
6. Use of state and local assessments to
modify instruction and improve student achievement:
Annually the Research Department produces a
School Site Data Binder designed to provide school staff with disaggregated
data reports for the previous school year. It contains information concerning student achievement
performance on various state and district wide assessments administered during
the previous school year.
The
District’s Achievement and Assessment Office provide annual summaries of CST
data to Lowell. The Lowell School
Site Data Binder and Data Disks and a new web based program “Cruncher,” are
presented and discussed with department heads by the Assistant Principal of
Administration, who then shares this information with their departmental
faculty. Trends are observed and
correlations among the various assessments are determined to assist in making recommended
changes to the school’s curricular program.
- A reading comprehension and Literacy Program, PLATO, is being
continued in the library to help boost skills of identified 9th
and 10th graders who were on academic probation because of low
English or social studies grades or who scored below the 50th
percentile on the CST.
- A math comprehension program, ALEKS, is in place for identified
9th grade students who need additional help.
- In response to low-test scores, the Math Department has
increased instructional time in some off semester courses (by using B/C
codes). In addition, test-taking skills are being enhanced through
the use of more frequent assessments and test generation software.
- There is a need for department heads, administrators, teachers
and counselors, to continue to become more proficient in working with the
SFUSD data disk and “Cruncher.”
The SFUSD data disk and “Cruncher” allows staff to access specific
information about students and student groups and interpret standardized
test results and student performance. The Assistant Principal for Administration beginning in
fall 2006 will conduct ongoing training.
7. Family, school, district and community
resources available to assist these students:
The district provides resources to STAR
schools including additional personnel, support and services. All schools receive assistance with
extended learning opportunities and support materials.
The Lowell
PTSA, Alumni Association, and Sports Foundation actively support educational
efforts at Lowell. The PTSA,
Alumni Association, the Sports Foundation, and the Student Body Council work
with the SSC to set goals, and to provide the funding for specialized needs
determined by each department or individual teacher.
Grants are
awarded to respond to specialized needs, as requested by individual teachers
and departments.
8. School, district and community barriers to
improvements in student achievement:
Barriers to improvement in student
achievement have been identified as follows:
·
Reduction
in funds from the state and district to support existing programs at Lowell has
forced the school to tap into the PTSA and Alumni Association for additional
money to fund teaching positions and resources that otherwise would have to be
cut.
·The district requirement of some basic courses
and the lack of summer school to fulfill the district requirements have been a
problem.
·Inability to conduct the Summer bridging program
to orient incoming freshmen due to budget constraints.
·The new building and modernization construction
projects still have not been completed and some areas left undone impact
negatively on teaching and learning.
Specifically the schools video network has not been completed, leaving a
vital resource untapped at this time.
·
Technology integration at
Lowell has been hindered due to the school’s computer network not being
completed at the end of the new construction and modernization projects. This has hindered the ability for
teacher training on the use of computers in their classrooms for this
year. The school is in the
process of completing wiring the data network to the portables using PTSA
funds.
·
Limited space continues to be
a problem at Lowell since the student population and teaching staff has
increased beyond its original limits.
This includes adequate workspace for teachers, counselors and staff to
prepare lessons, have consultations and provide direct services. There is also a need for adequate
space for students to study, eat and socialize. There are insufficient lockers
resulting in the doubling and tripling of locker assignments.
9. Limitations of the current program to
enable under-performing students to meet standards:
Limitation of the current program to enable under performing
students to meet standards have been identified as follows:
·
The
allocation of limited resources to provide differentiated instructional support
and training for staff.
·
The lack of resources to
support student resource centers with credentialed teachers in specific subject
areas.
·
Inability to deliver the
Summer bridging program to orient incoming freshmen due to budget constraints.
·
Reduction in funds from the
district to support existing programs at Lowell has forced the school to tap
into the PTSA and Alumni Associations for additional money to fund teaching
positions and resources that otherwise would have to be cut. This funding is uncertain from year to
year and the programs remain in jeopardy.
·
Lack of resources to conduct
ongoing disaggregated assessment of on site support and intervention programs.
ACADEMIC PLAN EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Note: All WASC references are to the 2006
WASC Action Plan Goals.
Goal 1: Academic Achievement:
Significantly increase academic achievement and learning for all
students, including closing the achievement gap, based on achievement data. Focus
must be on reading and mathematics as measured by tests and other assessments
as appropriate.
Data Conclusions related to Goal
1:
English Language Arts: Just
over 94.1% of all Lowell students scored at “Proficient” or higher on the
spring 2005 California Standards Test (CST). The percentages are lower for some subgroups: 48% of Special
Education students, 72.5% of African American students and 84% of Latino
students. Seventy percent of 9th graders, who have been identified
for the Plato Program because of their CST score in English, are attending
Plato sessions (computer-aided support) regularly. The intervention appears to have had some success in
reducing the number of 9th grade students with poor grades in
English.
Mathematics: Eighty-four percent of Lowell students achieved
“Proficient” or higher in mathematics, leaving nearly a fifth of the students
at “Basic” or below. As in
English, various subgroups had a lower proportion of students at “Proficient”
or better: Special Education students 32%, African American students 41%, and
Latino students 64.1%. In order to
identify students needing support between CST exam taking, Lowell is monitoring
students who receive a “D” or “F” in math. Intervention procedures at the 9th
grade level appear to be helping as the number of students with poor grades is
declining.
Based on the above data
conclusions the following are the objectives for Goal 1.
Objective 1: To improve the achievement of all
students within the school on the California Standards Test. Specifically, to
maintain the 94.1% of all students achieving at proficient or higher in
English/language arts and to raise the percentage of students overall achieving
at the level of proficient or higher in math, by 3 percentage points. Also, to
raise by 3 percentage points the number of students achieving at the level of
proficient or higher in each subgroup that is presently under 80%, in both
English and math.
Objective 2: Ensure that
all 9th, 10th, and 11th graders identified (by
both CST and interim assessments) as needing additional help in math and/or
English, receive intensified instruction in those subject areas. Identify ninth graders who achieve
below basic in reading on the CST and assign them to the Plato Program in the
library, which improves reading skills.
Notify the parents of these students that their child will be
participating in the Plato Program.
Identify 9th and 10th grade students receiving Ds
or Fs in English at each 6-weeks grading period, and assign them to the Plato Program
in the library. Identify 9th
and 10th grade students receiving Ds or Fs in math at each 6-weeks
grading period, and assign them to a resource center for additional tutoring
and practice. Also, reinforce
writing skills of students in all grade levels.
The above objective(s) will be
achieved by the implementation of the following activities:
1. Continue staffing the present
resource centers full-time.
2. Continue the PLATO Program in
English and ALEKS program in math and extended hours at the library.
Goal 2: Academic Equity: Ensure that all students have access to a comprehensive
education by providing a high-quality program of studies in the Core Curriculum
areas (English/language arts, mathematics, science, social studies, visual and
performing arts, health and physical education), world languages, and
school-to-career and technical programs where appropriate.
Data Conclusions related to Goal
2:
We use two key measures to
determine whether all students have had access to a comprehensive education in
the Core Curriculum. The first is
performance on the California Standards Test in all subject areas. This measure tells us whether students
have grasped content standards by subject area. The second measure is the percentage of seniors who graduate
meeting the course requirements for UC/CSU. This measure tells us whether a student has been exposed to
a broad curriculum during high school.
It is a policy goal of Lowell that every senior graduate meeting the
UC/CSU course requirements excluding students with special needs.
California Standards
|
Content Area |
’04 % “Proficient” or
“Advanced” |
’05% “Proficient” or “Advanced” |
|
English/Language Arts |
93% |
94% |
|
Math (overall) |
82% |
84% |
|
Algebra I |
78% |
73% |
|
Algebra II |