SCHOOL PLAN TEMPLATE · 2019. 5. 29. · PHSS students act as mentors and role models as we...

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“Bringing Learning to Life”

Port Hardy Secondary School

SCHOOL PLAN 2018-2019

Submitted: June 15, 2018 (revised June 19, 2018) Principal: Rena Sweeney


PORT HARDY SECONDARY SCHOOL

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Introduction – School Context

The School describes the contextual elements that have a major impact on its decision-making, including the assets and challenges that affect the school’s response to improving student achievement.



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School Mission Statement: At PHSS we provide an inclusive learning environment, embrace diversity, and help students develop a sense of self through engaging learning experiences.

School Context: Port Hardy Secondary School has a projected student enrolment of 275 students in grades 8 to 12 for the 2018-2019 school year. Approximately 60% of the student population is of First Nations ancestry, with many of our students coming from schools in the Kwagu'ł, Gwa'sala 'Nakwaxda'xw, and G̱usgimukw communities in our catchment area. Other communities served by PHSS include Coal Harbour, Quatsino, and Beaver Harbour. Students who transition to Port Hardy Secondary from local schools may come from any one of six elementary schools. An important focus is the transition experience of these students coming together as one PHSS school community. Throughout the year, PHSS staff facilitate opportunities for grade seven students to take part in activities with our current students. These include our students acting in the role of mentors and helpers during community cultural activities and hands-on projects in our shops. In addition to providing the leadership opportunity for PHSS students, the activities allow the future PHSS students from different communities to get to know each other prior to actually transitioning to secondary school together. An over-arching theme of our programming at PHSS focuses on building connections with community. Elders and other community members regularly work with students in the school, and staff seek opportunities to extend learning into the community. These opportunities include students taking part in cultural activities in elementary schools, field trips to areas of local cultural and ecological significance, visits to local businesses and industry sites, and other activities that support and enhance the curriculum. The community has also been very supportive of the PHSS garden project, an initiative spearheaded by the Foods class that has quickly become a source of pride for the school as many other students and classes have become involved. We continue to focus on creating partnerships with local businesses and industry. During the 2016-17 and 2017-18 school years, PHSS teaching time included a block to support a District position of ‘Shoulder Tapper’ to foster and strengthen ties to local industries. Within this position, the teacher met with many local businesses to create opportunities for student exploration in careers related to culinary arts, hospitality, mechanics, retail, carpentry, and food harvesting. While funding for the continuation of this position will not be confirmed until spring of 2019, it is anticipated that these school-community connections will continue through the Tourism 11/12 and Outdoor Education 8-10 courses. A partnership with Vancouver Island Health Authority has also created opportunities for students to be involved in a Youth Health Council and job shadowing and volunteer opportunities for the 2018-19 school year. Last year saw PHSS’s first student take part in a Youth Work in Trades program, and we have several students looking forward to this opportunity during the spring semester. Opportunities for exploration of local career paths have also been created through the Forestry and Marine Science opportunities developed at PHSS. The Forestry program, offered each semester, gives students a chance to earn course credits while spending an intensive two weeks working with foresters, contractors, and others employed in the forestry industry. The Hakai Marine Science Institute hosts a



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small group of senior science students from Vancouver Island North each spring, and students spend the four days learning about the field of marine science research by working alongside university professors and post graduate students.

Summary of Student Body Assets: PHSS has a diverse group of students with high expectations for their learning, and a strong desire to be recognized and valued as individuals. Our students take pride in First Nations culture and many are involved in in-school and out-of-school cultural activities. The previous school year saw a revitalization of our cultural program with a student-led Culture Club meeting weekly and sharing dances and song at school events. The number of students involved grew throughout the year, and at times, included grade 7 students from Gwa’sala-‘Nakwaxda’Xw School. Plans are in the works to expand the Club further for the 2018-19 school year. PHSS students act as mentors and role models as we continue to strengthen relationships with other schools in the district. Specifically, our students act as peer mentors in elementary classrooms, work frequently with elementary school classes in the wood shop, help during grade 7 transition activities, and participate in an elementary school/secondary school canoeing adventure day. Our students are active in athletics in the community and in the school. They participate in local, regional, provincial, national, and world-wide events in a number of sports, including volleyball, track, soccer, and hockey. They are passionately involved in soccer, track and field, and volleyball teams at both the junior and senior level at the school. Students have strong social responsibility skills and a high number of students are willing ask for help to discuss concerns and work out solutions. Students know the supports available for them in the school and actively seek these out when needed. Students have demonstrated acceptance through their social justice classes, support for pink day activities, and through work to improve on our support of LGBTQ+ students. A group of students have recently formed a Healthy Schools Focus Group and will continue to work with staff and community agencies to advise us of areas of student concern. At PHSS we aim to provide strong educational programs for all students focusing on a supportive atmosphere of respect for culture and traditions. In our school, connections to the local community are highly valued and educational opportunities for all students continue to be extended in school and with local organizations. Our students seek relevant learning opportunities and are keen to become involved in opportunities beyond the walls of the school.

Summary of Student Body Needs: Our students demonstrate very diverse academic and learning needs across all of our grade levels. When these individual needs are not adequately met, students are becoming disengaged and opting out of their education through behavior issues, truancy, and low attendance. Designing lessons for students with all types of learning levels, needs, and styles that accommodate their weaknesses and build upon their strengths will continue to be a focus. Staff identify concerns with many students’ readiness to be active learning partners. We hope to build this readiness through helping students get to know themselves as learners; develop strategies to cope with challenges facing them; set goals; and develop plans to meet these goals.



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We will also continue to specifically target student literacy and numeracy challenges immediately when students enter Grade 8. During the first semester of the 2018-19 school year, grade 8 students will all be assessed through the School Wide Write and a reading assessment. Grade 8 and 9 students will all write a numeracy assessment during their Math class which may be in first or second semester. With the new BC curriculum fully implemented for Grades 8-10, and the continued implementation for grades 11-12, educators will be adjusting the pace of instruction and providing greater exploration of the essential “Big Ideas”. There will continue to be a focus this year on inclusive leaning. We will be focusing on instruction that provides for the unique academic and social emotional needs of every student in the classroom. Staff are enthusiastic to be more involved with co-teaching opportunities and increased collaboration with other educators. These are the priorities that have been identified at both staff and various committee meetings. In looking to the future, we can see that, without our interventions and changing practices, we will have a growing number of students with inadequate skills to cope with Graduation Program academic subjects at PHSS. Our reading and writing assessment results at grades 8 and 9 continue to indicate that students need to be more engaged in their learning to improve their basic skills. The implications for our graduation rates are worrisome. Students who cannot succeed in grades 8 and 9 academic classes will not, without intensive intervention and whole school support, be graduating on schedule or acquiring those skills they need to be lifelong learners. Student engagement in classes that they view as relevant is critical to develop skills and knowledge that our young people need to be successful in their learning and in their lives outside of school. We need to continue to focus on improving engagement in order to address ongoing attendance concerns.



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Section 1 – Student Achievement Profile Benchmarks:

N/A

DMA: With the recent changes to the Grades 8 and 9 curriculums, staff are continuing to collaborate to design a new assessment to assess grade level numeracy skills.

School-Wide Writes: School-wide writes for students in grades 8 and 9 are scheduled for fall 2018 with a second write to take place in semester 2.

DART: N/A

Grade Level Reading Profile (District Provided) Jerry Johns: We are currently using the Jerry Johns Assessment tool to assess reading levels of our grade 8 and 9 students. We will also be using this tool to assess reading levels of identified grade 10-12 students. We will collect data twice a year with this assessment tool to obtain measureable results that will help to guide our practice.

FSA: We will be comparing the grades 4 and 7 FSA data for our students in grades 8 and 9 with reading data collected in 2018-19 on an individual basis.

School Selected Additional: We will continue our work with our feeder schools to implement the school wide write strategies prior to entering PHSS.

Section 2 – Professional Inquiry School Inquiry Project Application (2018/2019) 1. School: Port Hardy Secondary School 2. Inquiry Question:

To what extent will a focus on staff-wide initiatives to improve students’ sense of inclusion and well-being result in an improvement in Grades 8 and 9 students’ academic achievement?

3. Scanning:

Evidence being considered: - Anecdotally, staff identify need for students to be more actively engaged as learners - Attendance/ late data - School satisfaction surveys - Report card data/ summative assessment over time - Reading assessment for gr. 8 students - Data related to ‘Incomplete’ Reports - School Wide Write results - McCreary Adolescent Health Survey results (available next year)



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Grade 8 and 9 students are currently completing a survey reflecting on the 2017-18 school year. The questions asked include: The most exciting thing I’ve learned this year is ________. My marks are an accurate reflection of my learning (scale 1-5). My learning is important to me (scale 1-5). I am working toward achieving my goals at school (scale 1-5). I can name two adults at PHSS who believe I will be a success in life: _____ and ______ and why they make me feel this way: _____________________. Staff at PHSS care about me (scale 1-5). I feel connected to my school (scale 1-5). I have opportunities to show my learning in a variety of ways (scale 1-5). I am excited about my learning (scale 1-5). Trends noted: Absenteeism and ‘I Reports’ increase throughout the year. Some students engage in wandering the halls, skipping class, and disrupting other classes; these behaviours also increase throughout the semester. When asked, students in the hall often state that they are frustrated in class by work that is both too easy and already completed or by work that is too challenging for them. Students missing a large number of lessons due to avoiding class find it more of a struggle to catch up and understand the concepts and their frustration increases throughout the semester as a result. On previous PHSS staff member visits to elementary schools, it has been noted that learning styles and classroom procedures vary greatly from school to school and all have some inherent differences from our current approach at PHSS. 4. Focusing:

Students beginning at PHSS in grade 8 may transition from any one of six local schools. As students arrive at PHSS from a myriad of backgrounds and school expectations, it is important for all of them to be able to understand the expectations and routines of secondary school. A focus on easing the transition for each of these students is important. Strategies to address this could include PHSS teachers working more closely with grade 7 teachers to align our pedagogy more closely with what is happening in the intermediate years. It is also important to focus on why many of our students are not feeling a sense of purpose and a responsibility for their learning. Throughout the semester, staff support students in class as well as create opportunities for extra support before school, at lunch, and after school. After each reporting period, students receiving ‘I Reports’ are contacted by staff members to work together with the student to develop a supported plan to make up missing work and catch up in class; however, students are always not receptive to this assistance. A concentrated focus on supporting students in understanding themselves as learners may allow more students to become engaged as partners in their learning.

5. Developing a Hunch: We hypothesize that some students are not feeling connected to their learning for a variety of reasons. These reasons include: lack of opportunities for engagement and active involvement in their learning, low sense of self-efficacy, and not understanding themselves as learners enough to be empowered to take responsibility.



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6. Professional Learning: All educators at PHSS will need to further develop and refine their practice in areas of:

- Building a safe learning community in the classroom;

- Facilitating instruction and using strategies to actively engage all students;

- Including culturally appropriate strategies and content to benefit all students;

- Building formative and summative assessment strategies around core curricular competencies;

and

- Using a range of pedagogy that meets the needs of learners.

In particular, as a staff, we need to grow stronger in:

- our understanding of differentiated learning strategies and appropriate pacing for student

engagement; and

- using formative assessment strategies that build confidence in our learners and empower them

to take more responsibility.

7. Taking Action: All staff will be involved in planning a fall kick-off event at Port Hardy Secondary to provide students with information related to their health and responsibilities as learners. We will work with community partners (which include Vancouver Island Health Authority, Child and Youth Mental Health, and Building Blocks) to host a student Health Conference. We envision an Elder as a keynote speaker who will deliver an empowering message related to overcoming struggles followed by students participating in workshops and activities that they have self-selected. We will work with a student focus group this spring to determine topics of interest; our community partners have already offered suggested topics of Online Safety, Healthy Body Image, Bullying/Harassment, Stress Management, Anxiety, and Grief/Loss. The day would include fitness breaks and a healthy lunch for all participants. During this lunch, students would have an opportunity for informal interaction with PHSS staff and staff from our community agencies. To keep the momentum moving forward from what we envision would be an empowering day for students, topics would be revisited, discussed, and expanded upon with all students during monthly homerooms throughout the year. Grade 8 students will further explore these topics as well as topics more specific to the transition to secondary school in their scheduled ‘Career Education 8’ course which they will all taking first semester. A group of Peer Leaders would be instrumental in working to plan the conference as well as work with students in homerooms and ‘Career Education 8’ classes. These peer leaders will attend fall workshops to prepare them for this role and to give them opportunities to discuss student concerns of which they are aware. Throughout the year at times when they are released with TTOC coverage as well as at regular staff meetings, teachers will collaborate to further their understanding of pedagogical practices to increase student participation, engagement, and learning. Effective practices and success stories will be shared and discussed at staff meetings. As the teacher working with grade 8 and 9 students in Career Education classes will be directly teaching students strategies to help them be successful (e.g. organization, class preparedness, reading a textbook for information, utilizing the internet effectively), all educators will need to be consistently reinforcing the use of those strategies. Thus it will be important for all educators (administration, classroom teachers, learning support teachers, and support staff) to be collaborating and sharing information to ensure this consistency.



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Currently our main focus on transitioning students to grade 8 occurs in the spring. To improve our practice in preparing students for this transition, we intend to plan partnership activities between the schools earlier in the year. For instance, grade 7 students will be invited to take part in the fall Health Conference at PHSS and other school events throughout the year. Grade 8 teachers at PHSS will also seek opportunities to teach and observe lessons in the grade 7 classes throughout the year.

8. Checking: If student engagement and self-efficacy are improved, we would expect to see a decrease in absence rates and an improvement in student achievement data. Student survey results should indicate that students feel that what they are learning is relevant and that they feel connected to their school.

Yearly improvement on Grades 8 and 9 Writing Performance Standard scores, Jerry Johns Reading Assessments, Reading Snapshot Scores, student surveys and interviews, and fewer unexcused attendance absences among students will act as indicators of progress.

- Inquiry members will meet once every semester to create a qualitative summary of data and

at the end of the year to report results to the district.

- Sharing and discussion of data and strategies at monthly staff meetings will lead to

adjustments in instructional practices: to what extent are we actually making a difference?

- Teacher and administrator will converse with students about their motivation and cognitive

perspectives on their own learning.

- One of the required activities for students in grades K-9 in the new curriculum in BC is a

reflective self-assessment of their progress in the Core Competencies – communication,

thinking, and personal and social. We will continue to consider this data in understanding and

measuring engagement of students. Survey questions will continue to include:

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The most exciting thing I have learned this year:

My marks are an accurate reflection of my learning (scale 1-5);

My learning is important to me (scale 1-5);

I am working towards achieving my goals (scale 1-5);

I can name two adults at PHSS who believe I will be a success in life;

Follow-up: What is it that these people do that makes me believe I will be a success?

I feel connected to my school (scale 1-5);

I have opportunities to show my learning in a variety of ways (scale 1-5);

I am excited about my learning (scale 1-5).



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9. Itemize Your Budget Request: Staff Collaboration Dinner (in the absence of available TTOC coverage): $500 Transportation for student transition events/inclusive learning opportunities: $500 TTOC coverage for Gr 8 teachers to visit elementary schools: $600 Health Conference Healthy Lunch (fish donated): $500 Health Conference Expenses (honorariums, materials): $2000 Inservice Materials for Staff (socialthinking materials) : $900 Student Peer Leader Materials (TTOC costs for training, materials): $500 Student Attendance Improvement Celebrations: $500

Total: $6000

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DATA Reading *Note about expectations: DNW (did not write), NY (not yet), ME (meets), FM (fully), EE (exceeds)

2015-2016 School Year

Jerry Johns Reading Assessment Gr. 8 (2015-16) Data collected September 2015 NY ME FM EE

Decoding – Aboriginal Males 6 3 1 1

Comprehension – Aboriginal Males 9 1 1 0

Decoding – Aboriginal Females 3 0 0 0

Comprehension – Aboriginal Females 0 1 2 0


Decoding – Males 8 3 1 1

Comprehension – Males 11 1 1 0

Decoding – Females 3 0 0 0

Comprehension – Females 0 1 2 0







Decoding – Males 4 3 1 0

Comprehension – Males 5 1 1 1

Decoding – Females 1 8 1 0

Comprehension – Females 9 1 0 0












Jerry Johns Reading Assessment Gr. 8 (2017-18) Data collected NY ME FM EE

Decoding – Aboriginal Males

Comprehension – Aboriginal Males

Decoding – Aboriginal Females

Comprehension – Aboriginal Females

Jerry Johns Reading Assessment Gr. 9 (2017-18) Data collected NY ME FM EE

Decoding – Aboriginal Males

Comprehension – Aboriginal Males

Decoding – Aboriginal Females

Comprehension – Aboriginal Females



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Writing *Note about expectations: DNW (did not write), NY (not yet), ME (meets), FM (fully), EE (exceeds)


Gr. 8 Performance Standards Writing Response Sample (First Write 2015-2016) DNW NY ME FM EE

Writing – Non-Aboriginal Males 0 0 7 2 0

Writing – Non-Aboriginal Females 1 2 5 4 3

Writing – Aboriginal Males 2 10 7 3 0

Writing – Aboriginal Females 3 1 3 6 0






Gr. 8 Performance Standards Writing Response Sample (Second Write 2015-2016) DNW NY ME FM EE










Gr. 8 Performance Standards Writing Response Sample (Third Write 2015-2016) DNW NY ME FM EE

Writing – Non-Aboriginal Males 0 2 6 1 2 Writing – Non-Aboriginal Females 1 3 3 5 2 Writing – Aboriginal Males 5 4 8 3 1 Writing – Aboriginal Females 1 1 3 4 1





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Attendance Data

Attendance (2014-15): Average Unexcused Class Absences Per Enrolled Student

Grade 8 Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun

All students 1.2 4.0 5.7 5.6 5.2 5.0 8.7 12.8 14.8 18.8

Aboriginal students 1.4 5.5 6.7 7.4 6.7 6.4 11.1 17.9 20.9 29.0



All students 1.2 7.1 6.4 6.5 7.9 5.1 8.4 13.0 13.3 15.9




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All students 7.3 10.5 12.3 9.1 11.5 12.1 8.2 15.3 15.7 13.1




All students 13.2 21.8 23.3 18.8 19.8 20.3 17.1 28.0 27.7 24.8




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Grade 8 Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun All students 2.4 5.7 9.7 10.2 7.8 9.3 11.5 12.2 18.7 16.4




All students 11.2 17.2 19.1 18.2 13.9 12.0 16.3 14.1 20.0 19.4




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Grade 8 Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun All students 3.7 8.9 12.2 10.8 11.3 10.5 10.1 12.6 16.5

Aboriginal students 4.9 11.2 15.1 12.9 14.0 12.2 11.5 14.6 18.7



All students 8.4 11.9 15.1 14.5 12.1 9.4 11.3 16.6 20.8

Aboriginal students 11.3 16.3 19.6 18.0 16.5 12.5 14.5 20.8 25.5



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Section 3 – Focus on Learning

Summary of Priorities based on selected data

1. Student Learning Target Interventions/Actions 2. Professional

Learning/Supports Monitoring Plan

3. Roles and Responsibilities

4. Resources

Increase in comprehension of oral and written language across the curriculum for students in grades 8 and 9.

Grades 8 & 9 Teacher use of performance standards, formative assessment tools, starting-points of literacy strategies

Classroom, ELL, and LART teachers work collaboratively to meet needs of all students through UDL strategies.

Identification of vocabulary used in various curriculum areas

Classroom displays of content focused word walls

Formation of collaborative -mentoring groups.

Professional reading materials for EAs and teaching staff

Discussion of student needs and sharing of strategies at each staff meeting.

Classroom support through co-teaching with ELL and LART teachers.

Schedule of mentoring visits

Regular and on-going measurement of student progress

On-going analysis and discussion of data

Discussion of individual students at RTI meetings, language strategies meetings and school-based team meetings

Teachers clarify and share learning intentions and criteria for success with students

Each semester all teachers will ask 3 metacognitive questions of each of their students: where are you going with your learning? how are you doing with your learning? where to next?

Classroom and support teachers collect data.

Teachers and EAs to meet as a language team (ELL teachers, LART teachers, LIF teachers, teachers of English language curriculum) to develop themes for school-wide writes.

Teachers file classroom and provincial exam data in a central location.

All staff contribute to staff meeting

TTOCs and/or admin coverage to release mentor teachers and teachers being mentored

Improvement in reading skills across the curriculum for students in grades 8 & 9.

Grades 8 & 9 Identification of vocabulary used in various curriculum areas

Use of performance standards, formative assessment tools, starting-points of literacy strategies

Remedial reading intervention for students in grades 8 & 9 with very weak reading and comprehension skills.

Classroom, ELL,and LART teachers work collaboratively to meet needs of all students through UDL strategies

Formation of collaborative -mentoring groups



Classroom support through co-teaching with ELL,and LART teachers.

Schedule of mentoring visits

Regular and on-going measurement of student progress

Analysis of data


Variety of reading resources at student reading levels

Appropriate assessment materials

Performance standards



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Improvement in writing skills across the curriculum for students in grades 8 and 9.

Grades 8 & 9 Integrate School Wide Write assessment into curriculum (English/Socials) rather than as a separate assessment to increase number of students writing assessment.

Use of performance standards, formative assessment tools, starting-points of literacy strategies

Classroom, ELL, and LART teachers work collaboratively to meet needs of all students through UDL strategies

Formation of collaborative -mentoring groups



Classroom support through co-teaching with ELL,and LART teachers.


Revise assessment rubric towards strength based wording.

discussions about data and strategies.

Administrators and teachers have conversations with students about their motivation and cognitive perspectives of their own learning.

Inquiry committee members meet on a semester-by-semester basis to create a qualitative summary of data and at year end to report results to the district

Inquiry project members take lead in organizing collaboration.

Appropriate assessment materials

Performance standards

School-wide write themes

Prepare students for new provincial literacy assessment

Senior students Formative assessment

Use of performance standards.

Investing in collaboration time for departmental and grade range teachers

Personalizing learning for all students.

Classroom support through co-teaching with ELL, and LART teachers.

Assessment based on performance standards with rubric language

Revise assessment rubric towards strength based wording.

Ensure students are familiar with scoring and marking rubrics

Good selection of reading materials, Smartboard, computer lab

Reduced absence rates Grades 8 & 9 Support workers and admin follow up on absences on a weekly basis.

Classroom teachers contact parents if student misses more than 3 classes in a row.

Personalizing learning for all students

Discussion of student needs and sharing of strategies at each staff and school based team meetings.

Work with students through fall Health Conference and ongoing homeroom groupings to explore strategies for students to take responsibility as learning partners.

Teachers contact parents after student misses 2 consecutive classes

Community support workers work with teachers, parents and students to improve attendance.

Counsellors contact families to offer additional supports to get students

Admin monitor attendance. Meet with Attendance Support Team bi-weekly to review concerns and create support plans..

Office staff will provide weekly reports showing top absences to admin.

NA



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School Name: Port Hardy Secondary _________ Ratified by School: _______________ School Year: 2018-2019 ________________ Staff: _____________________________ Date of Plan: ________________________ Signature of Principal: __________________________

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