HHS School Excellence Plan
Running head: HIGHLAND HIGH SCHOOL EXCELLENCE PLAN
Highland High School Excellence Plan
Patrick Arguelles
Grand Canyon University
EDA 585
March 23, 2011
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HHS School Excellence Plan
Abstract
Just as an architect designs and uses blueprints to guide in the building of a new home,
Highland High School will use their strategic plan for excellence as a roadmap to guide and
prepare for the future. The way we define excellence dictates the way we achieve it, so the plan
carefully spells out both areas of success and areas of need. Continuous school improvement is
the overall theme as the paper moves through three sections: School Profile and Current State of
the Highland High School, the Desired State of HHS, and finally a Suggested Improvement Plan
for the School. The paper includes a detailed School Profile that includes demographic
information, as well as current information on the present state of the school. The paper also
discusses the desired state of the school in detail. Finally, the paper reports on a strategic plan of
action aimed at continuous school improvement and a measurable increase in student
achievement.
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HHS School Excellence Plan
HHS School Excellence Plan
Highland’s vision is to maintain the Traditions of Excellence established in its 62 years of
existence. Highland High School’s mission is to be the premier high school in Central New
Mexico. The school provides a learning environment that prepares young people for college and
careers. We accept the challenge to make a difference in the lives of our students, to recognize
their strengths, to prepare them for careers and to empower them to make a difference in the
world.
Administrative Team
Principal: Scott Elder
9th & 10th Grade Principal, in charge of 9th grade academy: Lupe Martinez
11th Grade Principal, in charge of finance and buildings and grounds: Larry D’Anza
12th Grade Principal, in charge of curriculum and instruction: Harriet Crawford
Assistant Principal in charge of Special Education: Ben Chavez
Coordinator of Small Learning Communities: Andy Legant
Activities Director, SAT Chair and Middle School Liaison: Patrick Arguelles
Athletic Director: Scott Peterson and Joe Williams
School Counselors: Christina Klave, Analisa Lujan, Teya Nguyen, Pamela Joseph
School History
Highland High School opened its doors in 1949. Today, Highland is the second oldest
public high school in Albuquerque, New Mexico and currently operates out of the oldest
standing school building in the state. The school occupies 33 acres. Currently the Albuquerque
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HHS School Excellence Plan
Public Schools District is the 28th largest school district in the nation and consists of 14 high
schools, 28 middle schools, and 90 elementary schools utilizing a K-5, 6-8, 9-12 grade-level
configuration. The student body of Highland High School is culturally diverse with a population
that is 8.5% African American, 3.6% Asian, 18.2% Caucasian, 57.2% Hispanic, and 12.5%
Native Americans. Highland High School is a comprehensive four year public high school
enrolling 1797 students in grade 9 through 12. Links to valuable data have been provided.
School Level High SchoolGrades Offered Grades 9 - 12
County Bernalillo County, NM
Students & Faculty HHS 2010-2011
Total Students 1629 students
% Male / % Female 48% / 52%
Total Classroom Teachers 115 teachers
Other Ancillary Staff 112 including secretarial, custodial, cafeteria, EAs,
administration, coaches
Teacher Status: 107 Highly Qualified in 178 Areas
8 teachers on I-licenses or getting SpEd Licensure
% American Indian Teachers 4%
% Asian Teachers 2%
% Hispanic Teachers 41%
% Black Teachers 6%
% White Teachers 46%
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HHS School Excellence Plan
Students by Grade
2010-2011
Grade 9 – 567 students
Grade 10 – 428 students
Grade 11 - 369 students
Grade 12 - 265 students
Highland HS (NM) School Average
Teacher : Student Ratio 1:18 1:14
Students by Ethnicity 2010-2011
% American Indian 13% 14%
% Asian 4% 1%
% Hispanic 56% 51%
% Black 8% 2%
% White 19% 31%
Additional Student Information
This School (NM) School Average
% Eligible for Free Lunch 59% 44%
% Eligible for Reduced Lunch 9% 6%
% Migrant Students Enrolled n/a n/a
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HHS School Excellence Plan
School Performance: (NM) Statewide Testing Performance
School Statewide Performance View Education Department Test Scores
School District Name Albuquerque Public s School District
NM Public Education Department Highland High School Accountability Report
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HHS School Excellence Plan
AYP Summary Details for Highland High School
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HHS School Excellence Plan
This School's Agency (APS) (NM) District Average
Number of Schools Managed 175 5
Number of Students Managed 95,083 students 637 students
District Total Revenue $909,023,000 $9,524,000
District Expenditure $902,192,000 $9,834,000
District Revenue / Student $9,560 $14,951
District Expenditure / Student $9,488 $15,438
District Graduation Rates 66% n/a
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HHS School Excellence Plan
Curriculum
The academic program is organized on a rotating block schedule. Students can earn seven
credits per year during a regular school day. Students take six 95-minute classes, and one 50-
minute class. Students attend 3 block classes and the 50-minute class daily, rotating Monday &
Wednesday and Tuesday & Thursday. On Friday, the students go to all seven classes lasting 50
minutes each.
AP courses are offered in Art History, Art, Calculus AB and BC, Chemistry, Biology,
English Language, English Literature, U.S History, World History, Government and Economics,
Spanish, French, and German. AP is an open-enrollment program. Honors classes are offered in
English, Algebra, and Geometry. Entry into the courses is determined by student commitment
and teacher recommendation.
Highland High School has dual enrollment with UNM and CNM which enables
sophomores, juniors, and seniors to enroll in college level courses and earn college credits at
local institution of higher education. The students also receive high school elective credit for
these courses.
Academic Philosophy
Highland High School provides a well-rounded college preparatory curriculum with
extensive offerings in English, social sciences, mathematics, foreign languages, sciences, art,
music and drama. Advanced placement classes are offered in biology, chemistry, physics,
psychology, European history, calculus AB and BC, economics, and statistics. Students are able
through their choices to create an individual schedule tailored to their needs and interests. Some
courses are required and some are recommended, but there are many electives, increasing in
number as the student progresses through school. Students make their own choice of study based
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HHS School Excellence Plan
on data from several career exploration assessments (ASVAB, PSAT, Accuplacer, etc.). This is
important because it develops responsibility, increases commitment, and encourages exploration
of new areas for learning.
The faculty and administration of Highland High School recognize the individuality of
each student and the right of that student to receive and opportunity in education to develop to
his/her fullest potential. Through dedication, hard work and effective planning, a flexible
academic and extracurricular program can be offered that will allow each student opportunities
to experience success. Through positive discipline, we believe an atmosphere can be created in
the school to enable academic, social and physical development. We further believe that through
cooperative interaction of the administration, faculty, students, parents, and community, each
student can achieve his/her academic goals, develop a love for learning, respect for self and
others, and an enthusiasm for life that will help to ensure his/her success and happiness.
Special Education Department
Highland High School special ed teachers are responsible for developing individualized
education programs (IEPs) for each of their special education students. The IEPs are based on
personalized goals tailored to each student's individual learning ability and style. Teachers also
formulate transition plans to prepare the students for postsecondary study or for jobs. There is a
wide variety of disabilities that require students to be in special education programs. These
include autism, mental retardation, emotional deficiencies, language and speech impairments,
visual problems, hearing impairments, mobility limitations, and many other disabilities.
Many of the daily job tasks of Highland’s special ed teachers mirror those of their general
education counterparts. Special ed teachers are responsible for things like taking attendance,
developing lesson plans, assigning and correcting homework, enforcing school rules, keeping
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HHS School Excellence Plan
inventory of supplies, and administering standardized tests. There is also an additional layer of
duties unique to special ed teachers that, among other duties, includes the following:
Meeting with parents to review the IEP and note progress and problems
Making referrals to sources within the community that may be able to assist the student
Helping students learn to use various tools such as computers, wheelchairs, hearing aids
or other devices
Developing new strategies to meet the needs of students with a variety of handicaps
Making modifications in the general education curriculum for special-needs students
Coordinating placement of students with special needs into mainstream classes
Monitoring teachers and teacher assistants to ensure adherence to special education program
requirements
Technology
Highland currently has four computer labs, each with an average of 35 computers. The
school also has two mobile computer labs, one with 20 laptops, the other with 15 units. The
recent addition of Figge Hall provides 2 more computer labs, promethean boards and projectors.
Accomplishment, Awards, Distinctions
We the People - 2011 State Champion and Regional Representative (5th consecutive
championship and 9th out of last 10 years)
DECA – 8 National Qualifiers
Track & Field - State Champions
3 National Honor Society Scholars and 1 Merit Scholar Recipient
Students Passing German AP Exam with a score of 5 – 9 out of 9
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HHS School Excellence Plan
1 NM Activities Association Pursuing Victory With Honor recipient (highest NMAA
honor awarded)
1 student earned early entry into Harvard
AYP Status
HHS has not made adequate yearly progress (AYP) based on the state’s accountability
system for math and reading for four consecutive years. The data bear out that HHS is scoring
lower and lower so drastic changes are necessary. Examining the data reaffirms that increasing
rigor is vital to turning it around. Students currently (class of 2012 and newer) must earn 25
credits to graduate. The district does not require the English and math classes to be college-
preparatory in nature but the HHS strategic plan calls for students to take at least one advanced
placement class and one on-line class in preparation for college or career. The plan calls for an
85% graduation rate. HHS currently has the lowest graduation rate in the district (49%) but the
Leadership team believes that by implementing change the grad rate will improve dramatically.
The grad rate must also contend with students who literally disappear (i.e. immigrants who
return to their country without taking transcripts or withdrawing properly) so the plan calls for
better record keeping. Only 14% of HHS students who took the ACT were found to be college-
ready in all four areas (math, English, science, social studies) so the plan calls for requiring AP
classes and college prep classes be offered and recommended. Through partnerships with CNM
and UNM, students can easily take dual enrollment classes for free at the local colleges.
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HHS School Excellence Plan
Goals for the Strategic Plan
Excellence is Highland’s commitment to provide an unparalleled education for all
students that enter our doors. We recognize that ensuring continuous academic achievement for
all students in spite of a 300% increase in the number of non-English speakers over the last four
years, aligning resource allocation to district priorities in the face of 35% budget cuts over the
last three years, raising expectations for accountability and strengthening relationships with our
students, parents and community, and finally, accelerating the path to excellence requires three
elements: effective classroom and leadership strategies, transparency in every area, and the time
to accurately implement research-based, data-driven change to ensure success. The proposed
guidelines allow the school to assign each department responsibility for the design and
implementation of specific areas of the strategic plan, progress monitor those areas by using
specific data targets, and then report out the results. The school’s Plan of Excellence outlines the
work we need to do and it is the work we will do.
Highland has an instructional vision that drives decision making in all facets of the school. We
have worked with all stakeholders involved (students, staff, administration, parents, community)
to develop a plan that will guide Highland toward achieving the goals set out by the state and the
district. The following points are utilized by the stakeholders to achieve these goals.
1. Shared Vision and Plan.
Highland has engaged stakeholders in the planning process and it has achieved incredible
results. Highland has a shared vision, mission, and educational plan for school and
student success. The school is developing an instructional vision based on shared
assumptions about teaching and learning. Staffing, schedule, budget, and professional
development plans are being developed to support the instructional vision. The Highland
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HHS School Excellence Plan
Leadership Team, the High Schools That Work (HSTW) team, department chairs and
teachers in their Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) have dedicated time and
resources to seeing through the proper implementation of the plan. Implementation
required that teachers have adequate and well-planned and facilitated time to deliberate
on teaching and learning together during the school day.
2. Personalization.
Students are more likely to succeed in an environment where staff know every student
and no student slips through the cracks. For this reason, Highland has broken 9th and 10th
grade academies into small groups of less than 100 students (all at the same grade level).
These groups are created based on assessments mentioned above so that members of each
group share some or many similar likes.
3. Flexibility and Accountability.
Highland has given teachers an opportunity to collaborate with each other, and has
empowered them to make mission driven decisions about staffing, schedule, budget, and
curriculum.
4. Equity.
The goal of the school is to ensure high quality education to ALL students in Highland’s
neighborhood.
5. Community Engagement.
Highland has made it a top priority to engage the community and seek their input into
decisions that affect the school and community. For change to occur, Highland’s
students, parents, community members, and teachers must have buy-in. The best way to
achieve buy-in is to involve these stakeholders in creating the plan for redesigning the
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HHS School Excellence Plan
school and involve them in the governance of the school as it moves forward. In addition,
Highland has moved to become a central hub for a community by inviting parents and
community members to come to the school for English lessons, GED classes, computer
classes, dance and yoga, and on and on.
6. High Quality Teaching and Learning.
Increasing rigor in the classroom has been at the top of the agenda and Highland has
made strides in reaching our goals. All students are engaged in a learning process that is
rigorous, relevant, and prepares them for both college and the workforce of the 21st
century.
Research has shown that a change in teacher behavior, regardless of the teachers’ beliefs,
can change student performance sufficiently enough to change teacher beliefs based almost
solely on their observations of improved student achievement. The foundation of this strategic
plan is based on this huge observation: changes in beliefs can follow changes in behavior. This
distinction is vital to the plan because leaders can mandate behaviors much easier than beliefs.
Believe That Students Can Do Better & Let Them Know You Believe
This is definitely a strong suit for HHS teachers. HHS leaders are promoting a culture of high
expectations and are providing students with many opportunities to receive the extra help they
need to reach these higher expectations. The plan calls for every teacher to provide a syllabus to
each student that includes rubrics and scoring guides, outlines course content, contains class
rules and lays out class and course expectations. The plan calls for teachers to post student work
and to specify daily objectives. Teachers also make bell-to-bell instruction the norm in ALL
classrooms in order to utilize every minute of instructional time to teach required content.
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HHS School Excellence Plan
In addition, the school has provided tutors to help in every area and in every language.
Students have access to tutoring from 6:00am to 6:30pm and this aspect is a big part of the plan
to continually improve academically. HHS has programs set up with LULAC, ENLACE, Sandia
Labs, Upward Bound, Project Diversity, Catholic Social Services, Kirtland Air Force Base, as
well as volunteers from Walmart, UNM, and the City of Albuquerque.
The plan utilizes the Advisory program fully by teaching study skills and habits of
success. Leaders make teachers accountable for reinforcing guidance and advisement as a means
of connecting students to goals beyond high school. Teachers provide advisement, mentoring,
support, and monitoring of students’ education and career plans in a purposeful way. Leaders
continually monitor, evaluate, and revise the program to meet emerging student needs. Finally,
teachers and leaders act in unison to provide students and in particular seniors a meaningful
academic experience. This strategic plan calls for every senior to create a portfolio listing their
accomplishments over the four years, including what they have done to prepare for college or
career. They have to defend it in front of a panel of stakeholders, which include their parents,
school leaders and teachers who have had a stake in their growth.
The Desired State of Academics at Highland High School
Over the past two decades, states across the country have developed strict accountability
policies in response to mandates from the federal government. The identification of schools not
meeting adequate yearly process based on No Child Left Behind (NCLB) standards of
acceptability has created a serious problem for state departments of public education because
they are now required to turn these failing schools around. School districts have given their
school administrators latitude to examine school-wide reform approaches and implement plans
specific to their school and its stakeholders. All students deserve a high quality, challenging
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HHS School Excellence Plan
education and Highland High School has used this philosophy to create a new vision of “college
and career readiness for ALL students.” Student success in today’s world requires the
implementation of successful school reform. Turning around a failing school like Highland starts
with a school staff willing to change the way they teach. Addressing school effectiveness means
placing high expectations on students, staff and administrators by employing a rigorous
curriculum and raising standards, nurturing a relationship with the community and increasing
parental involvement, finding creative ways to provide professional development for the staff
despite huge budget cuts, changing the way the school is governed to involve more stakeholders,
and providing 2ist century technology to staff and students.
Highland High School is utilizing a school reform initiative developed by the Southern
Regional Education Board (SREB) called High Schools That Work that focuses on continuous
school improvement. In addition, the school has implemented Advancement Via Individual
Determination (AVID), a program designed to meet the needs of kids on the cusp of nearing
proficiency by helping build academic and personal success through tutoring and mentoring. A
third piece that has led to changes in classroom instruction has been the institution of the three-
minute classroom walk-through. Administrators are in the classroom at least one hour per day
and teachers are observing teachers, using the same three minute walk-through as a means of
having conversations about instruction. By far the most productive tool has been SREB’s High
Schools That Work.
Utilizing many of the basic strategies available to schools that are part of the High Schools
That Work contingency, identifying improvement strategies was not a difficult process. The
premise behind High Schools That Work is that most students can master rigorous academic and
career/technical studies if they are in an environment that motivates students to make the effort
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HHS School Excellence Plan
to succeed. This effort-based school improvement initiative is changing high schools across
America and has given Highland’s plan most of the fuel to ignite positive change in the school
environment. The staff at Highland has taken the necessary steps to maintain continuous
improvement by adopting the seven HSTW core beliefs listed here:
1. Almost all students will make the effort to learn grade level and course standards if
adults in the school create the right conditions.
2. All students should be enrolled in a program of study that will prepare them for college
and/or career.
3. Students who have a goal and see meaning and purpose in learning are more motivated to
learn grade level and course standards.
4. Students learn best when they have a personal connection to the school.
5. Students learn best when teachers maintain a demanding and supportive environment that
pushes students to do their best.
6. All faculty should be involved in continuously improving teaching and learning.
7. Students change behavior and become more motivated to meet school goals when adults
use school and classroom practices based on effort rather than ability. (SREB website
2011)
In addition to using the 7 HSTW Core Values, Highland staff has worked for two years to
to establish a set of HHS Core Values that communicate how work is done on campus. The Core
Values are grouped into five areas that include:
Rigor & Relevance
Collaboration/Empowerment/Engagement
Diversity/Equity
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HHS School Excellence Plan
Efficacy/Effectiveness/Efficiency
Open Door to the Classroom/Community Involvement
Each area was shaped by teachers during PLCs (Professional Learning Communities). Each
group provided descriptors of each area, brought together the staff and voted on each set of
descriptors to narrow it down to those that clearly communicated the level of focus that either
existed or was desired. There were many factors expressed by teachers to lead this writer to
believe that even more drastic action is required to affect change in the school.
The area that needs the most attention in the near future is the establishment of measurable
goals that support continuous improvement. Setting goals and measuring progress is the key
element of continuous school improvement. The school must identify specific targets that will
measure school/student/teacher progress toward reaching the goal. It is just as important to
measure progress in improving both the experience and the achievement as it is establishing
measurable goals. The strategic plan needs to call for the implementation of measurable goals to
use in assessing continuous improvement. The two most obvious areas for measurement that
coincide with school goals are:
1. Academic Knowledge and Skills
2. College and Career Readiness
The strategic plan would call for aligning HHS core academic classes to college and career
readiness and to high school graduation. The curriculum must reflect college-readiness standards
that identify critical thinking knowledge and skills in both math and language arts. As part of the
plan, teachers must be given professional development opportunities on standards-based
instructional planning.
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HHS School Excellence Plan
HHS leaders are promoting a culture of high expectations and are providing students with
many opportunities to receive the extra help they need to reach these higher expectations. There
is still much work to be done but the school is on the path to improved academic growth. School
leaders, whether it be administrators, department chairs, members of HSTW, AVID, PLCs, or
SLCs, must constantly evaluate and reevaluate; analyze data to set new goals; use data to inform
instruction; make the hard decisions that will infuse rigor into the classroom; and establish
consistency in decision making. Highland leadership must empower teachers to take ownership
of school improvement efforts and ensure that teachers are able to fully understand how their
efforts help restructure the school. Following the path established by the Leadership Team and
teachers in their Professional Learning Communities (PLCs), Highland can expect positive
growth for years to come.
An Example from Highland High School’s Strategic Plan for School Excellence
Highland has an instructional vision that drives decision making in all facets of the school.
We have worked with all stakeholders involved (students, staff, administration, parents,
community) to develop a plan that will guide Highland toward achieving the goals set out by the
state and the district. As the new principal, this writer will stay committed to raising expectations
for students through continued school improvement. The biggest expectation is that students will
graduate within a four year time frame and be college-ready or career-ready. Based on available
data gathered from time on the leadership and administrative teams, my strategic plan for HHS
would be divided up into five parts.
First, the school must continue to use and improve on the current system of distributed
leadership it employs. This system works because it allows for ease in communicating core
beliefs, goals and values to all stakeholders involved in school improvement efforts.
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HHS School Excellence Plan
Second, HHS and the Leadership Team must create high expectations for all students.
This involves several stages of development, starting with increasing rigor in the curriculum. By
increasing rigor, teachers are better able to prepare students to be college and career ready. One
way to increase rigor is to require that all students must enroll in at least one Advanced
Placement class before they graduate. They will also be required to take a course on-line; even if
that course is facilitated on the school campus (over 45% of HHS students do not have access to
a computer at home). Both these suggestions better prepare students for life after high school.
Creating a culture of high expectations means that teachers must establish and communicate
these expectations to students. Teachers must develop grading and homework policies that will
be enforced and then utilize school resources to assist the students who struggle by providing
tutoring or extra help. Teachers must design curriculum that motivates students to learn and
achieve. Two ways to ensure teacher compliance is to give teachers time to collaborate by
department and by grade level and also by having teachers design rubrics and post student
exemplars matching the rubric.
Third, instruction must be researched-based, rigorous, and engaging. This instruction
should also be standards-based and relevant. One way to ensure success is to have the various
departments work together to create lesson plans, rubrics and projects. This will be done through
Professional Learning Communities. Teachers either by grade level “house” or department meet
three times weekly during a PLC. The APS school district arranged a prep from every teacher so
they have 230 minutes weekly to work on district, school, department or subject area goals. The
data on reading levels at the school suggests that literacy strategies should be incorporated into
as many lesson plans as possible regardless of subject. Additionally, professional development
must be provided to teachers for topics like differentiated instruction, rubric-building, effective
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HHS School Excellence Plan
learning strategies, alternative assessments, higher order questioning and multiple intelligences.
District budget cuts will cut into money available for professional development so the
Leadership team should consider identifying staff members who could lead PD sessions on
campus without incurring large expenses. In conjunction with High Schools That Work (HSTW),
the school will use three minute classroom walkthroughs as part of a continuous school
improvement plan to collect data for analysis, improve classroom instruction, increase the
graduation rate and provide mandatory training in study skills for all 9th and 10th graders.
Administrators will observe the teachers they directly supervise at least one time per month and
will observe all other teachers at least one time per semester.
The focal point of these informal, non-evaluative classroom visits by administrators can
lead to improved instructional practices and curriculum alignment. Cervone and Martinez-Miller
(2007) describe classroom walkthroughs as a tool to “drive a cycle of continuous improvement
by focusing on the effects of instruction.” Classroom walkthroughs answer many questions,
including whether new teachers are making the adjustment, whether students are engaged in
academic endeavors, even whether cross-curricular ideas or differentiated instruction are
occurring on the school campus. The collaborative nature of this type of supervision moves
schools away from the boss-subordinate plan to one that develops and nurtures self-reliant
teachers.
Fourth, the school will continue with the current Advisory system, but bolster it by
increasing the rigor of the advisory class curriculum. Increase the number of advisory classes to
one each day for the first week of each semester, followed by advisory classes every Friday. Step
up the curriculum to include study skills and interpersonal development skills. It is also vital
that more importance be placed on the mentoring opportunities that were the original reason for
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HHS School Excellence Plan
creating advisory classes. Advisory teachers must help students make the connection to some
goal beyond high school and how to achieve that goal.
Fifth, and finally, HHS will focus more energy on developing Career Technical courses
that align to career-readiness standards. HHS Leadership has an obligation to train CT and
academic teachers to work together developing curriculum, assignments, assessments and rubrics
and then delivering that curriculum at a more rigorous level. Make available to all students
Programs of Study and Career Pathway information and make sure it is in both English and
Spanish. When registering students, make sure counselors are prepared to make
recommendations to students on available classes geared toward specific careers or areas of
study.
Below are four tables designed by this writer as part of his duties on the leadership team.
These tables are part of a leadership plan that could be modified for any school that this writer
leads. They include a sample of a Plan-Do-Study-Act 6 Steps to Improvement chart (Figure 1), a
Goals For Analysis of Data chart (Figure 2), a Data “Questions to be Answered” chart (Figure
3), and a Data Flow Chart (Figure 4).
Figure 1: Plan-Do-Study-Act 6 Steps to Improvement chart
SIX STEPS TO IMPROVEMENT - PDSA
PL
AN
VALIDATE THE NEED FOR IMPROVEMENT. How are we doing? How do we know?
The school has not made adequate yearly progress in over 5 years. Examination of the NM Standards Based Assessment clearly indicates that tremendous growth for most subgroups must be made in order to increase graduation rates and avoid being taken over by the state.
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CLARIFY PURPOSE, GOALS, AND MEASURES. Why are we here? What do we need to do well together? How will we know how we are doing?
The team will study both short cycle assessments and national assessments to determine what progress has been made. The team will also do a Needs Assessment to determine the areas of significance to formulate the Math and Reading Improvement Plan around. The Short Cycle Assessment will either be the DBA or Assess2Learn. We are awaiting a determination from the district. The national test will be the NM Standards Based Assessment because students will not be able to receive a diploma without passing the math and language arts portion of that test.
DO
ADOPT AND DEPLOY AN APPROACH TO CONTINUAL IMPROVEMENT. How will we work together to get better?
The team will meet during Professional Learning Communities (PLC) to work together to develop, implement and monitor the plan. The team will meet one to three times per week as determined by group consensus and necessity to complete the various steps of the PDSA and Improvement Plans
.
TRANSLATE THE APPROACH INTO ALIGNED ACTION. What will we do differently?
The team will work during PLCs to review NM standards and utilize various tools including but not limited to Marzano’s strategies, Bloom’s Taxonomy, Gardner’s Principles and others to compare and contrast and make sure that the team’s actions are aligned with state and district standards.
ST
UD
Y
ANALYZE THE RESULTS. What Happened?
After the first short cycle assessment is taken in September the team will organize the data so that it can be used as base-line data for this part of the plan. The team will also be creating base-line data from last year’s NMSBA results. This data will be divided by subgroups
.
AC
TMAKE IMPROVEMENTS. What did we do with what we learned?
Once the short cycle assessment data has been reviewed and determinations have been made, the group will begin making recommendations to teachers that should inform instruction and drive changes. These changes are required to be made and will be monitored by administrators during their classroom walk-throughs.
Figure 2: Goals For Analysis of Data chart
GOALS FOR ANALYSIS OF DATAGOALS (in order of progression)
LEVEL OF ANALYSIS DESCRIPTION, DATA TO BE COLLECTED & EXAMINED SOURCE OF DATA
1. Examine School Demographics
1
Ethnicity of students Gender Grade level #s Attendance Free & Reduced Lunch recipients
APS School MaxScreens ST002, AT460,
ST295, SC321
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HHS School Excellence Plan
2. Examine Student Learning
1 District Benchmark Assessment (DBA) NM Standards Based Assessment (NMSBA)
APSNM Dept of Pub Ed
3. Examine School Demographics over time
2
Ethnicity of students-changes over time Gender- Grade level #s Attendance Free & Reduced Lunch recipients
APS Schoolmax andAPS Research,
Development & Accountability (team must submit written request)
4. Examine Student Learning over time
2
District Benchmark Assessment (DBA) from year to year by pre, mid, post assessments
NM Standards Based Assessment (NMSBA) from year to year for math and L/A only
APS
NM Dept of Pub Ed
5. Examine 2 Similar Variables 3
Compare and contrast Ethnicity of Students with Free & Reduced Lunch recipients
Use these results has base line data
APS Research, Development & Accountability (RDA)
6. Examine 2 Similar Variables 3
Compare and contrast Ethnicity of Students with Attendance figures
Use these results has base line data
APS Research, Development & Accountability (RDA)
7. Examine 2 Different Types of Variables – Free & Reduced Lunch against DBA & NMSBA
5
Compare DBA and NMSBA scores against Free & Reduced Lunch rosters
Look for any details that stand out or anything that looks unusual
APS Schoolmax andAPS RDA (team must
submit written request)
8. Examine 2 Different Types of Variables – Attendance against DBA & NMSBA
5
Compare DBA and NMSBA scores against students with 5 - 9 absences. 10 – 19 absences, and 20 or more absences
Look for any details that stand out or anything that looks unusual
APS Schoolmax andAPS RDA (team must
submit written request)
9. Examine 2 Different Types of Variables – Free & Reduced Lunch v. DBA/NMSBA
6
Compare DBA and NMSBA scores against Free & Reduced Lunch rosters over time
Look for any details that stand out or anything that looks unusual
APS Schoolmax andAPS RDA (team must
submit written request)
10. Examine 2 Different Types of Variables – Attendance vs. DBA & NMSBA
6
Compare DBA and NMSBA scores against students with 5 - 9 absences. 10 – 19 absences, and 20 or more absences
Look for any details that stand out or anything that looks unusual
APS Schoolmax andAPS RDA (team must
submit written request)
Levels of Analysis1. Measures of Data: Examine Demographics, Perceptions, Student Learning and School Processes in Isolation2. Measures Over Time: Examine measures listed in #1 but over time3. Two or More Variables: Examine more than one type of measure in each of 4 areas4. Two or More Variables Over Time: Examine more than one type of measure in each of 4 areas over time5. Intersection of Two Measures of Data: Examine data across two measures of data 6. Intersection of Two Measures of Data Over Time: Examine data across two measures of data over time
Figure 3: Data Chart-Questions To Be Answered
AREA OF MEASUREMENT QUESTIONS
What data do you have to answer
questions
What other data do you need to obtain
to answer questions?Demographics What is the demographic make-up of the
school? How many students are on Free/Reduced
lunch? How many students have 5-9 absences,
10-19 absences, and 20 or more absences?
We have data for all 3 bullets for the last
5 years
We do not need any additional data to
answer these questions
Perceptions How can we create a school culture that We will use We need to look at
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HHS School Excellence Plan
supports standards? How can we help stakeholders (e.g.
parents) understand the importance of devoting more time to staff development?
guidelines provided by SREB
(Southwest Regional Education Board) for HSTW (High
Schools That Work)
teacher lesson plans and compare them to
the NM Dep’t of Public Ed Standards
Student Learning
What are the results of short cycle benchmark assessments for pre, mid and post testing?
What are the results of the NMSBA this year and over the last three years?
What do we know about how students learn?
How do we create situations that allow students to demonstrate what they have learned?
What does the data tell us about our student’s performance?
We have data from the APS School
District and from APS Research,
Development and Accountability for
all assessments over time and we have
HSTW Data Analysis Sheets to
monitor performance
We will need to look at educational
strategies, including works of Bloom,
Marzano and Gardner
We need to look at differentiated
instruction strategies
School Processes
How can school leadership help create a learning community?
How can we create a school culture that supports more intensive staff development?
What leadership support is needed to help us implement standards in the classroom?
We will use guidelines provided by SREB for HSTW
We will use processes developed
by Senge
We need to look at current information provided by APS RDA for use by administrators in
implementing progressive PD
Miscellaneous How do you lead the data analysis discussion? How do we draw inferences from the data? How well is our current curriculum aligned with standards? To what extent do our instructional methods help us meet accountability demands? What implications do standards have for teachers‛ instructional methods? To what extent are teachers able to design effective standards-based classroom assessments? How will we communicate students‛ progress on standards to stakeholders, in particular,
parents? How can we use student assessment data from both short cycle and classroom assessments to
guide staff development?
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HHS School Excellence Plan 27
HHS School Excellence Plan
Glickman (1990) envisioned supervision as the “glue” that binds a successful school. The
administrator acts as the glue because he/she must unite the numerous elements of instructional
effectiveness into successful school achievement. This school success will be manifested as
quality instruction characterized by high levels of rigor and relevance and will ultimately result
in the goal of student academic success and continuous school improvement. It is here that the
effective school leader develops his/her educational philosophy for instructional supervision.
The systematic aspects of my school improvement plan will exemplify a plan that is wide-
ranging, all-inclusive, ordered, detailed, and focused on making data-driven, research-based
decisions about continuous school improvement. By integrating many of the SREB-
recommended instructional strategies through High Schools That Work, most of the specific
issues that put the school in the restructuring designation (R-2) will be addressed. By combining
efforts with the Southwest Region Education Board (SREB), the school will effectively attack
the problems that have been identified, and demonstrate to all stakeholders, including the state
and district, that Highland wants to regain its status as a top tier high school in the state.
Conclusion
With the intricacies and demands placed on the schools in the Albuquerque Public School
system in this 21st century, it is hard to imagine how a school can continue raising the bar
without effective and comprehensive strategic planning. Our Strategic Plan for School
Excellence calls for a new school culture that embraces and sustains public education as the
single most important function of our society. We need people – students, staff, parents,
community – to step up and do extraordinary things with an ever decreasing amount of money.
We need to resuscitate the processes through innovation, change and revolution, turning it into
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HHS School Excellence Plan
an effective and efficient operation. This is not just a single event, it is process built around
continuous school and student improvement and must be treated that way. We will keep the
framework simple so everyone can understand it and we can effectively develop it and make it a
part of the school culture. Our framework is designed to answer the five questions that are vital
to our goal: Who are we? Where are we in this process? Where are we headed? How do we
know we get there? What do we do to get there? We will align the plan to our state and district
standards, and then communicate it out to everyone involved. We have invited all stakeholders
to become a part of what we are trying to accomplish and welcome them into the process. We
want to examine data to see if we are making progress toward our goals, so having the ability to
measure and track data is essential. We also must have the ability to make people accountable to
the process, and all stakeholders involved must set up a calendar of when things will get done,
determine their budget, and stay within the means of that budget. The bottom line is, we must
talk the talk, then walk the talk.
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HHS School Excellence Plan
References
Arguelles, Patrick. (2010). HHS school profile and strategic plan for continuous improvement.
EDA575. Grand Canyon University.
Arguelles, Patrick. (2010). Low student achievement: causes and effects. EDA561. Grand
Canyon University.
Arguelles, Patrick. (2010). Educational Philosophy for Instructional Supervision. EDA551.
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Bernhardt, Victoria. (2004). Data Analysis for Continuous School Improvement. Larchmont,
NY.
Eye on Education.
Cervone, L., & Martinez-Miller, P. (2007, Summer). Classroom walkthroughs as a catalyst for
school improvement. Leadership Compass, 4(4). Retrieved November 19, 2010 from:
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Evans, G. W. (2004, February/March). The environment of childhood poverty. American
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Glickman, C.D., Gordon, S.P. & Ross-Gordon, J. (2009). Supervision and Instructional
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website: http://www.sreb.org/page/1078/high_schools_that_work.html
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HHS School Excellence Plan
Marzano, R. J. (1998). A theory-based meta-analysis of research on instruction. Aurora, CO:
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Marzano, R.J. (2000). Transforming Classroom Grading. Alexandria, VA: Association for
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Senge, P. M. (1994) The fifth discipline: The art and practice of the learning organization. New
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