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Needs Assessmentand Action Plan for Kamiak High School

By Carly Schwarmann December 10, 2009

EDU 6600 Communication and CollaborationDr. Lumpe

Autumn, 2009

Kamiak High School Action Plan

Target School: Kamiak High School

School Context and Demographics

Kamiak High School opened in 1993. The current student enrollment is 2203. 52% of students are male and 48% are female. In the past several years, the district has not passed its bond initiatives needed for school improvements , so consequently the school is overcrowded, with 8 teachers traveling from room to room to teach because they do not have a classroom. Kamiak has a traditional school schedule with 6 periods per day. Grades are accessible online for parents and students. There are a large number of AP courses offered at Kamiak.

Kamiak has 100 teachers with an average of 14.5 years of experience, 59% of which hold masters degrees. We don’t have any teachers teaching with an emergency certificate or conditional certificate. 98% of the teachers at Kamiak meet the highly qualified definition.

The Special Education program currently has 7.4 FTE teachers who provide support for 148 students (6.8%) receiving a variety of Special Education services. There are 64 students (2.9%) in the transitional bilingual stage. 255 Students (11.7%) receive free or reduced lunch. 23 Students dropped out last year, which is a low 1.1% of students. The majority of students at Kamiak are white, specifically 1,563 (70.9%) and the second most common ethnicity at Kamiak is Asian (20.8%) with 458 students. 2.7% are Hispanic, 2.5% Black and .6% are American Indian (Washington State Report Card, 2008).

Overview of recent student achievement

The requirements for students to graduate from high school are:1. Earn a minimum of 22.5 credits2. Create a High School and Beyond Plan3. Earn a Certificate of Academic Achievement or a Certificate of Individual Achievement4. Complete a Culminating Project

The students graduating from Kamiak plan to:Attend a 4-year college or university 55-60%Attend a 2-year college or tech school 35-40%Enter the workforce 3-5%Enter the military 1-2%Undecided 1-3%

Kamiak High School Action Plan

On average, about 80 Kamiak students attend nearby community colleges via the Running Start program.

Table 1.1 Longitudinal view of Kamiak WASL scores Reading Math Writing Science

2001 73.6 48.9 55.9 N/A2002 74.0 55.5 68.9 N/A2003 76.3 56.8 81.3 44.82004 73.5 56.0 79.8 44.92005 82.9 63.1 76.9 51.92006 90.0 67.6 89.5 50.12007 92.9 74.8 96.0 54.82008 91.9 67.1 97.7 57.8

A large number of students take the PSAT and receive high scores. In 2008 eight students were selected as National Merit Scholar Finalists. Kamiak students consistently perform well above state and national averages on the ACT.

In addition, Kamiak students consistently out-perform state and national peers on the SAT (Kamiak High School Accreditation Report, 2008).

Recent Needs Assessment

This year we have an increased number of suspensions. The usage of drugs and alcohol is a concern at Kamiak. We have two full time security guards plus a drug and alcohol counselor on staff to monitor and prevent the use of illegal substance on campus.

About 45 Kamiak students attend the Sno-Isle Skills center, a specialized vocational program in the district.

Listed below are the past several years of Kamiak’s AYP status and where the deficiency existed, if any.2002-2003 Did not make AYP: Special Ed Math proficiency

Kamiak High School Action Plan2003-2004 Made AYP2004-2005 Did not make AYP: Low Income Math proficiency2005-2006 Did not make AYP: Low Income Math proficiency2007-2008 Did not make AYP: Low Income Reading participation.

Kamiak sends approximately sixty students to ACES, the alternative high school each year because they are credit deficient.

Kamiak has a program called LINK that serves incoming freshman to help them transition into high school. (Kamiak High School Accreditation Report, 2008).

School Improvement Plan

The Kamiak School Improvement Plan (SIP) was adopted in March 2008 after 1.5 years of gathering information.

The official aim statement is: Kamiak High School: Working Together to Build a Culture of Student Success.

The Accreditation Team determined that the three prevailing themes that cut across all of the Nine Characteristics of High Performing Schools were Academic Rigor and Relevance, Struggling Students, and Collaboration.

Some actions taken to meet these goals included changing the lunch schedule to allow for greater staff collaboration and adding a LINK program to assist freshman with the transition into high school (Kamiak High School Accreditation Report, 2008).

Results in terms of OSPI’s nine characteristics of high performing schools

Kamiak has:

A clear and shared focusStaff and students are aware of the school aim statement, “Working together to build a culture of student success.” This is a value and a goal we are all committed to achieving.

High standards and expectations for all studentsTeachers and staff at Kamiak believe that all students can learn. Most students are high achieving and we assist all students to overcome barriers in order to succeed and become engaged in rigorous study.

Effective school leadership

Kamiak High School Action PlanLeadership of the principal, teachers, other staff and district administrators advocate, nurture and sustain a school atmosphere and educational program conducive to student learning and staff professional growth.

High levels of collaboration and communicationWe are working to increase our collaboration and communication through monthly teacher learning team meetings. Teachers are also connected with students, parents and the community. We all work together to improve student learning.

Curriculum, instruction and assessments aligned with state standards Curriculum is aligned with Essential Academic Learning Requirements and the WASL. Research based materials and teaching and learning strategies are used. Teachers meet in their departments to do curriculum mapping and align assessments. Teachers develop an assessment schedule aligned with the standards. Staff attends conferences related to instruction and assessment. Frequent monitoring of learning and teaching Teaching and learning are continually adjusted based on monitoring student needs and progress. A variety of assessments are used. Assessment results are used to improve instruction and student achievement.

Focused professional development Professional development is focused on the school’s common focus, student success. Professional development activities tie to district objectives.

A supportive learning environment The school has a safe, healthy, respectful and intellectually stimulating learning environment. Students feel connected and are engaged in learning. Students receive differentiated instruction and additional support as needed. These factors are evident by looking at attendance data, the number of discipline referrals, parent surveys, class sizes and the number of students involved in clubs. High levels of family and community involvementParents have 24/7 online access to information about their child’s grades and attendance and they do not hesitate to use it. Parents are in contact with teachers through e-mail, phone and often make arrangements to meet for parent teacher conferences. Parents and community members volunteer to help in many capacities around the school. Kamiak has an active PTO and Booster Club with a large number of members. The majority of parents attend the curriculum open house night each year.(Shannon & Bylsma, 2007).

Summary Conclusion Statement

Kamiak High School Action PlanKamiak is an affluent and stable school taught by an experienced group of educators and support staff. Overall, it is a safe and caring

community with lots of options and opportunities for classes and extracurricular activities. Kamiak is one of the largest schools in the state and has top-performing students. It has highly competitive music, drama and sports programs, many of which go on to compete at the state level. Kamiak students consistently score high on the SAT and ACT, and have made great gains in the WASL and AP testing. 90% of Kamiak’s students are college-bound. Like any good school, Kamiak is constantly striving to do better.

Issues that Kamiak is working to improve include parent communication, fairness and consistency in evaluation and assessments, and expanding technology use. Kamiak is trying to develop the school culture by improving leadership, acceptance, and by consistently enforcing rules. We would like to help freshmen to have an easy transition into a large school by helping them make connections. We aim to close the gap in student achievement from good to great. We will consider possibilities for academic intervention for ELL students and students struggling in math. Given all the aspects that we would like to develop, we have chosen specific goals to work toward this year.

Our main focus, that ties in with many of the needs, has been on improving student learning through formative assessments and collaborating with other teachers in teacher learning teams. Research demonstrates that one of the main ways to improve student learning is with the use of regular formative assessments (Dufour 2005). Effective teachers are the single most important factor in improving student learning (Zepeda 2008). The teacher learning teams will evaluate student work together and create common assessments. Teachers will improve their delivery of instruction based on feedback from colleagues. We will know students are meeting the grade level expectations and power standards though formative assessments, summative assessments and classroom based assessments. In our groups we can diagnose student learning needs and plan modifications to overcome barriers to student learning. Each teacher learning team will set goals, establish a plan to reach the goal, and determine how they will measure progress toward the goal.

Action Plan 1 Demonstrate excellence through improved student achievement

SMART Goal: Teachers and staff will work together to improve student learning by using formative assessments in class at least three times per week to assess student learning and make any necessary modifications to instructional strategies to prepare students for graduation by the end of their high school career.

Goal Champion (Who will take the lead?): Teachers with the help of counselors, support staff, principal, and administrators.

Description of Proposed Action/Activity (What is going to be

done to address this goal?)

Research/Rationale For Activity (Explain how best

practices and needs assessment data justify this

activity)

 Results(What will be the

evidence of the impact on the goal)

Person(s) Impacted(Who will

be involved?)

Resources(What will be needed?)

Timeline(When will the activity occur?)

A. Perform and Implement earlier interventions for struggling students:

     

Kamiak High School Action Plani. Review existing practice, develop a plan for moving students out of classes, and develop a school wide plan to monitor each student’s placement at the beginning of each semester. Establish clear guidelines for initial placement in courses and publish updates in a revised curriculum guide.

B. Strive to improve and regularly review assessment and student achievement data:

i. Annually track CBA participation and achievement scores in Health and Fitness, Social Studies, and Fine Arts.

ii. Explore a more uniform grading system for departments at Kamiak.

iii. Reach and maintain a graduation rate of 96 % or better. And a drop-out rate of 1.5 % or less.

iv. Strive for the following passing rates or better in the WASL/HSPE by offering support programs.Writing 97%Reading 97%Math 82%Science 60%

C. Challenge students though program expansion and revision

Student achievement is the focus of the goal. The goal includes sub-activities to implement track and evaluate the progress. Improving scheduling efficiency will provide meaningful options for students.

Classroom based assessments (CBA’s) hit areas that the WASL does not.

Alignment of assessment throughout the departments would provide greater consistency.

Kamiak ranks well compared to other public schools in Washington, but we always strive to improve.

As WASL targets show, achievement at Kamiak is already quite high, but we wish to continually increase the number of students meeting standard.

Increase student engagement and prepare them for college

Once the activities are completed and the process is adopted students will be placed correctly in the class that fits their ability. This will be evident by fewer students transferring classes.

Review completed achievement score and participation data

Teachers will use the same assessments and grading criteria.

Graduation rate will increase and dropout rate will decrease.

Student WASL scores will increase.

Students will elect to take AP classes

Students, staff, committee counselors, registrar

Each Department

Each department

All staff

Math, English, and Science teachers

AP teachers

 Time, possible extra pay from staff development budget, print new curriculum guide

Tracking sheets

Time

Academic intervention and support programs, teacher volunteers

Support programs, teacher volunteers

Time, Staff development

August 2009-January 2010

Yearly beginning September 2009

Beginning September 2009

September 2009-June 2010 and beyond

September 2009-April 2010

September 2009-June

Kamiak High School Action Plani. Examine the benefits and drawbacks of including more AP classes available.

(Kamiak High School Accreditation Report, 2008).

by offering extension courses.

offered. Staff will propose new courses. Recommendations given.

budget 2010

Action Plan 2 Increase Staff Collaboration and Development to Improve Student Learning

SMART Goal: We will work collaboratively as a school staff within departments to improve student learning for all students by using efficient, research supported strategies including, attending at least one related professional development course each year and meeting in teacher learning teams once a month for one hour to focus on common formative assessments by June 2010.

Goal Champion (Who will take the lead?): Teachers with the help of support staff, principal and administrators

Description of Proposed Action/Activity (What is going to be

done to address this goal?)

Research/Rationale For Activity (Explain how best

practices and needs assessment data justify this

activity)

 Results(What will be the

evidence of the impact on the goal)

Person(s) Impacted

(Who will be involved?)

Resources(What will be needed?)

Timeline(When will the activity occur?)

A. Create horizontal alignment (at grade level) and vertical alignment (among different grade levels and schools)

i. Develop regular standardized department reports including yearly goals.

B. Develop specific strategies and activities that will result in common assessment and department unity:

i. Develop common assessments in each department including grading standards for each course with at least 2 common assessments per semester.

ii. Work on course frameworks

Reporting on progress will help hold departments accountable to meeting goals.

Aligned Activities and assessments will create consistency throughout the departments.

Having a system structure and specific activities are in line with meeting the goal.

 

The report will show the progress departments are making toward goals.

Will be included in department report. Hold regular teacher learning team meetings centered around common assessments.

 

Department head

Each department

Teachers,

 

Template, department stipend

Time

Resource sharing through the

 

September and January yearly

Ongoing

Beginning

Kamiak High School Action Plan(curriculum maps) based on district and state goals

iii. Maintain and increase a variety of department collaboration opportunities.

C. Design a school staff development plan to meets the needs of Kamiak staff:

i. Develop a committee to plan staff development

ii. Schedule time on staff development days for department collaboration.

iii. Establish district directed time for vertical teaming.

iv. Encourage staff to attend conferences that align with goals.

(Kamiak High School Accreditation Report, 2008).

Qualitative, quantitative, and anecdotal reports in professional literature address the importance of staff working together to align assessments, and discuss programs and standards.

There is value in having an intentional staff development plan including teacher input to accomplish specific goals.

It is difficult to find time to conduct collaboration during the busy school schedule.

Finding time for vertical teaming is a challenge, but goal-setting and comparing data have a tremendous value for the whole department.

Teachers will learn new skills and ideas to improve student learning.

Publish curriculum maps, teacher feedback, and track student achievement

Meeting minutes will show evidence of teacher collaboration and goals set.

Staff development will be planned and teachers will attend.

Calendar of scheduled staff development time.

Meetings took place, feedback from staff, absenteeism

Track participation

departments

Administrators and teachers

Ad Hoc committee

Administrators, department heads.

Kamiak Administrators, department heads, district

Administration

library, Curriculum Plan Template

Schedule flexibility

Time, staff development budget

Time on designated early release days

Cooperation among schools on waiver days

Time, Department and staff development budget

August 2009

Ongoing

Ongoing

Throughout the school year

By May 2010

Ongoing

References

DuFour, R., Eaker, R., DuFour, R. (Eds.) (2005). On Common Ground: The Power of Professional Learning Communities. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree.

Kamiak High School Action PlanOSPI Washington State Report Card Olympia, WA: Office of Superintendent of Public Intsruction.http://reportcard.ospi.k12.wa.us/summary.aspx?schoolId=2487&OrgType=4&reportLevel=School&year=2008-09

Rittel, K. et al. (2005). Kamiak High School 2008 Accreditation Self-Study Report. Mukilteo, WA. Mukilteo School District.

Shannon, G.S. & Bylsma, P. (2007). The Nine Characteristics of High-Performing Schools: A research-based resource for schools and districts to assist with improving student learning. (2nd Ed.). Olympia, WA: OSPI.

Zepeda, S. J. (2008). Professional Development: What Works. Larchmont, NY: Eye on Education.