Sonora High School WASC Report
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Transcript of Sonora High School WASC Report
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33
Progress Report
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Chapter 3
Progress Report
Introduction
This chapter will describe the progress made since the last full six-year WASC
visit and accreditation. That previous self-study, visit, and accreditation recommendation
resulted in Sonora being awarded a six year term of accreditation with a third year revisit.
The following description will be presented in four sections. The first section will state
the critical areas of growth identified by the visiting committee as needing immediate
attention. The school staff and community joined with the committee in the recognition
that it was essential for these needs to be addressed vigorously and without delay to
ensure the continued successful academic growth of all students served by Sonora. The
second section will describe the steps taken in the first three years to address these needs.
Following, the third section will recapitulate the results of the implementation of the plan
during that first three years of the new accreditation term. Finally, the fourth portion will
describe the continued efforts of the school community that have ultimately led to the
greatest API growth in the history of the school.
At the conclusion of the last accreditation observation, the visiting committee
identified three critical academic needs of the students being served by Sonora High
School. These included:
1. Improve academic achievement for EL students.
2. Improve reading, writing, and computational skills for all students enrolled at
Sonora High School.
3. Increase the number of students advancing to the Proficient and Advanced
levels on both the California Standards Tests and on the High School Exit
Exam.
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Based upon these three critical needs, the school community developed three
corresponding goals:
Goal 1: Improve the academic achievement for English Language Learners as measured
by grades, standardized test scores, and language acquisition measures.
Goal 2: Improve reading, writing and computational skills for all students enrolled at
Sonora High School as measured by improvement on standardized examinations,
improvement on grades received in classes, and in terms of writing, by scores received on
district writing exams.
Goal 3: Increase the number of students moving from basic to proficient levels and from
proficient to advanced levels on the CST and the CAHSEE.
The steps taken by the school community to achieve these goals follow.
Goal 1: Improve the academic achievement for English Language Learners as
measured by grades, standardized test scores, and language acquisition measures.
• Teachers were provided effective instructional methodologies for EL students.
Teachers continued training and reviewing the “Classroom Instruction That
Works” strategies. All teachers became SDAIE or CLAD certified.
• Data Director and Aeries Browser Interface (ABI) training provided teachers with
the access to pertinent data so that they were able to adjust and focus instruction
in the appropriate areas to help students succeed on both individual and group
bases.
• EL students are closely monitored both at the time of placement and then
throughout the school year to ensure that they are receiving appropriate
instruction.
• Additional funding from the district was provided that has allowed Learning Lab
classes to be added to the master schedule to provide instructional support for EL
students in the subjects of English and Mathematics. These classes provide
additional opportunities for EL students to acquire English language and
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mathematic skills. The classes also provide the students study skill strategies
needed for academic success.
• All teachers were trained in the Jane Schaffer writing strategies. These strategies
are utilized by teachers in all classes for all students as part of a schoolwide
writing across the curriculum effort.
• Students are able to utilize the credit/no credit grading option when appropriate so
that they may accumulate credits toward graduation.
• Personal support of EL students and their families has been enhanced through the
implementation of Sonora’s Parent Institute training over this entire six year
accreditation period. EL student and parent involvement has increased in ELAC,
DELAC, SSC and the WASC self study process.
• A bilingual counselor has been devoted to EL and recent Redesignated Fluent
English Proficient students to focus on their unique academic needs.
Goal 2: Improve reading, writing and computational skills for all students enrolled
at Sonora High School as measured by improvement on standardized examinations,
improvement on grades received in classes, and in terms of writing, by scores
received on district writing exams.
• Teachers have access to student achievement data and examine the data through
the Data Director system and Aeries Browser Interface (ABI). This system
provides the instructional staff with standardized test data as well as student
reading, writing and computational results to assist them in the planning of
instruction.
• The staff continues to support and model good practice through the campus wide
SSR program. The teachers have embraced effective “bell to bell” instructional
strategies.
• A two-year Algebra Foundations program has been established to assist students
gain mastery of the Algebra content. This program benefits students by
delivering the content at a slower pace, with extended guided practice and a
longer period of time to master the standards.
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• Students were placed in the Algebra Foundations program based upon prior
performance as well as standardized testing results.
• Teachers, counselors, and administrators utilize the TeleParent parental
involvement phone system to send personalized messages in multiple languages to
the families of their students. These messages provide the family information
regarding classroom behavior, academic performance and scheduling of upcoming
examinations or major projects.
• One full-time counselor and one part-time counselor were able to be added to the
staff at that time through AB 1802 funding.
Goal 3: Increase the number of students moving from basic to proficient levels and
from proficient to advanced levels on the CST and CAHSEE.
The following steps have been taken to address this goal:
• Departments aligned curricula and assessments to state standards. Pacing guides
for the various subject areas were created to ensure that all students learned topics
in an appropriate sequence, and were thus prepared for the periodic benchmark
examinations. These examinations were developed initially under district
coordination and guidance for the purposes both of assessment and to aid in the
identification of areas that would need reteaching.
• Individual teachers used Data Director to analyze specific student achievement in
order to determine borderline category students as well as those students whose
performance on the standardized tests does not reflect their school classroom
performance.
• Teachers collaborated to investigate the current research for strategies that have
proven successful in improving student achievement.
• The strategies were applied where appropriate to all students, whether a given
student was determined to be in a borderline category or not.
• Students were tested in comfortable and familiar conditions.
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• The uses and value of state tests were honestly described to students and parents to
encourage students to perform at the best of their ability.
• Collaboration time was provided to staff through banked minutes, staff
development days and SLC funded release time. This allowed teachers time to
both find and share successful strategies for improving student achievement.
• Students that improved their scores on standardized tests were honored by the
school in a manner both appropriate and sensitive to student needs, while
maintaining individual student confidentiality.
In order to continue past progress, during the school year 2008-2009, the staff made
the decision to use the early release days as professional learning days. Twice a month,
the faculty meets in PLCs to discuss academic achievement. A number of strategies were
implemented with the intention of increasing on a broad basis the academic performance
of students schoolwide. The PLCs provided time as well as an atmosphere that
engendered problem solving on a campus-wide basis to examine our essential standards
and develop pacing guides for all subjects. These release times also allowed the
development of common assessments and benchmarks that are given at strategic times
throughout the school year. These meetings proved highly successful, with one result
being that the school now makes use of four minimum days throughout the year to meet
in the PLCs to input the results into Data Director and disaggregate the findings of the
benchmark exams. The teachers then meet again with their PLCs to discuss the results
and develop plans for the best reteaching of standards that were not mastered. Thus, the
data is used to drive classroom instruction in a manner that will directly enhance student
learning and achievement.
The student performance results following the implementation of the strategies
described above are detailed in Chapter One of this report. However, a few comments at
this point would be appropriate. Sonora did not meet its Adequate Yearly Progress
(AYP) in 2005, as its percentage of proficiency for mathematics and English-Language
Arts criteria were not met. However, beginning in 2006, Sonora did meet the AYP
requirements by meeting both proficiency and participation rates in all 18 of 18 AYP
criteria and has continued to meet these standards since.
As can also be seen in the data presented in Chapter 1, the school has increased its
API each year, beginning with 730 in 2004, and growing dramatically to 798 in 2010.
However, the data clearly demonstrates that certain subgroups, such as English Language
Learners, Special Education students, and socioeconomically disadvantaged students, do
not perform at the same level as other subgroups, therefore resulting in an achievement
gap.
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Nevertheless, Sonora did apply for and received its fourth Distinguished School
Award from the State of California in 2007. A copy of that application may be found in
the Appendix, and may be helpful in providing additional insight into the many academic
and co-curricular opportunities at the school, as well as school, district and community
programs.
Finally, a number of additional strategies and programs have been implemented
during the past three years following the mid-term visit. These include, among others,
strategic interventions in both reading and mathematics, as described below.
The Reach Reading program is being used as the curriculum for an intervention
course for ninth graders that are struggling readers. Emphasis is placed on both the
decoding and encoding aspects of reading. Students who scored far below basic or below
basic on the previous year’s CST English Language Arts test are selected for the class.
Additionally, teacher recommendation of other students whose scores may be just slightly
higher has also proven to be a successful method of supporting students who need to
improve their reading skills. The program is available to both identified Special
Education students and General Education students. To measure student progress,
students take both pre- and post-tests in the class. In order to maximize the effectiveness
of the program, these students’ Reach Reading class is blocked with their regular English
class.
For students who have mastered decoding, but score either below or far below basic
in English Language Arts on their CSTs, and/or have below grade level reading scores on
the Nelson reading test. the Scholastic Read 180 program has been implemented to
improve reading comprehension. This course is provided for English Language Learners,
English only, Redesignated and Initially Fluent students with class sizes being held to no
larger than twenty students. Teachers provide systematic reading intervention through the
use of Read 180 software that is individualized to meet student needs, as well as small
group instruction that focuses on comprehension, academic vocabulary, and writing
strategies. Students also participate in silent reading on a daily basis, using the Scholastic
library of high-interest titles, and take quizzes upon completion of each book to assess
progress. Student software progress is also continually monitored to assess student needs
and adjust or differentiate instruction accordingly. The reading comprehension of the
students is assessed five times per year using the Scholastic Reading Inventory (SRI),
which provides a CST equivalent of proficiency. CST and SRI data have demonstrated
significant growth for students in the Read 180 program.
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In mathematics, the school is using the Accelerated Math program in many
intervention and support classes. The program was originally used to provide instruction
and practice in the intervention math learning lab class for 9th
grade students with CST
math scores of far below basic and below basic. These students are concurrently enrolled
in a traditional math class and the learning lab. The math faculty has developed a 152
objective library that students are expected to complete which consists of basic math
facts, such as fractions, decimals, and integers. Secondly, this year Accelerated Math is
also used in general math and special education classes for guided practice as well as the
reteaching of concepts that have not yet been mastered. Thirdly, Accelerated Math is
used as a curriculum for the Introduction to Algebra Skills class for students that have
failed the first semester of Foundations Algebra I. This class was designed for students
who have failed the first semester of Algebra I Foundations and need to focus on the
mastery of pre-algebraic concepts.
For incoming freshman that were middle school non-graduates, Sonora offers the
SNAP (Students Needing Academic Preparation) summer school course. For the math
component of the program, Accelerated Math is used to help students master the skills
necessary to transition to the comprehensive high school. For the English component,
Read 180 is used to help students improve their reading skills.
In an attempt to identify and serve students who might have difficulty with the
CAHSEE, we have begun administering a Mock CAHSEE to all freshmen. We began
using this mock exam three years ago. Students take the exam in the same testing setting
as they will as sophomores in order to approximate the actual testing environment.
Students who do not perform successfully may be involved in one or both of two
additional programs: the CAHSEE Boot Camp, and/or participation in a CAHSEE
intervention class. The Boot Camp is a strategic and intensive test preparation pull-out
four class course that students attend to increase the likelihood of passing the actual test.
The CAHSEE intervention class is a semester-long class taught either during the summer
or during the regular school day, replacing one of the student’s elective classes.
Special strategies designed to improve the education of EL students include
differentiated instruction provided by instructors who have had training beyond the state
requirement. Scheduling-wise, these students are, whenever possible, placed in classes
that are sixty per cent English only, Redesignated Fluent English Proficient, or Initially
Fluent English Proficient and forty per cent EL students. The EL students also have full
access to the READ 180 program, and, just this year, to the learning of English through
Rosetta Stone. EL teachers are provided with additional release time, and there is a
continual, on-going reevaluation of students to ascertain that they are always in the
optimal EL placement that best meets their academic needs.