A change will do Morgan Hill elementary schools some good. So
much good, the school district hopes, that its four elementary
schools facing reprimand because their test scores failed to meet
state standards will slide out of
”
Program Improvement.
”
A change will do Morgan Hill elementary schools some good. So much good, the school district hopes, that its four elementary schools facing reprimand because their test scores failed to meet state standards will slide out of “Program Improvement.”
The scarlet letters of P and I denote that a school that receives state or federal funding must make certain changes, which are often drastic but depend on how many years a school is in P.I.
The plans for the four P.I. schools – El Toro, Jackson, P.A. Walsh and San Martin/Gwinn – vary and have relied on input from teachers, staff, each principal and the school district for guidance with innovative approaches or operational changes, such as new busing schedules.
Writing the plan is not punishment for P.I. schools. All principals must submit their school’s site plan this month so that they may be reviewed and approved by the school board at the June 8 meeting.
There is more to this unhappy story. The next school year will unfold into a challenge for each school community: Who can overcome and rise up out of P.I. status in the next round of state tests? As class sizes increase in the fall to 24 students to one teacher in kindergarten through third grade and the largest class of retirees leave MHUSD – the remaining educators, and their students, will either rise or fall with P.I.
P.A. WALSH – Year 3
The final school bell rings in a week, but staff at P.A. Walsh are planning for the return of their children on campus.
P.A. Walsh – even after absorbing nearly 400 students from Burnett in 2009 – met its Adequate Yearly Progress benchmark in 2009 but will remain in year three of P.I.
“I contribute it to we know our students at a deeper level,” Principal Natalie Gioco said. “We’re ready to take aggressive steps for the school.”
Schools move out of P.I. if every subgroup tests proficient in both English and math on the state’s standardized tests or if a significant number have improved – the percentage is roughly 10 percent per subgroup, although the exact figure has not been published. The subgroups at MHUSD are: students with disabilities, socioeconomically disadvantaged and English language learners. A subgroup is formed if at least 10 percent or more than 100 students comprise a subgroup.
At Walsh, they will build on their success from this year. The at-risk population will receive five additional days of instruction in early August to focus on basic skills before the school year begins and for teachers to get to know those children better.
Following in the footsteps of the successful Los Penasquitos School in San Diego, Walsh will launch a university program to increase college awareness and understand the “big picture” of why education is essential. Increasing attendance will be a piece of the lesson also. Students must attend school 97 percent of the time to remain in the university reading intervention program – an instructional tool that Gioco believes will truly invigorate the children.
Other changes the Walsh community will see next year: All-day kindergarten, more analysis of student data and frequent assessments, an emphasis on nonfiction writing, and curriculum that will focus on reading intervention for below grade-level students in fourth through sixth grade.
EL TORO – Year 2
In a tour of El Toro, the complete vision is better realized – the classrooms are structured and decorated specifically to cultivate learning. Principal Patrick Buchser explained that the tours he captains gives parents the full picture.
“We talk and share the work we are doing with facilities, curriculum, the budget report … what we are doing and how that connects to student achievement,” Buchser said.
El Toro aims to move out of P.I. with increased professional development, updating the after-school program and examining benchmark assessments at three times during the year. Also, by teaching the relevancy of learning to real life experiences and discovering what rigor means to students and adults will better guide instruction at El Toro. Teachers will find support during weekly grade-level meetings and more frequent collaboration days.
Students will be grouped based on abilities and teachers will be “intentional and deliberate with instruction.” El Toro even sets a real figure for achievement: They anticipate an increase in proficiency on its state tests in reading and math by 10 percent for all subgroups.
Also, new to El Toro are teachers observing other teachers’ classrooms to glean best practices from within the school.
“We’re developing a higher level of trust. Teacher-teacher observations. We will be studying ourselves more and more honestly,” Buchser said.
SAN MARTIN/GWINN – Year 1
She drank coffee with parents in the mornings before school. She surveyed teachers and staff about the needs of San Martin/Gwinn. She polled the Hispanic community at meetings. She even offered bagels to the children to talk about their perspective.
“That’s what drove the building of our plan,” Principal Barbara Neal said Tuesday.
At San Martin/Gwinn, students who need extra help will stay at school an extra hour three days a week for targeted teaching to their specific needs. Neal said one class and one teacher will be open for each grade – an idea well received by the Hispanic community.
“They said ‘we want a longer school day,'” she said. The new dismissal time of 4:15 p.m. three days a week does cause some logistical issues with busing, however, Neal said parents are creating carpool schedules to accommodate the extra help and longer day.
The district is looking into the issue that has been a headache for many schools that want to extend the day with after-school programs, but children are left without a ride home due to conflicting schedules. Small-group instruction frame the additional hour at San Martin/Gwinn with an emphasis on English language development and math reading.
Like El Toro, teachers will observe one anothers’ classrooms and work in teams to gather the best practices from within the school or “internal expertise” as Neal explained.
Also new to San Martin/Gwinn, students in first through sixth grade will focus on English language arts for the first 2.5 hours of each school day, “when students are most alert,” Neal said.
All principals emphasized that while the focus is on bringing low-achieving students up to grade level and meeting the standards to move out of P.I., each have plans and strategies to encourage all students reach their potential.
