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Garfield High School Next Steps

Based on research from Cotton (1996), Canady, and Buffum, Mattos, and Webber (2009)

Garfield has identified three areas of reform that it will focus on next school year.

First Garfield will move to a small schools/ SLC model based on Cotton’s (1996) research that

found “that small schools produce equal or superior achievement for students in general, the

effects of small schools on the achievement of ethnic minority students and students of low

socioeconomic status are the most positive of all (Berlin and Cienkus 1989; Eberts, Kehoe, and

Stone 1982; Fowler 1995; Friedkin and Necochea 1988; Howley 1994, 1995; Huang and Howley

1993; Jewell 1989; Miller, Ellsworth, and Howell 1986; Rutter 1988; Stockard and Mayberry

1992). To put this a little differently, these researchers have found that large schools have a

more negative impact on minority and low-SES students than on students in general. Garfield’s

leadership has evaluated the research and believes that a smaller student centered school

environment will benefit students. This configuration will provide a more personalized learning

environment for all students. This will translate to greater student achievement.

Small schools enrollment process will follow local district 5 enrollment procedures for the

Eastside Zone of Choice. This zone includes the 5 small school/ small learning communities at

Garfield HS and the 5 Pilot schools at Torres HS. Enrollment at these schools will be comprised

of all of the current students in the Garfield High School attendance area plus about 400

students from the Roosevelt High School attendance area. The Zone of Choice was established

to offer parents and students greater choice regarding their educational opportunities.

Students with their parents will be allowed to choose their schools of attendance within the 10

schools between Garfield HS and Torres HS. Full comprehensive academic programs will be

offered in each academy, including A-G coursework, EL support, Intervention courses, AP

courses, Special Education services and theme specific electives.

Second, Based on Canady’s (1995) research, Garfield will shift to a 4X4 block with an alternating

2x8 schedule for elective/physical education classes. Below is a sample of what each small

school’s 4 year plan will look like. Each school has the flexibility to select elective courses that

they feel will add to their academic program.

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Canady’s (1995) research states that such a schedule will, “Reduce the number of class changes

and movements that large groups of students are required to complete during any one school

day; reduce the duplication and inefficiency reportedly documented in many high schools using

the daily, single-period high school schedule; reduce the number of students for and with

whom teachers must prepare and interact each day and/or each term; reduce the number of

courses for which teachers must prepare each day and/ or term; reduce the number of classes,

and the accompanying assignments, tests, and projects that students must address during any

one day or term; reduce the fragmentation inherent in single-period schedules, a complaint

that is especially pertinent to classes requiring extensive practice and laboratory work; provide

teachers with blocks of teaching time that allow and encourage the use of active teaching

strategies and greater student involvement; and allows students variable amounts of time for

learning, without lowering standards, and without punishing those who need more or less time

to learn”.

Lastly, Garfield will be using intervention strategies based on Buffum, Mattos, and Webber’s

book Pyramid Response to Intervention (2008). Garfield will use a multi-tiered Response to

Intervention and Instruction framework. The Los Angeles Unified school District has also

adopted this framework as stated in bulletin 4827.1 Multi-Tiered Framework for Instruction,

Intervention, and Support, (2009).

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Garfield’s Theory of Instruction

Pursuant to LAUSD Bulletin 4827.1, the goal of LAUSD is that every student, pre-school through

adult, will receive quality, standards-based instruction in all content areas to enable all students

to graduate College Prepared and Career Ready. Garfield has adopted RtI² as the Instructional

theory to drive the curricular program in all core subjects.

Overview of RtI² Framework

Response to Instruction and Intervention (RtI²) is a systemic multi-tiered framework that guides

the development of a well-integrated and seamless system of instruction (e.g. literacy,

numeracy, language development, and positive behavior support across content areas), and

intervention that is matched to student need and directed by student outcome data from

multiple measures. RtI² embraces evidence-based instruction and the District’s Discipline

Foundation Policy. It provides the structure within which all efforts of LAUSD fit to ensure that

instruction, academic, and behavioral/social emotional needs of all students are the highest

priority, including English Learners (ELs), Standard English Learners (SELs), Students with

Disabilities (SWDs), and Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) students.

The RtI² framework establishes a process for providing increasing levels of instructional time

and intensity whereby the needs of all learners are identified, supported early, and effectively,

and high performing students have access to acceleration in learning. The RtI² framework is

based on the provision of good, quality, first instruction and the use of data to identify students

for appropriate acceleration and interventions. RtI² implementation is everyone’s responsibility

and advances academic achievement through frequent progress monitoring, on- going data

collection and analysis as well as the provision of immediate, evidence-based intervention for

students who need it.

The RtI² model embraces the importance of involving families and the community in

collaborative partnerships in culturally relevant ways. Effective partnerships include students,

parents, families, community members and educators. A culturally relevant school

environment fosters parent involvement, improves student outcomes, and is conducive to

accelerated learning. Buffman, Mattos, Webber’s (2009) research affirms that all students,

including ELs, SELs, SWDs, and GATE students benefit from the integration of key access

methodologies such as cooperative and communal learning, instructional conversations, the

use of advanced graphic organizers, and targeted academic language development. These

methodologies are used across the three tiers.

RtI² Tier 1 – Instructional support provided in regular classes

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Instructional strategies that provide access to the Core curriculum the majority of students who

matriculate to Garfield High School need support in the areas of reading, writing, and

mathematics. Eighty percent (80%) arrive with below grade level literacy skills; 95% with below

grade level numeracy skills; and 81% have a home language other than English. For this reason,

it is of the utmost importance that all lessons be designed and delivered using strategies that

have been shown to be effective with these students and to accelerate their learning. The

following strategies fall into the following four categories. In collaboration with Pedagogical

Partners (including educational, community-based, and industrial/business partners) Garfield

High School will;

Target five research-based instructional strategies (e.g., SDAIE, Project-based

Learning, Thinking Maps) to be enacted school-wide.

Coordinate “Accountable Talk” between all teachers and students

Implement a school wide campaign on academic vocabulary (e.g., word walls, T-

shirts, word of the day).

Our PD schedule will incorporate interdisciplinary lessons design between small

school teachers.

Emphasize ELA proficiency in pedagogy; infuse more practice in oral and written

language, ELD/SDAIE techniques and culturally relevant materials.

Implement project-based learning, portfolios, and authentic assessment that

incorporate learning strategies for scaffolding, differentiation, and culturally

relevant pedagogy.

Listed below is the process that will be followed to implement the above components:

Professional development

Combine minimum day minutes and utilize the time for consistent and focused professional development every Tuesday.

Organize teacher collaboration on a hybrid that combines Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) with small school teaming through a process developed by Spring Board Schools (2005) “Cycles of Inquiry”.

Use Pearson Learning Team protocols and seven step cycle lesson design process.

Focus administrative monitoring and support to ensure teachers actively collaborate in instructional planning and processes.

1. Longer class periods in Core classes, a new schedule will be employed starting at the

beginning of the 2010-11 school year. This schedule—fully described in Appendix 4c:

Curricular Map—provides for longer meeting times for Core classes. It also increases the

percentage of time that students spend in Core classes. (In fact, each student will spend

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25% of his time in English class during his entire academic career). The schedule thus

provides for students to spend more time developing essential academic skills.

Each Small School will develop policies and techniques tailored to the needs of their students

and consistent with the School’s theme and philosophy. Students and parents will participate in

this design. For more specifics, see Appendix 4s: Small Learning Communities and Schools.

RtI² Tier 2 – Specifically designed courses for differentiated instruction and related supports

1. Math sequence for 9th and 10th graders – Ninety-five percent (95%) of 9th graders

enter Garfield High School with below grade level mathematical skills; the failure rate in

Algebra 1 and Geometry is very high (59% of the class of 2013 is currently receiving a

Fail or D in math). For these reasons, Garfield High School has designed a special math

sequence for 9th and 10th graders. Students with low math skills are provided with the

opportunity to improve their basic skills before taking Algebra 1. However, with the new

“intervention friendly” schedule that the Garfield High School’s SLCs are adopting, this

support can be given to students without depriving them of the opportunity to

complete all their A through G requirements within their four-year high school career.

The math sequences are described in Appendix 4c; The Curricular Map.

2. English sequence for 9th and 10th graders – Eighty percent (80%) of 9th graders enter

Garfield High School with below grade level scoring FBB, BB, or BB in literacy skills; and

the failure rate in 9th and 10th grade English is high, 32% of the class of 2013 receiving a

Fail or D in English/Language Arts. For these reasons, Garfield High School has designed

a special English sequence for 9th and 10th graders. This sequence allows at risk

students to take English classes designed to meet their learning needs. However, with

the new “interventional friendly” schedule that the Garfield’s SLCs are adopting, this

support can be given to students without depriving them of the opportunity to

complete all their A through G requirements within their four-year high school career.

The English sequences are described in Appendix 4c; The Curricular Map. The English

sequence that will be used is based on innovative courses are System 44, Read 180,

English 1 Intensive, and English 2 Intensive. These program were developed by

Scholastic, Inc. Garfield is currently working with Scholastic, Inc. to pilot these promising

new courses. English as a Second Language (ESL) courses. Students for whom English is a

Second Language and whose skill level in English is such that they are not prepared for

general English courses are provided with district approved and “ESL” classes. These

classes will be taught using the High Point program. Students who receive Special

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Education Services Students with disabilities who require additional support in the

general education classes will be closely monitored by their SEASAC Carriers and

assigned paraprofessionals to ensure they are gaining access to grade level curriculum.

Honors and Advanced Placement courses High performing students will be placed in

Honors and Advanced Placement courses. The new schedule allows for an enhanced

variety of such offerings.

3. Advisory Periods and SLC specific interventions – The new schedule also provides for an

advisory period. (It will meet once a week during years 1 and 2; and twice a week

thereafter.) SLCs will use this period to provide academic and personal assistance to

their students.

4. Student Success Teams (SSTs) and Coordination of Services Team (COST) – Each SLC will

form student success teams (SSTs) to help students who do not respond to the methods

detailed above. The SST will review concerns about individual student and then plans to

collectively meet the needs of those concerns in the general education classroom. Based

on the student’s educational needs, a well developed plan (Summary Form) will be

implemented and monitored to determine if more modifications are needed for their

academic program. Students who need even more assistance will be referred to the

school’s COST team. COST coordinates the delivery of support services.

RtI² Tier 3 – Extraordinary instructional supports

1. Reading class for students in need of basic reading skills The school will offer a course

for students needing to develop phonemic awareness. Such students are reading at the

1st or 2nd grade levels. The school will utilize Scholastic’s System 44 course for this

purpose.

2. Math numeracy class for students in need of basic mathematics skills The school will

offer a course for students with below 4th grade math skills.

3. Learning Center – The school’s Learning Center will provide assistance to students on a

pullout basis or in regularly scheduled classes.

Both resource specialist and general education students who have not

responded to Tier One and Two interventions will be considered for the Learning

Center.

The Resource Specialist Teachers (RSP) will work with the collaborating teachers

to determine the students who require additional intensive intervention.

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Both teachers will continue to monitor students’ progress on a bi-weekly using

Curriculum-Based Measurement and other appropriate assessments.

Based on the data from the on-going assessments, targeted instruction will be

individualized for each student to be successful in obtaining grade level skills.

The RSP and general education teachers will continue to collaborate and monitor

both general and RSP students who are in the Learning Center to determine if

other support is needed.

Student performance is monitored closely to evaluate progress and the effectiveness of all

instruction and intervention. Intensity, frequency, duration of support, and student-teacher

ratio changes as the students move through the tiers, as does the frequency of progress

monitoring. This multi-tiered framework is a continuum of instruction and intervention where

an individual student may simultaneously receive differentiated instruction in varying intensity

in Tiers 1, 2, and 3 in order to match learning supports to both academic and behavioral/social-

emotional needs. Students will also be able to move fluidly between the levels based on

academic progress and will also be able to acquire the interventions needed prior to taking the

required grade level curriculum, all within the same calendar year.

ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS

Our English Language Learners (ELLs) will take part in an Accelerated Academic Language

Acquisition Program geared to re-designate students and prepare them to meet the A-G

Requirements. The program will be based on a system where our students will be integrated

into heterogeneous small schools. A Course of Study Program (CSP) and an Individualized

Learning Plan (ILP) will be created for each of our ELLs that will be tailored to meet their specific

language acquisition needs. All ELLs will have access to all courses including Advanced

Placement, Honors, and other higher level courses with appropriate supports and scaffolds.

English Language Proficiency Levels will not determine placement in specific schools or specific

courses in order to prevent tracking in any manner. All small schools will employ highly

qualified CLAD-certified instructors across all subject areas which will ensure that all students

will receive proper support. Instructors and staff will participate in professional development

sessions that will focus on theories of second-language acquisition, such as those by Stephen

Krashen and James Cummins, and SDAIE strategies. Articulation between Garfield High School

and our feeder schools will take place to share best practices, data, and resources in order to

provide early intervention and help ELLs re-designate at a faster rate.

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Students in ESL 1AB, 2AB, and 3/4 courses will participate in specific Course of Study Programs

(CSP) that will be delineated in their Individual Learning Plans (ILP). The CSPs will be

implemented in the following manner: students who are enrolled in ESL 1AB will be placed in a

3-year Course of Study Program (CSP) that will redesignate them within three years; students

who are enrolled in ESL 2AB will be placed in a 2-year Course of Study Program (CSP) that will

redesignate them within two years; and students who are enrolled in ESL 3/4 will be placed in a

1-year Course of Study Program (CSP) that will redesignate them within one year. The

curriculum pacing plan for lower-level ESL students will require greater acceleration, intensity

and depth. A specially-designed foundation-level course, which will be taught in an accelerated

mode, will be added to the curriculum that will teach academic language to new comers. The

foundation-level course will be a locally-designed intensive course modeled on the Language

Arts in the Primary Language (LAPL) Course currently used in the district. ELLs who have not

reclassified but are not in ESL-level courses will be placed in a 2-year Course of Study Program

(CSP) that will re-designate them within two years. The yearly goals in the CSPs will be amended

based on student’s needs.

In order to ensure that our ELLs have access to standards-based curricula and to ensure that

they advance at least one ELD level per year and in their course work, we will monitor students

on a bi-weekly basis to determine if immediate intervention is needed. The bi-weekly

monitoring will be implemented through the use of a formal checklist and the English Learner

Monitoring Roster that is currently used by the English Learner Program in the local and central

districts. The monitoring will also include formal dialogues between the English Learner

Program Coordinator, the students, the students’ instructors, the students’ counselors, the

school psychologist, the attendance counselor, the social worker, the Parent Resource Liaison,

the students’ parents, and the English Learner Program Coordinator’s supervisor. Although

Intervention will primarily take place during the school day using the RTI² Model, Intervention

will also be determined by the Language Appraisal Team (LAT), which will consist of the

Principal, the English Learner Program Coordinator, the English Learner Program Office

Technician, the student’s counselor, the student’s teacher, and the school psychologist. As

Echevarria & Graves (2003) and Snow (1992) point out, the LAT understands that second

language acquisition “is a very complex process” and that “many factors can influence the

acquisition of English.” We understand that these factors may include motivation, age, access

to the language, personality, first-language development, quality of instruction, and cognitive

ability. As a result, the LAT will consider all of these factors when determining the interventions

that will be implemented for each student that participates in an LAT Meeting. Intervention

will also extend beyond the regular school day. We will offer Saturday School for CAHSEE

Preparation, Credit Recovery, and Credit Advancement.

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Parent participation will also be a key component of our small schools and efforts to increase

our re-designation rate. Our students’ parents will participate in daily, weekly and monthly

workshops, trainings, and meetings in our Parent Center. The parent topics will include, but

will not be limited to, Healthy Living, Mental Health, Parenting, Support Groups, Parent ESL

Classes, Academics, A-G Requirements, and Re-designation.

ACADEMIC ENGAGED TIME

Academic Engaged Time (AET) is the number of minutes each day during which students receive

quality instruction and demonstrate behaviors that provide evidence of student engagement in

that instruction. Effective use of instructional time, specifically, academic engaged time, is a

strong predictor of student achievement at all levels. At present, we are in the early stages of

crafting professional development sessions to support these strategies and make them an

integral part of our daily professional practice. During the summer, each academy will provide

intensive training to its teachers on providing rigorous, appropriately paced, standards-based

instruction in block periods. Our current efforts to increase collaborative instructional

leadership among all of the small academies on our campus will ensure that teachers and

support staff have structured time for strategic planning on how best to use each instructional

minute most efficiently and effectively. Each academy will be charged with guiding their unique

group of teachers and support staff through this growth and implementation process. The

philosophy shared by all academies on campus will be to provide data-driven, focused,

instructional time, minimized “transition time” during class, and maximized student

engagement.

Effective pedagogy and high quality teacher-student interaction are key elements in the tasks

detailed above. We are partnering with a consortium of support providers from UCLA who

have worked with us the previous school year and are very familiar with the student population

we serve. Members of this same group operated in the capacity of our SAIT support providers

and as a result, are keenly aware of the ongoing areas of instructional enhancements needed

throughout our member academies. The instructional philosophies that we share with them

include building a master program for all academies that provides a foundation for RTI. The

fundamental shift that is occurring is moving towards addressing the needs of all students on a

personalized level, and providing opportunities to meet those personalized needs during the

school day. This instructional philosophy and the commitment to implement it faithfully, is

shared by all member academies at Garfield High School.

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All member academies are committed to the effective use of access methodologies to enhance

student achievement. Our data reflection has shown a clear need to scaffold lessons, access

prior knowledge and provide clear expectations to students, all while maintaining high

academic standards for student work and achievement. Academic engagement is supported by

all of the above and in addition, there must be a strong component of teaching and reinforcing

appropriate student behavior. Effective classroom management that provides a climate of

mutual respect, trust and high academic expectations is crucial to supporting an environment

that promotes academic engagement.

As stated earlier, scheduling is one of the most critical aspects of providing effective

intervention. Effective scheduling is crucial also as it sets up a foundation for academic

engagement time. Poorly schemed master schedules are often a cause that leads to less

effective academic engagement. To address this, specific time for intervention will be built into

each academy’s master schedule. This will be done to ensure that time is available to provide

each student with appropriately differentiated instructional services. Effective scheduling is

evidenced by consistent opportunities for increased time and intensity of instruction for Tier 2

and Tier 3 services to take place. As a result of these data-researched, specific sets of student

needs, all Garfield High School academies will utilize the 4x4 block schedule to offer a full

complement of intervention, (or enrichment) opportunities conducted entirely during the

school day and within the school year.

All academies at Garfield High School will use a broad range of metrics to monitor and evaluate

student progress. These will include CST, CELDT, Accelerated Reader, LAUSD periodic

assessments and locally generated assessments from each academy. Student behavioral

measures such as suspensions, chronic tardies, office referrals etc. will all be carefully

monitored as well to give a complete profile of each student’s unique needs. A comprehensive

assessment of each student is needed to ensure that all resources are provided to allow that

student a maximum opportunity for full academic engagement. All academies on campus are

committed to that philosophy. To assist in its implementation, we are currently creating a

structure and a series of protocols to assess each student at the beginning of each academic

year in order to identify the specifics needs that student may have. We will then be better

equipped to provide programming for that student that will address a range of needs from

additional support for remediation to additional resources for acceleration and enrichment.

Instruction will be personalized and tailored to the unique needs of each student based on

levels of performance and rates of progress. Over time, as each teacher becomes more adept

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in the practices of RTI, prompt, curriculum-based assessments will be used to measure growth,

monitor progress and inform any pertinent changes in instruction.

DATA-BASED DECISION-MAKING

Another essential component of the multi-tiered framework to instruction and intervention is

that instruction and/or behavior decisions for instruction and interventions are based on

multiple assessment measures. Early identification of student needs can prevent learning gaps,

provide additional time for instruction/intervention, and promote student potential. Data are

first collected early in the year and utilized to inform teacher and support staff decisions at

each tier of the pyramid. Fluent and ongoing use of data allows the teacher and support staff to

determine if the student should remain with current program supports, modify current

supports within a tier, lessen supports by moving to a lower tier or intensify supports by moving

up a tier.

The effective use of formative assessments is crucial to help educators determine the

appropriate intervention for students. Progress monitoring assessments can be administered

frequently and are sensitive to small increments of growth over time. These assessment results

provide guidance in making decisions that promote student achievement. The fundamental

purpose of RtI² is to improve the educational outcomes for each student in all content areas,

PreK-12. Students require and should have equal access to the highest level of instructional

expertise and pedagogy in all tiers.

For this to occur, ongoing professional development is essential to ensure that teachers are

prepared and supported to meet the needs of all students, through assessment, instruction,

and intervention within the RtI² framework. Teachers are encouraged to take on leadership

roles and professional development for teachers and staff should be appropriately

differentiated in order to access the talents and strengths found within the professional

learning community. It is imperative that professional development, support, and resources

are available to every level of the organization, Central, Local District, and School-Based

personnel.

Garfield plans to use the RtI² theory of learning in all of our small schools. RTI2 theory will work

well with the type 4X4 schedule that we are using next year because it allows us to offer most

of our instructional support in the regular classroom (Tier 1). This avoids having pull out or non

A-G level courses. We have analyzed the data of our students and determined that many of our

students are in need of higher levels of intervention than our current schedule allowed, but will

be addressed within Tier 1 strategies next school year. This means that students will be able to

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spend more time in core classes and less time in pull out classes (Tier 3). Below is a layout of

how we plan to use the RtI² theory of learning to tailor each of our students’ educational needs.

Summary and Conclusion

Garfield is going to look very different next year. We are going to be on a traditional school

calendar and have an increased number of students on campus with many new classrooms due

to the demolition of the 400 Building. We are going to transform these new classrooms and

our building that were designed for a large comprehensive high school into 5 small schools/

Small learning communities and a small magnet school. We are adopting a new bell schedule

and theory of learning that is going to personalize the learning environment and allow students

time to gather the basic skills they need before entering into A-G level courses in the same

school year. Each child will be given A-G courses as set by the districts A-G plan for Graduation.

The difference is that they will have the skills to be proficient in the course once they are in it.

This allows populations of students who have been excluded from the A-G courses and

curriculum before, the chance to receive the intervention they need and be prepared for to

succeed in A-G coursework in the same academic year.

Students will have several choices to make that will determine which path they will follow

during their high school carrier. In the 8th grade Local District 5 will have each student choose

one of the small school/SLC’s within the East Side Zone of choice. The Local district 5 office will

hold several fairs for the small schools to present what they have to offer students, such as

activities, courses and vision. This starts the connection process between small school and

students that will foster personalization. All students will graduate ready to attend the

university system.

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ACTION PLAN Time line

Focused on instructional implementation

Task

Team

Member on

point

Support Deadline

PHASE 1 Now-start of April

Set up core implementation team (IT) add students, parents, and

community members. Set up an on-going meeting schedule, a team

lead etc.

Rubalcaba Huerta, Angelo, Lee April

Set up principal hiring process (new schools work with SMS)

--Julie bring together subcommittee on Tuesday

-ensure job description is accurate, work with LD/charter org to

get posted

-have district/charter org screen for qualified candidates

-develop interview questions, interview process and interview

committee including parents, students, LD/charer org. staff

-develop rubric or scoring guide

-conduct 1st round interviews

Huerta Angelo Hired by district early April

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-call applicants with status

-conduct 2nd round interviews—have them teach lesson?

Etc.

Address concerns of Superintendent (Pilots also address Pilot

Review concerns)

Bommarito,

Huerta

Lee, Angelo March 18

Identify curriculum changes. Create implementation plan to roll

out: materials, professional development for teachers,

Vilaubi UCLA SMP April

Plan community and family outreach—develop an action plan with

designated subcommittee to keep that work going.

Rubalcaba Huerta, Lee April

Align your budget and staffing plans (new schools work with SMS)

Montes,

Bommarito

Angelo April

Identify your assessment plan that aligns with your curriculum.

Create an implementation plan and start to enact it.

Vilaubi UCLA SMP April

PHASE 2 April- June

Engage in professional development around curriculum. Also use

time to see best practices in action—visit other sites etc.

--Establish subject specific sub committees to plan and conduct PD

--Review and approve PD plans

--Start conducting PD as possible with bulk happening in summer

Vilaubi, Huerta UCLA SMP

Department Chairs

April

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--Take sub groups out to see different best practice sites

--Create an on-going PD plan for summer and start of school year

Work with local district, SMS and others to identify enrollment

procedures. Put enrollment into action.

Bommarito

Huerta

Lee, Angelo Early April

Identify an intervention plan that aligns with curriculum, needs of

incoming students etc.

Vilaubi, Alvarez UCLA SMP

Scholastic

April

PHASE 3 June-August

Hold professional development opportunities throughout summer

to prepare for the school year.

Vilaubi UCLA SMP, LDS

instructional team

April

Master schedule development in line with curriculum, intervention

needs

Bommarito Huerta, Angelo,

Cordona

April

Identify your students and collect IEPs, cums etc.

Ruiz IEP team July

Start your special education planning (organize IEPs, classes,

schedules etc)

Ruiz IEP team July

Hold professional development to prepare for start of school year.

Vilaubi UCLA SMP July

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Do final checks, walk throughs, ensure all operations issues are

resolved, have a back up plan for “walk ons” during the first week of

school etc etc.

Huerta Angelo August

PHASE 4 September-November

Establish your instructional leadership teams, your school site

councils etc.

Montes, Huerta Angelo

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Appendix 4c to the Garfield High School

PSC Proposal

Curricular Map

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Garfield High Schools Intervention Based Schedule Garfield High School is adopting a new intervention friendly master schedule at the start of the 2010-20011 school year. Each student will have 17 rather than 12 courses every school year.

The new Schedule will allow Garfield to provide the many students who enter the 9th grade with below grade level academics skills the support classes they need during the regular school day. Students will thus be able to build their skills before starting classes with high failure rates. (e.g. Algebra 1 and English 9.) Garfield students will be able to take these additional classes without forfeiting the opportunity to take A-G requirements during their 4 years of high school. High performing students will have additional opportunities for enrichment in the core content areas.

Garfield High School bell schedule and circular matrix will allow teachers to have a personal connection with more students. The bell schedule has the students enrolled in five classes for twenty weeks. Three core classes will be on a quarter system and other classes will be on a semester system. Core teachers (English, Math, Science, and Social Science) would have the same schedule as a typical 4x4 schedule. They would teach three classes of approximately 90 minutes in length. Core teachers would have four final grading periods per year. Other teachers would teach seven classes, three or four classes every other day. Other teachers would have two final grades per year. They would meet with their students every other day. Students would have five total classes but would attend 4 a day. Students would attend their three core classes every day and attend their other classes every other day.

Garfield teachers have taken a bold step to address students’ academic needs. Garfield has created a plan that provides the personalization that we have wanted for our students for

years. Our course matrix provides the following benefits:

Teachers’ student load will be reduced from 130 students to 80 students per day. English and Math teachers will be only 60 students per day.

Teachers only have 3 classes

Differentiated instruction with the right teacher.

Less stressful for students with only 5 classes

Matches 90 minutes required for reading classes

Gives the opportunity for more electives for advanced students

Academic flexibility for both at-risk students and advanced learners (AP/Dual Enrollment) or on camp college courses

Flexibility of other options offered – upper level courses

Staff development during the school day

Number of textbooks students are carrying around – would decrease greatly with a 4 period day schedule.

Additional opportunities for credit.

Provides teachers with 90 minutes of planning time each day.

Provides for remediation forgiveness without summer school.

Students will be able to get the support they need before they take A-G courses

Provides more opportunities for externships, and Academy programs.

Provides longer lab time for courses.

Provides more time for curricular activities such as reading projects and extended research time.

Allows students to take fewer courses at one time – which is similar to the course load they can expect in college.

Research shows remedial students and Honor students have increased test scores. We expect to see the following results from the increased personalization of our course matrix:

An increase of students on the A and B honor roll. A decrease in the number of F's. A decrease in the number of both in school and out of school suspensions. Students can handle more homework and class work because they have fewer classes. Teachers can assign more writing assignments because of increased conference time and reduction in student load. Student load will be reduced from 130 students to 80 students per day. English and Math will be 60 students per day. Students' Grades will go up. Teachers will get to know your students better. Teachers can call a much higher percentage of parents because of the fewer students and longer times to make those contacts. Teachers can cover each topic in more depth. Truancy will decrease.

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Curricular Matrix for Counselors

Counselors will continue to work on providing personalization the students need to be able to connect with their Small Learning Communities. Counselors are moving to a whole child approach. Counselors will become their students’ parent while they are at school. Counselors are going to be an integral part of monitoring there students daily progress. If students are late to school they will be counseled and receive discipline through their SLC counselor. To make the largest impact Counselors are going to be having group counseling sessions with their students to address problems that arise. With this new role counselors will be attending all their children’s meetings. Parent communication will be another aspect the counselors will address. Counselors will organize parent meetings for students who have demonstrated academic problems or excellence.

Domain CSCA Goals ASCA national Standards National Career Development Guidelines (Competencies)

CT common Core (skills/Competencies)

Academic Skills for Learning Standard 1: Students will acquire the attitudes, knowledge and skills that contribute to effective learning in school and across the life span.

Competency 4: Awareness of the benefits of educational achievement

• Students will explore the information and arguments from various points of view to think critically and creatively and to solve problems.

School Success Standard 2: Students will complete school with the academic preparation essential to choose from a wide range of substantial postsecondary options, including college.

Competency 6: Skills to understand and use career information

• Students will learn how to apply the academic, critical, practical, technical and employability skills needed for success in higher education and the work place and to manage their lives.

Academics to Life Success

Standard 3: Students will understand the relationship of academics to the world of work and to life at home and in the community.

Competency 7: Awareness of the importance of personal responsibility and good work habits

• Students will actively explore the world of ideas. • Students will demonstrate the effort and persistence needed to be successful in school, work and life.

Career Investigate Careers

Standard 4: Students will acquire the skills to investigate the world of work in relation to knowledge of self and to make informed career decisions.

Competency 8: Awareness of how work relates to the needs and functions of society

• Students will embrace career as a part of their future; acquire employable skills; demonstrate positive attitudes toward work; demonstrate attitudes and habits that are valued in the workplace; explore a range of careers; acquire knowledge of one of CT eight career dusters, explore postsecondary educational opportunities; manage data and use problem-solving and analytical skills to make reasoned decisions.

Career Success Standard 5: Students will employ strategies to achieve future career success and satisfaction.

Competency 9: Understanding of how to make decisions Competency 10: Awareness of the interrelationship of life roles

Relationship between school and work

Standard 6: Students will understand the relationship between personal qualities, education and training and the world of work.

Competency 11: Awareness of different occupations and changing male female roles

Personal/ Social

Respect for self and others

Standard 7: Students will acquire the attitudes, knowledge and interpersonal skills to help them understand and respect self and others.

Competency 12: Awareness of the career planning process

• Students will work and learn independently and collaboratively as part of a team. • Students will gain knowledge and understanding of other cultures. • Students will demonstrate a sense of ethics and take responsibilities for their actions. • Students will be active, constructive members of the larger community. • Students will develop and maintain behaviors that promote lifelong health. • Students will understand the implications of living in a finite world. • Students will understand the role of systems throughout our society. • Students will understand the dynamic nature of society and the universality of change.

Goal Setting/ Goal-Attainment Skills

Standard 8: Students will make decisions, set goals, and take necessary action to achieve goals.

Competency 1: Knowledge of the importance of self-concept Competency 2: Skills to interact with others

Survival and Safety Skills

Standard 9: Students will understand safety and survival skills. Competency 3: Awareness of the importance of change and growth

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Highlighted classes are

offered every other day

1ST QUARTER 2ND QUARTER 3RD QUARTER 4TH QUARTER

9TH

1. English 1 int A 2. INTRO ALG A 3. Inter Coor Sci A/MESA 4. PE 1A 5. Health

1. LIT CONNECT 1A 2. ALG 1A/ INTRO ALG B 3. Inter Coor Sci B/MESA 4. PE 1A 5. Health

1. Eng 1 int. A 2. ALG1B/ALG 1A 3. BIO A 4. PE 1B 5. FOREIGN LANG

1. English 1 intensive 2. INTGEOM/ALG1B 3. BIO B 4. PE 1B 5. FOREIGN LANG

10TH

1. English 2 int A 2. GEO & ALG/TR A 3. WLD HIST A 4. FOREIGN LANG 5. PE 2A

1. Cont Comp 2. GEOM B /GEOM A/ 3. WLD HIST B 4. FOREIGN LANG 5. PE 2A

1. English 2 int. B 2. ALG 2A /GEOM B 3. CHEM A 4. FOREIGN LANG 5. PE 2B

1. LIT CONNECT 2B 2. ALG 2B/ ALG 2A 3. CHEM B 4. FOREIGN LANG 5. PE 2B

ALG

2 B

11TH

1. CREAT WRIT SH A 2. TRIG A 3. US HISTORY A 4. ELECTIVE 5. SLC Elective

1. ENG 11A 2. TRIG B 3. US HISTORY B 4. ELECTIVE 5. SLC Elective

1. CREAT WRIT SH B 2. PHYSICS A 3. ELECTIVE 4. ELECTIVE 5. SLC Elective

1. American Lit 2. PHYSICS B 3. ELECTIVE 4. ELECTIVE 5. SLC Elective

12TH

1. WRIT SEMINAR A 2. GOVERNMENT A 3. COLLEGE PREP A 4. ELECTIVE 5. SLC Elective

1. EXPO RD/WRIT A 2. GEOGRAPHY A 3. COLLEGE PREP B 4. ELECTIVE 5. SLC Elective

1. WRIT SEMINAR B 2. GEOGRAPHY B 3. ELECTIVE 4. ELECTIVE 5. SLC Elective

1. EXPO RD/WRIT B 2. ECON A 3. ELECTIVE 4. ELECTIVE 5. SLC Elective

21

Curricular Matrix for English Garfield High Schools programming will be based on data starting in the 2010-2011 school year. Student data will be used to place students in appropriate classes. When students are over or underachieving in a class teacher recommendation will prompt a change. CST Data will be the primary test data used. CST Data and students previous grades will be the primary data used to determine programming needs. Incoming 9th grade

1ST QUARTER 2ND QUARTER 3RD QUARTER 4TH QUARTER

FBB students System 44/lang sk Read 180 Read 180 English 1 intensive/English 9B

BB Students Read 180 Read 180 Eng 1 int. A Eng 1 int. B

B students English 1 int A Eng 9 LIT CONNECT 1A English 1 int. B Eng 9 LIT CONNECT 1B

P, A students H English 9A Journalism 1A H English 9 B Journalism 1B

10th

FBB students System 44/lang sk 2 Read 180 Read 180 English 2 intensive/English 10B

BB Students Read 180 Read 180 Eng 2 int. A Eng 2 int. B

B students English 2 int A LIT CONNECT 2A English 2 int. B LIT CONNECT 2B

P, A students H English 10A Journalism 2A H English 10B Journalism 2B

11th

FBB students CREAT WRIT SH A Cont Comp CREAT WRIT SH B American Lit

BB Students CREAT WRIT SH A Cont Comp CREAT WRIT SH B American Lit

B students CREAT WRIT SH A Cont Comp CREAT WRIT SH B American Lit

P, A students H AMER LIT Journalism 3A H CONT COMP JOURNALISM 3B

12TH

FBB students WRIT SEMINAR A EXPO RD/WRIT A WRIT SEMINAR B EXPO RD/WRIT B

BB Students WRIT SEMINAR A EXPO RD/WRIT A WRIT SEMINAR B EXPO RD/WRIT B

B students WRIT SEMINAR A EXPO RD/WRIT A WRIT SEMINAR B EXPO RD/WRIT B

P, A students H Expo Comp Journalism 4A H Modern lit JOURNALISM 4B

22

Curricular Matrix for Math Garfield High Schools programming will be based on data starting in the 2010-2011 school year. Student data will be used to place students in appropriate classes. When students are over or underachieving in a class teacher recommendation will prompt a change. CST Data and students previous grades will be the primary data used to determine programming needs. 9th grade Previous year Class & CST

1ST QUARTER 2ND QUARTER 3RD QUARTER 4TH QUARTER

If in Algebra Readiness With F OR a FBB

Math Lab A Math Lab B Algebra Readiness A Algebra Readiness B

If in Algebra Readiness with C or Better and BB or Lower

Algebra Readiness A Algebra Readiness B Algebra 1A Algebra 1B

Algebra Readiness C or Higher and Basic or higher

Algebra Readiness B Algebra 1A Algebra 1B GEO & ALG/TR A

Algebra 1 C or higher GEO & ALG/TR A Geometry A Geometry B GEO & ALG/TR B

10th grade Previous year Class & CST

If in Algebra Readiness With FBB

Algebra Readiness A Algebra Readiness B Algebra 1A Algebra 1B

If in Algebra 1A GEO & ALG/TR A Geometry A Geometry B GEO & ALG/TR B

If in Geometry ADV APP MATH A Algebra 2 A Algebra 2B ADV APP MATH B

11 or 12

If in Geometry ADV APP MATH A Algebra 2 A Algebra 2B ADV APP MATH B

If in Algebra 2 MATH ANALY A MATH ANALY B TRG/MATH AN A TRG/MATH AN B

If in Trig/ math An DISCR MATH A AP CALCULUS A AP CALCULUS B AP CALCULUS C

23

Science/ Social Science Matrix 1st and 2nd quarter can be swapped with 3rd and 4th quarter for all grade levels to keep classes balanced. 9th grade

1ST QUARTER 2ND QUARTER 3RD QUARTER 4TH QUARTER

All 9th grade students MESA or ICS A MESA or ICS B Biology A Biology B

10th grade

1ST QUARTER 2ND QUARTER 3RD QUARTER 4TH QUARTER

Students in Geometry or above Chemistry A Chemistry B World History A World History B

11th grade

1ST QUARTER 2ND QUARTER 3RD QUARTER 4TH QUARTER

All Algebra 2 or above Physics A Physics A US History A US History B

12th grade

1ST QUARTER 2ND QUARTER 3RD QUARTER 4TH QUARTER

All Algebra 2 or above Elective Science A Elective Science B Government Economics

24

AP Curricular Matrix Students will be able to take a maximum of 4 AP courses during a academic school year

1ST QUARTER 2ND QUARTER 3RD QUARTER 4TH QUARTER

All grade students who want to take AP level course

H American Lit AP English Lit A AP English Lit B Elective English

H Expo Comp AP English Lang A AP English Lang B Elective English

1ST QUARTER 2ND QUARTER 3RD QUARTER 4TH QUARTER

All grade students who want to take AP level course

H Biology A AP Biology A AP Biology B Elective Science

H Chemistry A AP Chemistry A AP Chemistry B Elective Science

H Physics A AP Physics A AP Physics B Elective Science

1ST QUARTER 2ND QUARTER 3RD QUARTER 4TH QUARTER

All grade students who want to take AP level course

H World History A AP World History A AP World History B Elective Social Science

H US History A AP US History A AP US History B Elective Social Science

H Government AP Government A AP Government B Economics

H Economics AP Economics A AP Economics B Government

25

Appendix 4i to the Garfield High School

PSC Proposal

RTI Instructional Support Plan

26

Garfield High School’s PCS proposal calls for extensive academic support to students, especially for those

students at the greatest risk of failure or underachievement. In this document, this support will be

discussed using the categories of an educational approach called Response to Intervention (commonly

abbreviated as RTI2). Tier 1 Level consists of support provided in the general classroom; Tier 2 Level, of

classes specifically designed to meet the needs of identified student sub-groups done in addition to the

general classroom, not in lieu of; Tier 3, of extraordinary interventions: students receive greater

modifications in frequency, duration, or teacher-student ratio.

RTI Tier 1 – Instructional support provided in regular classes

1. Instructional strategies that provide access to the Core curriculum

Students who matriculate to Garfield High School need support in the areas of reading, writing, and

mathematics. Eighty percent (80%) arrive with below grade level literacy skills; 95% with below

grade level numeracy skills; and 81% have a home language other than English. For this reason, it is

of the utmost importance that all lessons be designed and delivered using strategies that have been

shown to be effective with these students and to accelerate their learning. The following strategies

fall into the following four categories.

In collaboration with Pedagogical Partners, Garfield High School will:

A. Use teaching strategies that actively engage students in their own learning

B. Utilize graphic organizers and other means of constructing knowledge to support academic reading and listening

C. Coordinate instructional conversations between all teachers and students

D. Implement direct instruction of academic vocabulary

2. Specialized standards-based lessons developed by professional learning communities

As provided in the attached Professional Development Plan (Appendix 4p), teachers of Core subjects

(English, mathematics, social studies, and science) will spend extensive time meeting in course-alike

groups. During these course-alike meetings, teachers will methodically analyze the performance of

their students against the course CST standards. Toward this end, they will look at student

performance on state exams, on District common periodic assessments, and on the PLC’s own

common periodics assessment to identify which standards students are learning well and which they

have not mastered. Utilizing this knowledge, the course-alike teams will then find ways to enhance

their instruction in order to assist students improve academically in the targeted areas. Over the

course of time, this process will enable the course-alike teams to build a rich portfolio of effective

lesson plans.

3. Longer class periods in Core classes

A new schedule will be employed starting at the beginning of the 2010-11 school year. This

schedule—fully described in Appendix 4c: Curricular Map—provides for longer meeting times for

27

Core classes. It also increases the percentage of time that students spend in Core classes. (In fact,

each student will spend 25% of his time in English class during his entire academic career). The

schedule thus provides for students to spend more time working on essential academic skills.

4. Small Learning Community specific instructional techniques

Each SLC will develop policies and techniques tailored to the needs of their students and consistent

with the SLC’s theme and philosophy. Students and parents will participate in this design. For more

specifics, see Appendix 4s: Small Learning Communities and Schools.

RTI2 Tier 2 – Specifically designed courses for differentiated instruction and related supports

1. Math sequence for 9th and 10th graders

Ninety-five percent (95%) of 9th graders enter Garfield High School with below grade level

mathematical skills; the failure rate in Algebra 1 and Geometry is very high (What are the

percentages who are failing?). For these reasons, Garfield High School has designed a special math

sequence for 9th and 10th graders. Students with low math skills are provided with the opportunity

to improve their basic skills before taking into Algebra 1. However, with the new “interventional

friendly” schedule that the Garfield High School’s SLCs are adopting, this support can be given to

students without depriving them of the opportunity to complete all their A through G requirements

within their four-year high school career. The math sequences are described in Appendix 4c; The

Curricular Map.

2. English sequence for 9th and 10th graders

Eighty percent (80%) of 9th graders enter Garfield High School with below grade level literacy skills;

and the failure rate in 9th and 10th grade English is high. For these reasons, Garfield High School has

designed a special English sequence for 9th and 10th graders. This sequence allows at risk students to

take English classes designed to meet their learning needs. However, with the new “interventional

friendly” schedule that the Garfield’s SLCs are adopting, this support can be given to students

without depriving them of the opportunity to complete all their A through G requirements within

their four-year high school career. The English sequences are described in Appendix 4c; The

Curricular Map. The English sequence that will be used is based on innovative courses such as

System 44, Read 180, English 1 Intensive, and English 2 Intensive which were developed by

Scholastic, Inc. Garfield is currently working with Scholastic, Inc. to pilot these promising new

courses.

3. ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS

Our English Language Learners (ELLs) will take part in an Accelerated Academic Language Acquisition

Program geared to re-designate students and prepare them to meet the A-G Requirements. The

program will be based on a system where our students will be integrated into heterogeneous small

schools. A Course of Study Program (CSP) and an Individualized Learning Plan (ILP) will be created

for each of our ELLs that will be tailored to meet their specific language acquisition needs. All ELLs

28

will have access to all courses including Advanced Placement, Honors, and other higher level courses

with appropriate supports and scaffolds. English Language Proficiency Levels will not determine

placement in specific schools or specific courses in order to prevent tracking in any manner. All

small schools will employ highly qualified CLAD-certified instructors across all subject areas which

will ensure that all students will receive proper support. Instructors and staff will participate in

professional development sessions that will focus on theories of second-language acquisition, such

as those by Stephen Krashen and James Cummins, and SDAIE strategies. Articulation between

Garfield High School and our feeder schools will take place to share best practices, data, and

resources in order to provide early intervention and help ELLs re-designate at a faster rate.

Students in ESL 1AB, 2AB, and 3/4 courses will participate in specific Course of Study Programs (CSP)

that will be delineated in their Individual Learning Plans (ILP). The CSPs will be implemented in the

following manner: students who are enrolled in ESL 1AB will be placed in a 3-year Course of Study

Program (CSP) that will redesignate them within three years; students who are enrolled in ESL 2AB

will be placed in a 2-year Course of Study Program (CSP) that will redesignate them within two

years; and students who are enrolled in ESL 3/4 will be placed in a 1-year Course of Study Program

(CSP) that will redesignate them within one year. The curriculum pacing plan for lower-level ESL

students will require greater acceleration, intensity and depth. A specially-designed foundation-

level course, which will be taught in an accelerated mode, will be added to the curriculum that will

teach academic language to new comers. The foundation-level course will be a locally-designed

intensive course modeled on the Language Arts in the Primary Language (LAPL) Course currently

used in the district. ELLs who have not reclassified but are not in ESL-level courses will be placed in a

2-year Course of Study Program (CSP) that will re-designate them within two years. The yearly goals

in the CSPs will be amended based on student’s needs.

In order to ensure that our ELLs have access to standards-based curricula and to ensure that they

advance at least one ELD level per year and in their course work, we will monitor students on a bi-

weekly basis to determine if immediate intervention is needed. The bi-weekly monitoring will be

implemented through the use of a formal checklist and the English Learner Monitoring Roster that is

currently used by the English Learner Program in the local and central districts. The monitoring will

also include formal dialogues between the English Learner Program Coordinator, the students, the

students’ instructors, the students’ counselors, the school psychologist, the attendance counselor,

the social worker, the Parent Resource Liaison, the students’ parents, and the English Learner

Program Coordinator’s supervisor. Although Intervention will primarily take place during the school

day using the RTI² Model, Intervention will also be determined by the Language Appraisal Team

(LAT), which will consist of the Principal, the English Learner Program Coordinator, the English

Learner Program Office Technician, the student’s counselor, the student’s teacher, and the school

psychologist. As Echevarria & Graves (2003) and Snow (1992) point out, the LAT understands that

second language acquisition “is a very complex process” and that “many factors can influence the

29

acquisition of English.” We understand that these factors may include motivation, age, access to the

language, personality, first-language development, quality of instruction, and cognitive ability. As a

result, the LAT will consider all of these factors when determining the interventions that will be

implemented for each student that participates in an LAT Meeting. Intervention will also extend

beyond the regular school day. We will offer Saturday School for CAHSEE Preparation, Credit

Recovery, and Credit Advancement.

Parent participation will also be a key component of our small schools and efforts to increase our re-

designation rate. Our students’ parents will participate in daily, weekly and monthly workshops,

trainings, and meetings in our Parent Center. The parent topics will include, but will not be limited

to, Healthy Living, Mental Health, Parenting, Support Groups, Parent ESL Classes, Academics, A-G

Requirements, and Re-designation.

4. Students who receive Special Education Services

Students with disabilities who require additional support in the general education classes will be

closely monitored by their SEASAC Carriers and assigned paraprofessionals to ensure they are

gaining access to grade level curriculum.

5. Honors and Advanced Placement courses

High performing students will be placed in Honors and Advanced Placement courses. The new

schedule allows for an enhanced variety of such offerings.

6. Tutorial Period

The new schedule that will be adopted at the beginning of the 2010-11 school year, includes a

tutorial period for each student that will meet two times a week. Students who are falling behind

will be enrolled in the period so that they receive immediate support. A number of different classes

will be held during this period to provide help in different subjects, though the emphasis will be on

English and mathematics. Students can be added or withdrawn from such classes as circumstances

require. Teachers will use the results of common periodic assessments—among other methods—to

determine which students need such help. Students who do not need interventions, will use this

period for enrichment. For example, the Leadership class can meet during this period, or students

can be trained as peer tutors, or SLC upperclassmen can be trained as mentors for underclassmen.

7. Advisory Periods and SLC specific interventions

The new schedule also provides for an advisory period. (It will meet once a week during years 1 and

2; and twice a week thereafter.) SLCs will use this period to provide assistance to their students.

8. Student Success Teams (SSTs) and Coordination of Services Team (COST)

Each SLC will form student success teams (SSTs) to help students who do not respond to the

methods detailed above. The SST will review individual student’s concerns and plans ways of

handling those concerns in the general education classroom. Based on the student’s educational

30

needs, a well developed plan (Summary Form) will be implemented and monitored to determine if

more modifications are needed for their academic program. Students who need even more

assistance will be referred to the school’s COST team. COST coordinates the delivery of support

services.

RTI2 Tier 3 – Extraordinary instructional supports

1. Reading class for students in need of basic reading skills

The school will offer a course for students needing to develop phonemic awareness. Such students

are reading at the 1st or 2nd grade levels. The school is considering Scholastic’s System 44 course for

this purpose.

2. Reading class for students in need of basic mathematics skills

The school will offer a course for students with below 4th grade math skills.

3. Learning Center

The school’s Learning Center will provide assistance to students on a pull-out basis or in regularly

scheduled classes.

Both resource specialist and general education students who have not responded to Tier One and Two interventions will be considered for the Learning Center.

The Resource Specialist Teachers (RSP) will work with the collaborating teachers to determine the students who require additional intensive intervention.

Both teachers will continue to monitor students’ progress on a bi-weekly using Curriculum-Based Measurement and other appropriate assessments.

Based on the data from the on-going assessments, targeted instruction will be individualized for each student to be successful in obtaining grade level skills.

The RSP and general education teachers will continue to collaborate and monitor both general and RSP students who are in the Learning Center to determine if other support is needed.

31

Appendix 4p to the Garfield High School

PSC Proposal

Professional Development Plan

32

In order for the SLCs and teachers to be able (a) to use the new schedule effectively (see Appendix 4c:

Curricular Map), (b) to efficiently deliver the instructional supports (see Appendix 4i: Instructional

Support Plan), and (c) to function in effective small communities, extensive on-going professional

development is essential. The various professional development resources and methods that will be used

to enable teachers and paraprofessionals to significantly improve student learning are described in the

following four sections:

1. The Professional Learning Community (PLC) Cycle for Teachers of Core Courses,

2. Professional Development Tuesday Meetings

3. Extra-hours Meetings

4. Pedagogical Partners

1. The Professional Learning Community (PLC) Cycle for Teachers of Core courses

The new ―intervention friendly schedule‖ which will be adopted with the opening of the 2010-11

school year, includes two 90 minutes meeting periods each week for teachers of Core courses.1 The

teachers will use this time to meet in course-alike teams. The work they do together will be

structured according to the PLC cycle designed by XX. Each team will go through this cycle first at a

macro (whole course) level and will repeatedly use the process at a micro level to develop individual

lessons and lesson units. The cycle is described in both its macro and micro variants below.

A. PLC Cycle – Macro (course) level

1) Identify essential content standards

The teacher in each course-alike (PLC) team2 will determine the essential standards for the

quarter long course that they all teach. In making this determination, the team will consider

those standards that are most important on the applicable CST assessment. They will also

give preference to those standards which best embody the following combination of qualities:

(a) viability (life-long value), (b) flexibility (transferability), and (c) readiness (applicable

skills for current and future grade levels).

2) Create and refine common assessments

Having determined the essential standards, the team will then develop an end-of-the-

quarter assessment that is a fair measure of each student’s mastery of the essential

standards. Using this “backward planning “technique, the teachers will know, throughout

each quarter, what specific concepts and skills their students need to master and specifically

how they need to demonstrate that mastery.

1 Core courses are the courses that are subject to CST assessments. Four disciplines are involved: English (including ESL), mathematics, science, and history.

2 An example of a course alike team would be all teachers of ESL 1A or of Biology A.

33

After designing the final common assessment, the team will then design interim formative

assessments as a way of measuring student progress toward the mastery of the essential

standards. District periodic assessments will also be used in this manner.

3) Design a common lesson sequence

The team will then begin the on-going task of designing common lessons and common

strategies to assist students to master proficiency of the selected standards. They will start

with a common sequence of lessons. More specific and profound coordination of lessons will

be accomplished through repeating the PCL cycle on the micro-level, as described below.

All instruction will be based on the principle of active student engagement, which is

explained in Appendix 4i: Instructional Support Plan.

4) Teach and deliver lessons, followed by the common assessments.

Each teacher will teach the agreed lesson sequence and will give their students both the

common culminating assessment and the common periodic assessments.

5) Review student work based on the targeted lesson plans

The team will review the common assessments and other student work to determine how

effective their instruction has been. The team will identify which standards have been well

mastered, which have not. The analysis will allow teachers to compare their relative

successes and areas of concern and to learn from each other for the benefit of their students.

6) Assess each student’s proficiency against target standards

The team will analyze the results at the student level. This will allow each teacher to

understand not only the needs of the entire class, but of each individual student. This

information will be used to arrange for immediate support for students who are falling

behind, as explained in Appendix 4i: Instructional Support Plan. Teachers will also share the

results with their students. This feedback will help students manage their own learning.

7) Identify effective strategies based on data

Based on steps 5 and 6, the team will identify what specific instructional methods and

working and need to be generalized, and which are not and need to be amended. Teachers

will learn from each other.

8) Refine lessons as necessary for higher student achievement

Having identified the effective strategies, the team will use them to refine their lessons and

instructional strategies.

B. PLC Cycle – Micro (lesson & lesson plan) level

1) Identify targeted content standards

Each course-alike (PLC) team will determine the targeted standard or set of standards (e.g.,

those associated with a specific unit) for which they will make a common lesson sequence

and a common culminating assessment. The team will prioritize its choice so as to work first

on standards which are more important to success on the CST assessment for the course and

for the students’ mastery of the essential standards of the course.

2) Create and refine a culminating assessment for the targeted standard(s)

34

The course-alike (PLC) team will design a culminating assessment that is a fair measure of

each student’s master of the targeted standard(s). Using this ―backward planning ―technique,

the teachers will know what specific concepts and skills their students need to master and

specifically how they need to demonstrate that mastery. The team will correlate the

assessment items to the targeted standard(s) so that when the assessments are graded, teachers

can compare results, standard by standard

3) Design a common lesson or lesson sequence

Based on the standards selected and the assessments tasks, the team will design a lesson or

series of lessons that they will all use. The instruction will be based on the principle of active

student engagement, which is explained in detail in Appendix 4i: Instructional Support Plan.

4) Teach and deliver lessons, followed by the common assessment

Each teacher will teach the agreed lesson or sequence of lessons and will give their students

the common culminating assessment.

5) Review students’ work based on the targeted lesson plans

The team will analyze the results of the culminating assessment to determine patterns of

student mastery, i.e., which standards the students did and did not master.

6) Assess students’ proficiency against target standards

The team will analyze the results at the student level. This will allow each teacher to

understand not only the needs of the entire class, but of each individual student.

7) Identify effective strategies based on data

The teachers will analyze patterns of student proficiency with the purpose of generalizing

successes and correcting weaknesses. Each teacher will have access to the ideas, materials,

strategies, and talents of the entire team. The team members will learn from each other.

Teachers will determine the most effective and successful practices in order to replicate it in

their own instructional practice; they also will identify areas that need more attention.

8) Refine lessons as necessary for higher student achievement

Using the information from the previous three steps, the course-alike (PLC) team will refine

the lessons to improve student mastery of the targeted content standards.

2. Professional Development Tuesday Meetings

Using all meeting resource time other than the twice weekly meetings mentioned in the preceding

item—i.e. banked time, faculty meeting allotment, minimum and shortened days—the school will

design a schedule that will allow weekly Tuesday meetings, approximately 20 of them of 2.5 hours

duration (including banked time) and approximately 20 of them of 1.75 hours duration. These

meetings will be used by SLCs primarily, but also for District required meetings for a once a month

general faculty meetings, and for meeting time for non-Core teachers.

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3. Extra-hours Meetings

QEIA and other funds will be used to pay for meetings of groups during non-school hours, including

the summer. This time will be used to prepare for new years and terms, to enable SLC development,

and will enable PLCs to improve their lesson plans.

4. Pedagogical Partner

QEIA and other funds will be used to contract with a pedagogical partner or partners to help the

school in three important tasks:

A. Learning to use the new schedule effectively, including the longer (90 minute) periods.

B. Mastering the instructional strategies that provide access to the Core curriculum. (These are set

forth in Appendix 4i: Instructional Support Plan.

C. Effectively using the PLC lesson cycle described above.

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Appendix 4s to the Garfield High School

PSC Proposal

Small Learning Community (SLC) Plan

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One of the two foundation strategies of this PCS proposal is a series of cooperating small learning

communities. Members of the six SLCs named below—all lineal descendants of SLCs approved by

LAUSD’s Board of Education under Memorandum 1600—have agreed to continue to work on the

current Garfield campus as separate but cooperating entities. Each of these SLC’s is committed to

developing into a largely independent SLC with its own faculty and student body (in fact, each has

pledged to evolve into a separate small school over the next 5 years); but each is equally committed to

working with the others to maintain the overall identity of “Garfield,” a name and tradition which is

important to the community of East Los Angeles.

The purpose of the SLCs is, of course, to provide personalization to students. This works in two ways.

First, students are given a choice of theme or emphasis. Each student chooses an SLC that aligns with

his interests. Secondly, SLCs guarantee that teachers will interact with a smaller group of students over

four years (and vice versa). This social arrangement will promote deeper understanding between

teachers and students and their families.

The following is a list of the five cooperating SLCs.

1. Global Studies Academy

2. Green Architecture Design Academy

3. Humanitas

4. Teacher and Performing Arts Academy

5. University Preparedness Academy

In the sub-sections that follow, each of these SLCs defines in vision and mission, discusses its philosophy,

and its specific plans for the next five years.

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Example of one of Garfield’s SLC Plans

Teacher Career and Performing Arts Academy

Teacher Career and Performing Arts Academy (TCPA) Small Learning Community will operate under

the Garfield High School Plan for the 2010-2011 academic school year. TCPA has organized a

comprehensive educational approach to address the areas of curriculum, student intervention, professional

development, outreach, instructional technology, and partnerships.

This foundation combined with response to instruction and intervention is structured to meet all level of

diverse learners. TCPA has a long history of proven success and is sure to lead the way to inspire our

students to become educational leaders.

Students in the Special Education Program, English Language Learners, at risk students, as well as our

advance students, TCPA will continue to have a multitude of support from all of the dedicated TCPA

staff. To foster student success, the basis for the five-year plan is the improvement in student

performance. Measurable student success is the critical priority upon which the SLC will be held

accountable. Through a structured schedule of revision, reflection and professional development the

appropriate modifications and adaptations will be implemented as needed.

Format

The format for the Five-Year Plan is as follows:

Vision

Mission

Philosophy

Educational Focus

Vision

The common focus of the TCPA is to provide a college preparatory pathway for students interested in

entering the world of education as teachers; primarily K-12 education. Knowing that not all students in

the TCPA wish to become teachers, the TCPA is equally focused on providing a rigorous college

preparatory curriculum that will prepare students for post-high school pursuits as highly-educated global

citizens. Through this vision the TCPA hopes that its students will become active members of their

community and become enlightened and productive citizens with the ability to make informed decisions

about issues that affect them and their communities. To this end the TCPA will prepare students for the

rigorous demands of the University of California (UC) and California State University (CSU) systems.

Mission

The mission of the Teacher Career and Performing Arts Academy (TCPA) is to provide a rigorous and

enriching curriculum with a support network set in a small learning community that will attract, nurture

and prepare students interested in pursuing teaching as well as other career choices.

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Philosophy

The Teacher Career and Performing Arts Academy’s (TCPA) philosophy about teaching and learning is

that all students can and want to learn and that learning will take place if the proper environment and

teacher commitment are in place. Overall, we believe that students should become active learners who

seek to understand complex subject matter and are able to transfer what they have learned to new

problems and settings. To this end we believe that students come to school with preconceptions about

how the world works and that if this prior knowledge is not tapped into, students may fail to grasp new

information and concepts, and that through relevant inquiry students will develop a foundation of factual

knowledge that leads to understand facts and ideas in the context of a conceptual framework that will

allow them to organize knowledge in ways that allows them to apply what they learn in real world

situations. Also embedded in the TCPA philosophy are the precepts that a metacognitive approach to

instruction will help students take control of their own learning by defining learning goals and assessing

their progress towards achieving them.

This educational focus is also embedded in the mission and vision of the SLC. The goals are:

1. Student Achievement – TCPA staff will assist students achieve their highest academic potential. The

following strategies and techniques will the basis to provide the necessary support for the students to

succeed academically.

Student Intervention

Tutoring

Learning Center

Gear up

RTI

Advisory Period

Discipline

o Classroom Management

Pre-CST Intersession

Develop Intervention Centers

Pro-active model

Parent Phone Calls

Detention

Readiness Class (gather information from feeder schools)

o Middle School articulation (Summer Camp/Bridge Program)

2. Curriculum – Teachers will provide rigorous and outstanding learning opportunities aligned with the

state standards. TCPA will support full implementation of the core curriculum by ensuring instructional

delivery, emphasizing grade level standards using common lessons and common assessments, provide

targeted interventions and supporting effective differentiated instructional strategies that supports all

students.

Core Curriculum

Current instructional pedagogy

Rigorous embedded lessons

Interdisciplinary course work

Essential Classes

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Enrichment Classes

Field Trips

Schedule Changes to enhance student learning

Instructional Technology

o Smart Board

o Tech Training

Phone Master

Smart Board

Computers

3. Professional Development- Professional development has been designed to support teachers’ focus on

foundational knowledge, instructional delivery, and high expectations. Teachers can expect to receive

support for the myriad of issues that can be faced in the classroom.

Common Planning Time (90 min X 2)

o Conference Period

Training on Advisory Period

RTI model

Partnership Instructional Pedagogy

Data Analysis (CST, Periodic Assessments, CAHSEE, Other Student Data, PLC common

assessment)

Training on Advisory Period

4. TCPA Network – Using a holistic approach to develop our students as contributing members of a

global society, TCPA will solicit the contributions of parents and families, the local community, and the

community at large. Utilizing the resources of one of the most bustling cities in all of the world, Los

Angeles will provide a plethora of resources from which the students will greatly benefit from. Everyone

outside of the classroom that is helping us inside of the classroom

Parents and Families

East Los Angeles Community College

California State University – Los Angeles

East-side Education Collaborative

East Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce

5. Partnerships

The Garfield Teacher Career and Performing Arts Academy (TCPA) established a partnership with the

Career Ladder Office in 1995. Approximately, 300 Garfield Students participate annually in programs

supported by the Career Ladder. This includes cross age tutoring opportunities, college visits, internships,

academic classes focused on aspects of teaching, early employment contracts, and academic advisement.

Students have also been offered scholarships to continue their studies after high school graduation.

Although these programs are focused on developing interest in the teaching profession, they also serve to

motivate students to compete their high school education and begin their post secondary studies.