Using TAV / TRV Data to set up Focus Teams

1. Using TAV / TRV Data to set up Focus Teams Presenters: Akron Firestone High School Linda Kakish, Christopher Pashke and Scott Schopper

2. FirestoneBackground Number of Students by Grade: Ninth: 326 Tenth:347 Eleventh:282 Twelfth:304 Total:1259 School Type:Urban Region:NE Ohio Performance Rating:Excellent AYP Status: Not Met (IEP) School Improvement Status: OK Joined HSTW/MMGW: 2002 Feeder middle schools: Litchfield Miller South

3. Firestone High School Comprehensive High School: • Visual and Performing Building • International Baccalaureate Program • Information Technology • Project Lead The Way • Marketing Education (DECA) • Cooperative Business Education (CBE) • Business Finance • Career Based Intervention (CBI) • Content Literacy Continuum • Fusion Reading (University of Kansas) • 100 Book Challenge

4. Goal #5 Continue to support a culture of continuous improvement with strong leadership, actively involved-school improvement teams, effective use of data, aligned professional development and engagement of parents and families as part of a seamless school improvement process. Ohio Department of Education HSTW Ohio Regions Southern Regional Education Board

5. What the School Has Done The school has: School Improvement Plan – performance driven, building and district monitoring, accountable document, updated twice each year Principal’s leadership and spirit-building efforts are positively acknowledged by staff, students, and parents. Designated two site coordinators for HSTW Established a leadership team for discussing staff concerns. Ohio Department of Education HSTW Ohio Regions Southern Regional Education Board

6. What the School Has Done The school has: HSTW site coordinators meet monthly with a district liaison SIP news items shared with parents through the PTSA Newsletter SIP team and department heads plan staff development activities New staff members are assigned a mentor Peer observation occurs for almost all teachers scheduled for formal evaluation this year. Ohio Department of Education HSTW Ohio Regions Southern Regional Education Board

7. What the School Has Done The school: Effectively uses data Item analyses carried out by teachers using OGT performance data provided by central data base. Plans to utilize common assessment data for instructional intervention. Track student performance/program data (IB, AP, etc.) Ohio Department of Education HSTW Ohio Regions Southern Regional Education Board

8. Why the School Should Continue to Address This Goal Data/Document Review: 2006 HSTW Survey, Teachers report: 26% strongly agree that the staff continuously use data reports to evaluate the school’s academic programs and activities 46% strongly agree the goals and priorities for their school are clear 10% report that staff development programs are sustained over time, with ample follow-up activities…. Ohio Department of Education HSTW Ohio Regions Southern Regional Education Board

9. Why the School Should Continue to Address This Goal Department meetings held as needed (before or after staff meetings sometimes) but not on a regular schedule Focus teams/school improvement committees are inactive Students express a desire to know more about the improvement efforts underway at FHS. Ohio Department of Education HSTW Ohio Regions Southern Regional Education Board

10. Goal #5 Culture of Continuous ImprovementPossible Recommended Actions Action 1 Activate HSTW focus groups or committees so that all staff may be involved and responsible for implementing the school improvement plan (include students and parents in improvement efforts). Ohio Department of Education HSTW Ohio Regions Southern Regional Education Board

11. Goal #5 Culture of Continuous ImprovementPossible Recommended Actions Action 3 Provide professional development to support administrators and teacher leaders in working with other teachers. Provide specific and focused professional development on facilitation and process observation. Examples of such offerings might include coaching and communicating, walk-through monitoring, model lesson plans, and examining exemplary student work. Consider using either of the books Leadership Capacity for Lasting School Improvement or Building Leadership Capacity in Schools for a school study group or similar professional development experience. Ohio Department of Education HSTW Ohio Regions Southern Regional Education Board

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14. Curriculum & Instruction Membership: Academic and career/technical teachers, curriculum specialists from secondary and postsecondary institutions, business and community representatives Mission: Develop action plans to ensure that all students complete a challenging, coherent sequence of academic courses with an academic or career concentration.

15. Charges: • Assess needs and identify how curriculum and instruction must change to achieve the goals of the State, District and School. • Use the technical assistance visit (TAV) report and other school data for making decisions. • Implement literacy and numeracy across the curriculum. • Recommend standards for minimum course competencies, coherent course sequences for each major, instructional methodology and indicators for tracking the progress of the school in achieving the District and Schoolcriteria for an academic or career program of study.

16. Create or adapt courses that teach the essential content of college-preparatory courses using new student-centered and applied learning strategies. • Ensure that all students have access to courses designed to teach the essential content from the college-preparatory curriculum in mathematics, science, language arts and social studies. • Create common syllabi and end-of-course exams.

17. Study various models for integrating academic and career/technical studies, and adopt or adapt a model appropriate for the school. • Devise a plan for teachers to periodically review their courses to ensure that students are using high-level academic content to solve problems and perform tasks in their fields of study. • Create opportunities to reinforce among parents the assurance that ALL courses are high-level and relevant.

18. Professional Development Membership: Academic and career/technical teachers, postsecondary representatives, business, and community representatives are responsible for human resource development, central office and departmental staff development specialists. Mission: Plan, formulate, coordinate and be an advocate for staff development activities that support the District and School goals.

19. Charges: • Work with representatives of the Evaluation Focus Team to establish an ongoing system for identifying staff development needs of teachers and school leaders by: • Studying the results of the HSTW Assessment, Teacher Survey and Student Survey, • Studying evaluation reports received by the school • Getting other teams to identify staff development needed to carry out their planned actions. • Establish training objectives and formal and informal training opportunities identify resource persons, schedule staff workshops, and evaluate the effectiveness of the workshops. • Ensure that staff development objectives are related to the HSTW key practices and school needs.

20. Support the efforts of individual teachers to participate in staff development experiences that further the goals and key practices of the HSTW initiative • Monitor long-term results of staff development activities based on the implementation of the key practices. • Request staff members to document the implementation of new teaching strategies. • Develop quality standards that all sponsored staff development programs must meet.

21. Guidance & Advisement Membership: Guidance counselors, academic and career/technical teachers, middle grades representatives, school or system public information director, community public relations and media representatives, parent-teacher-student association representatives, postsecondary institution representatives, business and community representatives. Mission: Develop a plan for educating students and parents about the need for all students to take an accelerated program of study that culminates in an academic or career concentration. The program should allow students to make decisions about the program at key points in their school experience.

22. Charges: • Assess parent, student and business community assumptions about general or career/technical students. • Develop appropriate information and promotional materials to educate students and parents about the need for students to complete an upgraded academic core and an academic or career/technical • Devise a way to help students and their parents develop a six-year high school education/career plan with a process for annual parent/student review of the plan. The strategy must include a way for either a counselor or teacher-adviser to meet individually with each student and his or her parents or guardians, beginning in the eighth grade.

23. Develop and deliver student, teacher and parent education/information activities that focus on the need for new workplace skills. Involve business members in the process. • Devise meaningful strategies to increase the involvement of parents and students in the planning and accomplishment of District and school’s goals. • Develop a plan for helping students meet the requirements of postsecondary schools and career fields. • Spearhead the development of an adviser/advisee program.

24. Evaluation & Assessment Membership: Academic and career/technical teachers, central office evaluation personnel, postsecondary institution representatives (evaluation specialists), business and community representatives Mission: Assess the degree to which the goals have been met, provide other focus teams with appropriate data to develop action plans, and provide the School Improvement Team with data to modify and adjust activities as needed.

25. Charges: • Develop a baseline portrait of student achievement levels. (Complete SREB’s document, Establishing Benchmarks for New and Maturing HSTW Sites.) Use this document and Tetra and Delta Data to demonstrate significant progress toward fully implementing the Districtimprovement design and achieving reading, mathematics, citizenship and science goals. • Identify indicators the school will monitor annually.

26. Interpret test data and share with appropriate teams and staff members. Develop a method for sharing information with the whole faculty. • Identify problems by using district assessment information, including your state assessment, SAT, ACT, HSTW Assessment (NAEP) results, transcript analysis, student questionnaire, teacher survey, student follow-up survey, technical assistance visit reports and site annual reports.

27. Develop an annual evaluation plan based on the gaps between what is (baseline data) and what is desired (student achievement goals described in action plans). • Devise and monitor a data collection process. • Assign problem statements to appropriate focus teams. • Advise the School Improvement Team and focus teams when immediate action is needed to address a problem situation.

28. Transition & Bridge Membership for School Team: Principal or his/her designee, school or district curriculum specialist, school or district representative with school data collection responsibilities; at least an English and mathematics teacher (but representatives from other core areas are desirable), career/technical teacher, guidance counselors. Mission: Develop and implement a transition plan that will prepare students for college-preparatory level high school work and successful transition to postsecondary education and/or the workplace.

29. Charges: • Create the vision for how the high school and feeder middle grades school(s) should work together. • Create the vision for how the high school and postsecondary school(s) should work together to strengthen the senior year and increase articulation and dual credit opportunities. • Develop the transition plan for each of the schools.

30. Meet quarterly to review progress - while plans for the design (e.g., support class, double-dosing, extra help programs) are being formulated. Once some components are in place, the planning team will meet less frequently. • One member of this team should be on the School Based Transition Planning Team to share the vision and the transition plan. • Implement the components of the transitions plan based on decisions and priorities of the Cluster Transition Team.

31. Schedule vertical team planning time. • Report progress on the implementation of the transition components to the District and School.

32. Environment & Public Relation Membership: Principal or his/her designee, academic and career/technical teachers, one or more individuals from the student body. Mission: Develop and implement a plan that will prepare that will prepare and maintain the school environment throughout the school year.

33. Charges: • Develop a plan for scheduling activities in the school. • Decorate the Hallways for Athletic seasons and School Activities. • Develop fun and educational activities to boost morale of the school building. • Develop a plan to get information to the local media on school events and successes. • Develop a plan for volunteering for local community and Cluster school activities. • Develop Ideas for inviting the community to participate in school activities.

34. Faculty Advisory Council Membership: The School Faculty Council shall be formed in each school building.  The principal and/or his/her designate shall meet monthly during the school year with the School Faculty Council.  The Council shall have as one of its members the AEA Building Representative. The size of the Council and the departments, levels, and special groups to be represented on the Council shall be determined by the faculty at a September meeting.

35. Misson: •   The purpose of the Council shall be to provide a means of communication between the building staff and the building principal.  The Council shall serve in an advisory capacity to the building principal.

36. Charges: • The chairperson, in cooperation with the principal, shall schedule one (1) council meeting per month.  • The agenda for this meeting shall be prepared by the chairperson and submitted to the principal (who may add items). • The principal and Faculty Council shall consult on all matters involving building policy and procedures.

37. Neither the building principal nor the AEA building representative may serve as chairman.  The term of the new council shall begin at the beginning of the school year. • Unresolved issues shall be referred in writing to the AEA Professional Problems Committee by the Council chairman within five (5) days, if the majority of the Council so instructs him/her.  A copy shall be given each member of the Council. • The Faculty Council shall have the right to determine the expenditure of funds which are made available through food or beverage machines operated in the faculty lounge.

38. Discipline Review Membership: Principal or his/her designee, school or district Athletic representative, School Athletic Directors, academic and career/technical teachers. Mission: Develop and implement an Discipline plan that will prepare students for college-preparatory level high school work and successful transition to postsecondary education.

39. Charges: • The chairperson, in cooperation with the principal, shall schedule one (1) committee meeting per month.  • The agenda for this meeting shall be prepared by the chairperson and submitted to the principal (who may add items). • The principal and the committee shall consult on all matters involving building discipline procedures.

40. The principal and the committee will review all building discipline procedures in the student handbook at the end of each year and revise as needed. • The principal and the committee will develop new discipline procedures as needed.

41. Athletic Review Committee Membership: Principal or his/her designee, school or district Athletic representative, School Athletic Directors, academic and career/technical teachers, one or more individuals from student body. Mission: Develop and implement an Athletic plan that will prepare students for college-preparatory level high school work and athletics and successful transition to postsecondary education and athletics.

42. Charges: • Develop a plan to oversee the development athletics and the students that participate. • Develop a Coaches Handbook with school rules and regulations. • Check eligibility of student athletes. • Monitor Athletic Study tables. • Develop a School Drugs and Alcohol Policy for Student Athletes. • Advise on School Activities and Monitor all scheduled events.

43. Contact Information: Akron Firestone High School 333 Rampart Avenue Akron, Ohio 44313-6497 330-873-3315 Fax: 330-873-3318 Principal: Larry Petry – lpetry@akron.k12.oh.us Linda Kakish – lkakish@akron.k12.oh.us Christopher Pashke – cpashke@akron.k12.oh.us Scott Schopper – sschoppe@akron.k12.oh.us