HERESY!

1. HERESY! An Investigation, Determination, and Destination for Calhan High School Regis ELDS 643

2. Overview Premise: Unless your school is perfect, there are challenges that require solutions. When the current challenges are met, new ones will present. This is not unusual, unnatural, unexpected, or an aberration. We work in a fluid environment in which there is never just one solution. We must learn to embrace the chaos.

3. Overview The Problem Solving Protocol • Identify the problem (Investigation) • Define possible solutions (Investigation) • Analyze the possible solutions (Determination) • Select the most likely solution (Determination) • Implement the solution (Direction)

4. The Investigation Budget Discipline Parental Involvement School Culture Student Achievement

5. The Investigation Budget Findings • We are facing reductions and project further reductions in funding. • The above graphic depicts the portion of the district budget earmarked for high school instruction.

6. The Investigation The High School Portion of the district budget • This is the money with which programs are funded. • This is the money over which I have some control • I am responsible for “dividing this pie”

7. The Investigation Discipline Statistics • Certainly areas to improve • Trend is positive

8. The Investigation Parental Involvement Findings • Full compliment of chartered parent groups (SIC, Steering Committee, Booster Club) • RtI Home Liaison established ‘11-’12 • Attendance data (56 HS students with 8 or more absences in the 2nd semester alone) supports the conclusion that parents to not value classroom instruction.

9. The Investigation Culture Survey Student Response • Mostly positive • Note: “What I am learning is important to me”

10. The Investigation Student Achievement Findings • Reading and Writing Scores are trending Positively • Math is not • ACT math 28% against a state average of 37%

11. The Investigation Baseline Conclusion: The students in my school demonstrate their lowest academic performance in math now I must identify why

12. The Investigation Possible Solutions More instructional time More remediation needed Reduce scope of curriculum to allow slower pace

13. The Determination Current Math Offerings and Sequence Pre Algebra Algebra I Geometry Algebra II Pre Calc/Stats Calc/College Math 80%-100% 80%-100% 80%-100% 70%-100% 70%-100% 70%-100% 70%-80% 70%-80% 70%-80% 70%-80% 70%-80% 70%-80% 60%-80% 50%-70% 40%-70% 35%-65% N/A N/A

14. The Investigation Possible Solutions More instructional time More remediation needed Reduce scope of curriculum to allow slower pace

15. The Determination Reconfigured Math Offerings and Sequence Pre Algebra Algebra I Intermediate Algebra Geometry Algebra II Pre Calc/Stats Calc/College Math

16. The Determination Problem solved! Right? WRONG!

17. Class of ‘13 The Determination

18. Class of ‘14 The Determination

19. Class of ‘15 The Determination

20. Class of ‘16 The Determination

21. The Determination

22. The Determination

23. The Determination

24. The Determination

25. The Determination Connections

26. The Investigation Connections Budget: Not much opportunity to change Discipline: Trending better but disrespect still an issue Students do not think what they are learning is important Parents demonstrate a disregard for instruction Low math performance

27. The Investigation Connections Budget: Not much opportunity to change Discipline: Trending better but disrespect still an issue Relevance Students do not think what they are learning is important Parents demonstrate a disregard for instruction Low math performance

28. The Determination Important conclusions: • Math improvement can not come at the expense of literacy performance • Students do not see the relevance of most academic disciplines • In elementary school and middle school where one room instruction and team teaching is presented, math trends are positive • There is not one avenue of approach to improving math scores

29. The Determination Most important conclusion: • Emphasis on skills alone will not (and has not) improve math performance. Application of skills must be incorporated into instruction. Application, or critical thinking, is hard to measure.

30. The Determination Most important conclusion: • Emphasis on skills alone will not (and has not) improve math performance. Application of skills must be incorporated into instruction. Application, or critical thinking, is hard to measure. • Therefore, we can anticipate that this approach will be outside the mainstream in an environment of increased pressure to quantitatively measure achievement.

31. My Conclusions and Hypothesis • Biggest student concern is relevance. My anecdotal observations are consistent with this finding. • I believe student understanding of relevance is closely related to discipline issues. • If we can approach math in relation to its application, we can increase our math proficiency without sacrificing reading proficiency. • By including project based learning which will include math skills, we can address the question of relevance. • By combining the overt teaching of research skills with a restructured math sequence, we can address lack of math skills and relevance, which should impact student achievement, culture, and parental “buy-in.”

32. Therefore, • Calhan High School 9th and 10th grade students will increase TCAP Math Proficient and Above Percentage from 31.5% to 40% including an increase math median growth percentile for free and reduced lunch students from 68 to 70 on the March 2013 TCAP. To provide students with the necessary instruction to meet this goal, math offerings will be restructured to accommodate differentiated levels of development, and math instruction will be reinforced with project based application of acquired skills beginning in August, 2012.

33. The Direction Pieces to put in place: • Redesign schedule to accommodate the new math sequence and academic application module (if you can’t schedule it, you can’t do it) • Acquire any instructional materials needed for Intermediate Algebra • Design and present the training for academic application teachers • Inform the community of the curricular changes

34. The Direction Schedule

35. The Direction Action Plan

36. The Direction Communication Plan

37. The Direction It’s up to us. Embrace the chaos!