Fitchburg High School Redesign Plan

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Fitchburg High SchoolRedesign Plan
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FHS Redesign Planning Team

• Megan Normandin English Laura Baker - FSC
• Bryan Baxter Social Studies Phil Moore -
  Science
• Dave Kelly Social Studies John Pierce -
  Facilitator
• Denise DeLucia Social Studies Pati Gregson -
  MWCC
• Sheila Thomas Technology
• Tom Hughes CS2 Entrepreneur
• Rich Masciarelli Administration
• Jinnee Strus Data Analyst
• Angele Goss Upward Bound FSC
• Veronica Kell Math Coach
• Steve Celona Special Education

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Redesign..Why the Need for Change

• Fitchburg High School has currently been declared
  Restructuring Year 1 by the DOE
• Fitchburg High School is currently preparing for
  a NEASC accreditation visit in November 2009 and
  will be judged on its adherence to the seven
  Standards of Accreditation
• Students, starting with the graduating Class of
  2010, must either meet or exceed the Proficient
  scaled score of 240 on the ELA and Mathematics
  grade 10 MCAS or meet or exceed the Needs
  Improvement scaled score of 220 and fulfill the
  requirements of an Educational Proficiency Plan.
  This is in addition to exceeding a scaled score
  of 220 in Science

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Current Status of Fitchburg High

• 391 Freshmen 331 Sophomores 297 Juniors 254
  Seniors
• Students must meet academic requirements for 6
  courses each semester.
• Teachers have five courses, most with three
  preparations and a total student load of over 100
  students per semester.
• Excluding first period class and lunch, over 1300
  students relocate five times during the school
  day with daily expectations of six teachers.
• 40 Freshmen, 27 Sophomores, 27 Juniors 25
  Seniors failed at least one course during second
  quarter of the current year.
• 29 of 9th grade students are tracked in Level 1
  and most remain through graduation.

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Teaching Learning Strategies To Help Reach
Outcomes

• Challenge all students in appropriate levels with
  college-prep, honors and AP curriculum
• Standards-based curriculum in all classrooms
  holding all students to high expectations and
  creating a partnership between student and
  teacher
• Engage students daily by emphasis on critical
  thinking and problem-solving
• Provide comprehensive interventions and safety
  nets in core subject area classrooms and special
  classrooms so students can catch up as quickly
  as possible

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Culture Climate Strategies to Help Reach
Outcomes

• Clear student and teacher expectations based on
  professional norms, and what students will face
  in college/work place
• Emphasis on freshmen/new students feeling
  supported, encouraged and knowledgeable regarding
  academic and social expectations
• Provide every student the opportunity to
  establish a strong relationship with a caring
  adult in our building in addition to his/her
  guidance counselor
• Faculty commitment to break down complex new
  material into smaller, sequential, and manageable
  parts to be learned
• Pursuit of excellence, passion for learning,
  persistence until success, and support for others
  is asked of students, and modeled by all adults

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Culture Climate Strategies to Help Reach
Outcomes (Continued)

• Teaching students includes inspiring them and
  motivating them to succeed by showing an
  excitement and passion for our disciplines
• Teachers promote confidence by engineering
  student success that increases effort producing
  achievement
• Mutual respect, personal responsibility,
  persistence, cooperation and continued progress
  toward excellence is modeled by every adult and
  demanded from every student
• Teaching students includes inspiring and
  motivating everyone to succeed by demonstrating
  an excitement and passion for learning and
  respecting individual differences

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School Structure Strategies to Help Reach
Outcomes

• Data-driven curriculum, instruction, school
  design
• More active student involvement in learning and
  decision-making processes
• Develop common assessment tools adhering to
  accreditation and standard indicators ensuring
  achievement of academic expectations in all
  classrooms
• Comprehensive staff development that is embedded
  in daily practice, modeled and supported
• Shared-leadership and collective decision-making
• Use of external standards to ensure alignment
  with changing demands of college and employment

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School Structure Strategies to Help Reach
Outcomes (Continued)

• Commitment to school-wide literacy so that all
  curriculums develop reading and writing
• Develop a daily schedule that supports
  collaboration, use of a variety of
  student-centered instructional strategies,
  addresses individual differences and provides
  students with time and support to meet high
  standards

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FHS Redesign Components..

• Freshmen Academy consisting of a Math, Science,
  English, Social Studies, and Special Education
  Teacher sharing a common planning period and
  approximately 100 students
• Weekly mentoring program matching all staff
  members with a group of approximately 15 students
• Implement a 4x4 block schedule that allows
  teachers to concentrate on three semester courses
  and students to concentrate on four semester
  courses
• Professional development opportunities that focus
  on teaching in the long block, sound
  instructional strategies, and non-confrontational
  classroom management. If successfully securing
  the SLC Grant, approximately 300,000 will be
  devoted to PD over the next five years
• Maintain course leveling challenging all students
  with a college-prep, honors, or AP curriculum,
  providing comprehensive intervention and safety
  net support as needed

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Additional Redesign Components - SLC Grant

• Curriculum Leader/Literacy Coach to support
  teachers with implementation of school-wide
  standards-based curriculums and literacy
  initiatives
• Expand the role of our Data Analyst to include
  supporting teachers with analysis of common
  classroom assessments
• Student Success Counselor to monitor Individual
  Student Success Plans and Educational Proficiency
  Plans for every FHS student scoring below 240 on
  MCAS assessments and/or needing any type of
  support help
• Critical Friends Facilitator Training
• Faculty book study professional development
• Planning workshops for advisory curriculum
  planning and Freshmen Academy curriculum planning

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Additional Redesign Components SLC Grant

• Literacy journals for all students in Grades 9-12
• Freshmen Agendas for all Grade 9 students
• Expanded Grade 9 Orientation activities for
  staff, students and parents
• Expanded dual enrollment opportunities for Grade
  11 and Grade 12 students
• Expanded distance learning opportunities for
  Grade 11 and Grade 12 students

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Redesign Decisions Yet To Be Defined

• Analyze the need for additional teaching sections
  within the block schedule and develop courses
  matching the needs of our students with the
  strengths of our teaching staff
• Build a Master Schedule for the 4 x 4 block
  schedule
• Determine how best to staff the Freshmen Academy
  and develop appropriate curriculum for entering
  9th grade students
• Examine current school structure and decide on
  the optimum way to house the Freshmen Academy
  concept within our facility

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Redesign Outcomes.

• Grade 9 students moving on to 10th will increase
  by 20 each of the next five years.
• Competency determination on MCAS assessments will
  increase by 10 each of the next five years.
• Within five years 400 freshmen gt400
  sophomoresgt400 juniorsgt400 graduates.
• School culture will improve dramatically when
  every student has the opportunity to work with a
  caring mentor on a regular basis.
• All students are academically challenged in an
  atmosphere of high achievement/high support,
  while being provided with daily encouragement,
  hope, inspiration and confidence to succeed in a
  post-secondary setting.

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Redesign Outcomes (continued)

• All teachers will concentrate on three courses
  per semester with a reasonable student load and a
  daily schedule that promotes a wider variety of
  instructional strategies to meet the needs of all
  students.
• All students will concentrate on four academic
  courses per semester, experience up to eight
  courses per year, and complete DOE core subject
  area distribution requirements in order to
  scaffold to higher level courses/interest area
  elective courses, dual enrollment, and distance
  learning courses during junior and senior years.
• All students are prepared for college/careers
  without the need for remediation

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Fitchburg High School

• A High Achievement/High Support School
• for ALL