During the year, MAS responded to all of the activities recommended in the 2012–13 programmatic profile and educational performance report. Below is a description of each recommendation and corresponding response.
For the primary/elementary academy, the focus was on the following.
Recommendation: Adopt and implement new strategies to improve the attendance and school engagement of the youngest students.
Response: Staff implemented several new strategies over the course of the school year with the intent of improving students’ attendance and engagement in the learning environment.
» Student attendance was posted daily in each classroom and was reported by teachers.
» Student attendance review board meetings were held with parents of students absent five or more days to design a remedial plan. These meetings were convened as soon as the threshold was recorded for a student.
» The state statute language was placed on student report cards.
» Classes with 100% attendance were recognized at all school assemblies and via an email to all school staff.
Recommendation: Improve parental engagement and involvement in the education of their children by creating a more solid team approach to learning.
Response: MAS adopted a rigorous homework policy.35 Homework was assigned daily and all work was required to be 100% completed upon arrival at school the next morning. Any incomplete homework was completed by students during the school day either at lunch or recess time. Monthly newsletters were also mailed to all parents updating them on school activities and upcoming events. Several family events were held throughout the school year and many parents came for the school’s science showcase.
Recommendation: Continue strengthening the reading program by increasing the rigor of the curriculum and providing more resources for the teachers.
Response: MAS took several steps to improve students’ reading performance.
35 Complete details about the homework policy can be found on p. 8 of the Parent Handbook, 2013–14.
» Reading benchmarks were adopted and progress toward achievement was included on report cards.
» Teachers were involved in monthly professional development activities related to Great Habits Great Readers.
» Guided reading curriculum was extended into the third through fifth grades.
Any student at grade level lexile was expected to work independently on higher level skills.
» Compass learning time was increased and an intensive challenge competition was held in the spring.
» Teachers engaged students in monthly writing assessments and spent subsequent time on reteaching unmastered skills to students based on their unique needs.
For the junior academy, the focus was on improving the math competencies of students through the following strategies.
Recommendation: Implement the Common Core State Standards curriculum for both junior academy and high school students, including strengthening the content for literary instruction.
Response: A Common Core committee was created to research and increase knowledge about the Common Core and its standards. The achievement director participated in a Common Core conference and used the materials gathered at these sessions to train a core of teachers. These teachers served as a resource for all other teachers. The committee members aligned the math curriculum to the Common Core for the sixth through twelfth grade. Special attention was also given to the literacy curriculum, including an inventory of all available materials and classification of these documents to specify their level of rigor.
Recommendation: Use novels with greater frequency as part of the English/literature instruction.
Response: Teachers developed units on novels and all students read at least one novel each semester. A book club was created for sixth graders to enhance their abilities to discuss novels, including themes, character development, plots, etc.
Recommendation: Create more cohesion in the curriculum between reading and writing.
Response: The language arts block was extended to 100 minutes. Students had the same teacher for the entire block and the expectation was that both reading and writing would be integrated in the activities undertaken during this block.
For the high school, the focus was on the following steps.
Recommendation: Improve the rigor and relevance of the use of the quality core concepts in all courses taken by the students.
Response: The math and English departments used the quality core concepts, which are aligned to the skills required for success on the ACT. Aligned assessments were given to students on a regular basis and the results were subsequently used by staff to adapt their instruction to increase student ability to achieve mastery on more skills.
Staff also spent time aligning the curriculum to the Common Core standards and developing instructional strategies and materials to increase vigor.
Recommendation: Create advisory groups to provide students with more supports to improve their academic outcomes and school attendance and to address personal and familial issues that challenge success in school.
Response: Every student was assigned to an advisory group based on their grade level.
There were approximately 13 students in each grouping, which met for 32 minutes once a week. The focus was on supporting students through academic advising, goal setting, community building, and social and emotional development. Advisors monitored student progress and modified goals to maximize success and positive outcomes in both academic and behavioral areas.
III. EDUCATIONAL PERFORMANCE
To monitor performance as it relates to the CSRC contract, MAS collected a variety of
qualitative and quantitative information at specified intervals during prior academic years. This year, the school established goals for attendance, parent-teacher conferences, and special education student records. In addition, MAS identified local and standardized measures of academic performance to monitor student progress.
This year, local assessment measures included student progress in literacy, mathematics, and writing, as well as IEP goals for special education students. The standardized assessment measures
used were the Phonological Awareness Literacy Screen (PALS), the Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Examination (WKCE),36 the EXPLORE, the PLAN,37 and the ACT or SAT.