Chapter 4 – Self-Study Findings Page 38 In 2010, the school held a school-wide assembly before the
CSTs began in order to raise awareness about the rationale for and the impact of the students doing well on the state tests.
During student interviews, students remarked that they see a progression of difficulty from ninth through twelfth grade, with the biggest jump coming between tenth and eleventh grades.
Differentiated Instruction
Several Houses across campus have made differentiated instruction their focus for professional development for at least the last two years. This means that the concepts and ideas were thoroughly explained and demonstrated in House meetings as well as professional development time being allocated to work on taking pre-existing lesson plans and adjusting them to reflect more differentiation in delivery. Lessons have been created to incorporate multiple strategies within each discipline such as
PowerPoint presentations, lab activities, group projects, art, and lecture. Lessons have also been created to allow students to demonstrate their knowledge of the standards through a variety of ways such as writing an essay, creating a presentation, writing a song, or giving an oral report.
Unfortunately, this is very inconsistent across the Houses and most groups reported in their classroom visits that little or no differentiated instruction was observed. Students commented in their interviews that teaching methods and strategies are inconsistent.
Student work
Student project rubrics Student interviews Student survey (#6, 7) Lesson Link teams
Differentiated reading lists Classroom observations
Variety of Instructional Strategies
Lecture and direct instruction is widely used by most faculty members across disciplines. However, in their commitment to ensure that all students have the opportunity to achieve at the highest levels, teachers at Santa Monica High School employ a wide variety of teaching strategies to address different learning styles. Roughly 73% of students surveyed agreed that there is a variety of methods used.
The following strategies are a sample of activities that teachers employ throughout the year which have been broken down by department. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list.
Course syllabi
Classroom observations Sample assignments Student survey (#6, 7) Teacher survey (#14, 32, 34,
38)
Parent survey (#19)
Chapter 4 – Self-Study Findings Page 39 Math department
Math labs
Manipulatives (Algebra Tiles) Cooperative learning
Written explanations (essays, short answers) English-Language Arts department
Group projects Foldables for notes Student reflections Analysis of primary texts Graphic organizers Socratic Seminar Science department
Science labs Virtual dissections Cooperative learning Lecture
Group projects Guest speakers Social Studies department
Model UN simulation Analysis of primary texts Use of graphic organizers Lecture
Group projects
PowerPoint presentations Historical research Debates
Classical and Modern Languages Board games
Group/individual presentations Using CDs to develop listening skills Field Trips
In an effort to reach beyond the classroom and show students that what they are studying at Santa Monica High School is applicable to the outside world, some teachers organize field trips to local, national and international sites.
The following is an example of some of the places and opportunities students have to learn outside the classroom.
Record of fieldtrips Teacher syllabi Teachers survey (#37) Trip brochures/pamphlets
Chapter 4 – Self-Study Findings Page 40 Science department
Six Flags for Math/Science Day Long Beach Aquarium
Santa Monica Pier Social Studies department
Holocaust Museum
California African-American Museum Science Center
Sojourn to the Past Civil Rights field trip to the American South
Santa Monica Farmer‟s Market Santa Monica Public Library English-Language Arts department
California Literature‟s culminating trip to the Central Coast of California
UCLA Library R.O.P.
SAGE competitions (regional, state, national, &
international)
Gutenberg Festival (Long Beach, CA) Performing Arts department
Disney Performance Hall
Tour and performances in England, Italy, Austria, China
Guest Speakers
Given that Santa Monica is so close to Los
Angeles/Hollywood and has a very diverse population, the students and teachers have access to guest speakers from all disciplines that can talk to students about their experiences and make the curriculum more relevant and real. Many teachers try to tap into guest speakers as much as they can and some guests‟ presentations are made available to the whole school.
The following are a list of guest speakers. It is not meant to be an exhaustive list.
Holocaust Survivors
Japanese Internment Survivors Planned Parenthood
UCLA‟s Rape Treatment Center Common Ground-AIDS education Visiting artists
Authors (Greg Mortensen, Firoozeh Dumas)
Master calendar Course syllabi
Chapter 4 – Self-Study Findings Page 41 California Poet Laureate
Astronaut/Samohi Alumni (Lt. Col. Randall Bresnik) Director Paul Scott (“Plug in America”)
Civil Rights activist (Dr. Terrence Roberts) Parents of autistic/Asberger‟s syndrome children Implementing Challenging Learning Experiences at all Levels
The student survey indicates that students‟ and teachers‟
expectations are similar, and tests and quizzes are
employed in an efficacious manner. However, neither the student survey nor the teacher survey asked about “learning experiences” specifically.
The student work discussion and summary indicates that college prep and honors/AP level classes did not have as much of a gap in content or course rigor than expected.
Due to our open enrollment policy regarding Honors/AP classes, there is a big gap between students‟ performance and their readiness for AP classes.
Student survey (#3, 21, 22) Student work (#1, 2) Classroom observations Parent survey (#5, 6, 12, 25) Six week progress reports AP exam data
Instruction Across Curriculum
There are a variety of assignments across the curriculum that demonstrate students‟ ability to gather, analyze and organize information and effectively communicate their acquired knowledge. However, almost 50% of staff disagreed or strongly disagreed that there was integration among disciplines and cross-curricular planning and/or assignments at the school. English and social studies seem to do the majority of the collaboration at this time. The English and Social Studies departments administer
“baseline” assignments on certain topics. Students choose a position and support it drawing on excerpts from required readings and their own studies, observations, and previous experiences. Some classes have also been blocked together to allow for cross curricular teacher pairings.
Examples of instruction across curriculum include:
AP English/AP US History Block class
Freshman Seminar/ninth grade English Block class Freshman Seminar/ninth grade AVID Block class English texts support Social Studies curriculum (The
Crucible, Night, The Things They Carried, etc.) Connect for Success Program
Geometric abstract art project
Course syllabi Master schedule Common assessments Teacher survey (#25)
Chapter 4 – Self-Study Findings Page 42 Strategies for Students to Succeed at High Levels
Teachers employ a variety of strategies to help students organize their thoughts and materials in a way that is conducive to higher level learning. In collaboration with advisors and administrators, teachers develop
individualized strategies to help low-performing students succeed. Students work on science labs, English and social studies essays, social science projects, and math problems.
The school‟s CST and AP scores demonstrate that Santa Monica High School students are able to produce high level work. Students commented in their interviews and through the surveys that they feel prepared for college. Many teachers integrate test preparation into their instruction as well as use common assessments to adjust their instruction.
Appropriate accommodations are made for students with 504s and IEPs
Honors/ AP courses offered Immersion program
ELD program
Course catalog Course syllabi Student work
Classroom observation Student survey (#17, 18, 20,
21)
Student interviews
Teacher survey (#17, 23, 43) Parent survey (#12, 21, 25,
30)
Real World Learning Opportunities
Teachers at Santa Monica High School work towards helping students make meaningful connections by providing real world learning opportunities. Some examples of these follow.
Project ECHO
Students for Advancement of Global Entrepreneurship (SAGE)
Racial Harmony Project Safe Zone Career Day Music Program
Clubs (Circle of Friends, Invisible Children, Team Marine, Delians, etc.)
Peer tutoring program
Course description Program description Course syllabi Chartered club list Student survey (#1, 12) Teacher survey (#26, 29, 37) Parent survey (#10)
Chapter 4 – Self-Study Findings Page 43 Technology
Access to technology has improved since the last
accreditation but it is still one of our biggest challenges.
Seventy new computers were purchased two years ago to update the two computer labs on campus. Recently, new motherboards were installed in about 30 computers to ensure that the labs were in good working order.
Every classroom is equipped with at least one computer and wireless internet. Many teachers have document cameras and LCD projectors in their classrooms, particularly in the math and science departments.
Technology is utilized across all subject areas to help students achieve academic standards and expected school wide learning results. Some examples follow.
Digital Design classes Physics motion detector lab
RASMOL software to visualize DNA Vernier probes and sensors
Turnitin.com-to prevent plagiarism
Presentation technology through ELMO and LCD projectors
Online discussion boards, class websites, and blogs Online math tutorials, textbook pages, and
interactive practice tests and quizzes
Classroom observations Course offerings
Course syllabi
Student surveys (#30, 31, 32)
Parent survey
Teacher survey (#14) Parent survey (#14, 26, 35)
Chapter 4 – Self-Study Findings Page 44
Strengths Growth Areas
Teachers use a variety of instructional strategies.
Expand opportunities for cross curricular instruction.
Teachers provide real world opportunities to enhance learning.
Continue to develop common assessments and their consistent utilization to inform and drive instruction.
Expand the integration and implementation of technology use in the classroom.
Santa Monica High School
Standards-Based Student Learning: Instruction
Chapter 4 – Self-Study Findings Page 45 D1: To what extent does the school use a professionally acceptable assessment process to collect, disaggregate, analyze, and report student performance data to the parents and other stakeholders of the community?
Summary: Santa Monica High School collects, disaggregates and analyzes student
performance data from high-stakes exams, placement and language proficiency exams, as well as through daily assessment in the classroom. At the beginning of each school year, the site
administration and faculty review together and then in departments student performance from the previous year (e.g., CST data, AP scores, GPA patterns, six week progress reports and cluster data). This early study of student performance informs teacher, course, program, and department targets established for the year. Each spring, further data is disseminated for review, including CAHSEE results, and GPA patterns. Department assessments/benchmarks allow teachers to collect and analyze important standards-based performance data. It is an expectation for each department to examine published data on a regular basis and use findings to guide ongoing instruction.
Because communication with parents was an area of concern six years ago, the Samohi staff has worked very hard to increase and improve the avenues through which parents are informed of student progress and achievement. In 2010, SMMUSD purchased Blackboard Connect-Ed, an automated communication system, which uses telephone and email to keep parents informed about events and issues at the school. The school continues to discuss ways to make clearer and more uniform the options available to parents wishing access to information regarding their students‟ academic progress. Currently, teachers are using Pinnacle, the school‟s online grading system, to conveniently email parents about their child‟s academic progress.
Findings Evidence
Publication of Course Specific Information
All teachers on campus publish specific guidelines (e.g.
rubrics, grading scales), explaining to parents and students how student achievement in each course will be assessed, how grades will be determined, and how parents may have access to information about their students‟ performance.
Students believe that teachers set reasonable expectations that match their own.
Course syllabi
Back to School Night/Open House
Department/School-wide PTSA presentations Teacher websites Student survey ( #3) Teacher survey (#45, 48) Student interviews