Executive Summary
La Academia de Esperanza
Albuquerque Public Schools
Mr. Stephen Robert Wood, Principal
La Academia de Esperanza Charter
1401 Old Coors SW
Albuquerque
,
NM 87121
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction
1
Description of the School
2
School's Purpose
5
Notable Achievements and Areas of Improvement
7
Introduction
Every school has its own story to tell. The context in which teaching and learning takes place influences the processes and procedures by which the school makes decisions around curriculum, instruction, and assessment. The context also impacts the way a school stays faithful to its vision. Many factors contribute to the overall narrative such as an identification of stakeholders, a description of stakeholder
engagement, the trends and issues affecting the school, and the kinds of programs and services that a school implements to support student learning.
The purpose of the Executive Summary (ES) is to provide a school with an opportunity to describe in narrative form the strengths and challenges it encounters. By doing so, the public and members of the school community will have a more complete picture of how the school perceives itself and the process of self-reflection for continuous improvement. This summary is structured for the school to reflect on how it provides teaching and learning on a day to day basis.
Description of the School
Describe the school's size, community/communities, location, and changes it has experienced in the last three years. Include demographic information about the students, staff, and community at large. What unique features and challenges are associated with the community/communities the school serves?
The establishment of La Academia de Esperanza (LADE) has filled a long-recognized need in the Albuquerque area for the provision of education, at the middle and secondary levels, for the growing population of "at risk" youth. This is especially true for those students identified with serious psychiatric and behavioral disorders. Many of our students have long histories of school failure, of being truant, anger management difficulties, aggressive behaviors and gang affiliations. Involvement with the Juvenile Justice system and the Mental Health system is frequent. Many are delayed in their academic and social growth. Some of our students have been removed from their families and placed in foster care placements or residential treatment centers.
LADE is located on two Albuquerque campuses, 5200 Sequoia NW and 1401 Old Coors SW. Our enrollment is 362 students. We enroll students from grades 6 through 12. LADE serves the communities that include both the North West and South West areas of Albuquerque.
STUDENT DEMOGRAPHICS: Ethnicity: Caucasian: 18.85% Hispanic: 65.57% Native American: 9.02% Black: 3.28% Biracial: 3.28% Gender: Male: 60.2% Female: 39.8% Grade: 6th: 2.889% 7th: 8.84% 8th: 7.82% 9th: 36.63% 10th: 23.05% 11th: 14.4% 12th: 6.58% School Placement: SPED: 32.79% Regular Education: 67.21% Current Living Arrangements: Bio Parents: 26.87%
Bio Parent and Step Parent: 18.5% Adoptive: 4.41%
Treatment Foster Child: 4.85% Single Parent: 32.6%
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La Academia de Esperanza
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Other Relative: 8.37% Foster: 1.76% Group Home: 1.32% Other: 1.32%
Free Lunch Recipients - 100% Other:
JPO (past or present): 26.97% Legal History: 52.5%
Mental Health Diagnosis: 68.88%
Psychotropic Mediations (present): 44.35% Substance Use/Abuse: 73.77%
High Risk Behaviors: 97.89%
Students with Treatment History: 79.91%
Students currently in Residential Treatment or Day Treatment Program: 54.51%
STAFF DEMOGRAPHICS: LADE employs the following staff members: 1 Principal
1 Administrative Liaison
30 highly qualified teachers - average teaching experience 10.9 years 12 MAs,
18 BAs,
12 Special Education Teachers 18 Regular Education Teachers
Ancillary Staff -4 Social Workers, 1 Speech and Language Therapist, 1 part time Occupational Therapist, 1 part time Rehabilitation Counselor
10 Educational Assistants
1 part time Nurse and 1 Health Assistant 1 School Counselor
1 Registrar
1 Business Manager and 1 Business Manager Assistant 1 Plant Manager
COMMUNITY DEMOGRAPHICS: LADE services a community that is predominantly Hispanic. Approximately 88% of the families qualified for the free lunch program which places them at below the poverty level as determined by the State of New Mexico. 12% qualified for reduced lunch .
CHANGES IN THE PAST THREE YEARS: -There has been an increase in the amount of students who require ESL services and an increase in parents who speak only Spanish. On the North Campus there has been an increase in the severity of emotional and cognitive issues among the students. As a result there has been a need for additional self contained classrooms on that campus.
UNIQUENESS AND CHALLENGES: In addition to the above noted challenges, 40% of our students are currently patients of either residential or day treatment programs. The average length of stay in those programs is three months. Many of the students transfer to the South Campus when they have completed treatment, but for those who return to their home schools and communities, meeting their educational needs in such a short time requires a great deal of creativity and flexibility.
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School's Purpose
Provide the school's purpose statement and ancillary content such as mission, vision, values, and/or beliefs. Describe how the school embodies its purpose through its program offerings and expectations for students.
The Mission Statement of La Academia de Esperanza is that: "LADE strives to open the hearts and minds of children to life's possibilities, while supporting their self-determination in the least restrictive environment. We focus on educating and meeting the individual needs of each of our students. La Academia de Esperanza provides quality academic and vocational learning for students ages 11 to 18 in preparation for their roles as socially responsible individuals, within a community-based, ethnically and culturally-sensitive educational environment."
LADE wants our students to advocate for themselves, take responsibility for themselves, form personal goals and standards, develop plans to achieve their goals and make informed decisions about their futures. We want them to be active participants in their educational
experience. As individuals who have developed self-determination skills, LADE students will be able to successfully graduate and transition from LADE and achieve the goals they have set for their future in their Next Step Plans and Individualized Educational Plans. They include academic and non-academic skills and qualities.
We provide a small learning community, where there is close contact with all students. In order to be successful, the educational approach to many of our students must focus on all aspects of their lives. For many, dealing with behavioral issues must come first. Each student is assigned to a Multidisciplinary Team/Advisor Teacher to follow that student through the entire school process. LADE teachers are part of the Multidisciplinary Team that meets regularly to review the student's progress, make modifications and share information. The student and his/her parents/guardians are an active part of this process as well as any other pertinent adult involved in the student's education. This may involve several individuals including the school nurse, school counselor, social worker, vocational counselor, speech and language therapist, case-managers, behavior management specialists, elective teachers, and recreational activity instructor. The Multidisciplinary Team meets weekly about students who are in need of extra support and planning in their educational process. At these meetings students who are making progress are also identified so that they can be acknowledged through the Positive Behavior Support system.
Positive Behavior Support is a broad range of systemic and individualized strategies for achieving important social and learning outcomes while preventing problem behavior with all students. We believe that a student's management of behavior in a positive and productive manner leads to life success and promotes academic success. The student becomes responsible for personal behavior, enjoying the rewards of positive interactions.
Additional methods which support our Mission include: differentiated instruction, multi-grade level classes,
outdoor recreational experiential programs, a least restrictive environment, full inclusion, 21st Century Learning, common prep periods and community partnerships.
The organizational goals stated in the LADE Educational Plan for Student Success directly supports the School Mission. Its focus on parental and family involvement, increasing proficiency in reading and math is directly related to educating and meeting the individual needs of each of our students. LADE will know if it is achieving the Mission by: standardized test scores, short cycle test scores, attendance rates, High School credits earned, utilizing Synergy Group LTD. evaluation site studies, parent, staff and student surveys, community partnerships and staff training.
At some point in their education process at LADE, the majority of our students will require some form of a corrective action and remediation intervention. Therefore, these interventions are often school wide. The timeline to assess the results of the utilization of these actions are based on the improvements seen in the results of the NWEA short cycle assessments in September, December and May. The results are reviewed with parents/guardians at twice a year. If results do not demonstrate improvement and growth the corrective action is reviewed for appropriate changes or modifications.The following are examples of corrective actions and remediation used at LADE:
1. Before and after school tutoring is provided on a daily basis.
2. Saturday tutoring is available and required for low performing students.
3. Each student is provided a faculty advisor who advocates and mediates with the student's teachers when the student is at risk for falling below classroom expectations.
4. On-line software, which includes SuccessMaker, Compass,Read 180 and E2020 is available for remediation.
5. The computer lab is available before and after school and one evening a week (also open to parents) to students to access the on-line software.
6. During the school day, low performance students are given additional math and reading instruction to close their achievement gap. 7. Hands on project based methods are utilized to increase motivation and confidence in our students.
8. Credit recovery is available through the Compass and E2020 software. A seventh period is also available for students who want to make up credits.
9. Duel enrollment is available through CNM. LADE pays for the instructional materials.
10. Contracts are written between parents, students and the school which address areas of both behavior and academic performance improvement.
11. Transitional Plans - Course of Study for students by age 14, Interagency Linkage for students by age 16.
12. Educational environment supports individual needs of students with identified psychiatric and behavioral disorders.
13. Consistent communication with support people in individual student's lives (I.E. Probation Officers, Case Managers, Social Workers etc.)
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Notable Achievements and Areas of Improvement
Describe the school's notable achievements and areas of improvement in the last three years. Additionally, describe areas for improvement that the school is striving to achieve in the next three years.
The Last Three Years
In the past three years LADE has made notable achievements in several areas:
1. The school has established a school library which now employs two part time librarians. Approximately $40,000 has been spent for resource books. Our students have access to Gale Databases which gives them use of Discovering, Gale Virtual Reference Library and Health Resources, as well as World Book online.
2. Tier II interventions have been integrated into the LADE program. They include the employment of a full time reading teacher and the implementation of computer software (Read 180 FASTT Math and Fraction Nation). These interventions have been designed to close the achievement gap for students who are not proficient in math and reading.
3. Three Instructional Coaches have been added to mentor beginning teachers and to facilitate ongoing professional development.
4. An extended period has been added to the daily schedule to provide advisory time between the students and their faculty advisor on the South campus. During this period next- step plans are developed, interest inventories are conducted and advisors ensure that the students are meeting the school's graduation requirements. Parents are involved through phone calls from the advisor regarding academic progress and attendance issues. Advisors also meet with parents twice a year.
5. In the past three years LADE has been continuing to improve its facility by updating the areas used for academic electives (I.E.) ceramics, painting, dance, fashion and yoga.
6. In order to better meet the needs of the at risk Middle School students a horticultural program has been integrated into the North Campus curriculum. The students are responsible for the planning, planting and care of an on campus garden. The produce raised is then sold in a student run business. This program offers the students a hands on learning experience.
7. Pearson SuccessMaker is being used with the school's lowest functioning regular education Middle School students in the subject areas of math and reading.
8. LADE is participating in the Charter Schools sports program by the formation of both a basketball and a soccer team.
Next Three Years
In the next three years LADE hopes to improve in the following areas:
1. We want to continue to increase meaningful parent involvement and interaction.
2. We want to be more effective in using data to guide our instruction. This would include finding meaningful assessments that are relevant for our specialized student population.
3. We hope to increase the duel enrollment classes offered to our students. The goal is to help students to transition into college with additional college credits.
4. LADE wants to encourage more teachers to move up through the level system as defined by the New Mexico Public Education Department.
5. The Science Department wants to build a green house in order to better incorporate environmental sciences into its curriculum. 6. LADE wants to continue with facility improvements by upgrading the cooking capability of the campus kitchen and therefore eliminating the purchase of catering services. We also want to add a multipurpose building to be used for sporting events, extracurricular activities, drama productions, parent nights etc.
7. LADE wants to improve and increase its technology on both campuses.
8. We want to purchase promethium boards and provide specialized staff training for their implementation in the math classes.
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Additional Information
Provide any additional information you would like to share with the public and community that were not prompted in the previous sections.
LADE has always been a specialized school in that its students have been extremely high risk. They have been dealing with mental health and behavioral issues that have interfered with their academic success. Both academics and behavior have had to be equally addressed. As mentioned previously, many of our students are presently in a Residential Treatment or a Day Treatment program. Frequently students come from chaotic family situations, are involved with the juvenile legal system and have experienced long histories of school failure. In recent years the acuity of the mental health issues has increased while the length of stay in the school has decreased. Academic deficits are more prominent. These challenges have required us to address deficits and to develop interventions quickly and creatively.
LADE has several unique community partnerships with agencies such as La Familia Inc., Talking Talons Youth Leadership, The Family Lifeline, Inc., Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), Bosque Ecosystem Monitoring Program (BEMP), Central New Mexico Community College and Youth & Family Centered Services- Desert Hills. These partnerships offer our students educational,civic and personal opportunities.
All the students that attend LADE on the North Campus are in treatment in either a day treatment program or a residential treatment
program. The benefits of this are that the school has the opportunity to work with multiple mental health professionals in coordination with the academic program. The challenge that this creates is that the school leases the facility from the treatment center and is not able to make changes or modifications independently.
