Whittier City School DistrictCalifornia Standards Test

2011Report on Progress

Board of Education MeetingSeptember 13, 2011

Whittier City School District grew 15 points on the Academic Performance Index (API) from 755 to 770

Sorensen School made an astonishing 66 points growth on the API!

Jackson School, with the 2nd to the highest % of students on Free and Reduced Lunch in our district, made 39 points growth this year and almost 100 points growth over the past 5 years

More Good News Dexter Middle School made 39 points

growth on the API over the past two years Hoover School grew 37 points on their API

this year Of our schools that are currently in

Program Improvement, 3 of them (Sorensen, West Whittier, and Jackson) met all AYP targets through Safe Harbor

* A school can meet Safe Harbor when it reduces the percentage of students not scoring proficient by 10%

Some specific highlightsStudent Group Increase in

Proficiency Rates

Subject Area

All Students 5.3% Mathematics

English Learners 5.4% Mathematics

English Learners 5.1% English Language Arts

Disadvantaged 5% Mathematics

All students 5% Scored Advanced in ELA

and Mathematics

To What Do We Attribute Growth? The sign of an effective learning

organization is when it can identify clearly why there is improvement

Reasons we believe caused the growth are:• Greater focus on standards • Professional development from =M Math

grant on effective instructional strategies • Professional development in ELD strategies• Emerging work on Common Assessments

Not so great news Three schools did not make progress

on their API (although two of those schools had made growth the previous years)

Only two of our schools have met the 800 target

Four more schools have entered into Program Improvement

No Excuses…but… While the statewide average API score rose 11

points to 778, with all racial groups making academic gains, 4,600 schools from throughout the state are now labeled as failing under the federal No Child Left Behind law

That means that 80% of all Title I schools are now in PI.

Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson has joined leaders in other states in calling for a reprieve from the No Child Left Behind law

“(NCLB's) requirement that 100 percent of students reach proficiency by the 2013-14

school year means a rapidly escalating number of schools and districts are being deemed failures, despite rising test scores

and rankings according to the state's formula…and the federally imposed labels

cease to provide any meaningful information to stakeholders who deserve a more comprehensive understanding of a

school's performance,” California Superintendent of Schools, Tom Torlakson in a

letter to U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan

We have work to do! Our goal is for all schools to reach or

exceed 800 on the Academic Performance Index

Our pursuit of Professional Learning Communities will be a critical aspect of that work

We will begin classroom walk-thrus to give feedback on instructional practices as part of our improvement process

“Many schools operate as if their primary purpose is to

ensure that children are taught, PLCs are dedicated to the idea that our schools exist

to ensure that all children learn the essential skills and

knowledge expected” ~ Richard

DuFour

Steps in the PLC Process Focus on learning not just

teaching Create a collaborative culture Identify priority standards Create formative assessments to

frequently measure student learning:• Identify best practices in teaching• Identify students in need of immediate intervention

Steps in the PLC Process Create creative structures for

providing interventions to move students to proficiency

Provide enrichment opportunities for students who learn it the first time

We accept learning as the fundamental purpose of our school and therefore are willing to examine all practices in light of their

impact on learning.