Smaller Learning Communities What Do You Know

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Smaller Learning Communities What Do You Know?

• Decide whether each statement below is true or
  false based on what you already know about
  Smaller Learning Communities at Weymouth High
  School.
• WHS Smaller Learning Communities will affect
  specific populations, not everyone.
• WHS Smaller Learning Communities will service
  ninth grade students only.
• WHS Smaller Learning Communities will end when
  the grant is gone five years from now.
• WHS Smaller Learning Communities will divert
  most support services from students in upper
  level grades to ninth grade students.

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SLC Misconceptions vs. SLC Truths
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Who Is Involved? SLC Organizational Structure
KEY directly working on project
communication relationship
Note Students are involved as participants in
leadership and subgroups also, as recipients of
communication from all groups
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What Are We Doing?
We are making a PACT to improve Personalization,
Achievement, Culture, and Transitions through
The Power of Community.
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PACT Goals

• Personalization
• Increase attendance rate
• Decrease tardies
• Decrease disciplinary referrals
• Increase the number of students who feel
  connected to an adult in the school
• Achievement
• Increase number of students who score at the
  proficient level and higher on English and math
  MCAS exams
• Increase number of students taking SAT and ACT
  exams
• Decrease dropout rate
• Decrease retention rate
• Increase percentage of students passing Advanced
  Placement exams

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PACT Goals (continued)

• Culture
• Include all faculty members in established
  Professional Learning Team
• Establish Advisory Council comprised of
  representative sample of all community
  stakeholders
• Expand communication systems
• Transitions
• Improve freshmen orientation activities and
  increase offerings
• Establish Smaller Learning Communities for
  freshmen
• Increase number of students who enroll in
  two-year and four-year post secondary institutions

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Why Are We Doing This?
In 1996, Breaking Ranks Changing an American
Institution presented a vision of a dramatically
different high school of the 21st century. Its
more than 80 recommendations provided direction
for high school principals across the country in
making schools more student-centered.
Breaking Ranks II Strategies for Leading High
School Reform continues this work. Breaking
Ranks II provides a set of three
recommendations that ensures the success of
every high school student. The first set of
recommendations focuses on the development of a
professional learning community, while the
second and third sets concentrate on meaningful
adult relationships and personalized learning,
respectively. It is the intention that every
student will be successful, not only those
typically served well by the traditional
comprehensive high school. Leadership, support,
relevance, and rigor are the cornerstones of this
most successful philosophy.
Excerpts from Breaking Ranks II Strategies for
Leading High School Reform Executive Summary
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How Does The Power of Community Connect?
Within the grant descriptions Foundation for
Implementation, it was clearly stated that
increasing student achievement and narrowing
existing gaps in achievement between all students
and targeted student subgroups is the WPSs
highest priority. It is reflected in both the
districts Strategic Plan and WHSs Improvement
Plan and is consistent with the goals of MA
Education Reform, NCLB legislation, and NEASC.
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How Does This Connect? (continued)
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How Does This Connect? (continued)
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Significant Terms to Learn

• Professional Learning Team A small, highly
  collaborative team of teachers that engage in
  PROFESSIONAL LEARNING TO IMPROVE STUDENT
  LEARNING. The process connects the
  schools student data and the teachers
  knowledge and experience regarding best
  practice methodology.
• Career and College Exploration A CURRICULUM to
  be developed to assist students with GOAL SETTING
  and PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE. Eventually this
  will become an integral part of the PACT meeting.

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Significant Terms to Learn (continued)

• College Preparation Program An organized plan to
  assist students in PREPARING the COLLEGE
  VISITATION and APPLICATION PROCESSES. It begins
  with Junior Jump Start where students are given a
  College Planning Guide.
• Personal Plans for Progress Each student,
  together with his or her faculty PACT advisor and
  family prepares
• Reflections on personal goals, academic courses
  plan, and school activities strategies to help
  them reach these goals
• A review of personal learning styles
• An identification of his or her areas of strength
  and areas for improvement
• Specific product or portfolio items demonstrating
  accomplishment and progress in academic areas,
  school activities, sports, and school and/or
  community leadership.

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Significant Terms to Learn (continued)

• Student Led Conferences A conference with
  parents/guardians led by a student. The
  classroom teachers role is that of facilitator.
  STUDENTS LEAD parents/guardians through a
  DISCUSSION OF THEIR WORK, usually organized in a
  portfolio collection. The goal of a student led
  conference is to have the student reflect on its
  effectiveness with the GOAL OF IMPROVING future
  work/portfolios.
• Coaching Reluctant Learners Teachers who know
  and are able to use a variety of STRATEGIES AND
  SETTINGS that IDENTIFY and ACCOMMODATE INDIVIDUAL
  LEARNING STYLES and ENGAGE STUDENTS.

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Significant Terms to Learn (continued)

• Creating Authentic Assessments PERFORMANCE-BASED
  evaluations of students learning teaching
  students to assess their own work and progress
  with helpful feedback from teachers. They are
  presented publicly and orally. They engage
  students in REAL-WORLD TASKS. For example,
  students write for a real audience rather than
  take a test about writing or, students
  conduct an actual scientific experiment rather
  than memorizing facts about science. TEACHERS
  are placed in the role of COACH and STUDENTS
  of PERFORMERS AND SELF-EVALUATORS.

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Significant Terms to Learn (continued)

• Personalizing Teaching for Student Learning A
  learning process in which schools help STUDENTS
  ASSESS their own TALENTS AND ASPIRATIONS, PLAN A
  PATHWAY toward their own purposes, WORK
  COOPERATIVELY with others on challenging tasks,
  maintain a record of their EXPLORATIONS, and
  DEMONSTRATE THEIR LEARNING against clear
  standards in a wide variety of media, all with
  the close support of adult mentors and guides.

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For More Information

• Joanne Tressel
• The Power of Community Project Leader
• joanne.tressel_at_weymouthschools.org
• Alison Piatkowski
• Leadership Team Communication Subgroup
  Chairperson
• alison.piatkowski_at_weymouthschools.org