Accreditation

LANDMARK HIGH SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT GOALS

GOAL #1

Increase academic achievement in all courses by reaching the benchmark of 50% of Landmark day-school students meeting the expectation of “no grades lower than a C”. (Vital Behavior #3- Productivity)

Action Plan(s):

1. Continue to develop effective means of identifying students at risk for failing a class early on in the term.

2. Ensure that systems for contacting parents about academic concerns are in place and used consistently and early in the grading cycle.

3. Develop a Student Support Center that brings together many of the student support tools and services in order to increase effectiveness and efficiency.

4. Improve the system currently in place to provide more intense one on one tracking for students struggling with academic expectations.

5. Continue to target the curriculum areas that prove the most difficulty for students with additional resources and support. (Math)

6. Continue to find ways to improve the Advisory/Flex Time Program so that students use it as an effective tool for staying caught up on their classwork.

7. Continue to improve on effective ways to recognize and positively reinforce students who are meeting academic expectations. 

Measurements of Success:

1. Weekly progress reports reflect that students are maintaining C grades or better.

2. End of term Report Cards reflect that 50% of the students have grades of C or better. 

Supporting Professional Development Activities (if applicable):

1. Student Support Center that includes a study hall, tracker services, a credit recovery advisor, testing services etc.

2. Trained trackers are available to support students effectively in academic areas.

GOAL #2

Increase the graduation rate from the current 57% to a target rate of 65%.

Action Plan(s):

1.  Identify students as they come into Landmark that are currently not on track to graduate as determined by the number of credits they have and the core graduation requirements they have filled.

2.  Continue to develop and refine a program for credit recovery that assists students currently not on track to graduate to be on track to graduate no later than the end of first semester their senior year.

3.  Work with student advisors to make sure all are aware of those students that are not on track to graduate and should therefore be working on credit recovery programs to get caught up.

4.  Assign a tracker to assist the advisors in working with these students and ensuring they are actively engaged in credit recovery.

5.  Develop an effective tool for tracking the credit recovery progress of students that can be shared with students, parents, teachers etc.

6.  Increase the percentage of students graduating by a minimum of 1% each year until the goal is met.

Measurements of Success:

1. School-generated data showing the percentage of students that are on track to graduate at any given time.

2.  Percentage of seniors that are on track to graduate by the end of the second term of their senior year.

3.  End of year graduation rates.

Supporting Professional Development Activities (if applicable):

1. Training on using the Advisory Program most effectively.

2. Training for trackers on how to effectively provide support and positive reinforcement to students as they try to get in a position to graduate. 

GOAL #3

Improve student behavior by continuing to reinforce the 5 Vital Behaviors by integrating them into all school programs and expectations.

Action Plan(s):

1. Develop an orientation presentation that can be shared with students and parents at the time of registration that heavily focuses in on the Vital Behaviors.

2. Develop a contract that is signed by the parent, student, and administrator, that commits students to exemplifying the Vital Behaviors while they are a student at Landmark.

3. Ensure that all Landmark staff are fully trained on the expectations embodied in the Vital Behaviors and committed to exemplifying them.

4. Encourage all Landmark staff to integrate the language of the Vital Behaviors into classroom student behavior plans, discussions, disciplinary measures, behavior/academic interventions etc.

5. Develop materials so that all teachers can routinely, uniformly and explicitly teach the 5 Vital Behaviors and associated expectations to the students in their advisory classes.

6. Develop more media tools that will help keep the Vital Behaviors’ message visible around the school and on Landmark social media sites.

7. Identify effective ways to reinforce positive student behavior with incentives and rewards for students who meet Vital Behavior expectations.

Measurements of Success:

1. Behavior referrals to the office and to detention diminish.

2. Students display greater respect towards each other and staff.

3. Students are more familiar with and able to talk about the Vital behaviors.

Supporting Professional Development Activities (if applicable):

1. School site training on effective advisory programs.

2. Training and reviewing principals of Love and Logic and Discipline With Dignity.


ADVANCED ACCREDITATION GOAL

Improvement Priority

Statement

Landmark High School teachers and support staff have developed a framework to collect and analyze data regarding teaching and learning. However; Landmark High School has been unable to apply the collected data in a way that has a direct impact on the teaching and learning. Further analysis of data sources, including comparison and trend data about student learning, instruction, program evaluation, and organizational conditions is needed.

Description

The Team also observed that the Landmark High School Accreditation Report states that the school self-reported a two in this area and the team supports this score and recognizes the need for continuous improvement in this critical area. Professional and support staff should continuously collect, analyze, and apply learning from a range of data sources, including comparison and trend data about student learning, instruction, program evaluation, and organizational conditions.

School Improvement Goal

Goal Statement

Landmark High School will establish expectations and procedures for collecting and analyzing academic data in order to make improvements in teaching and learning.

Objectives

Reestablish the Professional Learning Community model and organize the teachers into collaboration teams.  Collect student data, analyze the data, and use the results to inform us as to the most effective teaching strategies and curriculum that will lead to greater student achievement.  Implement needed improvements.

Determine what data will be helpful to evaluating program effectiveness, student learning, and teaching strategies.  Regularly assess students, collect data, establish an on-going forum for continuous discussion and evaluation of the data, and share this data with school stake holders.  React to the data by identifying specific strategies that produce effective results as well as those that are less effective.  Make needed improvements.

In all curriculum areas, continue to refine and renew efforts with established programs such as Professional Learning Community-based collaboration teams and Student Learning Objectives (SLO) with a particular emphasis in data collection and synthesis.  Establish accountability measures and means for sharing classroom data.

Continue to collect and analyze data associated with student grades in order to better understand why such a high percentage of students fail courses and lose credit.  Establish new, and improve on existing, effective interventions in and out of the classroom to increase the number of students who are able to maintain C grades—or better—in all of their classes.

Strategy

1. Set up the schedule and teaching assignments so that collaboration around common curriculum is possible for all core teachers.

2. Provide teacher training to address what an effective Professional Learning Community looks like to include the tools of collaboration: learning objectives, student “I Can” statements, curriculum maps, common assessments, and tools for analyzing and sharing student data.

3. Establish an open forum as a school for the sharing of student data and discussions related to effective teaching strategies and student learning.

4. Establish a system of reporting and accountability for collaboration team work.

5. For teachers that are not able to collaborate, reestablish the requirement for student learning objectives to be written and followed through with. Have a system for accountability and sharing with staff mentors or administrators.

6. Continue to collect grade data at the end of each term and discuss interventions that are effective with helping students to do the things necessary to pass their classes.

7. Identify learning behaviors that cause students to fail such as not engaging during class and not completing assignments. Provide training to help teachers develop more interventions for dealing with these behaviors in a positive and productive way.

8. Continue to develop interventions that take place outside the classroom for dealing with these things and promoting more positive learning behaviors.

9. Continue to explore meaningful ways to reinforce and reward behaviors that contribute to student success.