Replicable Practices

• Students are supported by structured intervention classes in ELA and math, small in-class intervention groups, summer academy, ASES after school program, paraprofessionals and AVID tutors, and after school

• support/tutoring in the library.

• Staff focusing on school-wide instructional practices such as: structured conversations, Kagan structures, WICOR strategies, thinking maps and EL strategies supports the rigor of reading and writing in all subjects.

• Teachers support new teachers through the “teachers teaching teachers” program by hosting mini-professional development sessions to teach all school-wide strategies to new staff. Direct instruction, collaborative groups, student engagement, and integrated technology are among the school-wide practices emphasized.

• In addition to more traditional common assessments, benchmarks and summative assessments, document-based questions are completed quarterly in social studies and ELA and math have end of module performance task assessments to monitor student progress.

• Teachers are provided with both formal and informal opportunities to collaborate. In addition to scheduled collaboration time, teachers in a common department and grade level have common prep period and their classrooms are situated near each other to facilitate interaction.

• Teachers also benefit from an instructional coach on site and the ability to conduct peer observations.

• Although English language learners are enrolled in math/science core classes and general electives, they receive extra support from an ELD teacher and a paraprofessional during ELD and math/science instruction respectively.

• In addition to a traditional elective program offering such courses as AVID, band, journalism or technology, students have the opportunity to follow a pre-med career pathway from grade six through grade eight.

• Faculty have been trained in the “Boys Town Model of Successful Schools,” and with the school support staff provide a counseling/discipline program based on restorative justice. In addition, the three and a half hour after school program provides parent workshops, tutoring, guidance, sports and enrichment activities.