| Exemplar: Boerne-Samuel V Champion High School |
 | Mission: To promote excellence in education and support student success by maintaining positive lines of communication; promoting a friendly, helpful work environment; and touching the lives and hearts of our students.
Philosophy: We believe that all students can learn and deserve a nurturing learning environment and instruction designed to meet each student’s needs.
History: Historically, the school/district has had a very low percentage of minority and low-income students; however, over the past few years the high school has had growth in these populations. The percentage of Hispanic students has increased a percentage point per year while the Anglo composition continues to decline 1-2 percentages points per year.
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The increase in the minority population and the fact this group collectively continued to struggle with TAKS was the impetus during the 2006-2007 school year to create a program to address these issues and concerns. Thus, the REAL Program was created out of a need to address the academic needs of a population of students who were not being successful in the classroom as evidenced by their class failure rate, failure on all areas of TAKS, and their lack of rapport with teachers and other students in school.
Through creative scheduling of students, providing a common planning period for staff, and offering staff development to help teachers meet students’ specific learning needs, a supportive school-within-a-school environment was developed to help build student self esteem and support their academic success.
Challenge and area of focus: Our challenge is to increase achievement and academic language proficiency for Limited English Proficient students so that they pass state mandated tests, graduate from high school, enroll in institutions of higher learning, and gain the skills for successful entry into the workplace. An additional challenge was carving out time for core area instruction on a daily basis on a block schedule.
| Implementation
Needs Assessment: Students fitting the profile of being an English Language Learner who are economically disadvantaged and have not passed TAKS are selected to participate in the exemplar.
Objectives of the Exemplar Program:
- All students will graduate on time from high school. All students will pass state mandated exams. All students will be prepared for college and accepted into an institution of higher learning. All students will gain the skills necessary to be successful in the workplace.
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Strategy and Implementation: One teacher in each of the core subject areas (math, science, English and social studies) was selected to work with these students. In an effort for each core subject to meet daily while on a block schedule, social studies and English paired for a 90-minute period, while math and science paired for the same length of time. Teachers work cooperatively on lesson plans and class scheduling to maximize learning opportunities.
Student schedules are reviewed and designed to reflect the student’s academic needs. Many of the students were not only credit hungry, but functioning well below grade level in the core areas, requiring excessive scaffolding of basic conceptual knowledge to prepare them for on grade level assessments. This pointed to the need for these teachers to attend Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP) training, which was conducted over a two-year period of time. Having this common background enabled the teachers to work collaboratively to plan lessons with both content and language objectives to build background knowledge, introduce comprehensible content, and create interaction among students.
Steps: During the summer prior to the first year of implementation, teachers and students were identified and class and student schedules were developed. Time for teacher planning and coordination was incorporated into the teachers’ schedules. SIOP training, incorporating a cognitive coaching model, was scheduled throughout the year (and the succeeding year). Teachers were also afforded time to attend other content area staff development opportunities. A similar timeline of activities continued through the second year of implementation.
Outcomes
- Students have improved self-esteem as evident in dialogue and conversations between teachers and students.
- By participating in a small learning community, students have made a shift in their perceptions of being inferior learners.
- The program has created an academic culture in a population of students who did not see themselves as being academically successful.
- Students are able to approach teachers for assistance in a positive manner on a daily basis.
- The program has raised the awareness of the challenges of an ELL student to a broader audience of teachers and administrators.
Lessons Learned - Leadership: Committed leadership is crucial to ensure restructuring of class, teacher, and student schedules to create this small learning environment. This support results from knowledge and understanding of both program objectives and student needs.
Faculty: Training in SIOP played a key role in helping teachers design instruction to help LEP students receive the academic language support they need so they were able to learn content curriculum. Students: LEP students respond to a learning environment that is positive and supportive, yet has high standards. Students rise to the level of expectation if support is provided.  | Recommendations: Planning prior to implementation is essential. Teachers who are willing to expend the necessary time and energy in learning new teaching techniques and working with the LEP population should be selected. These teachers also need to be ESL certified; if not, they need to take the necessary training and exam to become certified. Staff development in ESL strategies and, if possible, the SIOP model should be scheduled. Course, teacher, and student schedules must also be established prior to implementation of the program. Teacher schedules should allow for common planning time.
Next Steps: Exemplar grant money is being used to implement instruction using iPods during the 2008-2009 school year. Podcasts will be selected and developed for the students to use at school and at home to further their understanding of content and to help them in gaining proficiency with the English language. Students will also be trained to develop their own podcasts to share their understanding with peers and to provide an additional assessment tool for teachers. Teachers are receiving training from Apple to help them use the iPod as an instructional tool. The district is developing policies and procedures for implementing this mobile learning environment. |
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Initiative: Exemplar Program for Successful Practices Service Level: 9-12 grades Exemplar Categories Small learning communities and successful academic programs serving LEP students Demographics Grades Served: 10-12
Total Students: 1488 Caucasian: 79%
African American: .5% Hispanic: 20%
Other: 1%
Free/reduced lunch: 13% Special Ed programs: 9%
LEP or ESL: 1% Contact information: Lisa McConoghy, High School Academic Dean 830-357-2604 Marcy Voss, Boerne ISD Special Programs Coordinator 830-357-2049 |
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