Overview
Aquinas College is a co-educational Catholic secondary school located on the Gold Coast. It caters for a diverse range of students from a variety of socio-economic backgrounds. We state in our Vision Statement that we value a process of constant curriculum renewal and a curriculum which offers a dynamic, challenging, rich and diverse range of learning experiences. Part of this renewal includes the ongoing development of a Whole School Literacy Plan.
The Whole School Literacy Plan establishes a planned, systematic approach to the teaching and learning of literacy in order to improve student learning outcomes. After reflecting on current teaching practices, investigating student potential and performance, considering the challenges presented by social, cultural, economic and technological changes and learning more about literacy development and effective practice, a Whole School Literacy Plan has been developed for the period 2006 - 2008.
Our vision is to organise, plan, resource, implement, evaluate and sustain our Whole School Literacy Plan. This plan embodies our aims and goals – to support a process of constant curriculum renewal, planning and development to ensure improved literacy outcomes for all students in the years ahead.
Data Analysis
Focus on data 2006 – 2008 will inform the progress of this literacy plan. Analysis of data previous to 2006 is yet to be completed.
Shared Vision
We believe that through sound and informed pedagogical practice we can improve the literacy outcomes of all students and we are committed to do so. Literacy is included in school programs for all Key Learning Areas. A clear, consistent, professional language will be used in discussing and planning literacy programs and in school documents to describe a repertoire of literacy practices. The school's literacy plan includes all literacies - oral, print and multimedia in a multitude of forms.
Strategic Community Partnerships
The whole school literacy program is enriched by the planned integration of productive partnerships with parents and community. The school aims to provide written information to parents about existing literacy programs in the school. Families are involved in and are encouraged to support students' literacy development.
Classroom Organisation and Pedagogy
We believe that all teachers are responsible for the literacy practices within their classrooms. We believe that well-developed classroom routines, structures, organisation and management will improve student outcomes. Assisting students to develop flexible and sustainable literacy practices requires explicit and systematic teaching that is responsive to the needs of each student in the class. Teachers will provide sufficient opportunities for students to acquire, practise and apply literacy knowledge and skills in all Key Learning Areas. Specific literacy assessment and a range of resources and appropriate teaching strategies will be used to maximise focused literacy learning. A clear understanding of the genres and language features which are important in each Key Learning Area is necessary, so that the differences in literacy patterns in subject areas can be explicitly taught to students, including the use of electronic, digital and online texts, which redefine what it means to be literate in today’s world.
Intervention and Special Needs
The school has a policy for using approved systematic school-based assessment for identification of students with literacy difficulties. Most literacy difficulties are identified and the appropriate teaching and learning response is identified. Some students with severe difficulties may have an individual literacy plan developed. Class teachers and support personnel plan collaboratively to provide support for students with literacy difficulties. There is reporting at critical stages for students experiencing difficulties. School wide intervention activities are relevant and purposeful and are related to systematic teaching and learning frames.
Leadership and Professional Learning
The Leadership of Aquinas College has established literacy as a priority in the school. In the first year of this plan, a specific focus on teaching and learning has been set. Leadership is committed to the maintenance of a positive ethos or culture that values learning and holds high expectations of all students. Students’ literacy needs are identified in the school's normal assessment and reporting practices. The school will implement an action plan to use data on student achievement for planning individual, class and whole school programs. Literacy development is a stated priority for professional sharing and learning. Professional development which provides teachers with an understanding of how students learn, coupled with strategies to address individual students’ learning needs will be a major focus for the life of this program.
Coordination
The school has established a Literacy Support Team to monitor the effectiveness and consistency of the college’s literacy program. The school's Literacy Support Team has identified a range of suitable strategies and resources to improve the literacy of all students and will be disseminating these during the life of the literacy plan. All staff members are invited to assume a role on the Literacy Support Team. It is clearly understood that whole school literacy is every teacher’s responsibility.
Assessment and Monitoring
This document aims to ensure the continuity of literacy assessment across and between year levels for the duration of the plan. The school's literacy plan includes assessment of multiliteracies, technological and critical thinking skills and knowledges. Students' literacy needs are identified through a range of assessment strategies that focus on individuals, groups and year levels. Students' literacy needs are identified in the classroom's normal assessment and reporting procedures, with teachers monitoring and recording their students' progress using a range of strategies.
Standards and Targets
The School Literacy Plan aims to establish:
· Moderation at and across year levels to ensure a common understanding and application of the framework of standards for the literacy performance of students;
· The examination of test data to plan for and measure improvement in literacy for individuals, groups;
· Defined expected literacy outcomes as "value added" performance targets for all students;
· Adjusted literacy teaching practices to improve performance of individuals, groups and year levels, based on test data;
· A continuum of expected literacy outcomes, which are applied to individuals, groups and year levels. The school will define year level expectations for literacy outcomes;
· Measurement of literacy performance of students against a common framework of standards;
· An evaluation of trends in student performance for groups and year levels using systematic test data.
Bibliography
Hill, P.W. & Crevola, C.A.M., 1998, ‘Characteristics of an effective literacy strategy’, Unicorn, 24 (2): 74-85.
Literacy and Numeracy 2002 – 2005: A framework for Catholic Schools in Brisbane Catholic Schools in the Archdiocese of Brisbane, 2002, Revised edition, Brisbane Catholic Education, Brisbane.
Whole School Literacy Planning Guidelines, 2002, Literate Futures Project, Department of Education, Queensland, Brisbane.