Expectations for Student Learning
Tantasqua Regional High School
Mission Statement
Tantasqua’s mission statement, Pathways to Success, reflects our community’s view of the purpose of our school. Tantasqua truly offers students many options for achieving success. Students may enroll in the technical division or academic division. Technical students explore a number of career paths before selecting from seven technical fields. Both technical and academic students enroll in courses in the academic division. Academic courses are offered at different levels: standard, college preparatory, honors, and advanced placement. Some courses are required. There are also many elective courses. Students with learning disabilities receive strong support from the Special Needs Department. In addition, Tantasqua students participate in numerous sports teams, clubs, organizations, and student activities.
The mission statement includes locally developed academic expectations that indicate what the community expects students to achieve by the time of graduation. These expectations reflect our community’s democratic belief in essential learning for all students. The mission statement also includes the community’s civic and social expectations for the school as a whole.
Academic Expectations
The mission statement includes five academic expectations for student learning. Each department identifies in its curriculum the academic expectations for which it is responsible. More than one department selects any given expectation. For instance, several departments may choose to select the writing expectation. The result of this duplication is reinforcement of student learning.
A common format aligns our curriculum documents with the academic expectations for student learning. Teachers inform students how courses and instructional activities support these expectations.
Civic Expectation
Our civic expectation states that students will display an understanding of the participatory nature, responsibilities, and benefits of citizenship and community service in a representative democracy.
Tantasqua addresses our civic expectation by providing every student with access to clubs, activities, and classes that engage in community service and civic participation. Our school’s educational program informs students of civic responsibility and civil behavior in a democracy.
Social Expectations
Our social expectations indicate that students will demonstrate respect, responsibility, and maturity in interactions with the school community. Students also will display tolerance and understanding in our multi-cultural world.
Teachers promote respect and responsibility in classrooms and in hallways. The Assistant Principals oversee our school’s social expectations and enforce discipline. They monitor infractions of the disciplinary code over time, analyze data, set guidelines for acceptable numbers of infractions, and update policies in the student handbook.
Assessment of Expectations
Student work is used in determining achievement of the school’s academic expectations. Assessment is based on a variety of work, including classroom tests and quizzes, projects, writing assignments, demonstrations, class participation, presentations, and performances. Standardized tests provide additional data about student achievement.
Classroom assessments designed by individual teachers and by departments are aligned with our school-wide rubrics. The performance levels on the rubrics are SUPERIOR, COMMENDABLE, ACCEPTABLE, and NOT ACCEPTABLE. The minimum target for student achievement is the ACCEPTABLE level. The faculty will periodically revise the school-wide rubrics to make them more teacher-friendly and to better inform students how to improve their work.
The civic and social expectations are assessed using BENCHMARKS. A variety of data is analyzed to determine whether these benchmarks are achieved.
Reporting on Expectations for Student Learning
Tantasqua is developing means for reporting progress in achieving the expectations for student learning. The school has purchased software that will enable teachers to indicate on report cards individual student progress in achieving academic expectations. The administration plans to release an annual report to the public to indicate the school’s progress as a whole in achieving the academic, civic, and social expectations.
Attachments
· School-wide rubrics
· Benchmarks for social and civic expectations
· Matrix for departments to indicate responsibility for academic expectations
· Template that aligns curriculum with the academic expectations for student learning
· Grid for indicating on report cards individual student progress in achieving academic expectations