Independence High School Self Evaluation Form
Self Evaluation Form
2015-2016
Independence High School Contact InformationSchool: / Independence High School / Courier Number: / 426
Address: / 1967 Patriot Drive / Phone Number: / 980-343-6900
Charlotte NC 28277 / Fax Number: / 980-343-6907
Learning Community: / East Learning Community / School Website: /
Principal: / Amy Dellinger
Learning Community Superintendent: / Kondra Rattley
Total / %
Total Students Enrolled: / 2511
Race / Non-Hispanic / 1781 / 74%
Hispanic / 662 / 26.4%
Ethnicity / African American / 800 / 32%
American Indian / 397 / 15.8%
Asian / 144 / 5.7%
More Than One / 257 / 10.2%
Pacific Islander / 3 / 0.1%
White / 910 / 36.4%
Exceptionality / General Education Students: / 1791 / 81.4%
Exceptional Children Students: / 241 / 9.6%
Academically Intellectually Gifted Students / 229 / 9.1%
Limited English Proficient Students: / 250 / 10.0%
What is distinctive about your school?
- Very diverse student body
- Successful academic program
- Focused on global awareness – Academy of International Studies – Ms. Katie Willett
- All Freshmen enter one of our three Academies when they arrive
- Use of Professional Learning Communities (core academic teams with common planning) to meet the needs of students
- Distance Learning Lab that serves over 100 students each semester (AP courses, college courses, new course work)
- Large Comprehensive high school with a variety of options for students to find their niche
- Academy of Engineering, full implementation 2015-2016, serves approximately 120 students
- “In-house” literacy and DDI professional development monthly at faculty meetings
- Large number of students involved in extracurricular activities
- Large number of staff members with higher level degrees, National Board Certification.
- Participation in College and Career Promise program and College Experience
How effective is your school?
3
- How do you know?
- Increased Graduation Rate from 88.6% to 89.9%
- A 6.31% student proficiency increase in Biology (63.31 to 69.61)
- Exceeded expected growth in every EOC 2013-14 (19.67)
- Increased Composite in ACT results from 17.6 to 18.3 (2014-15)
- Increased AP enrollment
- Increase CCP enrollment
- LEP graduation rate increased by 17% in 2015
- What are your school’s notable strengths?
- Highly Qualified and effective teachers in all classrooms
- Professional Learning Communities in Core academic areas
- Double blocking students that need extra help
- Approximately 400 courses taken and approximately 1200 credit hours earned last year with the College and Career Promise
- After school tutoring
- Effective teacher leadership
- Most effective teachers in tested areas
- Dedication of staff to total school program
- Common Planning for all core subject areas and Freshman Academy teachers
- What are your school’s main areas for improvement?
- Increasing rigor in every classroom
- Continuing to create a college bound culture at Independence by making information accessible and exposing students to opportunities
- Increasing student attendance
- Parent/Community Involvement
- Continuous improvement in the graduation rate
- Refine programs/approach for LEP and EC students
- Campus cleanliness
- School Safety
- Increase enrollment in AP and Honors classes
- Increase studentpassing rate in all classes
- Increase data driven instruction to improve student outcomes
1. How effective is your school in ensuring high quality achievement for students in all grades, especially in the core subjects?
3
- How do you know?
- Increase in ACT composite and content area averages for our Juniors.
- Student AP exam scores are not fully aligned to AP final grades reflecting more research around the rigor of the AP class work
- Graduation rate continuously improving each year
- PSAT and PLAN scores improving
- Growth continues to be a driving factor at Independence each year
- In which subjects and grades do students do best, and why?
- English II-prior EOC results
- Biology – prior EOC results
- Stability of teacher corps, common planning and effective department leadership, using data to strategically place students
- Use of Data Driven Instruction
- In which subjects and grades is improvement needed, and what action is currently being taken?
- All EC/LEP performance on ACT, and graduating on time
- Action
- Remediation program in math and literacy through extended day
- Increasing the number of students being promoted from the 9th to the 10th grade
- Implementation of the Credit recovery plan
- Is there evidence of disparities in student achievement by subgroups? If so, what action is being taken?
- EC – intentional IEP goal setting, after-school tutoring, Inclusion/Resource, Parent Assistant
- LEP – SIOP, PEPs, ESL consultation, Power school Parent Assistant, Extended Day, Inclusion ESL classes
- Freshman Academy implementation
- How is your school addressing the specialized needs of EC and LEP students?
- EC Coordinator/Compliance facilitator
- OCS Credit Recovery
- API hand schedules these students
- LEP Coordinator and LEP Committee
- SIOP training and coaching
- OCS and SBS Blended Learning
- Smaller class size
- AP/Honors classes, university alliances
- Differentiation Academy
- Structure of the Learning Lab
- LEP clusters in mainstream classes with teachers that are SIOP trained
- How does your school use student performance data to take and adjust actions to improve student achievement?
- After school tutorials –all teachers
- Extended Day
- Common assessments
- Students are scheduled based on prior performance
- Teacher Effectiveness reports used for formative teacher conferences
- Departments complete item analysis
- How does your school allocate available resources to improve student learning and achievement?
- Springboard English I and English II
- Support EOC tutoring through Extended Day
- Use experienced/successful teachers to provide professional development and to mentor teachers
- Triumph for SAT/ACT tutoring
2. How effective is your school in providing a relevant and appropriate curriculum for all students, grades and sub-groups?
3
- How do you know?
- Topic, Essential Questions, Standard and the agenda are posted daily.
- Teachers use a variety of teaching strategies
- PLC’s use common assessments
- AP teacher training and calibration of final grades with student AP exam grades to ensure rigor
- Appropriate placement in classes allowing relevant pace
- How is alignment with the Common Core and Essential Standards ensured?
- Lesson plans
- Objectives and Agenda listed on the board
- 3 minute Walk Through/ Formative and Summative Observations/Evaluations
- Common Planning and Common Assessments
- School improvement and school decision making driven by SIP
- Essential Standards Chart
- How does your school ensure a broad range of learning experiences?
- Teachers use differentiation to meet the needs of diverse learners
- Observation
- Field trips, clubs, community events, community service, field experiences, internships, competitions, athletics
3. How effective is the quality of teaching and instruction in ensuring high quality learning, progress and achievement?
3
- How do you know?
- HQ staff with a low turn-over rate
- Team planning with subject specific team meetings
- 17 National Board Certified Teachers
- 38% teachers with Advanced Degree’s
- Which are the strongest features of teaching and learning and why?
- Students appropriately placed in classes to maximize student achievement
- Diverse staff provides role modeling for all students
- PEAK strategies, Programmatic, most teachers have Promethean Boards, SIOP and Inclusion trained staff
- Differentiation Academy
- What aspects of teaching and learning most need improvement and what action is being taken?
- Differentiation
- Incorporate more strategies for better use of the 90 minute block
- AP/Honors level rigor
- Communication between home and school –challenge of keeping track of current addresses, phone #’s, and email addresses, etc.
- Focus on college and career preparation and readiness
- How do teachers assess students’ achievement of learning objectives and adjust instruction with assessment information?
- Formal and Informal Assessments
- Teachers use a variety of student products based on multiple intelligences to assess learning:
4. How effective is your school in ensuring high quality leadership and management?
3
- How do you know?
- Teacher Survey Data
- Insight Survey
- Low teacher turnover rate
- High interest in teachers’ advancement into Administration
- Opportunities for teachers to pursue leadership within the school
- Which are the strongest aspects and why?
- Principal dedicated to effective administrative management model based on strengths, needs and professional development
- Shared leadership model
- Administration is strategically local throughout the building and focused on the areas in need of support
- Department Chairs are instructional leaders
- Principal is knowledgeable regarding best teaching practices
- Principal provides an “Open Door Policy” for both staff and parents to express concerns and achievements.
- What most needs improvement and what action is being taken?
- More teacher empowerment/collaboration
- Systems for monitoring and providing meaningful feedback to staff
- Consistency and communication through systems
- Staying true to vision/mission/beliefs and priorities
- Systems to monitor facility upkeep and cleanliness
- Administration and staff calibrating the Standards of the NC Teacher Evaluation Instrument
5. How effective is the school in creating a high quality learning environment?
3
- How do you know?
- Evidence of a student centered environment
- Front office staff provides positive customer service.
- Agenda on board in classrooms allows administration and visitors to see the pace and level of learning taking place.
- Induction Team – New Teacher Support
- Freshman Academy
- Which are the strongest aspects and why?
- Opportunities for blended learning
- Common Planning/ PLC Common Assessments
- Implementation of Data Driven Instruction
- Freshman Academy teams
- Freshmen are hand scheduled to ensure there is a balance of core courses each semester
- Extended Day and Credit Recovery program
- What most needs improvement and what action is being taken?
- Facility and school cleanliness – Horticulture classes project facelift, custodial monitoring, school cleanliness initiatives with students, parent/ PTSA/SLT, school beautification projects
- Increased enrollment in AP and Honor’s classes
- Increased AP pass rate
- Increased enrollment in college classes in our distance learning lab
- Increased focused on ACT improvement
- Increased participation in the “Triumph” program
- More focus on creating a college bound environment – parent and student workshop
- Improve professional feel of main office – building service upgrades/customer service training for secretaries, monitoring
6. How effective is the school in establishing a high quality partnership with parents, other schools and the community?
3
- How do you know?
- Parent participation/attendance in Open Houses, curriculum nights and Patriots on Parade, Patriot Life-Line orientation program
- Connect Ed messages have allowed for communication without depending on students to bring home information.
- School website is updated weekly regarding information, dates, etc.
- Parent participation/membership in booster clubs
- Minimal parent participation/membership in school PTSA
- PTSA plans programs for parents with marginal parent participation
- Variety of Partners –Meck Ed, MS/Elementary schools, Mint Hill Chamber of Commerce, Cheval Real Estate
- Which are the strongest features of communication between home/school about the school’s work and about each student’s achievement? Why?
- Connect Ed.
- Powerschool Parent Assistant
- Newspaper
- Website – Bigibelieve.com
- Teacher Wiki/Weebly
- What most needs improvement and what action is being taken?
- Creating a college bound culture – # of graduating seniors going to college
- Image/reputation of the school in the community
- Safety and Security
- Cleanliness of the facility
- Vertical Teaming
- Partnerships with businesses – New Meck Ed partnership with Career Advisor
- What aspects of the school’s work to involve parents/guardians and the community in the life of the school work best? Why?
- College Information Nights
- High School 411 workshops
- PSAT/PLAN parent workshops
- Partnership relationships with clubs/programs
- All Booster Clubs
- Latin Night
- Open House/Curriculum Nights/Patriots on Parade/Registration – well planned and publicized
- Consistent communication message via a variety of media outlets
- Fall Festival
- Senior Citizens Breakfast
- Academy of Engineering Design Team and Board of Directors
- What needs improvement and what action is being taken?
- PTSA Membership
- Volunteer activism and volunteer activities