*8. Activities to ensure that students who experience difficulty mastering standards shall be provided with effective, timely assistance, which shall include:
8(a). Measures to ensure that student’s difficulties are identified on a timely basis.
Response: We are providing activities to ensure that students who experience difficulty mastering proficient or advanced levels of academic achievement standards shall be provided with effective, timely, and additional assistance. Those activities are as follows:
A pullout program for low readers based upon CRCT scores
Through a Small Communities grant, we have hired two part-time literacy
coaches. These literacy coaches are housed in the Media Center and,
through a pull-out program, will work individually with students. First,
each student will take a diagnostic assessment. In conjunction with the
instructional coach, the literacy coach will examine the assessment results
and develop an individualized plan to help each student improve in
literacy. A post-assessment will be administered to measure student
growth.
MyAccess
To improve writing scores, all 10th grade students and those who failed the
GHSGT in writing will use an online program called MyAccess. This
program provides writing prompts, instant feedback, and multiple
opportunities to edit/rewrite/make corrections. With repeated practice,
exposure, and feedback, research shows students’ writing abilities will
improve significantly.
Remediation
Students who failed the GHGST and EOCTs in math will be remediated
through math class and after school.
Tutorials
Every teacher is available a minimum of one afternoon after school for
tutoring. One additional teacher from each core area, funded through Title I,
will be available every day after school (in addition to regular tutorials) to
help any student who needs help in that teacher’s core content area.
Student Support Team
Students involved in the SST process will be monitored and provided
with strategies appropriate to his/her needs. An SST’d student’s teachers
will meet regularly with graduation coach, administrator, instructional
coach, and, in some cases, social worker to update student’s progress
toward goal and adjust student’s plan as needed and appropriate.
Part of the professional learning communities model is the subject/grade-
level curriculum meetings. One of the tasks the PLC has is creating
common assessments and benchmarks (at least one for every 4.5 weeks).
Once these formative and summative standards-driven assessments are
administered, all teachers in the PLC compare results and trends, discuss
effective and ineffective strategies, and develop remediating or enrichment
activities as appropriate.
8(b). Periodic training for teachers in the identification of difficulties and appropriate assistance for identified difficulties.
Response: Teachers will be given training in supplemental technological support programs to differentiate both instruction and assessment techniques to help students who struggle with more “traditional” methods or need additional support or remediation. These training sessions are embedded in the school day and occur twice a month on Tuesdays. The training is facilitated by administrators and the instructional coach and is connected to TKES, especially in the areas of data usage, differentiating instruction, and assessment creation and usage.
Additionally, core teachers teaching the same course have common planning and are required to meet a minimum of once a week. This common planning is used for professional learning communities where teachers use data driven instruction, assessment of standards mastery, and common assessments to teach and remediate.
Team leaders, the instructional coach, administrators, and data team members will be sent to professional development seminars, conferences and workshops that will focus on supporting students’ difficulties and will relay to and guide teachers in using the information.
8(c). Parent-Teacher conferences that detail what the school will do to help the student, what the parents can do to help the student, and additional assistance available to the student at the school or in the community.
Response: North Atlanta High School will hold weekly teacher-parent conference sessions on Wednesdays at 3:30pm where parents meet their child’s teachers to discuss academic performance and other concerns. Teachers will also be available for conferences before and after school as necessary. The primary purpose of these conferences is to develop strategies to inform parents of student performance, enhance student performance, and provide support for struggling students. The strategies are listed in the North Atlanta High School Parent-School Learning Compacts as Parent/Guardian, Homeroom teacher, student and principal responsibilities. A copy of the compact with signature is kept on file for each student.
Parents may also choose to communicate with teachers via electronic mail or phone. Teacher email addresses may be found on the school’s website and teacher syllabi.
Additionally, through the district’s Infinite Campus purchase, parents/guardians are able view their child’s grades at will. It is strongly suggested that parents view the portal and contact the appropriate teacher if there are any concerns.
*9. Coordination and integration of federal, state, and local services and programs.
This component requires a description of how the school will implement the programs listed above, a description of how Title I resources and other resources will be coordinated to support student achievement goals in the school improvement plan, and a listing of all state and federal programs consolidated in the schoolwide plan.
9(a). List of state and local educational agency programs and other federal programs that will be included.
Response:
Coordination & Integration of Federal, State and Local Programs
Funding Source
Program
School Use
Federal
Title I
-Purchase materials/supplies and
Equipment (Promethean, printers, and
Active Votes)
-Staff development material/supplies
-Travel and registrations for teachers and administrators
-Volunteers
Staffing, materials and equipment, and professional development.
Other:
U.S. Department of Education Dept. of Family and Children Services
Georgia Department of Education Latino Association of Atlanta
Title I The Bridge Program
Title II (Carl Perkins IV Legislation) Vocational Rehabilitation –Bobby Dodd
Mayor’s Next Step Program Family Services
GE Mathematics/Science Grant Chris Kids
Community-in-Schools Georgia Lottery
Safe and Drug Free Schools North Atlanta HS Foundation
Publix Supermarket Atlanta Public Schools-Model Teacher Leaders
Chick Fil-A Supplemental Educational Services
The Gates Foundation
9(b). Description of how resources from Title I and other sources will be used.
Response: Title I funding will be used for professional development for instructional staff; the purchase of supplies, materials, and equipment for teachers; Marta cards for after-school tutorial (transportation); travel to professional conferences and training; to hire parent liaison to coordinate the relationship between parents and school; instructional coaches to focus on literacy to assist teachers with educational pedagogy and the art of teaching.
Resources from the Georgia Department of Education, Georgia Lottery and a grant will be used to fund the Graduation Coach, College Zone, articulated credit, join enrollment and dual enrollment.
North Atlanta’s Foundation and Partners in Education will assist with instruction and resource funding.
9(c). Plan developed in coordination with other programs, including those under the School-to-Work Opportunities Act of 1994, the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Act, and National and Community Service Act of 1990.
Response: Plan developed in coordination with other programs, including those under the School-to-Work Opportunities Act of 1994, the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Act, and national and Community Service Act of 1990.
Funding from Carl D. Perkins will be used for program improvement. Computer equipment and software will be upgraded. Equipment and supplies will be provided for teachers. Career and Technical Educators will be provided staff development and attend professional conferences. Additionally, Carl Perkins funding will be used to provide educators with professional support from vendors and other industry professionals.
10. Description of how individual student assessment results and interpretation will be provided to parents.
Response: During the 2013 - 2014 school year, parents will have access to the Infinite Campus portal which provides them the opportunity to review their child’s course assessment grades. Teachers will distribute bi-weekly progress reports to their students to share with their parents regarding their academic progress in each class. North Atlanta High School will conduct curriculum and academy nights designed to inform parents of the school’s achievement data as well as student achievement progress. During curriculum night, the testing coordinator will first present the previous year’s tests results followed by the academic achievement goals for the 2013-2014 school year. The guidance counselors will host presentations during grade-level academy and parent nights regarding how to interpret test score data. These presentations will assist parents with understanding their child’s performance on each of the high stakes tests.
11. Provisions for the collection and disaggregation of data on the achievement and assessment results of students.
Response: When the Georgia High School Graduation Writing Test (GHSGT) and End of Course Test (EOCT) results are returned from the Georgia Department of Education, they are reported and disaggregated for all students and for each subgroup and content within the school. The Georgia Department of Education sends test results to Atlanta Public Schools’ Office of Research, Planning, and Accountability where North Atlanta High School’s results are reported and disaggregated for all test takers, sub-groups and content areas within our school. The principal along with his testing coordinator, counseling staff, and administrative staff review the results and collect the data. All results are presented to the staff during faculty meetings and are further analyzed in academy and content level meetings. During the content level meetings, an instructional plan is developed for each content area in an effort to improve overall test score performance. The counselors distribute individual student results for the students and their parents.
12. Provisions to ensure that disaggregated assessment results for each category are valid and reliable.
Response: The Georgia High School Graduation Writing Test and End of Course Tests are statewide tests for which the state establishes the validity and reliability. At the state level, these assessment results are disaggregated based on the student information system for our district. Using the Infinite Campus system, the data is aligned with specific subgroups within the tested student population. The school’s testing coordinator and testing team analyze the data for accuracy and identify the statistical data to report to the instructional staff. The results are shared at faculty meetings as part of the schoolwide planning process for improving student achievement and are also used to guide professional development for the entire faculty. The results are further disaggregated by domain, student population, and class periods during academy and content meetings where it is used in instructional planning and student interventions.
13. Provisions for public reporting of disaggregated data.
Response: The public will be informed of the disaggregated data via the Georgia Department of Education website, the school’s website, the school’s newsletter, and the school’s marquee. The data will also be reported during Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA) and academy meetings.
14. The plan developed during a one-year period, unless LEA, after considering the recommendation of its technical assistance providers under section 1117, determines that less time is needed to develop and implement the schoolwide program.
Response: The North Atlanta High School Schoolwide Plan is revised on an annual basis. This is the third year operating the Schoolwide/School Improvement plan.
15. Plan developed with the involvement of the community to be served and individuals who will carry out the plan including teachers, principals, other school staff, and pupil service personnel, parents and students (if secondary).
Response:
NAME
POSITION/ROLE
Curtis Douglass
Principal
Angela Mitchell
Assistant Principal
Stephen Black
Assistant Principal
Robert Whitman
Assistant Principal
Jill Stewart
Academy Leader
Deidre King
Academy Leader
Meredith Kaltman
Academy Leader
Sadia Khan
Academy Leader
Michelle Bowman
Instructional Coach
Naomi Whiters
Graduation Coach
Perfecta Valenzuela
Teacher
Janine Madaffari
Teacher
Edna Williams
Teacher
Debbie Miller
Parent
Allison Hayes
Parent
Morgan Best
Student
John Diamond
Business Partner
16. Plan available to the LEA, parents, and the public.
Response: North Atlanta High School operates a Schoolwide/School Improvement plan. A copy of the plan will be given to the LEA to file at the Atlanta Public Schools district office and the Office of Federal Grants and Program Compliance. A summary of the plan and the information regarding the school’s operating on a Schoolwide Title I Program will be included in the school office and newsletter while the full plan will be available in the school’s parent center. Additionally, a link will be provided on the school’s website so interested parties can navigate to a digital copy of the plan. Furthermore, a notice will be posted on the marquee at the school’s main entrance noting that the plan is available for viewing in the school’s parent center.
17. Plan translated to the extent feasible, into any language that a significant percentage of
the parents of participating students in the school speak as their primary language.
Response: English is the language of the significant percentage of parents at North Atlanta High School, and all written communications currently are translated into Spanish. However, for our non- English speaking ELL population, we have several faculty members and the district’s World Languages Department available to translate all documents into a variety of other languages as parent/community needs arise.
18. Plan is subject to the school improvement provisions of section 1116 of ESEA as amended by Georgia’s ESES Flexibility Waiver.
Response: This plan is subject to the school improvement provision of 1116. The school wide planning team worked collaboratively to analyze assessments to determine the strategies, programs, and funding needed to help our students meet state standards. The team also gathered and reviewed information from various surveys and assessments to compile the plan.
