|
|
School
Educational Model
The educational model for Alliance College-Ready Public Schools is guided
by our core values and beliefs that reflect best practices researched
in high performing schools that consistently produce well-educated students
prepared to successfully enter and succeed in college. Our consistent
approach of development and implementation will enable ACRPS to test
its high performing small school model and build a strong school culture,
curriculum, and staff from the start. The ACRPS core principles and
educational model will be implemented in all ACRPS schools.
|
| Personalized
Learning Environment -
Students learn best in small learning communities where their education
is personalized, where they know their teaches, where their teachers
and all adults in the school know them, where advisory structures connect
each student with a personal learning team, and where there is student
voice in all aspects of the school that directly affect them..
Through small schools of 500 students in high schools and 800 students
in K-8 schools, Alliance for College-Ready Public Schools will create
small learning communities where relationships between adults and students
are sustained over time ensuring that no child falls through the cracks.
Student learning will be personalized so that each student’s individual
needs are recognized and met. Personalized connections between teachers
and students will be increased through looping where students remain
with the same team of teachers for two to three years creating a strong
sense of community. Secondary teacher teams sharing responsibility for
a group of students will limit teacher-student contacts to not more
than 85, increasing teacher time to focus on students as individuals.
BACK
TO TOP
|
Student
Engagement -
Student voice will be included in all aspects of the school that
directly affect student learning, interests and needs through
structures such as advisory groups that connect each student with
a personal learning team.
All students
K-12 will be well known and secondary students will supported
through advisory groups of no more than 13-15 students. A credentialed
teacher will serve as advisor and will work with the same students
from grade 9 through graduation.
The advisory structure will provide a small focused support group
to motivate and support each student’s progress. Each secondary
student will also have a personal learning team consisting of
their teacher advisor, a parent, and a mentor that meets throughout
the year to provide guidance and assess progress. The teacher
advisor will monitor each student’s individual learning
plan to address individual interests and needs.
BACK
TO TOP
College-Readiness
for All Students -
All students K-12, including students in historically underachieving
communities will learn successfully at high levels and have a
fundamental right to high expectations and quality instruction
that prepares them to enter and succeed in college. All students
will pass A-G college course requirements and be proficient in
core academic standards (reading, writing, math, science, history/social
science) to be ready for success in college.ACRPS students will
demonstrate the following competencies as evidence of readiness
for success in college.
All Students,
K-12, will demonstrate proficient to advanced performance on California
content standards tests and in analysis of student work portfolios
in core academic subjects. |
|
|
Students,
9-12, will demonstrate proficiency in A-G California State University
(CSU)/University of California (UC) required coursework including three
years of laboratory science; three years of math including algebra and
geometry; two years of history /social science; 4 years of college preparatory
English; one year of foreign language; on year of visual /performing
arts; and will participate in a college orientation preparatory summer
institute during their junior or senior year. Students in their junior
year will take the CSU Early Assessment section of the STAR test in
English and Math. Students who demonstrate proficiency on CSU standards
will be exempt from taking the CSU Placement Test and will be eligible
to enroll in CSU courses as regular students before graduation if they
chose to attend a CSU campus. An individual learning plan will be provided
to assist students during their senior year in areas of need diagnosed
by the early assessment to prepare them for the CSU Placement Test.
BACK
TO TOP |
|
Increased
Time for Learning –
All students will have sufficient time in school to learn successfully
with a minimum of 180 to 200 days of instruction and an ongoing
opportunity for extended learning time for intervention or enrichment
to meet individual student needs. Daily instructional learning
time will be structured in longer blocks of time to allow for
focused in-depth learning.
Instructional
time will be increased in all College-Ready Schools with up to
200 instructional days and a longer instructional day for all
students. Daily instructional time will be increased to allow
for in depth learning through a full-day kindergarten of 5 hours
and 7 hours of instruction for grades 6-12.
Secondary
schedules will be structured to provide longer uninterrupted blocks
of time of up to 90 minutes or double period blocks of time for
accelerated math and English language arts. Increased instructional
time for all students, as part of the core program will include
time for intervention and/or enrichment to meet individual student
learning needs. |
|
English
Learners –
College Readiness requires proficiency in English for all students.
Structured English language development curriculum and instructional
strategies will be provided for all ACRPS students learning to
speak English as a second language and English only students who
speak non-standard English.
Second-language
learners and non-standard English speakers in grades K-12 will
be expected to demonstrate proficiency in English language development
after three years of instruction.
Teachers in
ACRPS schools will participate in training to develop expertise
in focused English language development (ELD) instructional strategies
as well as sheltered ELD strategies in core subjects.
BACK
TO TOP |
|
|
|
How
Students Learn Best -
Students learn best when there is a rigorous standards based curriculum
with high thinking demand that challenges students to test their
understanding of concepts through real life applications; when
students know clearly the expectations and criteria they are trying
to meet and can judge their own work; and when students participate
actively in classroom talk about the concepts and standards they
are learning.ACRPS students will learn at higher levels in classrooms
where teaching strategies reflect high expectations for all students.
Proficiency in core subject areas will be based on grade -level
expectations for rigorous standards.
Students will
apply skills and concepts learnedto real world projects, service
learning, and community internships that require problem solving,
critical thinking and active engagement in classroom talk around
the concepts and standards they are learning.
ACRPS
Classrooms
will engage students in developing clear understandings of criteria
for high performance, how to judge and improve their own work
– so that students know how good is good enough for proficient
and advanced performance.
BACK
TO TOP |
|
Integrated
Technology -
Students and teachers will have adequate access to technology to use
it effectively in student learning, classroom instruction,data management
and communication. We believe that technology used as an effective tool
in high-performing schools must provide electronic assessment and electronic
student portfolios that provide immediate access to student progress
data for teachers, students and their parents.
A target ratio of
3:1 computers will be available for students to have adequate access
to use technology as a tool integrated with their learning. Students
will use technology to access research information on the Internet,
to develop standards-based multimedia projects and presentations and
to maintain individual portfolios of their work. Students will submit
quarterly writing samples to the CSU writing assessment system for scoring.
Classroom teachers
will be provided a computer and will use consistent data system for
managing grades, student performance data, and internal school and network
communication with other ACRPS schools. ACRPS schools will use a data
management system to access individual student and classroom data. Ultimately,
ACRPS schools will be networked with each other and with the network
office for ongoing efficiency in communication and support to schools.
BACK
TO TOP |
Principal
Leadership –
ACRPS schools will have exemplary principals who are capable instructional
leaders and entrepreneurs in managing resources. ACRPS exemplary
principals will be developed through in depth leadership training
and through apprenticeship with principals who have demonstrated
success in their schools.
Through professional
organizations, local and national school districts, and university
graduate school programs ACRPS will recruit the best talented
leaders who demonstrate commitment to the belief that all students
can learn successfully.
Principals
will participate in leadership training 3 to 6 months before assignment
to a ACRPS school. ACRPS will identify and collaborate with a
university or other training partner to deliver training focused
on the entrepreneurial and instructional skills needed for successful
leadership in public charter schools. Leadership development will
include apprenticeship with a successful principal with a track
record of successful student results who demonstrates the core
values and beliefs of ACRPS.
BACK
TO TOP |
|
|
Highly
Qualified Teachers –
Students learn best with teachers who are knowledgeable of their subject
field; are well trained to deliver rigorous instruction as well as to
attend to
the diverse needs of each student as an individual. ACRPS teachers will
work in small collaborative teams with common planning time where lessons
are studied as a learning community and where accountability for student
success is a shared responsibility.
ACRPS, working with
its principals, will recruit highly qualified new and experienced credentialed
or university intern teachers who fully meet the No Child Left Behind
criteria as highly qualified teachers and who are committed to ACRPS’
core values and beliefs.
ACRPS teachers will
participate in a two-week training and support academy before the opening
of school. Ongoing professional and personal growth opportunities will
be provided based on ongoing analysis of student achievement data and
student work portfolios as well as teacher identified growth needs and
interests. Teachers benefit most from professional development that
provides time for teacher-to-teacher interaction in small learning communities
focused on classroom practice. ACRPS teachers, K-12, will have ongoing
regular time for common planning, analysis of student work, and lesson
study based on core content standards.
Teachers working
together in teams within small learning communities with the same students
over two to three years will share accountability and responsibility
for each student’s academic and personal growth.
The ACRPS school
principal based on clear benchmarks for performance will conduct individual
teacher performance evaluation. Teachers
will have the opportunity to participate in performance-enhanced compensation
that will be determined by student progress, principal performance evaluation,
and a teacher peer evaluation committee. Teachers will participate in
the design of the system.
BACK
TO TOP |
|
Parents as
Partners -
Parents have a right to choose to send their children to excellent
high performing schools and have a right and the responsibility
to participate actively in insuring the success of the school.
Parents of ACRPS students will be meaningfully and actively engaged
in their children’s education. Parents will be responsible
and accountable for supporting their children’s learning
at school and at home through their participation in understanding
what it will take for their children to achieve college-readiness,
and by their active voice in achieving the goals of the school
and through volunteering.
Parents will
be actively engaged in the initial school development as members
of the advisory development team to establish each new CRP school
and as members of the ongoing advisory committee of each school.
ACRPS schools
guarantee parent access to the school, school leaders and classroom
teachers to support their children’s education. |
|
Parents of K-12 students will be provided multiple opportunities to
develop awareness of college readiness benchmarks and whattheir children
must achieve to be successful. Parents will be supported in their participation
in monitoring their child’s individual learning plan towards college
readiness.
Parents will be
responsible and accountable for committing to volunteering time to support
the school and to participate as parent mentors through a parent commitment
contract developed at each school site.
ACRPS will seek
to establish partnerships with effective parent engagement leaders such
as Families in Schools which has a proven track record of meaningfully
engaging the voice of parents and the community as partners in schools.
BACK
TO TOP |
Authentic
Ongoing Assessment –
ACRPS schools will provide multiple ongoing opportunities to measure
student learning and to inform instruction through real life projects,
analysis of student work portfolios, and interim assessments as
well as standardized on-demand assessments.
An individual
personal learning plan will be maintained for each ACRPS student
to identify student needs, interests, and progress towards proficiency
on core content standards, proficiency in English language development
and college-readiness.
Student learning
plans will include electronic portfolios of selected student work
that demonstrates proficiency in applying skills and concepts
in real life project-based learning.
ACRPS schools,
K-12, will implement Edusoft interim assessments in core content
standards in reading, math, science, and history/social science.
Interim assessments will inform instruction and provide immediate
individual student information on progress towards proficiency
on State standards. Secondary students will take CSU 11th grade
early entrance assessment and CSU placement tests as a key indicator
of college-readiness.
ACRPS students
will participate in all mandated standardized assessments.
BACK
TO TOP |
 |
|
Accountability for Results –
Principals will be responsible and accountable to the school community
for implementing the core values, beliefs and best practices of the
Alliance College-Ready Public Schools education model insuring that
each and every student gets what they need to achieve their individual
and school performance goals. ACRPS will be responsible and accountable
for guarantees made to its schools, monitoring the progress of all of
its schools and for documenting and publishing results to the school
community and the community of Los Angeles.
Principals will be hired
with an annual contract renewable based on annual performance evaluation
conducted by the ACRPS President/CEO. Principals will be responsible
for and have the authority to select, hire, evaluate and recommend the
termination of teachers based clear performance expectations and evaluation
criteria.
ACRPS will monitor,
document, evaluate and publish implementation results and student outcome
results for each of its schools. ACRPS will contract with a third party
evaluator to document and evaluate the implementation of the ACRPS school
model and results. Ongoing evaluation will serve to document best practices
achieved, provide data for continuous improvement, and most importantly,
will inform parents and the community on the degree to which ACRPS is
achieving its stated goals for individual students.
BACK
TO TOP |
