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TJ Town Hall Meeting

TJ Town Hall Meeting. June 6, 2012. Agenda. Clarify the facts Describe breadth of root causes Provide an overview of interventions Review speculations about academic achievement at TJ Next steps Q&A – index cards Exit slip suggestions – index cards.

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TJ Town Hall Meeting

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  1. TJ Town Hall Meeting June 6, 2012

  2. Agenda • Clarify the facts • Describe breadth of root causes • Provide an overview of interventions • Review speculations about academic achievement at TJ • Next steps • Q&A – index cards • Exit slip suggestions – index cards

  3. People Responsible for Student Success • Students • Teachers • Administrators • Parents • Counselors • Staff • FCPS Officials

  4. The Facts • The math performance of the Class of 2015 is lower than previous years, although not by SOL “pass advanced” standards • 15% recommended for the “watchlist” compared to 8% • Down to 11% (2015) and 7% (2014) this quarter • This might be a one year anomaly • We have used some four year trends to identify patterns in students “at risk” – another 15% • We have many interventions in place • 99.5% success rate due to teacher, counselor, administrator, and parent support

  5. Possible root causes • Admissions criteria and test difficulty • Acceleration of math curriculum grades 3-8 • TJ regarded as a “prep” school rather than a STEM school • SoLs don’t emphasize problem solving • The meaning of an “A” from middle school varies • Lack of study skill development • Instructional approaches to challenge all students adequately • Setting accountability standards that might be too high • Parent and peer pressures to accelerate

  6. Interventions: Level 1 • 8th period open tutoring: (W/F) • 8th period small group “stickies” (M) • 8th period peer-tutoring (M) • 8th period study skills sessions • Individual meetings with counselor and teacher • Preassessment for SOL readiness with review of trouble spots

  7. Interventions: Level 2 • Watchlist if cumulative unweighted GPA is below 3.3 • Individual student plans created by counselor, teachers, admin, parent, student • Address study skills, work habits, tutoring, etc.

  8. Interventions: Level 3 • Meeting with principal to review progress and offer suggestions

  9. Perceptions from media and FAQs

  10. Students admitted to TJ define our school success • TJ standards have declined • Nature and nurture both count • TJ diploma, “frosting” in curriculum, “decoration” affected by variability in performance Speculation My thoughts

  11. Class of 2015 did not affect rankings This metric is based solely on the ratio of number of APs: the total enrollment of students for a single year and does not account for differences in four year schools to two-year academies or APs taken during sophomore or junior year.

  12. New teachers have lower grades than other teachers. • TJ has remedial classes • Consistent grade distributions • All math/science classes are honors level, we offer remedial support to lift students Speculation My thoughts

  13. Students are not prospering like they did in the “good ole days” • The interest to attend TJ has changed • Students who earn B’s and C’s don’t belong here • Standardized metrics exceptionally high, research advancement, increase in junior AB calculus enrollment • US News ranking, perceived college gateway • We provide intervention support. Students not meeting the 3.0 average often have C’s, D’s, and F’s in math/science Speculation My thoughts

  14. New Interventions based on feedback • Opening two extra help sessions before final exams: June 6 from 6-8pm, and June 9 from 8am-12pm in Rm 243. • Distributing an end-of-year survey to students to obtain a representative sample of good experiences as well as ideas for improvement • Posting online modules for summer practice based on the final exam item analysis • Recommending students take the FCPS online trigonometry course if they did not perform well in 4th quarter algebra II/trig • Making a commitment for unified Blackboard resources next year in algebra II/trig

  15. Next steps • Providing an online algebra diagnostic assessment over the summer, and then offering a boot camp based on results • Issuing a pre-assessment to algebra II/trig students in the fall to provide interventions before grades are released • Piloting a new instructional model – “flipping the classroom” – to provide attention to wide variability in student readiness • Parent-based support systems - TBA • School district officials dialogues to address root causes and policy changes - TBA

  16. We need to work together • All problems become smaller if you don’t dodge them but confront them • Admiral William Halsey

  17. Questions and Answers

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