The Power of ONE James River High School Chesterfield County Public Schools, Virginia

1. The Power of ONEJames River High SchoolChesterfield County Public Schools, Virginia 16th Annual Model Schools Conference Orlando, Florida Facilitated by: John Titus, Bryan Carr, Mary Ellen Fines, Sharon Hoffert, and Laura Lay

2. The Power of ONEFraming Rigor, Relevance, and Relationships • ONE AP Student • O.N.E. Lunch • Uno, ek, ichi ESL Program • WON—Successful Freshmen Transition Program • O.N.E. Leadership

3. James River High SchoolA Chesterfield County Public School3700 James River RoadMidlothian, Virginia 23113 Community • Opened in September of 1994 with 1250 students in grade 9 - 11 • Suburban and composed of individuals and families from diverse ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds School • A comprehensive high school with a student body of approximately 2000 in grades 9 – 12 • A staff of 160 teachers and support staff including two librarians, one technology coordinator, eight school counselors and seven administrators • A well-developed program of activities and athletics

4. James River High School Leadership and International Relations Specialty Center • Established in 2002-2003 • Comprised of about 200 students from a broad range of ability levels and interests • Taught the skills and knowledge of becoming effective leaders who learn to develop a balanced international perspective of the world Media Center • Recipient of the 2002 National School Library Program of the Year Award from the American Association of School Librarians • Recipient of the national award from Gale Resources for “Excellence in Education”

5. James River High School Schedule • Seven Period Alternating Block schedule • Works in conjunction with an “Odd/Even” calendar day • Odd days: 1, 3, 5, 7 • Even days: 1, 2, 4, 6 • First period runs approximately 50 minutes, and blocks two through seven run approximately 85 minutes • Opportunity for students to earn seven credits per academic year and broaden their curriculum

6. James River High School Advanced Placement Exams: 2006 2007 Exams Administered . . . . . . . . . . 571 1318 Students taking exams . . . . . . . . 352 690 % of Scores 3 or Above . . . . . . . . 72 49 Diplomas AwardedPost Secondary Plans Advanced Studies 66% 4-Year Colleges/Universities 65% Standard 30% 2-Year Colleges 19% Modified Standard 01% Other Continuing Education 4% Employment/Military 12%

7. ONE Student:Growing Our AP Program • Condensing and “Leveling for Excellence” • Collapsing “honors” offerings • Offering more advance placement programs • Seeking advanced placement potential

8. Rigor: Seeking AP Potential • Using PSAT/NMSQT scores to predict success • Targeting student not already enrolled in an AP course • Using data effectively • Recruiting the underserved

9. APEX ExperiencesAdvanced Placement Expectations Seminars on the benefits and challenges of AP courses: • An in-school seminar for students • An evening seminar for parents (and students)

10. Successes: Growing the AP Program Since 2003 • 300% increase in minority AP enrollment • 400% increase in African-American AP enrollment • Over 50 teachers trained in teaching AP courses • ONE Lunch—excellent opportunity for AP enrichment and tutoring

11. Challenges:Growing the AP Program • “Stretch” AP students’ need for additional assistance • Rigidity in defining quality and success of AP work • Parental concerns about rigor for “in-between” students

12. O.N.E. Lunch:Opportunities Never End Need for Change • Growth and need for 5 lunch periods • Transportation—student needs for assistance or make-up work

13. O.N.E. Lunch Goals: Rigor, Relevance, and Relationships • Student Opportunities • Academic support • Conferences with teachers • Completion of work • Enrichment opportunities • Staff Opportunities • Departmental meetings • Professional learning communities

14. Process: O.N.E. Lunch • Visitation to schools • Formation of committee • Feasibility? • Goals? • Logistics? • Communication and faculty “buy-in” • Creation of O.N.E. lunch culture

15. Logistics: O.N.E. Lunch • Schedule—1st period, two block classes, lunch, last block • Discipline—extra duties • Cafeteria—a’ la carte, hot and cold lines • Clean up—streamlined with extra trash cans • Seating—cafeteria, benches , floor • Location—where students can and cannot eat lunch

16. Logistics: O.N.E. Lunch • Designated department days—no lunch duty • PLC meetings • Department meetings • Informal department gatherings • Adapted schedule—homerooms and assemblies • Teacher appointments

17. Teacher Appointments

18. Enrichment: O.N.E. Lunch • Open Mic • Lunch in the library • Intramurals • Ballroom dancing • Rapid Fire games

19. Benefits: O.N.E. Lunch • Less chaos • No split classes • Fewer tardies after lunch • No competitive noise during class • Rigor—assistance and enrichment • Relevance—student ownership • Relationships—time to meet with students informally and time for staff to meet

20. Lessons Learned: O.N.E. Lunch • Some students need encouragement to meet with teachers. • Need to create more systematic expectations. • Provide early communication about purpose and expectations.

21. Next Steps: O.N.E. Lunch • Schedule appointments with consequences of lunch detention. • Schedule ongoing appointments for those not meeting expectations • Use peer tutoring to greater extent.

22. Next Steps: O.N.E. Lunch Offer intervention suggestions to teachers • Early remediation • Completion of assignments • Revising work • Correcting tests • Retaking tests • Computer tutorials

23. Uno, ek, ichiEnglish as a Second Language Learners 2003 ESL Center 2004 Sheltered Classes

24. ESL 2003—Center • Enrolled in ESL courses. • Mainstreamed for mathematics and PE. • Assigned ESL students to classes for low-achieving English speakers. • Challenged teachers to address needs. • Intimidated ESL students. • Resulted in a low pass rate among ESL students (30%).

25. ESL 2004—Sheltered Classes • Provided a sheltered class in mathematics. • Differentiated instruction in the “regular” class. • Resulted in a high Algebra pass rate among ESL students over the past 3 years (95%). • Now offer sheltered classes for World History, Biology, and Earth Science.

26. ESL Sheltered Classes: Guidelines • Hand select teachers. • Foster collaboration among ESL and content teacher. • Incorporate ESL objectives into the content. • Provide hands-on, relevant instruction. • Create a safe environment. • Mainstream students as they learn more English and gain confidence.

27. ESL Sheltered Classes: Guidelines • Assess ESL students’ ability upon entering school. • Avoid placing students in remedial classes based on language skills alone. • Provide support to teachers of ESL students in non-sheltered classes. • Include all ESL students into the activities of the school.

28. ESL Program: Challenges • Maintaining the “revolving” door—entrance throughout the year • Testing upon arrival • Offering foundation classes • Educating mainstream content teachers—bias, lack of cultural understanding, rigidity

29. Benefits: Sheltered Instruction Far beyond the classroom… Our students’ confidence and self-esteem has risen and is apparent in their daily lives.

30. WON: A Successful Freshmen Transition Program Need for Change • Fearfulness • Behavior problems • Failure • Lacking student “connections”

31. Goals: Freshmen Transition Program • To help freshmen have a smooth cultural and academic transition (a Winning year). • To increase freshmen involvement in school opportunities • To decrease the number of discipline referrals. • To decrease the number of failures.

32. Process: Freshmen Transition Program • Research—http://koprogram.com/ • Council and hierarchy • 8 Council members • Responsible for 3 homerooms each • Each homeroom has 15-20 mentors • Diversity among mentors • Each mentor is responsible for 3-6 freshmen • Summer training for mentors

33. Process: Freshmen Transition Program Kick-off orientation day—camp atmosphere Formal meeting topics • Rules and consequences • Involvement in school clubs, activities, and sports • Study skills • Efficiently accessing school resources • Academic and personal goals • Exam preparation • Understanding how to communicate with faculty Informal connections • Freshmen flings – ice-cream, games • Remembering birthdays, etc. • Offering help with school issues

34. Benefits: Freshmen Transition Program • Shared leadership and modeling • Student engagement and relevance • Gains for mentors and freshmen • Relationships • Failure is NOT an option for MY freshmen

35. Lessons: Freshmen Transition Program • Supportive Data—difficult to obtain • Surveys—feedback from freshmen, mentors, and teachers • Mentor training—orientation day and connecting with students • Strongcouncil—crucial • Formal lessons—engaging • Communication—the more the better • Mentors—ability to connect

36. O.N.E. Leadership:Outstanding Network Enhancing Leadership Leadership to Develop Tomorrow’s Leaders The leadership at James River High School always is considering the input provided by stakeholders. I.C.L.E. Model Schools Executive Summary. 2007

37. O.N.E. Leadership—Shared • Creating avenues of communication • Taking input into action

38. O.N.E. Leadership—Communication

39. O.N.E. Leadership—Action

40. The Power of ONEFraming Rigor, Relevance, and Relationships • Questions? • Comments? Contact us at JRHS@ccpsnet.net