The HDvHS Freshman Academy Mission Statement

The Freshman Academy will empower students and families to be connected to their learning by choosing authentic and meaningful work that promotes ownership, achievement, and citizenship.

(8/23 - draft form)

Goals 2003 - 2004, Action Plans, and Indicators of Success 

Goal: To increase familiarity and mastery of academic content standards in math, language arts, science, social studies, and foreign language by June 8, 2004.
Action Plan Indicators of Success
1. All students will be provided with state standards, which they will use to monitor their learning and standards mastery.
2. Use a Total Quality Management (TQM) model to focus students and instruction on attainment of clear goals, specifically the state standards.
3. Use an interdisciplinary instructional model to make state standards more relevant and strengthen overall understanding of content and development of critical thinking skills.
4. Use Academy office hours/study tables to further address student needs.
5. Use provided collaborative time to address individual student needs and strength/adapt instruction to improve student performance. This includes collaboration within teams, between the teams, and between the subject area teachers.
1. (pending assessment selection) Students demonstrate improvement from pre to post test in the freshman year.  Could also include baseline data from eighth grade.
2. Students routinely monitor their progress as a part of their learning. Evidence includes current and complete state standards checklists, data analyses such as run charts, student tracking of their grades, etc.
3. Students use their mission statements and goals as an integral driving force in their studies and mastery of state standards. Evidence includes response journals, revisions and adaptations of goals and action plans, participation in plus/deltas for improvement of instruction and learning, etc.
4. Students will make connections between and among disciplines, using each to enhance their overall development of critical thinking skills. Evidence includes satisfactory completion of interdisciplinary work, cross-use of interdisciplinary skills in classroom settings, increased awareness of connections between disciplines in their journal and class discussion responses.
5. Students use the office hours/study tables. Evidence includes attendance data.

Goal: To increase ninth grade students’ sense of belonging and citizenship at Hilliard Davidson.
Action Plan Indicators of Success
1. Work in interdisciplinary teams, allowing teachers to share the same students and work collaboratively to address individual student needs and create an environment of common goals and caring.
2. Work as interdisciplinary teams, allowing students and teachers to create a sense of community and responsibility to each other for our success.
3. Use unique and energizing techniques to create pride and a positive and collaborative environment such as End-of-Nine-Weeks Awards.
4. Use a TQM model to allow students to participate in the processes of their learning environment.
5. Make Freshman Focus an integral part of our instruction, including having Freshman Focus students who are in our team classes.
1. Journal, discussion, plus/delta sessions, and survey responses indicate increased student sense of belonging and citizenship. Baseline data taken from prior years' student survey.  
2. Students show increased involvement in their studies. Evidence includes teacher observations of and student participation in and response to cooperative learning and team based activities. This year will establish baseline data, though teacher observations of prior years can serve as qualitative baseline data as well.
3. Students show increased involvement in school activities. Baseline data taken from prior years' statistics for student involvement.
4. Students show decreased discipline problems. Baseline data taken from prior years' referral data or in comparison to current year's non-academy referral data.

Goal: To build an environment where students take ownership and responsibility for their learning.
Action Plan Indicators of Success
1.Use a TQM model to allow students to participate in the processes and focus of their instruction, including creating mission statements, goals, and action plans as well as participating in consensus building, plus/delta sessions, surveys, and other collaborative techniques.
2. Provide all students with the means and instruction to monitor their grades and learning, including state standards checklists, data analyses techniques such as run charts, and grades tracking methods such as a grades spreadsheet.
3. Provide consistent supplemental services such as study tables, integrated tutoring, websites, etc., which students may use as needed.
1. Students use meaningful mission statements, goals, and action plans to meet state standards, classroom goals, and personal goals. Evidence includes completed mission statements and goals, mastery of state standards, increased/high achievement as reflected in grades both in comparison to prior years' data and non-academy students.
2. Students actively participate in consensus building, plus/delta sessions, surveys, and other collaborative techniques in order to create meaningful lessons and effective instructional strategies. Evidence includes observations of participation, student evaluations of classroom progress, mastery of goals and standards, and increased/high achievement as reflected in grades both in comparison to prior years' data and non-academy students.
3. Student awareness of learning expectations is increased.  Evidence includes fewer late assignments than prior years and diminishing rates of late work over the course of the year, current and completed state standards checklists, current and completed mission statements, goals, and action plans, current and completed grades tracking method, student response via journal, discussion, plus/delta sessions, surveys.
4. Students actively pursue and use supplemental services. Evidence includes attendance and use data as well as improvement in individual students performance as a result of supplemental service use.

Goal: To increase parental involvement through consistent communication.
Action Plan Indicators of Success
1. Use teaming model and provided conference time to collaborate on addressing individual student needs.
2. Use provided conference time for consistent contact with parents throughout that collaborative process.
3. Conduct unique versions of parent contact days of Open House and Parent-Teacher Conferences. Open House will be a common presentation while Conferences will be conducted as teams.
4. Use of Academy and teacher websites to enhance parent ability to monitor student progress and participate in classroom instruction.

 

1. Parent contact is increased. Baseline data for conferences taken from prior year.* Other types of contacts may come from prior years, if such data exists. This may need to be qualitative based on teacher observation for the first year.
2. Parent satisfaction with conferences is increased or maintains a high level.  Data taken from prior year if it exists.  Parent survey responses will serve as evidence as well.
3. Parent awareness of instruction and student learning is increased.  Evidence includes parent feedback via personal response and surveys and student response via journals, discussion, and surveys.
4. Parent involvement in school is increased. Evidence includes parent visits and even involvement in instruction and assessment.
*If the Action Plan is effective, we may find actual conference week numbers may go down as parents will be more involved throughout the entire school year.