Arthur D. Healey School
ARTHUR D. HEALEY SCHOOL
SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PLAN
SCHOOL YEAR 2013-2014
School: Arthur D. Healey School
Grade Levels: K – 8
Principal: Jill Geiser
Telephone: 617-625-6600 x6530
Address: 5 Meacham Street, Somerville
Fax: 617-776-5401
Web Site: www.somerville.k12.ma.us/healey
NCES ID: 251089001731
School Title I: Title I School (SW)
COUNCIL MEMBERS
Name / RoleAbraham, Vivian / Parent Rep
Bergmann, Florence / Community Rep (Mystic Learning Center)
Brown, Melanie / Parent Rep
Cavanaugh, Ry / Parent Rep
Geiser, Jill / Principal & Tri-Chair
Hoguet, Laura / Teacher Rep
Johnson, Bruce / Community Rep (Tufts U.)
Leal, Gretty / Community Rep (Welcome Project)
Nadeau, Greg / Parent Rep
Pascual, Jennifer / Community Rep (Boys & Girls Club)
Pitone, Laura / Parent Rep
Portelli, Alec / Student Rep
Rodriguez, Michael / Student Rep
Smith Kaytrena / Parent Rep
Stephano, Steve / Teacher Rep
Stern, Cynthia / Teacher Rep
Strell, Barbara / Teacher Rep
Sutherland, Anne / Teacher Rep
Tighe, Catherine / Teacher Rep & Tri-Chair
Vinson, Eva / Parent Rep & Tri-Chair
SOMERVILLE PUBLIC SCHOOLS SCHOOL COMMITTEE GOALS
Goal 1: Improve student achievement by meeting the following annual targets:
· Achieve a minimum District-wide student growth percentage (SGP) average of 55 and implement intervention measures for any student who does not meet this standard.
· Reduce the achievement gap by 10%.
· Increase Math MCAS scores by 10%.
· Increase the number of students ranking Proficient and Advanced on MCAS by 10% in all subgroups.
· Improve the graduation rate by 10%.
Goal 2: Promote innovations designed to improve student performance.
· Provide support and guidance to schools interested in exploring alternative innovation plans or conversion to an Innovation School.
· Ensure that the Healey Unification Plan is fulfilled as developed by the Healey School Council and the School Committee.
Goal 3: Develop stronger home-school connections.
· Improve engagement with parents/guardians of English Language Learners and with immigrant communities.
· Improve engagement with parents/guardians who are not yet involved in the schools.
Goal 4: Increase engagement with the community to improve student learning.
· Leverage city resources to support targeted student improvement goals and initiatives.
· Strengthen community partnerships.
· Develop the capacity to engage the talents and skills of parents/guardians and community members.
SCHOOL PROFILE
MISSION STATEMENT:
The Healey School is an innovative participatory learning community. Academic competence is highly valued, and we believe that children learn best in a joyful, creative environment, one in which their natural curiosity, imagination and thinking are encouraged. Our curriculum is based on thematic, project based learning, designed to engage children's interest and best efforts. We are committed to an educational program that recognizes the importance of community in the lives of children.
· Creative Arts:
Participating in writing, dance, music, theater, film/video and visual art are vital and integral parts of our curriculum. The arts are essential to learning, a way for children to “represent” the world around them and celebrate who they are as individuals and as a community.
· Effective Community Service:
Inspiring a life-long sense of civic participation, openness, caring and responsibility is an integral part of our school culture. Students apply academic skills and critical thinking as they develop, implement, and evaluate service learning projects at all grade levels.
· Family Involvement:
Families who join our school community become committed partners in their children's education, both supportive of and supported by our dedicated staff. Parents and students are encouraged to be active participants in the governance of our school.
INSTRUCTIONAL FOCUS:
Teachers will use the cycle of effective instruction in order to show measurable student growth in reading comprehension across content areas. The effectiveness will be evaluated by MCAS, Dibels, and MAP, along with other formal and informal assessments. When evaluating MCAS results, we expect the Healey School to achieve a SGP of 55% or greater. When evaluating Dibels results, we expect 80% of students to achieve benchmark by spring.
Student Data for the Arthur D. Healey School
The Students at the Arthur D. Healey School come from diverse backgrounds and cultures. The data below, gathered from our SIMS reporting as of October 1, 2012, provides some insight into the make-up of our student body.
Category / 11/12 / 12/13October 1 Enrollment / 526 / 534
Special Education Students / 26% / 24%
First Language not English / 41% / 41%
Limited English Proficiency / 9% / 10%
Low Income Families / 67% / 68%
Ethnicity / 11/12 / 12/13
Hispanic or Latino / 37% / 40%
Non Hispanic/Latino / 63% / 60%
DESE Race Categories / 11/12
White / 75% / 73%
Black/African American / 18% / 18%
Asian / 5 % / 7%
American Indian / 0 / 0
Native Hawaiian / 0 / 0
2 or more races / 2% / 2%
Indicators / 10/11 / 11/12
Attendance / 95% / 95%
In School Suspensions / 10% / 6%
Out of School Suspensions / 3.5% / 6%
Retention Rates / .8% / 1%
Mobility Rate / 10/11 / 11/12
Stability (Aggregate) / 94% / 95%
MCAS TESTS SPRING 2012
Percent of Students at Each Performance Level For
ARTHUR D. HEALEY SCHOOL
* NOTE: Performance level percentages are not calculated if student group less than 10.
* NOTE: Grade 10 Science and Technology/Engineering results represent the highest performance level attained by class of 2012 students in grades 9 or 10 in any of the four subjects (Biology, Chemistry, Introductory Physics, and Technology/Engineering). In addition, only students enrolled in Massachusetts since October 2008 are included in state-level results; only students enrolled in the same district since October 2008 are included in district-level results; only students enrolled in the same school since October 2008 are included in school-level results.
Data Last Updated on September 27, 2012
Grade and Subject / Proficientor Higher / Advanced / Proficient / Needs
Improvement / Warning/
Failing / Students Included / CPI / SGP / Included in SGP
SCHOOL / STATE / SCHOOL / STATE / SCHOOL / STATE / SCHOOL / STATE / SCHOOL / STATE
GRADE 03 - READING / 46 / 61 / 14 / 15 / 32 / 46 / 38 / 30 / 16 / 9 / 63 / 74.2 / N/A / N/A
GRADE 03 - MATHEMATICS / 41 / 61 / 14 / 27 / 27 / 34 / 29 / 25 / 30 / 14 / 63 / 65.1 / N/A / N/A
GRADE 04 - ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS / 33 / 57 / 3 / 13 / 30 / 44 / 40 / 30 / 27 / 14 / 63 / 64.3 / 33.0 / 61
GRADE 04 - MATHEMATICS / 27 / 51 / 13 / 16 / 14 / 35 / 45 / 36 / 28 / 12 / 64 / 62.9 / 38.5 / 62
GRADE 05 - ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS / 54 / 61 / 15 / 17 / 39 / 44 / 32 / 28 / 15 / 11 / 62 / 76.6 / 65.0 / 59
GRADE 05 - MATHEMATICS / 52 / 57 / 21 / 25 / 31 / 32 / 21 / 26 / 27 / 17 / 62 / 70.6 / 72.5 / 60
GRADE 05 - SCIENCE AND TECH/ENG / 37 / 52 / 24 / 22 / 13 / 30 / 37 / 34 / 26 / 14 / 62 / 65.7 / N/A / N/A
GRADE 06 - ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS / 45 / 66 / 12 / 18 / 33 / 48 / 27 / 22 / 27 / 11 / 33 / 68.2 / 44.0 / 32
GRADE 06 - MATHEMATICS / 27 / 60 / 6 / 27 / 21 / 33 / 45 / 24 / 27 / 16 / 33 / 61.4 / 33.0 / 32
GRADE 07 - ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS / 47 / 71 / 13 / 15 / 34 / 56 / 39 / 21 / 15 / 7 / 62 / 75.4 / 49.0 / 61
GRADE 07 - MATHEMATICS / 31 / 51 / 18 / 20 / 13 / 31 / 35 / 30 / 34 / 18 / 62 / 61.3 / 43.0 / 61
GRADE 08 - ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS / 61 / 81 / 11 / 18 / 50 / 63 / 25 / 14 / 14 / 6 / 44 / 80.7 / 47.0 / 44
GRADE 08 - MATHEMATICS / 32 / 52 / 16 / 22 / 16 / 30 / 23 / 28 / 45 / 19 / 44 / 55.7 / 46.0 / 43
GRADE 08 - SCIENCE AND TECH/ENG / 25 / 43 / 11 / 5 / 14 / 38 / 55 / 38 / 20 / 20 / 44 / 63.1 / N/A / N/A
ALL GRADES - ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS / 47 / 69 / 11 / 19 / 36 / 50 / 35 / 22 / 18 / 9 / 327 / 73.2 / 48.0 / 257
ALL GRADES - MATHEMATICS / 35 / 59 / 15 / 27 / 20 / 32 / 33 / 26 / 32 / 15 / 328 / 63.3 / 47.5 / 258
ALL GRADES - SCIENCE AND TECH/ENG / 32 / 54 / 19 / 17 / 13 / 37 / 44 / 32 / 24 / 13 / 106 / 64.6 / N/A / N/A
GROWTH DATA CHART
2012 Accountability Data - Arthur D Healey
School Culture Data Analysis
Recent MyVoice Student Data
Student Strengths:
The My Voice survey shows that students are motivated to succeed in school. Ninety-one percent of students say that want to do their best in school. Eighty-one percent of students say they work hard to reach their goals. Eighty-seven percent of students say they push themselves to do better academically. Finally, 82% say they are excited about their future and 86.5% of students say they plan to go to college. Some evidence from the survey also shows that students are interested in learning. Seventy-nine percent of students say they enjoy learning new things and 70% say that the school inspires them to learn.
Student Challenges:
The My Voice Survey indicates a couple of challenges. The first is low levels of respect reported by students for teachers and other students. Only 37% of students say that students respect teachers. There is a gender difference in that more male students (41%) than female students (33%) say that students respect teachers. Only 33% of students say that students respect each other with more male students agreeing with this (43%) than female students (24%). Fifty-one percent of students say that students are supportive of each other and again, this percentage is higher for male (57%) than female (46%) students. Another area where a lack of respect is noted is through bullying. Again, a gender difference can be seen where 41% of male students and 61% of female students say that bullying is a problem.
Another area of challenge involves students’ feelings towards school. Here, differences can be seen between grades seven and eight students. Only 54% of students say they enjoy being at school, with 50% of 8th graders agreeing with this compared to 79% of 7th graders. Only 64% of students say they enjoy participating in their classes, with 87% of 7th grades agreeing compared to 57% of 8th graders. Finally 47% of 8th graders say that school is boring whereas that number for 7th graders is much less at 19%
Recent MyVoice Staff Data
Staff Strengths:
From the previous year, growth is seen in the data in the areas of collaboration between staff, respect among faculty, communication between staff and administration, and encouragement to be creative. Specifically, 70% of staff surveyed reported that staff are supportive of each other, 67% say that staff work in a collaborative manner, and 70% of staff surveyed reported that they receive constructive feedback from colleagues. These data point to an increasing collaborative culture among the staff. Of the staff members surveyed, 61% say that staff respect each other, which shows a significant increase from the previous year’s data of 22%. Another increase is seen in creativity where 58% of staff feels they are encouraged to be creative, compared to 44% the year before.
Staff Challenges:
Challenges among the staff can be seen in communication and recognition. According to those surveyed, 30% of staff feel that they do not communicate effectively in the building, 30% do not feel comfortable voicing their honest opinion overall, and 45% of staff do not feel comfortable asking questions in faculty meetings. This shows that communication is an issue in terms of staff comfort levels around expressing their ideas and thoughts. This may also be reflected in the data that shows 52% of staff do not feel comfortable in the staff room. Recognition is also a challenge - 67% of staff surveyed feel that the school does not celebrate the accomplishments of staff and 30% of staff indicate that they do not enjoy working at the school. This data reflects that some staff need to receive more recognition for their work and accomplishments. This data may also be linked to the response around the learning environment where only 48% of staff feel that the school is a dynamic and creative learning environment.
Action Plan in Response to Data Analysis
The following goals are also reflected in the goals section of this improvement plan:
1. Strengthen communication and collaborative decision-making at Healey through the following activities:
· Implement common planning time to focus on strategies for instructional improvement and curriculum planning. This time is used for teachers to produce analysis of practice and curriculum units through collaborative dialogue.
· Strengthen the Peer Observation program that enables all teachers to participate in observing their colleagues and providing them with feedback. This involves teachers working together to reflect on how to improve practice, encouraging creativity in practice.
· Strengthen the decision-making process of the Instructional Leadership Team, where faculty input for key decisions is sought through staff meetings and via ILT representation.
· Implement more ways to celebrate and recognize the work of staff to strengthen trust and a sense of collaboration and appreciation.