Seven Hills Charter Public School
2011-2012 Annual Report
Krista Piazza, Superintendent
51 Gage Street, Worcester, MA 01605
www.sevenhillscharter.org
Phone: 508-799-7500 Fax: 508-753-9679
Table of Contents
Section 3: Introduction 3
Section 4: Letter from Board of Trustee’s Chair 4
Section 5: School Mission Statement 5
Section 6: Performance and Plans Section 5-30
Faithfulness to Charter 5-11
Academic Program 11-22
Organizational Viability 22-25
Section 7: Recruitment and Retention Plans 25-31
Section 8: Dissemination 31
Section 9: Financial Reports 32-38
FY 2011 statement of revenues 32-35 FY 2011 statement of net assets 36-37
FY 2011 approved school budget 38 FY 2012 Capital Plan 38
Section 10: Data Section
Instructional Time 39
Student enrollment information 39 Student demographic and subgroup information 39
Administrative Roster and organizational chart 40-41
Teacher and Staff Attrition 41
Members of the board of trustees 41
Introduction
Seven Hills Charter Public School was founded in 1996 by a group of private citizens who partnered with Edison Schools, Inc. to provide an alternative mode for public education in the City of Worcester. The doors opened to 524 K-7 students on September 11, 1996. As of August 1, 2011 the school holds our enrollment cap of 666 K-8 students and maintains an extensive waitlist of students. Seven Hills is located at 51 Gage Street in Worcester.
In May of 2005, the Board of Trustees expressed confidence in the school’s maturity and development, prompting state board of education’s approval of a charter amendment for Seven Hills to operate independently of Edison Schools. We have since renewed our charter two more times, with the most recent renewal attaching probationary conditions and goals that must be met by December 2012. We are now in our 16th year of operation with the current charter term ending in 2016.
Seven Hills Charter Public School is proud to serve a diverse cross section of Worcester families. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, ancestry, athletic performance, disability status, housing status, proficiency in the English language or a foreign language, or prior academic achievement.
The Seven Hills curriculum is aligned with the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks, and is tailored to meet the specific needs of each student. All students receive a well rounded education by integrating art, movement, music, technology and character education into all of the content areas. By using data to drive a three tiered model of instruction in both academics and character development, students receive opportunities for regular enrichment and remediation. It is our goal to prepare our children for success as students, workers and citizens.
Seven Hills Charter Public School provides a family oriented environment that strongly believes that the school-home partnership is an integral component for the academic success of each child. We offer students and families:
· an emphasis on providing students with ambitious expectations through a focus on “Kindergarten to College, Career and Beyond”, which includes an administrative position of Director of Higher Education and Multiculturalism, and provision of the opening week of school at an institution of higher learning in the Worcester community
· two highly qualified educators in each core classroom and a full staff that is committed to ongoing professional development and collaboration.
· a staff that puts children and families first by maintaining strong communication and access to a full range of support services.
· a smaller “schools within a school” leadership design which allows consistent and specific focus on coaching and supervision of classroom instruction.
· a longer school day and year that provides more dedicated learning time.
· a curriculum that is guided by clear and ambitious academic standards and a focus on connecting learning to life, identifying links across content areas and developing critical thinking and problem solving skills.
· ongoing authentic assessment that allows teachers to tailor instruction to meet individual needs.
· well-rounded instructional programs that integrate art, music, technology and character education into everyday learning.
· foreign language, fine arts, health, fitness and guidance instruction starting in kindergarten.
· opportunities to extend learning through assemblies, fieldtrips and after school activities.
· a school wide code of conduct and daily emphasis on the core values of wisdom, justice, courage, compassion, hope, respect, responsibility and integrity.
· a safe and nurturing learning environment
At Seven Hills Charter Public School, each child’s intellectual capacity is respected and nurtured through Reading, Language Arts, Math, Social Studies, and Science. Students are challenged to excel in rigorous but absorbing programs of study featuring: direct instruction in phonics, fluency, comprehension and composition skills; immersion in various genres of classic and contemporary literature, math experiences that cultivate an intuitive sense of numbers and mathematical processes; and intentional inquiry into the Earth and its inhabitants.
Through Physical Education, Visual Arts, Music, World Language, and Character Education, students’ creative capabilities are enhanced in an environment that prizes each member’s unique strengths and talents through a quest for personal excellence.
August 1, 2012
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Charter School Office
75 Pleasant Street
Malden, MA 02148
To Whom It May Concern:
On behalf of the Seven Hills Charter Public School, I present this annual report as a testament to the hard work, accomplishments and reflective practice of the entire Seven Hills community. The SHCPS Board of Trustees has been working with a sense of urgency given the historical academic performance challenges of our students. Many exciting changes have been implemented over the past year to ensure progress and in that we wish to express our support to administration, faculty, staff and families associated with the Seven Hills Charter Public School.
This has been a year of diligent hard work and amazing persistence for everyone associated with Seven Hills Public Charter School. It has not been easy to implement all of the changes undertaken as a result of the Board’s intensive research to uncover the “secrets” of high-performing charter schools. A longer school day and year, a cross-curricular team teaching approach and a small school management model have provided all members of the school community the support and levels of accountability necessary to bring out the best in each and every person. Our rejuvenated emphasis on “college, career and beyond” began this past year with ‘College Week’ where our whole school community spent a week at Worcester State University to instill within every student a vision for the future and an eye on excellence. We are truly on the verge of greatness. We are confident that these new structures and approaches will bear fruit. We have begun to see progress in the 2011-2012 school years and look forward to exceeding the expectations outlined for us in our renewal conditions. We remain committed to achieving our mission of preparing our children for success as students, workers and citizens. We are confident that these new structures and approaches will bear fruit. We have begun to see progress in the 2011-2012 school year and look forward to exceeding the expectations outlined for us in our renewal conditions. We remain committed to achieving our mission of preparing our children for success as students, workers and citizens.
Sincerely,
Suzanne M. Buglione, Ed.D, Chairperson
Seven Hills Charter Public School Board of Trustees
School Mission Statement
The mission of Seven Hills Charter Public School is to prepare a diverse cross section of Worcester children for success as students, workers, and citizens by providing them a high quality education at prevailing public school costs.
Performance and Plans
Accountability Plan Goals and Performance:
1. Faithfulness to Charter:
A. Mission and Vision
i. At least 40% of students will earn at least one Merit Scholar point in 2011-2012. (goal met). 587 students, 89% of the student body, earned at least one Merit Scholar point during the 2011-2012 school year.
ii. By 2016, 80% of students in grades 4 through 8 will have earned at least 5 Merit Scholar points. (progress toward 2016 goal)
170 students, 56% of the students in grades 4-8, have earned at least five points by the end of the first year of implementation.
B. Academic Program
i. Each year, all students will participate in an integrated curriculum unit grounded in service learning and will produce a final presentation or project. (goal met)
ii. At least 80% of students will demonstrate mastery (score of 3 or 4) of related content area standards on their final presentation, as measured through the project performance rubric that correlates with the SLC Standards / Mass Curriculum Frameworks. (goal met)
This goal was met with more than 80% of the students meeting content area standards on community service related projects such as:
· ELA– Community Garden and Plumley Village Food Pantry and Nutrition Counseling Project
· PA – Relay for Life Research and Writing Project
· EA – Community Garden Project, Read to Feed, Military Support Letters,
· JA – Be Like Brit Projects
Common School Performance Criteria
Implementation of mission, vision, and educational philosophy: The mission of the Seven Hills Charter Public School is to prepare a diverse cross section of Worcester children for success as students, workers and citizens by providing them with a high quality education at prevailing public school costs. In alignment with this mission, all students not only participate in rigorous academic programs, but they also regularly experience lessons that integrate character education, the arts and technology. Students are given opportunities to explore various college and career options and to look for ways to give back to our community. Seven Hills prides itself in recognizing and valuing the unique talents and needs of each individual so that we can grow together as a community of learners.
Seven Hills has taken steps to enhance the achievement levels of our students in the years to come. In addition to working with a Coordinator of Curriculum and Assessment who drives the staff in designing data driven instruction and implementing an Understanding by Design approach to transitioning to the revised MA Curriculum Frameworks, the school now employs a Coordinator of Higher Education and Multiculturalism, who plays a key role in motivating students and families to pursue higher education options and to recognize that what students do in school today is key to their ability to access a lifetime of opportunities.
For the 2011-2012 school year, Seven Hills Charter Public School entered into an agreement with Community Day Charter Public School of Lawrence, with the goal of increasing student achievement by sharing best practices in the areas of building a school wide culture of achievement, inspiration and accountability; instructional design and leadership; data-driven instruction and differentiation; ELE program design and implementation; and high school and college placement support. The schools agreed to share resources and methods through exchanges of documents and resources, school visits, observations and interviews, shared professional development experiences, data coaching for goal-setting and monitoring, and mentoring of the Coordinator of Higher Education and Multiculturalism. This was an outstanding experience and the school has decided to continue this important work through a partnership with Achievement Net for the 2012-2013 school year.
Implementation of the governance/leadership structure: The SHCPS Board of Trustees and school administration participated in a series of development activities over the course of the 2011-2012 school year. They strengthened board committee functions and implemented programming to ensure continuity in board membership and succession processes. During the previous 2010-2011 school year, the Board reflected heavily upon their roles and the performance of the school and examined their practices relative to those of other high performing charter schools. As a result of these examinations, the school filed for a charter amendment to redesign the leadership structure to be based upon a smaller “schools within a school” model, with each academy having its own head of school, dedicated to enhancing the support and accountability of all staff and students. In order to ensure continuity across academies, the superintendent, a new Coordinator of Curriculum and Assessment, and key personnel would serve as schoolwide support. To increase learning time and continuity, the school also filed for an amendment to alter the school calendar and schedule. All of these changes were approved, and began for the 2011-2012 school year. It has been a year of great change, with good results demonstrated on internal measures of student performance. The Board and school leaders have worked together to carefully and regularly monitor the school’s performance in each area of the Accountability Plan. We anticipate continued progress toward reaching all of our Accountability Plan goals in the coming year.
Accountability Plan Goal and Performance:
2. The School’s Academic Program is a Success
A. MCAS Performance
i. The percentage of students scoring in the Warning and Failing categories on the Math MCAS will decrease from 33% (2010) annually and, by 2016, by at least 1/3 (23% or fewer students remaining in the Warning or Failing category). (Goal met for 2011, Progressing toward the 2016 goal)
a. In 2011, 26% of Seven Hills students did not pass the Math MCAS test.
B. MCAS Growth
i. In the aggregate, the Seven Hills’ Student Growth Percentile (SGP) for ELA will meet or exceed 40%. (Progressing toward this goal in 2011)
a. In 2011, the ELA SGP was 37.
ii. In the aggregate, the Seven Hills’ Student Growth Percentile (SGP) for Math will meet or exceed 40%. (goal met)
a. In 2011, the math SGP was 53.
iii. In the aggregate, the ELL / Former ELL subgroup Student Growth Percentile will meet or exceed 40%, or the Composite Performance Index will improve from the past year. (goal met)
a. In 2011, the ELL/ FLEP subgroup ELA SGP was 44.5 and the math SGP was 67. In 2010, the ELA CPI for this subgroup was 57.5. In 2011 it rose to 62.5. In 2010, the Math CPI for this subgroup was 48.1. In 2011 it rose to 62.3.
C. External Measures of Student Achievement
i. Each year, at least 70% of students in Kindergarten and Grade 1 will meet nationally normed end of year benchmarks on the AIMSWeb Tests of Early Literacy and the Tests of Early Numeracy. (goal met)
a. In the aggregate, 95% of the students met the End of Year Benchmarks based on the Tests of Early Numeracy (K,1).
b. In the aggregate, 94.3% of the students met the End of Year Benchmarks based on the Tests of Early Literacy (K,1).