Los Angeles Unified School District – Chatsworth High School
Medical Careers Academy SLC Design Proposal
Smaller Learning Communities
SLC Design Proposal
submitted to
Los Angeles Unified School District
I. Cover Sheet
Name of School: CHATSWORTH HIGH SCHOOL
Location Code: 8583
Proposed SLC Name: Medical Careers Academy
Design Team Leader
Name: Brian Rooney
Title: TEACHER
Mailing Address: 10027 LURLINE AVENUE
CHATSWORTH, CA 91311
Telephone #: 818-678-3400
Fax #: 818-709-6952
Email:
DESIGN TEAMName / Title
Brian Rooney / Teacher
Marlene Kasahara / Teacher
Steve West / Teacher/Title I Coordinator
Jennifer Richard / Teacher
II. SLC TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE CHECKLIST
The Office of School Redesign will offer professional development and technical support. What are the greatest challenges that you can foresee at this time to completing your work? What assistance do you need? Please check all that apply and attach to your letter of intent.
Foreseeable Challenges
/Check All That Apply
Attribute analysis / XVision creation/identity
Student outcomes / X
Matrix / X
School to work transition / X
Academic requirements: A-G
Content integration / X
Assessments/evaluation / X
Alterations to facilities / X
Resilience building / X
Youth development strategies / X
Advisories / X
Leadership roles / X
Bell schedules / X
Contract issues/waivers
Best practices / X
Articulation
Budgets / X
Sustainability / X
Community partnerships / X
Parent outreach and involvement / X
Student outreach and involvement / X
School staff Outreach and Involvement / X
Union (UTLA) agreements
Unifying Vision
The Medical Careers Academy Team has developed a shared vision supported by all stakeholder groups, the staff, the parents, community partners and the students who expressed an interest in the fields of health, science and medicine. The vision of the Medical Careers Academy is to provide Chatsworth High School students with a dedicated place for dynamic growth and learning as well as prepare them for college and or a career in the fields of health, science and medicine. In addition to preparing our students for their post secondary plans, we provide students with a personalized, caring learning environment during their high school career. The team has developed the vision and goals of the academy, and it is the belief of the Medical Careers Academy faculty that students learn when content is engaging, culturally and personally relevant, and challenging.
The Medical Careers Academy students will be challenged through a distinctive and focused, rigorous, standards-based curriculum. The curriculum and course focus will be based on student interest in the medical field while meeting the University of California A through G entrance requirements. The goal is to create student engagement through the use of relevant topics, themes and ideas of the courses and to create an environment where the students are supported by each other as well as by the faculty, staff, their parents, and the community.
The Medical Careers Academy teachers know that students will learn and advance if they work hard and are expected to perform. This SLC will provide an environment for the formation of reliable tight-knit relationships, where team members act as advisors to the students and are united in a common purpose. The interpersonal relationships that the SLC engenders will enhance the students’ academic learning, support their emotional well-being and widen their perspective. Through the combination of support and challenges, the Academy teachers have high expectations and are optimistic for the students of the Medical Careers Academy.
Chatsworth High School has a 20 hour minimum community service requirement for graduation. As members of the Medical Careers Academy, students will be required to have served the medical community for fulfillment of their hours. The academy hopes to further engage students through future elective courses that advance their medical career goals. Relationships with community members will be deepened by developing a guest speaker series and inviting them to participate in traditional events such as Back to School Night, Open House, PTSA meetings, Title I meetings and PHBAO Parent Night conferences. Collaboration with community partners will be further developed and enhanced by inviting members to participate in intern programs and Career Fairs.
Initial course planning and the development of the master schedule for our SLC will be completed during the spring 2008 semester. During the summer of 2008, faculty will begin lesson planning, integrating academy focus into the coursework of individual classes and developing interdisciplinary themes and projects. At the present time, AP courses, electives, and academic and athletic teams will be treated as passport classes available to all Chatsworth High School Students. We plan to be in contiguous space by the fall of 2008, with the exception of science, fine and technical art, and physical education.
The faculty and staff of the Medical Careers Academy will meet on a regular and an as needed basis, to be no less than twice monthly, to discuss academy business and conduct self-assessments of our progress as an SLC. The development and alignment of curriculum as well as professional development topics such as periodic assessments, cultural relevancy, best practices or learning modalities can also be discussed. Meetings regarding such issues as budgeting, school safety and faculty schedules will be conducted as often as necessary. Additionally, periodic conferences regarding student progress, conduct, behavior, programming, and intervention trough dropout prevention or tutoring will also take place as often as necessary. The academy will be working toward developing partnerships through contacts made with the community, including two local hospitals, clinics, and the nursing program at Pierce Community College and California State University Northridge. The academy additionally plans to investigate the possibility of academy students taking part in the ROP and ROC programs.
To achieve the goals of the Medical Careers Academy, teachers will work together with students, parents, and community partners to strengthen the academy content and activities.
Identity
The Medical Careers Academy has an educational philosophy that is shared by the students who have expressed an interest in the academy and the teachers and support staff who have elected to become a part of the academy. The students of the Medical Careers Academy will represent a heterogeneous group of between 300 and 500 students who have selected to join the academy. The student body of the SLC represents all subgroups present at Chatsworth High School, including English Language Learners, those who are at risk, general population, the gifted and talented, and those who are socio-economically disadvantaged. The students of the academy include those of the surrounding area as well as traveling students. As students choose to be a part of Medical Careers Academy, many will be interested in the possibility of pursuing further education or careers in the fields of health, science or medicine and they will be more inclined to explore and participate in the variety of activities offered by the academy.
Students and staff members of the Medical Careers Academy will be branded by identification badges, which are to be worn at all times on campus, at Medical Careers Academy events, or when volunteering in the medical community. The badges will have a photograph of the individual, the name of the individual in large print, and will identify them as a member of the Medical Careers Academy of Chatsworth High School. The badges will be worn on a blue lanyard around the neck, woven with “CHS Medical Careers Academy.” On the reverse side of the badge will be the motto for the graduating class. Each class will vote on the motto for their class at the beginning of their 10th grade year.
(Front of Badge) (Back of Badge)
(Lanyard)
The insignia for the Medical Careers Academy will be the Staff of Asclepius. The Staff of Asclepius is an ancient Greek symbol representing the healing of the ill through medicine. This symbol will represent our SLC and will be imprinted on the doors of all Medical Careers Academy classrooms, t-shirt designs, badges, stationary, etc. to differentiate the Medical Careers Academy from Chatsworth High School as a whole.
The faculty and staff of the Medical Careers Academy believe that all students can achieve at high levels and reach their individual academic and creative potential. As active members of the SLC, academy teachers take personal responsibility for helping students reach their academic goals. Courses will be standards-based and will include academy-developed assessments such as “health and wellness survey” to be completed during the sophomore year, “medical careers research presentation” to be completed during the junior year, and “education and career portfolio” to be completed during the senior year.
The Medical Careers Academy Student Education and Career Portfolio will be the culminating task for the Medical Careers Academy program. The portfolio will include the following:
· Personal Statement
o Students will begin the portfolio process in the 10th grade by articulating their education and career goals in a personal statement. The personal statement will be modified each year, as the students’ career and education goals may change.
· Medical Career Reports
o For each semester a student is in the Medical Careers Academy, they will be required to complete a medical career report for their portfolio. The careers the students will choose will represent possible careers they wish to pursue. Each report must include the job title, a description of the occupation, the salary, the required level of education, and at least two educational institutions that have programs that prepare individuals for these professions.
· Health and Wellness Survey
o The health and wellness survey will be an academy developed survey that will be completed during the student’s sophomore year.
· Resume
o Each student will complete a resume during their senior year.
· Community Service
o Students will be required to serve the medical community in order to fulfill Chatsworth High School community service graduation requirement.
· Final Transcripts
· Letters of Recommendation
o Each student must have a minimum of two letters of recommendation from teachers or community partners. These letters should recommend the student either to a postsecondary educational program or for employment following high school.
This SLC has a unique academic identity focused on curriculum that incorporates science, health and medicine into the core and elective subject areas, thus developing connections across the curriculum. The academy will be developing thematic cross-curricular lessons and project-based assignments. The academy will include Human Anatomy and Physiology as an elective course and additional elective courses will be implemented at a later date, as the program develops.
All academy courses will be integrated into the master schedule. Courses satisfy the University of California A-G entrance requirements and are standards-based. Several core subjects, including English, mathematics, and science, follow the district mandated periodic assessments. As all subject areas will be integrated into the Medical Careers Academy framework, students will spend at least two thirds of the school day in SLC specific classes.
The Medical Careers Academy will be working towards developing contiguous space. For our opening semester in fall 2008, courses will be in contiguous space, with the exception of science, fine and technical art, and physical education. Additionally, as most elective courses and AP courses will be passport courses available to all Chatsworth High School students, they will be located outside of the contiguous space of the Medical Careers Academy.
Elections will be held in the spring semester to determine the lead teacher for the Medical Careers Academy. The lead teacher will act as a liaison to the administrators, Small Learning Communities Coordinator, and budget committee. He/she will meet regularly with administrators, counselors, and the lead teachers of the other academies on the Chatsworth campus to coordinate activities and fulfill compliance requirement.
The Medical Careers Academy team will meet on a regular basis and will be working closely with counselors, administrators and department chairs to make decisions related to budget, personnel and facilities. The team will establish codes of student conduct, focusing on procedures for appropriate behavior as well as academic conduct.
Rigorous Standards
The Medical Careers Academy will present to its students an educational program that embodies high expectations for all, and a rigorous, culturally relevant and linguistically responsive curriculum. Our academy has not as of yet made connections with Pierce College, CSUN and Northridge Hospital; however, through our college office and the career center, we will work to establish a commitment from these organizations to have guest speakers in place for the following school year. In an effort to establish cultural relevancy, we will enlist the services of science and medical professionals whose cultural backgrounds are representative of the student body at Chatsworth.
The Medical Careers Academy will operate under an educational philosophy of academic excellence through interdisciplinary cooperation with a caring and professional staff of teachers and support personnel. All academic courses will be aligned with the University of California A-G entrance requirements. Course titles may be modified toward special focuses with the possibility of including forensic biology and medical drawing. Coursework will offer thematic, interdisciplinary units. While district pacing plans and quarterly assessment make it difficult to rearrange our curricula, within each subject area we are investigating the possibility of cross-curricular units specific to each subject area. Curriculum development will take place during spring 2008. Some particular interdisciplinary units we have considered include “History of Science and Medicine” for our 10th grade world history and 11th grade US history courses, “Health and Fitness Careers” for our PE department, “Cooking for a Healthy Diet” for our cooking instructor and “Medical Billing and Bookkeeping” for our math department. Specific projects we are considering include “Interview with a Scientist or Medical Professional/Paraprofessional” to be supported by both the science and English teachers. Courses will be standards-based and will include academy-developed assessments such as “health and wellness survey” to be completed during the sophomore year, “medical careers research presentation” to be completed during the junior year, and “educational and career portfolio” to be completed during the senior year.