Improvement Plan

Agora Cyber CS

Improvement Plan

07/01/2014 - 06/30/2017

School Profile

Demographics

995 Old Eagle School Rd Suite 315

Wayne, PA 19087

(610)254-8218

Phase: / Phase 3
Federal Accountability Designation: / Focus
Title I Status: / Yes
CEO Name: / Susie Siever
CEO E-mail address: /

Planning Committee

Name / Role
Chad Antonio / Administrator
Steve Calabro / Engagement Coordinator/Parent
Paul DeAngelo / Administrator
Lisa DiGiovanni / Engagement Coordinator
Kelly Fortney / Intermediate Unit Staff Member
Erika Gillis / Administrator
Bonnie Harmon / Board Member
Ken Kilpatrick / Business Representative
Alina Kitchell / Engagement Coordinator
Dara Kline / Intermediate Unit Staff Member
Brett Luelling / Administrator
Josh Mack / Administrator
Amanda M Mullen / Engagement Coordinator
Joanne Mulvey / High School Teacher - Regular Education
Raymond Rozycki / Business Representative
Tonya Smith / Middle School Teacher - Regular Education
Mary Steffey / Board Member
Nicole Wood / Administrator
David Zeiler / Administrator

Assurances

Title I Schools

Title I Priority or Focus Schools

All Title I Schools required to complete improvement plans must assure to the Pennsylvania Department of Education the school's compliance with the following expectations by developing and implementing an improvement plan or otherwise taking actions that meet the expectations described by the Assurances listed below.

Assurances 1 through 12

The school has verified the following Assurances:

Assurance 1: This School Improvement Plan contains Action Plans that address each reason why this school failed to make Annual Measurable Objectives (AMOs) and/or is identified in the lowest 10% of Title I schools.
Assurance 2: The resources needed for full implementation of the action plans herein documented have been identified and the necessary approvals obtained to allow the procurement and allocation of these resources.
Assurance 3: Documentation of the resources needed for full implementation of the action plans herein documented; including specific, related budgetary information, is available for review upon request by the LEA or SEA.
Assurance 4: If designated as a Priority or Focus School the district has determined whole-school meaningful interventions directly associated with the unmet AMO(s).
Assurance 5: The school improvement plan covers a two-year period.
Assurance 6: The school has adopted and/or continued policies and practices concerning the school's core academic subjects that have the greatest likelihood of improving student achievement.
Assurance 7: High performing LEAs with varied demographic conditions have shown they share common characteristics. The following nine characteristics are embedded in the plan:
Clear and Shared Focus
High Standards and Expectations
Effective Leadership
High Levels of Collaboration and Communication
Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment Aligned with Standards
Frequent Monitoring of Teaching and Learning
Focused Professional Development
Supportive Learning Environment
High Levels of Community and Parent Involvement
Assurance 8: Focus Schools must implement locally developed interventions associated with a minimum of one of the below principles, while Priority Schools must implement all seven:
Providing strong leadership by: (1) reviewing the performance of the current principal; (2) either replacing the principal if such a change is necessary to ensure strong and effective leadership or demonstrating to the State Education Agency that the current principal has a track record in improving achievement and has the ability to lead the turnaround effort; and (3) providing the principal with operational flexibility in the areas of scheduling, staff, curriculum and budget.
Ensuring that teachers are effective and able to improve instruction by: (1) reviewing the quality of all staff and retaining only those who are determined to be effective and have the ability to be successful in the turnaround effort; and (2) preventing ineffective teachers from transferring to these schools.
Redesign the school day, week, or year to include additional time for student learning and teacher collaboration
Strengthen the school’s instructional program based on student needs and ensuring that the instructional program is research-based, rigorous, and aligned with state academic content standards.
Use data to inform instruction and for continuous improvement, including providing time for collaboration on the use of data.
Establish a school environment that improves school safety and discipline and addresses other non-academic factors that impact student achievement, such as students’ social, emotional and health needs.
Provide ongoing mechanisms for family and community engagement
Assurance 9: The school improvement plan delineates responsibilities fulfilled by the school, the LEA and the SEA serving the school under the plan.
Statement 10: Establish specific annual, measurable targets for continuous and substantial progress by each relevant subgroup, which will ensure all such groups of students, update to align with the new AMOs to close the achievement gap
Statement 11: A mentoring/induction program used with teachers new to the school exists; the essential elements of the mentoring/induction program are documented and the documentation is available for review upon request by LEA or SEA authorities.
Statement 12: All parents with enrolled students will receive an annual notification letter which includes the reasons for its identification as Priority or Focus and the school’s plan to improve student achievement.

Assurance 13

The school is communicating with parents regarding school improvement efforts via the following strategies:

School web site
School newsletter
WikiSpaces, Yahoo, Facebook, etc.
Board meeting presentations
Town hall meetings
District's annual report
District report card
Yearly letter to parents
Short Message Systems (phone blasts)
Short Message Systems (email blasts)
Invitations to planning (etc.) meetings
Family Night/ Open House / Back to School Night/ Meet-the-Teachers Night, etc.
Special all-school evening event to present improvement plan
Regular Title 1 meetings
Parent advisory committee meetings
Parent-Teacher Conferences
Home-school visits
School Improvement Brochure
Student Handbook

Assurance for Priority Schools (Annually Updated SIP)

The school has indicated the following response to indicate if it has completed an evaluation with the assistance of our Academic Recovery Liaison:

Title I Schoolwide program

The school has indicated the following response as to whether or not it intends to run a Title I Schoolwide program :

Yes

A completed Title I Schoolwide program planning addendum is required if the school is running a Title I Schoolwide program.

DOCX file uploaded.

Needs Assessment

School Accomplishments

Accomplishment #1:

Every year since 2002 all relevant subgroups met the 95% participation target for PSSA Reading and Math.

Accomplishment #2:

Attendance rate increased from 89.7% to 91.7% over the past school year (SY 13-14).

Accomplishment #3:

Agora's English Language Arts Performance reflected positive growth in several subgroups:

1. From 2011-2013, 4 out of 5 Below Basic Performance Level Groups on average showed moderate evidence of exceeding the Standard for PA Academic Growth.

a. Specific Grades Exceeding the Standard: 5-8

2. From 2011-2013, 4 out of 5 Basic Performance Level Groups on average showed evidence of meeting or exceeding the Standard for PA Academic Growth.

a. Specific Grades Exceeding the Standard: 7 and 8

b. Specific Grades Meeting the Standard: 5 and 6

3. In 2014, 5 out of 5 Below Basic Performance Level Groups showed evidence of meeting or exceeding the Standard for PA Academic Growth.

a. Specific Grades Exceeding the Standard: 5, 7 and 8

b. Specific Grades Meeting the Standard: 4 and 6

4. In 2014, 4 out of 5Basic Performance Level Groups showed evidence of meeting the Standard for PA Academic Growth.

a. Specific Grades Meeting the Standard: 5-8

Accomplishment #4:

Agora's Mathematics Performancereflected positive growth in several subgroups:

1. From 2011-2013, 5 out of 5 Below Basic Performance Level Groups on average showed moderate evidence of exceeding the Standard for PA Academic Growth.

a. Specific Grades Exceeding the Standard: 4-8

2. From 2011-2013, 4 out of 5 Basic Performance Level Groups showed evidence of meeting or exceeding the Standard for PA Academic Growth.

a. Specific Grades Exceeding the Standard: 5

b. Specific Grades Meeting the Standard: 4, 6 and 7

3. In 2014, 3 out of 5 Below Basic Performance Level Groups showed evidence of meeting the Standard for PA Academic Growth.

a. Specific Grades Meeting the Standard: 4, 5 and 7.

Accomplishment #5:

Agora's Science Performance reflected positive growth in several subgroups:

1. From 2011-2013, both Advanced Performance Level Groups on average showed evidence of meeting orexceeding the Standard for PA Academic Growth.

a. Specific Grades Exceeding the Standard: 4

b. Specific Grades Meeting the Standard: 8

2. In 2014, both Advanced Performance Level Groups on average showed evidence of meeting the Standard for PA Academic Growth.

a. Specific Grades Meeting the Standard: 4 and 8

School Concerns

Concern #1:

Overall school performance at Agora Cyber Charter Schoo for SY 2014-2015 has been below satisfactory expectations and necessitated a systemic change across the school. Current SY 2014-2015 SPP data was as follows:

SPP:

School Level SPP score: 42.4.

Indicators of Academic Achievement:

Mathematics/Algebra I - Percent Proficient or Advanced on PSSA/Keystone: 34.07
Reading/Literature - Percent Proficient or Advanced on PSSA/Keystone: 45.74
Science/Biology - Percent Proficient or Advanced on PSSA/Keystone: 30.84
Writing - Percent Proficient or Advanced on PSSA: 25.25

Concern #2:

For SY 2014-2015 Agora has performed well below the PA standard in proficient and advanced

Percent below by category:

36.2% below the state’s percentage proficient and advanced in math
24.8% below the state’s percentage proficient and advanced in reading
32.6% below the state’s percentage proficient and advanced in science
42.3% below the state’s percentage proficient and advanced in writing

Concern #3:

Being a TItle 1 school it is imperative for the school to close the achievement gap. Agora has underperformed for SY 2013-2014 in this measure.

Annual Measurable Objectives (AMOs): Closing the Achievement Gap

Mathematics/Algebra I AMO - All Students -62.63
Mathematics/Algebra I AMO - Historically Underperforming Students -38.81
Reading/Literature AMO - All Students -44.31
Reading/Literature AMO - Historically Underperforming Students -14.68

Concern #4:

Students in all grade levels who were eligible for an IEP and participated on the state assessments continued to fail to reflect overall growth based on PVAAS data. The students did not meet the standard for academic growth for SY 2013-2014.

Concern #5:

Preliminary 2013-2014 data submitted to PDE as of October 2013 reported a slight decrease in the percentage of dropouts but still over 20%. Of the students identified as dropouts, 25% were new enrollees during the school year.

Prioritized Systemic Challenges

Systemic Challenge #1(Guiding Question #6) Ensure that there is a system within the school that fully ensures a safe and supportive environment for all students.

Aligned Concerns:

Improvement Plan

Action Plans

Goal #1: Ensure that there is a system within the school that fully ensures a safe and supportive environment for all students.

Indicators of Effectiveness:

Type: Annual

Data Source: Truancy rate based on the Safe Schools Report

Specific Targets: Decrease truancy rate by 2% each school year.

Type: Annual

Data Source: Attendance Record

Specific Targets: 90% attendance rate during school year 2014-2015 and a 2% increase each following year

Type: Annual

Data Source: Graduation Rate

Specific Targets: Graduation rate increases 2% each school year

Type: Annual

Data Source: School Performance Profile Closing the Achievement Gap calculation

Specific Targets: Will meet the benchmark for success defined by the Pennsylvania Department of Education as closing one-half of the achievement gap over a six-year period.

Strategies:

Comprehensive communication and participation of MTSS/RTII programs and school policies

Description:

This strategy will focus efforts to communicate with staff, faculty and family the expectations and responsibilities of all partners in order to attain academic achievement and engagement for every student. The Planning Committee identified the need to communicate school policies, intervention efforts and the critical role of the Learning Coach (adult with the primary responsibility for working with the student on a daily basis) in our model as crucial for any school but especially for Agora given Agora's very transient population. Each year over half of our student body is comprised of first year enrollees while historically most students have remained with Agora less than 2 years. Parents make choices for their child’s education for different reasons and stay with our school for as long as the need remains. Many families who remain longer with Agora do so based on an understanding of our model and opportunities for engagement and student services. Through these action steps families will have an understanding of our educational model including the responsibilities of the student, legal guardian, learning coach and our staff upon enrollment and staff will have a process to identify at-risk students for interventions. These action steps may not impact the transient nature of our student body but would assure that everyone involved is aware of policy, procedures and the role of each partner needed for a the student's successful post high school transition:

Develop leadership policies and procedures to ensure a more consistent and aligned messaging from staff, faculty and administrators to our students and families.

Integrate a more represenative form of leadership and communication to include all stakeholders in the decision making process.

Compilation of School Policies, Procedures, Roles and Expectations onto a single location

Implement student behavioral MTSS plan for concerns of truancy, academics, behavior, and lack of engagement. Once plans are established they will communicated through our comprehensive communication system which includes social media, virtual meetings, hard copy literature, face to face meetings, parent data teams and the continuation of the Learning Coach Academy.

SAS Alignment: Safe and Supportive Schools, Curriculum Framework, Materials & Resources

Dropout Prevention Expansion

Description:

This strategy will include programs to decrease student dropout rate by providing comprehensive SWPBS throughout the school and through MTSS/RTII identifying low engaged families and intervening to support academic success. Agora is a public school of choice open to all students in grades K through 12 across Pennsylvania. We have open enrollment throughout the school year and welcome any and all age appropriate Pennsylvania residents without discrimination. This means that in addition to being a path for advancement and acceleration for some students we have many students who enroll after not finding academic success in their previous educational model, are overcoming financial and medical hardships, or may have left public education for a period of time and see Agora as a final opportunity for a diploma. The focus on the high school reflects our concerns of lower attendance rates at those grade levels and the graduation rate which is impacted by students who enter Agora off cohort or leave public education prior to their senior year. Through these programs we will lay the foundations for a strong partnership between student, parent, staff and community:

Additional supports include:

• Expand Family Support Program for Identified Returning At-risk/Low engaged Families

• High School Program to identify, instruct, and support students at risk of dropping out

• Student Career and Internship Program

We will continue to identify students in need of this intervention with the goal to improve academic success. We will also continue to provide opportunities for parent engagement and relationship building through the supports of the Family Support Coaches, Family Assistance Coordinator and Engagement Coordinators. These partnerships increase the likelihood a student will remain enrolled at Agora.

SAS Alignment: Safe and Supportive Schools

Develop and implement Early Warning System (EWS)

Description:

Agora Cyber Charter School will develop and implement an EWS for grades 6-8. Agora will also look to expand the principles of the dashboard and system to expand beyone grades 6-8. Agora will partner with PDE to develop an EWS based on Johns Hopkins research on dropout prevention by Dr. Robert Balfanz, the Early Warning System uses Attendance, Behavior and Course Grades (ABC's). The EWS identifies students in middle school, before they dropout.

SAS Alignment: Instruction, Materials & Resources, Safe and Supportive Schools

Implementation Steps:

Compilation of School Policies, Procedures, Roles and Expectations onto a single location and yearly review

Description:

Descriptions: Two committees will be identified to compile School Policy and Procedures currently in place onto a single location. One committee will be charged with a review of the student handbook and clarifying student, family and staff roles and responsibilities. The second will focus on staff operations procedures and identification of programs dedicated to each department. Each committee will compile the information into one location for reference with the first team dedicated to parent communication and the second to staff. The information and location will be reviewed annually for updates and additions.

Indicators: URL of locations

Start Date: 6/13/2014 End Date: 8/13/2018

Program Area(s): Student Services

Supported Strategies:

Comprehensive communication and participation of MTSS/RTII programs and school policies

Expand Family Support Program for Identified Returning At-risk/Low engaged Families

Description:

Description: The Family Support Program will be geared to identified returning high-risk /low engaged/off-cohort students and determine necessary steps to get them back on-track and consistently engaged in academics. At the high school student courses needed for graduation, course adjustments and electives that may engage the student will be reviewed.

Indicator: List of students identified

Start Date: 6/2/2015 End Date: 9/3/2018