Aurora Central High School in Aurora Public Schools · 2019-11-14 · • In 2017, state board directed action to 1 school in the district: • Aurora Central High School • In spring

Aurora Central High Schoolin Aurora Public Schools

Alyssa Pearson, Deputy CommissionerLindsey Jaeckel, Executive Director, School & District Transformation

Julie Woods, Accountability SpecialistNovember 13, 2019

1

Outline

• Overview of the school accountability clock process:• Where have we been and where are we now? • What are the board’s next steps?• What information can support the board’s decision?

• Aurora Central High School• Background/Context• School Performance Framework (SPF) Trends

• Information to support the board’s next steps• Progress Monitoring Report • State Review Panel Report • Public Comment• Information requested by the board

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School Accountability Clock Process

School/District on Clock for

5 Years

Hearing - Board Considers:•Commissioner Report•State Review Panel Recommendation

•District Proposal

State Board Directs Action to Local Board

School/District Continues to Receive Ongoing

Support, Monitoring, & Accountability

School/District Does Not Earn

Improvement Rating or Higher

Rehearing -Board Considers:• CDE Progress Monitoring• State Review Panel

Recommendation• District Proposal• Public Comment

State Board Directs Action to Local Board(Maintain, Modify/Add, or

New Action)

School/District Off the Clock or On

Performance Watch

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State Board Next Steps

The state board must decide whether to:• Keep the existing directed actions• Issue modification or addition to the previously directed actions• Issue new, different action(s) from the statutory list of options:

• Management (Partial/Full)• Charter• Innovation Status• Closure

In making its decision, statute directs the state board to consider:• The State Review Panel’s recommendations• The previous directed actions• The fidelity with which the school has implemented the directed actions• Whether the time provided for implementation of directed action was

sufficient to achieve results

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Information to Support the Board’s Decision

The state board has the following materials to inform their decision:

• PowerPoint presentation from CDE• Progress monitoring report from CDE• The State Review Panel’s recommendation• School/District reflections via presentation and any submitted

materials• Public written comment• Other information requested by board members

Outline


• Aurora Central High School• Background/Context• School Performance Frameworks (SPF) Rating Trends


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Aurora Public Schools Context

• District is Accredited with Improvement Plan• 2019: Improvement (49.1%)• 2018: Improvement (45.5%)• 2017: Improvement (45.7%)• 2016: Priority Improvement (40.4%)

• 12 of 56 schools in Priority Improvement or Turnaround based on 2019 preliminary ratings

• 13 of 54 schools in Priority Improvement/Turnaround in 2017

• In 2017, state board directed action to 1 school in the district:• Aurora Central High School

• In spring 2019, state board directed early action to 2 schools in the district, at the district’s request:• Gateway High School• North Middle School

• This presentation focuses on Aurora Central High School

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Aurora Central High School Background

• Aurora Central High School currently serves about 2,000 students in grades 9-12

• Approximately 67% of students report qualifying for free/reduced-price lunch

• Approximately 56% of students are English Language Learners

• In 2017, the state board directed Aurora Central High School to continue implementing an Innovation pathway plan with the assistance of an external management organization. • Mass Insight Education was selected as the external management

organization.

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Aurora Central High School: SPF Ratings Over Time

School District SBE Directed Action 2016 Rating 2017 Rating 2018 Rating 2019 Rating*

Aurora Central High School

Aurora Innovation & Management

Turnaround PriorityImprovement

PriorityImprovement

Priority Improvement

9

Percent of points earned 31.8% 34.8% 37.4% 35.2%

*Note this is the preliminary rating

HS Assessments and Growth Data Available (2016-2019)

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2016 2017 2018 2019

Achi

evem

ent English

Language Arts and Math

9th grade CMAS10th grade- PSAT11th grade ACT

9th grade -CMAS10th grade- PSAT11th grade SAT

9th grade- PSAT10th grade- PSAT11th Grade SAT

9th grade- PSAT10th grade- PSAT11th grade- SAT

Science CMAS 11th grade- Science

Gro

wth

English Language Arts and Math

8th -> 9th

9th->10th

CMAS

8th->9th CMAS

10th->11th PSATto SAT

8th->9th CMAS to PSAT9th->10th PSAT 10th ->11th PSAT to SAT

8th->9th CMAS to PSAT (math only)9th->10th PSAT 10th ->11th PSAT to SAT

English Language Proficiency

All grades

Aurora Central High School: SPF Indicators over time- 9th and 10th grade PSAT

2017(10th grade only)

2018(9th and 10th)

2019(9th and 10th)

Mean Scale Score

(and percentile

rank)

Part. Rate Mean Scale Score

(and percentile

rank)


(and percentile

rank)

Part. Rate

Evidence Based

Reading and

Writing

386.0 (1st) 81.7% 379.6 (1st) 94.9% 381.8 (1st) 97.8%

Math 391.7 (1st) 81.7% 376.2 (1st) 94.9% 375.9 (1st) 97.8%

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Aurora Central High School: SPF Indicators over time- 11th Grade SAT and Science

2017 2018 2019

Mean Scale Score



Part. Rate

Evidence Based

Reading and Writing

423.6 89.2% 422.2 93.1% 406.7 96.1%

Math 405.3 89.2% 409.5 93.1 400.1 96.1%

Science 515.1 (1st) 89.4% 521.9 (1st) 96.4% 496.6 (1st) 95.7%

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Aurora Central High School: SPF Indicators over time- HS Growth

2017 2018 2019

Median Growth Percentile



Reading (CMAS 8th to 9th) 57 N/A N/A

Math (CMAS 8th to 9th) 46 N/A N/A

Evidence Based Reading and Writing

(PSAT to SAT)

43* 37 43.0

Math (PSAT to SAT) 34* 41.0 46.0

English Language Proficiency N<20 52 49.0

13* 2017 Growth includes 10th to 11th grade; 2018 and 2019 include 9th to 10th and 10th to 11th

Aurora Central High School: SPF Indicators over time- PWR

2016* 2017* 2018* 2019*

Dropout Rate 10.5%** 5.8% 4.8% 5.7%

Matriculation Rate

36.3% 26.9% 35.8% 37.2%

Graduation Rate (4 year)

44.3% 48.1% 51.3% 70.1%

Graduation Rate- Best of

62.9% (6 year) 66.7% (7 year) 67.5% (6 year) 70.1% (4 year)

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* Year reflects SPF reporting (PWR data is lagged 1 year)** Dropout rate was not included on the frameworks until 2017

Outline


• Aurora Central High School• Background/Context• SPF Trends


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CDE Progress Monitoring Process

• CDE monitors progress through:• On-site visits• Conversations with school and district staff• Grant and support programs (e.g., Turnaround Network)• Interim data reviews and progress reports• Input shared from management partners• State performance framework data (end-of-year only)

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Key Points from CDE Progress Monitoring

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Overall: The school has implemented the innovation plan with fidelity with support from the Aurora Action Zone and Mass Insight.• The school saw a decline in student enrollment in 2018-19, which led to staffing

reductions. The staffing challenges limited full implementation of the pathways plan, but the school responded strategically.

State and local data summary:• The school earned a preliminary plan type of Priority Improvement in 2019 and the total overall points declined slightly from 37.4 to 35.2. Student performance remains well below state expectations for academic achievement.• Attendance was lower in 2018-19 than in 2017-18, with average daily attendance ending at 83% school wide. • Schoolwide behavior data shows improvement:• Referrals decreased from 516 in 2017-18 to 369 in 2018-19.• In-school suspensions decreased 49% between 2016-17 and 2018-19. • Out-of-school suspensions decreased 31% between 2016-17 and 2018-19.


State Review Panel

• Visit conducted in October 2019 to assess, specifically, the implementation of previously directed actions

• The State Review Panel was asked to recommend if:• the district/school should continue its current plan, or• the district/school should take on additional or different actions.

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2018 State Review Panel Report

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Recommendation: Continue Innovation Status

Findings:

• The principal has been in place since 2015 and has built an effective leadership team. The SRP believes the leadership team has the capacity to drive instructional improvement with the autonomies granted through Innovation and the continued targeted and strategic support offered by the district and external partner.

• Aurora Central was APS’s first innovation school. The district and school have built substantial infrastructure to support innovation schools. The SRP believes APS and ACHS have made a good faith effort to implement the plan with fidelity.

• Aurora Central had an effective partnership with Mass Insight, which supported the district in developing the ACTION Innovation zone. School leadership reported that Mass Insight has been instrumental in implementing the school’s professional learning community (PLC) structure, as well as providing ongoing strategic planning guidance.


2018 State Review Panel Report

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Management: Panel did not recommend because “the current school and district leadership team has shown to be effective in creating significant changes in school culture, and has established various structures to support academic improvement.”

Charter: Panel did not recommend because “the current leadership team has the capacity to create improved academic outcomes with a sustained and intentional focus on academics,” and the school is effectively partnering with both the district and an external partner.

School Closure: Panel did not recommend because with nearly 2,000 students, there is not enrollment capacity elsewhere within the district and the school “…has extensive history as anchor in the community in northwest Aurora, and closing would have a significant impact on the community.”


Public Written Comment

• Comments received from Oct. 14 to Nov. 11 via:• Online input form • E-mail or writing to the board

• Public comment notice and input forms were translated into five additional languages

• Responses:• Total: 85• 32% school staff, 32% parents, 19% students

• Themes identified in public comment: • Staff are generally on-board with current pathway and want time to

bring it to fruition• Requests for awareness of the student population • School safety, student behavior, attendance and culture have

improved but concerns remain • Students feel positively about the school• Contrasting opinions on many themes

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Information Requested by Board Members

• Funding & Expenditures• Personnel • English Language Learners• Student Achievement• Enrollment & Feeder Patterns• Career and Technical Education

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Documents

Aurora Central High School in Aurora Public Schools · 2019-11-14 · • In 2017, state board directed action to 1 school in the district: • Aurora Central High School • In spring