Mission and Expectations for Student Learning

 

            The mission statement and expectations for student learning were developed by the school community and approved and supported by the Cony High School faculty and the Augusta School Board.  The Cony High School mission and expectations for student learning were written by a diverse committee comprised of faculty, administration, parents and students during the 2003/2004 school year. Using the existing Cony High School Mission Statement, the Augusta School District Mission Statement, the Guiding Principles of the Maine Learning Results, examples of mission statements from other schools, the Augusta School Department Student Expectations, and finally, the Augusta School District Vision and Core Beliefs, the committee developed an initial mission statement and a list of academic, social and civic expectations. The first draft of the mission statement and expectations for student learning was presented to the faculty in May, 2004. Suggestions made by the faculty were incorporated into the final draft. The final document was presented to and approved by the faculty and the school board in October, 2004.

            Following its approval, measures were taken to share this document with the wider school community. The first step in sharing the mission statement and student expectations was to display it on the school website. All teachers were issued a laminated copy to display in their classrooms. The mission and student expectations were included in the student handbook as well as in the packet for new employees. A letter with this document was sent to all parents. In the fall of 2006, copies of the mission and expectations were distributed at Open House. In January 2007, framed posters of the mission statement and student expectations were prominently displayed in all classrooms.

            The mission statement and its expectations have been an increasing focus of discussions among faculty, students, and parents. The administration, faculty, and School Board recognize the importance of keeping this vision at the forefront of educational decisions and discussions.  The results of the 2006 self-study survey indicate that we are making acceptable progress in this direction. Over 85% of the staff, 61% of parents and 100% of the school board responded that they are familiar with the mission statement and expectations for student learning.

 

            The school’s mission statement represents the school community’s fundamental values and beliefs about student learning.  The strategic plan for the Augusta Vision was developed in February 2001, when a diverse group of 70 community stakeholders, including staff and administration, attended a retreat at Central Maine Power to ask the question, “What would the Augusta Public Schools look like in ten years if they were the best they could be?” The Vision Statement and set of Core Beliefs were the product of that work. The Cony High School mission statement and expectations for student learning incorporate both the Augusta Public Schools Core Beliefs and the Augusta School District Vision. Commitment to these fundamental values served as the impetus for a new high school facility. Augusta citizens were actively involved in planning for the new school and a community-based group named Team Cony raised an additional $1.5 million dollars to ensure that the new building is a state-of-the-art facility. The School Board has provided both philosophical and budgetary support for efforts designed to enhance student learning. These include, but are not limited to, technology improvements, reorganization efforts at the high school, and recent academic initiatives such as the Center for Resource Management (CRM) SPIRAL (School-wide Program for Improving Reading and Learning) Adolescent Literacy Audit, Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA) testing, and the Cony Freshman Literacy Program. The literacy audit determines what literacy support structures are currently in place, the NWEA achievement test provides information about the academic strengths and needs of each student, and the Freshman Literacy program pairs a special education teacher trained in literacy strategies with a regular education teacher. 

            Creating and maintaining “a safe, respectful, and positive learning environment that fosters academic, career, civic, and personal growth” is the essence of our high school mission. The culture of Cony High School reflects our community’s belief that learning is important to a student’s future success. Commitment to academic achievement is evident in the community’s support of a wide range of academic programs, including numerous AP and Honors courses, extensive elective offerings, and the provision of learning assistance to meet a broad range of student needs. Student achievement is acknowledged through the honor roll, National Honor Society assemblies, Student of the Month awards, sports and academic award nights, music performances, and Class Day/Graduation Day recognition. Displays and demonstrations of student work are featured at Cony and community-based settings.  To support student success and build strong family-school connections, we host annual Open House events, sponsor Parent-Teacher Conferences twice a year, issue progress reports at least eight times a year to freshmen and sophomores, and facilitate communication in multiple ways. As a result of improved technology, parents are able to monitor student grades and attendance online and contact teachers by email.   

            Our community also places significant value on the career, civic, and personal growth of students. This is reflected in its support of comprehensive programs and services to address these areas. The guidance counselors and career center coordinator work closely with students to assist with career preparation, academic planning, and personal counseling.  Civic involvement is promoted through our annual school-wide Day of Caring, in which we collaborate with the United Way to provide volunteer services for the community. As of 2005, our students are now required to fulfill 15 hours of community service in order to graduate. Community recognition of the importance of personal growth is reflected in the availability of clinical counseling and substance abuse prevention services, as well as our proactive School-Based Health Center. In addition, the district supports an advisor-advisee program, through which we provide weekly activities to support good decision making.  

            One hundred percent of the School Board and 92.2% of the staff surveyed in the spring of 2004 agreed with the core values and beliefs that are articulated in our mission statement. However, only 44% of the parents surveyed at that time felt that the mission statement reflected their values. This statistic suggests the need for increased dialogue with parents about our mission statement and expectations for student learning, as well as greater parent involvement in the mission statement review process.  

 

            The school has defined measurable school-wide academic, civic, and social learning expectations that reflect the school’s mission.  Cony High School has a written curriculum that is aligned with the school-wide learning expectations outlined in our mission. Curriculum guides show clear connections between course content and those learning expectations. According to the 2006 self-study survey, over 75% of the staff and 79.2% of parents understood what is expected academically of Cony High School students. The academic expectations are defined and clearly communicated in the student handbook, program of studies, and course syllabi. Each student receives a copy of the student handbook at the beginning of the school year. Copies of the academic expectations are made available to parents at conferences and Open House nights. The mission statement and expectations for student learning are displayed in every classroom and are referred to during lessons.

Common assessments developed within departments, as well as course-specific rubrics designed by individual teachers in their content areas, measure student achievement of the academic expectations. Many of these academic rubrics are available for shared use on the teacher application hard drive and in the library. Development and implementation of school-wide rubrics is just beginning.

Prior to 2004, the mission statement of Cony High School did not specifically address social and civic expectations. The revised statement, written and approved in 2004, added social and civic categories to the list of expectations for student learning. Social and civic expectations are defined in the student handbook, reviewed with students at the beginning of each school year, and reinforced through advisor groups, individual classroom rules, course syllabi, school assemblies, and enforcement of the discipline code. The new community service graduation requirement and annual Day of Caring are specific ways in which students are expected to demonstrate civic and social involvement. In addition, the 2006 policy regarding eligibility for junior-senior privileges now incorporates a combination of academic and social responsibility criteria that emphasizes the importance of being a responsible school citizen.

Several rubrics designed to measure individual student achievement of the social and civic expectations have been drafted and are available for use. The degree to which we meet social and civic expectations as a school can be measured by review of attendance reports, discipline data, participation rates in extracurricular and Day of Caring activities, as well as numbers of students who earn and maintain  junior-senior privileges.

Ninety-five percent of parents surveyed in the spring of 2006 were aware of the behavior that is expected of their child. A smaller number of those same parents (54%) understood the civic expectations that Cony High School has for their child. Since the community service graduation requirement was instituted only two years ago, it is expected that parent and student familiarity with civic expectations will increase in coming years.  

 

            Cony High School has made modest progress in the development of an assessment system that identifies targeted levels of successful achievement for the academic expectations in the mission. Implementation of common assessments and course-specific rubrics is ongoing; development and use of school-wide rubrics has been increasingly identified as a priority.  After the publication of the Maine Learning Results in 1997, all academic departments at Cony High School were charged with aligning their curriculum with these standards. Faculty members attended state-wide professional development workshops funded by the local assessment system. By the fall of 2005, the district had established a Comprehensive Assessment system aligned with the Maine Learning Results. Common assessments and course-specific rubrics were created as a result of staff involvement in these activities. Many of these assessment tools have been collected for teacher use. This body of teacher and district-generated rubrics provides us with the means to assess student achievement of academic standards. In addition, teachers employ a wide variety of additional assessment strategies, ranging from traditional assessment formats, such as tests, quizzes, and research papers, to more performance-based assessments, like portfolios, presentations, and lab activities.

            The self-study survey given in May of 2006 indicated that 81% of the students are familiar with what is expected of them in order to reach a targeted level of successful achievement. Eighty-six percent of parents and 75% of school board members feel they know the level of learning that students must demonstrate to meet school-wide learning goals. These high percentages indicate that our school clearly communicates academic expectations through the use of syllabi, content-area common assessments, and teacher-generated assessment tools.

The accreditation process has focused increased attention on the need to develop school-wide rubrics. As a result, several school-wide rubrics have been developed to measure successful achievement of the academic expectations in our mission statement. Two of these, “Clear and Effective Communicator,” and “Creative and Practical Problem Solver,” were written in 1999 by a small group of faculty members, and have been implemented to a modest degree.

Another school-wide rubric for assessment of the Cony High School academic expectations was recently drafted. It includes five of the six academic expectations listed in our mission. In addition, a school-wide rubric developed in preparation for Diversity Day includes the academic expectation that students “demonstrate an understanding of the world with its diverse cultures.” This rubric was piloted by advisee groups and their advisors in January 2007. Each of these school-wide academic rubrics is based on a four-level achievement standard, with a three indicating that a student “meets the standard” level of proficiency. All existing school-wide academic expectation rubrics are available to teachers and can be accessed through the shared teachers’ network folder. Training in the use of these rubrics needs to be made available.

Our faculty recognizes the importance of school-wide rubrics to measure achievement of the academic expectations. However, the self-study survey indicates that only 41.5% of faculty members are using the existing school-wide rubrics to assess student work. We clearly need to make this a priority in coming years. 

 

            Cony High School currently uses informal indicators to assess the school’s progress in achieving school-wide social and civic expectations. Creating a formal system to assess overall school progress in meeting these same expectations is recommended.  The Cony High School mission and expectations for student learning promote social responsibility and civic involvement. Our school provides students with multiple opportunities to demonstrate individual achievement of social and civic expectations. Students exhibit these competencies through a wide array of activities:

• The Cony High School Student Council provides students with the chance to exercise their leadership potential, as does the Chizzle Wizzle Executive Committee.

 

• Social and civic responsibility is an essential part of the eligibility requirement for nomination to the National Honor Society.

 

• Cony High School sponsors 26 sports teams and over 26 clubs through which students can contribute to the school and wider community.

 

• Community service is the primary focus of the Cony High School Key Club, Maine Youth Voices club, and SHINE (Students Helping Inspire Necessary Education) student organizations.

 

• The Civil Rights Team and our school-wide Diversity Day promote respectful understanding for, and appreciation of, cultural and social differences.

 

To date, we have drafted several rubrics that can be used to assess individual student achievement of social and civic expectations. One of these rubrics assesses the following social and civic characteristics:  assumption of responsibility for personal actions and decisions, contribution to the well-being and welfare of others in the school community, demonstration of the rights and responsibilities of an individual in a democratic society, and demonstration of a sense of community through volunteerism and service to others. The Diversity Day rubric piloted in January 2007 incorporates both teacher assessment and student self-evaluation of these same behavioral expectations.

To assess school-wide progress meeting the social and civic expectations of our mission statement, administrators regularly review a variety of informal indicators. Some of these indicators include the numbers of students who join extracurricular activities, participation in the school-wide Day of Caring and Diversity Day, and data concerning attendance, suspensions, discipline, and privileges. However, there is currently no formal system or rubric to assess school-wide progress in meeting these expectations. This may explain why only 32% of the staff and 50% of the School Board surveyed were aware of how the school assesses overall progress in this area. We need to create and implement a system for tracking data and evaluating school-wide achievement of social and civic expectations. 

 

            The mission statement and expectations for student learning broadly guide the procedures, policies, and decisions of the school, and are evident in the culture of the school. Developing a clearer set of priorities could better ensure that all change initiatives work together as part of a unified whole.  Cony High School faculty and administration and School Board engage in ongoing examination of organizational structures, policies and procedures, facilities and curriculum to ensure that we are effectively supporting student learning and creating a positive school culture. Our collective willingness to examine current practices, research new possibilities, debate suggested changes, and engage in meaningful dialogue, is an important strength of our school community. Through weekly House (smaller learning communities within the school) meetings, monthly Department/Curriculum meetings, and faculty meetings, as well as faculty participation in the District Assessment Committee, Crisis Team, Safety Committee, and Alternative Education/Dropout Prevention Committee, we demonstrate our commitment to student success and school improvement.

The move to a new school provided the opportunity to restructure in ways that would allow us to more fully realize our mission. To facilitate a smooth transition, the Superintendent formed a Transition Team in the spring of 2004, composed of the Superintendent, Curriculum Coordinator, and administrators and teachers from both Cony and Capitol Area Technical Center. The team identified strengths and looked at some of the challenges facing our school. After visiting other schools, examining research findings, and considering school structure possibilities, the decision was made to experiment with a more student-centered organizational structure that would provide for smaller learning communities within the larger school while preserving academic rigor and relevance. The attached Transition Team materials outline the committee’s proposal in more detail. 

The new House structure divides freshman and sophomores alphabetically into two multiage houses, with juniors and seniors grouped together in a single house. In order to foster teacher collaboration and maximize interdisciplinary curriculum possibilities, teachers are assigned to one of these three houses based on their primary teaching assignments. It is designed so that a smaller group of teachers, working with a common group of students, can weave a tighter web of support for students. Weekly House meetings and shared teacher workrooms offer teachers the opportunity to consult with one another about student needs and instructional practices. Department meetings provide a parallel means for teachers to confer about curriculum content and methods.  

The House structure is being implemented in phases over the next four years. As the House structure develops, we are continually evaluating the extent to which it promotes the mission of our school. During weekly House meetings and informal teacher workroom conversations, faculty members engage in regular discussions about how to make the most effective use of the house structure to support success for all students. Further work remains to be done to align the house structure with the departmental structure, clarify the relationship of non-core teachers to the House structure, coordinate the House structure with our current Advisor-Advisee system, ensure common planning time, and develop educational and career planning components.    

The Cony faculty, administrators, and School Board regularly evaluate and revise policies and procedures to ensure that they reflect our mission and support student learning. The daily schedule has been changed several times in recent years to facilitate best instructional practices. Cony moved from an eight period day to a modified block schedule in 1998 in order to increase instructional flexibility and reduce time spent traveling between classes. In preparation for the move into our new facility in 2006, a committee composed of administrators and teachers once again reviewed and proposed revisions to our school schedule. The faculty unanimously approved a new schedule for the school year 2006-2007, which now includes one eight-period day on Mondays followed by four block days. The new schedule allows students and each of their teachers to meet three times a week, creates a fixed weekly schedule, and permits better coordination with community-based experiences.

The Junior-Senior Privilege policy was reviewed and revised for the 2006-2007 school year. The new policy promotes a climate of trust and better prepares students for the greater independence of college and work settings. It incorporates both academic and social expectations into the eligibility criteria, thereby reinforcing the school mission and expectations. It also provides data for measuring the school’s achievement of these same expectations.

To maintain the safe, respectful and positive learning environment described in our mission statement, we employ two fulltime security officers and have installed surveillance

cameras in strategic locations throughout the building. There is an established, written disciplinary policy with extended day detentions staffed by faculty who are paid a stipend. All staff members are required to wear ID badges, and visitors must check in the main office upon arrival. Unattended stairwells and bathrooms continue to be a concern.

Our curriculum, instruction, and assessment practices are broadly guided by the mission statement’s focus on success for all students. In order to more effectively achieve our mission:

• Departments review (and revise) curriculum throughout the year to ensure that available offerings are appropriate for our students and relevant to their interests and needs. The Integrated Math curriculum, new in 2003, is an example of our ongoing attempt to revise curriculum to support success.

 

• In light of current research about student learning, Cony moved toward increased heterogeneity of student grouping in core academic classes at the freshman and sophomore levels. Cony continues to offer program level choices but students are not restricted to any one level.

 

• As mentioned earlier, the entire Cony faculty received training and participated in a CRM SPIRAL Literacy Audit. This begins a multi-year effort to support student reading and writing skills across the curriculum.

 

• NWEA testing for all ninth and tenth graders was implemented in the fall of 2006. Test results will provide information about individual student achievement levels, enabling teachers to more effectively differentiate classroom instruction.

 

• In August 2006, our faculty participated in a full day of training about the effects of poverty to help us better understand and respond to the dramatic shifts in our student population.

 

• The Academic Support Program was created in the 2003-2004 school year to provide remediation and support opportunities to freshman students.

 

• The Freshman Literacy program is an inclusionary model of English instruction piloted this year. It provides intensive literacy support for freshmen students who lag behind their peers in reading and writing.  

 

• Implementation of several college readiness programs enables students to earn college credit while still in high school. The Kennebec Valley Community College (KVCC) English class at Cony enables students to earn college credit while satisfying their English IV graduation requirement. Through the ACE (American Council on Education