Info

In 2005, Alee Academy was graded for the first time as a part of Florida's A+ program and was determined to be a failing school. The school has made changes to the philosophy and curriculum to meet the requirements of the Assistance Plus Program in an effort to improve the School Grade. However, the very nature of the student population served by this school makes the challenge of meeting traditional-based criteria in one year's time very challenging. When all students are considered to be struggling learners (most read at the 5th grade level when they enroll in Alee), more than one year is necessary to improve the level of reading proficiency from the 5th grade level to the 9th or 10th grade level that is necessary to pass the FCAT test. Several students even told the principal after the FCAT testing that they hoped they did well enough to help the school grades. The students and teachers want to succeed in this endeavor, yet they have been stressed trying to improve the School Grade so the school will not be closed after this year. According to Robert Marzano, students will put forth effort when students clearly understand the learning outcome and how it will be evaluated, when students feel the learning goals and assessment are meaningful and worth learning, and if they are able to see their potential for success. The recent publicity regarding dropouts on the Oprah Winfrey Show and by Bill Gates demonstrates the need to do something different to encourage and help at-risk students graduate from high school. With continued collaboration from the Florida Department of Education and Lake County Schools, Alee Academy can become a model school for this very effort. To date, 459 of the students served by Alee students have achieved success in receiving a high school diploma. As the parable goes, millions of starfish wash up on the beach to inevitably die. Some are thrown back into the sea and live. Ask any one of these students who have graduated if Alee Academy made a difference in his or her success. The answer will be a resounding, yes! The school utilizes historical student data as well as pretests and posttests, which each identify student's strengths, weaknesses, as well as skill levels to gauge student performance. Examples of this include:The Stanford Diagnostic Reading and Math Test (SDRT and ADMT) is given as a pre and post test to determine the skill level and grade level for each student as well as the overall school. The Achieve Forecast Test is given three times during the year and utilized to determine the student strengths and weakness for reading and math. The reading test encompasses main idea, supporting detail, sequencing, compare & contrast, cause and effect, making inferences, drawing conclusions, author's purpose, summarizing, vocabulary, library/reference skills and total. The math test encompasses number sense, problem solving, operations, measurement, geometry, spatial sense, algebraic thinking, data analysis, statistics and probability, and total. The prior year's FCAT results are gathered for each newly enrolled or returning student who has not successfully passed the 10th grade FCAT reading and/or math test, or who will be taking the 9th grade FCAT. The data that is gathered includes prior testing school, testing grade, SSS Reading scale score or SSS Math scale score, SSS Reading Developmental Scale Score or SSS Math Developmental Scale Score, SSS Reading Achievement Level or SSS Reading Level, and SSS Reading Gain or SSS Math Gain. Based on the student's previous year's SSS Reading DSS, 78 points are added to the DSS to determine SSS Reading DSS Objective (the minimum for a one year's gain) for the current years FCAT test. Likewise, 55 points (for 9th grade) and 49 points (for 10th grade) are added the previous year's Math DSS to determine the SSS Math DSS Objective. Further disaggregation of the FCAT data looks for students who are in levels 3 or above, those who are in the lowest 25% as well as those who do not have results from a prior year's FCAT testing. This year the Folio testing has been implemented for the 9th and 10th grade students who will be taking the 10th grade Writing FCAT this year or who will be taking the 10th grade Writing FCAT next year. 1.3. How does the leadership ensure that the school's vision, purpose, and goals guide the teaching and learning process? Disaggregated data (FCAT) is shared with the instructional staff at the beginning of the school year in preparation for class scheduling, establishing curriculum guides, and expectations. During the school year, the SDRT, SDMT, Achieve, Folio as well as students' achievement within their classes are utilized to guide the teaching and learning process. What process is used to ensure that the vision and purpose of the school remain current and aligned with the school's expectations for student learning and school effectiveness? The Continuous Improvement Model (CIM) is utilized to ensure the vision and purpose of the school remains current and aligned with the school's expectations for student learning and school effectiveness. The Plan Do Check Act (PDCA) instructional cycle drives the classroom instruction. CIM calendars for reading and math are developed in the "planning" stage. Instruction is delivered in the "do" stage. Results from focus lessons within the classroom instruction are "checked" for mastery/non-mastery via mini-lessons within the classroom. Further mastery/non-mastery is assessed via various formats which include the Stanford Diagnostic Reading and Math Tests, Achieve Reading and Math Forecast tests, Folio writing prompts, Accelerated math are utilized in the check stage. Based on the results the mini assessments and other various formats, instruction is given to students or small groups are delivered to sustain student learning or re-teach a concept, thus "acting."