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Report from Director - August 2008
What's New?
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| | Welcome to the website for the Smaller Learning Communities program, a collaborative project serving students at both Chico High School and Pleasant Valley High School.
Smaller Learning Communities (SLCs) is is not a single “program” or approach: instead, it’s a way of coordinating many different existing programs that help support student achievement and connect students to school, and of adding new programs that will complement the existing ones. It’s an effort to connect every student to school so that every student is able to achieve to the best of his or her ability.
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| | Thanks for visiting the Chico Unified School District Smaller Learning Communities website.
We are in the fourth year of a five-year Cohort 5 Smaller Learning Communities (SLC) Federal Grant. The 2005-2006 year of the grant was devoted, in large part to planning, the 2006-2007 school year involved the pilot and implementation of several programs, all with a focus on student learning and connectedness to the campuses of Chico and Pleasant Valley High Schools. The four overriding goals of the grant are as follows:
Goal 1: RIGOR: To provide high quality curriculum and instruction that will increase the success of all students in rigorous standards-based courses, and will continue to narrow the gap between all students and student subgroups.
Goal 2: RELEVANCE: To increase relevance by offering options and choices that help each student to engage with school and to connect high school learning with their postsecondary plans and goals.
Goal 3: REORGANIZATION: To continue to support and expand SLC structures and strategies, so that the learning and teaching environment becomes more personalized in our large high school.
Goal 4: CAPACITY BUILDING: To develop staff capacity to continue to provide rigorous instruction and personalized support to all students in accessing the curriculum and increasing their postsecondary readiness.
Our third year is primarily focused primarily on implementation. Our vision remains higher levels of student learning and enhanced student connection to the schools. While both schools share this vision, we have remained sensitive to the unique environment of each school. Some of our efforts reach across both campuses, while some are unique to each.
In this fourth year we will continue to provide teachers with information and training on best practices in classroom instruction. Our research in 2005-2006 revealed the importance of formative classroom assessment and literacy, and we maintain our focus in those areas. We would agree with Doug Reeves' claim that in order for instruction to impact significant gains in student achievement, a high level of implementation is required, somewhere in the 80-90% range. We are committed to achieving this level of implementation of best instructional practice in formative assessment and literacy.
Our research of Professional Learning Communities has given both campuses a sharper focus on student learning. The questions: What do we want students to learn, how do we know if they've learned it, what do we do if they don't and what to we do if they do drive much of our disccussions about how to improve student learning.
We have also brought back a more formal mentoring component at Pleasant Valley High School. Like Chico High School, this program will provide students below proficiency in Language Arts and Math with a mentor either from the university or from the community.
This year our Intervention Coordinators will be in charge of Learning Centers on both campuses which will provide extra time and support to freshmen who are most academically at risk. We will start small at each of these centers and have reasonable plans for growth. These Learning Centers are the beginning of a more intentional "pyramid of interventions" for students who need extra time and support.
You will find details related to SLC structures as well as to SLC strategies in the pages that follow. Our leadership team is structured to give us the best chance of success related to the goals of the grant. The SLC Coordinating Team consists of individuals on both campuses who have led the planning and implementation of structures and strategies. Should you have questions about any particular area, please feel free to email any of these individuals. They have a wealth of experience and information, and the success of this grant is due to their deep commitment and hard work.
Since the beginning of the grant we have been addressing the critical issue of sustainability, and as we move towards the 4th and 5th years, we want to begin to insure that much of what we have accomplished will be embedded in the cultural fabric of the two schools.
Eric Nilsson
530-774-5269
enilsson@chicousd.org
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| | Click here to find out the latest news from PVHS and CHS SLC work. | |
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| | We welcome all PVHS and CHS staff, teachers, parents, and students to be a part of our work. Browse our site to see the types of activities we are pursuing to improve student achievement. Watch our calendar for upcoming SLC-related events, meetings, and professional development, and contact us to find out how to become involved. | |
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