Seven Hills Charter Public School Annual Report 0708
Seven Hills Charter Public School
2009-2010 Annual Report
Krista Piazza, Superintendent
51 Gage Street, Worcester, MA 01605
Mission Statement
508-799-7500
Table of Contents
Introduction 3
Letter from Board of Trustee’s Chair 4
School Mission Statement 5
Performance and Plans Section 5-22
Organizational viability
Faithfulness to charter
Academic program success
Recruitment and Retention Plan 22-24
Dissemination
Financial Reports
FY 2009 statement of revenues 22-28
FY 2009 statement of net assets 28-31
FY 2010 approved school budget 31
Capital Plan n/a
Data Section
Instructional Time 31
Student enrollment information 31
Student demographic and subgroup information 32
Administrative Roster and organizational chart 32-33
Members of the board of trustees 34
SHCPS 2009-2010 School Calendar 35
Introduction
Seven Hills Charter Public School was founded in 1996 by a group of private citizens who partnered with Edison Schools, Inc. to provide an alternative mode for public education in the City of Worcester. The doors opened to 524 K-7 students on September 11, 1996. Since then, the school has grown to hold 666 K-8 students and maintains a waitlist of approximately 390 students.
In May of 2005, the Board of Trustees expressed confidence in the school’s maturity and development, prompting state board of education’s approval of a charter amendment for Seven Hills to operate independently of Edison Schools. We are proud to announce that in February of 2006, the Massachusetts Board of Education voted to renew our charter for another five year term.
Seven Hills Charter Public School is proud to serve a diverse cross section of Worcester families. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, ancestry, athletic performance, disability status, housing status, proficiency in the English language or a foreign language, or prior academic achievement.
The Seven Hills curriculum is aligned with the Massachusetts Curriculum Framework, and is tailored to meet the specific needs of each student. All students receive a well rounded education by integrating the art, movement, music, technology and real life learning experiences into all of the content areas. By using data to drive a three tiered model of instruction in both academics and character development, students receive opportunities for regular enrichment and remediation. It is our goal to prepare our children for success as students, workers and citizens.
Seven Hills Charter Public School provides a family oriented environment that strongly believes that the school-home partnership is an integral component for the academic success of each child. Family involvement is strongly encouraged and expected. We offer students and families:
1. a safe and nurturing learning environment.
2. a staff that puts children and families first by maintaining strong communication and access to support services.
3. a highly qualified staff that is committed to ongoing professional development and collaboration.
4. a longer school day and year that provides more dedicated learning time.
5. a curriculum that is guided by clear and ambitious academic standards.
6. well-rounded instructional programs that integrate art, music, technology and character education into everyday learning.
7. foreign language, fine arts, health and fitness instruction starting in kindergarten.
8. ongoing authentic assessment that allows teachers to tailor instruction to meet individual needs.
9. opportunities to extend learning through assemblies, fieldtrips, after school activities, and the Seven Hills Enrichment Learning Laboratory.
10. “Intensives” that unite the school around the study of engaging themes.
11. a daily emphasis on the core values of wisdom, justice, courage, compassion, hope, respect, responsibility and integrity.
At Seven Hills Charter Public School, each child’s intellectual capacity is respected and nurtured through Reading, Language Arts, Math, Social Studies, and Science. Students are challenged to excel in rigorous but absorbing programs of study featuring: direct instruction in phonics, fluency, comprehension and composition skills; immersion in various genres of classic and contemporary literature, math experiences that cultivate an intuitive sense of numbers and mathematical processes; and intentional inquiry into the Earth and its inhabitants.
Through Physical Education, Visual Arts, Music, World Language, and Character Education, students’ creative capabilities are enhanced in an environment that prizes each member’s unique strengths and talents through a quest for personal excellence.
This annual report is an opportunity for us to describe our activities over the past year.
July 30, 2010
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Charter School Office
75 Pleasant Street
Malden, MA 02148
To Whom It May Concern:
As the chairperson of the Board of Trustees, I am proud to submit Seven Hills Charter Public School’s 2010 Annual Report. The report presents a comprehensive overview of our school’s academic, organizational, and fiscal performance over the course of the year, as well as the school’s fidelity to the terms of its charter.
Evidence presented within the body of the report indicates that we have met the large majority of the Accountability Plan objectives agreed upon by the Charter School Office and the school’s Board of Trustees at the outset of our charter term. Given the close alignment between our Accountability Plan objectives and our mission statement, we therefore conclude that Seven Hills has made exceptional progress in furthering our purpose of “preparing a diverse cross-section of Worcester children for success as students, workers, and citizens by providing them with a high quality education at prevailing public school costs.” We are particularly proud of our achievements related to the key design elements of our program, including our commitment to the diversity of our student body, supplemental programs designed to enhance educational experiences for our students and prepare them for high school and beyond, and those that assist students in developing essential characteristics and behaviors indicative of impactful citizenry through community service. Finally, we are proud to be able to offer such programs to our students within a conservative financial framework that has allowed the school to maintain its strong financial position over time.
With this Annual Report, we reaffirm our commitment to providing our students a high quality education. Having already established research-based practices used in effective, during the 2010-11 school year our leadership team will focus on eliminating variances in implementation in order to maximize the effectiveness of such initiatives with the goal of improving the school’s performance on standardized tests. We are proud of the accomplishments of Seven Hills Charter Public School, its students, families, and its staff.
Sincerely,
Carlton Watson, Chairperson
Seven Hills Charter Public School Board of Trustees
School mission statement
Seven Hills Charter Public School is committed to preparing a diverse cross section of Worcester children for success as students, workers, and citizens by providing them a high quality education at prevailing public school costs.
Performance and plans section
Common School Performance Criteria – (organizational viability)
“…preparing a diverse cross section of Worcester children …”
1. Seven Hills Charter Public School will maintain an enrollment level equal to or exceeding 90% capacity as defined by our yearly enrollment target as set by the Board of Trustees.
• Seven Hills is filled to capacity.
2. Seven Hills Charter Public School will maintain a waitlist equal to or exceeding 15% of the school’s population.
• After filling slots based on the spring lottery, there are still 364 on the waitlist, which represents 55% of the population.
3. Seven Hills Charter Public School will develop a student body representing the diversity of the sending district.
|Enrollment by Race/Ethnicity |
| |WPS |State |SHCPS |
|Race |% of District |% of District |% of District |
|African American |13.6 |8.2 |31.5 |
|Asian |7.9 |5.1 |1 |
|Hispanic |36.4 |14.3 |50 |
|Native American |0.4 |0.3 |0.9 |
|White |39 |69.9 |10 |
|Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander |0 |0.1 |0.1 |
|Multi-Race, Non-Hispanic |2.6 |2 |6.5 |
|Status |% of District |% of District |% of District |
|Low Income |65.8 |30.7 |79 |
Common School Performance Criteria – (organizational viability)
Policy decisions: The Board of Trustees holds a public meeting on the first Tuesday of each month and regularly reviews and votes upon budget related items, grant allocations and staffing decisions presented by the superintendent throughout the school year. They monitor the growth and achievement of SHCPS and set policies to ensure a quality education for our students including the adoption of a standards based reporting system and modification of the following policies: attendance, honor roll, acceptable use.
Amendments to the charter: Seven Hills made no charter amendment requests during the 09-10 term.
Complaints: The Board of Trustees received no official complaints in the 09-10 school year.
Oversight: The superintendent’s evaluation is conducted in a public session of the Board of Trustees each year. Based on input from students, teachers and staff, the Board chair develops a draft evaluation to be reviewed by all board members. Board members submit feedback and revisions to the board chair electronically prior to the public meeting. The board chair incorporates those suggestions into the draft document which is then read aloud and discussed in a public session. Once all discussions are complete, the document is finalized and given to the superintendent for signature. Areas of evaluation include Instructional Leadership, General Administration, Parent and Community Relations, Staff and Student Support. Performance is measured relative to that of the school, based upon Accountability Plan goals.
Board planning: At this year’s fall retreat, the Board of Trustees examined the school’s performance relative to Accountability Plan measures and the state’s draft “Essential Conditions for Effective Schools” document. A number of issues were explored and subcommittees were established to focus on areas that are likely to have the greatest impact on student performance: Effective Instruction (staffing and professional development), Family Partnerships and Student Motivation. These subcommittees were active throughout the year and will continue to play a vital role in engaging the whole school community in the reflection and improvement process.
Family satisfaction: Seven Hills seeks parent feedback in a number of ways throughout the school year. In addition to family newsletter surveys and open forums, all parents were asked to complete an family survey. This year, we sought feedback on the home / school partnership based on satisfaction with the new Student Learning Contract, home / school communication, homework policy implementation and access to support. Ninety eight percent of respondents said that they feel welcome at Seven Hills, with ninety four percent voicing appreciation for the weekly newsletter as a preferred method for receiving information about the school. Parents also sited the student agendas, emails and personal phone calls with teachers as being particularly helpful. The new report card was well received, with eighty four percent of respondents saying that it helps them understand their child’s learning. Parents sited a variety of issues related to homework completion, with only twenty one percent saying that their children can meet the school’s expectation. As a result, the BOT Parent Involvement Subcommittee has established a series of forums for parents and educators to explore this issue together. Seven Hills is also partnering with Becky DeSmith, from Keys to Literacy, to run staff development in this area. Although parents expressed an interest in a number of family programs and events, many reasons were sited to explain why they felt it would be difficult for them to attend school functions. Seven Hills administrators met with parents to identify times, locations, and childcare help to address some of their needs.
Financial oversight: The school’s board of trustees works closely with the school Superintendent and Business Manager in overseeing the school’s fiscal operations. Each month, school leadership presents a fiscal report to the school’s board, which includes information related to the school’s enrollment, cash balances, profit and loss statements, and overview of grant funding. The full board reviews the information and engages the school leadership in discussion about specific items when warranted. If necessary, the school board will take action on adjustments to the school budget in order to address unanticipated variances in revenue or expenditures.
Seven Hills Charter Public School board engages in long-range fiscal planning through an analysis of its debt service ratios, as required by its lender. The school is pleased to report that in November 2011 it will have paid off all debt to its former management company, Edison Schools. At that time, those funds will once again be invested in our academic program to further student learning and school improvement initiatives.
Seven Hills Charter Public School has adopted the MA Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s Fiscal Policies and Procedures Guide with few modifications (related to procurement processes). This document guides staff in implementing internal controls that have resulted in no material weaknesses identified in the school’s financial statements or federal awards programs during the term of the current charter.
Accountability plan objectives and measures (academic program success)
“…for success as students…”
4. Seven Hills Charter Public School will make AYP in ELA and math on the MCAS each year.
• The Limited English Proficiency and African American subgroups met the improvement targets in English Language Arts. The White subgroup met the improvement target in mathematics.
• The following actions have been taken to address this concern:
o Adjusted school leadership structure
o Implemented a standards based reporting system
o Departmentalized grades 4,5
o Adjusted special education and ELL service delivery models
o Sustained professional development in content area and pedagogical expertise and differentiated instruction
o Increased accessibility to after school tutoring and learning opportunities
o Implemented the strategies outlined in the School Improvement Plan
5. Seven Hills Charter Public School students will earn MCAS scores at or above the state average and higher than those of the sending district.
| |2008 ELA CPI |2009 ELA CPI | |Math 2008 CPI |Math 2009 CPI | |
| |Teacher 2 |57 |91 |49 |39 |83 |
| |Teacher 3 |96 |92 |92 |69 |90 |
|Grade |Class |PSF% Meeting Target|NWF % Meeting Target |SLC % of ELA Standards Mastered |
| |Teacher 2 |96 |60 |82 |
| |Teacher 3 |88 |88 |90 |
|Grade |Class |ORF% Meeting Target|ORF% Meeting Target or |ORF% Meeting |SLC % of ELA Standards Mastered |
| | | |Gain Rate Goal |Accuracy Target | |
| |Teacher 2 |56 |62 |100 |78 |
| |Teacher 3 |58 |92 |100 |75 |
|3 |Teacher 1 |36 |68 |96 |64 |
| |Teacher 2 |77 |92 |100 |83 |
| |Teacher 3 |50 |76 |97 |78 |
|4 |Teacher 1 |46 |50 |100 |71 |
| |Teacher 2 |45 |61 |98 |66 |
|5 |Teacher 1 |37 |75 |100 |62 |
| |Teacher 2 |48 |56 |100 |71 |
|Grade |Class |SRI % Meeting Target |SRI % Meeting Target or Target |SLC % of ELA Standards |
| | | |Gain Rate |Mastered |
|7 |Teacher 1 |36 |63 |76 |
|8 |Teacher 1 |42 |73 |74 |
|Grade |Class |Oral Counting% |#ID % Meeting |Quantity |Missing Number % Meeting Target |SLC % of Math Standards |
| | |Meeting Target |Target |Discrimination | |Mastered |
| | | | |% Meeting | | |
| | | | |Target | | |
| |Teacher 2 |88 |96 |79 |67 |76 |
| |Teacher 3 |96 |100 |92 |96 |84 |
|1 |Teacher 1 |96 |88 |96 |85 |90 |
| |Teacher 2 |83 |96 |83 |75 |80 |
| |Teacher 3 |88 |80 |80 |75 |76 |
|Grade |Class |% of Students Meeting YPP Math Proficiency Benchmark | |SLC % of Math Standards Mastered |
| |Teacher 2 |79 | |86 |
| |Teacher 3 |75 | |83 |
|3 |Teacher 1 |73 | |75 |
| |Teacher 2 |80 | |73 |
| |Teacher 3 |69 | |85 |
|4 |Teacher 1 |63 | |56 |
| |Teacher 2 |61 | |68 |
|5 |Teacher 1 |55 | |51 |
| |Teacher 2 |57 | |51 |
|6 |Teacher 1 |57 | |59 |
|7 |Teacher 1 |62 | |76 |
|8 |Teacher 1 |57 | |74 |
• Benchmarking and progress monitoring data drives instructional decisions and administrative support models. Teachers make adjustments to pacing calendars, tutorial groupings, whole group, small group and independent work assignments. Teacher professional growth plans and mentoring programs are modified to focus on areas of need.
• As part of a Response to Intervention model, teachers use evidence based intervention programs to provide students with targeted direct instruction based upon individual student needs.
7. At least 85% of all Seven Hills Charter Public School parents will participate in at least one Student Learning Contract conference or school meeting per year to discuss their child’s progress.
• Over the course of the year, teachers were able to connect with every family regarding student progress. 89% participated in the scheduled Family Conference Nights. All other parents have had in person connections with teachers at least once this year through personally scheduled meetings, Family and Student Team meetings (FASST), special education related meetings or promotion determination meetings. In addition, parents and teachers utilize agenda books, phone calls and emails to maintain ongoing communication. Parents have access to student grades, assignments and online resources through our website at any time.
8. At least 85% of all Seven Hills Charter Public School students will work with staff and family members to develop and monitor a Student Learning Contract (SLC) goal each trimester.
• Every SHCPS student (100%) set SLC goals throughout the year. Five hundred thirty four of them ( 81%) met their goals.
Common School Performance Criteria – (academic program success)
Curriculum : Seven Hills Charter Public School offers a challenging, innovative and flexible curriculum that provides teachers and students with a program of distinction. We are committed to providing all students with an educational experience that helps them grow not only in knowledge and skill, but also in character. We select curriculums based on its ability to accurately reflect and appeal to our diverse population. Teachers regularly work with the administrative team to examine programs to identify stereotypes or biases and to ensure that the programs are respectful of differences in race, color, sex, religion, national origin or sexual orientation. We are proud of the way our school, staff and programs prepare our children for success as students, workers and citizens.
Seven Hills strives to help all students reach high levels of achievement and self-satisfaction by exposing them to a variety of instructional strategies designed to appeal to the wide range of learning paces and styles present in every classroom. We focus on fostering individual growth of students by identifying and nurturing their talents, setting goals and monitoring progress toward achieving those goals. We constantly assess student learning and refine our programs to enhance opportunities for success. Our three-tiered curriculum model allows all students to access the skills and concepts outlined in the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks. Our core curriculum (Tier 1) consists of solid programming in all of the content areas. In addition, all students access supplemental programs (Tier 2) that are designed to target individual areas of strength and weaknesses. Students needing more intensive interventions may access a full range of services through special education and other individualized programming (Tier 3).
Technology plays a critical role in both instruction and assessment at Seven Hills. Lessons are designed to take advantage of the many tools we have available, including wireless laptops, Smartboards. Easyteach and Quizdom, interactive learning tools. Students regularly access online resources and curriculum supports and participate in computer based testing and instruction. In addition, assignments are designed to encourage students and staff to use technology to communicate with each other, prepare presentations, organize and interpret data and much more. Having the skills to “be connected” is critical to success in the twenty first century.
In order to account for the full range of knowledge and skills that students will acquire, the curriculum is described according to commonly accepted divisions. In practice, however, teachers frequently integrate the subject areas. We never force curriculum integration for its own sake, but integrated experiences capitalize on students’ strong need to make connections and help them better understand the important ideas encountered throughout the academies.
Mathematics
SHCPS’s mathematics curriculum requires 60 minutes of daily math instruction, and an additional 30 minutes of targeted tutorial or enrichment opportunities. Our math program prepares children to solve problems flexibly, enables them to carry out tasks encountered in everyday life, fosters number and spatial sense, develops positive attitudes toward mathematics, and stimulates mathematical thinking. To achieve these goals, the curriculum stresses not only computation but also the full range of mathematics including data collection and analysis, probability and statistics, geometry, and algebra. The required core instructional programs are Singapore Math (K-5) and Prentiss Hall (6-8). Supplementary programming is available through the use of various enrichment materials, Every day Math, McGraw Hill’s online Yearly Progress Pro, RM Math and the University of Michigan’s Classwide Peer Tutoring (CWPT) model.
In Primary Academy, students learn math facts and how to compute with speed and accuracy. They also learn to apply addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division to real-world problems and situations. Through hands-on activities with manipulatives and projects, students apply and test their mathematical ideas and understandings. They work in pairs and in groups to make mathematical discoveries, develop mental math skills, explore mathematical relationships, and strengthen their thinking. This introduction helps ensure that they go through life confident in mathematics and capable of applying it to their daily lives. In addition to the curriculum based assessments, Primary Academy student progress is also tracked by our benchmarking and progress monitoring system using the Test of Early Numeracy (TEN) and computational fluency exams, CBM, are given a minimum of three times a year (more often for individual progress monitoring) in order to set goals and to guide the decision making process of student programming for the tutorial / enrichment block.
In Elementary Academy, the mathematics curriculum continues to balance concept instruction with meaningful application. Students apply their more advanced mathematical tools and techniques to a rich variety of cross-curricular projects and activities. They explore concepts such as decimals and percent; mean, median, and mode; ratio and proportion; and functions. They participate in wide-ranging discussions about math, engage in a variety of cooperative-learning projects, explore simulations, and make increasingly more sophisticated mathematical observations. Calculators and computers play important roles in both the Primary and Elementary academies because they greatly expand the range of math problems and calculations that students can perform. Of course, students still use pencil and paper to complete some algorithms, but the math program emphasizes choosing from a range of problem-solving methods and tools, including mental arithmetic. Additionally, we often ask students to explain why their calculated or computed answers are reasonable, thereby calling on their understanding of operations and strengthening their ability to judge the validity of answers. In the Elementary Academy, students participate in online assessments created by McGraw Hill. These assessments, Yearly Progress Pro, are aligned with the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks and are linked directly to online instruction designed to remediate gaps in learning. In addition, computational fluency exams, CBM, are given a minimum of three times a year (more often for individual progress monitoring) in order to set goals and to guide the decision making process of student programming for the tutorial / enrichment block.
Three themes form the core of the mathematics curriculum at Junior Academy level: applied arithmetic, pre-algebra, and pre-geometry. These themes are fully integrated into the Academy’s programs, Prentice Hall Mathematics Courses 1, 2, and 3. Concepts and ideas are consistently taught and elaborated upon through a spiral curriculum approach that takes students beyond rote learning to true mathematical understanding. In Junior Academy, students move toward a higher level of abstraction, developing their understanding of variables, generalizations, and informal proofs. By the end of their Junior Academy experience, students have learned to apply their arithmetic skills in a variety of real-world situations, to delve into problems involving all sorts of numbers, to think through different wordings and problem presentations, and to confront new contexts with confidence and understanding. They have also received the background in algebra and geometry necessary for more advanced work that lies ahead of them in their academic careers. Students who are able to move through the Junior Academy mathematics curriculum in only two years will be provided, in eighth grade, with Prentice Hall Algebra, using program materials and its tools and also students’ work to investigate the mathematics inherent in real-world situations. High-interest projects and investigations, conducted individually or in cooperative teams, help students learn that by drawing on the ideas, tools, and techniques of mathematics, they can strengthen their thinking, communicate with greater precision, make important connections across the curriculum, and find solutions to perplexing questions and challenging problems. As with the Elementary Academy, Junior Academy teachers also use McGraw Hill’s Yearly Progress Pro and CBM assessments to inform programming and offer regular feedback on student progress.
Reading and Language Arts
All Seven Hills students participate in a minimum of 90 minutes a day of English Language Arts instruction, with an opportunity for an additional 30 minutes of targeted tutorial or enrichment. SHCPS’s reading programs emphasize a balanced approach to literacy instruction. We foster high levels of literacy in the areas of reading, writing, speaking, listening, and viewing. Our goal is to have every child reading on or above grade level by third grade. To meet this ambitious but essential goal, we utilize Scott Foresman’s new integrated literature program, Reading Streets, in the Primary and Elementary Academy. We selected this program based upon its strong balance between narrative and expository literature experiences that extend across all content areas, excellent vocabulary, oral language and comprehension development structures, embedded phonics instruction, built- in opportunities for differentiation and guidance for flexible grouping, corresponding leveled texts and decodable’s, corresponding intervention materials for struggling students, connected activities to support ELL students, online access for staff and families to the literature, teacher manuals, and student exercises. The Scott Foresman programs are supplemented by Phonemic Awareness in Young Children (K) and Fundations (K-3) as well as a variety of intervention programs focused on decoding, fluency, comprehension, and vocabulary.
The ability to read fluently and comprehend opens up vast new worlds for adolescent learners. Junior Academy reading is designed to help all students achieve the fluency required to explore these new worlds. The program offers students a rich variety of young adult novels and literature anthologies such as, Prentice Hall’s Choices in Literature, that present new stories, new experiences, and complex worlds to adolescent readers. By combining the best in young adult novels with classic and contemporary poems, essays, biographies, memoirs, journalism, and short fiction, Junior Academy language arts not only provides students with a solid foundation in the power and value of the written word, but also builds a strong understanding of the structure of the English language that contributes to their fluency as readers, thinkers, and writers.
Seven Hills is committed to the writing process and the writing workshop approach to writing instruction. The goal of writing workshop is to develop proficiency while fostering an enthusiasm for writing as a form of communication, self-expression, and personal reflection. The writing process replicates the general stages through which all writers must successfully advance a piece of writing: prewriting, drafting, revising, editing and proofreading, publication. Topic selection, idea development, and organization are emphasized in the early stages of the process; word choice, spelling, punctuation, grammar, and other writing conventions are emphasized in later stages. Writing workshop allows teachers to tailor whole-class instruction to common needs in brief and purposeful mini-lessons and to provide individual instruction and support on a regular basis during student writing and conferencing time. Mini-lessons are also used to introduce new writing genre, to focus on narrative and expository elements, rules of grammar and punctuation, etc. Writing workshop provides administrative supports through maintenance of student writing folders, which show development in writing process techniques. The writing workshop also encourages the development of peer editing skills, giving students the guidance and opportunity to be critical readers and supportive editors of each other’s work. To promote self and peer editing, students are taught to use appropriate tools, such as dictionaries and thesauruses. Most importantly, writing workshop gives students ownership of their writing, allowing them to select topics and forms that engage their interest and challenge their skills. Teachers use student folders to monitor the responsibility of student choices, the variety of genre completed, and their overall progress in completing work. Students also complete regular writing-on-demand assignments.
At all levels, data is utilized to make determinations for supplementary and enrichment programming. Students in all grades participate in DIBELS testing a minimum of three times a year. Additional probes are used for survey level assessments and regular progress monitoring. The GRADE and Scholastic Reading Inventory (SRI) determine vocabulary and comprehension skills and lexile levels. More intensive assessments are utilized on an as needed basis. Supplementary curriculums include Read Naturally, Lexia Learning, Fluent Reading Trainer, (technology based supports), Project Read, Language!, Rev It Up, Flocabulary, Rewards, and the Elements of Reading Fluency and Vocabulary Kits.
Social Studies
The impulse to cover is the quicksand of history-social science instruction. This impulse has a tendency to overrule the better pedagogical judgments of teachers, who too often feel compelled to sacrifice depth for breadth, interest for information, and discussion activities and projects for a reliance on lectures and textbook readings in an effort to cover all the content associated with their assigned curriculum. SHCPS believes that a different commitment must drive instruction, a commitment to depth. Big ideas should shape research, projects, discussions, and other aspects of student investigation in the social sciences. Deep understanding, the product of varied instructional presentations and full student engagement, results in learning that endures beyond the Friday quiz and the quarterly exam. We do not identify every fact, name, date, and event that students should master before they are considered knowledgeable in this diverse and wide-ranging discipline. Facts are an essential means to a fruitful end, not the end themselves. Facts support an argument, describe an idea, put muscles, organs, and skin life on a skeleton that is otherwise dead and meaningless. Those are presented as examples in the context of a larger idea or understanding.
The goal of the social science curriculum in SHCPS Primary and Elementary academies is to awaken in the minds and imaginations of children an understanding of and appreciation for the subject of history and its related disciplines. To accomplish this goal, we have designed a learning environment that involves children as active learners. Instruction is project-based and features meaningful activities that apply key process skills to investigations of important content. Students work individually and in cooperative-learning groups on projects that are often cross-curricular. A multicultural perspective and respect for diversity pervade the curriculum, which is standards-based and uses authentic assessment to evaluate student performance and guide instruction. In addition to utilizing popular literature and primary source documents, teachers utilize the History Alive curriculum, created by the Teachers’ Curriculum Institute. This program consists of a series of instructional practices that allow students of all abilities to “experience” history by applying the theories of Howard Gardner’s multiple intelligences. Students have the opportunity to learn and exhibit their competencies in a variety ways. The spiraled curriculum is founded on the belief that all students can learn if a teacher shows them how to think and discover knowledge for themselves. In addition, students are guided through progressively more difficult concepts through a process of step-by-step discovery.
In Primary Academy, students encounter a wide variety of interesting people, places, cultures, and ideas through the themes, “My Family, My Community, and My World.” They have made a difference, and by exploring their own family histories, they learn to use maps and globes to identify places and to understand the impact of place on how people live. They are introduced to the institutions and symbols of American political processes and culture. Additionally, they grasp basic economic concepts in the context of learning about how people lived in the past, how they live in the present, and how they are likely to live in the future.
The Elementary Academy social science curriculum takes advantage of history’s narrative attributes and is structured around the topics of the Vikings to the westward movement, US civics, economy and government and US and world geography. The balanced breadth and depth of the curriculum strengthens students’ cultural understanding, develops their analytic thinking skills, leads to an appreciation for the excitement of history, and helps them understand the concept of place that is central to the study of geography.
The Junior Academy curriculum is based on the Massachusetts State Frameworks focusing on the five themes of geography: region, location, movement, place and human environmental interaction. These themes are embedded across all topics explored in the Junior Academy social science classes. Students begin sixth grade using resources from History Alive, Message of Ancient Days, and Ancient World (World Explorer Series) to study topics ranging from early man to early civilizations and cultures of Sumar, Mesopotamia, Israel, Egypt, Asia, Greece, and Rome. In seventh grade, students expand upon their understanding of the five themes of geography as they apply them to world geography units guided by tools such as the Geography Tools and Concepts (World Explorer series), The Story of Money, World History, Across the Centuries, Jr. Scholastic magazine. In eighth grade, students delve into an in-depth exploration American History from the Revolutionary War period through the Civil War and Reconstruction. The learning process is supported by The Story of America, History Alive, Adventure Tales America, and American Nation.
Science
SHCPS offers students an engaging, challenging curriculum rooted in ambitious academic student standards, carefully selected core curricular materials, and a supportive pedagogy that encourages active learning and meaningful project-based learning. We utilize a constructivist approach to teaching and learning science, promoting the development of critical thinking and problem-solving abilities.
At the Primary and Elementary Academy levels, the science curriculum is interwoven throughout all subject areas. In addition to utilizing literature and experience-based programming, students acquire sound knowledge of the scientific method by participating in activities found in various thematic kits developed by Science through Inquiry (STC), Delta Science Modules (DSM) and Science Through Experimentation Processes (STEP). These programs help students learn to collect, organize and analyze data and develop research skills that can be applied throughout each unit of study. Each unit, selected to be aligned with the Massachusetts frameworks, draws from a variety of resources to integrate math and language arts skills into the scientific process.
The core program for teaching science in the Junior Academy is Glencoe / McGraw-Hill. Each level of SHCPS’s three-year Junior Academy science program contains units from life, earth, and the physical sciences. These spiral in complexity and difficulty from year to year. The program goals are to instill an appreciation of how science, technology, and society are interrelated, promote and understanding of important science concepts processes and ideas, to apply the use of higher order thinking skills, to improve problem solving abilities and skills, and to improve the ability to apply scientific principals. The program is designed around the Constructivist Learning Model. Students “construct” an understanding of concepts step by step. This process begins in each unit when students answer “big picture” questions to identify what they know and believe about a topic. Within each chapter are opportunities for students to question their own knowledge and investigate ideas to form new knowledge through experimenting, reading, writing, and presenting information to their peers. Each unit concludes with an opportunity to relate the information to the student’s own life through thought provoking questions and research ideas. Additional resources are available that make the program as rich and up-to-date as possible, an important aspect when the subjects are as dynamic as science and technology. Several web sites, including some exclusive to the program, provide easy links to additional information on every topic. The most exemplary of these is sciLinks, a web service developed and maintained by the National Science Teachers Association. This resource is referenced throughout the book and links students directly to well-researched sites on each topic. Students work both individually and in teams, depending upon the activity at hand. There are many opportunities and even suggestions for the teacher to assist in meeting individual student needs, showing cross-disciplinary relationships, highlighting the cultural diversity in science and integrating all of the science disciplines.
Assessment is an interactive and on-going process between the teacher and the student, not a single event at the end of a given instructional sequence. A variety of assessment tasks and strategies that more accurately analyze the learning process of each student on a daily basis are provided in the curriculum. The process of embedded assessment allows the student and the teacher to have a more authentic measure of what the students know, value, and are able to do. For the teacher, this process helps determine the flow of the lessons. Ongoing assessment helps students understand their progress, monitor their own growth, and develop specific skills.
Physical Education and Health
The road toward a lifetime of healthful habits begins in the Primary and Elementary academies. In the area of physical fitness, the emphasis at this level is on developing motor skills and aerobic capacity, targeted to individual levels and according to personal fitness plans. We aim to develop students’ skills in sports and games, but we do not overemphasize competition. Rather, we believe that learning basic motor skills provides the competence that leads to confidence and enjoyment of physical activities for a lifetime.
During the crucial Junior Academy years, we guide students toward making wise choices as they negotiate the physical, social, and emotional changes associated with early adolescence. Through a varied program that stresses individualized fitness goals, we help all students understand the benefits of continuing the strenuous physical activity they enjoyed in earlier academies. In the Health program, we carefully link the health, science, and character and ethics curricula when dealing with issues that range from resolving personal conflicts to human reproduction.
The main reference book for physical education teachers is Dynamic Physical Education for Elementary School Children, 11th & 12th Eds., written by Dr. Bob Pangrazi of Arizona State University and published by Allyn and Bacon. The text is consistent with our state standards for physical education, and includes essential sections on activities for developing basic skills, wellness and developing a healthy lifestyle and sport-specific skills and drills.
In conjunction with the physical education, science and character and ethics curricula, Seven Hills also offers regular instruction in healthful living, with a special focus on the needs of students of different ages. We have carefully chosen components of Health Wave curriculum that are age-appropriate and that support our ambitious standards for each academy. This program emphasizes personal and mental health, stress management and suicide prevention, nutrition and fitness, human growth and sexuality, family life, disease prevention and AIDS, safety and injury prevention, violence prevention, community and consumer health, alcohol, tobacco and drugs.
The Fine Arts
The Seven Hills Fine Arts curriculum offers an ambitious program of instruction in music, visual arts, drama, and dance. Visual and performing arts are taught by specialists, who devote equal attention to history, performance, appreciation, and practice. To reinforce classroom learning, the fine arts specialists often connect their lessons to the programs of studies in the core classes. Whether integrated with other subjects in the curriculum or taught on their own, the arts provide innovative ways to enhance learning and creativity. The teachers pull from a variety of resources to ensure that all students receive a well rounded experience. Among them are the Davis Publication entitled Adventures in Art, Art: A Global Pursuit, and Art: A Community Connection. In addition, teacher pull from Learning to Look and Create: the SPECTRA Program from Dale Seymour Publications and Silver Burdett Ginn’s The Music Connection.
In the Primary Academy, students begin formal studies in music through singing, playing simple instruments, and listening to a wide range of musical styles from many different cultures. They develop their art skills by using a variety of tools and materials to express ideas. They begin to recognize the basic elements of drama and have many opportunities to express their imaginations through dramatic play, puppetry, and storytelling. They are introduced to the elements of dance and learn to recognize those elements in the performances they view.
In the Elementary Academy, students create and perform a range of artistic works across the curriculum. They gain a wide understanding of various musical forms and styles, such as classical, jazz, blues, and rap and increase their knowledge of artistic principles, elements, and terminology and translate their observations into original artwork, often using multimedia and other audiovisual materials. They “do” and “view” drama and role-play a variety of characters from literature and history. And they increase their understanding and appreciation of creative movement as they explore traditional and contemporary dance forms.
The Junior Academy Fine Arts program continues offers a wide range of elective classes from which the students can choose. The offerings are designed to build upon the balanced, discipline-based and performance approach that students practiced in the earlier academies, including study of art history, criticism, aesthetics, and production. It is also closely integrated with the other subject areas in the Junior Academy curriculum to encourage cross-curricular projects that engage the whole academy. Students study the arts of diverse cultures and civilizations, making connections to their own lives and analyzing the contributions that societies made to the way people live today. They learn that the arts have always played an essential, role in world history. Each student in this academy creates a time line, which serves as the glue that keeps the key events, people, and places in an organized and logical framework and provides an understanding of the big picture—how all people have the arts in common and all have a contribution to make.
The main goal of Seven Hills’s emphasis on the fine arts is to develop student literacy and competency in the understanding and creating of art, music, drama, and dance. Just as all students in a physical education program can learn to participate in sports and healthful exercise, all students in a fine arts program can learn to draw, play an instrument, perform a role, and dance a jig. These are skills that can and should be taught to all students, not just the “talented” few. In today’s rapidly changing world, technology and art are becoming increasingly intertwined. This connection has not only expanded the scope of our instruction at Seven Hills but it has also broadened student base to which the program appeals. Students now realize that there are many ways to produce art and tools that can help them find their own special style, be it through graphic design, animation or composing music, everyone can find an outlet for self expression and creativity.
World Language
Seven Hills is proud to offer second language instruction in Spanish beginning in kindergarten. Students explore not only the written and spoken word, but also put their learning in contexts of geography, history and culture. Our goal is to educate children on the value of diversity and the benefits of being able to communicate in multiple circles. At all grade levels, students learn through oral and written exercises, musical experiences, cultural explorations and interactive activities that enhance vocabulary, fluency and accuracy.
In the Primary Academy, our Spanish teachers have designed units of study focusing on basic language skills and vocabulary. They have created work packets and activities utilizing music, games, puppets, artwork, storytelling and more. Elementary Academy students expand their learning through the use of Viva el Espanol! and the Junior Academy tops it off with Paso a Paso.
English Language Learning
Seven Hills is committed to providing quality, researched-based instruction to our English Language Learners. According to MA law, public school students who are not proficient in English must be placed in a Sheltered English Immersion (SEI) program. Once a child is accepted into the ELL program, he /she will receive English Language Development (ELD) classes based on the Massachusetts English Language Proficiency Benchmarks and Outcomes, and Sheltered English Immersion (SEI). Language development is designed to help the child to learn the English language rapidly so that he or she can be assimilated in the mainstream classroom and be able to do ordinary schoolwork. Sheltered instruction is designed to assist the child in assimilating content (math, science, history, etc.) using appropriate language acquisition strategies. Students receive direct language instruction through a Sheltered English Immersion program with teachers who have participated in staff development courses that focus on strategies and techniques for teaching English as a Second Language. All the instruction and materials in the SEI classroom are in English. English language learners, at their comprehension level, follow the rigorous and challenging grade level curriculum, utilizing instructional materials that have been adapted and modified to meet the students’ needs.
Students who study English Language Development (ELD) receive direct instruction in the idiosyncrasies of the English language. After evaluating each student’s needs, materials are selected to target specific goals. Among the resources used are Into English and specialized materials from Scholastic. Technology is regularly integrated into instruction through the use of interactive software and composition exercises. Our goal is for all students to be successful communicators in two languages by the time they graduate from Seven Hills.
Character and Ethics
Character and ethics are a school wide responsibility centered around SHCPS’s core values (wisdom, justice, courage, compassion, hope, respect, responsibility, and integrity.) Teachers are expected to integrate character education goals into their regular instruction—both in terms of behavioral expectations and content-related instruction.
Education in character and ethics is about the application of student understandings to their own behavior. The core values provide a common set of attributes that can frame a lesson on moral questions behind a character’s choices in a novel; the underlying principles behind a political idea, such as democracy or the creation of written laws; or the courage of individuals in challenging unjust systems. The core values also provide opportunities to explore the reasons behind particular school and class rules and to provide instruction and practice to help students successfully live up to these and other expectations. This goal of helping students apply values to their own behavior is the heart of the Seven Hills character education program.
The Seven Hills Code of Conduct is: Be Kind, Be Safe, Be Responsible. This code is used to establish consistent school-wide expectations. Classroom teachers work with students to define each of the expectations by completing representation charts to show what being kind, safe and responsible looks, sounds, and feels like. In addition, students learn about the code by participating in role-play’s and problem solving sessions using Success for All, FISH!, Responsive Classroom or Open Circle tools such as the Peace Path, Class Meetings or the Circle of Power and Respect.
Primary and Elementary Academy teachers use An Ethics Curriculum for Children, a literature-based instructional program developed by the Heartwood Institute, to present moving and thoughtful stories that engage students in ethical issues and provide a basis for discussion and other instructional activities. The importance of honesty, bravery, respect, and other moral values is at the heart of these potent stories by writers such as Katherine Patterson, Allen Say, Barbara Clooney, Patricia Polacco, John Steptoe, Eve Bunting, Demi, Tomie dePaola, and many other award-winning authors and illustrators of children’s literature. The stories are multicultural in scope, making the obvious point that honesty, hope, courage, respect, and justice are universal concerns, not sectarian or localized to particular communities, nations, or cultures. Students listen, discuss, and complete activities that help translate the stories’ lessons into an everyday context. Why is telling the truth sometimes hard? Why is it important?
Likewise, character and ethics instruction is embedded across all content areas in Junior Academy classes. Of course, particular academic areas sometimes lend themselves to this goal more obviously than others, such as the Touchstones component of the Language Arts/Speaking and Listening program; the Healthwave program in Fitness and Health; and the study of people and their behavior and motivations in history, literature, the arts, and current events. In addition, sportsmanship in physical education, respect and responsibility for oneself and others in health, and questions of fairness, justice, and other ethical concerns crop up regularly in math and science class.
All content areas feature a pedagogy that requires students to interact respectfully, with honesty, compassion, and personal integrity. Cooperative learning roles, peer conferencing, participating in group projects, participating as an audience member in a presentation or performance, and living up to one’s accepted responsibilities as a student create numerous opportunities for teachers to instruct, model, and monitor good character for students and for students to demonstrate these values in action.
Should students need supplementary program in character education, opportunities are available in the form of guidance groups, peer coaching or mentoring programs. Strong Kids, a resilience curriculum out of the University of Oregon, is often used to help students build self-awareness and gain skills for interacting with others and solving problems.
Intensive programming is also available through the implementation of specialized behavior intervention plans or counseling.
Advisory and Guidance
Students participate in an advisory program that is delivered through “Morning Meeting” each day. Homeroom teachers are considered advisors for their homeroom students and are responsible for tracking attendance, setting and monitoring SLC goals, delivering the advisory curriculum and creating a safe environment for students to explore issues that are important to their well being and academic growth. The recommended delivery models are those outlined through Open Circle, the Responsive Classroom program for Morning Meetings or the Circle of Power and Respect. Teachers also regularly draw upon the resources provided in student agenda books, Steven Covey’s Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teens, and the FISH! Philosophy by Charthouse Communications.
In addition, students participate in classroom-based lessons led by our guidance staff. These lessons range in topic from self esteem, appreciation of diversity, teambuilding, leadership, communication, conflict resolution, drug and alcohol awareness, healthy relationships, personal safety and more.
Technology as a Second Language
Just as our students acquire Spanish as a second language, through extensive use of technology, they acquire the vocabulary, skills and knowledge of concepts imbedded in the use of technology to support their learning. From interacting with programs and assessments in key learning areas, they gain mastery and confidence in their use of technology. As they increase their use of technology, they begin to expand their understanding and appreciation for how technology can enhance their learning and, in many ways, how technology can help make them more independent researchers, data collectors, and writers. Students participate in classroom based lessons on keyboarding and word processing, use of Microsoft Office software programs, internet safety and much more. Junior Academy students may also elect to take classes on computer programming and repair, web site design or video production.
Intensives
Although we regularly strive to integrate instruction across the content areas, there are a few times a year that we take that integration to a whole new level. School-wide Intensives are dynamic units of study in which students work collaboratively to apply skills learned in all content areas to focus on a specific theme or to solve a specialized problem. During these times, the school schedule, class lists and curriculums are all adjusted to allow every child to become completely immersed in the experience. Often classrooms become courtrooms, engineering studios, construction sites, press boxes, crime labs, or whatever it takes to get the job done! One must see it to believe it!
Seven Hills Enrichment Learning Laboratory (SHELL)
Seven Hills is committed to nurturing students’ interests and talents and rewarding high achievement. For this reason, we encourage students to apply to our SHELL program. Participants are assigned mentors who support independent study projects or school apprenticeships. Apprenticeships are designed based on expressed student interests or a desire to refine a specific skill set. Examples of student apprenticeships include: editing the literary magazine, working with Lego-robotics, serving as a peer mediator, contributing to the Students Against Violence in Education program, writing for the school newspaper, and composing musical scores. The program is continually evolving as new students enter and help shape their individual experiences.
Instruction: Seven Hills characterizes high quality instruction as that which is outcomes focused and tailored to meet the needs of diverse learners. When teachers design lessons, they must show evidence of clear objectives (correlated with the state frameworks), motivational strategies (making content meaningful to students), varied instructional and assessment approaches (with the arts and technology regularly integrated). Lessons must be differentiated in terms of content, process and product. The three-tiered curriculum model is designed to support the differentiation process. Decisions for individual student programming should be based on results of classroom assessments, CBM and ongoing progress monitoring. In the case of two adults working in a classroom, roles for each must be clearly defined in the plans. In summary, when planning instruction, teachers must ask themselves these key questions:
• What do I want my students to learn?
• What will motivate my students to learn it?
• How will they learn it?
• How will I know if they have learned it?
Well prepared teachers have engaged students. The following chart describes components of high quality instruction which results in high rates of student engagement, thus leading to academic success.
|Characteristic of |Examples |
|Engaging Classrooms | |
|The classroom has well |Students have classroom jobs that empower them to manage daily procedures. |
|established routines & |Little teacher time is spent on housekeeping and transitions. |
|procedures. |Students have easy access to materials. |
|Lessons are |Whole group direction instruction is limited. |
|appropriately paced. |Teachers use appropriate wait time for students to process information or respond to a question. |
| |Lessons are broken down into various components, including varying learning styles and modalities. |
|Students are flexibly |Direct instruction is often provided in small groups. Groupings changed due to student needs and the nature of instruction. |
|grouped. |Sometimes they are heterogeneously grouped, sometime homogeneously. Students engage in structured partner and group work. |
| |Roles within partners or teams are clearly defined and students are regularly given feedback. |
|Learning goals & |Objectives are posted and can be clearly articulated by students and teachers. |
|expectations are clear.|Objectives are presented in a way that draws upon students’ background knowledge and makes apparent the relevance to their |
| |lives. |
| |Learning goals are connected and part of an overall cohesive plan. |
| |Students have access to rubrics or samples of high quality work so they know what they are shooting for. |
| |Teachers conference with students about their work and students redo work that is not up to standards. |
| |Teachers give frequent positive feedback to recognize effort and growth. |
| |Students track their own progress. |
| |The class celebrates student and team successes. |
|Lessons are |Teachers ask specific questions to specific students to challenge their thinking. |
|differentiated. |Students are flexibly grouped to target learning needs. |
| |Students are given a variety of strategies and materials to use to understand a concept or develop a skill. |
|Students have many |Strategy training allows for a gradual release of responsibility (I do, we do, you do) to allow for greater student |
|opportunities to |independence. |
|participate. |Students use a variety of response techniques: |
| |Written, Artistic, Oral Response |
| |Choral response |
| |Popcorn |
| |Hand signals – Signs - Movement |
| |Think-Pair-Share |
| |Learning Slates |
| |Interactive Technology |
| |Discussion or Work Groups or Partners. |
Program evaluation: Student achievement drives program evaluation at Seven Hills. We look at information from two perspectives, program design and implementation. On the programmatic side, we analyze data to determine strengths and weaknesses and identify root causes of areas of deficit. As a staff, we revisit our K-8 skill progression, curriculum alignment and resource charts, pacing calendars, integration charts and common core assessments and make refinements to eliminate gaps and determine points of emphasis. One method used to eliminate variances in implementation, includes the use of the Lesson Study and ROUNDS models of professional development. Other emerging performance patterns have led us to conduct self studies in the areas of content based strategy training for students, student engagement, special education and ELL program and service delivery.
School Culture: The Seven Hills Code of Conduct (Be kind. Be safe. Be responsible.) and Core Values (wisdom, justice, courage, compassion, hope, respect, responsibility, integrity) are the cornerstones of our school culture. By modeling, teaching, recognizing and reinforcing these each and every day, we can maintain an atmosphere that is conducive to high levels of learning and cooperation.
Seven Hills Charter Public School PBIS Philosphy Statement: “ All members of the Seven Hills Community treat each other with kindness, take responsibility for our actions, and maintain a safe and positive learning environment.” Consistency is the most important ingredient for a productive school climate. When all members of the school community share a common belief system, model and acknowledge positive behaviors and interactions, and enforce the rules fairly and consistently, students can focus on learning in a safe and comfortable environment.
Seven Hills believes in a three pronged approach to developing and maintaining a safe and productive learning environment. First, we are committed to proactively teaching our schoolwide expectations and giving students, staff and families the tools and strategies they need to work and learn together. Second, we are committed to stopping inappropriate or unproductive behaviors from occurring. The menu of consequences below was designed to provide guidance for immediate actions to be taken when infractions occur. Please understand that Seven Hills has a progressive discipline system. Repeated infractions result into higher levels of consequence. Third, we are committed to changing patterns of behaviors. “Apologies of Action” provide examples of ways to turn “mistakes” or “errors in judgment” into learning experiences.
Diverse learners: At Seven Hills, we firmly believe that all students are capable of meeting the high standards we set for academic and behavioral performance and we understand that the entire school community shares the responsibility of helping each child succeed.
Each inclusion classroom is staffed by a core teacher and a highly qualified assistant who work together with school support staff (English language learning teachers, reading and math specialists, special education teachers and related service providers) to ensure student achievement data is analyzed so that instruction can be differentiated in order to meet the wide range of needs present in every classroom. To do this, students participate in full class lessons as well as small group or one to one instructional opportunities. By flexibly grouping students and integrating the arts and technology into the classroom, students can access the general curriculum and demonstrate their understandings in a variety of ways.
The school curriculum is designed to allow for individualized action planning. By using a three-tiered approach, all students are exposed to a rich core program as well as daily opportunities for enrichment or remediation, based on needs identified through data analysis, observation and interview techniques. The final tier of the Seven Hills program provides a full range of services for students with specialized needs and language learning needs.
Seven Hills supports a collaborative model of educating children. Our goal is to work as a team to ensure that each student receives the appropriate level of challenge and support. When teachers and staff join forces with families and community members, children gain access to a powerful network of support. By using the problem solving model described below, we can explore the heart of a concern and design, implement and monitor the effectiveness of interventions. The Family and Student Support Team (FASST) has been developed to help staff and families navigate through the support process at Seven Hills.
Supervision and Evaluation of Teachers / Professional development: Teachers receive feedback throughout the year through formal and informal observations as well as ongoing reviews of student achievement data. In addition to monthly checklists and quarterly professional growth plan meetings, all teachers participate in a formal evaluation process each year. The final evaluation and performance rating is based upon an end of year conference. Teachers meet with the Superintendent to discuss year-long formal and informal observation findings, student achievement results, the self-reflection rubric, and the contents of his /her professional portfolio containing a professional growth plan and documentation of development toward established goals. The performance rubric is based upon the following general categories (with specific outcomes listed under each): planning and preparation, learning environment, instruction and student achievement, professional responsibility. Raises, bonuses and contract renewals are based on the performance evaluation and the maintenance of necessary certifications and credentials. In addition, each year teachers set professional growth goals (in conjunction with the Superintendent) based on the outcomes of their professional evaluations. Three times over the course of the following year, each teacher conferences with the Superintendent around progress toward meeting his/her professional growth goals.
Professional development at Seven Hills is a fluent process based on student achievement goals and school improvement. Our overarching goals are as follows:
• Use data to make sound instructional decisions.
• Differentiate instruction and provide specialized programming to meet the needs of all students.
• Integrate the arts and technology into all content areas.
• Create positive and productive learning communities.
• Engage families and community members in the life of the school.
• Enhance leadership and shared governing capacity of school members.
• Enhance the ability of school members to access additional revenue sources for the school.
Each year, our teachers participate in pre-service training through our Summer Teaching Academy. This experience allows us to set professional expectations around our instructional standards and re-calibrate our approach to student behavior management. In addition, each new teacher hired by Seven Hills has been invited to participate in the Eagle Hill School Institute for Teacher Training. In order to increase the impact of this high quality professional development opportunity, Eagle Hill School also allows one returning teacher to accompany each new teacher participant from Seven Hills. This week-long program focuses on key areas often omitted from teacher licensure programs yet vitally important to professional teachers. Teachers are placed into a Seven Hills cohort, which allows them to establish relationships with their new colleagues through teambuilding and workshops on learning diversity, professional autonomy, leadership, classroom practices & maintaining a professional life in teaching. In addition to developing the skills and orientation to the profession necessary to embark on and maintain a successful career in teaching, our teachers also develop a sound methodology for providing differentiated instruction in their classrooms.
Our yearlong reflective process has us continually looking at student achievement data and unveiling methodologies for improvement. As a result of our regularly scheduled “Data Day” events, we have established specific areas for growth and improvement. Subcommittees were established to provide leadership in each of those areas. For example, a team of teachers met monthly to discuss and then disseminate information about strategy training models to promote students with special needs or ELL becoming more independent learners. Another committee looked at student engagement rates throughout the school. Another is looking at a standards based reporting system and the effectiveness of our vertical alignment. Some teachers have dissected the report of the National Math Panel and made recommendations for improvement based on those findings. The literacy committee is focusing on enhancing student motivation with reading and incorporating higher level thinking skills. Several classrooms are serving as models for the effective use of flexible groupings for differentiation purposes, based on a series of professional development opportunities and reading assignments following the model presented by Vicky Lawrence Gibbons.
Other areas of focus for our professional development program include the following:
SEI – Seven Hills partners with various agencies throughout the state to ensure that our teachers meet the training requirements associated with Sheltered English Immersion.
Positive Behavior Support – A team of teachers and administrators are involved with a statewide study on PBIS. This includes participation at regional meetings as well as school based workshops, action research projects and literature reviews. This team provides onsite leadership to our school-wide trainings, programs and initiatives.
Response to Intervention – Seven Hills has hosted a series of courses and seminars related to the refinement of a three tiered model which supports a continuous cycle of assessment, instruction and intervention.
Differentiated Instruction – By partnering with UMASS, our teachers receive ongoing training and support in differentiating instruction. They began with an emphasis on routines, procedures and cultural shifts that support the development of a differentiated classroom and then they moved on to data driven instruction and understanding by design techniques.
Constructing Meaning / Blooms – Seven Hills is focused on improving higher level thinking skills of our students. To this end, they have worked with Becky DeSmith from Keys to Learning, and a school based leadership team, to design ongoing trainings and interactive learning experiences.
Key Three – For the past two years, all teachers in grades six through eight have been participating in ongoing trainings to support literacy based instruction in the content areas.
ROUNDS and Lesson Study PLC – Teachers work in teams throughout the year to conduct peer lesson review, observation and feedback sessions, aligned with individual and team professional growth plan and student achievement goals.
In addition to professional development for our teachers, we value and invest in professional development for members of our leadership team and board of trustees. For example, during the summer of 2010, our Superintendent attended the National Charter School Conference in Chicago, IL with one of our board members. Throughout the year, they will share their learning with other members of the school leadership team and school board. In particular, the Superintendent will be providing our Curriculum and Instruction Coaches with professional development, coaching, and training on how to be an effective coach based on some effective practices shared by successful school leaders at organizations such as Uncommon Schools, Inc.
Accountability plan objectives and measures (faithfulness to charter)
“…for success as workers…”
9. The number of students eligible to participate in the Junior Academy Seven Hills Enrichment Learning Laboratory will increase each year and will not drop below 20%.
• Eligibility for application to SHELL is determined by Honor Roll status. This year, due to the increased level of rigor associated with our standards based report cards and honor roll criteria, we saw a decrease in the number of eligible students. Fifty seven students, twenty seven percent of our Junior Academy, participated in the program this year.
10. Seven Hills Charter Public School will host at least five community education opportunities per year in order to explore various occupations and higher education.
• As part of our comprehensive guidance program, sixth graders take the Career Game Explorer and seventh and eighth graders take the Career and Occupational Placement System (COPS) and use the results to research career choices and meet people within various fields. In addition, students learn about personality typing and career clustering, learn how to design a resumes and cover letters and complete job applications and work permits.
• Each year, Seven Hills students visit various colleges to participate in education and career exploration activities. This year, Junior Academy students traveled to the Northeastern School of Law to participate in a Lawyer for a Day event where they observed a mock trial, met with current law students and learned more about what it takes to be a lawyer. They also spent three days at the University of New Hampshire where they presented their research, music, dance and artwork about environmental issues and “going green.” The students joined forces with a group of Elementary Academy students during a similar presentation at Quinsigamond Community College. This theme of “going green” also permeated the Seven Hills performances and work displays at the Ecotarium.
• The Worcester community has a wealth of resources, many of whom were generous enough to share their time with our students as part of our “Boys and Girls” programs offered to our students in grades five through eight.
o Goal Setting and Peer Pressure by Hadley Camilus of Quinsigamond Community College
o Life Lessons from motivational speaker, George Sierra
o Cyberbullying and Internet Safety from Joanne Powell and Ellen Miller of D.A. Joseph Early's office,
o Motivational Speakers Demario Andrews from the GBV health center and Coach Phillips from Clark University
o Healthy Relationships by Natalie Higgins of the RCC
o Healthy Self Esteem by Jennifer Pitts of the GBV Health Center
o Phoebe Prince and the New Anti-Bullying Law by Lisa Dirsa
o Media Influence and Body Image by Ms. Gonzalez and Sra. Colon
• As part of our character education program, Junior Academy students met weekly with members of the National Guard to explore career options and life choices that help them achieve their goals. Seven Hills also utilized its relationship with the Civil Air Patrol, Boys and Girl Scouts and the Big Brother, Big Sister Program with Holy Cross, to expose students to a variety of educational and occupational experiences.
• Seven Hills students regularly worked with community experts in a number of areas. Artists from the East Side CDC and the Worcester Art Museum offered onsite, free after school art classes to our Elementary Academy students. Representatives from Commonwealth Bank visited the school each month to work with students in kindergarten through grade eight on a Community Banking program. Scientists from throughout the community helped to judge our Junior Academy science fair and, as part of our schoolwide intensive, local aeronautical engineer, Archie Stewart, completed kite building projects with students in K-8. Students who participated in our “BOT Student Motivation Subcommittee” worked with independent filmmaker, Angelique Webster, to learn about various technologies, research and promotional techniques to create a video for the Fanny May Foundation and our choir visited both WSRS and WTAG to record their own radio broadcasts. The American Red Cross offered a CPR and First Aid certification class to staff, students and families.
11. Seven Hills Charter Public School will participate in at least three community service projects per year in order to learn about ways to improve the quality of life for those around us.
• The Seven Hills Show Choir, Stomp Team and Beat Squad use music and dance to spread warmth and good cheer throughout the community. This past year, they performed in over twenty venues, including local nursing homes, hospitals, libraries, museums and the Youth Summit hosted by the Worcester Police Department. Kathleen Holton, the lead teacher of our special area department, and Donna Lemoyne, former trustee, headed up a citywide program called “H’arts and Hope for Haiti” which was held at the Hanover Theater. Over twenty performing groups from across the city performed to raise money for the Red Cross Haitian Relief Effort. In addition, Seven Hills students created posters, recorded radio broadcasts for the event and helped to gather items for a silent auction to support the effort.
• As part of our “Adopt a Cause” program, Seven Hills has developed an ongoing relationship with the Willis Center and the Horizons for the Homeless. Throughout the year, they organize and clothing drives and regularly contribute to the local food pantry. In addition, they raise money each year for St. Judes and the Lukemia and Lymphnoma Society through a “Math a Thon” and “Pennies for Patients” programs.
• Seven Hills has a strong sense of community where people take care of one another. Students, staff and families regularly participate in uniform, book and food drives and donate generate to the schoolwide “giving tree.” Students can do community service projects throughout the school to defray costs for class trips. In addition, all National Junior Honor Society members are required to complete a minimum of six community service hours per term. Most complete much more as they offer after school tutoring and homework help two days a week, provide babysitting during parent meetings and evening events, and help elderly neighbors with yard work and snow removal. Many students helped to organize the annual Big Pumpkin Fest at the Ecotarium this fall.
• Seven Hills also works to instill a sense of civic duty and activism within students. Each year, they sponsor an anti-smoking campaign held at City Hall and promote positivity as World Smile Day Ambassadors. This year, our students completed projects about recycling and global warming for the “Spring Into Action Community Kickoff Event: It’s All About Trees” event hosted by Congressman Jim McGovern and the Worcester Tree Initiative.
“…for success as citizens…”
12. At least 80% of SHCPS students will receive recognition for displaying characteristics of model citizenship throughout the school year.
• This year, in addition to classroom based recognitions, 389 children were recognized as Star Students, and 306 students received Model Citizenship Awards . In addition, over 3,000 community tickets were issued, as part of our PBIS recognition system, with 162 students winning the weekly raffles.
• To increase the number of students earning these recognitions, the students and families have access to core, supplemental and intervention programming and staff for behavior support, as part of the schoolwide PBIS three-tiered model.
“…by providing a high quality education …”
13. Seven Hills Charter Public School will disseminate best practices to surrounding districts each year by hosting annual showcases, preparing publications or online tools to be shared, presenting at professional conferences and forming partnerships with other institutions.
• Seven Hills prides itself in its’ commitment to the arts. For the second year in a row, the school hosted a statewide conference to showcase promising practices in art, musical, foreign language and physical education strategies. This year, thirty eight teachers from thirteen different schools (including one Worcester Public School and one Worcester private school) participated in the event. In addition, they established an ongoing network for collaboration and are in the process of developing a schedule for classroom exchanges and visitations.
• Seven Hills is heavily invested in helping other schools learn about Singapore Math strategies. We utilized our Summer Institute grant to partner with Worcester State College to provide another three credit course in mathematical thinking and methodologies. Our teachers have been frequent presenters for the Worcester State College math department courses, at the invitation of Dr. Richard Bisk and Professor Mike Windsor. For the second year, we hosted teachers and administrators from Ten Acres Country Day School for a series of classroom observations and professional dialog sessions.
• This year, Seven Hills received a grant to enhance our use of interactive technology in the classrooms. Our school’s technology team developed and presented a series of five two hour workshops on the effective use of Interactive White Boards during content area instruction. Although these courses were open to all Worcester Public School teachers, only ours attended.
• Seven Hills is committed for forging partnerships with pre-service teacher and school leadership programs. We have hosted observers, practicum students and researchers from Harvard University, Providence College and Worcester State College education programs. Ten Worcester State College sociology students worked onsite for an hour and a half each week this spring to be trained in early literacy and numeracy progress monitoring techniques and positive behavior support programming, a Baybath education major completed her student teaching placement in our sixth grade and a graduate student at UMASS Amherst is completed her principal’s internship on site. In addition, Seven Hills staff members have served as guest lecturers on topics such as curriculum development and response to intervention at Worcester State College, the Community College of Rhode Island. Two of our staff members are also work part time at IDEAL Consulting, a firm providing support to districts in the areas of data based decision making and differentiated instruction.
• As an extension of the three-credit Response to Intervention Course that a staff member facilitated last year, Seven Hills has joined a statewide PBIS network for this year. Along with this, we participated in a study of the “Behavioral Health in Schools” taskforce.
14. Seven Hills Charter Public School Board of Trustees will participate in an annual reflective retreat with an independent consultant in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the school and their governance. The Board will review results of student, staff and parent satisfaction surveys and produce a summary report at the end of each retreat.
• Because we brought on several new members this fall, we held a series of retreats. The fall retreat, which took place in November, focused on the Essential Conditions for School Effectiveness and the School Improvement Plan as springboards for the development of Board Subcommittees. The spring retreat, held in June, was facilitated by Kim Wechtenhiser of Schoolworks, and focused on the school’s performance relative to Accountability Plan goals. Follow up board development sessions with Ms, Wechtenhiser were scheduled for July and August.
15. The School Advisory Council, comprised of parents, staff and community members, will report to the Board of Trustees on the school’s achievement relative to its annual improvement plan.
• After reviewing school data and providing input to the Curriculum Accomodation Plan and School Improvement Plan, the School Advisory Council choose to dedicate their efforts to supporting our ELL students and families, and the staff who teach them. They hosted parent meetings and gathered information about their needs and, as a result, decided to offer after school tutoring to our Primary Academy ELL students and evening ELL classes for parents. In addition, they are in the process of planning a staff and family event where, together, we can learn more about ways people from different cultures can better understand one another in order to help children success in school. The ELL department has also prepared staff presentations to clear up any lingering questions about ELL programming, services and strategies.
“…at prevailing public school costs…”
16. Seven Hills Charter Public School Board of Trustees will approve a balanced budget each year that maintains integrity of the academic programming of the school.
• A budget time line is created and the process generally begins in January/February obtaining input from the staff, and working on personnel scenarios. Over February and March draft budgets are created based on academic programming need for personnel, non-personnel expenditures and projected revenue. In April this draft goes to the board for vote on the personnel portion so that engagement with staff and the annual contract process can begin. Depending on the availability of more solid revenue figures a vote on the full budget is done by the board in May/June.
• As the budget is created each year, the school maintains a commitment to maintaining programmatic integrity. Attracting and retaining high quality staff members is at the core of the budget process. Availability of resources and a focus on the integration and exploration of the arts, athletics and technology permeates the conversation around funding that provides for a well-rounded educational experience.
17. Seven Hills Charter Public School administrators will present balance sheets, budget to actual expenditures and current profit and loss statements to the Board of Trustees on a quarterly basis.
• Monthly financial information including balance sheet and profit and loss statements are provided at each board meeting, with a reconciled reporting done each quarter. The financial reporting out is at the monthly board meeting, and not more that 60 days following the month/quarter end. Budget to Actual comparisons are reported on, and any amendment proposal to the approved budget is done at this time.
18. Seven Hills Charter Public School will apply for and receive entitlement and competitive grants on a yearly basis.
• Entitlement and competitive grants are applied for and received annually. In FY2010 SHCPS applied for and received over $1million dollars of entitlement and competitive grants combined.
19. Seven Hills Charter Public School Parent Guild and Student Groups will facilitate fundraisers in order to raise at least $20,000 per year to support student activities and specialized purchases.
• To date for FY2010 the activities account has revenue of almost $18K raised to support various student activities. So far this year, the Parent Guild has raised and additional $ 27,883.50
Recruitment and Retention Plan
I. Recruitment Plan
List the strategies the school will use during the upcoming school year to attract and enroll a student population that reflects the demographics of the school’s sending district(s) in the following categories:
• Special education students
• Limited English-proficient students
• Students eligible for free lunch
• Students eligible for reduced price lunch
• Students who are sub-proficient (as determined by a previous score of “needs improvement”, “warning”, or “failing” categories on the mathematics or English language arts examinations of the MCAS for the previous two years)
• Students at risk of dropping out of school
• Students who have dropped out of school
• Other subgroups of students who should be targeted to eliminate the achievement gap
|Student Recruitment Plan |List goals for recruitment activities for each demographic group. |
|Demographic Group |Advertising in local newspaper, at area day care providers’ locations, on the local access television station, on |
| |informational flyers distributed throughout the community, including churches and cultural centers, and within the |
|Special Education Students |school |
| |Advertising and promotional materials available in Spanish and other languages (as needed) |
|Demographic Group |Advertising in local newspaper, at area day care providers’ locations, on the local access television station, on |
| |informational flyers distributed throughout the community, including churches and cultural centers, and within the |
|Limited English-proficient Students |school |
| |Advertising and promotional materials available in Spanish and other languages (as needed) |
|Demographic Group |Advertising in local newspaper, at area day care providers’ locations, on the local access television station, on |
| |informational flyers distributed throughout the community, including churches and cultural centers, and within the |
|Students who are Eligible for free lunch |school |
| |Advertising and promotional materials available in Spanish and other languages (as needed) |
|Demographic Group |Advertising in local newspaper, at area day care providers’ locations, on the local access television station, on |
| |informational flyers distributed throughout the community, including churches and cultural centers, and within the |
|Students who are eligible for |school |
|reduced-price lunch |Advertising and promotional materials available in Spanish and other languages (as needed) |
|Demographic Group |Advertising in local newspaper, at area day care providers’ locations, on the local access television station, on |
|Students who are sub-proficient (as |informational flyers distributed throughout the community, including churches and cultural centers, and within the |
|determined by a previous score of “needs |school |
|improvement”, “warning”, or “failing” |Advertising and promotional materials available in Spanish and other languages (as needed) |
|categories on the mathematics or English | |
|language arts examinations of the MCAS for| |
|the previous two years) | |
II. Retention Plan
List the strategies the school will use during the upcoming school year to maximize the number of students who successfully complete all school requirements and to prevent students from dropping out.
|Student Retention Plan | |
|Annual goal for student retention: |The stability rate of students enrolled at Seven Hills Charter Public School will not drop below the stability rate of|
| |Worcester Public Schools. |
|Retention Activity 1 |Data-driven Instruction: Seven Hills uses an array of diagnostic assessments to monitor student learning and make |
| |adjustments to the school’s curriculum and instruction. Based on learning needs identified by teachers through an |
| |analysis of the data, students receive differentiated instruction within the regular education setting and during |
| |tutorial. Student groupings are flexible, and are adjusted on an as-needed basis, as determined by student growth and|
| |progress. |
|Retention Activity 2 |Three-tiered Model of Support: Seven Hills’ Academic and Behavior Support Guide (District Curriculum Accommodation |
| |Plan) outlines the steps, strategies, and supports that are available to support students who are struggling to meet |
| |the school’s academic and behavioral standards. The Plan is designed to assist Seven Hills in meeting its mission “to|
| |prepare a diverse cross-section of Worcester children for success as students, workers, and citizens.” |
|Retention Activity 3 |Support for English Language Learners: Seven Hills provides a full program for students who are English language |
| |learners, or Limited English-proficient. Teachers are trained in SEI strategies on an annual basis, and use the ELPBO|
| |to guide lesson planning for English language learners. Students who are identified as Limited English-proficient |
| |also receive classes in English Language Development. In addition, our school’s School Advisory Council has a |
| |subcommittee dedicated to the interests of English language learners. |
|Retention Activity 4 |Family Engagement and Support: Seven Hills regularly engages parents and families to support student success. Some |
| |strategies include, but are not limited to the following: |
| |Our standards-based Student Learning Contracts (SLCs) serve to communicate students’ specific learning successes and |
| |deficiencies with our families. This allows our teachers to engage in conversations with parents and families during |
| |parent and teacher conferences around specific strategies that can be used at home to support student learning. |
| |Formal conferences occur five times throughout the year, in addition to monthly family events that are hosted at our |
| |school. We also post helpful online resources to support student learning within the “Family” section of our website.|
| |The school also publishes and distributes a weekly newsletter in both English and Spanish; the newsletter is also |
| |posted on the school’s website in both languages. Translation of the newsletter into other language is available |
| |through the school’s office. Additional communications occur through the sharing of student “agendas” and |
| |PowerSchool. |
| |The school’s guidance department also hosts a series of parent workshops (“Guiding Good Choices”) throughout the |
| |school year, and shares other helpful information related to student well-being with students’ parents and families. |
| |Parents are elected to serve on our School Advisory Council. A core group of parents, staff, and community members |
| |take a leadership role in planning for school improvement. SAC members recruit other parents, staff, and community |
| |members to assist with specific projects. Meetings occur monthly. |
| |Parents also participate on the school’s Parent Guild. The Guild provides fundraising and volunteerism for a wide |
| |range of school and family events including field day, class trips, curriculum nights, special assemblies, the school |
| |store and more. |
| |Seven Hills provides support for families experiencing economic hardship, including uniform, food and book drives and |
| |the distribution of holiday gifts and Thanksgiving Day Dinner baskets. |
| |The school’s handbook includes a wealth of information regarding community resources available for families |
| |experiencing hardship. These include 24 hour help lines, food pantries, counseling and advocacy agencies, among many |
| |others. |
|Retention Activity 5 |School-wide Title I Plan: In addition to the specific strategies above, Seven Hills’ students benefit from the |
| |school-wide Title I plan, which seeks to serve the needs of all students at the school. In particular, Seven Hills |
| |hires teachers and teachers’ assistants that are Highly Qualified under No Child Left Behind, high quality |
| |professional development, and a focus on data-driven instruction. |
Financial reports
Unaudited FY10 statement of revenues, expenses, and changes in net assets
| | | |
| | | |Income | | | |
| | | | |41000 · Grants-State |39,300.00 |
| | | | |41010 · Per Pupil Revenue |7,498,895.00 |
| | | | |41500 · Grants-Federal |992,963.00 |
| | | | |41800 · Grants-Private |0.00 |
| | | | |42000 · Nutrition Funding State |6,253.90 |
| | | | |42300 · Nutrition Funding-Federal |389,987.85 |
| | | | |42600 · Nutrition Funding-Private |31,918.20 |
| | | | |43000 · Program Fees | |
| | | | | |42020 · After School Income |63,389.37 |
| | | | | |46010 · Activities Income |38,354.69 |
| | | | |Total 43000 · Program Fees |101,744.06 |
| | | | |44010 · Other School Revenue |145.00 |
| | | | |44500 · Contributions, Other |27,151.00 |
| | | | |45500 · Medicaid Reimbursement |71,164.17 |
| | | |Total Income | |9,159,522.18 |
| | |Gross Profit | | |9,159,522.18 |
| | | |Expense | | | |
| | | | |50000 · Total Payroll | |
| | | | | |50720 · Workers Compensation Insurance |22,727.00 |
| | | | | |50700 · Benefits | |
| | | | | | |50710 · Payroll Benefits Exp 5225 DOE |
| | | | | |50500 · Employer Taxes(5205 DOE) | |
| | | | | | |50530 · Fica and Unemployment |
| | | | | |50100 · Wages | |
| | | | | | |50110 · Wages-Admin Professional |
| | | | |Total 50000 · Total Payroll |6,126,098.14 |
| | | | |86010 · Activities Expense |28,183.88 |
| | | | |51000 · Contracted/Purchased Services | |
| | | | | |51010 · Consultants |60,784.95 |
| | | | | |51060 · Facility Management Fee |813,800.00 |
| | | | |Total 51000 · Contracted/Purchased Services |874,584.95 |
| | | | |52000 · Supplies/Materials | |
| | | | | |52100 · Software (Non-Capital) |0.00 |
| | | | |Total 52000 · Supplies/Materials |0.00 |
| | | | |53011 · Business, Finance, HR and Legal | |
| | | | | |52080 · Printed Mater. & Reprod. Costs |3,484.34 |
| | | | | |56115 · Admin Outside Services Purchase |72,522.68 |
| | | | | |51025 · Staffing Agency |1,718.96 |
| | | | | |52143 · Express Mail |7,810.20 |
| | | | | |53040 · Entertainment/Staff Appreciatio |6,936.11 |
| | | | | |56050 · Bank Service Charges |40.00 |
| | | | | |56070 · Miscellaneous |6,170.40 |
| | | | | |56100 · Legal Fees |4,419.00 |
| | | | | |56110 · Audit Fees |23,750.00 |
| | | | |Total 53011 · Business, Finance, HR and Legal |126,851.69 |
| | | | |53120 · Contracted Services, Instr | |
| | | | | |51020 · Outside Services Purchased Inst |100,385.25 |
| | | | | |51030 · Pupil Special Services |20,369.50 |
| | | | | |51035 · Student Assessment Service |15,534.51 |
| | | | |Total 53120 · Contracted Services, Instr |136,289.26 |
| | | | |54011 · Professional Development Admin |-1,715.00 |
| | | | |54020 · Professional Development Instr |77,924.34 |
| | | | |54210 · Dues, Licenses & Subscriptions |8,580.50 |
| | | | |54220 · Dues, Licenses & Sub Instr |50.00 |
| | | | |54310 · Office Supplies & Mat Admin | |
| | | | | |52140 · Office /Misc. Suppplies |16,391.34 |
| | | | | |54310 · Office Supplies & Mat Admin - Other |0.00 |
| | | | |Total 54310 · Office Supplies & Mat Admin |16,391.34 |
| | | | |54320 · Instructional Supplies & Mat | |
| | | | | |52015 · Replacement Core Durable Curric |19,648.98 |
| | | | | |52020 · Core Curriculum Consumables |33,195.47 |
| | | | | |52030 · Classroom Supplies |36,447.55 |
| | | | | |52050 · Athletic Supplies & Equipment |-0.24 |
| | | | | |52070 · Paper Supplies - Copy Paper |11,897.62 |
| | | | | |52120 · Extracurricular Supplies |6,656.44 |
| | | | |Total 54320 · Instructional Supplies & Mat |107,845.82 |
| | | | |54511 · Info Mgt & Tech Admin |2,732.47 |
| | | | |54522 · Instructional Tech in Classroom |17,586.59 |
| | | | |55000 · Repairs & Maintenance | |
| | | | | |55040 · Maintenance of Equipment |4,866.77 |
| | | | |Total 55000 · Repairs & Maintenance |4,866.77 |
| | | | |55140 · Maint Building & Grounds | |
| | | | | |51040 · Facility & Ground Mtn Services |6,081.81 |
| | | | | |51072 · Alarm Services |1,528.45 |
| | | | | |51080 · Refuse/Trash |18,678.95 |
| | | | | |52150 · Custodial Supplies |24,483.95 |
| | | | | |55010 · Repairs & Maint. - Fac./Grounds |-132.47 |
| | | | | |55050 · Maintenance Contract Agreements |34,153.73 |
| | | | | |55140 · Maint Building & Grounds - Other |2,919.24 |
| | | | |Total 55140 · Maint Building & Grounds |87,713.66 |
| | | | |55540 · Utilities | |
| | | | | |54012 · Communications - Wireless |-132.00 |
| | | | | |54015 · Communications -Internet Access |1,750.79 |
| | | | | |54010 · Communications - Phone/Fax |-3,385.29 |
| | | | | |54520 · Gas/Electric |104,579.18 |
| | | | |Total 55540 · Utilities |102,812.68 |
| | | | |56000 · Other Expenses | |
| | | | | |56015 · Employee Recruitment |45.00 |
| | | | | |56090 · Field Trips |7,690.30 |
| | | | |Total 56000 · Other Expenses |7,735.30 |
| | | | |56144 · Rental/Lease of Equipment |588.00 |
| | | | |57050 · Depreciation Non Tech Equipment |3,268.30 |
| | | | |57010 · Dep Information Tech Admin |12,218.24 |
| | | | |57020 · Dep Intructional Technology |69,236.00 |
| | | | |57030 · Depreciation of Furn & Fixtures |4,867.00 |
| | | | |57040 · Dep of Curriculum |12,155.00 |
| | | | |57730 · Student Transportation |168.50 |
| | | | |58230 · Food Services | |
| | | | | |58235 · Sales Tax Food Program |278.90 |
| | | | | |58230 · Food Services - Other |357,338.28 |
| | | | |Total 58230 · Food Services |357,617.18 |
| | | | |58410 · Recruitment/Advertising Admin |5,497.21 |
| | | | |59000 · Professional Development | |
| | | | | |59240 · PD Travel-Air Transport |0.00 |
| | | | |Total 59000 · Professional Development |0.00 |
| | | |Total Expense | |8,190,147.82 |
| |Net Ordinary Income | |969,374.36 |
| |Other Income/Expense | |
| | |Other Income | | | |
| | | |49000 · Other Income | |
| | | | |60100 · Interest Income/Bank Accounts |18,913.65 |
| | | |Total 49000 · Other Income |18,913.65 |
| | |Total Other Income |18,913.65 |
| | |Other Expense | | |
| | | |57673 · In Kind Donation Expense |26,451.00 |
| | | |57670 · Long-Term Interest |39,502.44 |
| | |Total Other Expense |65,953.44 |
| |Net Other Income | | |-47,039.79 |
|Net Income | | | | |922,334.57 |
| | | | | | | |
|ASSETS | | | | |
| |Current Assets | |
| | |Checking/Savings | |
| | | |10000 · Cash | |
| | | | |10900 · DCU Savings Account |5.00 |
| | | | |10102 · DCU Payroll Account |184,126.41 |
| | | | |10712 · DCU Village Account |125,746.90 |
| | | | |10612 · DCU Food Account |46,952.65 |
| | | | |10512 · DCU Activity Account |34,841.52 |
| | | | |10212 · DCU Finance Operating Account | |
| | | | | |10222 · PD Reimbursement Funds |5,000.00 |
| | | | | |10212 · DCU Finance Operating Account - Other |4,959,558.58 |
| | | | |Total 10212 · DCU Finance Operating Account |4,964,558.58 |
| | | | |10800 · Petty Cash |350.00 |
| | | |Total 10000 · Cash |5,356,581.06 |
| | |Total Checking/Savings |5,356,581.06 |
| | |Other Current Assets | |
| | | |12000 · Due from related parties | |
| | | | |12200 · Grant Funds Receivable |53,353.56 |
| | | | |12300 · Other Funds Receivable |69,445.65 |
| | | | |12400 · Funds Due From SHCS Inc. |16,663.35 |
| | | |Total 12000 · Due from related parties |139,462.56 |
| | | |13000 · Pre-Paid Expenses | |
| | | | |13020 · Pre-Paid Ins Employee Benefit |114,115.40 |
| | | |Total 13000 · Pre-Paid Expenses |114,115.40 |
| | |Total Other Current Assets |253,577.96 |
| |Total Current Assets |5,610,159.02 |
| |Fixed Assets | | |
| | |15400 · Furniture |29,200.00 |
| | |15500 · Equipment |16,342.33 |
| | |15600 · Computers | |
| | | |15601 · Technology Capital Hardware |401,567.11 |
| | | |15602 · Technology Capital Software |73,051.95 |
| | |Total 15600 · Computers |474,619.06 |
| | |15700 · Durable Curriculum |58,736.00 |
| | |16000 · Accumulated Depreciation | |
| | | |16427 · Accum Dep Non Tech Equip |-8,719.60 |
| | | |16425 · Accum Dep Furniture & Fixtures |-30,016.29 |
| | | |16415 · Accum Dep Curriculum |-58,740.68 |
| | | |16421 · Accum Dep Tech Hardware |-243,622.72 |
| | | |16411 · Accum Dep Tech Software |-59,579.44 |
| | |Total 16000 · Accumulated Depreciation |-400,678.73 |
| |Total Fixed Assets |178,218.66 |
|TOTAL ASSETS | |5,788,377.68 |
|LIABILITIES & EQUITY | |
| |Liabilities | | | |
| | |Current Liabilities | |
| | | |Accounts Payable | |
| | | | |20020 · Accounts Payable |96,463.12 |
| | | |Total Accounts Payable |96,463.12 |
| | | |Other Current Liabilities | |
| | | | |20060 · Due to Related Party | |
| | | | | |20062 · Funding Due to Edison Principal |124,763.17 |
| | | | | |20066 · Interest Due to Edison |19,416.25 |
| | | | | |20065 · Recoverable Wages |36,909.91 |
| | | | |Total 20060 · Due to Related Party |181,089.33 |
| | | | |21000 · Accrued Expenses | |
| | | | | |20047 · Accrued Bonus |87,106.00 |
| | | | | |20046 · Accrued Summer Pay |458,813.00 |
| | | | | |20040 · Accrued Expense |127,265.39 |
| | | | | |20042 · Accrued Audit |22,750.00 |
| | | | | |20044 · Accrued Other |24,695.70 |
| | | | |Total 21000 · Accrued Expenses |720,630.09 |
| | | | |23000 · Due to Related Parties | |
| | | | | |20056 · Due to SHCS Inc. |203,450.00 |
| | | | |Total 23000 · Due to Related Parties |203,450.00 |
| | | |Total Other Current Liabilities |1,105,169.42 |
| | |Total Current Liabilities |1,201,632.54 |
| | |Long Term Liabilities | |
| | | |26000 · Long Term Liability | |
| | | | |26001 · Edison Loan |319,037.18 |
| | | |Total 26000 · Long Term Liability |319,037.18 |
| | |Total Long Term Liabilities |319,037.18 |
| |Total Liabilities |1,520,669.72 |
| |Equity | | | | |
| | |30702 · Encumbrances |5,000.00 |
| | |3001 · Opening Bal Equity |-0.16 |
| | |30701 · Investment in Fixed Assetts |246,798.00 |
| | |30700 · Retained Earnings |3,093,575.55 |
| | |Net Income |922,334.57 |
| |Total Equity | |4,267,707.96 |
|TOTAL LIABILITIES & EQUITY |5,788,377.68 |
| | | | | | | |
FY11 approved school budget
|Seven Hills Charter Public School Projected Budget FY2011 |
|Board Approved 4/6/10 | |
| |Reduction 3% |
| |FY11 |
|Students |666 |
|P/P Revenue |10,923.38 |
|Total PP Revenue |7,274,971.08 |
| | |
|Grants Entitlements |629,719.00 |
|ARRA Grants |273,658.00 |
|Competitive Grants |89,800.00 |
|Contribution from Foundation |0 |
|Food |382,500.00 |
|Finance Revenue |50,000.00 |
|Village |60,000.00 |
|Activities |50,000.00 |
|Total Revenue |8,810,648.08 |
| | |
|Occupancy |813,800.00 |
|Personnel Expenses |6,533,161.00 |
|Non Personnel Expenses |1,483,024.00 |
|Interst Income |-17,000.00 |
|Activities |50,000.00 |
| | |
|Total Expenses |8,862,985.00 |
|Net Income |-52,336.92 |
Data section
|Instr Instructional Time: |
|Total number of instructional days for the 2009-10 school year |190 |
|First and last day of the 2009-10 school year |8/17/09 |
| |06/23/10 |
|Length of school day (please note if schedule varies throughout the week or the year) |7:45-2:55 |
|STUD STUDENT Enrollment Information: |
|Number of students who completed the 2008-09 school year but did not reenroll for the 2009-10 school year (excluding |20 |
|graduates) | |
|Total number of students enrolled as of October 1, 2009 |673 |
|Total number of students who enrolled during the 2009-10 school year after October 1, 2009 |18 |
|Total number of students who left during the 2009-10 school year after October 1, 2009 |29 |
|Total number of students enrolled as of the June 30, 2010 SIMS submission |661 |
|Number of students who graduated at the end of the 2009-10 school year |54 |
|Number of students on the waitlist as of June 30, 2010 |364 |
According to parents, most departures were the result of relocating, convenience of location or access to high school programming.
|Reason for Departure |Number of Students |
|Attending District School |10 |
|Transferred to Nativity School for Boys |2 |
|Transferred to Spirit of Knowledge Charter School |15 |
|Moved out of State |7 |
|Moved out of City |10 |
|Transferred to Catholic School |5 |
|STUDENT DEMOGRAPHIC AND SUBGROUP INFORMATION |
|(for students enrolled as of the June 2010 SIMS submission) |
|Race/Ethnicity |# of students |% of entire student body |
|African-American |210 |31.5 |
|Asian |6 |1 |
|Hispanic |333 |50 |
|Native American |60 |.9 |
|White |67 |10 |
|Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander |6 |1 |
|Multi-race, non-Hispanic | |6.5 |
|Special education |80 |13% |
|Limited English proficient |90 |15% |
|Low income |560 |79% |
|ADMINISTRATIVE ROSTER FOR THE 2009-10 SCHOOL YEAR |
|Title |Brief Job Description |Start date |End date (if no longer |
| | | |employed at the school) |
|Krista Piazza, Superintendent |Strategic Planning, Curriculum and Instruction, Finance, |July 2002 | |
| |Board and DOE Accountability | | |
|Shelly Hinds, Academy Director |Daily Operations, Gr. 4-8, Support Discipline, Parent |July 2009 |June 2010 |
| |Liaison | | |
|Michelle Hennessy, Asst. Academy |Gr. K-3 Support, Instructional Leadership, Discipline, |August 2008 | |
|Director K-3 |Parent Liaison | | |
| |Instructional and Informational Technology Planning, |September 2005 | |
|Joshua Coyne, Tech Lead |Training and Support | | |
|Sherry Trainque, Student Support Manager|Special Education, ELL |August 2004 | |
|Cynthia Krackovic, Business Manager |Financial records maintenance, budgets and related |December 2000 | |
| |reporting, HR and compliance. | | |
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|TEACHERS AND STAFF ATTRITION FOR THE 2009-10 SCHOOL YEAR |
| |Number as of the last day of the 2009-10 |Departures during the 2009-10 school year |Departures at the end of the school year |
| |school year | | |
|Teachers |42 |1 |7 |
|Other Staff |61 |1 |11 |
By the end of the 2009-2010 school year four teachers contracts were not renewed, two teachers left for other positions, one teacher returned to graduate school, one teacher left for personal reasons, one staff member left for personal reasons, four staff members contracts were not renewed, two staff positions were eliminated, three staff members left for other position, one staff member moved out of state and one staff member returned to graduate school.
|BOARD MEMBERS FOR THE 2009-10 SCHOOL YEAR |
|Name |Position on the Board |Committee affiliation(s) |Area of expertise and/or |- Number of terms served |
| | | |additional role at school|- Length of each term, including date of election |
| | | |(parent, staff member, |and expiration |
| | | |etc.) | |
|Carlton Watson |Chair/Sept 2004/2007 new bylaw |Finance (Organizational |Finance/Prior Parent |2yr 1st term election 2007, 2nd term, 3yrs will end |
| | |Viability) | |2012 |
|Suzanne Buglione |June 2009/SecClerk Dec 2009 |Parent and Family |Community Development |1st term 3yrs (see position) |
| | |Partnerships, Governance | | |
|Joanne Newcombe |Sept 2009/ViceChair Dec 2009 |Student Motivation, |Education |1st term 3yrs (see position) |
| | |Finance | | |
|Kevin Bradley |Sept 2009/Treasurer Dec 2009 |Parent and Family |Prior Parent |1st term 3yrs (see position) |
| | |Partnerships, Finance | | |
|Beverley Bell |Trustee/Oct 2009 |Student Motivation |Education |1st term 3yrs (see position) |
|Joseph Hungler |Trustee/Nov 2009 |Student Motivation, |Community Development |1st term 3yrs (see position) |
| | |Governance | | |
|Melissa Haffty |Trustee/Nov 2009 |Student Motivation |Parent |1st term 3yrs (see position) |
|Marianna Islam |Trustee/Dec 2009 |Student Motivation |Community Development |1st term 3yrs (see position) |
|Robert Ramirez |Trustee/Dec 2009 |Parent and Family |Parent |1st term 3yrs (see position) |
| | |Partnerships | | |
|Cheryl |Trustee/June 2010 |To be determined |Prior Staff/Special |1st term 3yrs (see position) |
|Tausky-Hollocher | | |Education | |
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