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Amherst Regional High School
SCHOOL COUNCIL
School Improvement Plan

Outcome Goals

  1. Increase the Academic Achievement of All Students

    Measures: the number and percentage of students earning Ds and Fs in the high school; the number and percentage of students of color taking honors classes; beginning and end of course assessments; assessment tools based on the rubrics for the Expectations for Students learning; student feedback forms to survey students in each class.
    1. Proposed: Reduce the achievement gap between students of color and white students. Increase the achievement of underachieving students of color to be equal to their peers. Increase the rate at which students of color take honors and AP courses successfully.
    2. Narrow the gap between college preparatory and honors course work to ensure that each student is academically challenged by the courses they take. Alternative: Ensure that each student is challenged academically in high school. Develop strategies to engage students who feel that college prep classes are too easy and honors classes too difficult. Make sure that we are reaching students who find college prep classes are too difficult. Develop and use strategies that motivate and challenge students with a wide range of abilities, interests and prior experiences in the same classroom. Increase the understanding and use of strategies to individualize curriculum and instruction for students.
    3. Clarify the rationale for and distinction between college prep and honors classes Develop clear and consistent rationales and expectations for college prep work and for honors work. Help students to understand the reasons to take college prep or honors classes in each discipline. Review the need for honors classes in each curricular area with special attention to the ninth grade curriculum.
    4. Communicate clear and high expectations for all courses: college prep and honors Develop a clear rubric for high achievement in college prep and honors classes. Develop strategies for communicating these expectations to students. Articulate where and how the associated skills are taught. Seek out and eliminate or make explicit assumptions of what is expected of students.
    5. Improve the registration process for incoming ninth grade students to ensure students and families can make appropriate decisions about courses Ensure that incoming students and families have accurate and thorough information and understanding of the courses students will take in high school, the process of course selection, the rationale and expectations for college prep and honors classes, how to evaluate which courses make the most sense for a student, and accurate information about the students’ strengths and areas for growth.
    6. Continue to develop programs and structures that support students who want to take academic risks Ensure that each student has the support system necessary to achieve academic success. Continue to financially support programs and to expand them where there is greater need than space available. Accurately identify students who should be achieving at a higher level and provide appropriate support. Develop individual student success plans for each student who is underachieving.
    7. Collect and analyze data regarding student achievement. Apply the results of this and other research to develop best practices to increase student achievement Disaggregate student achievement data by race. Continue to build on the relationship with the Minority Student Achievement Network and other professional organizations as well as the skills and talent of existing staff to identify best practices, document those practices and share among high school staff.

  2. Promote an inclusive school environment with respect to race, culture, national origin, class, gender, sexual orientation, or disability.

    1. Develop and implement more curriculum that reflects the history, culture and contributions of people of color
    2. Strive towards a racial composition of the faculty and staff that reflect the composition of the student body
    3. Continue to offer courses that reflect the interests of both college and work bound students
    4. Improve outreach to parents and families

Process Goals

  1. Improve student/staff ratio

    1. Reduce the number of classes with over 25 students
    2. Reduce the average class size to 22 or fewer students per class in each of the major academic departments
    3. Reduce college prep and heterogeneous classes to average less than 22 students per class in each of the major academic departments
    4. Increase the number of elective offerings to decrease the number of students taking Directed Study
    5. Maintain existing services to students
    6. Develop structures to ensure that every student is well known as a learner by the adults working with him/her in the high school
    7. Explore the possibilities of a freshman advisory and other strategies which connect each student with a caring adult
    8. Explore the possibilities of alternative educational choices for students who are not engaged by the traditional high school environment (e.g. a school within the school or career pathways)
    9. Evaluate the efficacy of the trimester schedule

  2. Measure progress towards fulfilling the mission and learning outcomes

    1. Inform all constituencies of the mission and learning outcomes
    2. Make the mission and learning outcomes relevant to students
    3. Develop rubrics to measure progress

  3. Involve students in decisions regarding all aspects of life at the high school

    1. Inform students about Student Government and the election process
    2. Publicize open meetings and the process for student involvement
    3. Include student representation on School Council, School Committee, BAMSS committee
    4. Improve opportunities for students to provide feedback to teachers concerning learning experience

  4. Support the role of the principal as a leader for learning

    1. Address the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) concerns
    2. Structure the role to make the job more manageable
    3. Clarify expectations of the principal and communicate to the community