James Madison High School

School Information

School Name:  James Madison High School
School Address:  2500 James Madison Dr.
                        Vienna, VA 22181
School Phone:  703-319-2300
School Fax:  703-319-2397
Principal:  Mark Merrell
Principal E-Mail:  Mark.Merrell@fcps.edu

Demographics
Number of Students:  1,895
Number eligible for Free and Reduced Lunch:  5%
Percent of Limited English Proficient:  10%
Percent of Special Education:  12%
Racial/Ethnic Percentages

• White  (74%)
• Black  (4%)
• Hispanic  (6%)
• Asian/Pacific Island  (11%)
• Other  (5%)

Present Student Achievement Data in at least three points to demonstrate trends – for example, three consecutive years or the first, third, and fifth years. The data report should always include the most recent school year and should always offer a basis of comparison (for example, state scores, national scores, similar SES schools).

 

Madison High % of Students Passing	2003-2004 School/State Average	2004-2005 School/State Average	2005-2006 School/State Average
English	96%/79%	94%/81%	96%/86%
Mathematics	89%/83%	93%/84%	92%/77%

 

The data below is based on Virginia’s Standards of Learning exams. The numbers given are the percentages of Madison students who passed the tests compared with pass rates for all of Fairfax County (of which Madison is a part).

 

	Geometry	Reading	Writing
Year	Madison/Fairfax Cty.	Madison/Fairfax Cty.	Madison/Fairfax Cty.
2003-04	92/88	96/94	95/91
2004-05	92/88	96/94	96/93
2005-06	94/88	98/96	97/93

 

	Biology	World Studies 1
Year	Madison/Fairfax County	Madison/Fairfax County
2003-04	91/80	97/90
2004-05	94/81	97/88
2005-06	95/80	98/89

 

Please feel free to comment on any aspect of the data that you feel is particularly significant.

Madison’s SOL pass rates exceed Fairfax County’s in each exam and for each year studied.

 

Please present any additional information that indicates your efforts to build a professional learning community have had a positive impact upon students and/or teachers.

Adjustment to High School: Madison has a variety of programs that attempt to speed up the successful adjustment of our 9th graders to high school. We run a full day 9th orientation as well as a 2 week summer academic readiness session. In addition, all 9th graders have a required 35 minute study period every day for the first 5 weeks in which organizational and study skills are introduced.

Student Assistance period: A 35 minute period of study, research or remediation that allows students to connect with their teachers or other students. More on that later.

Cross curricular participation: Due to the collaborative teams, there has been interactivity between academic departments as well as strong development of vertical integration within the same academic departments

Community participation: A number of PLC principles that were implemented at Madison (e.g., our student assistance period) are now in place or being developed in our feeder schools. This has allowed our entire community to embrace PLC principles as a common language as well as allow for a smooth transition from one grade level to another.

 

Please elaborate upon strategies you have found to be effective in any of the following areas:

1. Monitoring student learning on a timely basis.

Common assessments: Each PLC Team has come up with a number of common assessments that are used to assess the progress of each student's learning (e.g., “gatekeepers” in Math that need to be passed before moving on to the next level).

Teacher collaboration: Results of assessments are quickly graded and calibrated so that all students in a particular academic area are progressing at the same rate.

2. Creating systems of intervention to provide students with additional time and support for learning.

Student Assistance Period (SAP): The foundation of our intervention efforts-this is a daily, relatively unique,  unstructured 35 minute period in which students can perform a variety of (primarily academic) tasks. Research, making up work, conferring with teachers, and socializing are among the activities that take place during this period. Both students and teachers have commented on how effective this period has become for both academic and personal remediation and enrichment.

Academic Intervention: Students who are academically unsuccessful are required to attend SAP with their subject area teacher for remediation. In addition, students who are particularly unsuccessful are required to attend academic support groups with the counselors as well as be referred for extra intervention by various school officials.

3. Building the capacity of teachers to work as members of high performing collaborative teams who focus the efforts of their team on improved learning for students.

PLC Teams: Each teacher is a member of a small subject area team (e.g., U.S.History) that essentially makes all the curriculum decisions for that subject area. These teams meet weekly, and decisions such as scope and sequence, common assessments, and content are all made by that PLC Team.

Master schedule: Our master schedule is constructed such that all teachers in a specific academic area (e.g., English, science) have the same planning period. This allows teachers the freedom to not only meet and consult with their PLC teams on a regular basis but also to work with other members of their department in planning and implementing departmental initiatives.