Papillon-La Vista South High School

School Information

School Name: Papillon-La Vista South School
School Address:10799 Highway 370
                         Papillon , NE 68046
School Phone:  (402) 829-4600
School Fax:  (402) 827-1330
Principal:  Dr. Enid Schonewise
Principal E-Mail:  eschonewise@paplv.esu3.org

Demographics

Number of Students:  1422
Number eligible for Free and Reduced Lunch:   8.6%
Percent of Limited English Proficient:  .5%
Percent of Special Education:  9%
Racial/Ethnic Percentages:

• White  (90%)
• Black  (4%)
• Hispanic  (3%)
• Asian/Pacific Island  (2%)
• Other (1%)

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). 

	Math % Failing Grades During Year	Writing Scores/State Average	Writing % Failing Grades During Year
2003-2004	8.8	89.96/87.39	7.7
2004-2005	5.3	93.22/89.52	7.4
2005-2006	2.7	93.20/90.0	3.8
2006-2007	3.0	97/91.04	2.7
2007-2008	2.80	99/12/94.30	2.88

	Science % Failing Grades During Year	Social Studies % Failing Grades During Year	ACT Composite/State Average
2003-2004	5.7	5.5	22.3/21.7
2004-2005	3.3	3.3	22.5/21.8
2005-2006	2.0	2.0	22.9/21.9
2006-2007	1.7	1.3	23.1/22.1
2007-2008	1.76	1.77	23.4/22.1

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

For math, writing (English), science, and social studies, the numbers are percentage of failing grades assigned each school year.  The pyramid began its initial phases during the 2004-2005 school year.  The state writing column reflects the progress our students have done on Nebraska’s state writing test given to all 4th, 8th, and 11th grade students.  The “other” column lists our overall ACT composite.

Perhaps most interesting with these numbers is the fact that we are a growing school. 2003-2004 was the first year our school was open and very small numbers. Each year we have continued to grow. Respectively, the total enrollment has grown in the following manner in our first four years: 1,073, 1,254, 1,353, and 1,427. Despite this growth in attendance, we have seen significant gains in the areas listed above.

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

1. How we monitor student performance:

We monitor student performance in three different ways.  First, teachers monitor what homework gets done on a daily basis and we make sure all of the work is done by every student.  Daily homework is provided in order for students to be able to practice and review essential skills necessary to the class.  Because zeros are the last resort at our school, teachers refer students to an administrator before incomplete work becomes “unaccepted”.  Teachers try their own interventions with the student first, then refer to the administrative office.  Once the teacher works with the student and the work remains incomplete, the student is then sent to the administrative office where he/she receives an intervention.

Second, our school utilizes a district report that indicates all students who are failing a class by running a credit check list each week.  This is an automatically computer generated report that indicates which students are failing which classes.  On the first day of the week, each teacher informs students if they are on the “credit check list”.  By appearing on the list just once, students are given fewer freedoms throughout the building.  Students appearing on the credit check list for multiple weeks or for multiple classes will begin to receive special counselor attention.  Students receive continued attention as long as they remain on the weekly credit check list. 

This list is reviewed and discussed in the third monitoring system each Monday morning.  Administrators, counselors, and other support personnel meet weekly to discuss students who are on the list and to discuss the interventions that are being put into place.   

 

2. The school employs various interventions:

Academic Study Time

For students being sent to the office, a 30-minute Academic Support Time is assigned.  Students have 24 hours to serve this quiet study center before or after school.  For students not getting their homework done within the twenty-four hours, Tuesday/Thursday/ Saturday School is assigned.

Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday School

Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday School is an academic study session where students are assigned to attend school from 7:00-9:00 PM on either Tuesday or Thursday night or 8:00-10:00 AM on Saturday morning.  In the past, the school utilized Saturday morning for only discipline infractions.  Students assigned to this would typically indicate work schedules and other dilemmas that prevented them from being able to attend on the weekend.  The additions of Tuesday and Thursday night school were created, thus eliminating most scheduling conflicts.  The addition of academic referrals and student tutors was a major complement to this program.   

After School/Homework Opportunity Club

After School/Homework Opportunity Club is an academic study hall where students can be assigned to complete missing work, get extra academic support, and take assessments.  Every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, a staff member is available from 3:30 to 4:30.

Success Study Hall

Through the course of the semester, a student’s counselor or administrator may reassign him/her to the Success Study Hall from regular study hall.  The purpose of this study hall is to provide an atmosphere that will be conducive to alleviating any current academic concerns.  As a resource, a teacher and peer tutors who are part of National Honor Society and/or the High Ability Learner program are available and in attendance every hour.  Once the student takes care of any academic concerns, he/she may request to be reassigned to the regular study hall with the referring counselor or administrator after a minimum of two weeks. 

 

3. Collaborative Teams:

Teachers at Papillion-La Vista South High School are highly involved in several professional learning teams.  Our Curriculum Toolbox Teams, Classroom Assessment Teams, Titan Study Teams, and School Improvement Team, are all designed to use the expertise of our teachers to improve student learning.
The Curriculum Toolbox Teams were established in our district to develop K-12 plans for carrying out curriculum development in the district.  There are now 13 Curriculum Toolbox committees, district wide, that involve teachers from each department in curriculum development activities.  They meet regularly to design and develop our district curriculum.  Papillion-La Vista South teacher serve an integral role in this process as they serve on or chair many of the committees.

Our Classroom Assessment Teams, composed of teachers throughout the district, are linked to our Curriculum Toolbox activities and provide a measurable link to student learning.  These teams collaborate to develop and make adjustments to our classroom assessments.  Our classroom assessments assess how effectively the curriculum is taught and the data can then be used by our teachers to determine mastery or areas that need to be re-taught.  All core teachers use our assessments to aid in instruction and ultimately improve achievement. 

Every teacher in our building is a member of a Titan Learning Team, which is our version of DuFour’s professional learning community.  The Titan Learning Team provides teachers opportunities to discuss curriculum, instruction, assessment, differentiation, and what to do when students don’t learn what they have taught.  With district office support and creative scheduling, Titan teams composed of teachers who are teaching the same subjects have been able to meet every Wednesday morning for 50 minutes.  Perhaps the most powerful component of this team is how each discusses the results from various common formative and summative assessments and determines ways to improve classroom instruction. 

Our School Improvement Planning Team began with a new model in 2002-2003.  The “SIP” Teams are conducted by every school in our district.  The team uses student performance data to make action plans for improved student learning.  The work form the Curriculum Toolbox Teams, Classroom Assessment Teams, and Titan Study Teams all provide materials and data for our school improvement team to make decisions to improve student learning.  The “SIP” Team sets our building goals, which drive our process.
Through these four teams;  Curriculum Toolbox Teams, Classroom Assessments, Titan Learning Teams, and School Improvement Planning Teams, our certified staff is working together to improve student learning.

 

4. Awards and recognition:

We have presented our pyramid intervention plan at the secondary principal’s national conference in Las Vegas and at a Professional Learning Community Institute in Council Bluffs and will be published in an upcoming Principal Leadership journal.