San Clemente High School

Demographics

Number of Students: 3147
Number Eligible for Free and Reduced Lunch: 11.5%
Percent of Limited English Proficient: 6.5%
Percent of Special Education: 8%
Racial/Ethnic Percentages:
White  (77%)
Black  (1%)
Hispanic  (16%)
Asian/Pacific Island  (2%)
Other  (4%)

Present Student Achievement Data in at least three points to demonstrate trends –The data report should always include the most recent school year and should always offer a basis of comparison

Scale: % at or above proficient California State Department of Education (CST)

Please comment on any aspect of the data that you believe is particularly significant.

San Clemente High School–and the Capistrano Unified School District–are committed to being a Professional Learning Community (PLC)–a culture that allows time for teachers to analyze data, discuss current “best practices,” and pursue new ideas for educating students. A PLC culture develops common assessments to monitor student mastery in order to focus on what students are learning. In a PLC culture, teachers work collaboratively, share successful lessons, and hold themselves accountable for results.

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

In February 2003, the principal, the assistant principal of guidance, and a District administrator presented the SCHS Professional Learning Community model at a national conference, the National Association of School Principals. Since that time, SCHS has regularly hosted day-long visits from high schools throughout California. Over 80 teachers from more than 12 schools have visited SCHS in the past three years to study the school’s many programs. SCHS believes it has become a PLC culture and is currently in Year Seven of its Ten-Year Plan to improve student performance. Since 2000, the Ten- Year Plan has focused on four fundamental questions, and all programs support these questions.

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

1. Monitoring student learning on a timely basis.

  What do we expect students to know?
Minimally, SCHS expects that all students will meet the expectations of the ESLRs, pass the High School Exit Exam and graduate with a diploma. The school also expects that all students will continue their education beyond high school; therefore, all students should experience a rigorous curriculum. To ensure that consistent rigor exists in classes of the same title, all departments regularly meet in core teams each Monday morning for 30 minutes to plan collaboratively. Departments have developed “Power Standards” to continuously focus the curriculum and instruction on the Academic Content Standards, and posters listing the Standards are displayed in all English, science, math, physical education/health, and history/social science classrooms. Core teams have also developed common assessments to measure student progress and address consistent rigor among courses of the same title.

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

What is the best pedagogy to ensure student learning?
The concept of the Professional Learning Community has encouraged SCHS staff to become “teacher-researchers.” Teachers studied James Stiegler, author of The Teaching Gap, Jim Collins, author of Good to Great, Rick DuFour, and other educational professionals. In fall 2002, the SCHS Leadership Team met with Rick DuFour in San Clemente to discuss the future vision of San Clemente High School. A seven-member team of SCHS staff then visited Adlai Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, Illinois twice–in spring 2003, and again in fall 2004. As a result of these visits and additional research, SCHS is implementing lesson sharing through Core Team collaboration and has redoubled its efforts to encourage students to enroll in the most challenging curriculum. During spring 2004, SCHS instituted “Placement Week” where English, math, science, and history/social science teachers placed their students in the most challenging classes they could handle for the following year. Over the past two years, this process has significantly increased the number of students enrolled in Pre-IB, AP, and IB courses. It has also greatly increased the number of RSP students who are now mainstreamed in collaboration classes in English, math, and government.

How will we know that students have learned?
CUSD is a data-driven school district and supports the efforts of SCHS to gather and analyze student data. Results of the CST, SAT, PSAT, ACT, CORE, CELDT, CAHSEE, AP, and IB tests are routinely analyzed by both the Leadership Team and department core teams. Because department core teams are developing common assessments to measure student progress, SCHS used Digital High School grant monies to purchase a new Scantron system that integrates data from common assessments so that core teams can make both curricular and instructional adjustments. 

3. Building teacher capacity to work as members of high performing collaborative teams that
    focus efforts on improved learning for all students.

What will we do if students are not learning?
SCHS has aggressively instituted a series of academic support programs to improve student learning, such as Mandatory Tutorial for students who are receiving one or more F’s. Additional tutoring occurs in the Freshman Mentor Program, AVID bi-weekly tutorials during class, Automotive Academy bi-weekly tutorials after school, and weekly Wednesday afternoon tutorials from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. in the school library. To ensure student success, the San Clemente Education Foundation, a pro-active group of staff and parents, raises over $100,000 annually to fund academic support programs for all students.

In order to address student learning in partnership with parents, SCHS has facilitated numerous parent meetings, including a Saturday morning meeting with parents of freshmen who earned one or more F’s on their first semester report card. To assist students who are having difficulty with entry-level mathematics, SCHS initiated Renaissance Math, a diagnostic/prescriptive math software program. A CAHSEE support class in English and math, scheduled as an elective and offered during the school day, provides additional instruction to seniors who have not passed the High School Exit Exam.

  List awards and recognitions your school has achieved
California Distinguished School 2007