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Solon City Schools

School Information

District Name: Solon City Schools
School Address: 33800 Inwood Rd. Solon, OH  44139
School Phone: 440.248.1600
School Fax: 440.248.7665
Principal:

Web Address: http://www.solonschools.org/

Demographics

Number of Students: 5188
Percent Eligible for Free and Reduced Lunch: 6.8%
Percent of Limited English Proficient: 2.7%
Percent of Special Education: 9.6%
Racial/Ethnic Percentages:

  • White: 70.4%
  • Black: 13.9%
  • Hispanic: 0.9%
  • Asian/Pacific Island: 11.6%
  • Other:

Student Achievement Data:

Grades K-4 (Arthur Road Elementary School, Lewis Elementary School, Parkside Elementary School, Roxbury Elementary School)


Percentage of students passing: School Scores/Comparison Scores
Grade: 3
Math
Reading
Year 2007
96/84.5
94.8/78.8
Year 2008
95.8/79.3
94.4/77.4
Year 2009
93/81.3
93.8/77.4
Year 2010
95/69
95/84
Percentage of students passing: School Scores/Comparison Scores
Grade: 4
Math
Reading
Writing
Year 2007
96.7/75.9
94.5/80
95.3/82.3
Year 2008
94.5/74.6
95.3/81.1
96.3/81.7
Year 2009
96.7/78.4
95.4/82
95.4/84.4
Year 2010
94/79
95/60
N/A

Grades 5-6 (Orchard Middle School)


Percentage of students passing: School Scores/Comparison Scores
Grade: 5
Math
Reading
Science
Social Studies
Year 2007 87.6/61.2 96.1/80 92/68 86.3/57.9
Year 2008 86.4/61.8 91.1/72.7 90.5/66.4 91.9/64.8
Year 2009 86.9/62.3 92.1/72 95.2/70.6 89.7/61.1
Year 2010 90/67 90/70 92/78 N/A
         
Percentage of students passing: School Scores/Comparison Scores
Grade: 6
Math
Reading
   
Year 2007 97.8/74 97.8/77.7    
Year 2008 94.6/76.6 91.6/79.7    
Year 2009 95/75.2 95.5/81.3    
Year 2010 97.5/85.9 98.6/73.4    

Grades 7-8 (Solon Middle School)


Percentage of students passing: School Scores/Comparison Scores
Grade: 7
Math
Reading
Writing
  
Year 2007 97.9/71.2 96.2/77.5 97.9/81.1  
Year 2008 96.5/68.8 97.5/77.2 99.5/85.7  
Year 2009 96.2/74.3 94.6/76.6 97.9/80.5  
Year 2010 96.3/72.7 95/75.3 N/A  
         
Percentage of students passing: School Scores/Comparison Scores
Grade: 8
Math
Reading
Science
Social Studies
Year 2007 97.1/71.5 98.1/80.2 91.4/62.7 88.5/49.3
Year 2008 97.2/72.8 98.4/79.4 93.5/62.2 91.2/53.3
Year 2009 97.1/70.6 96.6/72.4 95.5/62.8 90.3/51.5SD
Year 2010 96.4/72.7 98.2/81.7 93.9/74.2 N/A

Grades 9-12 (Solon High School)


Percentage of students passing: School Scores/Comparison Scores
Grade: 10
Math
Reading
Writing
Science
Social Studies
Year 2007
96.4/81.2
98/86.9
98.2/72.4
91.6/72.4
94.5/76.4
Year 2008
97.9/88.2
98.4/91.9
98.6/93
97/83.6
97.9/86.5
Year 2009
98.9/81.4
97.4/84.5
99.6/89.7
97.2/76
98.7/81.6
Year 2010
98.4/90.7
98.9/81.4
99.3/82.1
96.2/84.2
98/89.3

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

1. Monitoring student learning on a timely basis.

The structure we have implemented to monitor student learning on a timely basis is through common assessments and follow-up data meetings. All K-12 teams administer common assessments on a regular, on-going basis. Once the assessment is administered teachers meet (data meeting) to share results. All team members’ results are posted as well as the cumulative team results. Team members celebrate successes and collaboratively plan to act on problem areas. Data is regularly collected, reviewed and analyzed by all team members and then acted on collaboratively. When patterns of students experiencing difficulty are noted the students are entered into the Pyramid process which provides students more time and support to learn.

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

Grades K-4
At the K-4 level we have an extensive Pyramid of Interventions and Support process to intervene with student’s who require additional assistance learning.. Frequently, well-aligned formative assessments are used to assess individual students’ strengths and needs and to place them into well-designed interventions aimed at helping them catch up. This is done through a Reading, Writing and Math workshop model which provides teachers to differentiate instruction. In addition, every grade level has identified 30 minutes each day for learning support where there is No New Instruction.

Grades 5-6
At the 5-6 level we have an extensive Pyramid of Interventions and Support process to intervene with student’s who require additional assistance learning. Frequently, well-aligned formative assessments are used to assess individual students’ strengths and needs and to place them into well-designed interventions aimed at helping them catch up. This is done through a Reading, Writing and Math workshop model which provides teachers to differentiate instruction. In addition, each team has identified 30 minutes for learning support where there is No New Instruction each day as well as using an activity Period at the end of the day to provide students the additional time and support they need to learn and to extend and enrich those students who have already learned.

Grades 7-8
At the 7-8 level we have an extensive Pyramid of Interventions and Support process to intervene with student’s who require additional assistance learning. Frequently, well-aligned formative assessments are used to assess individual students’ strengths and needs and to place them into well-designed interventions aimed at helping them catch up. In addition, we are very excited about the capacity we are building to differentiate instruction in real-time. All 7th grade math and 8th grade science classes are using an electronic student response system to check on learning at least weekly. (Many of these teachers are using the system almost daily) Teachers collaborative develop weekly formative assessments, administer the formative assessment and then differentiate learning within the classroom. They collaboratively plan for re-teaching (intervention) for students who need more time and support and extension activities for those students who have already learned. We provide “Double Block” in Language Arts and Math. Students who experience difficulty learning can attend a second session with their Language Arts or Math teacher for additional instruction. Most students are assigned to the Double Block for a year or semester. We are beginning to make this process more fluid for short-term help.

9-12
At the 9-12 level we have an extensive Pyramid of Interventions and Support process to intervene with student’s who require additional assistance learning.. Frequently, well-aligned formative assessments are used to assess individual students’ strengths and needs and to place them into well-designed interventions aimed at helping them catch up. At the high school students needing additional time and support are assigned to the Academic Resource Center (ARC). Students who need ongoing help and support are assigned to a “Double Block” of instruction. At the high school Double Block in Algebra 1, Geometry and English are two consecutive periods and students are scheduled for the entire year. In addition, we are very excited about the capacity we are building to differentiate instruction in real-time. All Geometry, Science Investigations, Biology, and World History classes are using an electronic student response system to check on learning at least weekly. (Many of these teachers are using the system almost daily) Teachers collaboratively develop weekly formative assessments, administer the formative assessment and then differentiate learning within the classroom. They collaboratively plan for re-teaching (intervention) for students who need more time and support and extension activities for those students who have already learned.

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

Our mantra in Solon is “Every kid, every day”! We have been working on building our Professional Learning Community since 1996. Every team in the district has common planning time during the work day, sets a SMART Goal each year, follows team protocols for meeting time and many teachers have participated in Cognitive Coaching to help them work and collaborate together. Through our journey we have built capacity for team/collaboration in order to develop common assessments (formative and summative), analyze results of common assessments and/or plan differentiated instruction. Several years ago our teams identified power indicators, wrote success criteria, developed pacing guides and identified high leverage instructional activities. Although that work is revisited from time to time the foundation has been built. The State of Ohio will be adopting new standards in June 2010 so teams will have gap analysis and realignment work to do next year. In addition to common assessment work the team’s SMART Goal guides their time together.

List of Awards and Recognitions

The Solon Schools and Solon students have been recognized and in many ways in recent years, including the following:

  • The excellence of the Solon Schools is a primary reason why Money Magazine ranked Solon as one of the nation’s Best Communities to Live for 2009. “Solon’s biggest draw by far is its exceptional school system,” according to the ranking report. “A low student-teacher ratio and classes tailored to all abilities consistently place the district among the best in the state.”
  • The District was ranked No. 1 in education in Cleveland Magazine’s 2009 ranking of area suburbs. Solon has earned the No. 1 or No. 2 ranking for the past 9 years.  The education rankings were based on a complicated formula that includes points for Ohio Achievement Test results, graduation rates and other student data.
  • The Solon Schools have earned the highest designation for student achievement on the State of Ohio’s report card – Excellence with Distinction – every year the Department of Education has issued accountability rankings. Solon’s student achievement data has resulted in the district being ranked one of Ohio’s top three school districts every year the state has issued report cards based on the Performance Index Score, a weighted measure of student achievement. In fact, the Ohio Department of Education this year recognized the Solon Schools for earning its rating of Excellence with Distinction for 10 consecutive years. Solon’s student achievement data has resulted in the district being ranked one of Ohio’s top three school districts every year the state has issued report cards based on the Performance Index Score, a weighted measure of student achievement.
  • Four of the District’s schools – Solon High School, Arthur Road Elementary School, Lewis Elementary School and Parkside Elementary School – have been named U.S. No Child Left Behind Blue Ribbon Schools by the U.S. Department of Education. A fifth Solon School, Solon Middle School is nominated for the award in 2010.
  • The District’s two middle schools – Solon Middle School and Orchard Middle School – were selected as Ohio and National Middle Schools to Watch.
  • All seven Solon Schools have earned the status of State of Ohio Schools of Distinction. 
  • For an unprecedented third year in a row, Solon High School has won the prestigious Red Quill Award from ACT. Solon is one of only five schools in Ohio and 26 high schools in the Midwest to earn a Red Quill Award for 2009-2010 from the ACTs Midwest Regional Office. Most notably, Solon is one of only three high schools in the Midwest to receive the award three consecutive years. The Red Quill Award recognizing top performing high schools that are implementing innovative approaches to improve curriculum and have shown consistent growth in student ACT scores over time.
  • Solon High School math and AP computer science teacher Daniel McKeen was named the 2010 Ohio AP teacher of the Year by the Siemens Foundation and the College Board.
  • Solon High School was cited in 2009 as one of the top 604 high schools in the nation by U.S. News and World Report.  The magazine’s ranking of the nation’s high schools was conducted in collaboration with School Evaluation Services, an education and data research and analysis business run by Standard & Poor’s that provides education data for parents online.
  • Solon High School was recognized by Newsweek magazine as one of the top 300 high schools in the United States, based on students’ participation in Advanced Placement courses and exams and the number of graduating seniors.  In 2009, 1,415 Solon High School students took 593 AP tests. Eighty-one percent of those students earned grades of 3 or higher on the exams, qualifying them for college credits. The 81% passage rate is more than 25% higher than the national average.
  • The College Board, which administers the Advanced Placement program, recognized 228 Solon High School students as AP Scholars for 2009. For the past six years, a Solon High School student has been recognized as one of Ohio’s top two AP Scholars.
  • A Solon High School senior was named as a U.S. Presidential Scholar in 2009.  This is the school’s third Presidential Scholar in the last seven years and the fifth since 1990.
  • The Solon High School class of 2010 includes 33 national merit semi-finalists and commended students.
  • Ninety-five percent of students in the class of 2009 continued their education at a college or university. Collectively, they received more than $4 million in scholarships. In addition, an all-time high 50 percent of 2009 Solon High School graduates received honor’s diplomas; 78 percent of class members earned honor or merit roll status.
  • The Solon High School and Solon Middle School Science Olympiad teams both won the 2010 state championships and will compete at nationals. The middle school team has won the National Championship 2008 and 2009. The high school team has finished in the top 10 in the nation for 13 of the last 14 years.

Solon’s Response to the Criteria of a Model PLC:

1. Evidence of a Commitment to Learning for All Students

1a. Teachers in our schools work in collaborative teams to build shared knowledge regarding state standards, district curriculum guides, the content and format of high-stakes assessments, and the expectations of teachers at the next level in order to clarify the essential knowledge and skills all students must acquire.

Every K-12 teacher in the Solon City Schools is a member of a collaborative content grade level team. Each team has identified the power indicators for their course or grade level content area, written success criteria for the power indicators and have developed common assessments to measure these indicators. All of our work is aligned to the Ohio Academic Content Standards. Evidence of this work is recorded in pacing guides, curriculum documents and common assessments.

1b. Collaborative teams of teachers have clarified the specific proficiency standards students must achieve on each skill and the criteria they will use in assessing each student. They have practiced applying the criteria to ensure consistent, reliable assessment of student learning. They help students understand the criteria and students use the criteria to monitor their own learning.

Each team has identified the power indicators for their course or grade level content area, written success criteria for the power indicators and have developed common assessments to measure these indicators. All of our work is aligned to the Ohio Academic Content Standards. “I Can Statements” have been developed which state the power indicator in a student friendly form and are used throughout instruction. After the administrative of every common assessment, teams meet to publicly share their results to celebrate successes and plan intervention for students who need more time and support for learning.  Evidence of this work: pacing guides, curriculum documents, common assessments and I Can Statements.

1c. Our school has a process for carefully monitoring each student’s learning on an ongoing basis. This frequent monitoring of student learning includes common assessments created by the collaborative team of teachers responsible for the group of students.

All teams K-12 have collaboratively developed end of unit common assessments. The district has an electronic common assessment data system used by teachers. Teachers enter their data electronically prior to their team’s data meeting to review the common assessment student data. At the meeting each teacher’s data is publically shared. Teachers reflect on the results and use the results to plan further instruction, if needed. In many areas we have built capacity for weekly formative assessments. These teams meet to collaboratively develop weekly formative assessments and plan for instructional differentiation for the results. In other words, an intervention is planned for those students who need more help and support learning and an extension or enrichment is planned for students who have demonstrated they have learned. We are piloting electronic student response systems at the middle and high school to capture their formative assessment data in real-time.

1d. Our school has a process for responding when students experience difficulty learning (rather than leaving it to the individual classroom teacher to resolve). This coordinated process ensures students receive additional time and support for learning in a way that is timely, directive (rather than invitational) and systematic. Students do not miss new instruction to receive this additional support.

K-4
At the K-4 level we have an extensive Pyramid of Interventions and Support process to intervene with student’s who require additional assistance learning. Frequently, well-aligned formative assessments are used to assess individual students’ strengths and needs and to place them into well-designed interventions aimed at helping them catch up. This is done through a Reading, Writing and Math workshop model which allows teachers to differentiate instruction within the instructional block. In addition, every grade level has identified 30 minutes each day for learning support where there is No New Instruction.

Grades 5-6
At the 5-6 level we have an extensive Pyramid of Interventions and Support process to intervene with student’s who require additional assistance learning. Frequently, well-aligned formative assessments are used to assess individual students’ strengths and needs and to place them into well-designed interventions aimed at helping them catch up. This is done through a Reading, Writing and Math workshop model which allows teachers to differentiate instruction within the instructional block. In addition, each team has identified 30 minutes for learning support where there is No New Instruction each day as well as using an activity Period at the end of the day to provide students the additional time and support they need to learn and to extend and enrich those students who have already learned.

Grades 7-8
At the 7-8 level we have an extensive Pyramid of Interventions and Support process to intervene with student’s who require additional assistance learning. Frequently, well-aligned formative assessments are used to assess individual students’ strengths and needs and to place them into well-designed interventions aimed at helping them catch up. In addition, we are very excited about the capacity we are building to differentiate instruction in real-time. All 7th grade math and 8th grade science classes are using an electronic student response system to check on learning minimally once per week. (Many of these teachers are using the system almost daily) Teachers collaboratively develop weekly formative assessments, administer the formative assessment and then differentiate learning within the classroom. They collaboratively plan for re-teaching (intervention) for students who need more time and support and extension activities for those students who have already learned. We provide “Double Block” in Language Arts and Math. Students who experience difficulty learning can attend a second session with their Language Arts or Math teacher for additional instruction. Most students are assigned to the Double Block for a year or semester. We are beginning to make this process more fluid for short-term help.

9-12
At the 9-12 level we have an extensive Pyramid of Interventions and Support process to intervene with student’s who require additional assistance learning.. Frequently, well-aligned formative assessments are used to assess individual students’ strengths and needs and to place them into well-designed interventions aimed at helping them catch up. At the high school students needing additional time and support are assigned to the Academic Resource Center (ARC). Students who need ongoing help and support are assigned to a “Double Block” of instruction. At the high school Double Block in Algebra 1, Geometry and English are two consecutive periods and students are scheduled for the entire year. In addition, we are very excited about the capacity we are building to differentiate instruction in real-time. All Geometry, Science Investigations, Biology, and World History classes are using an electronic student response system to check on learning at least weekly. (Many of these teachers are using the system almost daily) Teachers collaboratively develop weekly formative assessments, administer the formative assessment and then differentiate learning within the classroom. They collaboratively plan for re-teaching (intervention) for students who need more time and support and extension activities for those students who have already learned.

1e. Our school has a process for enriching and extending learning for students who are proficient.

K-4
At the K-4 level through daily, ongoing instructional differentiation is provided through Reading, Writing and Math workshops. The workshop model allows teachers to differentiate instruction daily for students who need enrichment or extension.

5-6
At the 5-6 level through daily, ongoing instructional differentiation is provided through Reading, Writing and Math workshops. The workshop model allows teachers to differentiate instruction daily for students who need enrichment or extension.

7-8
At the 7-8 level students have the opportunity to accelerate their learning by choosing advanced courses. For example, each year we have more students taking Algebra 1 in 7th grade which means they were able to accelerate through 7th and 8th grade math. Through our student response system pilot we are building capacity for teachers to provide real-time instructional differentiation to better extend and enrich the learning for all students.

9-12
At the 9-12 level students have the opportunity to accelerate their learning by choosing advanced courses. In addition, through our student response system pilot we are building capacity for teachers to provide real-time instructional differentiation to better extend and enrich the learning for all students.

2. Evidence of Collaborative Culture

2a. Teachers are organized into collaborative teams by course or subject area. Members of teams work interdependently to achieve common goals for which they are mutually accountable.

Every teacher in Solon is a member of a collaborative team. Teams set SMART Goals each year to address ways to improve instruction in their course or content area based on data from the previous year. In addition, there is ongoing data analysis with the review of each common assessment where the team collaboratively acts on the data…planning intervention or next instructional steps based on the data.

2b. Teachers are provided with time to collaborate during the contractual day.

K-4
All grade level teams have common planning time which allows them 60 minutes of collaboration time daily.

5-6
All teams have common planning time which allows them 100 minutes of collaboration daily.

7-8
Content area teams have common planning time

9-12
All same course teachers have common planning time.

2c. Teachers use their collaborative time to engage in collective inquiry regarding issues directly related to student learning.

All teams have collaborative time protocols which focus their work on collective inquiry to increase student learning. The protocol differs at different grade levels (elementary vs. high school) however, all teams are focused on collaborating to increase student learning. They meet to make changes, to improve teaching practices and to evaluate the success of these changes. Protocols and collaborative time is monitored by building principals.

3. Evidence of a Focus on Results

3a. Each team has identified SMART Goals that are aligned with one or more school goals. The SMART goals focus on student learning and require evidence of improved student learning in order to be accomplished.

All K-12 teams meet to review their previous year’s student achievement data and set a goal focused on what will most improve learning for their students. Principals meet quarterly with teams to review progress toward the goal. At the K-6 level principals meet in June to share the goals their team’s have worked on and the progress made. We use this as research and development to learn what teams have learned throughout the year that might benefit other teams and students across the district.

3b. Teams regard ongoing analysis of results as a critical element in the teaching and learning process. They gather evidence of student learning from a variety of sources to inform and improve their individual and collective practice as part of a process of continuous improvement.

All K-12 teams begin the year with a review of their previous year’s summative data. Teams meet quarterly to review the progress of students on Watch Lists. Each principal, in cooperation with their building leadership team develops a Watch List (at risk students) prior to the opening of the school year. Criteria for Watch List students are:

  1. Grades 3-12 Ohio Achievement Assessment or Ohio Graduation Test failures (previous year).
  2. K-2 Diagnostic failures (previous year).
  3. K-6 Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA) didn’t meet end of year benchmark.
  4. K-12 Pyramid Students (previous year).

Bi-quarterly (K-6) and quarterly (7-12) Watch List meeting ensure the Pyramid process is working for those students and learning gaps are being eliminated.  Teams meet after the administration of each common assessment to review and act on the data. In addition, we are building capacity for many teams to meet weekly to review and act on formative assessment data.

3c. Each teacher receives frequent feedback regarding the success of his or her students in achieving the standard using agreed-upon assessments in comparison o the other students attempting to achieve the same standard. Transparency regarding results helps teachers learn from one another.

All common assessment data is shared with the team. The team reviews each teacher’s data as well as the team composite data. Trust has been built and capacity has been developed for teachers to talk openly with one another about what strategies were used when different results are noticeable. Team members work collaboratively to act on their common assessment data results.

3d. Student achievement in the school is clearly improving across the curriculum. High-performing schools are able to sustain their achievement over time.

The data shows we have been able to sustain our achievement over time. Since 2004 when the State of Ohio has ranked schools using a Performance Index rating the Solon City Schools have ranked in the top 3 our of 611 districts. In addition, most of our buildings have been recognized as Blue Ribbon Schools and Schools of Distinction.