Whittier Union High School District

District Information

District Name: Whittier Union High School District
School Address:  9401 S. Painter Ave, Whittier, CA 90605
School Phone: 562.698.8121 ext. 1020
School Fax: 562.693.4136
Superintendent: Sandy Thorstenson
Superintendent E-mail: sandy.thorstenson@wuhsd.k12.ca.us
Web Address: http://www.wuhsd.k12.ca.us/whittieruhsd/site/default.asp

Demographics

Number of Students: 13,670 (grades 9-12)
Number eligible for Free and Reduced Lunch: 69%
Percent of Limited English Proficient: 12%
Percent of Special Education:  9%
Racial/Ethnic Percentages:

White: 12.2%
Black: 1.4%
Hispanic: 82.7%
Asian: 1.4%
Other: 2.1%

High Schools in District:

California High School
Frontier High School
La Serna High School
Pioneer High School
Santa Fe High School
Whittier High School
Sierra Vista Alternative High School

Student Achievement Data:

	% ELA CAHSEE Pass Rate			% Math CAHSEE Pass Rate
	WUHSD	LA County	CA State	WUHSD	LA County	CA State
2002/03	80	75	78	57	52	59
2003/04	78	70	75	77	68	74
2004/05	79	68	74	80	72	76
2005/06	78	73	77	78	70	75
2006/07	79	73	77	77	70	76
2007/08	80	76	79	82	74	78
2008/09	81	77	79	85	77	80
2009/10	82	78	81	87	78	81

 

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

Growth in student achievement in the Whittier Union High School District is seen on multiple measures at each and every high school. All five comprehensive high schools, representing different communities and demographics, have demonstrated significant improvement on state standardized tests, student grades and the number of students meeting college entrance requirements. For example, the district’s overall growth in California’s “Academic Performance Index” (API) has grown from 635 in 2004 to 765 in 2010. All five comprehensive high schools have improved over that time period, from Pioneer High (106 point improvement, lowest in the district) to Whittier High (150 point improvement, highest in the district). In addition, the notorious “Achievement Gap” has narrowed significantly in the district, with achievement levels of both ethnic minorities and socio-economically disadvantaged students showing the greatest gains overall.

 

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

Virtually every measure we have access to indicates that the use of Professional Learning Communities is having a most positive impact upon students and teachers.

Consider the following:
- Districtwide API has improved by 130 points since 2004
- In 2005, the percentage of students “on track to graduate” after their sophomore year was 75.4%. In 2010 that number was 86.9%. Similar increases were seen in both 9th grade and 11th grade.
- The number of Advanced Placement Exams which scored a 3 or higher increased from 973 in 2007 to 1069 in 2010. When compared to 2004 the number of successful A.P. Exams taken have increased by 251 (Participation in the AP program has nearly doubled since 2001, despite declining enrollment)
- In 2005-2006, the “percent proficient” as measured by the California High School Exit Exam was 47% in English – Language Arts, and 45% in math. Those numbers increased to 54% and 60%, respectively, in 2009-10
- The percentage of students meeting University of California/ California State University entrance requirements increased from 27.7% in 2006 to 44.4% in 21010.

Most impressively, these increased levels of student achievement have come at a time when the percentage of our students identified in the subgroup of “Socio–Economically Disadvantaged” increased from 32% in 2002 to 80% in 2010.

 

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

1. Monitoring student learning on a timely basis.

Common assessments are the key to effective monitoring of student learning in the Whittier High School District. That essential piece, however, is not the only means of monitoring student progress, nor is it done in isolation. In 2005, the Superintendent put forth in her Day One message the expectation for each school to develop four site-based Common Assessments to supplement four district Common Assessments. All of these assessments, both site-based or district, were developed through collaboration and consensus of content area teachers and aligned with the content assessed on the California Standards Tests.

Site-based Common Assessments are typically unit exams which are administered approximately every 2-3 weeks during the school year, supplemented by Quarterly District Common Assessments. Through the use of a web-based assessment management tool, students’ responses on Common Assessments are compiled, disaggregated by standard, sorted by teacher and by period, then shared and discussed among the teachers of that subject. Based upon the findings, certain topics are re-taught and re-tested, and questions for future tests are agreed upon, along with any curriculum adjustments that need to be made. In addition, the discussion of the results from the Common Assessments serves to improve instruction through the sharing of effective pedagogy among peers.

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

The development of a systems approach, rather than isolated efforts, has led to the development of a Pyramid of Intervention at each school site to ensure that student support is timely, required, and systematic. Essential thematic areas of each pyramid include a focus on freshman, guidance activities for student support, time for student support, and prevention efforts. Some of the strategies that focus on the success of freshman include Parent Partnership, Link Crew, Freshman First Day, and the Bridge Program. Guidance activities expanded with Campus Watch, partnerships with outside agencies, and the addition of new roles. Along with the “Freshman First Day” program, we have provided incoming students with upper classman “mentors”. Our guidance programs have developed a proactive approach to serve students who are facing social and emotional issues, and to ensure that post-graduate plans are monitored and adjusted, as needed. Management of the multitude of intervention and prevention strategies for at-risk students required each site to have an Intervention Specialist whose work was supported by an additional clerk position.

Exemplary modeling the development of a healthy balance between district centralization and site autonomy, the Superintendent put forth the expectation that all schools would develop schedules that: (1) provided students with additional time and support, as needed; and, (2) provided teachers the requisite time for collaboration. Each of our five comprehensive high schools has developed a tutorial system that is based upon the mantra of “required, not invited;” however, each of the tutorials take on a different structure based upon the particular needs of the school. At La Serna High School, for example, the tutorial system is incorporated into lunch. Students who meet specified criteria regarding grades and other measures are able to enjoy an extended lunch. Those students whose grades fall short are required to spend a portion of that lunch in a study hall or in a subject-specific tutorial, depending upon each student’s needs. A different structure is in place at Whittier High, where a 20 minute tutorial comes at the conclusion of each class period (during a block schedule, with 100 minute periods). Each teacher determines who will stay for the tutorial, based upon completion of work or demonstrated understanding of the standards being taught. Those students who meet the established criteria are able to enjoy and extended break or an extended lunch.

Continuing to focus on student success has led to the development of prevention strategies evidenced in the Master Schedule, including the addition of support classes at all of Whittier Union’s high schools to again provide required, not invited, support for struggling students. Incoming students whose reading scores fall below established standards are automatically placed in a Reading Enrichment course. Those coming to us who have failed to meet middle school graduation standards are placed into a “Guided Study” summer program and “elective” course in the fall. Additionally, those students who fail to pass, or are in danger of failing to pass, the California High School Exit Exam are placed into a support class specifically designed for that purpose.

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

The Whittier Union High School District has realized that effective teacher leadership is the most critical component of improving a school’s culture. Consequently, considerable efforts have been made to build teacher capacity to work collaboratively, and to take responsibility for student achievement. The dramatic increase in the development, administration, and analysis of Common Assessments, as well as the prevention and intervention strategies implemented at each site, required new roles to be developed, including Intervention Coordinator and clerk, Link Crew Coordinator and Assistants, Site Assessment Techs, Course Leads, and a revised Department Chair job description. Organizational capacity increased through developing teacher leadership through a culture of inquiry.

Shared leadership empowered staff, who assumed new roles and shared power, authority, and decision-making. As we embarked upon the development and implementation of common assessments, we realized that the traditional department leadership structure we had in place would not enable us to achieve the desired results. Consequently, we added “Course Lead” positions for each of the core classes we offered. This provided another teacher in each department with the responsibility of ensuring that common assessments were effectively created, implemented and analyzed by all teachers of that subject. Those teachers have been provided with training and assistance to help them oversee the collaboration more effectively. At Santa Fe High, for example, Meetings are held on a several times annually with all course leads, at which time training is provided on establishing guidelines and norms for meetings, and issues and concerns are discussed among all Course Leads. In addition, a part time position was created with the express purpose of assisting all Course Leads and administrators in organizing effective collaborative environments. Increased individual and organizational capacity resulted in improved student learning as staff grew professionally and worked together to achieve goals.

The structural use of time and communication procedures, along with collegial relationships instilled feelings of respect, trust, and norms of continuous collective inquiry. Student achievement data, including common assessment results, California Standards Test results, and grade distributions, are shared on a regular basis with classroom instructors. Several times each year teacher representatives from each of the schools meet at what is referred to as our “Best Practices Dinners.” During these meetings teachers from each of our campuses share “best practices” that have led to the commendable results. The developments of lateral structures, such as the Best Practices Dinners, helped to overcome the variability found within the district and cement a common understanding of effective instruction and intervention. Data is transparent and used to guide improvements to student learning, not to compare one school site to another. Shared personal practice facilitated collective responsibility for student learning and success. Teachers shared with one another and developed a culture of support and trust that evoked personal investments in student learning and moved them to enact changes that addressed students’ needs in a standards-based system.

 

List awards and recognitions your school has achieved:

- Invited Member of the Successful Practices Network
- 3 California Distinguished Schools
- California Distinguished CTE Award
- California Model Continuation High School
- 7 Golden Bell Awards
- AVID National Demonstration Site School
- Title 1 Academic Achievement Award, 2007
- Schools on Newsweek’s Top 1% List (since 2005 )
- California Association of Student Leader’s Top ASB Awards (every year since 2001)