Summary Write Up For Submission to the Superintendent ArTES Pilot School Local District 2 Principal: John Lawler Date

of Review: November 16, 2011 Reviewers: Jose Rodriguez, Local District Two Jennie Carey, Los Angeles Education Partnership April Chunab, ArTES Student Julianna Coco, LAUSD Office of the Superintendent Norma Cordova-Ramirez, ArTES Parent Tim Driscol, ArTES Teacher Laura Jaeggi, ArTES Teacher Bill Judson, ArTES Teacher, UTLA Chapter Chair John Lawler, ArTES Principal Anne Maschler, ArTES Teacher Steven McCarthy, LAUSD Senior Arts Coordinator Josh Rauh, ArTES Teacher Marissa Rodriguez, ArTES Student Andrea Villasaa, ArTES Student Irene Velasquez, ArTES Counselor

School Review Summary Report

Preliminary Findings Overall Summary

Intellectual Engagement In our observations at ArTES, we were pleased to consistently find that standards were posted in all classrooms, the vocabulary and language of those standards was reflected in student teacher dialogue, and that students were found to be synthesizing and constructing their own knowledge based on those standards. We recommend, however, that ArTES think more about implementation. We would like teachers to design curriculum that engages a greater number of students. In our visitations, we saw some students off task, or choosing to engage in less challenging tasks. Breaking down assignments into scaffolded steps will encourage students to perform higher level cognitive activities. This will also allow teachers time to assess student understanding more frequently and provide more personalized support. We would also like to see classwork involve more active and inclusive student participation, such as open-ended discussion, and active, cooperative learning. Learning Environment We were pleased to see that ArTES classes consistently provided an environment that truly respected students and their work. We saw gold, silver, bronze, and red lists posted acknowledging student achievement. Student work was displayed in every classroom. In addition, agendas and learning objectives were clearly visible in every classroom. Teachers created a positive classroom environment by praising students and making authentic personal connections. We recommend that teachers develop structures and procedures to foster a greater level of student commentary, questioning, and dialogue. We would like to see more student artwork posted in order to more clearly define the school culture. Classroom Talk The review team was impressed to see the ArTES classrooms consistently using content specific language and analogies in all content areas. In addition, we saw students participating by answering fact-based and open-ended questions. We would like to see an increased level of accountable talk, student questioning, and an increased use of vocabulary between and among students. Additionally, more wait time on complex questions would foster a more authentic, academic dialogue and allow students to synthesize responses on their own. Assessment Teachers consistently monitored students for progress and understanding by circulating the classroom. We found linkages between formative assessments and the upcoming summative assessments. We would like to see ArTES teachers foster interactive and inclusive calling on of students to allow for a more structured and reliable way of assessing whole class

School Review Summary Report

understanding. Additionally, we would like to see objectives communicated in student-friendly language and be more clearly connected to the actual class activities. Conclusion This process was invaluable, and provided numerous opportunities to celebrate our successes, and thoughtfully assess means to improve our overall program. On the whole, the review team was impressed with our findings from our classroom observations. To further these successes, we have proposed possible partnerships, grants, and professional development opportunities that teachers should explore.

School Review Summary Report

School: ArTES LD: 2 Principal: John Lawler Date: 11/28/11

Consider your School Plan, what your school has implemented this year, and the feedback you have received from the Review Team. What are your major goals? Please describe each of your most important goals, and then provide the steps you need to follow to implement them this year. Use as many sheets as necessary to address each major goal. **If you are a school going through WASC, please include those goals or action items you are addressing in preparation for your WASC visit. Brief description of the goal: Our goal is to increase active student participation in classroom lessons. We want to see a higher number of students actively listening, talking to each other, solving problems, working together.

Circle the rubric category(ies) the goal is related to: Academic Achievement Climate Leadership

Culture &

Concerns/Action items related to this goal: During our observations, we noticed some students off task, some students not participating because tasks were too difficult or too long and an emphasis on teacher led activities that allow students to check out.

Steps to address these concerns/action items: Professional Development for all teachers on the fundamentals of scaffolded instruction PD time for departments to plan scaffolded instruction in subject areas PD on Socratic Seminars as a way to increase students engagement and questioning Staff shares best practices in cooperative learning strategies

Time of Completion: March 31st

Lead person or person providing support: Rauh

March 31st

Rauh

January 31st

Driscol

Create a digital library of thinking maps and other graphic organizers to support scaffolded instruction

Ongoing, with a first round completed by February 29th January 31st

Jaeggi

Maschler

School Review Summary Report

School: ArTES LD: 2 Principal: John Lawler Date: 11/28/11

Consider your School Plan, what your school has implemented this year, and the feedback you have received from the Review Team. What are your major goals? Please describe each of your most important goals, and then provide the steps you need to follow to implement them this year. Use as many sheets as necessary to address each major goal. **If you are a school going through WASC, please include those goals or action items you are addressing in preparation for your WASC visit. Brief description of the goal: Our goal is to have more art displayed in classrooms. We would like to celebrate student outcomes by posting art that was created in the respective classes. This requires an increase in arts integration. We would also like to see art displayed that is related to the curriculum. Circle the rubric category(ies) the goal is related to: Academic Achievement Climate Leadership Culture &

Concerns/Action items related to this goal: During our observations, we noticed that not all content area teachers were making use of art as a vehicle to drive instruction / demonstrate understanding. Observers also mentioned that more art displays would further refine ArTES identity as an arts themed school.

Steps to address these concerns/action items:

Time of Completion:

Lead person or person providing support: Navarro

Professional Development for all teachers December 16th on basic visual art vocabulary to allow for use in subject specific lessons Staff shares best practices in arts integration Selected staff will participate in MOCAs Contemporary Art Start (CAS) program Create a digital library of images related to themes / texts / Humanitas Units Ongoing, with a first round completed by March 31st Summer 2012 Ongoing, with a first collection completed by February 29th Summer 2012

Jaeggi

Jaeggi Driscol

Urban Arts Partnership

Lawler

School Review Summary Report

School: ArTES LD: 2 Principal: John Lawler Date: 11/28/11

Consider your School Plan, what your school has implemented this year, and the feedback you have received from the Review Team. What are your major goals? Please describe each of your most important goals, and then provide the steps you need to follow to implement them this year. Use as many sheets as necessary to address each major goal. **If you are a school going through WASC, please include those goals or action items you are addressing in preparation for your WASC visit. Brief description of the goal: Our goal is to communicate expectations for learning and systematically check for understanding using specific protocols and procedures.

Circle the rubric category(ies) the goal is related to: Academic Achievement Climate Leadership

Culture &

Concerns/Action items related to this goal: One of the concerns the review team brought up was that objectives often seemed unclear in language and in their relation to activities. Additionally, we noticed that teachers were rarely checking for understanding of the whole class.

Steps to address these concerns/action items: PD on communicating objectives to students Staff led investigation / sharing of protocols and procedures to check on understanding of whole class: Individual research and implementation, then sharing with the group

Time of Completion: February 29th February 10th

Lead person or person providing support: Maschler / Driscol Jaeggi