ACTION ITEMS

Approval of the ALE Program

Alternative Learning Experience Annual Report

Prepared by Jake Hall, Executive Director of Learning Supports, and Dr. Phil Pearson, TEAM HS Principal

Lewis River Academy 2023-24 Annual Board Report per Policy 2255

Description of how Lewis River Academy supports the overall goals for student achievement:

Lewis River Academy (LRA) recognizes and supports family choice education where parents are the first and most important educators for their children. Through LRA, families can enjoy the benefits of being highly involved in their child's learning while accessing the resources made available to all public school students in Washington State.

Families are involved in the learning of students in LRA as “learning coaches” in the teaching and student learning. From the intake meeting to the weekly check-ins, LRA staff promote family partnerships as a necessity for a student to successfully grow academically in our home study program.

Founding Principles:

• We recognize the parent as the first and most important educator. We are here to offer support, knowledge, feedback and guidance.
• We recognize that all students develop and learn differently, at different rates. It is our goal to empower each student with the educational tools necessary to learn and succeed.
• We recognize the teacher as a person of many roles including advisor, supporter, observer, learner, and facilitator. Teachers have the unique opportunity to guide and support our families and are always expected to act in the family’s best interest.
• We encourage each parent’s active participation, and allow both parents and students a voice in the program development.
• We recognize that in order to run our program successfully we need the input, respect, and cooperation of students, parents, teachers, and administrators, as well as any other staff or community members who may participate.
• Since the program is a partnership, we encourage parent involvement. 

At Lewis River Academy, we meet virtually and in-person with students and families. Students and families regularly report to LRA staff that they appreciate individual teaching and learning time as well as whole class time through Google Meet and in the LRA classrooms. LRA staff partner with families to work together to make LRA a great alternative learning option for students. 

LRA certificated teachers meet with families to provide the following services:

• create an environment of respect and instructional growth
• identify appropriate curriculum and academic goals
• develop a Written Student Learning Plan (parents and students may assist)
• determine appropriate instructional materials
• supervise, monitor, evaluate, and document the student's progress towards goals
• provide encouragement, academic support, and insight from their own teaching experiences
• provide one-on-one or group tutoring through Google Meet
• assist in career guidance and high school and beyond plans

Lewis River Academy School Improvement Plan Goals:

Lewis River Academy conducted a self-review of the school's program. As part of the school assessment, we considered data such as iReady Math & Reading scores, State Assessment Data, Weekly Check-Ins with all families regarding student progress, and Written Student Learning Plans. Based on the data, we created the following School Improvement Plan Goals: 

• During the 2023-24 school year, the number of students in unsatisfactory progress in any month will not exceed 10% of our entire student population. (Career)
• Over the 2023-24 school year, at least 90% of LRA students will participate in school events such as Google Meetings, teacher tutoring sessions, guest presentations, Wednesday Workshops, etc. (Life)
• By June 2024, at least 90% of Kindergarten through Grade 2 students will improve well structured informative paragraphs by including a topic sentence, three supporting detail sentences, and a concluding sentence. (College)
• By June 2024, at least 90% of Grade 3 through Grade 8 students will improve five-paragraph informative writing essays by including an introductory paragraph, three supporting detail paragraphs, and a concluding paragraph. (College)

TEAM High School 2022-23 Annual Board Report per Policy 2255

Woodland School District Vision

The Woodland School District Vision is a guide for our work in improving TEAM High School:

Woodland Public Schools, in partnership with families and the community, will create a PreK-12 system that serves and supports ALL children—and ensures that EACH child has FULL access to, is engaged in, and obtains an excellent education that prepares them for responsible citizenship and a future of adaptability and success in life and their chosen endeavors.

Areas of Strength at TEAM High School

TEAM High School has increased the four-year graduation rate from 14.8% in 2014 to 66% in 2022 (we do not have four year graduation rate percentage info for 2023 as of this report). The increase in TEAM’s four-year graduation rate is directly impacting the increase of Woodland School District’s graduation rate. In 2022, TEAM helped the District meet the overall four-year graduation rate goal (at or above 85% graduate in four years). 

Many students come to TEAM credit deficient and are still able to graduate before they age out of high school (in the school year when they turn 21 years old). Woodland students are still held to the same high academic standards at TEAM as they are at WHS, but are able to complete work remotely, have flexible attendance hours,and can work with the TEAM principal and staff to create a learning plan that best supports and accommodates their particular needs. This ensures that all students -- not just those who thrive in the traditional high school classroom -- have access to a high-quality education, and positively impact Woodland School District’s graduation rate.

TEAM HS staff have recently earned more professional certification and have been advancing in ongoing Professional Development. Examples of this are: National Board Teacher status earned, multiple secondary endorsements earned, and active participation in regional and state ALE Professional Development/conferences/workshops. We will continue to work on these Professional Development efforts. We are measuring the effects of these Professional Development efforts through tracking graduation rates, measurable endorsements earned by staff and successful ALE compliance audits.

Description of how TEAM High School supports the overall goals for student achievement:

In October 2022, the Woodland School Board approved School Improvement Plans for each school in the district which established performance goals. One of those performance goals is Graduation Rate:  

• By 2027 the overall district four-year graduation rate will be at or above 90%.
• By 2027 the overall district extended (5-7 year) graduation rate will be at or above 95%.

Due to the double levy failure in the spring of 2023, TEAM staff was reduced by one certificated teacher. That teacher was focused on math instruction, the absence of that teacher has created significant challenges in terms of supporting math achievement at TEAM.  That deficit has partially been addressed by two staff members (WHS/TEAM Principal and WHS Dean of Students) providing math tutoring at TEAM 4 times per week. TEAM High School teachers have collaborated with WHS counselors to develop and institute a “Graduation Tracker” system that visually shows students exactly where they are in the process of finishing all graduation requirements, breaking down the workload to show progress data on individual quizzes and assignments needed. The purpose for these efforts continues to be to improve TEAM HS graduation rates and to address the other school improvement goals described in the next section. 

TEAM High School Self Evaluation Report

TEAM High School has conducted a summary to synthesize the analysis and learnings gleaned thus far from studying our school’s data and other pertinent inquiry information through ongoing work with OSPI. This reflective work helped TEAM High School staff identify foci for our 2023-24 School Improvement Plan, specifically:

• TEAM High School will reduce the number of students with no contact (non engagement) during any given week by 10%. This goal will be based on a baseline rate obtained from Spring 2023 and will be accomplished by spring 2024. A great deal of progress has been made on this goal. As one example, during week 15 of the 2022-2023 school year, 73.9% of all students completed their weekly check in. During that same week of the 2023-2024 school year, 100% of all students completed their weekly check in. 
• TEAM High School will decrease the amount of students withdrawn from TEAM High School for Lack of Progress from an average of 4.8 per month to 2.5 per month by May 2024 in collaboration with students, families, and Woodland High School counselors, teachers, and administrators for all students, including students with Individual Education Programs. Some progress has been made on this goal. Through the end of November, 2023, 11 TEAM students have been withdrawn due to lack of academic progress. This equates to an average of (slightly less than) 3.7 students per month withdrawn due to lack of progress.
• Student agency suffers when students do not see the connection between present activities (school work) and future activities (post-secondary plans). This is especially true for traditionally underserved populations who are often over represented in ALE settings like TEAM. To address this critical need, TEAM high school will increase the  rate of students who leave high school with a well-defined post-secondary  pathway from current baseline to 100% by the end of 2025. The addition of a time-share, dedicated counselor at TEAM has dramatically increased student access to course planning assistance, post secondary planning assistance, and mental health counseling and referrals. Some of the activities planned around this goal have, however, been slow in getting launched. The dedicated TEAM counselor also has duties at WHS, and this combination has created some work flow struggles. This spring we plan to create or approve the career interest survey and plan fuller implementation of this activity in the fall of 2024. 

Administrative Recommendation /MOTION/ "I move we approve the ALE Program as presented."