proposal to restructure morse senior high schoolmorse senior high school restructuring plan,...

Proposal to Restructure Morse Senior High School

2006–2007

* Please see the complete text of the Proposal to Restructure Morse Senior High School for background and supporting information.

Morse Senior High School Restructuring Plan, 2006–2007: Key Elements* 1. Principal Challenges a. How to reduce further the school’s dropout rate and

improve its graduation rate. (pp. 4–8, 28) b. How to improve the performance of credit-deficient

students. (pp. 7–8, 28) c. How to improve the CAHSEE participation rate.

(pp. 10, 36) d. How to improve schoolwide academic performance and

the performance of all subgroups of students. In particular: – How to improve English learners’ timely

acquisition of English. (pp. 13–15, 28–29, 30) – How to improve English learners’ performance in

English language arts and in mathematics. (pp. 12–14, 29–30, 33–34)

– How to improve the performance of Hispanic and of African American students in English language arts and of all Morse students in mathematics. (pp. 12–14, 29–30, 33–34)

e. How to increase the number of students who successfully complete UC/CSU course requirements. (pp. 6–7, 30)

f. How to provide individual, personal attention to students in the district’s largest school. (pp. 2, 31–32)

g. How to enrich the educational experience of students whose families have not enjoyed economic and educational advantages. (pp. 3, 32)

h. How to provide a culturally relevant educational experience to a diverse student body. (pp. 3, 31)

i. How to decrease the student suspension rate. (pp. 4, 31) j. How to improve the ability of counselors to guide their

students. (pp. 17–18, 32) k. How to increase the number of on-campus athletics

coaches. (pp. 26, 32) l. How to improve parent and community involvement in

the education of Morse students. (pp. 27, 32)

2. Current Effective Practices to be Integrated into and Enhanced by the Morse Restructuring Plan a. Allocate time for regular schoolwide and curriculum

department meetings dedicated to analyze student performance data and determine effective teaching strategies and practices. (p. 20)

b. Provide opportunities for like-course teachers to observe their colleagues in action. (p. 20)

c. Provide a wide range of standards-based academic courses, including UC/CSU-approved courses and AP courses. (pp. 21–23)

d. Promote collaboration in course design among teachers of different content areas. (p. 20)

e. Use interdisciplinary teams of teachers, to share information and strategies to improve student performance. (p. 23)

f. Institute collaboration and co-teaching between regular and special education teachers. (p. 23)

g. Use standards-based textbooks and instructional materials. (pp. 24–25)

h. Use a wide variety of assessment strategies and tools to track student progress and determine the most effective means of instruction. (pp. 25–26)

i. Provide a wide range of co-curricular and extra-curricular activities to enrich the students’ high school experience and prepare them for post-high school success. (p. 26))

j. Rely on community advisory boards to support teachers and students participating in Morse ROP courses. (p. 27)

3. Key Proposals a. Establish a satellite of Twain Alternative School on

the Morse campus, to serve credit-deficient students who cannot graduate with their classes. (pp. 38–39)

b. Establish an Opportunity Education Program on the Morse campus, to serve the needs of low-GPA, credit-deficient students who, with support and hard work, can meet graduation requirements. (pp. 39–40)

c. Identify early students likely to be absent from the CAHSEE and provide information, supports and incentives to take the test. (pp. 40–42)

d. Expand Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP) training, to help more teachers hone their teaching skills and practice strategies that specifically address the needs of ELs. (pp. 42–43)

e. Establish vertical teams of teachers within Morse and with feeder schools, to assure that standards-based instruction builds on previously developed knowledge and skills. (pp. 44–45)

f. Provide the most vulnerable students with instruction in skills leading to academic success, after-school tutoring and CAHSEE prep classes, to help them improve their academic performance. (pp. 44–46)

g. Use Gear Up and AP Challenge grant funds to track students to assure that they develop skills required for academic success (pp. 47–48)

h. Establish a co-principalship at Morse, to assure effective coordination of Morse High School’s multi-faceted educational program. (p. 48)

i. Establish career-focused interdisciplinary teams, to facilitate instructional planning and coordination and help students develop adult-world skills. (pp. 48–49)

j. Launch mentoring programs for African American students and Hispanic students, to connect students with supportive adults. (pp. 50–52)

k. Realign student discipline-related responsibilities, to provide counselors for more time for one-on-one student interactions and parent conferences. (p. 52–53)

l. Recruit for teaching staff vacancies qualified teachers who might also be qualified to coach Morse athletic teams. (pp. 53–54)

m. Establish a Morse Parent Center on campus and increase and improve communications with parents (p. 54)

4. Additional Resources Required and Projected Costs a. 2 CPUs (testing coordinator and PAL)

(pp. 42, 54–55) $140,378 b. Extending library media center staffing/

services (p. 45) $12,400

c. Professional development costs (CLAD, SIOP, special education collaboration) (pp. 42, 43, 47) $00,000

5. Additional Requests a. Assistance from the SDUSD Information Technology Department in using district software to build master schedules

that accommodate innovative schedules and practices. (p. 49) b. Assistance from the assistant superintendent in furthering site discussion of alternative daily and annual schedules.

(p. 49) c. Assistance from appropriate district personnel in recruiting trained professionals and community-based organizations

to provide counseling services to students in need. (p. 51)

Morse Senior High School at a Glance, 2005–2006

Number of Students 2,7211 English Learners 4332 Average Attendance, 2004–2005

95.05

Resident Students 95.4%3 Filipino Students 37.5%4 Stability Rate, 2004–2005 86.3% Students, Grade 9 485 Hispanic Students 31.6% Mobility Index, 2004–2005 24.7 Students, Grade 10 780 African American Students 19.6% Suspensions (Number/Rate),

2004–2005 278/9.52

Students, Grade11 766 Other Students (including White, Indochinese, Pacific Islander, Asian, Native American)

11.4% Four-year Dropout Rate, 2004–2005

11.0

Students, Grade 12 572 Meal Program Eligibility 46.2%5 Single-Year Dropout Rate, 2004–2005

2.7

Special Education Students 2336 Parents Who Are High School Graduates

59.5%7 Graduation Rate, 2004–2005 82.0

Morse High School, 2006 API Results, with 2001–2005 Comparisons

Group 2005 API Base

2006 API API Growth Target

API Growth

Met 2006 Target?

2005? 2004? 2003? 2002? 2001?

Schoolwide 682 6638 6 -19 No No Yes Yes No No Filipino 772 762 5 -10 No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Hispanic 605 585 5 -20 No No Yes Yes No No African American

596 576 5 -20 No No Yes Yes No No

White N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A No No No Socioeconomic. Disadvantaged


English Learners

625 573 5 -52 No N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

Students with Disabilities

410 428 5 18 Yes N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

1 Unless otherwise specified, all enrollment numbers are taken from the SDUSD Active Enrollment

Report of March 24, 2006. 2 Spring 2006, data. 3 October 2006 data. 4 Racial/ethnic distribution percentages for 2005–2006. 5 2005–2006 data. 6 Includes all Morse students with Individualized Education Programs. 7 2005 STAR test information. 8 The minimum schoolwide API growth score to meet the API criterion for meeting AYP in 2006 was 590.

WASC Focus Groups and Program Improvement Workgroup The Proposal to Restructure Morse Senior High School results in good measure from the intensive yearlong work (April 2005–April 2006) in which Morse administration, faculty and staff as well as community members participated to respond to the accreditation requirements of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). It also represents the combined work of Morse and district central office staff, who were directed by the Board of Education to refine and augment the school’s WASC Action Plan to meet the requirements of a restructuring plan. The Morse High School Community members listed below took part in the analysis of student data and development of the WASC Action Plan.

Western Association of Schools and Colleges

Accreditation Self-study Focus Groups, 2005-06

* = Co-Chair, ^ = Recorder

A. Organization: Vision and Purpose, Governance Leadership and Staff, and Resources ----------------Bernie Calderon, Principal of Operations

Kevin Atto------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Mathematics Mike Barnes-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Physical Education Rina Coronel -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Special Education Dyelene DeVoe-Brown------------------------------------------------------------------------ Classified Frank Drake --------------------------------------------------------------------------------Social Science Mark Falvo -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Science Crandallyn Graham ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- English Delia Gutierrez ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Physical Education Lisa Hays ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Library Mercedes Hernandez* ----------------------------------------------------------------World Languages Julie Hicks----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Special Education Salvador Idos --------------------------------------------------------------------------World Languages Dana Johnson ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Special Education Marie Kreider ------------------------------------------------------------------------------Social Science Terri Linehan ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Special Education Gary MacDonald ----------------------------------------------------------------------------Mathematics Shanna Nitzel ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Classified Maria Olivar ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Classified Donna Pangelinan -------------------------------------------------------------------- Special Education Col. Harry Ridge^--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- JROTC Pamela Raquet ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- English Bonnie Salinas -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Counseling Sandra Salom ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Classified Chan Souvannarath -------------------------------------------------------------------------Mathematics Cindy Ueckert ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Special Education Eleanore Viado --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Classified Elizabeth Wilkie* --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- English Stacy Williams------------------------------------------------------------------------ Special Education

WASC Focus Groups and Program Improvement Workgroup 2005–2006 - b -

Leonardo Zarate ----------------------------------------------------- Regional Occupational Program Jessica Ferrusca------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Student Cindy A. Gonzalez -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Student Ryan Morris---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Student Ardy Riego ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Student

B. Standards-based Student Learning: Curriculum -----------------------Rocio Weiss, Principal Elizabeth Ahlgren ---------------------------------------------------------------------------Mathematics Rudy Anderson ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Counseling Luis Barcenas* ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Special Education Jeanne Brown --------------------------------------------------------------------------------Mathematics Melanie Crawford -------------------------------------------------------------------------Social Science Joe Duffy -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Mathematics Afsenah Fozi ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Science Rosina Frazier -------------------------------------------------------------------------------Mathematics Mark Gendron -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Science Zev Garfall ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- English Jim Giardina -------------------------------------------------------------------------------Social Science Robert Gonalez ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Science Ed Gough-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Science Bill Gray-------------------------------------------------------------- Regional Occupational Program Toshiko Hasegawa --------------------------------------------------------------------World Languages Bob Keith------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- English Kendra Madden------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ English Caroline Martinez -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ESL Mehrnoosh Merhdad------------------------------------------------------------------------------Science Jeff Meyer ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ English Bill Milburn --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Special Education Mark Monroe ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Physical Education Audrey Nash -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Special Education Rafael Navarro-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Science Julian Nuñoz --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- JROTC Jen Roberson--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- English Dawn Rolf------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Mathematics Eddie Rosenberg ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- English Mary Scanlon*------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- English Julie Skalman ------------------------------------------------------------------------------Social Science Gloria Valencia^ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Classified Joseph Valenzuela-------------------------------------------------------------------- Special Education Lori Vouros ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Nurse Theresa Achey ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Student Abigail Alfonso------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Student Brittany De la Cruz ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Student Miriam Maldonado-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Student Yenina Vereda ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Student

WASC Focus Groups and Program Improvement Workgroup 2005–2006 - c -

C. Standards-based Student Learning: Instruction -------- Vicki Zands-Vargas, Vice Principal Thad Aweeka --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Science Ellen Bergan -------------------------------------------------------------------------------Social Science Arlene Benedicto --------------------------------------------------------------------------Social Science Bruce Brown ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------Mathematics Eric Camerino ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Special Education Lan Chau ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Special Education Mary Collier-Wade* ---------------------------------------------------------------- Physical Education Winnona Dancy ------------------------------------------------------------- Consumer Family Studies Mary Doan ----------------------------------------------------------- Regional Occupational Program Tamara Duncan------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ English Steve Fox ------------------------------------------------------------- Regional Occupational Program Phylifia Gardner ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Special Education Alicia Gonzalez------------------------------------------------------------------------World Languages Phil Grooms-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Physical Education Dustin Hawkins------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Counseling Rosalina Idos---------------------------------------------------------------------------World Languages Abdulfatah Issac-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------Science Kathy Kelly ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------Mathematics Christine Kiyama----------------------------------------------------------------------------Mathematics Janet Lake ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ English Yolanda Leon --------------------------------------------------------------------------World Languages Bridget MacConnel*----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Art Frank Norman^ ----------------------------------------------------------------------------Social Science Francois Portee ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Special Education Lourdes Sanchez ----------------------------------------------------------------------------Mathematics Alice Sanders ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Special Education Patricia Sellers ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Electives Heidi Selman-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Special Education Adina Sobo-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Science Charlene Walker-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Classified Glen Williams -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Counseling Harold Williams ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ROTC Camille Adonga ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Student Charlene Daniel ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Student Aaron Gabriel-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Student Jameena Hunt -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Student Sally Melei ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Student

D. Standards-based Student Learning: Assessment and Accountability--------------------------------------------------Laura Bellafatto, Vice Principal

Monique Anderson--------------------------------------------------------------------------Mathematics Kathy Bañuelos------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ English Shana Cofield ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Special Education Amy Denney --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- English Phil Diehl-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------Social Science

WASC Focus Groups and Program Improvement Workgroup 2005–2006 - d -

Victor Geroche ----------------------------------------------------------------------------Social Science Larry Good -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------Mathematics Helen Green* -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- English Tania Holliday -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Science Joseph Hyun ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------Mathematics Stephanie Hosking --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Counseling Salvadore Idos -------------------------------------------------------------------------World Languages Dadisi Jacobs ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Special Education Paula Johnes ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Electives Ana Kuburovich -----------------------------------------------------------------------------Mathematics Cynthia Larkin------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- English David Lowe^-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Art Tom Martin ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Science Reyna Macias ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Special Education Jacqueline McVicar -------------------------------------------------------------------World Languages Rachel Miller --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Science Tai Oliver------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Special Education Stacey Olivieri -------------------------------------------------------------------------------Mathematics Shirley Parrish -------------------------------------------------------------------------------Mathematics Lyn Pratt------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Special Education Vinita Rajah--------------------------------------------------------------------------- Special Education Ricardo San Nicholas------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ROTC Patricia Sellers ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Electives Carlie Siegal ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Science Sara Smith------------------------------------------------------------ Regional Occupational Program Luong Troung--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Finance Joseph Dimarucut --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Student Jasmine Pulu --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Student Jamie Lou Trajaño -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Student

E. School Culture and Support for Student Personal and Academic Growth ----------------------------------- Harry Shelton, Vice Principal Barbara Antos--------------------------------------------------------------------------World Languages Leonaardo Avila----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- JROTC Carolyn Barrie --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Social Sciences Anne Bengtson^ --------------------------------------------------------------Associated Student Body Rex Calvin --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Dean Matt Cleek---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Physical Education Richard Cota ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Social Sciences Shirley Davis------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Classified Mary Sue De Pass* -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Counseling Erma Delancy-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- English Senta Delgado ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Classified Rebecca DuBose --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nursing Doug Elliot ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Career Counselor Steve Fisher ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------Mathematics

WASC Focus Groups and Program Improvement Workgroup 2005–2006 - e -

Robert Garcia -------------------------------------------------------- Regional Occupational Program Marilyn Hamilton ------------------------------------- Advancement Via Individual Determination Mike Klepper ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Art Carolina Martinez -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ESL Harold Moore --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Counseling Beth Morrin ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------Mathematics Lauren Morris------------------------------------------------------------------------- Special Education Florence Mullins ----------------------------------------------------------------------------English/ESL Ruby Odah ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Special Education Patricia Oyeshiku* -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- English Jeff Pacis -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Science Prisciliano Padilla -------------------------------------------------------------------- Special Education Venita Rajah -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Special Education Elizabeth Scarborough---------------------------------------------------------------------------- English Jackie Shaffer ----------------------------------------------------------------Consumer/Family Studies Jamie Stiles---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Special Education Tony Valencia -------------------------------------------------------------------------World Languages Erika Weiman--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Science Ann Wells ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Counseling Andy Winkus ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Special Education Carol Zupkas--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- English Jerome Abaya-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Student Lauren Anselmo ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Student Anthony Cook ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Student Kareem Franklin----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Student Carlos Flores --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Student Lany Khattiya-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Student Kirstyne Langer ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Student Crystal Ortiz --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Student Cammille Santos ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Student

WASC Accreditation Self-study Parent Committee, 2005-06

Brady Bobo ..................................................................................................School Site Council Bridget Garrett .............................................................................................School Site Council Bernadete Rollins.........................................................................................School Site Council

WASC Accreditation Self-study Student Committee, 2005-06

Jerome Abaya ....................................................................................................Culture/Support Charlene Daniel ......................................................................................................... Instruction Brittany DelaCruz ..................................................................................................... Curriculum Joseph Dimarucut ............................................................................Assessment/Accountability Jessica Ferresca.......................................................................................................Organization Aaron Gabriel ............................................................................................................ Instruction Michael Garret ........................................................................................................Organization Cindy Gonzalez.......................................................................................................Organization

WASC Focus Groups and Program Improvement Workgroup 2005–2006 - f -

Kaylynn Harian................................................................................Assessment/Accountability Jameena Hunt............................................................................................................. Instruction Lany Khattiya ....................................................................................................Culture/Support Miriam Maldonado ................................................................................................... Curriculum Sally Melei ................................................................................................................. Instruction Ryan Morris ............................................................................................................Organization Crystal Ortiz........................................................................................................Culture/support Jasmine Pulu ....................................................................................Assessment/Accountability Camille Santos ...................................................................................................Culture/Support Jamie Lou Trajaño ...........................................................................Assessment/Accountability Yenina Vereda .......................................................................................................... Curriculum

WASC Chronology

2005 Event

April 12 Self-Study Coordinator came to Morse to lead the WASC Focus on Learning self-study process as the WASC Site Coordinator (SC).

April 12 Social Science Department meeting to discuss developing departmental Expected Schoolwide Learning Results (ESLRs)

April 13 Letter sent by SC Sell to all staff announcing the opening of the WASC accreditation process and listing the five WASC criteria.

April 18 Memo from SC distributed to all teachers through content administrators or department chairs requesting submission of individual ESLRs to be compiled by department chairs and WASC SC.

April 25 Principal’s Staff Update announcing WASC kickoff, the first schoolwide staff meeting.

April 27

Schoolwide staff meeting during minimum day to provide WASC overview; explain the process, expected outcomes, schoolwide focus group criteria; vote on revised ESLRs; and select schoolwide focus groups. Focus groups met briefly to choose leaders, review ground rules and review WASC criteria.

April 28 Revised draft of staff ESLRs e-mailed to all staff.

April 29– May 10

SC met with English, mathematics, science, and social studies department chairs to develop departmental descriptors of high-quality student work.

May 3

Principal and WASC SC met with School Site Council (SSC) to share information about WASC and to request parent/community input on ESLRs, review parent survey and determine how best to survey all parents, and recruit members on WASC Parent/ Community committee.

May 3 WASC administrative team meeting to balance focus groups and review student observation form and surveys for students, parents and staff.

WASC Focus Groups and Program Improvement Workgroup 2005–2006 - g -

2005 Event

May 4

SC met with English Language Advisory Committee (ELAC) to share information about WASC and to request parent/community input on ESLRs, review parent survey, determine how best to survey all parents, and to recruit members for WASC Parent/ Community committee.

May 9 First WASC Leadership Team meeting to distribute notebooks and review parent, student, staff surveys and student observation form.

May 10 Principal and SC met with student senate and ASB to introduce and explain WASC process, review student survey and recruit members for WASC student committee.

May 11

Schoolwide WASC staff meeting to review ESLRs and student data; break into focus groups to identify student need from demographic and California Standards Test (CST) data; and to review high-quality student work based on English, mathematics, science, and social studies department descriptors.

May 12-26 Focus groups met to summarize analysis of student need data and to prepare presentations for schoolwide WASC staff meeting on May 25.

May 23 WASC student committee meeting for introduction to and overview of WASC. Invitation to join focus groups on May 25th.

May 25 Schoolwide WASC staff meeting. Based on the analysis of demographic and CST data, focus groups presented their findings, which highlighted student need. Staff survey administered.

May 26, 27 Student survey distributed to 1st period classes, with exception of physical education.

May 31 Leadership team met to refine ESLRs and parent phone-survey script and review focus groups’ findings of student need.

June 1–3 Tally staff and student surveys.

June 6 Faculty meeting. Approve ESLRs and review analysis of focus group findings.

June 7, 8 Distribute parent surveys, in English, Spanish and Pilipino, to 1st period students to take home and return by June 10.

June 13 Leadership team meeting June 20 Faculty meeting. Approved ESLRs with minor revisions. June 21, 22, 23 WASC workshop to draft Chapter III July 11, 12, 13 WASC workshop to tally surveys, write Chapter II July 18, 19, 29 SC wrote, edited Chapters I, II and III August 30, 31 Staff read, edited Chapters I, II and III

September 12 Leadership team meeting. Reviewed observation form, previewed Chapter IV focus group guide questions.

September 14 Modified day. New staff signed up for focus groups

September 26 Leadership team meeting. Final review of observation form distributed; discussed Chapter IV focus group guide questions

WASC Focus Groups and Program Improvement Workgroup 2005–2006 - h -

2005 Event

September 28

Schoolwide WASC staff meeting. Focus groups received, discussed, and learned how to gather evidence using the student observation form and Chapter IV guide questions. Responsibility assigned for response to various guide questions.

October 10 Leadership team meeting to prepare for WASC schoolwide meeting October 12.

October 12 Schoolwide WASC meeting. Focus groups met to debrief observations, review high-quality student work descriptors, and to continue responding to Chapter IV guide questions.

October 26

Schoolwide WASC meeting. Focus groups met to examine student work. Teachers brought two samples each of work that was high-achieving, met or exceeded standards; approximated standards; and did not meet standards. Completed draft of Chapter IV responses to guide questions.

October 31 Previsit with WASC visiting committee chair.

November 7 WASC leadership team meeting to prepare for WASC schoolwide meeting on November 9, 2005.

November 9

Schoolwide WASC meeting. Focus groups met, reviewed departments’ student work analysis, made comparison to focus groups’ student work analyses, determined areas of strengths and growth. Sub-groups met to respond to WASC guide questions; to analyze student surveys to discover schoolwide areas of strength and growth; to review/edit parent survey results and conclusions; to construct ESLR measurements. Volunteers were selected to interview students.

November 14 WASC leadership team meeting to debrief work of focus groups at schoolwide meeting on November 9, 2005.

November 15 WASC student committee lunch meeting to review duties and responsibilities.

November 28 WASC leadership team meeting to prepare for WASC schoolwide meeting November 30, 2005.

November 30 Schoolwide WASC meeting. Review focus groups’ responses to WASC guide questions. Review ways to measure ESLRs.

December 12 WASC leadership team meeting to review Chapter IV’s prioritized list of areas of strength and areas of growth and ways to measure and publicize ESLRs

December 14 Schoolwide WASC meeting in focus groups to make final revisions to Chapter IV and draft components of Chapter V action plan based on areas of growth/improvement.

2006 Event

January 11 Schoolwide WASC meeting to derive overarching goals for Chapter V action plan and develop tasks to accomplish goals. Review vision and mission statements.

January 17 Leadership team meeting to approve vision and mission statements and review drafts of three goals for Chapter V action plan

WASC Focus Groups and Program Improvement Workgroup 2005–2006 - i -

2005 Event

January 19 Release day for focus group chairs or representatives to write Chapter V action plan.

January 23 WASC visiting committee chair, Grant Bennett, on campus to set schedule for April visit and field questions.

January 25 WASC schoolwide meeting to review Chapter V action plan with tasks, timeline and monitoring plan.

January 30 Leadership team meeting to approve Chapter V. April 2–5 Site visit of WASC accreditation team

Following the SDUSD Board of Education’s direction to district staff to work with Morse staff to refine and augment the school’s WASC Action Plan to meet the requirements of a restructuring plan, a smaller group of teachers and parents functioned with the school principal as a program improvement workgroup, reviewing drafts of the restructuring plan and providing feedback. Participants are listed below.

Parents Teachers Ann Anderson Brady Bobo Jesse Ramirez Zarina Ramirez Bernadette Rollins

Ann Bengtson Helen April Green Mercedes Hernandez Bridget MacConnel Mary Scanlon Ann Wells (head counselor) Elizabeth Wilkie

Program Improvement Chronology

2006 Event

Sept. 5 SSC meeting: Review of restructuring plan draft scheduled for Sept. 7, 2006. (See SSC minutes.)

Sept. 7 SSC members met to discuss the contents of the Restructuring Plan. (See SSC minutes.)

Sept. 11 Restructuring plan draft shared with staff for their review and feedback during the staff meeting.

Sept. 14 Restructuring plan draft shared with parents, during the first PTSA meeting of the school year, for their review. Comments and suggestions submitted to the principal via e-mail

Sept. 18 Restructuring plan draft shared with members of the Site Governance Team.

Contents I. About Morse High School-------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2 A. Demographic Profile----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2 B. Assessment Data --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8 C. Staffing Data ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16 D. Morse’s Current Educational Program ------------------------------------------------------- 19

1. Instructional Leadership ------------------------------------------------------------------- 19 2. Professional Development ----------------------------------------------------------------- 20 3. Instructional Practice ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 21 4. Textbooks/Instructional Materials -------------------------------------------------------- 24 5. Instructional Minutes ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 26 6. Assessment ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 26

7. Co-curricular and Extracurricular Activities -------------------------------------------- 26 8. Parental Involvement and Community Outreach --------------------------------------- 26

II Restructuring Proposal ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 28 A. Challenges ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 28

B. 2006 Assessment Data -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 33 C. Responding to the Challenges ----------------------------------------------------------------- 38

1. Decreasing the dropout rate and improving the graduation rate; improving the performance of credit-deficient students -------------------------------------------- 38 a. Establish a satellite of Twain Alternative School on the Morse campus ------- 38 b. Establish an Opportunity Education Program on the Morse campus.----------- 39

2. Improving the CAHSEE participation rate ---------------------------------------------- 40 3. Improving the academic performance of English learners; increasing the rate

at which English learners gain English fluency ---------------------------------------- 42 4. Improving the performance of all students, particularly of English learners

and of African American and Hispanic students, on the English language arts CST; improving the performance of all students on the mathematics CST; improving the pass rate of all students, particularly of English learners and African American and Hispanic students, on the CAHSEE -------------------------- 44 a. Establish vertical teams of teachers at Morse -------------------------------------- 44 b. Establish vertical teams of teachers to include Morse feeder schools----------- 44 c. Provide extended time for learning and other supports for the most

vulnerable students --------------------------------------------------------------------- 45 d. Rotate cycles of lesson studies with a focus on instructional practice --------- 46 e. Continue special education collaboration and co-teaching model -------------- 47 f. Continue class-size reduction in grade 9 core classes

and grade 10 geometry classes ------------------------------------------------------- 47 5. Attracting more students to UC/CSU-approved courses ------------------------------ 47

6. Meeting students’ needs in a large comprehensive high school ---------------------- 48 7. Providing a culturally relevant educational experience for a diverse

student body---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 49 8. Providing an enriching education for socioeconomically disadvantaged

students -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 50 9. Decreasing the student suspension rate, especially for African American

students -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 51 10. Improving the ability of counselors to guide their students --------------------------- 52 11. Increasing the number of on-campus athletics coaches ------------------------------- 53 12. Improving parent and community involvement in the education of Morse

students -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 54

D. Benchmarks and Assessments ----------------------------------------------------------------- 55 E. Specific Operational and Instructional Responsibilities ----------------------------------- 56 F. Resources Needed ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 60

Proposal to Restructure Morse High School

October 10, 2006 (Second Reading) Located in the Skyline-Paradise Hills area of southeast San Diego, in a culturally diverse neighborhood made up primarily of single-family homes, Samuel B. Morse Senior High School serves approximately 2,721 students (2005–2006) in grades 9–12 in the San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD). Morse, which operates on a traditional school year (10-month) calendar, has the largest enrollment in the district. The school’s 2005 California Academic Performance Index (API) score was 682,1 giving the school a ranking of 5, on an ascending scale of 1–10, and a similar-schools ranking of 7. In July 2005, despite the concerted efforts of the Morse staff and community, the school entered its fourth year in Title I Program Improvement (PI) status. Under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), the school was required to prepare a plan and make necessary arrangements to restructure for the following school year (2006–2007). Four avenues leading to the reorganization of Year 4 PI schools are available to school districts in California. Districts may

1. Enter into contracts with entities, such as private management companies, to operate the schools as public schools;

2. Re-open the schools as public charter schools; 3. Implement other major restructuring of the school’s governance or staffing, which may include

– Redefining leadership roles and extending leadership to include teachers, parents and community as well as principals,

– Building a system of instructional leadership at the school that includes teachers as well as principals, and/or

– Dividing the school into multiple, autonomous smaller schools with separate administrations and staffs; or

4. Consistent with collective bargaining agreements and memoranda of understanding, reassign/replace the school staff who are relevant to the school’s failure to achieve appropriately.

Morse High School’s leadership team, staff, parents and community members, with the support of SDUSD central office staff, have accepted the task of fashioning a restructuring plan to be implemented beginning in the 2006–2007 school year. The Morse team has elected the third restructuring option. It proposes to implement fundamental structural and instructional reforms, including changes in the school’s governance structure, that promise to improve students’ academic achievement and enable the school to meet its Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) goals. The restructuring plan results in good measure from the intensive yearlong work (April 2005–April 2006) in which Morse administration, faculty and staff as well as community members participated to respond to the accreditation requirements of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). It also represents the combined work of Morse and district central office staff, who were directed by the Board of Education to refine and augment the school’s WASC Action Plan to meet the requirements of a restructuring plan. This proposal describes in detail the self-study review findings that have led to development of the proposal and outlines the changes in structure and instructional practice that will be required to improve 1 On a scale of 200 to 1,000, with 800 as the statewide target.

Restructuring Morse High School Page 2 October 10, 2006 (Second Reading) the academic achievement of Morse students. Although many of the changes proposed are targeted at specific subgroups of students who have experienced difficulty meeting expected performance levels, Morse staff believe that the changes, taken as a whole, will promote the academic performance of all Morse students. 1. About Morse High School

A. Demographic Profile (See Figure 1.)

Student numbers. In 2005–2006 Morse High School served 2,721 students in grades 9–12 (March 24, 2006, SDUSD Active Enrollment Report). Grade 9 included 485 students; grade 10, 780 students; grade 11, 766 students; and grade 12, 572 students. Two hundred thirty-three students received special education services.

During the last six years the student population at Morse has declined by approximately 13 percent, from 3,142 in 2000–2001 to 2,721 in the current school year. The enrollment decline, which is consistent with such declines elsewhere in the school district, is thought to be due in part to rising costs of housing in the area, making it more difficult for families with children to locate there, and to a general decline in the birthrate. Most of Morse’s students—more than 95 percent—reside in the local area.

Figure 1

Morse High School Student Population at a Glance, 2005–2006

Number of Students 2,7212 English Learners 4333 Average Attendance, 2004–2005

95.05

Resident Students 95.4%4 Filipino Students 37.5%5 Stability Rate, 2004–2005 86.3% Students, Grade 9 485 Hispanic Students 31.6% Mobility Index, 2004–2005 24.7 Students, Grade 10 780 African American Students 19.6% Suspensions (Number/Rate),

2004–2005 278/9.52

Students, Grade11 766 Other Students (including White, Indochinese, Pacific Islander, Asian, Native American)

11.4% Four-year Dropout Rate, 2004–2005

11.0

Students, Grade 12 572 Meal Program Eligibility 46.2%6 Single-Year Dropout Rate, 2004–2005

2.7

Special Education Students 2337 Parents Who Are High School Graduates

59.5%8 Graduation Rate, 2004–2005 82.0

2 Unless otherwise specified, all enrollment numbers are taken from the SDUSD Active Enrollment Report of March 24, 2006. 3 Spring 2006, data. 4 October 2006 data. 5 Racial/ethnic distribution percentages for 2005–2006. 6 2005–2006 data. 7 Includes all Morse students with Individualized Education Programs. Of those students, 94 were served in

various special day classes, five received service in response to speech-related disabilities only, four received service from itinerant teachers in the Low Incidence Program (for students who are orthopedically impaired, visually impaired, deaf/hard of hearing and/or deaf/blind) and 130 received resource specialist services.

8 Approximately 67 percent of the student answer documents portion of the 2005 STAR tests included information about parent education levels. Of those tests that included such information, 12 percent indicated that the students’ parents had not graduated from high school, 28 percent that a parent had graduated from high school, 20 percent that a parent had had some college education, 37 percent that a parent had graduated from

Restructuring Morse High School Page 3 October 10, 2006 (Second Reading)

More than 95 percent of Morse students reside in the school’s service area. A majority of its students are drawn from three feeder middle schools: Bell Middle School, O’Farrell Community School and Keiller Middle School.

Ethnic/racial characteristics. The racial/ethnic distribution of Morse students has remained relatively steady during the last six years. The percent of students of Filipino heritage, for example, decreased from 44.6 percent in 2001–2002 to 37.5 percent in 2005–2006. During the same period, the percentage of Hispanic students increased from 22.2 percent to 31.6 percent, the percentage of African American students decreased from 19.7 percent to 19.6 percent, and the percentage of White students decreased from 6.9 percent to 4.7 percent.

Primary languages. In spring 2006 approximately 15.9 percent of Morse students (433 students) were designated English learners (ELs). Of the school’s ELs, 68.9 percent spoke Spanish and 18.9 percent spoke Pilipino at home. Socioeconomic and parental education characteristics. Economic advantage and disadvantage are strongly associated with student achievement. Students’ eligibility for free or reduced-price meals, based on household size and income, is one measure of low income among a school’s families. Approximately 46.2 percent of Morse’s students were eligible to participate in the free and reduced-price lunch program in 2005–2006 and thus were identified for support from the federal Title I program. In 2004–2005, for which comparisons with other district schools are available, 43.1 percent of the school’s students were eligible. In comparison, the average percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-price meals in the district’s high schools in that school year was 42.3 percent. Approximately 67 percent of the student answer documents portion of Morse students’ 2005 STAR tests included responses to questions about the education levels of the students’ parents. Of the tests that included such information, 12 percent indicated that the students’ parents had not graduated from high school, 28 percent that a parent had graduated from high school, 20 percent that a parent had had some college education, 37 percent that a parent had graduated from college and 3 percent that a parent had participated in post-graduate education. Of all the Morse students’ 2005 STAR tests, including the approximately 33 percent that did not include parental education information, 7.8 percent indicated that the students’ parents had not graduated from high school, 19.2 percent indicated that a parent had graduated from high school and an additional 40.3 percent indicated that a parent had participated in formal education beyond high school. Transience. A student is stable if he or she was enrolled at the beginning of the school year and remained enrolled at the same school through the end of that school year. A student is mobile if he or she was enrolled in a school at the beginning of the school year and was not enrolled in the same school through the end of the year. In 2004–2005, the last school year for which districtwide data are available, the percentage of students who started the school year at Morse and remained there for the entire year was 86.3, compared with a district average percentage of 87.0. The average stability rate for district high schools was 86.8 percent.

college and 3 percent that a parent had participated in post-graduate education. Of all tests, including the approximately 33 percent that did not include parental education information, 7.8 percent indicated that the students’ parents had not graduated from high school, 19.2 percent indicated that a parent had graduated from high school and an additional 40.3 percent indicated that a parent had participated in formal education beyond high school.


The 2004–2005 mobility index for Morse—a measure of the degree of movement by students in and out of the school during the school year—was 24.7. The districtwide mobility index for the same school year was 29.6 and the overall index for high schools was 24.2. Attendance. During the most recent five-year period for which data are available (2001–2005), Morse’s average annual attendance rate was 94.92. During that period, attendance rates have fluctuated from a low of 93.99 in 2000–2001 to a high of 95.46 in 2001–2002. The attendance rates of Morse’s Hispanic students, African American students and White students generally have been lower than the schoolwide average whereas the attendance rates of Filipino, Indochinese and Asian students have been consistently higher. Suspensions. Poor student discipline and behavior detract from classroom academic achievement. Suspending a student from school is one of the most severe punishments that a student can receive as a consequence of student disciplinary infractions. During the last five years for which districtwide data are available (2001–2005), both the numbers of Morse students suspended and the rates of suspension have fluctuated. In 2004–2005, the most recent year for which annual figures are available, 278 students were suspended, representing a rate of 9.52 per 100 students enrolled. In that year the corresponding districtwide suspension rate was 10.5 and the rate for students in grades 9–12 was 13.4. Dropout rates. The California Department of Education (CDE) defines a dropout as any student in grades 7–12 who 1) left school before graduation or before attaining the legal equivalent, i.e., before passing the General Educational Development (GED) examination or the California High School Proficiency Examination (CHSPE), and 2) did not return to a school or educational program by October of the following school year. The CDE refined its definition, beginning with 2002–2003, to align it with the definition employed by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). The alignment incorporates several changes, most of which serve to increase the reported dropout rates.9 Two types of dropout rates are reported. The single-year rate measures the proportion of students who drop out in a single year. The rates for several years may be compared to determine the dropout trend. The rate is computed by dividing the number of dropouts for a group of students by the group’s enrollment and multiplying by 100.

9 According to the NCES-aligned definition, the dropout period changed from April to April to September to

June for schools on a traditional schedule and September to July for year-round schools, but the early-October dropout determination date was maintained, thereby shortening the time available to obtain transcript information for students who leave the district late in a school year. The refined definition does not list as dropouts students who leave the United States but it does consider as dropouts students who had been enrolled in the High School Diploma Program (HSDP) during the dropout period but who are not still enrolled in the HSDP in early October of the following period. The new definition also considers as dropouts students waived to enroll in a community college during the dropout period who have not attained a high school diploma or GED and are not still enrolled at the community college on the dropout determination day (early October) of the following school year. Finally, the definition permits severely disabled students to be included in dropout counts. With the exception of the change whereby students who leave the United States are no longer counted as dropouts, all the changes serve to increase the dropout rate, making comparisons with dropout rates in years prior to 2002–2003 inexact. See San Diego Unified School District, Research and Reporting Department. Report of Dropouts and Graduates, 2004–05. April 2006.


The estimated four-year rate measures the dropout rate for a high school graduation class based on the individual grades 9–12 rates for the current year. This rate estimates the proportion of students in grade 9 that is expected to drop out during the course of four years of high school, presuming the underlying grade-level dropout rates remain unchanged from the current year. The rate is computed using a relatively complex formula.10 In collecting dropout data for 2004–2005, SDUSD staff took two steps not taken in prior years. Staff conducted a telephone survey regarding all potential dropouts remaining after district schools had provided their dropout documentation information. Staff also arranged to have the CDE match the district’s potential dropouts against student enrollment data in the CDE’s new California School Information Services System (CSIS). The two steps combined served to make the data collected more accurate. They also served to reduce the reported number of dropouts across all demographic groups. Accordingly, comparisons of 2004–2005 data with the previous two years’ data are inexact. Figure 2 summarizes the dropout rate for Morse during the three-year period 2002–2003 to 2004–2005. Both the four-year rate and the single-year rate demonstrate notable declines.11 Moreover, in the last two years of the period both Morse rates have been lower than the corresponding districtwide rates, suggesting that the steps that the Morse community and staff have taken to reduce the dropout rate have been effective.

Figure 2 Morse High School Dropout Rates, Grades 9–12, 2002–2003 to 2004–2005:

Four-year Rates; Single-year Rates, Whole School and by Ethnicity

4-Year Rate Single-Year Rate

Filipino Hispanic African American

White Indochinese Asian

District Morse District Morse

2002–2003 18.7 26.2 4.8 7.1 3.1 12.2 9.6 9.6 3.1 4.5 2003–2004 16.1 15.3 4.2 3.7 2.0 5.7 4.5 6.7 1.9 0.0 2004–2005 11.3 11.0 2.9 2.7 1.7 2.8 3.9 4.3 1.9 6.3

Despite the decline in Morse’s single-year dropout rates during the last three years, the fact that the dropout rates for Hispanic, African American and White students consistently exceed the whole-school averages is cause for concern. That the difference between the whole-school and the Hispanic student single-year dropout rates in 2004–2005 is only 3.7 percent, however, may augur well. The sudden rise in the single-year dropout rate for Asian students in 2004–2005 represents the dropout of two students at grade 12. Since the Asian subgroup of students at Morse is small—32 in grade 12 in 2004–2005—a small number of dropouts can cause a relatively large percentage rise in the dropout rate for the whole subgroup. Graduation rates. According to the NCLB the high school graduation rate is “the percentage of students, measured from the beginning of high school, who graduate from high school with a regular diploma (not including an alternative degree that is not fully aligned with the State’s academic

10 The estimated four-year dropout rate is calculated by successively multiplying the survival rates ([100 minus

the dropout rate] divided by 100) for each grade to achieve a four-year survival rate, multiplying that figure by 100 and subtracting the result from 100.

11 As noted, the decline in 2004–2005 probably is due in large part to the collection of data for potential dropouts through telephone follow-up and to the matching of potential SDUSD dropouts with CSIS enrollment records. It may also be due to better data collection by Morse High School staff.


standards, such as a certificate or a GED) in the standard number of years.” The federal law leaves to the states the choice of a formula for calculating graduation rates. In 2001–2002 the CDE determined that high school graduation rates are to be determined by a somewhat complex formula that aggregates the number of graduates in a given school year and the number of dropouts for that year’s graduating cohort over the previous four years.12 Figure 3 summarizes Morse High School’s graduation rates during the most recent five-year period for which data are available (2000–2001 to 2004–2005). After three years of decline from 2001–2002 to 2003–2004, which mirrored a districtwide decline, the school’s graduation rate increased in 2004–2005 as did the districtwide graduation rate. The new dropout data collection rules described above represent the primary cause of the graduation rate decline from 2001–2002 to 2003–2004. As dropout rates increase, graduation rates decrease. The increase in the graduation rate at Morse in 2004–2005 is due primarily to a reduction in the number of dropouts. The number of dropouts (134) for the 2004–2005 graduating class through its four years at Morse represents an 18.3 percent decrease from the corresponding figure (164) for the previous year. The number of grade 12 dropouts in that year (16) represents a 30.4 percent decrease from the corresponding figure (23) for the previous year. The steps district staff took beginning in 2004–2005 to gather more accurate dropout data (see above) served to reduce the grade 12 dropout count included as a factor in the overall grades 9–12 count for the graduating cohort.

Figure 3 Morse High School Graduation Rates, Grades 9–12, 2000–2001 to 2004–2005

Graduating

Class of Dropouts 9–12 Grade 12

Enrollment Graduates Graduation Rate District

Graduation Rate

2000–2001 100 673 622 86.1 84.6 2001–2002 130 675 642 83.2 83.3 2002–2003 149 643 585 79.7 82.3 2003–2004 164 642 607 78.7 79.5 2004–2005 134 693 609 82.0 81.7

In 2004–2005, Morse’s graduation rate exceeded the districtwide rate for the first time since 2000–2001, 82.0 versus 81.7. The districwide rate, however, includes both regular schools and alternative schools. Regular schools, such as Morse High School, offer a comprehensive educational program to a general student population, whereas alternative schools serve students with various special needs. The districtwide graduation rate for regular high schools in 2004–2005 was 87.9 percent, an increase from 86.9 percent in the prior year. In comparison, Morse’s graduation rates for both years fall short. Among Morse’s 609 graduates in 2004–2005, 36.9 percent completed all of the courses required for entrance into the University of California (UC) and/or the California State University (CSU), a somewhat lower percentage than the corresponding districtwide percentage (39.5 percent) in that year

12 The following formula was used for the 2004–2005 graduating class:

Number of Graduates (2004–2005) X 100 Number of Graduates (2004–2005) + Grade 9 dropouts (2001–2002) + Grade 10 Dropouts (2002–2003) +

Grade 11 Dropouts (2003–2004) + Grade 12 Dropouts (2004–2005)


As Figure 4 indicates, the percentages of students completing the UC/CSU course requirements varied widely by gender and by racial/ethnic subgroup. For all four of the school’s major racial/ethnic subgroups, the percentage of females completing the UC/CSU course requirements exceeded the percentage of males who did so, narrowly in the case of Hispanic students (24.6 percent to 23.5 percent) and by more substantial margins for Filipino students (60 percent to 42.3 percent), African American students (19.6 percent to 4 percent) and White students (37.5 percent to 9.5 percent). Among racial/ethnic subgroups, the UC/CSU course requirements completion rate was greatest for Filipino students (51.3 percent) followed by Hispanic students (24.1 percent), White students (21.6 percent) and African American students (11.5 percent). The percentage of Filipino students at Morse who completed the course requirements (51.3 percent) nearly matches the districtwide percentage for Filipino students who did so (51.7 percent). So, too, the percentage of Hispanic students at Morse who completed the requirements (24.1 percent) is nearly the same as the corresponding districtwide percentage (24.2 percent).

Figure 4

Morse High School, Completion Rates, UC/CSU Course Requirements, Grade 12 Graduates, 2004–2005

Filipino Hispanic African American White Total

# of Grads

Grads with

Req’d Courses

# of Grads

Grads with

Req’d Courses

# of Grads

Grads with

Req’d Courses

# of Grads

Grads with

Req’d Courses

# of Grads

Grads with

Req’d Courses

Female 160 96 (60.0%)

65 16 (24.6%)

46 9 (19.6%)

16 6 (37.5%)

315 138 (43.8%)

Male 156 66 (42.3%)

51 12 (23.5%)

50 2 (4.0%)

21 2 (9.5%)

294 87 (29.6%)

Total 316 162 (51.3%)

116 28 (24.1%)

96 11 (11.5%

37 8 (21.6%)

609 225 (36.9%)

District Total

729 377 (51.7%)

1,959 474 (24.2%

872

224 (25.7%)

2,286 1,159 (50.7%)

6,653 2,626 (39.5%)

In the case of African American students and White students, however, the disparity between results at Morse and districtwide results is notable. At Morse 11.5 percent of African American graduates completed the course requirements but 25.7 percent of African American graduates districtwide did so. Among White Morse graduates, 21.6 percent completed the course requirements compared to 50.7 percent districtwide. Credit-deficient students. An analysis of student performance conducted by the district’s Standards, Assessment and Accountability Division found that as of March 2006, 60 Morse students in the Class of 2007 who were 17 years of age and older had fewer than 16 credits as of the end of the first semester of the 2005–2006 school year (44 credits are required for graduation). Further analysis found that as of June 2006, an additional 42 students in that class had low grade-point averages and had earned significantly fewer credits than would be expected by that time in their high school careers. Moreover, the most recent report cards for those students indicated a downward trend in their academic performance. It was unlikely that any of the 102 students would be able to earn sufficient credits or raise their grade-point averages sufficiently to graduate with their class.


Analysis also indicated that although 32 other members of the Class of 2007 were credit-deficient and had low grade-point averages, with appropriate support from Morse staff and hard work by the students, it is possible that these students could fulfill the graduation requirements and earn diplomas from Morse,

B. Assessment Data13

Academic Performance Index (API). For Morse, as for all schools in California, the Academic Performance Index reflects the school’s performance on the student assessments included in the state’s Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) program. During the period 2001–2005, Morse met or exceeded its API growth targets, schoolwide and for all of its numerically significant subgroups14 of students, only once, in 2004. (See Figure 2.) In every other year the school failed to meet its targets, either schoolwide or for one or more of its subgroups or both. In 2005, for example, Morse did not meet its schoolwide target or its targets for Hispanic students, African American students and socieconomically disadvantaged students.15 In fact, its schoolwide API was lower by three points than its 2004 schoolwide score and the API for Hispanic students remained the same. During the five-year period Morse has demonstrated 54 points of growth schoolwide, from an API base score of 628 in 2000 to a growth score of 682 in 2005. Morse’s Filipino students have improved their API score from 707 in 2000 to 772 in 2005, Hispanic students from 510 to 605, African American students from 538 to 596, and socioeconomically disadvantaged students from 565 to 636. In 2004 and 2005, White students did not represent a statistically significant subgroup of Morse students.

Figure 5 Morse High School, 2005 API Results, with 2001–2004 Comparisons

Group 2004 API

Base 2005 API API Growth

Target API

Growth Met 2005 Target?

2004? 2003? 2002? 2001?

Schoolwide 685 682 6 –3 No Yes Yes No No Filipino 767 772 5 5 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Hispanic 605 605 5 0 No Yes Yes No No African American 593 596 5 3 No Yes Yes No No White N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A No No No Socioeconomically Disadvantaged

633 636 5 3 No Yes Yes No No

13 The assessment data summarized in this section are accurate through the 2004–2005 school year and represent

the data that Morse administration and staff had available for the self-study leading to development of the school’s WASC Action Plan and for initial development of its restructuring plan. Assessment data for 2005–2006 became available only in mid- and late August 2006, after the majority of the restructuring plan had been developed. Those data and their implications for restructuring are summarized in Section 2. B. of this proposal.

14 A numerically significant subgroup is defined as a subgroup with 100 or more students with valid STAR Program scores or 50 or more students with valid STAR Program scores who make up at least 15 percent of the total valid STAR Program scores at the school.

15 Socioeconomically disadvantaged students are students both of whose parents/guardians have not received high school diplomas or students who participate in the free or reduced-price lunch program.


Morse API scores in 2005 earned the school a 2005 statewide ranking of 5 on an ascending scale of 1–10. The school earned a similar schools ranking of 7.16 Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP). According to the NCLB accountability requirements, 100 percent of students in the nation’s public schools are to achieve proficiency in English language arts and mathematics by 2014. School districts and individual schools must demonstrate adequate yearly progress (AYP) toward meeting that goal. Each state has adopted AYP requirements to comply with the NCLB. In California four criteria are used in calculating AYP for high schools.

Criterion 1. The number of grade 10 students who score at the Proficient or Advanced level on the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE)17 or the California Alternate Performance Assessment (CAPA)18 must meet or exceed annually designated percentages (annual measurable objectives, or AMOs) on the English language arts and mathematics portions of the tests. For 2005 the AMO for English was 22.3 percent and the AMO for mathematics was 20.9 percent. The AMOs increase year by year until they reach 100 percent in 2014. The criterion applies schoolwide and to each numerically significant subgroup of students.19

Criterion 2. At least 95 percent of the grade 10 students continuously enrolled from the California Basic Educational Data System (CBEDS) date to the first date of testing must take the CAHSEE. The criterion also applies schoolwide and to each numerically significant subgroup of students.

Criterion 3. The school must show a specified level of growth in its API score. For 2005 each school must achieve a minimum API of 590 or have at least one point of growth in the API in comparison with the previous year.

Criterion 4. The school must achieve a specified graduation rate. For 2005 schools must have a graduation rate of at least 82.9 percent or must have demonstrated improvement in the graduation rate of at least 0.1 from the previous year or improvement of at least 0.2 in the average two-year rate.

Figure 6 summarizes the results of Morse High School’s efforts to meet the requirements of Criterion 1 during the period 2002–2005. In every category, schoolwide and by numerically significant subgroup, the percentage of Morse’s Grade 10 students who scored at the proficient or above level on the English and mathematics portions of the CAHSEE or the CAPA exceeded the annual measurable objectives, sometimes by substantial margins. As the AMOs increase, however, the scores achieved by Morse grade 10 students in 2005 will no longer suffice.

16 The similar schools rank indicates the decile rank of a school’s API compared with the APIs of 100 other

schools with similar demographic characteristics, including student mobility, student ethnicity, student socioeconomic data, percentage of teachers who are fully credentialied, percentage of students who hold emergency credentials, percentage of students who are English-language learners, average class size per grade level and whether the schools operate multi-year-round educational programs.

17 The CAHSEE scores used to calculate a school’s AYP are the scores of grade 10 students on the CAHSEE administered in February and March as well on the May make-up exam. The three performance levels set for the CAHSEE—proficient, advanced and basic—were set independently of the CAHSEE passing score required for graduation.

18 The CAPA was developed to assess students with the most significant cognitive disabilities who are unable to take the California Standards Tests (CSTs) even with accommodations or modifications.

19 For the NCLB, the CDE has defined a numerically significant subgroup as one that is comprised of 100 students or 50 students who represent at least 15 percent of the students to be tested.


The slimmest margins between the AMOs and actual student scores in 2005 may be found among English learners and Hispanic students in English language arts and among African American students and Hispanic students in mathematics. Students with disabilities, who have not represented a numerically significant subgroup at Morse during the four-year period, fell far short of achieving the AMOs in English and mathematics in 2005. In both 2004 and 2005 Morse met the participation rate requirements of Criterion 2, in 2004 by substantial margins but in 2005 only by use of a permissible alternative method of calculation whereby the participation rates for two consecutive years are averaged. In 2005 the participation rate fell short of the required 95 percent for African American, Hispanic, socioeconomically disadvantaged and English learner students in English language arts and for African American, Hispanic and socioeconomically disadvantaged students in mathematics. Only when the participation rates of these subgroups were averaged with the higher rates for the same subgroups in the previous year did Morse meet its Criterion 2 requirements. In the two previous years, 2002 and 2003, Morse failed to meet its participation rate requirements. In 2003 three subgroups’ participation rates fell short in both subject areas. In 2002 Morse did not meet its participation rate requirements schoolwide or for any numerically significant subgroup.

Figure 6 Morse High School, 2005 Adequate Yearly Progress Annual Measurable Objectives Summary,

with 2002–2004 Comparisons

English Language Arts Mathematics

Group AMO % Prof-icient

Met AMO 2005

2004

2003 2002 AMO % Profi-cient

2005 Met

AMO

2004 2003 2002

Schoolwide 22.3% 48.7 Yes Yes Yes Yes 20.9% 47.5 Yes Yes Yes Yes

Filipino 22.3% 66.2 Yes Yes Yes Yes 20.9% 66.8 Yes Yes Yes Yes

Hispanic 22.3% 30.3 Yes Yes Yes Yes 20.9% 31.5 Yes Yes Yes Yes

African American 22.3% 34.1 Yes Yes Yes Yes 20.9% 29.8 Yes Yes Yes Yes

Socioeconomically Disadvantaged

22.3% 36.4 Yes Yes Yes Yes 20.9% 38.8 Yes Yes Yes Yes

English Learners 22.3% 29.4 N/A Yes Yes Yes 20.9% 36.6 N/A Yes Yes Yes


22.3% 3.8 N/A N/A N/A N/A 20.9% 5.8 N/A N/A N/A N/A

During 2002–2005 Morse met the requirements of Criterion 3 by achieving better than the specified minimum API score. In 2005 the minimum API score required was 590. Morse’s schoolwide API score was 682. Finally, in both 2004 and 2005 Morse failed to meet the graduation rate requirement of Criterion 4. Since meeting all four criteria is required for a school to make adequate yearly progress, Morse did not make AYP in either year.


In 2004 schools were required to achieve a graduation rate of 82.8 or a rate 0.1 above the previous year’s rate or a rate 0.2 above the average two-year graduation rate. Morse’s graduation rate of 79.720 fell below the required minimum. It also fell below the previous year’s graduation rate of 83.2 by –3.5 rather than meeting or exceeding the minimum requirement of a 0.1 gain. When the two-year average rates for 2001 and 2002 and for 2003 and 2004 were compared, the change in average two-year rates was –5.6 rather than the required 0.2 gain. In 2005 schools were required to achieve a graduation rate of 82.9 or improve the previous year’s rate by at least 0.1 or improve the average two-year graduation rate by 0.2. Morse’s graduation rate of 78.7 failed to achieve any of these requirements. That rate fell below both the required minimum and the previous year’s rate.

California Standards Tests (CST). The California Standards Tests indicate how well students are performing in relation to state subject-area content standards. Students’ scores on the tests are reported as performance levels: Advanced (exceeds state standards), Proficient (meets standards), Basic (approaching standards), Below Basic (below standards), and Far Below Basic (well below standards). The CST is an important component of the state’s STAR program. Morse’s CST results, when examined by grade level and subject area, are revealing. (See Figure 7)

Figure 7 Percentage of Morse Students Achieving Proficient or Advanced Level,

English Language Arts CST, 2001-2005, and Comparisons with Districtwide Results

Morse High School District

Grade Level

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

9 24.6 26.4 31.8 30.0 32.4 30.8 34.1 38.9 38.9 45.9

10 31.3 32.8 33.3 34.2 33.6 33.8 32.7 34.1 35.5 36.9

11 25.8 28.3 34.7 38.1 34.9 28.8 32.2 33.9 35.3 38.5

From 2001–2005, Morse students demonstrated somewhat inconsistent growth by grade level in English language arts, with students at particular grade levels moving forward and back as the years progress. At grade 9, for example, the percentage of students scoring at the Proficient level or above increased incrementally from 2001 to 2003, decreased in 2004 and increased again to a five-year high in 2005. At both grades 10 and 11, the percentage of students scoring at the Proficient level or above increased incrementally from 2001 through 2004 but then decreased in 2005. The performance of students by cohort during the five-year period has demonstrated positive growth. Of the 2001 grade 9 cohort, for example, 24.6 percent scored at the Proficient or Advanced level on the English language arts CST. In 2002, the cohort’s grade 10 year, 32.8 percent scored at those levels. In 2003, at the grade 11 level, 34.7 percent scored at the Proficient or Advanced level. As Figure 7 demonstrates, other grade-level cohorts have demonstrated similar patterns of performance. The percentages of Morse students scoring at the Proficient or Advanced levels on the most recent English language arts CST are somewhat lower than the corresponding districtwide scores for

20 The AYP graduation rate data are one year older than other data on the AYP report. These data are from the

California Basic Educational Data System (CBEDS).


students in grades 9–11, by 3.3 percentage points at grade 10, 3.6 points at grade 11 and 13.5 points at grade 9. Among Morse’s numerically significant subgroups, performance remains relatively steady by grade level but varies widely by subgroup. (See Figure 8.) In 2005 only Filipino students exceeded schoolwide performance in any grade. All others fell short, often substantially so.

Figure 8

Percentage of Morse Students, Selected Categories, Achieving Proficient or Advanced Level, English Language Arts CST, 2005

Grade Level

Schoolwide Socio-Economically

Disadvantaged

English Learners

African American

Hispanic Students

Filipino

9 32.4 26.3 4.9 21.6 20.8 52.3

10 33.6 22.4 3.9 18.6 19.0 52.6

11 34.9 25.5 7.1 19.7 22.1 48.8

Results by grade level on the mathematics CST from 2002–2005 demonstrate a clear downward trend, with the percentage of students scoring at the Proficient or Advanced level notably higher in the first two years of the four-year period than in the most recent two years. (See Figure 9.) Results in 2004 represent the low point for all three grade levels. Results in 2005 show improvement but do not return to the four-year high point for any grade level. With some exceptions, these results are consistent with districtwide results. Unlike in the case of English language arts CST performance, mathematics performance by cohort demonstrates a consistent downward trend as students engage with different, and often more complex, content. Of the 2001 grade 9 cohort, for example, 11.3 percent scored at the Proficient or Advanced level on the mathematics CST. In 2002, the cohort’s grade 10 year, 11.3 percent scored at those levels. In 2003, at the grade 11 level, 4.5 percent scored at the Proficient or Advanced level. As Figure 9 demonstrates, other grade-level cohorts have demonstrated similar patterns of performance. The percentages of Morse students scoring at the Proficient or Advanced level on the most recent mathematics CST are somewhat lower than the corresponding districtwide scores for students in grades 9–11, by 1.4 percentage points at grade 10, 5.1 points at grade 11 and 5.7 points at grade 9.

Figure 9

Percentage of Morse Students Achieving Proficient or Advanced Level, Mathematics CST, 2002-2005, and Comparisons with Districtwide Results


Grade Level

2002 2003 2004 2005 2002 2003 2004 2005

9 11.3 14.3 9.9 11.3 13.1 13.0 13.0 17.0

10 10.8 11.3 6.0 9.7 11.1 11.8 9.2 11.1

11 10.8 11.7 4.5 5.4 12.6 11.9 8.4 10.5

Among Morse’s numerically significant subgroups, performance by grade level declines consistently, sometimes remarkably so, but varies widely by subgroup. (See Figure 10.) As in the case of English language arts results, in 2005 only Filipino students exceeded schoolwide performance in any grade.


All others fell short, often by substantial margins. No African American students in grade 9 or English learners in grade 11 scored at the Proficient level or above. No more than 2.6 percent of students in either subgroup performed at the Proficient or Advanced level at any grade level.

Figure 10 Percentage of Morse Students, Selected Categories,

Achieving Proficient or Advanced Level, Mathematics CST, 2005

Grade Level


Disadvantaged

English Learners

African American

Hispanic Students

Filipino

9 11.3 7.8 2.0 0.0 7.4 22.4

10 9.7 5.7 0.8 2.6 4.4 16.7

11 5.4 3.8 0.0 2.6 2.5 8.6

Examining Morse student results on the specific CST mathematics tests they took in 2005 offers additional insight into their performance. Students in grades 9 through 11 who had completed or were enrolled in discipline-specific, standards-based mathematics courses took California Mathematics Standards Tests in Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II, or Integrated Mathematics 1, 2, or 3. Students in grades 9 and 10 who had completed Algebra II or Integrated Mathematics 3 during a previous school year and grade 11 students who completed one of these two courses anytime prior to the beginning of testing were required to take the Summative High School Mathematics CST. This requirement included students who were taking higher mathematics courses or no mathematics course. As Figure 11 indicates, no students who took the Integrated Math 2 CST scored at the Proficient or above level. Only 1 percent of the students taking the Integrated Math 1 CST and 2 percent of the students taking the Algebra I CST did so. Eleven percent of Morse students who took the Algebra II CST scored at the Proficient or above level and 15 percent of those who took the Summative High School Mathematics CST did so.

Figure 11

Percentage of Morse Students Achieving Proficient or Advanced Level, by California Mathematics Standards Test, 2005

Number of Students Tested

Mathematics Course Grade 9 Grade 10 Grade 11 Percent Proficient or Advanced

Algebra I 297 33 33 1.9 Integrated Math 1 – 15 133 1.4 Geometry 135 530 112 10.0 Integrated Math 2 – 1 28 0 Algebra II 1 171 226 10.9 Summative High School Mathematics (Grades 9–112 – 4 208 15.1

California English Language Development Test (CELDT). The purpose of the CELDT is to identify new students who are English learners, determine their level of English proficiency and annually assess their progress toward becoming fluent English proficient. The test as administered to students in grades 9–12 covers four skill areas: listening, speaking, reading and writing in English. The CELDT must be administered to students who enter a public school district from homes in which a language other than English is used frequently and to students already identified as English learners.


CELDT results are used to determine students’ current levels of English language proficiency and inform teachers about whether students are making timely progress in learning English. Teachers use this information to identify students who need additional instructional support. On the basis of their test results, students are assigned a proficiency level of Beginning, Early Intermediate, Intermediate, Early Advanced, or Advanced. Grades 2-12 students also receive an overall proficiency level (OPL), which is calculated based on their assessment results in each skill area. Generally, students with little or no English language proficiency on entering school would be expected to work at the Beginning level during their first year of enrollment, at the Early Intermediate level during their second year of enrollment and so on. Students who achieve an OPL of Early Advanced or Advanced and meet district California Standards Test (CST) criteria are considered for reclassification to fluent English status. District expectations for English learners follow state guidelines, which recommend reclassification within five years of enrollment. Students newly enrolled at the Early Advanced or Advanced levels are considered initially fluent in English and therefore are not classified as English learners.

Morse’s CELDT results for 2002–2005 indicate that in each of the last three years a greater percentage of English learners tested failed to meet or exceed expectations than the districtwide average. Moreover, the percentage of ELs whose results are below expectations has increased in each of the last four years. (See Figure 12.) In 2004–2005, for example, 72.1 percent of Morse’s ELs failed to meet expectations compared with 59.3 percent of students districtwide.

Figure 12

Morse High School, English Learners’ Timely Acquisition of English, 2001–2005

BELOW EXPECTATIONS MET OR EXCEEDED EXPECTATIONS

Year Morse District Morse District

2001–2002 60.0% 64.8% 40.0% 35.2% 2002–2003 66.4% 64.4% 33.6% 35.6% 2003–2004 71.0% 66.0% 29.0% 34.0% 2004–2005 72.1% 59.3% 27.9% 40.7% 2005–2006 (Analysis to be generated in fall 2006)

Overall, Morse’s English learners have demonstrated a positive pattern in their development of English fluency. The percentage of EL students designated as at the Beginning and Early Intermediate levels has declined from 13 percent in 2001–2002 to 9 percent in 2005–2006 and the percentage designated as at the Early Advanced and Advanced levels has increased from 46 percent in 2001–2002 to 66 percent in 2005–2006. (See Figure 13.)


Figure 13 Morse High School, English Learners by Proficiency Level, All Grades, 2001-2006

Year Advanced Early Advanced Intermediate Early

Intermediate Beginning

2001–2002 24 6.0% 155 40.0% 158 41.0% 25 6.0% 28 7.0% 2002–2003 42 12.0% 131 39.0% 124 36.0% 27 8.0% 16 5.0% 2003–2004 15 5.0% 128 40.0% 127 39.0% 38 12.0% 14 4.0% 2004–2005 68 22.0% 111 36.0% 93 30.0% 29 9.0% 9 3.0% 2005–2006 90 24.0% 158 42.0% 92 25.0% 30 8.0% 3 1.0%

California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE). Beginning with the Class of 2006, in order to graduate from a California high school, students must pass both the mathematics and literacy portions of the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE). Students are given an opportunity to take the test once in their second year of high school and, if they do not pass it, multiple times in succeeding years. As noted, for a school and a school’s numerically significant subgroups to make AYP, the number of grade 10 students who score at the Proficient or Advanced level on the CAHSEE or the CAPA must meet or exceed annual measurable objectives (AMOs) on the English language arts and mathematics portions of the tests. Figure 6 indicates the percentages of Morse student who did so in 2005 and also indicates whether Morse students met their AMOs in the preceding three years. Figure 14 summarizes CAHSEE results for all Morse students in grades 10, 11 and 12 who had taken the CAHSEE one or more times as of September 2005. As the figure indicates, CAHSEE results vary significantly by ethnic designation. Eighty-one percent of Filipino students, for example, had passed the English language arts portion of the test and 79 percent had passed the mathematics portion. These results were similar to districtwide CAHSEE results—83 percent and 82 percent—for the same group of students. White students also had a relatively high rate of passing, with 71 percent passing the English portion of the test and 73 percent the mathematics portion. These results, however, were well below corresponding districtwide results for this student subgroup. Among all district students tested in the White subgroup, 87 percent passed the English portion of the test and 85 percent the mathematics portion. The CAHSEE results for Hispanic students and for African American students fell considerably below the results for their two major subgroup counterparts. Fifty percent of Hispanic students and 57 percent of African American students passed the English portion of the test. Forty-nine percent of Hispanic students and 51 percent of African American students passed the mathematics portion of the test. Their results were consistent with districtwide results for Hispanic and African American students. Morse English learners fared poorly on the CAHSEE. Only 23 percent had passed the English portion of the test. Only 31 percent passed the mathematics portion. The performance of Morse’s English learners nearly matched that of English learners districtwide. The differences between the performances of females and males on the CAHSEE were significant only in English language arts. Seventy percent of Morse females who took the test one or more times passed it in contrast with 59 percent of the school’s male students tested. Sixty-two-percent of females passed the mathematics portion of the test and 61% of males did so. These results are similar to districtwide results for females and males.


Figure 14 Morse High School, CAHSEE Results by Gender and Ethnicity, All Grades,

English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics, 2005

Subj

ect

All

Stud

ents

Filip

ino

His

pani

c

Afr

ican

A

mer

ican

Whi

te

Eng

lish

Lea

rner

s

Soci

oeco

n.

Dis

adva

nt’d

Fem

ale

Mal

e

# Tested English 1,039 349 352 216 56 246 443 490 549

Passing 64% 81% 50% 57% 71% 23% 57% 70% 59%

# Tested Math 1,075 362 364 225 49 226 448 526 549 Mor

se

Passing 61% 79% 49% 51% 73% 31% 56% 62% 61%

# Tested English 12,399 868 5,406 1,988 2,830 3,232 6,137 5,953 6,446

Passing 66% 83% 53% 58% 87% 26% 55% 71% 61%

# Tested Math 12,429 893 5,405 2,063 2,820 2,801 6,063 6,302 6,127 SDU

SD

Passing 63% 82% 50% 50% 85% 32% 53% 62% 64%

The differences between the performances of females and males on the CAHSEE were significant only in English language arts. Seventy percent of Morse females who took the test one or more times passed it in contrast with 59 percent of the school’s male students tested. Sixty-two-percent of females passed the mathematics portion of the test and 61% of males did so. These results are similar to districtwide results for females and males.

C. Staffing Data

Leadership team. In 2005–2006, Morse’s instructional leadership team included a principal, a principal on special assignment, and three vice principals. (See Figure 15.) The principal and the principal on special assignment responsible for operations began their service at Morse in May 2003, as part of a Joint Intervention Agreement (JIA) among the California Department of Education (CDE), the San Diego Unified School District and Morse High School. The agreement arose from a November 2002 CDE investigation of the school after it had failed to meet its API growth targets for two years in a row.21 Prior to the principal’s May 2003 assignment, she served for two years as Crawford High School’s literacy administrator, for almost two years as DePortola Middle School vice principal, and for 10 years as a classroom teacher and later as Title I resource teacher at San Diego High School. The principal on special assignment had previously served for 10 years as principal at Correia Middle School and for five years as principal at Standley Middle School. Two of the vice principals began their service in those positions in 2003, and one in 2005. Of the vice principals who have served for three years at Morse, one had previously served for five years as vice principal at Gompers Secondary School and the other had served for three years as an intern support provider in the district’s intern program. The vice principal who began service at Morse in 2005 had previously served for two years as a science administrator at Clairemont High School. The roles and responsibilities of instructional leadership team members are described below (see Figure 19.)

21 By June 2004 Morse was removed from the CDE intervention process, having completed most of the corrective

actions required by the JIA.


Certificated classroom staff. In 2005–2006 Morse employed 132 certificated teachers, although not all of them had classroom assignments. (See Figure 15.) Almost 53 percent of those individuals held Master’s degrees and more than 43 percent held Bachelor’s degrees. Morse teachers were, in the main, veteran teachers. Only five served in their first year of teaching in 2005–2006 and nine served in their second year. The average number of years of teaching experience among the certificated classroom staff was 15.2 years and the average number of years of service at Morse, 13.3 percent. Turnover among Morse teachers has been minimal during the last five years. Of the 132 certificated teachers on the Morse staff, 76 taught core subjects: 23 taught English classes, 20 taught mathematics classes, 16 taught science classes and 17 taught history-social science classes. Of the remaining teachers 15 taught academic electives, six taught school-to-career classes, 10 taught physical education, and six taught special education special day classes.

Figure 15 Morse School Staff at a Glance, 2005–2006

Leadership Team Members

5 Regularly Credentialed Teachers

117 Certficated Staff Absences (Days), 2005–2006

2,739

Certificated Staff 132 Teachers Credentialed as Interns

1322 Positions Vacant, Certificated

3

Certificated Support Staff 1123 Teachers with Emergency Credentials

2 Positions Vacant, Classified

2

Classified Support Staff 10424 Average Years Teaching Experience, Classroom Teachers

15.2 Percentage of Classroom Teaching Staff New to Morse, 2005–2006

7.5

Ten teachers were new to Morse in 2005–2006. Four of them taught mathematics, three taught physics, one taught English, one taught social studies and one taught Regional Occupations Program (ROP) child development. Three certificated classroom positions were vacant for a substantial portion of the school year. One History-social science position and one grade 9 English position became vacant at the end of the fall semester. One English position was filled by a student teacher for the entire year. Certificated support staff. A full-time certificated support staff that includes a six counselors (a head counselor, a district counselor and four counselors); a Life Skills counselor; an English language development support teacher, an English language arts resource teacher, a special education diagnostic resource teacher, a library media teacher and a school nurse also serves Morse’s students. (See Figure 15.) In addition, a number of itinerant certificated personnel serve Morse, including an adaptive physical education teacher and a teacher of the deaf and hard of hearing. Morse’s counselors, most of them veterans in the position, fulfill a host of responsibilities. They provide guidance for individual students, in some cases lead support groups for students in need, discuss with Student Study Team colleagues and help implement interventions for students targeted

22 Includes two pre-intern teachers 23 Positions also counted among Morse’s certificated staff. Does not include support from itinerant certificated

personnel. 24 Includes both full-time and part-time positions.


for special assistance, conduct conferences with parents and with parents and teachers as needed, and conduct some classroom lessons on specialized topics. They also monitor student tardiness and student referrals, assist with supervision of students, assist teachers with classroom management, monitor 504 plans, organize and monitor learning contracts, and plan, implement and monitor incentive programs for students. Each counselor is responsible for scheduling and guiding the educational programs of approximately 460 students.

Credential information. Of the 132 certificated staff members who served Morse students in 2005–2006,117 were fully credentialed to teach in their subject areas. Two teachers were pre-intern teachers, 11 were intern teachers and two taught with emergency credentials. Class size, core subjects. Morse Senior High School administrators and staff believe that smaller class sizes permit teachers to identify obstacles to learning that impede individual students and to give them targeted attention. During the three-year period from 2003–2004 through 2005–2006, average core subject class sizes, unfortunately, have increased in English, from 31.3 in 2003–2004 to 33.8 in 2005–2006. (See Figure 16.) During the same period they decreased only marginally in mathematics, from 35.9 to 35.8. They increased in both science—35.8 to 36.4—and history-social science—35.9 to 37.3.

Figure 16

Morse High School, Average Teaching Load and Teaching Load Distribution, 2004–2006

2003–2004 2004–2005 2005–2006

Number of Students/ Classrooms



Subject

Avg. Class Size 1–22 23–32 33+



English 31.3 12 54 57 34.4 5 26 76 33.8 Mathematics 35.9 3 22 57 35.2 1 20 57 35.8 Science 35.8 2 13 59 35.1 2 16 42 36.4 Social Science 35.9 0 5 53 35.5 0 15 40 37.3

Information not yet available

Certificated staff absences. During the last four years, the number of days certificated staff members have been absent from their teaching duties has increased by 15.6 percent. In 2002–2003, the total number of absences reported was 2,370. In 2005–2006 reported absences increased to 2,739. (See Figure 15.) Reasons for absences include such categories as illness, personal necessity, personal business, bereavement, court appearances, jury duty, vacancy25 and professional development. Although some absence category names have changed during the last several years, it is possible to cite some notable comparisons. Absences for reasons of illness increased 29.3 percent, from 793 in 2003–2004, to 817 in 2004–2005 and to 1,025 in 2005–2006. In the same period, absences for reasons of personal necessity increased 35.3 percent, from 153 to 160 to 207. Absences for reasons of personal business increased 50 percent, from 82 in both 2003–2004 and 2004–2005 to 123 in 2005–2006. Absences for reasons of bereavement increased 11.8 percent, from 51 to 59 to 57. Finally, absences for reasons of professional development increased 94.1 percent, from 340 to 627 to 660.

25 Typically, a vacant position indicates that the site has an allocation for a position but has not filled, or has been

unable to fill, the position. In that case the position is filled by a day-to-day substitute until a permanent teacher can be hired.


The absence of a regularly assigned teacher for any of the reasons listed does not guarantee that a substitute will be available to fill the position temporarily. In 2003–2004, there were 100 certificated staff absences for which Morse High School sought substitutes but none were available. In 2004–2005, that number increased to 170, but in 2005–2006, it decreased to 87.

Classified staff. One hundred and four classified staff members serve the Morse School community, including three full-time and 26 part-time paraprofessionals, nine full-time office/clerical staff members, and 12 full-time and 54 part-time staff members in other positions. The other classified support positions include a School-to-Career coordinator, a site technician, two school police officers, and a building services supervisor and custodial staff. Two classified support positions were vacant for a substantial portion of the school year: the plant operations supervisor and a clerk 1 designated to provide second language department support, including assisting with CELDT testing and reclassification of second language students.

D. Morse’s Current Educational Program Overview. In the 1998–1999 school year, the San Diego Unified School District initiated a districtwide school reform effort intended to provide all students with effective teaching, high-quality instructional materials, rich learning environments, and additional time and support to reach State academic standards. Like all schools in the district, Morse has participated in the reforms, placing special emphasis in the instructional program on the development of literacy and numeracy.

Instructional leadership. Morse’s leadership believes that improved instructional practice leads to gains in student achievement. Each member of the leadership team (see Item C. Leadership team above) is assigned teachers in particular content areas and trains, supports, coaches and confers with them. Each observes instruction in his or her areas and evaluates both teacher and student performance. The assistant superintendent assigned to Morse has worked closely with the principal and the other leadership team members to monitor instructional practice in the classroom and establish goals for professional development. Specific duties and responsibilities are assigned to each member of the leadership team according to the individual’s expertise and personal background. One vice principal, who was a science administrator at another district high school, for example, oversees the science department. In collaboration with the principal and district staff, she designs professional growth activities for physics, chemistry and biology teachers and supervises, coaches and evaluates the science department teachers. Another vice principal, who was a project resource teacher in the district’s Educational Technology Department, oversees the use of technology at Morse and acts as the liaison in such matters between the school and central district staff. All members of the leadership team participate in the design of the professional growth activities for teachers. They meet with teachers monthly during department meetings to discuss pertinent issues and share relevant information. They participate with content-area teachers during release days to continue to refine the alignment of curriculum with State standards and with the benchmark assessments used to measure student progress throughout the academic year. The principal collaborates with the principal of O’Farrell Community School to explore ways to bring together grades 8 and 9 content-area teachers. The collaboration is intended to increase awareness and understanding of the expectations that high school teachers have for entering grade 9 students, particularly in mathematics and science as well as in student behavior. (Both co-principals will


maintain ongoing communication with the principals of the Morse feeder schools. See Item 2. B.1. below.)

Professional development. The districtwide school reform placed great emphasis on professional development. Although the forms of professional development and the personnel assigned to lead or implement it have changed over time, the emphasis remains. Professional development for Morse teachers is academic standards-based and is driven by student performance data. Schoolwide meetings of administrators, curriculum department heads, faculty and staff, at which student performance data are analyzed and their implications discussed, are held on the first Monday of each month. Department meetings are held on the first Tuesday of each month. To provide additional time for such professional development and collaboration, both by department and schoolwide, in 2003 Morse instituted a modified Wednesday minimum day schedule every two weeks. Finally, professional development opportunities are offered to Morse staff members during the summer. On staff development days prior to the opening of the 2005–2006 school year, the whole staff scrutinized CST data for Morse students, which were disaggregated by grade level, gender and ethnicity. This collaborative data analysis made clear that the content areas of greatest student need are in mathematics and English language arts as well as in science and that three student subgroups—Hispanic students, African American students and English learners—require particular attention if they are to become proficient in those areas. Throughout the fall professional development focused on continuing analysis of student performance data, with the goal of helping teachers devise strategies to meet actual student needs. First in focus groups and then by departments, teachers reviewed examples of actual student work that met standards, approximated meeting standards and did not meet standards, to assure that they agreed about the type of work to be expected of all students. Teachers of like courses then developed units of study, with pre- and post-tests, and standards-based lessons to address the specific areas in which the data demonstrate that students need assistance in achieving academic proficiency. Among recent effective professional development initiatives at Morse is the provision of opportunities for some teachers to improve their skills by observing their colleagues in action, practicing their craft. Like-course teams of English teachers in grades 9 and 10 observed one another’s teaching, met afterward with the teachers observed and discussed what they experienced, with the purpose of determining how both could improve their repertoires of teaching strategies and skills. In addition to the standards-based professional development provided to all Morse teachers, individual teachers have attended a wide range of workshops and training opportunities They include college readiness workshops offered by local colleges and universities, Advanced Placement conferences hosted by the College Board, and programs sponsored by the AVID (Advancement Through Individual Determination) Program, the Reading Institute for Academic Preparation and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM). Some teachers have participated in Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP) training and in training in Specially Designed Academic Instruction in English (SDAIE). Morse teachers know that they must continually advance their content-area knowledge and hone their teaching skills to assure that their students succeed in school and are prepared for post-high school education and careers. Instructional practice. Morse offers its students a wide array of standards-based courses in core academic subjects, in physical education and in the arts as well as courses in a variety of academic,


school-to-career and military science (JROTC) electives. It also provides appropriate coursework for Morse’s special education and GATE students. Figure 17 summarizes the content and application areas in which classes were offered in 2005–2006, as well as the number of classes offered, enrollment in the classes in each area, the number of classes offered that are approved by the University of California and the California State University as meeting their subject-area admission requirements, and the average number of students in classes in each area.

Figure 17

Morse High School, Courses Offered, 2005–200626

# Classes27 Enrollment # UC/CSU-approved28

Average Class Size

# AP Classes Average Class Size

English 100 3,377 74 33.8 3 27.0 Mathematics 76 2,724 64 35.8 2 29.0 Science 64 2,330 64 36.4 2 20.0 History–Social Science

63 2,348 42 37.3 6 20.7

World Languages 37 1,334 37 36.1 1 42.0 Art 15 508 13 33.9 2 19.0 Drama 6 220 6 36.7 0 0 Music 3 128 3 42.7 0 0 Health 1 30 0 30.0 N/A N/A Physical Education 36 1,740 0 48.3 N/A N/A Computer Education

2 76 2 38.0 0 0

School-to-Career29 21 756 2 36.0 N/A N/A Military Science 25 319 0 12.8 N/A N/A Special Education 57 306 0 5.4 N/A N/A Other30 8 236 0 29.5 N/A N/A

The figure also indicates the number of advanced placement (AP) classes offered at Morse in 2005–2006 and the average size of the AP classes. Ten AP courses were offered at Morse, one in English (three classes), two in mathematics (two classes), two in science (two classes), three in history-social science (six classes), one in world languages (AP Spanish language; 1 class) and one in art (two classes). English language arts. Teachers of English classes incorporate research-based literacy strategies in their teaching and provide extended learning time for struggling students, particularly at grades 9 and 10. Like-course teams, as noted, have developed units of study, including pre- and post-tests.

26 California Department of Education, Educational Demographics Unit report. Available for download at

http://data1.cde.ca.gov/dataquest 27 Does not include Advanced Placement classes. See Column 6. 28 These courses meet the University of California/California State University subject-area entrance requirements. 29 Includes courses in Consumer Home Economics Education (three courses); Manufacturing Technology (one

course); Power, Energy and Transportation Technology (one course); Visual Communications, Drafting (one course); and Diversified Occupations (one course).

30 Advancement Through Individual Determination (AVID) classes.


English language arts teachers actively collaborate with their colleagues in history-social science in selecting novels and writing projects as well as field-trip opportunities (Advanced English, grade 10) and by including appropriate nonfiction and historical investigations (American Literature, grade 11) in their courses. Grade 12 students who have completed required English courses may choose from a variety of challenging course offerings. Students also have opportunities to participate regularly in speech and debate contests and to staff or contribute to the school newspaper. Mathematics. All Morse students are required to pass Algebra 1-2 and Geometry 1-2 as well as either Unifying Algebra and Geometry 1-2 or Intermediate Algebra 1-2. Many students who have completed the required coursework enroll in such advanced classes as Pre-Calculus, Honors Pre-Calculus, Calculus, Statistics and AP Statistics. Science. All Morse students are required to complete three years of science in order to graduate. In addition to mandatory regular courses in physics, chemistry and biology, advanced courses are offered in the three disciplines, as well as a course in physiology, for students who wish to delve more deeply into the study of science. Science teachers incorporate the use of contemporary technology tools in their teaching and rely on project-based learning, using hands-on activities to encourage their students to explore the realm of science. Morse science faculty members are collaborating with colleagues in Morse feeder middle schools to align the science curriculum through all middle-level and high school grades. Science students have opportunities to extend and apply their science leaning through participation in the Greater San Diego Science and Engineering Fair and by taking advantage of summer intern programs through the Scripps Research Facility and the Salk Institute. History-Social Science. Students may choose from a range of offerings in history and related studies, which permit them to meet UC/CSU subject-area admission requirements. Students study world history (grade 10), U.S. history (grade 11) and economics and American government or political science (grade 12) in regular, honors or advanced placement courses. During the last three years, Morse history-social science teachers have revamped the curriculum to meet State academic standards and to assure that all pertinent instruction is provided by the April California Standards Test dates. Following the April tests, teachers focus on units that draw on materials from other courses, including relevant literature, and incorporate appropriate technology to help students make the connections between their learning and their lives. World Languages. Morse offers its students courses in Spanish, French, Pilipino and Japanese. Language students participate in such academic challenges as the Japanese Bowl, and in a variety of clubs, such as Ballet Folklorico, Tajatsi, Ichiban and Kaisahan. Visual and Performing Arts. Morse students are able to participate in courses in the fine arts and art history as well as in music and theater, all of which are aligned with the State’s academic standards in the arts. Some courses provide students with broad overviews of the arts disciplines and others provide opportunities for highly focused or advanced-level work. The arts disciplines lend themselves to project-based learning. Arts students have opportunities to display their work in their disciplines at a variety of school-centered and community functions. School-to-Career. Morse offers its students a range of courses in the technical/vocational arena that permit students to meet elective course requirements for graduation as well as to lay a foundation for future career paths. Morse administration and staff are exploring creation of small learning communities, or academies, that incorporate training suitable to particular career paths. In addition, in


2004–2005 the school restored its employee outreach specialist position, previously lost due to budget reductions, and expanded its School-to-Career office to include two part-time assistants. School-to-Career staff are engaged in developing community contacts to provide job shadowing, internships and apprenticeship opportunities to Morse students. Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) program. Morse offers a full complement of GATE options to students who qualify and are able to meet the challenges of a more rigorous academic program. GATE cluster and GATE seminar programs are offered to students in grades 9 through 12 and several AP courses are offered to students in grades 11 and 12. including AP U. S. History, AP Government, AP English Literature, AP Physics, AP Biology, AP Statistics, and AP Computer Science.

Collaboration within and outside Morse School. All grade 9 teachers of core subjects work in interdisciplinary teams, sharing information and strategies to assure that incoming students launch their high school careers successfully. To provide the students with the personal attention they require as they make the transition from middle to high school, Morse dedicates a portion of its funding to maintain lower class sizes for the students. Morse teachers have begun to meet informally in small groups and on staff development days with their colleagues at feeder middle schools to develop common curriculum and provide students with a seamless educational experience from grade 6 through grade 12. Morse counseling staff members visit feeder schools each spring, to meet the following year’s incoming students—and often their parents—face to face and provide them with information and assistance they will need to succeed in high school. Targeted student support. Morse special education students are, as much as possible, integrated into the mainstream of academic life at Morse. Special education resource specialists collaborate with regular education teachers to assure that special education students are able to achieve their academic goals. The resource specialists develop co-teaching relationships with teachers in content areas in which special education students require particular forms of academic support. In addition special education students receive occupational therapy, speech and language therapy and study skills classes as needed. As noted, academically gifted students, including GATE seminar and GATE cluster students, have access to a range of advanced and Advanced Placement courses taught by GATE-certified teachers. They also may participate in AVID classes, which provide college-bound students with academic tutoring, college field trips and Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) preparation. An English language development support teacher oversees placement and instruction of Morse’s English learners. ELs in the early stages of gaining English fluency are placed in a Structured English Immersion program in which they receive an additional hour of instruction in literacy. ELs who have progressed to higher levels of fluency are placed in the Mainstream English Cluster program. In both programs students receive instruction from content-area teachers who hold Cross Cultural, Language and Academic Development (CLAD) certification. Morse offers all of its students a free, drop-in tutoring program, called the Tiger Lounge, before and after school on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday in the campus library. After-school tutoring also is available through Morse’s extended-day programs, including tutoring to prepare students to take or retake the CAHSEE. Textbooks/instructional materials. The San Diego Unified School District selects and purchases approved textbooks and other instructional materials for its schools based on the implementation


schedule established by the State Board of Education. In compliance with key requirements of the Williams Settlement legislation, Morse High School has ensured that all Morse students receive sufficient standards-aligned instructional materials in all content areas to use either in class or to take home to complete homework assignments. Figure 18 outlines the list of instructional materials/textbooks used in core subject areas in 2005-2006.

. Figure 18

Morse High School, Textbooks Adopted for Core Courses by Core Content Area, 2005–2006

Content Area Grade Course Materials/Textbook

English Language Arts 9 English 1,2 McDougal, Littell. The Language of Literature, Grade 9

English Language Arts 9 English 1,2 McDougal, Littell. Bridges to Literature

English Language Arts 10 English 3,4 McDougal, Littell. The Language of Literature, Grade 10

English Language Arts 10 English 3,4 McDougal, Littell. Bridges to Literature

English Language Arts 10 Advanced English 3,4 McDougal, Littell. The Language of Literature, World Literature

English Language Arts 11 American Literature and Advanced American Literature 1,2

McDougal, Littell. The Language of Literature, American Literature

English Language Arts 12 Contemporary Voices in Literature 1,2

Thompson Learning. Legacies, 2nd ed.

English Language Arts 12 World Literature 1,2 McDougal, Littell. The Language of Literature, World Literature

English Language Arts 12 English Literature 1,2 Prentice Hall. Timeless Voices, Timeless Themes: The British Tradition

Mathematics 9 Algebra Explorations Key Press, Discovering Algebra Mathematics 9–10 Algebra I, 1,2 McDougal, Littell. Algebra I:

Concepts and Skills Mathematics 10–12 Intermediate Algebra 1-2 Holt. Algebra 2 Mathematics 10-12 Honors Intermediate

Algebra 1-2 Glencoe Mathematics. Algebra2

Mathematics 9–12 Geometry 1–2 Key Press, Discovering Geometry Mathematics 9–10 Advanced Geometry 1–2 McDougal, Littell. Geometry:

Reasoning, Measuring, Applying Mathematics 11-12 Unifying Algebra and

Geometry Glencoe. Math Matters 3. 2nd ed.

Mathematics 11–12 Precalculus 1,2 Prentice Hall. Precalculus, 2nd ed. Mathematics 11–12 Honors Precalculus Pearson/Addison-Wesley. Precalculus:

Graphical, Numerical, Algebraic, 6th ed.

Mathematics 11-12 Discrete Mathematics and Calculus 1,2

Pearson Education. Finite Mathematics and Calculus with Applications, 6th and


Content Area Grade Course Materials/Textbook 7th eds.

Mathematics 11-12 Statistics 1,2 Key Curriculum Press. Workshop Statistics: Discovery with Data and Graphic Calculator

Science 9–12 Physics 1,2 It’s About Time, Active Physics Science 9–12 Advanced Physics 1,2 It’s About Time, Active Physics Science 11–12 Biology 1,2 Kendall Hunt. BSCS Biology: A

Human Approach, 2nd ed. Science 11–12 Advanced Biology 1,2 Brooks/Cole. Biology: Concepts and

Applications Science 11-12 Physiology 1-2 Wiley & Sons. Principles of Anatomy

and Physiology, 11th ed. Science 10–12 Chemistry 1-2 Key Curriculum Press. Living By

Chemistry Science 10–12 Chemistry 1-2 Addison Wesley. Chemistry Science 10–12 Honors Chemistry 1-2 Thompson. Chemistry: Principles and

Reactions Science 9-10 Global Political and

Economic Decisions Glencoe. World History: Modern Times

History/Social Science 9-10 World History and Geography 1,2

McDougal, Littell. Modern World History: Patterns of Interaction

History/Social Science 9-10 Honors World History and Geography 1,2

Glencoe. World History: Modern Times

History/Social Science 11 U.S. History and Geography 1,2

McDougal, Littell. The Americans: Reconstruction to the 21st Century

History/Social Science 11 Advanced U.S. History and Geography 1,2

Prentice Hall. America: Pathways to the Present: Modern American History.

History/Social Science 12 Economics 1 Prentice Hall. Economics: Principles in Action

History/Social Science 12 Government 1 Glencoe: United States Government: Democracy in Action

History/Social Science 12 American Government in World Affairs

Prentice Hall. World Politics in the 21st Century

Instructional minutes. Under the California Education Code, high schools are required to provide their students with 64,800 minutes of instruction per year. Morse High School provides its students with 65,320 minutes of instruction per year. Assessment. Morse administrators and teaching staff employ a wide variety of assessment strategies and tools to track the progress of Morse students and to determine the most effective means of instruction. Assessments range from low-risk, informal assessments to formal, objective evaluations and statewide tests. Informal assessments may take the form of in-class hand-raises, call-outs and student board work as well as teacher observation of student work in progress. Formal assessments include teacher-


developed pre- and post-tests, exams (including district-developed end-of-course exams for designated core courses), student essays, portfolios, exhibitions, laboratory assignments and presentations and standardized tests. Every other Wednesday staff analyze the results of such assessments to make the modifications in teaching that will lead to student success. (See Professional development, above.) Co-curricular and extracurricular activities. Morse students are able to participate in a variety of co-curricular and extracurricular activities that enrich their high school experience and prepare them for post-high school success. Morse’s Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps Program (JROTC) offers students curriculum and activities designed to help them become good citizens and graduate from high school. Student participants pursue JROTC classes that focus on physical fitness, health and first aid, military history, and the U.S. Constitution and on skills needed to navigate the world successfully, including effective speech and writing, financial planning, conflict resolution and map reading. JROTC students participate in such program teams as Color Guard, Honors Guard, Rifle and Drill, some of which perform at school athletic and other events. They also take part in charitable and humanitarian events, cleanup campaigns and health and education fairs. More than 60 clubs and after-school activities, including an active Associated Student Body, are available to Morse students. They range from the African Youth Alliance and the California Scholarship Federation to the Math Club, the Speech Team and the Yearbook Club. A faculty advisor guides each club. Morse has a long and rich history in interscholastic athletics competition. Students participate on teams in 15 sports during three seasons, fall, winter and spring. Morse administrators and staff believe that the sportsmanship, teamwork, self-discipline, mutual respect and time-management skills fostered and reinforced in athletics have real-world applications. They also are persuaded that high-quality athletics programs decrease school dropout rates, increase average daily attendance and offer a lifeline to at-risk youths. Like other SDUSD high schools, Morse seeks to recruit certificated staff members to coach its athletics teams, to assure that its coaches have experience in working with adolescent students; are able, if necessary, to handle unusual or emergency situations; and understand that an enthusiastic desire to win does not override good judgment or the teaching of sportsmanship and sports ethics. A number of Morse teachers also serve as coaches in various sports. But Morse also has come to rely on a large number of walk-on coaches who are not Morse certificated staff members. In 2005–2006 Morse had 21 walk-on coaches (head coaches and assistant coaches) for its sports teams. Parent involvement and community outreach. Parents of Morse students have abundant opportunities to participate in the life of the Morse community and to support Morse’s educational program. They are encouraged to volunteer for service on the School Site Council (SCC) and the English Learner Advisory Committee (ELAC) and to participate in weekly program improvement meetings.. They are invited and encouraged to attend the school’s open house (fall and spring), back-to-school night, holiday community potluck, college night, financial aid workshop, senior parents meetings, athletics banquet and awards night. They also may take part in quarterly parent forums to engage in conversation with the principal about school programs and school reform as well as in coffee with the principal, an informal Saturday morning event for parents with specific issues for resolution. Although a core group of parents have responded to invitations and encouragement to participate, including participation in the school’s recent WASC self-study, achieving a more significant level of parent involvement remains a substantial challenge for the Morse administration and staff.


Morse School has formed official partnerships in education with a number of business and community organizations. Its listed partners include the Navair Depot, North Island; the University of California, San Diego, Medical Center; San Diego Lifeguard Services; United States Army Recruiting, San Diego; and the Salk Research Institute. Unfortunately, the partnerships exist in name only and the promise of collaboration with them remains to be fulfilled. Morse has had greater success in establishing and interacting with some of the business and community advisory boards of its ROP courses. The Morse auto body program has an especially active advisory board composed of local auto body shop owners and representatives of the State Farm Insurance Company who meet monthly to support students in the program. Other courses for which advisory boards have been established include Culinary Arts, Nursing Assistant, Child Development, Business and Computer Applications, Computerized Graphic Design, Pre-Engineering and Drafting.

Restructuring Morse High School Page 28 October 10, 2006 (Second Reading) 2. Restructuring Proposal

A. Challenges In fashioning a restructuring proposal for Morse High School, the Morse WASC focus groups and its restructuring workgroup have taken their cues from three sources: the demographic, assessment and staffing data summarized in Part 1; the observations of student performance, interactions and behavior by Morse’s leadership and teaching staff; and the observations of the school’s teaching and support staff members by Morse’s instructional leadership team. The data summarized in Part 1 serve to clarify some of the challenges Morse faces in improving the academic achievement of its students, some specific areas upon which leadership and staff must focus to improve academic progress and some of the strengths upon which the school can build. 1. Decreasing the dropout rate and improving the graduation rate. In both 2004 and 2005,

Morse failed to make Adequate Yearly Progress because it failed to meet the graduation rate requirement established for California high schools. The school’s graduation rate, however, improved in 2005, to 82.0 in contrast to the previous year’s rate of 78.7. The 2005 graduation rate, which represents an increase of 3.3, will be a positive factor in calculating Morse’s 2006 AYP Report. The decrease in both the single-year and estimated four-year dropout rates at Morse during the last three years also holds promise for the future. As dropout rates decrease, graduation rates increase. Morse leadership and staff must continue their efforts to reduce the dropout rate by using all the tools available to motivate students to stay in school and to move step by step toward graduation and post-high school education and careers.

2. Improving the performance of credit-deficient students. Slightly more than 100 Morse students of the Class of 2007 have earned such low grade-point averages and so few credits that it will not be possible for them to graduate with their class. Further, more than 30 additional members of the same class have earned such low grade-point averages (below 2.0) and so few credits that it will require special attention and hard work for them to graduate with their class. Clearly Morse’s current academic program does not meet the needs of these students. Morse administrators and staff must design and implement approaches to identifying and educating credit-deficient students in such a way that they will be able to earn diplomas, with their classes if possible, or later if required.

3. Improving the academic performance of English learners. The number of Morse students whose home language is not English also has remained relatively stable during the last six years, reaching a high point in 2005–2006 when 15.9 percent of its students spoke a language other than English at home. Although the percentage of English learners is not great, the number of students who make up this subgroup is large: 433 students in the most recent school year. . Grade 10 English learners represent the subgroup of Morse students with the lowest percentage performing at the Proficient level or above on the CAHSEE in 2005 (29.4 percent). English learners in grades 9, 10 and 11 also had the smallest percentage of its subgroup members performing at the Proficient or Advanced level on the English language arts and mathematics portions of the 2005 CST (5.2 and 0.9 percent respectively). Morse leadership and staff must redouble their efforts to implement instructional strategies that will help their EL students to overcome the obstacles posed by the inability to understand English


and to speak, read and write fluently in English so students may continue their progress toward mastering State academic standards in both English language arts and mathematics.

4. Improving the performance of all students, particularly of English learners and of African American and Hispanic students on the English language arts CST. During the last five years, the scores of Morse students on the English language arts CST have generally increased as the students advanced from grade to grade (grades 9–11). Morse leadership and teaching staff must continue to provide instruction that permits students to build upon what they have learned to improve their academic performance. Despite the overall pattern of growth, however, the scores of Morse students lag behind districtwide scores for the same grade levels and contributed to the school’s failure, in 2005, to meet its API growth targets, schoolwide and for three of four numerically significant subgroups. Morse leadership and staff must accelerate improvement in student performance which up to now has been incremental. The overall pattern of incremental improvement in performance on the English language arts CST has been propelled in large part by the relatively solid performance of Filipino students. Students representing other significant subgroups, however, have not fared as well on the test. The performance of English learners on the test has been noted. African American and Hispanic students achieved better results than ELs but still lagged behind schoolwide results. Almost 34 percent of all Morse students taking the test in 2005 scored at the Proficient or Advanced level but only 20.6 percent of Hispanic students and 19.8 percent of African American students did so. Morse leadership and teaching staff must implement strategies that will help students from these underperforming subgroups improve their performance.

5. Improving the performance of all students on the mathematics CST. During the last five years, the scores of Morse students on the mathematics CST have generally declined as the students advanced from grade to grade (grades 9–11) and encountered more complex, or challenging, mathematics content. This trend mirrors a districtwide trend. Morse leadership and teaching staff must collaborate with their colleagues at all levels of mathematics education to build a mathematics instruction infrastructure that assures that students are prepared step by step to deal with increasingly complex mathematics content and to understand the applications of mathematics in their lives. As in the case of English language arts CST results, in the case of mathematics CST results, the performance of Morse students lagged behind districtwide performance and also contributed to the school’s failure to meet most of its 2005 API growth targets. The performance of Filipino students, although hardly extraordinary, had a disproportionate effect on the school’s overall performance. Fourteen percent of Filipino students scored at the Proficient or Advanced level on the 2005 tests whereas only 4.5 percent of Hispanic students, 1.8 percent of African American students and 0.9 percent of English learners did so. Morse leadership and teaching staff must implement strategies that will help students from all subgroups improve their performance.

6. Increasing the rate at which English learners gain English fluency. The rate at which Morse’s English learners acquire English fluency has failed to keep pace with the districtwide rate. In the last four years the percentages of Morse ELs meeting State and district expectations regarding acquisition of English has declined, from 40.0 percent in 2001–2002 to 27.9 percent in 2004–2005, as the corresponding districtwide percentages have increased, from 35.2 percent to 40.7 percent. Morse leadership and staff must devise means of helping all of the school’s ELs develop the fluency in English that will open other doors of learning to them.


7. Improving the pass rate of all students, particularly English learners and African American and Hispanic students, on the CAHSEE. The CAHSEE results of all Morse students taking the test one or more times as of September 2005 vary widely by ethnicity for both the English language arts and mathematics portions of the test. Filipino and White students achieved relatively high passing rates in 2005: 81 and 71 percent respectively in English and 79 and 73 percent in mathematics. Although the passing rates for Filipino students were consistent with districtwide results for that subgroup, the passing rates for White student were significantly below districtwide rates for the White subgroup. Morse’s African American, Hispanic and English learner students achieved much lower passing rates than students in the Filipino and White subgroups: 57, 50 and 23 percent respectively in English and 51, 49 and 31 percent in mathematics. The CAHSEE passing rates demonstrated by students in the class of 2007 as of May 2005 indicate some improvement for all subgroups but also make clear that there is room for further improvement. The passing rate for Filipino students on the English language arts portion of the test was 87.9 percent and on the mathematics portion, almost 84.5 percent. The corresponding rates for White students were 81.6 percent and 71.1 percent; for African American students, 59.9 percent and 53.5 percent; for Hispanic students, 59.2 percent and 54.9 percent; and for English learners, 32.1 percent and 32.8 percent. Morse leadership and staff must design and implement strategies that will prepare all students, particularly students in the African American, Hispanic and English learner subgroups, for success on the high school exit exam. They must align the school’s instruction, curriculum and assessments with the skills and knowledge required to succeed on the exam and in life.

8. Attracting more students to UC/CSU-approved courses. In 2005, 36.9 percent of Morse’s 609 graduates completed all the courses required for admission to the University of California and the California State University. That percentage fell somewhat short of the districtwide rate of 39.5 percent.

The percentages of the graduates who completed the UC/CSU course requirements varied widely by ethnicity and gender. African American and Hispanic students fell far short of the overall school performance; Only 11.5 percent of African American graduates—and 4.0 percent of African American male graduates—completed the course requirements. Only 24.1 percent of Hispanic graduates completed the requirements. Although White students did not represent a numerically large group of Morse students, among White graduates (37), only 21.6 percent—and 9.5 percent of White male graduates—completed the course requirements. To the degree that it is important to assure that as many graduates as possible are eligible to attend college in the State’s two public university systems, Morse leadership and staff must seek ways to attract more students, particularly students in currently underrepresented groups, to enroll in UC/CSU-approved courses and must prepare them to succeed in the courses. More than 80 percent of Morse’s classes in English, mathematics, science and history-social science are UC/CSU-approved courses, as are 100 percent of its computer education, drama/theater, world languages, and music courses; almost 87 percent of its arts courses; 9.5 percent of its school-to-career courses; and 100 percent of its AP courses.

9. Meeting student needs in a large, comprehensive high school. Morse, as noted, is the largest high school in the San Diego Unified School District. It served more than 2,700 students in 2005–2006 and employed 120 teachers, eight resource staff members, five administrators and 104 classified staff members (24 full-time and 80 part-time). Although large comprehensive schools may offer economies of scale and permit a rich variety of course offerings, they also run the risk of fostering an impersonal environment in which students lack the individual attention many of them require.


Morse administration and staff must devise structures and promote attitudes among its staff that assure that as far as possible each student’s academic needs and school-related social-emotional needs are met. They must offer students the opportunity to connect with adults in whom they can place their trust and who can motivate and guide them as they become educated citizens, well prepared for life after high school.

10. Providing a culturally relevant educational experience for a diverse student body. The ethnic/racial composition of the Morse student body has remained comparatively stable during the last six years and represents a rich variety of ethnic/racial backgrounds and cultural experiences. Morse leadership and staff must implement instructional strategies that will provide the school’s students with a culturally relevant educational experience. Morse teachers must provide instruction that honors and seeks to benefit from this cultural richness in ways that make their classrooms conducive to fostering high academic achievement from all students.

11. Providing an enriching education for economically disadvantaged students. The percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-price meals is not notably greater at Morse than at other district high schools taken collectively (46.2 percent in contrast to 42.3 percent in 2004–2005). The percentage of Morse students whose parents lack a high school diploma (12 percent of all students providing information on the student answer documents portion of the 2005 STAR tests and 7.8 percent of all students taking the tests in 2005) does not appear to be inordinately high. Nevertheless, students designated by these two measures as socioeconomically disadvantaged scored significantly lower on the 2005 CSTs than students not so designated. Almost 25 percent of socioeconomically disadvantaged students scored at the Proficient or Advanced level on the English CST and 5.7 percent on the mathematics CST. The corresponding percentages for Morse students not in this category—the remainder of Morse students— were 40.4 percent and 10.4 percent. To the degree that economic disadvantage and low levels of formal education among students’ parents pose obstacles to learning, Morse faces important challenges. These challenges include providing a wide variety of opportunities for enrichment classes and activities for students and effective encouragement and support to parents in helping their children improve their academic achievement. Meeting the challenges will become increasingly important if the recent trend toward growth in the percentage of Morse students classified as socioeconomically disadvantaged continues. After fluctuating between 39.5 percent and 27 percent of students eligible for free or reduced-price meals, the percentage of eligible students has increased in the last two years, in 2004–2005 to 43.1 percent and in 2005–2006 to 46.2 percent.

12. Decreasing the student suspension rate, especially for African American students. In 2004–2005 Morse’s suspension rate per 100 students enrolled was 9.52, about 9.3 percent lower than the corresponding districtwide rate and almost 30 percent lower than the districtwide rate for students in grades 9–12. The 2004–2005 rate, however, was about 40 percent higher than the previous year’s rate, indicating that there is still work to be done in implementing positive discipline and incentive programs to improve student behavior. Moreover, Morse’s suspension rate for African American students, in 2004–2005 as in the previous four years, was inordinately high, between two and three times higher than the corresponding schoolwide rates. This situation is not unique to Morse in the San Diego Unified School District or to SDUSD high schools. Morse leadership and staff, like district leadership and staff, must still solve the problem of the disproportionate suspension rate of African American students.


13. Improving the ability of counselors to guide their students. Each of six Morse counselors is responsible for monitoring more than 450 students, guiding their educational choices and scheduling their courses as well as assisting them in making plans for their post-high school education and careers. In fact, their work begins with their meetings with potential Morse students at Morse’s three feeder middle schools. Much of the counselors’ time during the initial portion of the school year is spent scheduling and rescheduling students for whom the counseling staff has not received sufficient and timely information from the feeder schools. During that crucial period in particular, Morse students find they have limited access to their counselors. Moreover, the sheer size of each counselor’s student load throughout the year makes it difficult to provide students with the personal attention they require and to track their progress to make sure they are on target to graduate as well as to fulfill requirements for post-high school education. Morse leadership and staff must search out means of deploying resources to alleviate counseling burdens and to streamline and make more efficient collaboration between the counseling and teaching staffs and between Morse counselors and feeder school administrators and staff. They must discover better ways of collecting student information and of providing students and parents with access to the information they require to make appropriate decisions about their courses and educational choices.

14. Increasing the number of on-campus athletic coaches. Morse relies on a large number of walk-on coaches to staff its interscholastic athletics teams. The Morse community appreciates the service its walk-on coaches provide. Since interscholastic athletics is part of the Morse instructional program, however, Morse administrators and school district officials must increase and improve their efforts to recruit from among Morse faculty members individuals who also are willing to coach the school’s athletics teams. Doing so will help assure that students learn the lessons athletics competition has to teach about the importance of self-confidence, persistence in face of adversity, leadership, grace under pressure and cooperation with others in pursuit of common goals.

15. Improving parent and community involvement in the education of Morse students. Morse administrators and staff, like their colleagues throughout the school district, acknowledge the crucial roles that parents play in the education of their children and the high worth of community support for public education. They also acknowledge, however, that they have not yet succeeded in engaging large numbers of their students’ parents in Morse educational programs and in Morse School activities and that, with the exception of some ROP advisory boards, engagement with business and community organizations exists largely on paper. Morse administration and staff must redouble their efforts to involve their students’ parents in the education of Morse students. They must devise more persuasive, and perhaps more frequent, means of communication with parents about opportunities to bolster the Morse community, including motivating students to encourage their parents’ participation. They also must become more aggressive in reaching out to community business and educational organizations to collaborate in forming the next generation of leaders and citizens.

Morse leadership and teaching staff interaction with and observation of students confirm many of the challenges that the data reveal. To meet the challenges, the school’s leadership and staff, with the assistance and guidance of district central office leaders and staff, have fashioned a restructuring proposal that recommends significant structural changes as well as instructional changes in Morse’s educational program and its delivery. Coupled with the effective instructional strategies already in place and described above, leadership and staff believe that these changes will lead to higher levels of achievement by Morse students.


B. 2006 Assessment Data In mid- and late August 2006, performance results for students who took the California Standards Tests in spring 2006 were published by the California Department of Education as were the API and AYP results for all California schools. The data for Morse Senior High School, which were not available to Morse and district staff as they crafted the Morse restructuring plan, are summarized below along with their implications for restructuring.

California Standards Tests (CST). Figure 19 updates the information provided in Figure 7 and includes Morse student performance results on the English language arts CST administered in spring 2006. The data indicate continuing inconsistency, with grade-level scores rising and falling without discernible pattern from year to year. The overall grade 9 performance—35.3 percent of students achieved Proficient or Advanced level of performance compared with 32.4 percent previously— represents an improvement from the previous year. Overall performances at grades 10 and 11, however, represent performance declines by the same measure in comparison with the previous year. Moreover, Morse results continue to lag behind districtwide results, which improved at grade 10 but declined at grades 9 and 11.

Figure 19

Percentage of Morse Students Achieving Proficient or Advanced Level, English Language Arts CST, 2001-2006, and Comparisons with Districtwide Results


Grade Level

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

9 24.6 26.4 31.8 30.0 32.4 35.3 30.8 34.1 38.9 38.9 45.9 43.7

10 31.3 32.8 33.3 34.2 33.6 30.5 33.8 32.7 34.1 35.5 36.9 38.0

11 25.8 28.3 34.7 38.1 34.9 31.6 28.8 32.2 33.9 35.3 38.5 37.5

The previously demonstrated pattern of positive growth by grade-level cohorts may be unraveling, although data for future years will be required to determine whether 2006 results represent a temporary setback or the beginning of a downward trend. In 2004, for example, 30 percent of grade 9 students scored at the Proficient or Advanced level of performance. In 2005, the cohort’s grade 10 year, 33.6 percent achieved such performance results. In 2006, the cohort’s grade 11 year, however, only 30.5 percent of the students achieved such results. Similarly, 32.4 percent of the 2005 grade 9 cohort achieved the Proficient or Advanced level of performance, but in 2006, the cohort’s grade 10 year, only 30.4 percent did so. Among Morse’s numerically significant subgroups, performance results generally declined. (See Figure 20.) Only three groups of grade 9 students— socioeconomically disadvantaged students, Hispanic students and Filipino students—showed improvement in the percentages scoring at the Proficient or Advanced level in comparison with the previous year’s grade 9 students in the same subgroups. (See Figure 8 for 2005 results.) The percentage of grade 10 African American students scoring at the Proficient or Advanced level was the same in both years. Otherwise, the percentages of students scoring at the Proficient or Advanced level on the English language arts CST declined in comparison with the previous year.



Achieving Proficient or Advanced Level, English Language Arts CST, 2006

Grade Level


Disadvantaged

English Learners

African American

Hispanic Students

Filipino

9 35.3 27.1 3.4 19.0 25.1 65.0

10 30.5 20.3 1.3 18.6 17.3 47.1

11 31.6 21.1 5.5 16.7 20.6 42.5

Results by grade level on the mathematics CST from 2002–2006 vary (see Figure 21). In 2006, 11.4 percent of grade 9 students achieved the Proficient or Advanced level of performance, a slight increase over the 11.3 percent who did so in the previous year. Only 5 percent of grade 10 students achieved that level of performance in 2006, however, compared with 9.7 percent in the previous year. At grade 11, 5.6 percent of students scored at the Proficient or Advanced level compared with 5.4 percent in the previous year. The performance of Morse students continues to fall short of districtwide performance, which declined at grade 9, improved at grade 10 and remained the same at grade 11.

Figure 21

Percentage of Morse Students Achieving Proficient or Advanced Level, Mathematics CST, 2002-2006, and Comparisons with Districtwide Results


Grade Level

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

9 11.3 14.3 9.9 11.3 11.4 13.1 13.0 13.0 17.0 16.7

10 10.8 11.3 6.0 9.7 5.0 11.1 11.8 9.2 11.1 11.4

11 10.8 11.7 4.5 5.4 5.6 12.6 11.9 8.4 10.5 10.5

Results by grade-level cohorts on the 2006 mathematics CST continue the downward trend demonstrated during 2002–2005: As students succeed to higher grade levels and encounter different and more complex mathematics content, the percentages of students who achieve Proficient or Advanced levels of performance declines. Districtwide results, in the main, demonstrate the same trend. Among Morse’s numerically significant subgroups, with some exceptions at some grade levels, 2006 results fell short of 2005 results. (See Figure 22. See Figure 10 for 2005 results.) Only grade 9 African American students and Filipino students, grade 10 English learners, and grade 11 socioeconomically disadvantaged students, African American students and Hispanic students had somewhat higher percentages of students scoring at the Proficient or Advanced level than in the previous year. Only Filipino students at all three grade levels and socioeconomically disadvantaged students at grade 11 achieved better results than the corresponding schoolwide grade-level results. No English learners at grade 11 scored at the Proficient or Advanced level of performance.



Achieving Proficient or Advanced Level, Mathematics CST, 2006

Grade Level


Disadvantaged

English Learners

African American

Hispanic Students

Filipino

9 11.4 7.7 1.8 1.8 5.9 28.4

10 5.0 3.3 1.4 0.8 2.9 8.5

11 5.6 6.5 0.0 2.7 3.2 8.4

As Figure 23 indicates, as in 2005 (see Figure 11) no students who took the Integrated Math 2 CST scored at the Proficient or above level, although only five students took that test in 2006 compared with 29 in 2005. Only 2.1 percent of the students taking the Integrated Math 1 CST scored at the Proficient or above level. Seven percent of Morse students who took the Algebra I CST scored at the Proficient or above level, as did 6.5 percent of those who took the Geometry CST, 6.6 percent of those who took the Algebra II CST and 16 percent of those who took the Summative High School Mathematics CST.

Figure 23 Percentage of Morse Students Achieving Proficient or Advanced Level,

by California Mathematics Standards Test, 2006

Number of Students Tested Mathematics Course Grade 9 Grade 10 Grade 11 Percent Proficient or

Advanced

Algebra I 269 19 12 7.0 Integrated Math 1 5 38 150 2.1 Geometry 217 447 45 6.5 Integrated Math 2 – 3 2 0.0 Algebra II 8 213 246 6.6 Summative High School Mathematics (Grades 9–12 – 2 147 16.0

Academic Performance Index (API). Morse School’s 2006 API results represent a step backward in the school’s efforts to improve its students’ academic performance. Its schoolwide API score declined by 19 points in comparison with its 2005 API score. (See Figure 24.) Among numerically significant subgroups, only students with disabilities met their subgroup’s API growth targets, exceeding it, in fact, by 18 points. All other subgroups not only failed to meet their targets; they also failed to achieve the API scores that they had achieved in 2005, often by significant margins. The API scores for Hispanic students and African American students declined by 20 points in comparison with their scores in 2005. The API score of socioeconomically disadvantaged students declined by 19 points, of Filipino students by 10 points and of English learners by 52 points.


Figure 24 Morse High School, 2006 API Results, with 2001–2005 Comparisons

Group 2005 API

Base 2006 API API

Growth Target

API Growth

Met 2006 Target?

2005? 2004? 2003? 2002? 2001?

Schoolwide 682 663 6 -19 No No Yes Yes No No Filipino 772 762 5 -10 No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Hispanic 605 585 5 -20 No No Yes Yes No No African American


White N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A No No No Socioeconomi-cally Disadvantaged


English Learners31

625 573 5 -52 No N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A


410 428 5 18 Yes N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP). In 2006 Morse failed once again to make AYP, in this case because it failed to meet the program’s participation criterion. As noted, at least 95 percent of the grade 10 students continuously enrolled from the California Basic Educational Data System (CBEDS) date to the first date of testing must take the CAHSEE. The criterion applies schoolwide and to each numerically significant subgroup of students. Morse met the schoolwide participation criterion for both the English language arts and mathematics portions of the test, but only through application of a permissible alternative method of calculation whereby participation rates over three years (2004–2006) are averaged to yield an acceptable result. The only numerically significant subgroup of Morse students that met the criterion for the English language arts portion of the test was Filipino students. The remaining four subgroups failed to do so. The only two subgroups to meet the participation criterion for the mathematics portion of the test were Filipino students and English learners. The latter subgroup met the criterion only through the three-year averaging method. The 2006 schoolwide participation rate was 90 percent for the English language arts portion of the CAHSEE and 91 percent for the mathematics portion. The participation rates for Morse’s subgroups

31 Following direction from the U.S. Department of Education, for AYP calculation purposes, all students who

attend a school must now be counted among the student subgroups to which they belong. Previously students who were bussed from their neighborhoods to a special program at a school outside their neighborhoods were considered non-resident students and were not counted for AYP purposes as belonging to the host school. Their test participation rates and results, however, were included in the calculation of the school district’s AYP results. Now all students who attend a school are considered resident students for AYP calculation purposes.

Beginning in the 2005–2006 API growth cycle, the California Department of Education includes the same student subgroups in calculating both the API and AYP results for California schools. Accordingly, English learners and students with disabilities are included in Morse’s 2006 API results, whereas previously they were not because, according to the manner in which they were counted, as described above, their numbers did not meet the specified threshold.


on both portions of the test ranged from 86 percent to 97 percent. As noted, only Filipino students exceeded the required participation rate, at 97 percent participation for both portions of the test. As Figure 25 indicates, the percentage of grade 10 Morse students who scored at the Proficient or Advanced level on the CAHSEE or the CAPA did meet or exceed the 2006 annual measurable objectives (AMOs) on the English language arts and mathematics portions of the tests. In the case of English learners, however, the AMO was met only through use of a permissible alternative method whereby results for the last two years (2005 and 2006) may be averaged to yield an acceptable score.

Figure 25 Morse High School, 2006 Adequate Yearly Progress Annual Measurable Objectives Summary,

with 2002–2005 Comparisons

English Language Arts Mathematics

Group AMO % Pro-

ficient

Met AMO 2006

2005

2004

2003 2002 AMO % Pro-

ficient

Met AMO 2006

2005 2004 2003 2002

Schoolwide 22.3% 42.3 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 20.9% 41.3 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Filipino 22.3% 60.5 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 20.9% 59.8 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Hispanic 22.3% 28.7 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 20.9% 25.6 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

African American

22.3% 27.1 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 20.9% 26.7 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Socioeco-nomically Disadvan-taged

22.3% 30.7 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 20.9% 32.0 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

English Learners

22.3% 19.1 Yes32 N/A Yes Yes Yes 20.9% 22.0 Yes N/A Yes Yes Yes


22.3% 18.2 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 20.9% 12.1 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

Despite the fact that that Morse’s 2006 API results decreased in comparison with its 2005 results, the school still exceeded the specified level of API performance required to meet AYP. The minimum API Growth score for 2006 was 590. Morse’s score was 663. Finally, in 2006 Morse met the AYP graduation rate requirement, unlike in 2005. As in 2005, schools were required to have a graduation rate of at least 82.9 percent or to have demonstrated improvement in the graduation rate of at least 0.1 from the previous year or improvement of at least 0.2 in the average two-year rate. Although Morse’s class of 2004–2005 graduation rate (see Note 19) of 82.0 did not meet the rate of 82.9 specified, it did represent an improvement of 3.3 over the class of 2003–2004 rate of 78.7, thereby demonstrating more than the required rate of improvement. Implications for Restructuring. Nothing in the recently released 2006 assessment data for Morse would lead Morse or central district staff to remove from the challenges described in Item 2.A. any of the challenges listed. In fact the assessment results lend a sense of urgency to meeting a number of the challenges, including the need to improve the graduation rate, to improve the performance of English learners and of African American and Hispanic students on the English language arts CST and the CAHSEE and to improve the performance of all Morse student subgroups on the mathematics CST.

32 Passed by using a two-year average.


The 2006 assessment data also demonstrate that Morse staff must undertake meeting an additional challenge, that of improving the participation rate of its grade 10 students in both the English language arts and mathematics portions of the CAHSEE. As noted, Morse students failed to meet the AYP participation criterion in 2006 and met the criterion for several subgroups in 2005 only through use of a permissible alternative method of calculation whereby the participation rates for two consecutive years are averaged. Morse leadership and staff must commit themselves to assuring that all grade 10 students take the CAHSEE and succeed on it.

C. Responding to the Challenges Morse’s designation as a Year 4 Program Improvement School required to develop a plan to restructure coincided with its participation in an accreditation review required by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. Since both sets of requirements called for an extensive self-study leading to the development of concrete proposals for educational improvement, Morse leadership and staff, with the guidance of central district leadership and staff, decided to combine the two efforts. Although the form of the restructuring plan and the form of the WASC action plan differ, both flow from the same intensive work of Morse faculty, staff, students, administrators and community members. The self-study process began in April 2005 and continued for an entire year. Morse stakeholders, determined learning goals for Morse students consistent with the California Academic Standards; surveyed Morse students, staff and parents; analyzed the survey data for findings and trends and drew conclusions about Morse’s critical academic needs. The proposals described below result from that work and from subsequent work undertaken by Morse staff members and district central staff at the direction of the Board of Education. Morse’s leadership and staff believe that the following changes in the school’s structure, governance function and instructional program will lead to improvement in student performance. The initiatives and strategies initially described—Items 1 and 2—are specifically designed to address the factors that prevented Morse from making AYP in the last three years, i.e., the failure to meet the AYP graduation rate criterion (2004 and 2005) and the AYP participation requirement (2006). The remaining initiatives and strategies address the other challenges that Morse staff must meet to assure that Morse students achieve academic success. 1. Decreasing the dropout rate and improving the graduation rate; improving the

performance of credit-deficient students

a. Establish a satellite of Twain Alternative School on the Morse campus.

Morse leadership and staff have struggled to meet the needs of the most vulnerable students by focusing on improving instruction. It is clear that some of these students could benefit from having additional time to complete coursework, an alternative schedule or an alternative to the demands of a comprehensive high school academic program.

Some 60 students in the class of 2007 have fewer than 15 credits and/or GPAs lower than the 2.0 average required for graduation. Although these students cannot meet the comprehensive high school graduation requirements by June 2007, they could still graduate and receive diplomas by participating in the Joint Diploma Program offered by Mark Twain Alternative High School, which would require students, among other things, to take a course at the community college ECC campus.


Twain’s Joint Diploma Program is a counseling-oriented program with intensive guidance services to meet the personal, academic, social and career needs of students whose educational needs are not met at a traditional comprehensive high school. Twain serves students by offering smaller class sizes, individualized programs, and a safe atmosphere, allowing them to graduate with a high school diploma. The Joint Diploma Program has proven successful in helping many 17-year-old students get back on an educational track as they complete graduation requirements and become accustomed to being on a community college campus.

To serve the needs of currently identified credit-deficient students who will be unable to earn sufficient credits to graduate on time as well as Morse students who may be so identified in the future, the Morse administration and staff endorse a district Alternative Education Renewal Task Force recommendation, already presented to the Board of Education, that in September 2006 a satellite of the district’s Twain Alternative High School be established on the Morse campus. Students identified for this program will work with Twain staff located on the Morse campus and must agree to take the required course at ECC in order to receive their diplomas.

The Twain satellite will be housed in bungalow classrooms located near the front end of the campus, allowing for easy access by staff, students and parents and permitting close supervision of students. Targeted students and their parents have met individually with Morse counselors to learn about the Twain alternative. To date, 55 class of 2007 students have agreed to enroll at the Twain satellite, These students will become Twain students and will no longer be considered Morse Senior High School students. The students’ goal will be to meet the requirements for a joint high school diploma offered by the San Diego Unified School District and the San Diego Community College District. In addition to completing successfully specified core content and practical arts courses, students will be required to pass the CAHSEE in English language arts and mathematics.

One of the Morse co-principals will serve as liaison between Morse and Twain and will assure that Morse students who would benefit from the Twain program are enrolled in it. The district will use State Facilities Fund money to pay for the buildings, furniture and textbooks required to implement this program at the beginning of the 2006–2007 school year. b. Establish an Opportunity Education Program on the Morse campus.

To serve the needs of at-risk students identified as credit-deficient but still able, with support and hard work, to meet SDUSD graduation requirements, Morse administrators and staff propose that an Opportunity Education Program be established at Morse in spring 2007. Morse staff would identify those students whose performance after completing one or two semesters of grades 9 or 10 indicates that they may find it difficult to cope with the size and pace of a large, departmentalized, comprehensive high school. Morse counselors would then meet individually with the students and their parents and, with the parents’ permission, would assign the students to the Opportunity Education Program.

The Opportunity Education Program would provide students with a supportive environment that includes a specialized curriculum in core academic subjects; a variety of instructional strategies, including, but not limited to independent study; academic and career counseling; psychological services; and tutorial assistance to help students overcome the barriers they experience to their education. The program’s goal would be to help students return to traditional classes and programs at Morse. Once the program has been established, it will function as an open entry-open exit program in which students can work on individual assignments at their own rate.


It is anticipated that the program would serve primarily second-semester grade 9 students and grade 10 students but would be open to students in later grades if it is determined that the program’s services can help them make up their credit deficiencies so they can graduate. The program would be designed to serve approximately 30–60 students and would be housed in two bungalows currently located on the Morse campus and available for use. Ideally, the program would be staffed by two teachers full time: a teacher of English and history-social science and a teacher of science and mathematics. If appropriately credentialed teachers are not available, as many as four teachers will staff the Opportunity Program, one in each core content area. The four teachers would teach half-time in the Opportunity Program and half time in the regular Morse program. Program teachers would be funded from Morse’s 2006–2007 staff allocation. The Opportunity Program may operate on a master schedule—a 4 x 4 block schedule—and bell times separate from the Morse schedule and times. A Morse counselor would be designated to serve program students. One of the Morse co-principals would oversee the operation of the program and the performance of its students.

2. Improving the CAHSEE participation rate

Morse leadership and staff take several steps to ensure that 100 percent of the grade 10 students eligible to take the CAHSEE do so. Efforts include sending letters to parents; holding special assemblies with all grade 10 students, in which the importance of their test participation is stressed; dedicating time in English language arts and mathematics classes to prepare eligible students for the exam; and ensuring that the testing setting meets the state CAHSEE administration standards. Despite these efforts, as 2006 AYP results indicate, some students opt not to take the exam. School leaders and staff have analyzed the latest AYP participation data and the rosters used during the March and May CAHSEE administrations. They have concluded that the students who were eligible to take the exam but did not do so most often are students who are chronically absent and/or disengaged from schooling, have parents who are not involved in their children’s lives, or are students with special needs who are not finding success in school and may be choosing not to participate in a task that they might find too challenging. It may also be the case that some students, knowing that they have multiple opportunities to take and pass the exam, choose not to take it in grade 10. Morse vice principals have coordinated all elements of the STAR and CAHSEE administration, including such details as counting test booklets and generating passes for students. If additional personnel are not available to coordinate required testing (see recommendation below), vice principals will continue in 2006–2007 to include test coordination among their many responsibilities. In addition, in 2006–2007 Morse leaders and staff will take the following steps to ensure that all grade 10 students participate in the March and May administrations of the CAHSEE:

• Identify chronically absent grade 10 students as early as possible and, with district staff

support, notify them via the SARB process of the importance attendance has on student achievement and success.


• Identify chronically truant or disruptive students and recommend them for interventions that will be developed by a Student Study Team.

• Promote collaboration among Morse leaders, counselors and registrar with central district staff to assure that the list of students to be counted in calculating the CAHSEE participation rate is accurate and up-to-date. An accurate list will not include demoted grade 10 or grade 11 students but should include students who, via the extended day program, may have received credits not yet reflected in the district’s database which place them in grade 10.

• Assure that grade 10 English language arts and mathematics teachers, as well as teachers teaching the CAHSEE prep classes, stress to students the importance of their being present for both days of the exam. The teachers will contact students’ parents, via telephone or mail, to emphasize the importance of their children’s participation on both days. They will collaborate with the case managers of special education students to ensure that the students and their parents understand how important it is for them to take part in the tests on both days of testing.

• Communicate to parents the importance of grade 10 students’ participation in the CAHSEE as well as the importance of the students’ passing both portions of the exam. Morse administrators will send letters to all parents and guardians of grade 10 students during the fall to alert them to the importance of preparing for the test. They also will send letters in spring, prior to the exam, to remind parents how important it is for their grade 10 students to be present for both of the days on which the exam is given. Finally, they will assure that the parents receive telephone messages days before the exam emphasizing the importance of exam participation on both exam days.

• Provide incentives for students who are in attendance on both days of the exam. Each student who attends on both text days will receive a ticket with his or her name on it which will be stamped for each day of attendance. The tickets may then be redeemed at the ASB store for an item of their choice within a range of items. In addition, all such stamped tickets will be deposited in a container from which 10 tickets will be randomly selected by a member of the ASB board. Students whose tickets are drawn will be eligible for larger rewards, such as gift cards for movies.

Like other district high schools and high schools throughout the state, Morse High School must confront a sometimes staggering number of assessments, which are administered throughout the school year. They include the CAHSEE, administered in October, November, February, March, May and July; the PSAT, administered in October; the CELDT, administered in September and October; the STAR tests, administered in May; AP exams, also administered in May; Aprenda, administered in March, and end-of-semester and end-of-course exams for mathematics, English language arts and history-social science. The burden of coordinating the administration of the CASHEE and other required tests falls heavily on the Morse staff. In fact, lack of sufficient personnel may contribute to a less than satisfactory CAHSEE participation rate. Budget reductions, felt throughout the district during the last three years, have resulted in the loss of 14 key support staff members at Morse, requiring assignment of their duties and responsibilities to remaining staff and administrators. Morse lacks the staff needed to follow up on students who are chronically absent or truant by making additional phone calls and home visits. Site administrators who could be supporting teachers in the classroom to ensure that students are present and prepared must instead attend to the numerous details involved in each of the five yearly CAHSEE administrations.


The district can support Morse High School in meeting this challenge by providing an additional allocation for a testing coordinator. The coordinator’s primary responsibility would be to perform the multiple tasks involved in coordinating the administration of the multiple district, state and national assessments in which Morse students are required to participate, including calendaring the tests, identifying testing sites, assuring that all testing materials as well as test site furnishings are available, interacting with personnel from the district’s Testing Office and assuring that all completed tests, as applicable, are held secure and delivered for scoring.. The coordinator also would be responsible for coordinating the efforts of Morse staff in assuring that students participate in all required tests, including the CAHSEE. Morse administrators believe that the testing coordinator position should be a full-time certificated position. Administration of the large number of tests in which high school students now must participate annually, (see list above) warrants the undivided attention of a full-time staff member familiar with the purposes and priorities of public education in a high school setting. Morse leaders are persuaded that a testing coordinator will relieve administrative, counseling, teaching and support staff from a large and complex number of test-related duties, thereby freeing them to focus on improving classroom instruction and student performance and meeting the school’s API and AYP targets for both participation and performance.

3. Improving the academic performance of English learners; increasing the rate at which

English learners gain English fluency

Among English learners fluency in academic language typically develops more slowly than fluency in basic interpersonal communication. The former is dependent in part on whether the student is literate in his or her first language. It also is dependent on a variety of other factors, including consistency in the level and quality of educational services provided; appropriate placement of students in subject courses in which the content is comprehensible and in which there are high levels of student interactions within an academic setting, providing opportunities to practice language; and access to age-appropriate reading materials from which students can make meaning.

The staff and leaders of Morse High School recognize that English learners must improve their

performance on the CST and the CAHSEE. Among Morse’s numerically significant subgroups, ELs have demonstrated the poorest record of performance on both exams. If ELs are to improve their performance, they must improve the rate at which they acquire English fluency. Teachers must be provided with strategies for effective English language development across core content areas and must participate fully in monitoring their students’ progress. Counselors also play an important role in guiding ELs, many of whom may be immigrant students still trying to adjust to a new country and new way of life.

Like other district schools, Morse faces the challenge of complying with state and district regulations regarding instruction of English learners. Increasing the number of Morse teachers who are certified according to CLAD or SB395 requirements would ease the strain that state and district guidelines regarding the placement of English learners in core subject classes place on development and implementation of Morse’s master schedule. In the past the district has offered certification training to teachers but has not done so for a number of years. Morse teachers would benefit from having the district offer such training on site so that they can become appropriately certified to teach English learners.


In 2006–2007, Morse leaders and staff will take the following steps to accelerate the rate at which

English learners gain English fluency:

• Expand the opportunity for teachers to receive Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP), training, to hone their teaching skills and practice strategies that specifically address the needs of ELs. The SIOP, developed by two professors from Long Beach State University, has proven most effective when used consistently by teachers of English learners. The protocol consists of several elements, including attending to the levels of student social interactions during each class period, ensuring that every lesson in each content area has language objectives as well as content objectives, explicitly guiding students to construct meaning from texts and classroom discourse, and scaffolding instruction to promote the understanding of complex content concepts. When coupled with tools recently developed by the district’s Literacy Department, the protocol provides teachers with the strategies needed to ensure that English learners can gain access to complex content concepts in English as they develop academic English language skills. In 2005–2006, a number of Morse teachers participated in a yearlong study of the SIOP. To reinforce and extend efforts to support English learners, in 2006–2007 all mathematics, science and English language arts teachers who have been assigned sections of either Mainstream English Cluster or Sheltered English Instruction will participate in a second yearlong study of the SIOP model. School leaders will provide release time to increase the number of teachers who are trained in the SIOP model and support them as they implement it in their classrooms.

• Explore the possibility of creating for students at the beginning stages of English language proficiency an English language academy a learning environment that promotes among ELs the development academic language and literacy skills across all curricular areas. Such exploration might begin with a call for a team of trained teachers willing to work with ELs. Among inducements for participation in such a team might be – the offer of common prep periods, to permit collaboration; – schedules that would allow team teachers to use the time available for instruction

differently, for example, by using blocks of time for specific projects or by combining periods to take students on field trips; and

– additional support in the form of professional development on or off site. • Recruit successful biliterate grade 12 students to serve as peer tutors to ELs in core subjects.

Administrators, and teachers of ELs, working with counselors, will identify qualified grade 12 students who have met all graduation and college entrance requirements and who have time in their daily schedules for this endeavor. The students will be trained by teachers of ELs in an effort coordinated by Morse’s English Learner Support Resource Teacher, a highly qualified teacher with substantial experience in working with ELs. Morse administrators and the head counselor will explore the type of credit or other recognition that might be offered to students who provide this service to their peers.

• Seek out members of the business and professional communities to serve as guest speakers, to expose students to the language used in the workplace and encourage them to develop English fluency.

• Ensure that ELs are included during college fairs, so they learn about the possibilities that exist for post-secondary education which will require them to improve their English fluency.


4. Improving the performance of all students, particularly of English learners and of African American and Hispanic students, on the English language arts CST; improving the performance of all students on the mathematics CST; improving the pass rate of all students, particularly of English learners and African American and Hispanic students, on the CAHSEE

Morse leadership and staff are disappointed with the lack of improvement in the performance of the school’s students on the CST and the CAHSEE, despite the substantial effort and resources they believe that they have invested in the alignment of core curriculum with the state standards, the development of standards-based units of study and teacher-generated end-of-unit assessments, and analysis assessment results. They accept the recent results as a challenge not only to their commitment to hard work but also to their ingenuity and will recommit themselves to helping their students improve their academic performance according to a variety of accepted measures. Morse instructional leaders and faculty will continue to meet on modified Wednesdays to work through what they must do to achieve better results. Title I funds will continue to be allocated to provide release time for mathematics, science and English language arts teachers to meet in grade-level or content-specific teams to collaborate in improving their instruction. Science and mathematics teachers, guided by central office resource staff, will continue to conduct lesson studies in an effort to look more closely at classroom practice. In addition, Morse leaders and staff will undertake a number of initiatives in 2006–2007 that they believe will lead to improved student performance. a. Establish vertical teams of teachers at Morse. Content-area teachers of grades 9, 10 and 11 students will collaborate to ensure that standards-based teacher-generated units of study build on the skills developed in each previous grade level in each content area. This strategy, already employed by teachers in Morse’s social studies department, has proven effective, as CST data for social studies indicate. English language arts teachers have worked during the summer to develop curriculum maps for grades 9 and 10, identifying the state standards for reading and writing on which they will focus during each unit of study. The teachers will develop writing prompts modeled after those used in the CAHSEE. They will collectively score their students’ essays and other work, review the results, and make adjustments to the curriculum maps in order to re-teach the knowledge and skills in which students have not yet achieved proficiency. b. Establish vertical teams of teachers to include Morse feeder schools.

Similar vertical teams will be formed among Morse teachers and feeder school grades 8 and 9 content-area teachers at O’Farrell and Keiller middle schools and Bell Junior High School, to improve articulation and help assure that entering grade 9 students are properly prepared for high school-level work. School leaders will meet monthly to coordinate activities and will provide time throughout the year for the teachers to share instructional expectations and curriculum maps. Morse teachers of core content honors and advanced-level courses will collaborate with teachers from the three feeder schools to create a Pipeline of Success for students in the Morse community. Funding from a College Board AP Challenge grant (see Item 5 below), will be used to compensate teachers for time invested in creating curriculum maps that chart the development of skills as well as identifying supports needed for both students and their parents in order to increase the numbers of students ready to be successful in the full complement of AP courses


offered at Morse HS. Feeder school principals have agreed to make their schools’ modified days coincide with Morse’s modified days, to provide vertical team teachers from Morse and the feeder schools time to collaborate. c. Provide extended time for learning and other supports for the most vulnerable students.

Morse leaders and teachers have made time available during the school day so grade 9 students can receive additional instruction and/or support in mathematics, science and English language arts. Because additional support clearly is needed, grade 9 teachers met during summer 2006 to identify and agree upon common classroom routines and procedures as well as teaching strategies that will allow their students to develop and practice the skills that lead to academic success in such areas as time management, goal-setting, note-taking, organization and effective communication. Grade 10 students who have scored below or far below the proficient level on the English language arts and/or mathematics CST have been assigned to a CAHSEE prep class during the school day. Limited resources, however, permit offering only two sections of this class for each content area whereas, in fact, twice that number are needed. Morse will continue to use Title I funds to finance tutoring for an hour before the start of the school day and an hour after school. The funds pay teachers to teach and support students who need additional instruction in mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology and English language arts.

Should resources become available, the school library could remain open for an additional hour or two so that students who do not have access to computers or a quiet space at home for study or homework could get their work done at school. Morse would welcome central district support for such an initiative in the form of resources and staff to extend the Morse library’s hours to make library facilities available to students, parents and members of the community who may not otherwise have access to current technology tools or appropriate study space. Morse administrators request funding from the district sufficient to extend the school’s library hours by 10 hours per week for 24 weeks, to coincide with the periods during which Morse offers students extended-day opportunities to make up credits. Morse parents and community members also would be welcome to use the library during this time.

Assessing student progress towards proficiency is a key to improving the CAHSEE pass rate of Morse students. Accordingly teachers will • use the resources available on the CDE website to craft assessments modeled after the

CAHSEE and the CST, so students become familiar with the forms of the tests they will encounter.

• assess students using the teacher-generated assessment tools to determine students’ specific needs for support and/or re-teaching.

• communicate with parents about their children’s progress toward meeting state academic standards as well as concerns they may have regarding the CAHSEE.


School leaders will support teachers by • identifying grade 11 and 12 students who have not yet passed the CAHSEE and notifying

their teachers early in the school year so the teachers may target instruction appropriately. • providing release time or compensation for time worked after contract hours for teachers to

refine curriculum and develop standards-based assessments. • communicate with parents using newsletters, phone calls and evening meetings to convey the

importance of daily school attendance and of participation in extended-day opportunities, both of which have effects on whether students pass the CAHSEE.

Counselors will monitor the students on their caseload who have not passed the CAHSEE, ensure that those students are enrolled in the appropriate CAHSEE prep class or extended-day courses, and hold individual conferences with parents of grades 11 and 12 students who have not yet passed the exam. In addition to the academic supports planned, there is need to provide interventions that address the affective domain of students’ lives. The number of students who are in crisis appears to grow every year. Although no hard data are available to support this assertion, anecdotal data indicate that the parents of all too many students are incarcerated or otherwise absent from the student’s homes. These students live with grandparents, older siblings or other relatives and in some cases they act as parents to their younger siblings. They need counseling and guidance services that a school counselor cannot provide. Support from Children’s Hospital is greatly appreciated, but that help is available only three days per week, which allows for a small caseload indeed in light of the number of students who could benefit from such services. The students need weekly counseling sessions conducted by trained socials workers or psychologists who can teach them how to cope with the challenges they face in their personal lives. Morse leaders will contact local university programs that offer training of counselors and other mental health professionals, to determine whether program interns are available who could do their internships at Morse. They also will contact community-based organizations that offer such services, to determine whether they might offer their services to Morse students. d. Rotate cycles of lesson studies with a focus on instructional practice.

A small number of Morse mathematics and chemistry teachers have participated in lesson study cycles that have allowed them to examine and reflect on their practice in a non-threatening setting guided by district resource staff from the mathematics and science departments. They planned lessons together and then taught them to their students under the observation of their colleagues, who subsequently provided constructive feedback. The participating teachers’ responses were quite positive, prompting school leaders to determine that this strategy should be continued to further teachers’ professional growth. Accordingly, Title I funds will be used to provide grade-level and content-specific teams of teachers with time during the school day to continue the lesson study cycles. Teachers will focus on the instructional practices that can yield better student performance, because more students are engaged during the lesson, more students are interacting with each other using academic language, and more students are making meaning of complex content area concepts with their teachers as their guides.


e. Continue special education collaboration and co-teaching model. Grades 9, 10 and 11 special education diploma-bound students are now assigned to general education classrooms according to their IEP goals. Students’ special education and regular education teachers have common prep periods to allow them to plan together the modifications students need to gain access to complex subject matter concepts. Special education teachers co-teach lessons with their general education counterparts, modeling strategies that support the students with special needs. Morse leaders and staff believe that this strategy, now entering its third year at Morse, will bear more fruit as it becomes an integral part of Morse instructional practice. Morse general education teachers have benefited from the professional development provided by local experts to help them differentiate their instruction. They believe more such support, as well as release time to collect and analyze student work, is required to help them assure that their special education students achieve academic success. f. Continue class-size reduction in grade 9 core classes and grade 10 geometry classes Class size is an important factor in determining how effective teachers are and how well students learn. The literature on high school reform, including recent information from educators at Stanford and researchers at the Coalition of Essential Schools, supports the notion that a more personalized learning environment is a key factor when it comes to providing a high-quality education. This is not new information: Teachers and school leaders have long known that the effectiveness of instruction decreases as the number of students per class increases. Among the strategies implemented to support grade 9 students during their transition to high school, the Morse High School SSC has approved the use of Title I funds to reduce class size. Such use of the funds permits capping grade 9 classes in mathematics, science and English language arts at a maximum of 30 students per class. Teachers in the grade 9 interdisciplinary teams carry a maximum load of 150 students versus the loads of 180 students that grades10–12 teachers carry. The SSC also has approved use of Title I funds to reduce class size in grade 10 geometry classes. Most grade 10 students take geometry. Morse leaders and teachers support the use of Title I funds to continue the class size reduction in core grade 9 classes and in grade 10 geometry. Should resources become available, they recommend expanding the class-size reduction program to include grade 10 English language arts and science classes.

5. Attracting more students to UC/CSU-approved courses

Morse teachers and school leaders continue to seek ways to ensure that greater numbers of Morse graduates have met the UC/CSU subject-area admission requirements and that they have completed the application process for either or both university systems as well as the financial aid application. Along with four other district schools, Morse High School has applied for and received a Gear Up grant, which is intended to increase the number of high school graduates ready to enter the UC system. The grant provides resources whereby a cohort of middle school students may be targeted and followed through their high school years. Teachers who implement the program are charged with creating vertical teacher teams spanning high school grade levels. Team members will collaborate to support students as they develop the skills required to succeed in more challenging high school curricula. Middle-level teachers from O’Farrell and Keiller already have met periodically during modified days to review curriculum maps and benchmark


assessments, to assure that they understand the expectations for academic readiness in high school core subject areas.

Morse High School also will benefit from an Advanced Placement Challenge grant awarded to the SDUSD by the federal government in collaboration with the College Board. The purpose of the grant is to increase the number of socioeconomically disadvantaged students who are prepared for more challenging curriculum and become ready to take greater numbers of AP courses in grades 11 and 12. Vertical teams of English language arts teachers have met during summer 2006 to align the grades 9 and 10 English language arts curriculum to assure that students are prepared for more challenging curriculum in their final two years. Additional vertical teams in other content areas will be formed during the 2006–2007 school year to accomplish the same objective. Morse teachers of honors and advanced-level courses will collaborate with teachers from the three feeder schools to create a Pipeline of Success for students in the Morse community. Funds from the College Board AP Grant will be used to compensate the teachers for time invested in developing curriculum maps that chart the development of skills required to pursue advanced courses. Teachers also will use the time to identify the supports that students and their parents need to pursue such courses in the hope of increasing the number of students ready for success in the full complement of AP courses offered at Morse.

6. Meeting students’ needs in a large comprehensive high school

Large urban high schools are complex organizations that require many levels of coordination and oversight. To assure effective coordination of Morse High School’s multi-faceted educational program as well as productive oversight of the large Morse staff and the school’s myriad extracurricular activities, SDUSD leaders have determined that a co-principalship should be established at Morse. Each co-principal has a discrete set of duties and responsibilities in matters related to curriculum, instruction, assessment and accountability and site operations, athletics and student activities. The assistant superintendent or other central district staff who have oversight responsibility for Morse will guide the co-principals as they work to refine the scope of their responsibilities and identify the specific means they will use to assure effective collaboration. The transition from middle school to high school can prove trying to many students. The development of interdisciplinary teams at grade 9, described in Item 1.D., and the development of career-focused interdisciplinary teams at grades 10 –12, currently under way, show promise in creating for students who experience a sense of alienation and feel a lack of support an environment in which they feel that their individual needs are being met and their unique strengths and abilities recognized. All grade 9 Morse students are members of interdisciplinary teams, each of which includes a mathematics, a science, and an English language arts teacher. The teachers in each team share a common preparation period, to facilitate planning and the coordination of projects, presentations and other learning experiences such as field trips. The common prep time also allows teachers to discuss student progress and to meet with parents as needed.

Following the grade 9 interdisciplinary team model, teams of grades 10–12 teachers responsible for instruction in core content and in elective areas have come together around particular career focuses and have designed projects for their students whose goal is to solve real problems, on campus or in the community. Teachers who belong to the teams have selected one of two career focus areas, environmental science or engineering, and have voluntarily contributed to the


development of interdisciplinary teams in which students have elected to participate according to their elective area interests. Teachers in the teams have collaborated for more than a year, planning curriculum and designing hands-on projects that will allow students to experience and develop adult-world skills as they work to solve real problems. Parents and members of the business community have been involved in the development of the teams, offering their experiences in the workplace as bases for curriculum maps and projects that assure that students are not only striving to meet state academic standards but are learning about various business and industry standards as well. Currently some 600 grades 10–12 students have elected to participate in varying degrees in one of the two teams.

Morse staff, unfortunately, have been unable to coax from the district’s software applications the flexibility required to develop master schedules that include the innovative strategies that team teachers and school leaders are trying to implement. Support will be required from the district’s Information Technology Department staff to minimize the time needed to build such schedules and to overcome the obstacles Morse end-users have experienced.

Morse leadership and staff recognize the need to respond to the affective needs of students as well as to their intellectual needs. Mentors from the district’s Race and Human Relations office have provided some support to small groups of Morse students, but the need for such support extends far beyond the relatively small number of students currently served. Morse leadership seek the means to re-institute mentorship of students, to complement the efforts now under way. School leaders and staff will, among others steps, identify staff members who may be willing to bring back to Morse groups such as the Ladies and Gentlemen of Quality, an organization that targeted young African American men and women.

Additional structural changes have been discussed with Morse staff, particularly those involving changes to the daily schedule and academic year in order to extend the time for learning for the students who need it most. Support from the assistant superintendent in furthering this discussion at the site level would be most welcome.

7. Providing a culturally relevant educational experience for a diverse student body

Morse leadership and staff value the richness that a diverse student body offers the school community and they are committed to supporting strategies that allow students the opportunity to explore and learn about their cultural heritages. A grade 11 American Literature course, taught from an African American perspective, for example, demonstrates that commitment. The Morse English teacher who conceived the course has received statewide notice for developing the curriculum for this UC/CSU-approved course, which permits African American students to learn about their heritage and helps them meet a university subject-area admission requirement while doing so. Since the course is open to any interested eligible student, students from other cultural backgrounds may gain an understanding of the African American experience by participating in the course. The course teacher also serves as an advisor for the Young African American Alliance, which promotes a college going culture.


Other Morse instructional programs also help students make connections with their cultural heritages. The school’s Contemporary Voices course, for example, is built around texts by authors from diverse cultural backgrounds.

Filipino students are able to learn the national language and culture of the Philippines by taking one of seven sections of Pilipino. Two teachers who were educators in the Philippines prior to their relocating to the United States teach the full continuum of the language. In addition they teach their students the customs, music, dance and other aspects of the Filipino culture.

In addition to making available such unique educational experiences, steeped in culture-specific literature and traditions, Morse leadership and staff are committed to providing a supportive learning environment in which all students are valued and have multiple opportunities to learn about the cultures and traditions of people from all over the world. They believe, for example, that classroom libraries should include culturally relevant materials to which all students can gain access and which they find engaging. Accordingly, Morse leadership will provide core subject teachers with release time to refine the alignment of curriculum to state standards and to embed such materials in it, to help assure that all students feel valued and respected.

8. Providing an enriching education for socioeconomically disadvantaged students

Almost half of Morse’s students are designated socioeconomically disadvantaged (see Item 1.A.). Morse leadership and staff are committed to enriching the educational experience of these students in three important ways. First, they are pledged to collaborate with teachers and staff at Morse middle-level feeder schools to improve the instruction that students receive prior to high school and thereby assure that students receive adequate preparation for the academic demands of a rigorous curriculum, including advanced, honors and AP courses. They also are pledged to continue offering students instruction in AVID (Advancement Through Individual Determination) strategies to improve their study and organization skills and help them maintain a focus on post-secondary education. Second, Morse leadership and staff are committed to providing students with the role models they need to become truly engaged in learning and in school life. In an effort to provide adult role models and to hold students to higher expectations, school leaders, teachers and members of the school-to-career department have sought the support of members of the business and professional communities. The two career-themed interdisciplinary teams (see Item 2.C.1) have formed advisory boards composed of representatives from a variety of professions. One advisory board, the Tiger Paw advisory board, was initially formed as a result of efforts by State Farm Insurance Company to partner with high schools nationwide to augment their employee ranks. In recent years, the number of individuals opting to enter the collision repair industry, coupled with advances in automobile design and construction technology and an aging employee base, has prompted such outreach efforts to recruit high school students who may be interested in one of the many career options available in the industry. Morse students have had the opportunity to participate in monthly advisory board meetings that are held off campus in a business environment, to practice interview skills and to participate in interviews for summer internships in a variety of businesses. Twelve seniors had internships in summer 2006 and several were hired as entry-level permanent employees.

Morse leadership and staff will continue to seek adult representatives of the business and professional communities who are willing to mentor students. Such role models and the learning


experiences they make available allow students to develop workplace skills and to connect their learning to adult-world situations so that they may see more clearly the relationship between what they are learning in their classrooms and what will be expected of them as adults. What they learn will, in turn, help students make more informed decisions regarding their post-secondary options. Finally, Morse leadership and staff are committed to assuring that all parents of Morse students are aware of all available curriculum options for their children, including advanced curricula intended to prepare students for post-secondary education. Information regarding course offerings and curriculum available for students who may be interested in an advanced course of study, for example, will now be posted on the Morse website. And school leaders and staff will insist that parents hold their children to the same high academic performance expectations that Morse leaders and staff do.

9. Decreasing the student suspension rate, especially for African American students

A safe and orderly campus has always been a priority at Morse. School leaders and staff believe that discipline-related disruptions that occur on campus have a notable negative effect on student engagement in learning. They also recognize the many other factors that influence student behavior, such as family dynamics, violence in the community surrounding the school and lack of effective parenting or lack of a parent presence.

School leaders continually seek ways to intervene proactively with students who show disruptive behavior. Teacher leaders have collaborated with school administrators to craft a discipline policy based on existing school and district policies and procedures. The policy is shared with students in grade-level assemblies. Students are required to take discipline policy-related documents home for parent review and signature and to return the signed documents to teachers. In most cases, the school policies and procedures provide an effective basis for holding students accountable for their behavior. Other factors in many students’ lives, however, often present the greatest challenges for Morse leadership and staff in matters of student discipline. Morse staff undertake in a number of ways to provide students who are experiencing varying levels of distress in their lives outside of school with counseling and with opportunities to meet with supportive adults who can help them cope. Counselors from the district’s Race and Human Relations office provide ongoing support by facilitating group discussions with students who need that outlet. A clinical psychologist provided by Children’s Hospital is on campus three days a week to support students with more serious personal issues, including personal loss, anger, sexuality and abandonment. Such efforts will continue during the 2006–2007 school year but the demand for these services far exceeds current availability.

More trained professionals who can address the needs of specific student populations (e.g., African American males), a greater presence of community-based organizations that provide counseling services, and a greater allocation for school counselors would help to decrease the number of discipline-related disruptions and suspensions at Morse.

In 2006–2007, Morse staff will launch a site-based mentoring effort focused on African American and Hispanic students, which will include strategies successfully used at Morse in the past. Staff


and community members will be invited to mentor individual students to encourage them to be more proactive regarding education and the positive options they have in life. These efforts will begin with an invitation to African American staff members for a conversation focused on the performance indicators of Morse’s African American students. A similar conversation will be initiated with the school’s Hispanic staff members and will focus on the performance indicators of Morse’s Hispanic students. From these conversations will emerge coordinators for the site-based mentoring efforts. Participating staff members will establish criteria for use in identifying students in need of support and will determine how best to connect the students from these groups with caring adults in one-on-one, small-group and large-group gatherings. The goal of these efforts will be to assure the students that they are valued and respected. Participating staff mentors will use a variety of indicators to monitor student progress, including school attendance, grades, suspensions, and completion of UC/CSU-approved courses. Staff members participating in the mentoring projects will rely on other on-campus resources, such as the Employer Outreach Specialist, to arrange for presentations by representatives of various professions in which students may be interested, motivational speakers, and breakfast meetings with their mentors and other professionals.

10. Improving the ability of counselors to guide their students

Morse counselors follow SDUSD guidelines for results-based counseling established by the district’s Counseling and Guidance Department. As directed they set yearly goals and establish focus areas to serve students and parents more effectively. As is the case in most district high schools, however, the size of the counselors’ student loads makes it difficult for them to be accessible to students and parents. This problem is especially apparent during the first weeks of school and during early spring months, when counselors are heavily involved in the articulation process for the following year and are monitoring grade 12 students on track for graduation. The necessity to monitor student progress related to federal and state accountability targets has increased demands on counselors’ time. Accordingly, Morse counselors have begun to set yearly goals and establish focus areas in ways that will allow them to carve out more time for one-on-one student interactions and parent conferences. Morse counselors undertake the following actions: • They assemble all grade 9 students in small groups early in the school year to stress the

importance of their doing well in school so that they meet graduation and college entrance requirements.

• They organize college fairs and financial aid workshops targeted to grades 11 and 12 students and their parents, so that parents and students may make informed decisions about their post-secondary options.

• They hold meetings on Saturdays for parents of grade 10 students, to review graduation and college entrance requirements.

Morse counselors and school leaders are dedicated to the improvement of all students’ academic achievement as measured by the federal and state accountability targets. Accordingly, school leaders and counselors will


• Re-align the duties and responsibilities of the vice principals, dean of students and campus security assistants, to relieve counselors of having to address discipline issues throughout the day.

• Develop presentations directed to grade 10 students, to be delivered in classrooms or in larger groups, whose focus will be increasing participation and passing rates on the CAHSEE.

• Monitor the academic performance of grade 10 students so that by the end of the fall semester they can ensure that the students are receiving the support they need to prepare for the March administration of the CAHSEE and that the students understand the importance of their participation on both days of the test.

• Collect and analyze data to determine the impact that counselors’ interventions have on students’ performance, including such data as suspension rates, graduation rate, completion of UC/CSU course requirements, passing rates on the CAHSEE, and performance levels on the CST.

11. Increasing the number of on-campus athletics coaches

In recent years Morse has lost a number of on-campus (on-staff) coaches, due primarily to teacher retirements and relocations. Although dedicated walk-on coaches experienced in their sports currently coach many of Morse’s athletic teams, they may lack experience in working with adolescent students as well as an understanding of the educational philosophy underpinning interscholastic athletics. They may not be as equipped as an experienced teacher would at handling unusual or emergency situations and may not appreciate, as experienced teachers do, the priority of sportsmanship and sports ethics over a desire to win. Walk-on coaches also lack access to students’ academic records and to the student-athletes’ teachers, both needed to ensure that students maintain the academic and behavioral (citizenship) standing required to assure their eligibility for participation. In that case the burden of assuring that students meet California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) and SDUSD eligibility standards must be added to the responsibilities of the school’s athletic director and its vice principal in charge of athletics, in collaboration with school counselors. School principals retain the ultimate responsibility to ensure the eligibility of their student athletes.

School and district leaders—co-principals, vice principals and the site and district athletic directors—work with the Morse athletic coaching staff by providing in-services throughout the year regarding CIF and district regulations, particularly those dealing with eligibility to participate in athletic teams. School leaders meet regularly with the coaching staff to articulate and emphasize expectations for the academic performance of all student-athletes as well as for their behavior on and off the athletic field.

In 2006–2007 Morse leaders and staff will make concerted efforts to increase the number of on-campus athletic coaches by • Assuring that the co-principal who will oversee the athletic program thoroughly reviews the

performance of all on-campus and walk-on coaching staff, to evaluate their performance and identify coaching staff needs.

• Reaching out to all current staff members who might be qualified to and interested in building a high-quality athletics program at Morse. During staff meetings school leaders will encourage teachers to consider coaching an interscholastic athletics team. In addition


coaching duties will be listed on every description for teaching vacancies that may arise at Morse and head coach positions will be advertised.

• Collaborating with Human Resources to recruit for teaching staff vacancies qualified teachers who might also be qualified to coach a Morse athletic team.

12. Improving parent and community involvement in the education of Morse students

Morse administrators and staff members recognize the vital role that parents play in their children’s academic performance, They also recognize that active engagement with members of the community can add new dimensions to the vitality of Morse’s efforts to provide all students with a more meaningful educational experience. School leaders and staff members have taken important first steps to increase the participation of parents and community members in Morse life and activities and will continue such efforts by providing numerous settings in which parents can interact with teachers, counselors and administrators. Parents can gain information about their children’s progress and their post-high school options in such settings as regular Coffees with the Principal, parent forums, Back to School Night, College Night, Financial Aid Planning, 10th Grade Review, evening parent conferences and a Spring Showcase. Morse staff and key parents initiated the formation of a PTSA organization and successfully launched it in spring 2006. A membership campaign yielded positive results and elections were held for president, secretary, treasurer, and historian. A lack of support staff available to contact parents, unfortunately, impedes progress in increasing and improving communication with parents. Several social/cultural events are scheduled throughout the school year, at which students demonstrate musical or other artistic talent. One of the most popular events, the community potluck held most recently in December 2005 and organized by members of the Morse School Site Council (SSC), drew almost 400 parents, students and community members. Concerts, plays and other cultural events are sponsored by various student organizations such as Kaisahan, the Filipino Club, Young African Americans, and MECHA (Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan) In addition Morse leaders and staff members will increase their efforts to communicate with parents and community members by • Maintaining a school website that is updated regularly and includes calendars of upcoming events. • Sending monthly written communications home via the school newsletter. • Sending surveys and questionnaires aimed at identifying parent needs. • Dedicating and equipping a space on campus as a Morse High School Parent Center. • Making Parent Connect, a subset of the district software application Zangle, available to parents who

may want to access their children’s school information. • Identifying community-based and district resources that can be offered to parents in the form of on-

campus workshops on various topics, including computer use, effective parenting and coping with the changing world of adolescents.

• Involving students in the organization and planning of events to gain their support and bring more parents on campus.

• Inviting parents and community members willing to support students who need caring adults who can listen to them. These volunteer parents and community members can meet with students during lunch, individually or in small groups, to hear their concerns and provide guidance.

• Using local newspapers to publicize events and important information.


Morse leaders and staff recognize that parents play key roles regarding the academic performance of their children. Budget constraints and lack of adequate support personnel, however, impede Morse’s parent outreach efforts. Morse would welcome central district support for a dedicated position at Morse to focus solely on parent and community outreach. Morse leaders and staff request district support for funding a full-time certificated parent academic liaison (PAL) position at Morse to focus solely on parent and community outreach. They propose, subject to SSC approval, to use school Title I funds to provide additional materials and resources to equip a Morse High School Parent Center.

C. Benchmarks and Assessments

How will we know that the Morse’s restructuring plan is successful? School leadership, staff, governance team and restructuring oversight committee will, of course, rely on Morse student performance results from the CAHSEE, the CAPA, the California Standards Tests and the CELDT to inform them of student progress and to guide any changes in the plan that may be necessary. With the exception of the CAHSEE and the CAPA, however, these tests are administered only once a year, in spring, and their results are not available until just before a new school year opens. Moreover, they are not exhaustive measures of student achievement. Accordingly, Morse administration and staff will continue to rely on a host of methods and data to determine how well Morse students are performing, the sort of professional development that ought to be provided to Morse teachers, how classroom instruction ought to be adjusted and how the school’s restructuring plan should be refined. Teachers and administrators will use a variety of assessment methods, including teacher-generated tests and quizzes, chapter tests, standards-based end-of-unit assessments and end-of-semester and end-of-course exams, student demonstrations of learning, and teacher and student observations. Teacher teams, such as the grade 9 interdisciplinary teams, the grades 10–12 interdisciplinary teams and content-specific teacher teams, will analyze the results of the various assessments. Teacher teams and administrators will work together on this analysis during the time available on modified Wednesdays and during teacher release days. Release days unfortunately remove teachers temporarily from their classrooms, but we have found few other options to make analytical teamwork possible. Modified Wednesday s are available only every other week and staff have been reluctant to adopt a different daily schedule that would allow for more time for collaboration during the teachers’ workday. In addition to the assessment and analysis just described, teams of teachers, parents, administrators and students will be conducting in-depth analysis of our student achievement data in order to identify a student learning problem. This analysis will take place under the aegis of the Using Data Project funded by the Carnegie Grant and offered to several district high schools. The teams will work together all year not only to analyze data, but also to practice using a protocol for data analysis that will result in concrete information that can be investigated more thoroughly. District support will be needed to assure that data analysis teams have access to relevant and current student achievement data.


D. Specific Operational and Instructional Responsibilities

To assure the success of the Morse restructuring plan will require the commitment and collaboration of every Morse staff member, particularly its classroom teaching staff. Some staff members will have the following specific responsibilities in the plan’s implementation:

Figure 26 Morse Staff, Restructuring Plan Duties and Responsibilities

Staff Duties and Responsibilities

Co-Principal (Rocío Weiss)

• Provides leadership and effective communication to staff, parents and students regarding the importance of being ready to learn and being present every hour of every day to benefit from daily instruction.

• Provides leadership for and oversees curriculum, instruction and professional development and facilitates the implementation of strategies designed to increase passing rates on CAHSEE and higher achievement rates on the CST.

• Provides leadership for and oversees the administration of all required district and state assessments to ensure that the participation rate targets are met.

• Analyzes student achievement data as early in the school year as feasible to identify students who may need targeted interventions, in order to reduce the dropout rate and increase the graduation rate.

• Supports teachers who are learning new methodologies designed to increase the rate at which ELs develop English language fluency.

• Analyzes student achievement data and leads the staff in studying, evaluating and modifying current instructional practice to accelerate student academic achievement as measured by State academic standards.

• Coaches teachers in strategies that lead to improving the instruction of students with special needs.

• In collaboration with teacher leaders, develops annual professional growth plans; designs and plans the professional growth experiences for teachers across content areas, soliciting assistance from district support staff in facilitating professional growth activities.

• Manages the budget and allocates resources to support the implementation of the restructuring plan.

• Monitors and evaluates current and new staff. • Provides leadership and oversees mentoring efforts targeting African American

and Hispanic students, actively participating in school events planned for African American and Hispanic students and serving as a role model for staff and students.

• Communicates to parents and community members the importance of actively supporting Morse student-athletes and the school in general by participating in the school-sponsored events.

Co-Principal (Todd Irving)

• Provides leadership and effective communication to staff, parents and students regarding the importance of being on time and present every hour of every day to benefit from instruction.

• Monitors and evaluates current and new staff. • Analyzes student achievement data and leads the staff in studying, evaluating and

modifying current instructional practice to accelerate student academic achievement as measured by State academic standards.


Staff Duties and Responsibilities • Coaches teachers in strategies that lead to improving the instruction of students

with special needs. • Provides leadership for and monitors the work of the members of the Guidance

and Counseling Department as they implement the yearly Guidance Action Plan (see below).

• Enforces discipline and dress code policies designed to create a professional culture at Morse High School, where teachers teach and students learn.

• Provides leadership and oversees Morse High School’s athletic program; strives to increase the number of on-campus coaches to take responsibility for the various sports available to Morse students.

• Provides leadership for and oversees the upgrade of the physical plant for Morse High School, including the upgrade of its athletic facilities.

• Communicates to parents and community members the importance of actively supporting Morse student-athletes and the school in general by participating in the school-sponsored events.

• Provides leadership for and oversees the mentoring efforts targeting African American and Hispanic students, actively participating in school events planned for African American and Hispanic students and serving as a role model for staff and students.

• Manages budgets and allocates resources to support the implementation of the restructuring plan.

Vice principals (Laura Bellofatto. Harry Shelton, Vicky Zands)

• Provide leadership and effective communication for the staff in the departments and areas that they oversee.

• Analyze student achievement data and lead staff in studying, evaluating and modifying current instructional practice to accelerate student academic achievement as measured by State academic standards.

• Collaborate with the co-principals in planning and facilitating professional growth sessions for the teachers in the departments they oversee; guide teachers in the analysis of relevant student achievement data to determine progress, identify needs and adjust curriculum and instruction.

• Provide support for the teachers in the departments they oversee; monitor and evaluate current and new staff; coach teachers by modeling lessons during coaching cycles with teachers.

• Establish positive relationships with students, particularly African American and Hispanic students; mentor students and serve as model models for them; proactively enforce school discipline policies;

• Oversee all elements of the administration of state exams, such as CAHSEE and CST; communicate effectively with parents regarding the importance of students’ being on time and present everyday. particularly on testing days, so that participation targets for both assessments are met.

• Collaborate with counselors to obtain the most accurate listing of grade-level students to be counted among the participants in the CAHSEE and the CST.

• Assist and support the co-principals in all elements of restructuring plan implementation.

Counselors • Identify strategies to address the specific needs of students at each grade level and target their efforts to respond to those needs; develop a Guidance Action Plan for each grade level that clearly spells out the strategies to be implemented by the members of the Morse Guidance and Counseling Department.


Staff Duties and Responsibilities • Monitor the academic performance of grade 10 students, particularly of African

American and Hispanic students and English learners, so that by the end of the fall semester they can determine whether the students are receiving the support they need to be prepared for the March administration of the CAHSEE.

• Re-align their time to allow for more one-on-one interactions with the students on their caseloads, targeting the most vulnerable students and intervening at the earliest signs of risk.

• Identify student needs and seek services provided by community-based organizations to intervene with students who may find themselves in crisis or distress.

• Communicate with students and parents the importance of students’ being on time and present every day in order to meet graduation and college entrance requirements.

• Communicate with students and parents the importance of students’ being on time and present during testing days.

• Collect and analyze data to determine the effect that counselors’ interventions have on students’ performance, including such data as suspension rates, graduation rate, completion of UC/CSU course requirements, passing rates on the CAHSEE and performance levels on the CST.

Title I Project Resource Teacher

• Collaborates with the co-principal to guide teachers in the analysis of student achievement data; guides and supports teachers as they develop and refine lessons, units of study and benchmark assessments in a continual cycle of research—design—teach—evaluate—re-teach.

• Participates in training for teachers of English learners and students with special needs; supports teachers who are trying out new methodologies focused on accelerating the acquisition of English and the development of language fluency.

• Facilitates and supports teachers who are participating in lesson study cycles. • Facilitates and supports teachers who are developing vertical teams within the

high school grades as well as teams that include the Morse feeder schools. • Collaborates with the co-principal to secure books for English language arts

classroom libraries, so all students have access to a variety engaging, age-appropriate texts representative of various cultural backgrounds.

• Communicates relevant information regarding student achievement in English language arts and mathematics to members of SSC and the Oversight Committee.

English Learner Support Teacher

• Monitors the achievement data of English learners, particularly their CELDT, CAHSEE and CST results and grades; collaborates with the co-principal to guide teachers in the analysis of achievement data and communicates findings to teachers, parents and community members.

• Participates in training for teachers of English learners and supports teachers who are trying out new methodologies focused on accelerating the acquisition of English and the development of language fluency.

• Coordinates the yearly administration of the CELDT. • Completes the yearly language census as required by the state. • Supports teachers who are participating in CLAD or SB395 training.

Site Governance Team and

Collaborate with the co-principals in actively supporting the implementation of Morse’s Restructuring Plan by • Participating as members of the Restructuring Oversight Committee (see below).


Staff Duties and Responsibilities Instructional Council

• Analyzing student achievement data and recommending adjustments to the plan, as appropriate.

• Communicating outcomes of restructuring-related discussions to the Morse stakeholders whom they represent and acting as conduits of information between stakeholders and the school leadership team.

• Collaborate with the co-principals in planning for professional growth work that will lead to improved student achievement, particularly among African American and Hispanic students.

• Monitor the implementation in their departments of school polices designed to promote a professional culture at Morse for both adults and students.

PTSA president Collaborates with the co-principals in actively supporting the implementation of Morse’s Restructuring Plan by • Participating as a member of the Restructuring Oversight Committee (see below). • Disseminating information to parents and members of the community regarding

the implementation of the Morse Restructuring Plan. • Enlisting greater numbers of parents to become active partners with Morse staff

members to increase the number of students who are succeeding in school. • Providing outside sources of support for students who may be in need of support

of a more personal nature. School Site Council Members

Collaborate with the co-principals in actively supporting the implementation of Morse’s Restructuring Plan by • Participating as members of the Restructuring Oversight Committee (see below). • Analyzing student achievement data and aligning resources to meet students’

needs. • Approving and monitoring Title I expenditures; approving the use of other

categorical funds. • Drafting the Single Plan for Student Achievement (SPSA)and corresponding

budget for the use of Title I funds; monitoring the implementation of the plan. • Disseminating information to parents and members of the community regarding

the implementation of the Morse Restructuring Plan and of the SPSA. ELAC Members

Collaborate with the co-principals in actively supporting the implementation of Morse’s Restructuring Plan by • Participating as members of the Restructuring Oversight Committee (see below). • Analyzing student achievement data and aligning resources to meet students’

needs; • Approving and monitoring the use of funds targeted for the support of English

learners; • Drafting the Single Plan for Student Achievement (SPSA)and corresponding

budget for the use of Title I funds; monitoring the implementation of the plan. • Disseminating information to parents and members of the community regarding

the implementation of the Morse Restructuring Plan and of the SPSA ASB Advisor Collaborates with the co-principals by

• Participating in the Restructuring Oversight Committee (see below) and identifying student representatives to participate in the committee.

• Assisting and supporting staff in providing incentives for grade 10 students who are to take the CAHSEE, with emphasis on recognizing students who are present


Staff Duties and Responsibilities for both days of the exam;

• Providing opportunities for students to analyze achievement data and collecting their recommendations regarding improvement of student achievement.

• Providing opportunities for students to provide input to the school leaders. Assistant Superintendent

Provides leadership and support in the implementation of Morse’s Restructuring Plan by • Monitoring the plan’s implementation regularly with the co-principals and

instructional leadership team using Morse’s implementation rubric to determine the level of accomplishment of goals and objectives;

• Collaborating with the co-principals in summarizing and interpreting the student data for Morse’s Program Improvement Oversight Committee; and

• Assisting the school in determining and implementing any mid-course adjustments needed in the restructuring plan.

Oversight Committee

• Meets with the assistant superintendent and Morse’s instructional leadership team at minimum four times per year to review relevant student data and the proposed restructuring plan.

• Determines whether students are making progress and whether administrators and staff are effectively implementing Morse’s restructuring plan.

• Recommends to Morse’s SSC and School Governance Team any mid-course corrections that might be required to assure achievement of restructuring plan goals.

E. Resources Needed

To help ensure the success of the Morse restructuring plan, Morse staff and parents have agreed that federal funds available to Morse, including Title I funds, will be dedicated to achieve several specific plan-related purposes. • Federal funds provided to Morse to support English learners will be used to pay the costs of

providing teachers with release time to study and implement the SIOP model in selected core-subject classrooms in which ELs have been placed according to district guidelines. (see Item 2.C.3.) They also will be used to fund, fully or partially, the salaries of the school’s English language development teacher and of some core-subject teachers who provide instruction to students at various stages of English language acquisition in dedicated course sections throughout the school day.

• As noted (see Item 2.C.4), Title I funds will be used to reduce class size in English language arts,

mathematics and science in grade 9 and in geometry in grade 10. The site Title I allocation for 2006–2007 permits grade 10 class-size reduction in only one subject area. Morse staff and parents have agreed that mathematics should be the target area and that Title I funds should be used to permit capping grade 10 geometry classes at 30 students. Staff and parents hope that grade 10 students’ receipt of more individual attention will help them improve their performance on the mathematics section of the CAHSEE.

• Morse leaders, staff and parents agree that Title I funds will be used to provide core-subject

teachers with high-quality job-embedded training.


• Morse leaders, staff and parents agree that Title I finds will be used to help expose all students, especially socioeconomically disadvantaged students, to the richness that the adult world has to offer (see Item 2.C.8). Opportunities to participate in such cultural events as theater performances, concerts and art exhibitions as well as in visits to various work places and conferences intended to prepare students for the transition to college represent an important component of a high school student’s education. Similarly, job fairs, college fairs and college visits complement the work that teachers do daily with students, particularly with students who may not have the economic means to avail themselves of such experiences that can prepare them to make informed choices regarding post-secondary options.

• Morse leaders, staff and parents agree that Title I funds will be used to provide Morse students,

especially African American students, with counseling and motivating interventions to help them improve their performance in school (see Item 2.C.9). Collaboration with members of the district’s Race and Human Relations Department has made Morse staff aware of the availability of other counseling professionals who can provide interventions in such areas as conflict resolution and cultural awareness that can benefit students who may be experiencing difficulties in their lives that may in turn result in negative behaviors at school.

Some human and material resources required to implement the restructuring plan, however, cannot be funded by Morse’s anticipated formula-driven allocation for 2006–2007 or by its allocations of Title I and other categorical funds. Figure 27 below lists all such resources and their projected costs.

Figure 27

Morse Restructuring Plan, Additional Resources Required, 2006–2007

Required Resource Projected Cost

Site Funding

Other Funding Source

Additional Funding Required

Testing coordinator (full-time, certificated) (See Item 2.C.2.)

$70,189 None available

None available

$70,189

Parent academic liaison (full-time, certificated, secondary) (See Item 2.C.12.)

$70,189 None available

None available

$70,189

Extended hours for library media staffing/services (10 hour/week, 24 weeks) (See Item 2.C.4.c.)

$12,400

None available

None available

$12,400

SIOP (Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol) training for certified teachers of English learners (See Item 2.C.3.)

None available

None available

CLAD/SB357 training for teachers (See Item 2.C.3.)

None available

None available

Collaboration/co-teaching training for teachers of diploma-bound students with special needs, (See Item 2.C.4.e.)

None available

None available

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