Compton High - Students, parents, and teachers as one

During the SY 2000/2001 WASC visitation, the Visiting Committee identified 27 key issues and recommendations for the Compton High School staff to address. School-wide, the focus has been to specifically address those issues and recommendations, The CHS effort was acknowledged when the 2004 WASC Visiting Committee findings confirmed that the consolidated school-wide Action Plan identified Improvement Areas, and more importantly, developed and began the implementation of a comprehensive plan to address identified growth areas.

The 2004 visiting Committee's recommendations reaffirmed the effectiveness of the school's direction by confirming that the Single Plan for Student Achievement (Action Plan) identified and addressed the seven (7) major areas of school-wide improvement:

1. SCHOOL-WIDE FOCUS ON CORE ACADEMIC SKILLS IN LITERACY AND MATHEMATICS
2. STUDENT PLACEMENT FOR OPTIMAL ACADEMIC SUCCESS
3. MULTIPLE MEASUREMENTS AND DATA ANALYSIS OF STUDENT ACADEMIC PROGRESS
4. ARTICULATED PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN
5. FACILITIES ISSUES
6. CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT AND INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES 7. STUDENT AND STAFF ATTENDANCE

The 2004 WASC Visiting Committee's findings and recommendations dramatically decreased the 2000-01 recommendations (school improvement issues) by 59%. Based on the consolidated Action Plan and documented evidence, the 2004 report identified eleven (11) School Improvement Issues:

A. ORGANIZATION: VISION AND PURPOSE, GOVERNANCE, LEADERSHIP AND STAFF, AND RESOURCES (4) REVIEW STUDENT PLACEMENT PROCEDURES TO ENSURE CORRECT CLASS SCHEDULING, WITH SPECIFIC GUIDELINES COMMUNICATED TO STAFF, PARENTS, AND STUDENTS. CONTINUE TO FOCUS ON THE IMPROVEMENT OF THE ATTENDANCE RATE OF STAFF (CERTIFICATED AND CLASSIFIED) AND STUDENTS. SHIFT DECISION-MAKING AUTHORITY FROM THE SCHOOL DISTRICT TO THE SCHOOL. CONTROL OF SCHOOL'S OPERATION THROUGH SCHOOL SITE COUNCIL (COMPRISED OF PARENTS, TEACHERS, AND SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS) NEEDS TO BE MORE EMPOWERING. THERE MUST BE A MAJOR COMMITMENT BY THE DISTRICT TO PROVIDE FOR ADMINISTRATIVE STABILITY AT COMPTON HIGH SCHOOL. THREE PRINCIPALS IN FOUR YEARS CANNOT PROMOTE THE NECESSARY CULTURE TO PROVIDE THE NECESSARY LEADERSHIP TO IMPLEMENT FOCUS ON LEARNING.

B. STANDARDS-BASED STUDENT LEARNING: CURRICULUM (1) CONTINUE TO UTILIZE THE ESLRS IN CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT AND REVIEW THE EFFECT OF THE SCHOOL'S EVALUATION METHODS.

C. STANDARDS-BASED STUDENT LEARNING: INSTRUCTION (2) CONTINUE TO INCREASE STUDENT ACCESS TO TECHNOLOGY AS A TOOL FOR LEARNING, PROBLEM SOLVING, COMMUNICATING AND PLANNING. CONTINUE TO IMPROVE POWERFUL TEACHING BY INCORPORATING MORE INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES TO ACCOUNT FOR DIFFERENT LEARNING STYLES OF STUDENTS AND BY RE-EXAMINING STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT. THE USE OF ASSESSMENT DATA MUST BE MAXIMIZED IN ORDER TO MAKE CHANGES IN INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES.

D. STANDARDS-BASED STUDENT LEARNING: ASSESSMENT AND ACCOUNTABILITY (3) CONTINUE THE FOCUS ON LEARNING PROCESS INCLUDING SHARING AND ANALYZING EVIDENCE AND MEETING IN FOCUS GROUPS TO REVIEW PROGRESS MADE. IMPROVEMENT OF TEST SCORES IN RELATIONSHIP TO ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE INDICATORS, WHILE ONLY ONE INDICATOR OF STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT NEEDS TO BE A MAJOR FOCUS FOR THE FUTURE. THE MATRIX ASSESSMENT PRESCRIBED BY THE DISTRICT NEEDS TO BE RE-EVALUATED WITH APPROPRIATE STAFF INPUT FOR FUTURE EFFICACY.

E. SCHOOL CULTURE AND SUPPORT FOR STUDENT PERSONAL AND ACADEMIC GROWTH (1) CONTINUE TO EMPOWER ALL STAKEHOLDER GROUPS TO ENCOURAGE COMMITMENT, PARTICIPATION AND, MOST IMPORTANTLY, COLLABORATION FOR STUDENT LEARNING. A WELL-DEFINED METHOD FOR THIS ARTICULATION TO TAKE PLACE MUST BE DEVELOPED TO PROVIDE FOR CONTINUITY. THIS IS A MAJOR AREA THAT NEEDS TO BE DEVELOPED BY ALL STAKEHOLDERS.

Using the WASC recommendations as the focal instrument, the administrative staff and leadership team disaggregated, analyzed, and interpreted student data relative to the CHS Single Plan's (Action Plan) effectiveness for school-wide student achievement. In the 12 months since the last visit, Compton High School has made a concerted effort to address all WASC recommendations. I am proud of the school-wide effort, and, more importantly, of the tremendous progress we have made in addressing all issues.

The WASC introspective self-study process for Compton High School has been a major benefit for me, the third principal at Compton High School since the original 2000/2001 WASC Visitation.

It has afforded me the opportunity to gain a clear understanding of the obstacles, major and minor, the staff has faced to accomplish the measurable increase in student achievement that the CHS community is now beginning to experience. I have interviewed numerous staff members, students, and parents; studied school planning documents; and been actively involved in a cadre of focus groups and governance committee meetings. I am impressed by the perseverance and resilience of the CHS community as it searches for solutions to the issues encountered while continuing to improve. As I synthesized the findings of the various group meetings, I sensed a rich, diverse, and intense underlying commonality: the CHS community is determined to do "whatever it takes to provide a quality learning experience for all students."

By insisting that this process be an "authentic self-study", the following report is candid and heartfelt. The contents of this document are the result of professionals cognizant of the challenges that face them, refusing to accept excuses or acquiesce to any obstacle. The Compton High staff believes in the students they serve and in themselves as a community of dedicated and professional educators.

I have enjoyed "steering the helm" for the past year, and I look forward to working with the Compton High School staff, students, parents, and community as we continue to enhance the overall quality and effectiveness of our educational program. It will take a true commitment from all of us to create the high-achieving school that is our vision. We have initiated the process of reflective self-analysis and have begun to implement the research-based practices that will enable all of our students to succeed in our school-wide leap from Good to Great!