Results
Luther Burbank High School, Sacramento, CA
The Situation
Despite years of work aligning assessments to standards, developing daily objectives to frame their instruction, and using data to track student outcomes, the Math Department at Luther Burbank High School in Sacramento was not achieving the results they sought. They were finding that many of their students were not accessing the content that was being taught, and were falling short of the objectives that had been set for them. Instruction was mainly delivered whole group in a "teach and tutor" environment, in which dedicated, hard working teachers would convey information to the class, and then frantically move around the classroom assisting the many students who still did not understand. In an effort to improve pedagogy and better engage all of their students, the math department formed a partnership with Insight Education Group. The goal of the partnership was to build on the good work they had done on the planning end, and translate that thinking into great lesson delivery that helped all students meet and exceed proficiency on standards.
School/District Data
American Indian/Alaskan Native: 1.0% Asian: 37.6% Pacific Islander: 3.2% Filipino: 1.6% Hispanic/Latino: 27.4% African American: 21.1% White: 6.3% Other/Declined to State: 1.9%
Services Provided
Evaluation, Leadership and Strategic Planning, Professional Development and Coaching
Our work with the Burbank High School Math Department combined leadership training and strategic planning with teacher professional development, including:
- Strategic planning to develop a cohesive and targeted professional development plan.
- Re-alignment of assessments to standards,
- Implementation of daily objectives to frame instruction.
- Professional development on processes and strategies to engage students in mathematical reasoning and communication.
- Increasing the use of manipulatives, graphic organizers, and multiple modes of response to ensure that all students could access the key concepts.
- Structured protocols for examining student work and data
Through summer training followed by intensive coaching and on-going support, Burbank math teachers developed processes and strategies to engage students in mathematical reasoning and communication. Teachers increased their use of manipulatives, graphic organizers, and employed multiple modes of response to ensure that all students could access the key concepts.
Results
As a result of the partnership with Insight Education Group, all subgroups met or exceeded the 2008 percent proficient target of 32.2%. The school has continuously improved on the California Academic Performance Index (API), and exited Program Improvement status in 2007 as a result of those gains.
" Insight Education Group has truly helped teachers examine and refine their instructional practice in order to better serve all of our students. "
Karla Smith, School Improvement Facilitator, Luther Burbank High School, Sacramento, CA
" I want to thank you again for your training session. I learned more about teaching in 4 days than I have in one semester at my Masters/Credentialing program. "
Ian Jewett, Teacher, Larchmont Charter School