Plugging Along with Smaller Learning Communities

The Smaller Learning Community Initiative at Kapa'a High School is in it's second full year of implementation with 50% of our students enrolled in Smaller Learning Communities.

Students from the Class of 2016 are enrolled in one of two Hui - Onipa'a or Ikaika. The two Hui place great emphasis on ensuring a smooth transition from middle school to high school. Study skills, leadership development and literacy are the primary foci in Grade 9.  Dedicated teams of teachers meet regularly to discuss student progress, plan interventions and develop joint curriculum plans. Tutoring, mentoring and student recognition programs have been systemized.

Following their successful Hui experience, the Class of 2015 are all enrolled in either the HOPES or IDEAS Academy. Our HOPES & IDEAS academies each have four pathways or strands for students to choose from:

HOPES - Academy Leaders (Kara Kitamura, Janis Gowan and Josh Owens)

• Health Services
• Publications & Graphic Design
• Education or Leadership
• Services: Culinary/Hospitality

 IDEAS - Academy Leaders (David Mireles, Brandon Fujita and Catherine Paleka)

• Industrial Engineering Technology: Building Construction or Auto
• Digital Media
• Entrepreneurship
• Arts: Visual or Performing

The focus of the academy in the 10th grade centers around building core knowledge in the academic subjects of English, Math, Science and Social Studies with the bulk of the academy experience taking place in their pathway/strand core class. The pathway core classes serve a multitude of purposes including:

• introducing students to the many careers related to their pathway
• providing an overview of history related to their pathway
• laying the foundation of important principles and content related to their pathway 
• emphasizing the importance of workplace readiness skills
• allowing students to apply their knowledge and connect it to their academic classes

Like the Hui teachers, academy teachers meet several times a week to discuss student progress, curriculum and instructional strategies. Particular emphasis is being placed on Literacy Development, Career Readiness and refining/aligning the Personal Transition Plan and the CTE Portfolios with our Academy structures.  Eleventh and 12th grade teachers also meet regularly to prepare for the expansion of the academies to 11th grade next year. Academy leaders receive support from the Smaller Learning Community Coordinator to ensure alignment within and across the three grades in each academy.  

SLC Teaching Teams in Action: Building Dreams

On Monday, July 23rd - thirty Grade 9 & 10 KHS teachers came together to reconnect, learn and collaborate. The room was abuzz with positive energy as teams spent time affirming our dreams for the students at Kapa'a High, planning the crucial first days of school, discussing Quarter 1 projects and learning more about Interactive Notebooks. The teams were also introduced to a new Common Planning Template that will be used to help plan and document the increased amount of teacher collaboration time afforded by our new block schedule. Finally the teams spent time articulating about how best to support individual students this upcoming school year. At the end of the day, teachers were asked to identify what they loved most about the day and their most significant learning. Here are some highlights:
Our Dreams For Our Students:

• Students Who Love Learning

• Self-Directed Learners

• Purposeful Sense of Direction

• Critical Thinkers

• Great Attendance 

• Enjoy School

• College & Career Ready

• Focused

Our Dreams for Our Hui/Academies:

• Positive Collaboration

• No Failures

• Keep it Fun

• Develop New Useful, Practical, Challenging Curricula

• Find More Passion in Our Work

• Stay Healthy: Mentally, Physically, Emotionally etc.

• Strengthen Effective Teaching & Learning Practices

• Improve Student Achievement

• Minimize Gaps in Literacy, Math, Science and Technology

What We Loved:

• "Learning about Interactive Notebooks. I will try them this year."

• "Going over data."

• "Working with colleagues"

• "The collaboration time."

• "Learning about next year's students."

• "Planning Quarter 1."

• "The great vibe in the room."

• "Being around people on my team."

Significant Learnings:

• Interactive Notebooks

• Organization & Teamwork is key

• Academy & Hui Dreams

• Planning & Pacing with Block Schedule

• We Have Creative People Who Gave Me New Ideas

• The Strengths on My Team

All in all, it was a great way to kick off the new year. The power of the SLC structure and the positive impact it will have on student learning was evident all day long.  Special thanks to presenters, Erin Millard, Holly McCool, Diane Ayre and Todd Harrison. Also thank you to Catherine Paleka for letting us use the Chorus Room and for all her help with setup and cleanup! It's going to be a great year turning our dreams into reality.

Grade 9 Rocket Launch

When we first began to design smaller learning communities at Kapa'a High, we were cautiously excited about the curricular possibilities. Dedicated teams of teachers sharing common students and planning time afforded the opportunity to work together on everything from classroom expectations, common study skills and student support. Probably most rewarding has been the joint curriculum planning.

Mr. Paleka & Mrs. Millard Kick Off the Event!

The possibilities we dreamed about a year ago came to life on Tuesday, May 22nd when the entire freshmen class converged upon our softball field to participate in a Rocket Launch event.

Rocket Math!

Students researched and designed rockets alone or in pairs. They could enter one of three categories: distance, precision or height. Students learned the mathematical concepts needed in Algebra class, while in Physical Science they explored chemical reactions.

 In English class, they practiced their oral presentation skills as they had to present their hypothesis, process and final product to their peers prior to Rocket Launch day. In Social Studies, students were learning about the atomic bombs used during World War 2. Social studies teachers also supported students as they tested their rockets prior to launch day.

Successful spray launch

Innovative Design

Launch day was a great success. Students brought innovative and creative rockets, teachers manned the different stations, while parents volunteered by  bringing snacks/lunch for the student.  What was very clear to observers was the level of student engagement and enthusiasm for the project. Students were able to clearly explain their designs, their thinking and why launches worked well or didn't work as well.

Award Winners

Dads Came to Help!

This event would not have been possible without the vision of our Grade 9 math teachers and the support of the rest of the Hui teachers, the parents and the school leadership. Special thanks to the Kapa'a High School Foundation and PTSA for helping to support the event so we could give out awards and raffle prizes to the students. This was definitely a whole team effort and we look forward to continuing this and other great exhibitions of learning that bring our community together moving forward!

Snack Bar Crew! Thank You!

Warrior Faculty Never Stop Learning

As we wind down our school year, it’s time to reflect on the progress we have made in implementing our Smaller Learning Community Initiatives. Our extremely busy semester included the following:

• Selecting and training the two Grade 10 Academy Teams. Each team had four full days of training in teaming, developing academy identity, defining common expectations and joint curriculum planning.
• Implementing the Academy Selection Process for the first time with our Grade 9 students.
• Strengthening the Grade 9 Hui Teaching Teams & identifying what works best with teaming and integrated projects.
• Developing and/or revising our Hui and Academy Handbooks.
• Planning our first Grade 9 Launch Day event for the last week of school.
• Sending 20 teachers and school leaders to the Smaller Learning Community Biennial Conference at McKinley High School on April 14th.
• Completing our Annual Progress Report.
• Participating in a federal audit of our program.
• Preparing for a successful 2 day WASC Accreditation Mid-year Visit
• Revamping our master schedule to ensure that common teachers with common planning time share common students in Grades 9 & 10.
• Articulating with the middle school regarding incoming freshman.
• Including over 40 student leaders and 8 staff members to design orientation for our incoming freshmen.
• Planning for and advertising our Summer Bridge Vampires and Zombies program for incoming freshman to ease the transition to high school.
• Preparing teachers to teach on the new block schedule.
• Training teachers in the new Common Core Standards
• Training teachers in how to effectively implement Data Teams.

Whew! What a list. At any other school teachers might have shut down under such a heavy load but at Kapa’a High, our teachers are extremely committed to ongoing student success. In order for success to become a consistent reality for each and every student, the Warrior faculty recognizes the need for ongoing training & collaboration. It has been exciting to witness the different teams come together to discuss teaching, learning and student support systems. Although we are about to begin our break, Kapa’a High School teachers will continue to learn over the summer. We are sending several teachers to Advanced Placement & AVID training in July and hosting a 2 day Project Based Learning Workshop the week after school ends on campus. Our faculty deserve a special shout out for their professionalism, camaraderie and continual willingness to work on improving our school.

Hui Data: Glimmers of Hope

This past week, we had the chance to analyze some initial data related to the impact of the changes we have made in Grade 9. We are thrilled with the preliminary data in the areas of attendance, behavior and overall academic performance.  Comparing Semester 1 results for Grade 9 from 2010-2011 SY with results from Grade 9 this school year, we have noticed significant improvements:

	SY 10-11	SY 11-12
Attendance Rate	88.7%*	96.1%
Referral Rate	4.5%	2.4%
D’s & F’s	475	124

*Attendance Rate is EOY for SY 10-11 vs. Sem 1 for SY 11-12

Referral and D/F data is straight Semester 1 comparison

This data inspired the Grade 9 teachers to consider what changes were most responsible for the radical improvements. Here are their thoughts:

1. Having the Grade 9 students and teachers in close physical proximity on the lower campus for core classes has greatly improved the ability for teacher collaboration & dialogue about individual students. It has also provided the Grade 9 students with their own "home" on campus.

2. Dedicated teaching teams for English, Math, Social Studies, and Science have made a difference. Careful pairing for inclusion settings was also critical. 

3. Weekly collaboration with team members to discuss student concerns & curriculum alignment. Quarterly collaboration days with the whole team were essential. 

4. Norm implementation - teachers have agreements in the following areas:

• —Attendance policy (tardy, etc.)
• —Use of Planners
• Engrade Use
• Common Assessments
• —Common Rubrics
• Common Projects
• Weekly Tutoring Schedule & Intercession (led by core teachers/makeup work)
• Common Classroom practices (bellwork, agenda, benchmark, exit passes, etc.)

We are excited to continue & expand these practices and to share them with the Grade 10 teachers and the rest of the faculty in the service of improving teaching and learning at our school. 

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Academy Selection Update: Part 2

Over the past week, students have been carefully making their Academy and strand choices. Although we had hoped to let our students know their final placements this week, we have several students who needed more time to make a solid decision. At the same time, the students who have made their choices have been selecting the IDEAS academy as their overall first choice. This has caused us to rethink our initial breakdown of strands within academies. We are considering several alternatives and have decided to take more time to weigh options in order to garner faculty input. It is critical that our academies are balanced in the number of students (otherwise class sizes in one academy will be much larger than in the other academy), in the number of honors and special education students, and, to a lesser degree, with regards to gender. We also want as many students as possible to be placed in their first choice Academy/Strand. At the very least,  we want them to have their first choice of strand in the alternate academy. We hope to be able to let the students know which academy they are in by January 30th. The registration deadline will be moved back to February 3rd which is actually in alignment with all the other grades.  

Academy Selection Update

We have had a busy couple of weeks getting our students ready to make solid Academy Choices. Last week, students completed RIESAC surveys &  explored Hawaii's Career Kokua Web-site. They also had the chance to attend a mini-fair and an assembly highlighting our Academy choices. Students all had the chance to tour at least one strand in each academy this week. Thank you to all of the parents who turned out for our Grade 9 Parent Meeting on Monday, January 9th. The purpose of the meeting was to explain our transition to Academies and the Academy Selection Process. We also went over graduation requirements and answered questions from those in attendance.

On Thursday, January 12th, students will be asked to select rank their strand choices in each academy and to tell us what their overall first and second choices are for academy and strand. Be on the lookout for an Academy Selection Form to sign on Thursday evening! The forms are due Friday, January 13th and will be processed on a first-come, first-served basis. Students should turn their forms into their science class teacher on Friday.

Below, please click here to enjoy a short video that our students created to provide a brief overview of our two Academies. You can also view our Academy Handbook for more information.