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San Fernando High SchoolSLC PlanSan Fernando High SchoolSmaller Learning Community PlanMultilingual TeacherCareer AcademySubmitted by:Approved by School Site Council:Bernardo Ramos, Lead TeacherKenneth Lee, PrincipalAngelyque Jensen Cachon, Redesign TeamMartin Barajas, SSC PresidentValerie Madrigal, Redesign TeamRobert Stromoski, UTLA Chapter ChairDana Neill, Redesign TeamLourdes Ramos Quevedo, Redesign TeamMultilingual Teacher Career AcademyPage 1
San Fernando High SchoolSLC PlanUnifying Vision and IdentityThe Multilingual Teacher Career Academy’s vision is turning today’s youth intotomorrow’s teachers and leaders by providing a rigorous academic program thatprovides students with honors and advanced courses to bridge the gap between highschool and college expectations.Ultimately, we would like to have our studentsgraduate and enter the teaching profession within their local community.Weespecially emphasize those areas of high needs such as science, math, and specialeducation.In order for us to accomplish this vision our students need to gain tutoring andteaching experiences as early as their freshman year. All our students are required tolearn, practice, and teach the Twelve Steps of Tutoring, see Appendix A, throughouttheir high school experience. Our rigorous curriculum is developed to meet the A‐Grequirements so that all our students are eligible to enter into the UC system of collegesupon graduation. Our program also extends support to our students during their firstyear of their postsecondary education to ensure a smooth transition and success. lumdevelopment,andprofessional development in order to meet the needs of our program. In addition,community partners, postsecondary institutions, students, and parents are activestakeholders in the development and annual revision of our program.In July of 1996, the Multiligual Teacher Career Academy began with fourteachers and eighty students.Ten years later, we have 21 teachers and over 400students. This growth would not have occurred without the cohesive faculty teammaking decisions on curriculum, instruction, assessment, budget, personnel, studentconduct, safety, and facilities.Our MTCA staff is united in the belief that all students are capable of learningand succeeding in our rigorous curriculum. This is why students have the freedom toself select our academy from among nine academies schoolwide.Multilingual Teacher Career AcademyThere arePage 2
San Fernando High SchoolSLC Planapproximately 400 students across all four grade levels currently in our academy. Wehave a 3:1 ratio of females to males but are looking for venues to increase our maleenrollment. This gender ratio is consistent with all 14 MTCAs within LAUSD.The specific courses integrated into the master schedule for the MTCA includethe World of Education (9th grade), AP Biology (10th grade), Tutor SH, and ExploratoryTeacher Training (11th & 12thgrade). See Appendix B for the syllabi of these courses andAppendix C for the specific course offerings/sequence of classes for each grade level(SFHS MTCA Course of Study.) As our school’s population decreases with new highschools opening, we also plan to develop a college preparedness class as a requirementfor our students. Currently, we are presenting this information during our advisoryclass.MTCA is able to make decisions regarding student conduct and budget. Studentconduct‐ including grades, attendance, advising, personalization, and recognition‐ isaddressed in our advisory class where students develop a personalized relationshipwith one of our MTCA teachers. Our community partner is the Career Ladder programwhich allocates a budget of approximately 20,000.00 to meet our program’s needs.Our lead teacher, Bernardo Ramos, facilitates the budget and allows for input andrequests from the teachers in our program. In addition to overseeing the budget, thelead teacher’s responsibilities include providing leadership to the MTCA members andoverseeing the implementation of our philosophy, recruiting and maintaining studentand staff membership, collaborating with community partners, communicating with gworkthroughthesubcommittees. The various subcommittees are redesign, fundraising, grant writing,and recruitment.Currently we do not have direct control over the personnel within our academy;however, our future plan is to implement a more proactive approach by developing aMTCA teacher contract for selecting and retaining new and current staff. In regards toMultilingual Teacher Career AcademyPage 3
San Fernando High SchoolSLC Planfacilities, we are currently developing a plan to house our MTCA teachers within closeproximity of each other to establish a better sense of identity and closeness. Somefacilities such as the science classrooms, technical arts, cafeteria, library, auditorium,and P.E. field will be shared among the various academies due to physical restraints.And in conjunction with our Dean’s office and campus aides, we are working on aservice‐learning project to incorporate a “granny patrol” on campus to ensure ourstudents safety in and around our campus. The “granny patrol” would consist ofcommunity‐based volunteers who would assist in supervising high traffic areas toincrease visibility of campus security and encourage a safer environment. An increasedstake in the decision making process will assist us in establishing a true identity as asmaller school and boost morale.Multilingual Teacher Career AcademyPage 4
San Fernando High SchoolSLC PlanRigorous Standards‐Based Curriculum, Instruction, and AssessmentAll of our MTCA teachers are highly qualified and hold degrees in theirrespective fields. All teachers hold a CLAD/BCLAD or are in the process of obtainingsuch certification. Several teachers within our academy hold master’s degrees in avariety of fields. And currently some are in the process of being nationally boardcertified.All AP teachers are required to obtain training in order to teach theirrespective course.Not only do we meet the A‐G requirements as shown in Appendix C, but we alsooffer two strands of curriculum: one for regular and the other for advanced students.Our goal is to work with students in the regular strand and enable them to enroll andsucceed in the honors and AP classes. We take great care to ensure all students areproperly enrolled in the correct course level based on their strengths, demonstratedability, parent requests, and teacher recommendations.Our academy has developed close ties with our feeder schools such as SanFernando, Maclay, and Pacoima Middle Schools. We are looking into expanding ourrecruitment efforts to include private and charter schools in our vicinity.Representatives of MTCA including students, parents, teachers, and counselors, willmake arrangements to visit these middle schools during parent conferencing, back‐to‐school night, and other articulation opportunities that may arise at the middle schools.Brochures, powerpoint presentations, and student speakers will be used to educate andinform students and parents about our program.Prospective students and theirfamilies will be invited to our campus for a MTCA family orientation scheduled for latespring in addition to Family nights planned for our current MTCA students. Upongraduation, students are invited to return as guest speakers in advisory classes, Worldof Education classes, and family night functions.In an effort to maintain communication with alumni, the recruitment committeewill be responsible for contacting our students during their first year at theirMultilingual Teacher Career AcademyPage 5
San Fernando High SchoolSLC Planpostsecondary experience via e‐mail, telephone, or a mass mailing to follow up on theirprogress and status in their new surroundings. Emphasis will be placed on thosegraduates that entered the teaching profession to coordinate student teachingopportunities, observations, and job placement at our school site.Multiple assessments will be used throughout our student’s high schoolexperience. Standardized tests will be the norm due to the California Standards Test,California High School Exit Exam, District Assessments for all core subjects, and pre‐post tests within our departments.Other forms of assessment address differentmodalities of learning. Research papers and critical book reviews enhance studentswriting and critical thinking skills. Service learning and project‐based tasks, and othercooperative learning activities require students to rely on their interpersonal skills,linguistic abillities, and logical thinking. Portfolios, including interactive notebooks,and poster sessions allow students to express themselves creatively. Public dstudent‐centeredassessmentsencompass various forms of expression.In keeping with our philosophy of “all students are capable of learning andsucceeding,” we have made numerous accommodations for English learners, Specialeducation students, and other students with special needs.Sheltered courses areoffered in all departments where students are integrated with proficient Englishspeakers. SDAIE strategies are also implemented throughout all courses includinghonors and advanced placement classes.We actively collaborate with the resourcespecialist that is within our academy to learn about IEPs, coordinate team teaching, anddevelop specific modifications to assist our students with special needs.For ourstruggling students, we also provide structured academic interventions such as theScience Tutoring Lab staffed by our science teachers, a math Tutoring Lab staffed byCSUN students provided by Project GRAD, Extended Learning Academy, andMultilingual Teacher Career AcademyPage 6
San Fernando High SchoolSLC Planintersession is offered twice within our academic school year to provide remediation asneeded.To ensure that our students are comfortable and proficient in the use of a varietyof technology, we emphasize using the computer programs offered at school such asCarnegie Learning Systems, Thinking Maps , Microsoft, Excel, Powerpoint, Word,Access, and Vanguard.Computers are used to develop powerpoints, videos,webpages, and for interactive tutorials.We are working on developing a specificwebpage for our academy so that our teachers, students, parents, and communitypartners will be able to communicate more effectively with each other.Multilingual Teacher Career AcademyPage 7
San Fernando High SchoolSLC PlanEquity and AccessStudents can self select our academy among all those offered at our school.During the recruitment process, students are introduced to the different academies andtheir missions and the different opportunities each SLC provides. Students then selectan SLC and are programmed accordingly. We would like to offer open enrollment todiversify our academy and school population.The MTCA small learning community strives to be all‐inclusive by offering avariety of courses to support our students varied proficiencies. In order to achieve thiswe offer courses at varying levels such as sheltered, regular, honors, and advancedplacement. Whereas ninth and tenth grade are very structured to keep our studentsacademically focused and increase their skills, the eleventh and twelveth grade allowfor flexibility in their program to accommodate student interests and parental desires.The choices may range from electives (computers, tutoring, journalism, yearbook,leadership, student government, academic decathalon, athletics, foreign languages, fineand technical arts) to academic courses such as AP Calculus, AP Environmental Science,Physiology, AP Chemistry, AP English Language, AP English literature, APGovernment, AP Economics, and AP US History. An average MTCA class would bereflective of the campus community encompassing a mixture of English learners,sheltered students, special needs students, and gifted students. We are conscious of themale‐female ratio in regular and advanced placement classes and encourage students totake more challenging courses in the subject area of their strengths. In accordance withthe district policy, our academy maintains high expectations for all students to beexposed to culturally relevant and linguistically responsive teaching.We strive toprovide students with real world and current role models ranging from Rosa Parks toAlex Padilla that highlight achievements made by people of diverse culturalbackgrounds.Multilingual Teacher Career AcademyPage 8
San Fernando High SchoolSLC PlanFor our struggling students we also provide structured academic interventions ina safe and supportive environment such as the Science Tutoring Lab staffed by ourscience teachers, a math Tutoring Lab staffed by CSUN students provided by ProjectGRAD, the Extended Learning Academy, and intersession offered twice within ouracademic school year to provide remediation as needed.Multilingual Teacher Career AcademyPage 9
San Fernando High SchoolSLC PlanPersonalizationPersonalization is necessary to ensure success and retention of our students. Weaddress this concept in our advisories. Each MTCA teacher is assigned a group of 20‐25students in a particular grade level and advises, mentors, and supports those studentsduring their high school career. Within these advisories, teachers develop a mutuallyrespectful and personal relationship with each individual student.The MTCARedesign team has developed grade specific advisory curriculum, see Appendix D:MTCA Advisory schedule. Each grade level focuses on relevant topics to increase ourstudents’ personal growth and success.Topics range from addressing schoolwideinstructional strategies and study skills to goal setting and team building. Advisoriesmeet daily for approximately thirty minutes to allow for increased contact betweenteacher and student. Our advisories are designed so that the teacher spends personaltime with each student at least once a week to discuss grades, attendance, and toidentify potential problems or any need for intervention.Within our advisorycurriculum, we have incorporated a Character Counts component. Character Counts isa national program that addresses ethical values referred to as The Six Pillars of Characterwhich include: trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship.As an extension of our advisories, student representatives meet monthly with our leadteacher to provide input on student advisory needs and the overall MTCA program. Atthe end of each year, advisories will be assessed and revisions will be made based onstudent needs.In an effort to increase personalization and identity, all ninth graders are enrolledin the World of Education and attend a ninth grade orientation.The World ofEducation course introduces the students to the academy and provides academic,personal, and social support. It is a class designed specifically to meet the needs of ourstudents and our academy. It is in this class where our students develop supportgroups, get their first glimpse into the teaching profession, and develop skills necessaryMultilingual Teacher Career AcademyPage 10
San Fernando High SchoolSLC Planto be successful. The ninth grade orientation occurs prior to high school attendance tofamiliarize them and their families with the MTCA/high school community.To support the teacher‐student relationship, our curriculum plan allows forstudents to spend multiple years with the same teacher within a content area. Forexample, our ninth grade Honors Biology students will transition into the AP Biologycourse in the tenth grade taught by the same teacher.This allows for increasedpersonalization and a more caring and supportive environment. In an effort to addressour students’ diverse learning styles and multiple intelligences, a variety of strategiesare employed by our MTCA faculty. In addition to direct instruction, technology isused to bridge the learning gap with current technological trends.School widestrategies such as cooperative learning and Thinking Maps allow for verbal and visualstimulation and processing of information.Cornell notes are used to emphasizeorganization and linguistic thinking. Kinesthetic learners are given the opportunity toactively formulate their own understanding of concepts through inquiry‐basedlearning, use of manipulatives, and role playing.In addition to our students’ accomplishments during their instructional day, theyhave opportunities for learning that extend into afterschool and intersession programs.During vacation students are given a variety of opportunities to enrich their learningexperience. Such opportunities include the College Institutes sponsored by ProjectGRAD, the Extended Learning Academy offered on Saturdays, internships through theCareer Ladder program focusing on science and special education, and educationalcamps in math and science. Afterschool, students can participate in math and sciencetutoring provided by Project GRAD and our science teachers, college courses offeredthrough Mission College, and additional courses provided through the Adult School onour campus.Individual MTCA teachers are required to conduct parent outreach andconference with parents to ensure student needs are being met. In addition, we holdMultilingual Teacher Career AcademyPage 11
San Fernando High SchoolSLC PlanBack‐to‐School Night, parent conferences, and Open House to highlight our goals,objectives, and accomplishments.A monthly Family Night will be established tofurther parent and community participation.Multilingual Teacher Career AcademyPage 12
San Fernando High SchoolSLC PlanDistributed Leadership and AccountabilityOur academy is united in promoting our vision of “turning today’s youth intotomorrow’s teachers and leaders” and ensuring the success of all our students. To makeus accountable, we have set up a governance structure that holds teachers and studentsto a high level of expectations.The academy has a lead teacher that is elected by his/her colleagues every twoyears.Currently Bernardo Ramos is our lead teacher and in addition to hismathematics responsibilities he also gives our academy direction.Some of hisresponsibilities include providing leadership to the MTCA members and overseeing theimplementation of our philosophy, recruiting and maintaining student and staffmembership, collaborating with community partners, communicating with the otherlead teachers and administrators, and delegating work through the subcommittees. Thevarious subcommittees are redesign, fundraising, grant writing, and recruitment.Additionally, student representatives meet monthly with our lead teacher to provideinput on student advisory needs and the overall MTCA program. We plan to includeparent representatives and community partners in these essential discussions.Our SLC conducts bi‐monthly meetings where professional development isshared and plans to implement are devised. Committees also report back on progressand needs to ensure that our direction and our goals will be achieved. In attendance atthese meetings are the entire MTCA faculty, our assigned Assistant Principal,counselor, and Principal. This ensures the administration is aware and an activeparticipant in the direction of our small learning community.In addition, once aweek, Bernardo Ramos, our lead teacher, meets with other lead teachers in order tocommunicate the MTCA vision and implementation plan for our proposed SLC to therest of the school’s faculty.Faculty works together to analyze internal and external school/student data inorder to make decisions regarding our students’ achievement. Once analyzed and theMultilingual Teacher Career AcademyPage 13
San Fernando High SchoolSLC Planappropriate reflection occurs, changes in curriculum and teaching strategies can bemade to increase students’ success.Sources of data include internal pre/postassessments given in core de
a safe and supportive environment such as the Science Tutoring Lab staffed by our science teachers, a math Tutoring Lab staffed by CSUN students provided by Project GRAD, the Extended Learning Academy, and int
