Explain the activities in which your school will participate to increase your overall rating. Include specific details.

As evidenced in the SES Band Data, which content area(s) will be the focus for improving student achievement and why was this area chosen?

According to the SES Band 4 data, PHS will need to focus increasing student achievement in the areas of Algebra 1 EOC, Biology EOC, U.S. History EOC, and FSA. We will continue to place our efforts on our lower quartile in the same areas mentioned. Showing student growth in these areas will allow for our school to gain points so as to increase in the SES Band 4. Gaining the needed points to bridge half the gap to the top of SES Band is the goal of our school. Stategies will be set in place to increase by 5% points in Math, Science, and English. In addition, we will show 5% gains for our lower quartile students in Math, Science, and Reading.

What specific BEST Practice(s) will be implemented or scaled-up to improve teaching and learning in order to increase performance within the SES Band?

BEST Practices 1, 2 and 3 will be scaled up to improve teaching and learning in order to increase performance with in the SES Band 4. BEST Practice 1 will be scaled up because creating authentic Professional Learning Communities will allow the teachers to collaborate and share best teaching practices and strategies for overall teachers and student performance. BEST Practice 2 because by creating a positive environment for struggling students, it would allow for an increase in student acheivement through the use of positive interventions. BEST Practice 3 because when the emotional and social needs of our students are met through the collaboration of all stakeholders (ie. parents, teachers, administrators, community leaders, and local businesses), the focus of students' acheivement will increase.

Describe in detail how the BEST Practice(s) will be scaled-up.

BEST Practice 1 (Focused and Authentic Professional Learning Communities, PLC) - The more you develop active professional learning communities within schools in which teachers observe each other’s teaching, and work with school leadership to make on going improvements, the greater the consistency and quality of teaching across the whole school, at which point all students in the school benefit and keep on benefiting. Creating an authentic PLC that will focus on Marzano's 9 High Yield Strategies in conjunction with the CARE Cycle will be the focus of the PLCs at PHS. In order to increase Rigor and Depth of Knowledge for College and Career Readiness, teachers will incorporate the Super Seven from Marzano's DQ2, DQ3, and DQ4 into their lessons with more frequency. Within PHS's PLC, teachers will create common planning and assessments that will be more focused on teaching to the standards through the implementation of Goals and Scales which will be aligned to the State Standards.
BEST Practice 2 (An Embedded High Quality RtI Process) - Response to Intervention (RtI) is at work within a school’s culture for each and every teacher by means of classroom management. RtI is extremely effective for reaching out to students and parents. RtI is important because it has the potential to unify education by promoting the sharing of resources, intervening early, and breaking down the walls for underachieving students. Essentially, RtI can build a system where students benefit from targeted interventions and frequent progress monitoring designed to enhance the achievement of all students. However, it is the classroom teacher’s responsibility to refer struggling students to the school social worker so as to initiate the eligibility process of RtI, most teachers are not trained on RtI. Therefore, creating Professional Development for teachers throughout the school year concerning the purpose and implications of RtI on student achievement is essential. Monitoring students with attendance below 90% along with monitoring students with 1 or more suspensions will be the focus for RtI because research shows there is a direct correlation between attendance and student achievement. Creating a mentorship for these students to develop emotional and social skills will explored.
BEST Practice 3 (Optimal Internal/External Relationships) - Purpose and Direction - Instructional Leaders will employ and monitor a decision-making process that is based on vision, mission, and improvement priorities using facts and data; manage the decision-making process, but not all decisions, using the process to empower others and distribute leadership when appropriate; establish personal deadlines for themselves and the entire organization; and use a transparent process for making decisions and articulating who makes which decisions. 
Governance and Leadership - Instructional Leaders will work collaboratively to develop and implement an instructional framework that aligns curriculum with state standards, effective instructional practices, student learning needs, and assessments. District-supported state initiatives focused on student growth will be supported by PHS's Instructional Leaders with specific and observable actions, including monitoring of implementation and measurement of progress toward initiative goals and professional learning to improve faculty capacity to implement the initiatives.
Teaching and Assessing for Learning - Classroom teachers will describe how they implement the various initiatives. Teachers will receive training on adapting instruction to student needs by participating in professional development associated with the initiative and implement the strategies learned every other Tuesday or Wednesday during their planning period. Again, in order to increase Rigor and Depth of Knowledge for College and Career Readiness, teachers will incorporate the Super Seven from Marzano's DQ2, DQ3, and DQ4 into their lessons with more frequency. Within PHS's PLCs, teachers will create common planning and assessments that will be more focused on teaching to the standards through the implementation of Goals and Scales which will be aligned to the State Standards. In addition, teachers will describe specific policies, practices, and procedures that result in a safe, respectful, and inclusive student-centered learning environment through quarterly data chats with their Departmental Instructional Leaders. 
Resources and Support Systems - PHS's Instructional Leaders will maximize the impact of school personnel, fiscal and facility resources to provide recurring systemic support for instructional priorities and a supportive learning environment by focusing on the records of depreciation of equipment, documentation of compliance with local and state inspections requirements, documentation of emergency procedures such as fire drills, evacuation and other emergency procedures, follow up on maintenance schedules, ensuring that we know the safety committee responsibilities, meeting schedules, and minutes, focusing on budget related to media and information resource acquisition, and ensuring that data on media and information resources available to students and staff is up-to-date. Sustainable and supportive relationships between school leaders, parents, community, higher education, and business leaders will be developed so as to help engage faculty in recognizing and understanding cultural and developmental issues related to student learning by identifying and addressing strategies to eliminate achievement gaps associated with student subgroups within the school. By creating effective community partnerships and collaborating to create bridges to meet our students’ emotional and social needs, our students will achieve success academically, emotionally, and socially. 
Using Results for Continuous Improvement - PHS will utilize and implement strategies from data collected from RtI, Customer Surveys, State Assessments, and along with other qualitative and quantitative data from school resources and create a need for data literacy. We will take more initiative to improve our ability to see where our teachers and students are in the most need for improvement. Instructional Leaders of PHS will identify the areas for improving teacher instruction and student performance on a monthly basis through classroom observations and teacher common assessment results.

What specific school-level progress monitoring data is collected and how often?

School-level progress monitoring data is collected via FAIR testing twice per year, along with quarterly common assessments. 

How does the school ensure the fidelity of students not progressing towards school and district goals?

Students not progressing towards school and district goals are provided with a variety of supports. Students progress is monitored through the RTI team and recommendations are made. Students may receive additional small group instruction through Literacy Coach, etc. Students may also be referred for additional services and testing as needed. Students in 9th grade are enrolled in PASL for additional support. In addition, extracurricular programs such as MTL (Mentoring Tomorrow's Leaders) and YMCA area available.

How does the school ensure that all classroom instruction is accessible to the full range of learners using Universal Designs for Learning (UDL) for effective instructional design (planning) and delivery (teaching)?

Through Professional Development and PLCs, teachers are provided with instruction on UDL principles to help them incorporate these effectively into their instruction. Teachers are well-versed on ESE and ELL accommodations, which are reviewed every year. Implementation is supposed by our school's Support Facilitators. In addition, students and teachers have access to a wide-range of technology, including projectors, laptops, and Recordex devices. This assists with varying formats of representation, establishing a digital learning environment or flipped classroom, etc. and appeals to a broad variety of learners. Teachers are also encouraged to accommodate all learning styles by incorporating visual, auditory, and kinesthetic activities into their lessons. 

How does the school ensure Tier 1 Standards-Based classroom instruction is being implemented properly and effectively?

We ensure that Tier 1 Standards-Based classroom instruction is being implemented properly and effectively by ensuring that all teachers are adhering to Career and College Readiness standards. Teachers use whole class and small group instruction. 

Describe texts used for core, supplemental, and intervention programs at each grade level. How does the school ensure students have access to a balance of literary and informational text in a variety of mediums?

Through English and Reading classes, students in grades 9-12 use the Florida Collections textbook for core instruction. 10th grade students in need of reading remediation use the Edge program for intervention. Supplemental literacy resources include Newsela and Common Lit. These programs all ensure that students have balanced access to literary and informational text. Students in science and history classes are also accessing informational texts through primary source documents, Newsela, etc. as well as the Florida adopted textbooks for their subject area.

How does your school implement the Broward County Public Schools Social and Emotional Learning Standards to ensure students are developing social and emotional skills?

SEL standards are currently implemented through the school's PASL program. PASL is implemented in all 9th grade study hall classes to provide students with the social and emotional learning skills they need to be successful in high school. SEL standards may also be implemented in one-on-one or small group meetings with guidance, social workers, etc. and in after school programs such as MTL and YMCA.

In which ways are the five competencies of the Social Emotional Learning explicitly taught and/or integrated school-wide and in the classroom?

The primary way in which the five competencies of SEL are taught is through "rapid check ins."Students meet on an individual basis with their personalization teacher no less than once per quarter. During these check ins, teachers and students discuss grades, attendance, behavior, challenges during the school say, socialization, activities and extracurriculurs, etc. Students are also encouraged to join after school and mentoring activities to increase access to and chances for interacting with SEL competencies.

How does your school-wide policy and practices support the social emotional learning for students?

SEL standards are incorporated in a variety of ways. Foremost, SEL standards are implemented through personalization periods, specifically through out 9th grade PASL classes. SEL is also incorporated through our mentoring programs, such as Mentoring Tomorrow's Leaders and Women of Tomorrow. It is also part of our athletic program. SEL standards are incorporated through a curriculum implemented for students in Internal Suspension, as well.