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213
reviewing quarter and semester grades. Some departments have also designed baseline
assessments that will be used at the first semester and in the third quarter to gauge
progress. Finally, teachers and administrators have committed to consistently employing
the following best practices: common formative assessments (CFAs), writing in the
content area, checking for understanding, SDAIE strategies and a common white board
configuration used in all Cumulus HS classrooms. At the present time, the majority of
the efforts to increase student achievement appear to be teacher-centered and
accountability for students has taken a backseat to these efforts.
Changing the curriculum and creating a new instructional vision. Throughout
Cumulus High School’s improvement process, there has been a history of misaligned or
competing goals from a variety of stakeholders. In 2005, the principal and an assistant
principal identified the original instructional vision: writing. This focus was viewed as
vague by faculty and was not implemented with fidelity. In 2008, the new principal and
the expanded ILT agreed to revise the vision to focus on non-fiction writing that would
be measured not only on state standardized tests but also on district benchmark exams
and department exams. This presented a challenge because teachers at the school had not
yet developed common content exams. While each department generated benchmark
writing topics, the staff was not committed to using them.
Coming out of the WASC accreditation process in 2009, the staff once again
revised its instructional vision, taking into account feedback from teachers outside the
ILT. The current vision statement reads: “All Cumulus High School students will
demonstrate measurable growth in their ability to think critically through content-specific
Object Description
| Title | Navigating troubled waters: case studies of three California high schools' resource allocation strategies in 2010-2011 |
| Author | Landisi, Brian Anthony |
| Author email | landisi@usc.edu; blandisi@charter.net |
| Degree | Doctor of Education |
| Document type | Dissertation |
| Degree program | Education (Leadership) |
| School | Rossier School of Education |
| Date defended/completed | 2011-03-28 |
| Date submitted | 2011 |
| Restricted until | Unrestricted |
| Date published | 2011-04-28 |
| Advisor (committee chair) | Picus, Lawrence O. |
| Advisor (committee member) |
Hentschke, Guilbert C. Nelson, John L. |
| Abstract | This study was conducted to examine instructional strategies and resource allocation in successful schools. The study was based on the analysis of three comprehensive high schools in one school district in Southern California. Each of the study schools increased students’ academic achievement over time as measured by sustained growth on California’s Academic Performance Index. The efforts of these study schools also contributed to narrowing the achievement gap.; Successful schools in this study were analyzed primarily through the lens of Odden’s (2009) 10 Strategies for Doubling Student Performance. In addition to effective organizational and instructional strategies, this study also analyzed human and fiscal resource allocation at the sample schools. The study used the Evidence-Based Model (Odden & Picus, 2008) to analyze how the schools allocated resources during 2010-2011, navigating a catastrophic economic crisis facing California and the rest of the nation. Interview data, student achievement data and information on school-level resource use were included in case studies on each of these successful schools.; The findings indicate that although the resource use patterns of the study schools were significantly fewer than what the Evidence-Based Model suggests, the improvement strategies showed many commonalities to those suggested in the body of literature on school improvement. Strong leadership from the district office supported the reform efforts at each of the school sites. This leadership came in the form of a single district focus combined with continuity of leadership, development and retention of talent within the district and a common school improvement framework.; A heavy investment of time and fiscal resources into professional development created a collaborative culture within and between the high schools in the study. The schools that were most successful in raising student achievement demonstrated a commitment to collaboration and embraced the role of teacher leaders. The most effective schools in the study had in place internal accountability structures to support the implementation of the school and district focus. It is the effective implementation of research-based strategies, not simply resource allocation that makes schools successful and contributes to further growth in student achievement. Implications for policy and practice are discussed. |
| Keyword | education finance; secondary education; educational leadership; budget crisis; instructional leadership; Odden and Picus; resource allocation; school finance; school reform |
| Geographic subject (county) | Los Angeles |
| Geographic subject (state) | California |
| Geographic subject (country) | USA |
| Coverage date | 2010/2011 |
| Language | English |
| Part of collection | University of Southern California dissertations and theses |
| Publisher (of the original version) | University of Southern California |
| Place of publication (of the original version) | Los Angeles, California |
| Publisher (of the digital version) | University of Southern California. Libraries |
| Provenance | Electronically uploaded by the author |
| Type | texts |
| Legacy record ID | usctheses-m3797 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Rights | Landisi, Brian Anthony |
| Repository name | Libraries, University of Southern California |
| Repository address | Los Angeles, California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Filename | etd-Landisi-4355 |
| Archival file | uscthesesreloadpub_Volume14/etd-Landisi-4355.pdf |
Description
| Title | Page 225 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Full text | 213 reviewing quarter and semester grades. Some departments have also designed baseline assessments that will be used at the first semester and in the third quarter to gauge progress. Finally, teachers and administrators have committed to consistently employing the following best practices: common formative assessments (CFAs), writing in the content area, checking for understanding, SDAIE strategies and a common white board configuration used in all Cumulus HS classrooms. At the present time, the majority of the efforts to increase student achievement appear to be teacher-centered and accountability for students has taken a backseat to these efforts. Changing the curriculum and creating a new instructional vision. Throughout Cumulus High School’s improvement process, there has been a history of misaligned or competing goals from a variety of stakeholders. In 2005, the principal and an assistant principal identified the original instructional vision: writing. This focus was viewed as vague by faculty and was not implemented with fidelity. In 2008, the new principal and the expanded ILT agreed to revise the vision to focus on non-fiction writing that would be measured not only on state standardized tests but also on district benchmark exams and department exams. This presented a challenge because teachers at the school had not yet developed common content exams. While each department generated benchmark writing topics, the staff was not committed to using them. Coming out of the WASC accreditation process in 2009, the staff once again revised its instructional vision, taking into account feedback from teachers outside the ILT. The current vision statement reads: “All Cumulus High School students will demonstrate measurable growth in their ability to think critically through content-specific |
