1. The Power of ONE James River High School Chesterfield County Public Schools, Virginia
16th Annual Model Schools Conference
Orlando, Florida
Facilitated by:
John Titus, Bryan Carr, Mary Ellen Fines,
Sharon Hoffert, and Laura Lay

2. The Power of ONE Framing Rigor, Relevance, and Relationships
ONE AP Student
O.N.E. Lunch
Uno, ek, ichi ESL Program
WON—Successful Freshmen Transition Program
O.N.E. Leadership

3. James River High School A Chesterfield County Public School James River Road Midlothian, Virginia 23113
Community
Opened in September of 1994 with 1250 students in grade
Suburban and composed of individuals and families from diverse ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds
School
A comprehensive high school with a student body of approximately 2000 in grades 9 – 12
A staff of 160 teachers and support staff including two librarians, one technology coordinator, eight school counselors and seven administrators
A well-developed program of activities and athletics

4. James River High School
Leadership and International Relations
Specialty Center
Established in
Comprised of about 200 students from a broad range of ability levels and interests
Taught the skills and knowledge of becoming effective leaders who learn to develop a balanced international perspective of the world
Media Center
Recipient of the 2002 National School Library Program of the Year Award from the American Association of School Librarians
Recipient of the national award from Gale Resources for “Excellence in Education”

5. James River High School
Schedule
Seven Period Alternating Block schedule
Works in conjunction with an “Odd/Even” calendar day
Odd days: 1, 3, 5, 7
Even days: 1, 2, 4, 6
First period runs approximately 50 minutes, and blocks two through seven run approximately 85 minutes
Opportunity for students to earn seven credits per academic year and broaden their curriculum

6. James River High School
Advanced Placement Exams:
Exams Administered
Students taking exams
% of Scores 3 or Above
Diplomas Awarded Post Secondary Plans
Advanced Studies % Year Colleges/Universities %
Standard % Year Colleges %
Modified Standard % Other Continuing Education %
Employment/Military %

7. ONE Student: Growing Our AP Program
Condensing and “Leveling for Excellence”
Collapsing “honors” offerings
Offering more advance placement programs
Seeking advanced placement potential

8. Rigor: Seeking AP Potential
Using PSAT/NMSQT scores to predict success
Targeting student not already enrolled in an AP course
Using data effectively
Recruiting the underserved

9. APEX Experiences Advanced Placement Expectations
Seminars on the benefits and challenges of AP courses:
An in-school seminar for students
An evening seminar for parents (and students)

10. Successes: Growing the AP Program
Since 2003
300% increase in minority AP enrollment
400% increase in African-American AP enrollment
Over 50 teachers trained in teaching AP courses
ONE Lunch—excellent opportunity for AP enrichment and tutoring

11. Challenges: Growing the AP Program
“Stretch” AP students’ need for additional assistance
Rigidity in defining quality and success of AP work
Parental concerns about rigor for
“in-between” students

12. O.N.E. Lunch: Opportunities Never End
Need for Change
Growth and need for 5 lunch periods
Transportation—student needs for assistance or make-up work

13. O.N.E. Lunch Goals: Rigor, Relevance, and Relationships
Student Opportunities
Academic support
Conferences with teachers
Completion of work
Enrichment opportunities
Staff Opportunities
Departmental meetings
Professional learning communities

14. Process: O.N.E. Lunch Visitation to schools Formation of committee
Feasibility?
Goals?
Logistics?
Communication and faculty “buy-in”
Creation of O.N.E. lunch culture

15. Logistics: O.N.E. Lunch
Schedule—1st period, two block classes, lunch, last block
Discipline—extra duties
Cafeteria—a’ la carte, hot and cold lines
Clean up—streamlined with extra trash cans
Seating—cafeteria, benches , floor
Location—where students can and cannot eat lunch

16. Logistics: O.N.E. Lunch Designated department days—no lunch duty
PLC meetings
Department meetings
Informal department gatherings
Adapted schedule—homerooms and assemblies
Teacher appointments

17. Teacher Appointments ONE Week of data Academic Support Extra-/Co
Curricular
Groups
Social/Other
December-07
1443
820
731
April-08
1279
423
1361
9th
10th
11th
12th
505
670
874
945
576
612
982
893
103 of 128 faculty responded = 80%
Add teacher appointment statistics to this slide

18. Enrichment: O.N.E. Lunch Open Mic Lunch in the library Intramurals
Ballroom dancing
Rapid Fire games

19. Benefits: O.N.E. Lunch Less chaos Rigor—assistance and enrichment
No split classes
Fewer tardies after lunch
No competitive noise during class
Rigor—assistance and enrichment
Relevance—student ownership
Relationships—time to meet with students informally and time for staff to meet

20. Lessons Learned: O.N.E. Lunch
Some students need encouragement to meet with teachers.
Need to create more systematic expectations.
Provide early communication about purpose and expectations.

21. Next Steps: O.N.E. Lunch
Schedule appointments with consequences of lunch detention.
Schedule ongoing appointments for those not meeting expectations
Use peer tutoring to greater extent.

22. Next Steps: O.N.E. Lunch Offer intervention suggestions to teachers
Early remediation
Completion of assignments
Revising work
Correcting tests
Retaking tests
Computer tutorials

23. Uno, ek, ichi English as a Second Language Learners
2003
ESL Center
2004
Sheltered
Classes

24. ESL 2003—Center Enrolled in ESL courses.
Mainstreamed for mathematics and PE.
Assigned ESL students to classes for low-achieving English speakers.
Challenged teachers to address needs.
Intimidated ESL students.
Resulted in a low pass rate among ESL students (30%).

25. ESL 2004—Sheltered Classes
Provided a sheltered class in mathematics.
Differentiated instruction in the “regular” class.
Resulted in a high Algebra pass rate among ESL students over the past 3 years (95%).
Now offer sheltered classes for World History, Biology, and Earth Science.

26. ESL Sheltered Classes: Guidelines
Hand select teachers.
Foster collaboration among ESL and content teacher.
Incorporate ESL objectives into the content.
Provide hands-on, relevant instruction.
Create a safe environment.
Mainstream students as they learn more English and gain confidence.

27. ESL Sheltered Classes: Guidelines
Assess ESL students’ ability upon entering school.
Avoid placing students in remedial classes based on language skills alone.
Provide support to teachers of ESL students in non-sheltered classes.
Include all ESL students into the activities of the school.

28. ESL Program: Challenges
Maintaining the “revolving” door—entrance throughout the year
Testing upon arrival
Offering foundation classes
Educating mainstream content teachers—bias, lack of cultural understanding, rigidity

29. Benefits: Sheltered Instruction
Far beyond the classroom…
Our students’ confidence and
self-esteem has risen and is
apparent in their daily lives.

30. WON: A Successful Freshmen Transition Program
Need for Change
Fearfulness
Behavior problems
Failure
Lacking student “connections”

31. Goals: Freshmen Transition Program
To help freshmen have a smooth cultural and academic transition (a Winning year).
To increase freshmen involvement in school opportunities
To decrease the number of discipline referrals.
To decrease the number of failures.

32. Process: Freshmen Transition Program
Research—
Council and hierarchy
8 Council members
Responsible for 3 homerooms each
Each homeroom has mentors
Diversity among mentors
Each mentor is responsible for 3-6 freshmen
Summer training for mentors

33. Process: Freshmen Transition Program
Kick-off orientation day—camp atmosphere
Formal meeting topics
Rules and consequences
Involvement in school clubs, activities, and sports
Study skills
Efficiently accessing school resources
Academic and personal goals
Exam preparation
Understanding how to communicate with faculty
Informal connections
Freshmen flings – ice-cream, games
Remembering birthdays, etc.
Offering help with school issues

34. Benefits: Freshmen Transition Program
Shared leadership and modeling
Student engagement and relevance
Gains for mentors and freshmen
Relationships
Failure is NOT an option for MY freshmen

35. Lessons: Freshmen Transition Program
Supportive Data—difficult to obtain
Surveys—feedback from freshmen, mentors, and teachers
Mentor training—orientation day and connecting with students
Strong council—crucial
Formal lessons—engaging
Communication—the more the better
Mentors—ability to connect

36. O.N.E. Leadership: Outstanding Network Enhancing Leadership
Leadership to Develop Tomorrow’s Leaders
The leadership at James River High School always is considering the input provided by stakeholders.
I.C.L.E. Model Schools Executive Summary. 2007

37. O.N.E. Leadership—Shared
Creating avenues of communication
Taking input into action

38. O.N.E. Leadership—Communication
Principal’s Open Door Policy
Students
Student Leadership Council
SCA forum sessions
Teacher office hours
EdLine technology communication
Parents and Community
Neighborhood coffees
Booster clubs
EdLine
Faculty and Staff
Cookies and coffee gatherings
Professional Learning Communities
Principal’s Advisory Committee
Faculty meetings—focusing on the “R’s”

39. O.N.E. Leadership—Action
Students
Expansion of elective course offerings
Addition of activities, clubs, and athletic opportunities
Improvements in buildings, grounds, and facilities
Establishment of the ONE-lunch concept
Parents and Community
Improvements in communication—EdLine
Implementation of “Fee Night” activities
Customer service/community relations
Faculty and Staff
Creation of enrichment programs—Rapid Read, Teachers for Tomorrow, Lunch in the Library, Intramurals at Lunch, etc.
Improvements in school efficiency/climate—tardy stations, grief counseling, department socials, etc.

40. The Power of ONE Framing Rigor, Relevance, and Relationships
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