Campus Turnaround Plan
District Name:
Campus Name:
Houston Independent School District
County-District
Number (CDN):
Jack Yates Senior High School
Campus Number:
101912
20
Date of Board
Grades Served:
Grades 9-12
tbd
Approval:
Consecutive School Years Rated Academically Unacceptable/Improvement Required:
2nd Year IR
Professionals Responsible for Campus Turnaround Plan Development:
Name:
Role:
Kenneth Davis
Principal
Tracy Gatewood, Sharvete Mallard
V. Webber
Dean of Students, Counselor
Department Chairs: History, ELA, Math, Science,CTE, Special
Education
School Support Officer
Professional Service Provider,
District Coordinator of School Improvement
Parent
Bob Ford
Community Member
E. Ajiodo, N. Lemon, A. Hicks, A. LaSalle, R. Morgan, K. Love
Dr. Kristin Craft
Earl Jones, Erica Deakins
Turnaround Plan Attestation Statements
By checking the box, we attest assistance was requested from parents and community members in developing the campus
turnaround plan, per Texas Education Code (TEC) 39.107(a-2)(2). In addition, the request and input have been recorded and are
available upon request.
By checking the box, we attest the campus site-based decision making committee (if applicable), parents, teachers, and
community members had an opportunity to review the plan before it was submitted for approval to the board of trustees, per TEC
39.107(b). The comments must be submitted in the ISAM portal.
By checking the box, the superintendent and board of trustees attest this plan provides clear focus and urgency to effectively
move the turnaround initiative(s) forward. The district confirms its commitment to support the school in the successful
implementation of this plan.
Campus Turnaround Plan
District Name:
Campus Name:
Houston Independent School District
County-District
Number (CDN):
101912
Jack Yates Senior High School
Campus Number:
20
Historical Narrative (Optional Response)
Include a historical narrative that succinctly describes the history of the campus that has led to under performance.
Limit the narrative to big picture issues and the challenges of the campus. Do not exceed 3000 characters.
Jack Yates Senior High School (Yates) is a historical 5A comprehensive neighborhood school in Houston ISD, strategically positioned in the Third Ward community
between two major universities: Texas Southern University and the University of Houston. Yates is a Title 1 school serving 883 students. Our student demographics
are: 90% African American, 8.4% Hispanic, 7.1% economically disadvantaged, and 19% special education. There are 674 students who live in the Yates attendance
zone, but choose to attend another school. Yates has been rated as "Improvement Required" for the last two years. Approximately 85% of our teachers have six or
more years of experience. During the 2014-15 school year, 43% of the students met standards on STAAR EOC English I and II exams and 59% of the students met
standard on the STAAR EOC Algebra I exam. The percent of students considered "college ready" as measured by the PSAT was 2.4%. The enrollment of students in
Advanced Placement (AP) courses was 12% with less than 1% passing the respective AP course exams. The 2014 data indicate that the four-year graduation rate
was 83.2% with a 13% drop-out rate. The school has endured frequent turnover of campus leadership, three principals in five years. Yates has not used a
systematic Professional Learning Community (PLC) model in the past, although outside professional development has been offered to teachers. Afterschool and
Saturday tutorials are not well attended.
Needs Summary and Turnaround Plan
Systemic Root Cause: Describe the systemic root cause that has led to low student performance.
Our school is not maximizing the effective use of data to plan quality, rigorous first teach and reteach lessons that result in authentic student engagement to reach
mastery. Although department planning time is provided, we are not capitalizing on this time to increase teacher capacity regarding high-yield instructional
strategies. In the past, teachers have worked in silos with no expectation of collaboration. Overall, teachers do not see the seriousness of an "Improvement
Required" designation and our school team lacks a collective motivation to teach at higher levels that can advance student achievement. Current campus culture
and structures do not support ongoing teacher development to differentiate instruction for struggling students as well as gifted students. Additionally, current
structures do not support layers of academic interventions. Frequent leadership turnover, three principals in the past five years, prevented consistent
implementation and monitoring of campus initiatives.
Campus Turnaround Plan
District Name:
Houston Independent School District
Campus Name:
Jack Yates Senior High School
Turnaround Initiative: Describe your systemic approach for
turning around the campus.
Restructure our Professional Learning Communities (PLC's) to focus on
frequent professional development targeting areas such as differentiation, high
yield strategies to reach mastery, the effective use of data, and first teach and
re-teach planning to strengthen instructional delivery. The PLC structure and
support will build content expertise and leadership capacity in our teachers
and the use of a communication cycle will ensure that all members of the
leadership team are prioritizing instructional needs for each department.
County-District
Number (CDN):
101912
Campus Number:
20
Impacted Critical Success Factors (CSFs):
CSF 1 - Academic Performance (Curriculum & Instruction)
CSF 2 - Quality Data to Drive Instruction
CSF 3 - Leadership Effectiveness
CSF 4 - Increased Learning Time
CSF 5 - Family/Community Engagement
CSF 6 - School Climate
CSF 7 - Teacher Quality
Outcome: Describe how the turnaround initiative will resolve the identified systemic root cause.
Restructing our PLC's to provide frequent teacher professional development during the school day will improve instructional delivery school-wide which will result
in increased student achievement. Successful implementation of this initiative will result in establishing a system for teaching and learning thus redefining high
expectations for students and staff.
Processes/Procedures: What processes, procedures, and policies are needed to ensure that the turnaround initiative will be
implemented effectively?
To ensure this initiative is implemented effectively, we will follow the following processes and procedures:
- Share the vision for the role of the department chairs in the turnaround initiative
- Review observation and feedback data to generate a list of professional development priorities
- Partner with Office of School Leadership and Office of Secondary Curriculum to secure their support in creating training and professional development sessions to
be delivered during PLC's
- Create a school-wide assessment and professional development calendar
- Provide PLC training for department chairs and administrators
- Establish protocols and process for deans and department chairs to plan agendas for PLC meetings
- Establish protocols for principal check-ins with each dean
- Schedule quarterly check-ins between principal and district instructional coaches
- Refine the campus process for data disaggregation
- Use observation and feedback cycles to ensure that the work done in the PLC's is carried out in classrooms, resulting in increased student achievement
Campus Turnaround Plan
District Name:
Houston Independent School District
County-District
Number (CDN):
101912
Campus Name:
Campus Number:
Jack Yates Senior High School
20
Communications: How will you communicate a shared and clear vision for the turnaround initiative that results in a collaborative effort
toward student success?
The vision of Yates is to empower all members of our school community to reach their full potential in an environment that characterizes respect, harmony, and
equity. This vision will be communicated in the following ways: displayed on our website, announced each morning over the intercom, displayed on a banner in the
main hallway, shared with the staff on the first day of in-service, and stated at the opening of all school assemblies and staff meetings. The Shared Decision Making
Committee meetings will be held quarterly and will provide updates of our progress to stakeholders. Parent, teacher, and student surveys will be administered at
the beginning, middle, and end of the year, seeking input about our school initiatives.
Organizational Structure: How will you eliminate barriers to improvement, redefine staff roles and responsibilities as necessary, and
empower staff to be responsive in support of the turnaround initiative?
Barriers to improvement include time, access to training, teacher motivation, and funding. The master schedule will provide 2-3 days per week (on an A-day/B-day
schedule) for each core department to hold PLC's. We will coordinate trainings with the district level offices of School Leadership and Secondary Curriculum. By
dedicating time for professional development during the school day, we are recognizing the importance of teacher collaboration and each person's role in the
school improvement process. With frequent communication of our turnaround initiative at staff meetings, we will connect the initiative to the importance of
increasing teacher expertise and capacity in delivering high quality instruction to each student. We will reallocate funds to focus on the professional development
needs of our campus. No additional staff will be hired, however, we will redefine the roles of department chairs and deans to serve as the leaders of department
PLC meetings. The Office of Secondary Transformation Schools will provide ongoing guidance and support from the School Support Officer (SSO), the Professional
Service Provider (PSP), and the District Coordinator of School Improvement (DCSI), all who have knowledge and experience with turnaround initiatives. The SSO will
work closely with the principal on a consistent basis to monitor student performance, professional development, progress, and needs.
Capacity and Resources: Describe the staff that are required to implement the plan. (Specify any new full time employees as a result of
the initiative. Describe how personnel resources are different from the previous school year.)
The staff needed to implement this plan include the Principal, Deans, Department Chairs, and Instructional Coaches. The Principal will monitor the implementation
of this turnaround initiative to improve teaching, learning, and student achievement. Deans will be responsible for leading content department and grade levels.
Department Chairs will be reponsible for facilitating PLC meetings, providing resources to teachers, and coordinating all content-related activities so there is
consistency in learning across classrooms. Department Chairs will receive a stipend. Instructional Coaches, sponsored by the District, will provide on-going contentrelated coaching and professional development.
Campus Turnaround Plan
District Name:
Campus Name:
Houston Independent School District
County-District
Number (CDN):
101912
Jack Yates Senior High School
Campus Number:
20
How will you allocate campus and district funds for this initiative?
Category
Payroll
Amount
$
Professional Development $
Supplies and Materials
$
Other Operating Cost
$
Capital Outlay
NA
Description
23,000.00 ($11,500 x 2 years) Substitute teacher pay so that teachers may attend professional development
15,000.00 ($7,500 x 2 years) Consultants and/or professional development registration
24,000.00 ($12,000 x 2 years) General instructional supplies and materials, including software, intervention
resources, banners
28,000.00 ($14,000 x 2 years) Department Chair Stipends
NA
Campus Turnaround Plan
District Name:
Campus Name:
Houston Independent School District
County-District
Number (CDN):
101912
Jack Yates Senior High School
Campus Number:
20
Campus Turnaround Plan
District Name:
Campus Name:
Houston Independent School District
County-District
Number (CDN):
101912
Jack Yates Senior High School
Campus Number:
20
Campus Turnaround Plan
District Name:
Campus Name:
Houston Independent School District
County-District
Number (CDN):
101912
Jack Yates Senior High School
Campus Number:
20