2008-2011 District Goals Update
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Goal:
Dartmouth High School students will read and write at a level to meet minimum college entrance expectations.
Need:
Approximately 1/3 of the students entering Dartmouth High School read below grade level while 1/4 of our junior students would not qualify for a creditbearing college English course.
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Dartmouth High School students will read and write at a level to meet minimum college entrance expectations.

3 Year Plan Specifics
◦ Offer 9 week reading course to freshmen.
◦ Develop school-wide writing rubrics to establish common standards and achievement levels.
◦ Increase awareness and use of effective reading and writing strategies in the content areas.

Fall 2009 Update
◦ 9 week reading course being offered to 9 th graders.
◦ Literacy Committee has outlined some possible rubrics for school-wide literacy measures.
◦ Provided professional development to all faculty on developing summative assessments with an emphasis on writing and reading.
3

Dartmouth High School students will read and write to meet minimum college entrance expectations.

Data
71%

Next Steps
◦ Develop a profile to place all 8 th graders who need content reading support into the class during their first semester and monitor their progress.
◦ Create a writing task force in the spring of 2010 to develop a more structured writing program.
◦ Use data such as SAT essay scores to drive the development of the writing program.
◦ Continue work with Literacy
Committee to embed writing and reading expectations in all content areas.
4

Goal:
Dartmouth High School will provide timely intervention to academically atrisk students.
Need:
Dartmouth High School has a dropout rate of 1.4% and sends approximately 21 students to an evening diploma program each year.
5

Dartmouth High School will provide timely intervention to academically at-risk students.

3 Year Plan Specifics
◦ Students who need support will be identified and encouraged to enroll in a DHS summer or school-year program.
◦ The on-line Plato system will be utilized as an in-school resource.
◦ Counselors will meet with students who have failed to review available supports and to make a plan for improvement.
◦ Each student who scores NI on the MCAS test will have an
Educational Proficiency Plan developed for him/her.

Fall 2009 Update
◦ Smart Start program in its second year.
◦ Creation of a Building Based
Student Support Team to implement the RTI model.
◦ Growth of the inclusion model in English and history classes with professional development provided.
◦ Plato Power Pack license purchased for remediating students.
◦ DHS counseling department meets with students at risk.
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Dartmouth High School will provide timely intervention to academically at-risk students.

Data
◦ First Semester Failure
Rate: 2008 14%
First Term 2009 13.5%.
◦ Guidance Department has met with every student at least once this school year.
◦ Total credits recovered summer school and evening school in
2009: 147.

Next Steps
◦ Investigate ways to improve math inclusion and study other successful instructional models
(focused school visit on 12/10 to
Old Rochester Regional High
School).
◦ ILT is structuring course offerings and course selection process to enhance rigor and ensure consistency and equity.
◦ A consultant from the Bradley
School is working with the SST to improve programming in order to be more responsive to individual student needs.
◦ Assistant Principals are building a
Buy-Back Program for credit recovery due to absences.
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Goal:
Dartmouth High School will provide a rigorous and relevant curriculum which will result in student mastery of 21 st century skills.
Need:
“The ability to imagine new services and new ways to recruit work, those who have some interpersonal skills…They are the new untouchables.”
(Thomas L. Friedman)
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
Dartmouth High School will provide a rigorous and relevant curriculum which will result in student mastery of 21 st century skills.
3 Year Plan Specifics
◦ Identify power (priority) standards.
◦ Create formative and summative assessments to revise instruction.
◦ Increase enrollment in honors and AP courses by 10% over the three year plan period.
◦ More students will take advantage of post-secondary credit options.

Fall 2009 Update
◦ Faculty are working each release day and two curriculum work days per month to create units with summative assessments. All faculty will review student work on March 4 th.
◦ The leadership team is currently looking at AP enrollment data to determine which courses should be added for next year.
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Dartmouth High School will provide a rigorous and relevant curriculum which will result in student mastery of 21 st century skills.

Data
◦ AP Enrollment/Scores both up. Please see
Appendix B.
◦ Honors enrollment remained steady from
2008-2009 to 2009-2010.
◦ The Early Childhood Education program added two new articulation agreements with BCC.
◦ Power Standards 57% complete buildingwide. Please see Appendix A.
◦ Common assessments 72% complete building-wide. Please see Appendix A.
◦ Dual Enrollment:
 2008-09 school year: 28 students
 2009-10 school year: 40 students (there were summer opportunities during summer ‘09)

Next Steps
◦ The ILT will agree upon the best way to use the AP
Potential Report and apply that to help students and families in the course selection process.
◦ The DHS faculty will look at their own student data, cross reference it with MCAS and
SAT data to determine which instructional and assessment goals to establish for 2010-11.
◦ The faculty will begin to outline student competencies that reflect NEASC’s 21 st century learning expectations.
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Goal:
Dartmouth High School will create a positive learning climate and increased personalization.
Need:
“The High School of the 21 st century must be much more student centered and above all much more personalized in programs, support services, and intellectual rigor.”
(Breaking Ranks)
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Dartmouth High School will create a positive learning climate and increased personalization.

3 Year Plan Specifics
◦ Implement a Freshman Academy.
◦ Implement Advisory.
◦ Increase the number of students participating in co-curricular opportunities.
◦ Increase the number of students achieving the baseline gpa (3.0) for state college admission.
◦ Continue the Freshman Kick-Off mentoring program.
◦ Reduce violent/safety incidents.

Fall 2009 Update
◦ All freshmen are on teams.
Freshmen team teachers are receiving structured programs of professional development to support their work.
◦ The Freshman Kick-Off program has successfully connected juniors and seniors with freshmen.
◦ Project Upgrade provides peer tutoring on Tuesdays and Thursdays after school.
◦ School to Career Counselor is expanding the program.
◦ Full time SRO on campus.
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
Dartmouth High School will create a positive learning climate and increased personalization.
Data
◦ Kick off Mentoring Program
 2008 80% freshmen participation
 2009 84% freshmen participation
 2008 74 mentor nominees from teachers
 2009 135 mentor nominees from teachers
◦ Violence/Safety Incidents
 2008 1 st term 8 fights
 2009 1 st term 5 fights
◦ 72 students enrolled in internships

Next Steps
◦ Review the current strategy to engage students in DHS clubs.
◦ Review the current college advising format and planning for freshmen and sophomores.
◦ Continue to enhance and expand Kick-Off
Program.
13

Goal:
Dartmouth High School will encourage a grant-seeking culture to support our initiatives.
Need:
Dartmouth per pupil spending is in the bottom 15% of districts statewide and below 10 other districts with comparable demographics thus necessitating the need for additional funds.
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
Dartmouth High School will encourage a grantseeking culture to support our initiatives.
3 Year Plan Specifics
◦ Notify faculty of grants available.

Fall 2009 Update
◦ SLC Supplemental
Grant (data collection on postsecondary enrollment and success).
◦ Academic Support
Services Grant
(MCAS).
◦ 8 proposals for DEF grants.
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Dartmouth High School will encourage a grantseeking culture to support our initiatives.

Data
◦ 20 local grants awarded 2008-09.
◦ 1 yellow school bus grant awarded 2009-
10.
◦ Grant $ received since last fall, $276,
000 ($14, 000 faculty initiated)

Next Steps
◦ Look into grants to build a “best practices”
Physical Education and
Health program.
◦ Prepare documents to show progress for the
Smaller Learning
Communities Grant continuation funding.
16

Goal:
All DHS staff will be provided opportunities to participate in high quality professional development.
Need:
Education is constantly improving and changing. We need to “prepare kids for their future, not our past.”
(Daniel Pink)
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All DHS staff will be provided opportunities to participate in high quality professional development.

3 Year Plan Specifics
◦ Coaching the Reluctant
Learner.
◦ Formative assessment.
◦ Targeted workshops in content area groups.
◦ Differentiated instruction/inclusion.
◦ SLC initiatives.
◦ ILT coaching to develop power (primary) standards.
◦ Rigor/Relevance
Framework.

Fall 2009 Update
◦ Workshops held in the following areas:
 Inclusion
 Formative/Summative
Assessment
 Freshman Teaming
 Personal Plans for
Progress
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All DHS staff will be provided opportunities to participate in high quality professional development.

Data
◦ 100% participation in assessment workshop; 100% participation expected in inclusion presentation 12/16.
◦ 16 faculty participated in inclusion workshop.
◦ 19 faculty participated in freshman teaming workshop.
◦ High school faculty were reimbursed $27, 506.86 for courses/workshops taken on their own.

Next Steps
◦ Create comprehensive professional development plan tying it to the school mission statement and goals as well as the NEASC standards.
◦ Provide an appropriate forum for sharing lessons learned at workshops/conferences.
◦ Strengthen the PLC’s
(Professional Learning
Communities) by continued training in best practices.
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