Superintendent presents student and school data as District begins to review strategic plan and instructional program

Superintendent Dr. David Leach began the Warwick Valley Central School District’s review of its existing strategic plan with a presentation of New York State Education Department outcomes data for Warwick students. The analysis of the Report Card data as well as other assessments will be the foundation of decision-making for the District’s future instructional program.

Dr. Leach spoke on student data topics such as enrollment, demographics, English Language Learners, and students with disabilities. He also discussed school data, such as the school report card, high school graduation rate, graduation pathways, per pupil expenditures, and Advanced Placement (AP) courses, among other topics.

“We will look at multiple measures as a school district to see if we are achieving our goals,” Dr. Leach said. “Tonight we are looking at the New York State Report Card. We will talk about what it is showing us, what we will be looking to analyze in this process, and how we are doing in pursuit of our goals.”

Some of the highlights of the presentation included:

• Student Enrollment: 3,640 (about 700 more students than projected in 2014).
• Graduation rate: 95% (10 percent higher than the New York State average).
• Class of 2020: 61% plan to attend four-year college
• 30% plan to attend two-year college, technical or trade school
• 9% plan to join military service, workforce or other, or take a gap year
• Advanced or Regents Diplomas: 92% (10% higher than the state average).
• Advanced Regents Diplomas: 57% (18% higher than the state average).
• SAT Average: 1137 (100 points above the national average).
• Advanced Placement (AP) Courses (13): American History, World History, U.S. Government & Politics, Biology, Chemistry, Environmental Science, Physics C, Calculus AB, Calculus BC, English Language & Composition, English Literature, Psychology, Computer Science A and Computer Science Principles. Highest percentage of students participating in AP courses in the region.
• AP Results: 84% proficiency (Highest in region).
• Honors Courses (20): Global History 1 & 2, English 9, 10, 11, Earth Science (Grade 8), Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Algebra (Grade 8), Geometry, Algebra II/Trigonometry, Spanish 2, 3, French 3, Wind Ensemble, Meistersingers, Women’s Chorus and Chamber Strings, Foundations in Art.
• College Courses (10): SUNY Albany – Science Research, University Spanish 1 & 2, University French 1.  SUNY Orange – Calculus, College Algebra, College Trigonometry, Mandarin Chinese 4 & 5.
• Senior Project: Senior Project is a challenging, student-driven/teacher-guided national program. Students choose an individual project to work on for the duration of their senior year as a “learning stretch.” Senior Project encourages students to incorporate hands-on learning in a real world environment. A required college-level research paper expands a student’s knowledge base, and at the end of the program, students present a comprehensive portfolio chronicling their progress to a panel of judges.
• Project Lead The Way (PLTW): A program of exceptional curriculum and high-quality teacher professional development, combined with an engaged network of educators and corporate and community partners helps students develop the skills necessary to succeed in a global economy. PLTW courses offered at Warwick Valley High School are Introduction to Engineering and Design, Principles of Biomedical Science, Computer Integrated Manufacturing, Principles of Engineering and Introduction to Computer Science.
• Student Volunteer hours: 25,000+
• Music Program: Eight Consecutive Years of “Best Community for Music Education” designation
• English Language Learners: 55 students (2%). Students are testing out of the ELL program much sooner than the state average.
• Students with Disabilities: 495 students (14%). Students with disabilities are graduating at a much higher rate than the state average (83% versus 60%)

The District will continue to utilize a data inquiry cycle to guide its program review. The data inquiry cycle is a series of steps, gaining perspective; preparing data; discovering or uncovering results from the data; meeting, discussing, and adjusting the program for improvement; and identifying next steps; then repeating the cycle as necessary.

“We will have our data teams analyze student results to make informed instructional decisions to meet the needs of all learners,” Dr. Leach stated. “What are the learning goals that this assessment measures? Where do our students excel? What educational strategies aided our students in achieving their goals? What kind of skill gaps do we see? What trends do we notice in the mistakes, and what can we learn from them? Which students did not master critical standards and require further assistance? What interventions will be used to address unlearned skills, and how will we evaluate their effectiveness? What are our plans for expanding the learning of those students who have mastered the standards? Is there anything we can do to improve this assessment?”

According to Dr. Leach, the District continues developing and implementing a balanced assessment framework that accurately reflects student achievement. A vital component of this goal is the creation of meaningful performance-based assessments to replace some of the more traditional assessment approaches. The District’s strategic planning review will include a complete analysis of the District’s current approach to student assessment to ensure a balanced approach. Dr. Leach explained that student success also means students exhibiting specific dispositions by the time they graduate as outlined in the District’s Portrait of a Graduate. Those dispositions include having the skills to be a collaborator, communicator, creator/inventor, ethical and global citizen, resilient individual, problem solver, and life-long learner.

The presentation was the beginning of a series of Board work session meetings – which are open to the public. The intention of the Board work sessions is to present the program at each level (elementary, middle and high school) and provide a deeper understanding of how the District will utilize new District data teams to examine future instruction. The District will also undergo a K-12 literacy external peer review by the Tri-State Consortium in the spring. The results will be reported at the April Board work session.

Future sessions are scheduled through April:

• November 18: Elementary program
• January 20: Middle School program
• February 17: High School program
• April 7: Tri-state Consortium visit preliminary results of spring visit