Artesia High School: Schoolwide Literacy Model

Artesia High School, one of ABC Unified's three comprehensive high schools, is located in the culturally and ethnically diverse city of Lakewood. Incorporated in 1954, Lakewood is now considered one of the Gateway Cities, a region that is a hub of technology, transportation, and international trade. Major employers in the areas include Boeing, Rockwell, and Northrup Grunman.

Artesia High School serves approximately 1800 students in grades nine through twelve on a traditional school-year calendar. The school is dedicated to (1) ensuring the academic success of every student; and (2) providing a safe and comprehensive educational experience for every student. In its vision statement, the Artesia High School community cooperatively challenges all members to be world-class participants in a diverse, technological society. All textbooks and instructional materials used at the school are aligned with California's content standards and frameworks as well as the school's Curriculum Council standards.

The program Reading Across the Curriculum (RAC) has been implemented recently at Artesia High and is being expanded to encompass writing. A reading team, consisting of representatives from each department across the content areas, works to make strategies useful for all teachers. Continuous professional development on strategies is provided through RAC collegial time, scheduled for one hour once per month. Teachers are also provided with a reading binder filled with innovative and interactive reading strategies. As a result of these initiatives, teachers infuse research-based reading strategies and Words of the Week (WOW words) into the content areas. Time for student-selected reading is built into the block schedule schoolwide.

The school's library is stocked with thousands of books available for students to check out. It also has a large collection of video- and audiotapes for classroom use that tie into curricular areas of study. Computers in the library are connected to the Internet, providing students access to online resources and information to improve their research skills. Computer skills and concepts are integrated throughout the curriculum. Students also receive regularly scheduled computer-assisted instruction. And ABC Unified's Web site provides a variety of resources and information for families, staff, students, and community members.

College preparation activities and programs are part of the school curriculum and are enhanced by supplemental programs sponsored by the school and local colleges. Students at Artesia High are encouraged to take the courses required for admission to a four-year university, and the school offers 12 advanced placement courses for students seeking classes that qualify for college credit.

Students in grades nine through twelve receive counseling from school personnel regarding career paths and courses of study. The school offers an array of career-path-related classes. Speakers from the community, job shadowing and work experiences, use of technology, career-related research projects, and community service projects all serve to heighten students' awareness of the options available to them for education, training, and employment beyond high school.

Artesia High School serves as a Secondary Literacy Demonstration Site for the Los Angeles County Office of Education.

Schoolwide Literacy Goals

• Help students in all content areas read successfully.
• Create a literacy rich community among staff and students.
• Encourage students to read outside of class.
• Provide training for all teachers to support reading in the classroom.

Criteria For Identifying Students At Risk Of Below-Grade-Level Performance In Reading And Writing

• Level of performance in reading and writing (target students)

Content Literacy

• Reading Across the Curriculum (RAC) teachers focus on six research based reading strategies per semester. Lesson plans show evidence of the following reading strategies in use in the classroom:
  • Summarizing the text
  • Previewing the text
  • Reciprocal teaching
  • Writing strategies
  • Vocabulary building
  • Note taking skills
• Ongoing professional development on strategies is provided through RAC collegial time, one hour once per month.
• The RAC binders outline the school's literacy plan and the teacher's responsibilities. The binder also includes suggestions and sample lessons for each chosen strategy.
• The Reading Team consists of representatives from each department across the content areas, working to make strategies useful for all teachers.
• Inspiration software program is used to implement strategies in the classrooms. Teachers receive training in the use of those strategies.

Library Media Program

• Thousands of books are available for students to check out.
• A large collection of video- and audiotapes relating to curricular areas of study is available for classroom use.
• Computers in the library are connected to the Internet to provide students access to on-line resources and information to improve their research skills.
• Computer skills and concepts are integrated throughout the curriculum to prepare students for technological growth and employment opportunities.
• Software includes programs to develop critical thinking skills, technological skills, and proficiency in mathematics.

Home/School/Community Literacy Partnerships

• The Southside Reading Consortium is a K-12 articulation team consisting of six schools: four elementary schools, one middle school, and Artesia High. The team works to share and plan reading programs for K-12 students. It is a working collaborative aimed at literacy.

Schoolwide Literacy Activities

• The Reading Across the Curriculum (RAC) program has been expanded to the Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum (WRAC) program.
• The Reading Counts program is being implemented to promote student-selected reading.
• Drop Everything and Read (DEAR) occurs twice per week, with all staff and students participating.
• A vocabulary-building program, Words of the Week (WOW words), is in place across the curriculum. Teachers are given five words per week to post in their classrooms, use as word exercise warm-ups, and/or refer to them in their curriculum as applicable. These are standards-based words or word parts that apply to all curriculum areas.
• A variety of advanced placement classes is offered.

Professional Development/Ongoing Support

• Collegial time during the modified block schedule allows staff to have one hour twice per week for professional development. All staff have the opportunity to use this time for reading across the curriculum. Training and workshops are offered once per month on a specific topic.
• After-school time is used for Reading Team meetings to plan professional development with staff. This time is also used to review lesson plans and to share ideas with other department members.

Other

• Block scheduling is used.

Evidence Of Success

• Registered a 17-point gain on the 2001-02 Academic Performance Index (API)
• Registered a 26-point gain on the 2002-03 API
• Registered gains on the 2002-03 API for all numerically significant ethnic subgroups African American (25 points); Asian (20 points); Hispanic (27 points); and white (21 points)
• Met 2003 Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) criteria based on the API
• Met 2003 criteria for proficient or above schoolwide in English-language arts (30.9 percent) and in mathematics (26.6 percent)
• Met 2003 criteria for proficient or above for all statistically significant subgroups in English-language arts and in mathematics
• Lesson plans incorporated into program elements
• Golden Bell Award for collaborative work with the Southside Reading Consortium
• WOW words posted in every classroom
• Teachers' support of schoolwide program
• Students' awareness of programs
• Selected as a demonstration site for Los Angeles County
  

For More Information Contact:

Artesia High School
ABC Unified School District
Laura Rogers, Principal
562-926-5566, Ext. 21600
laura.rogers@abcusd.k12.ca.us

Carol Loayza
562-926-5566, Ext. 21757
carol.loayza@abcusd.k12.ca.us