Columbia High School's Continuous Improvement Plan focuses on academics, attendance

Vice Principal Kelly Hume said the Problem of Practice “really boils down to things we saw coming out of the pandemic and the ways that we could address those some of those concerns.”

“If we get our extra steps right, then our Smart Goals get accomplished,” McKee said. “If our Smart Goals get accomplished, we help improve our Problem of Practice. And if we do that, hopefully our students will be successful. And that’s the whole goal.”

At CHS, these goals center on three areas — academics, freshman success and school climate — under the overall theme of connectedness.

Connectedness takes many forms, Hume said: Participation in extracurricular activities, positive student-student and student-staff relationships, and academic engagement and achievement. (See sidebar for full Problem of Practice verbiage.)

“We looked at the data and talked to staff and to students and listened to input we received from community members — all of our Smart Goals really revolve around this idea of connectedness,” said Hume.

The first area, academics, has two goals: Increase the percentage of Hispanic students participating in advanced classes beyond graduation requirements and/or honors level from 15.7% to 22% in the next year and a half, and increase the number of students taking advantage of available college credit in available classes by the spring of 2025.

Hume said after reviewing academic data, they saw that students taking advanced courses didn’t match the demographics of students at the school. They also saw that, while there are 13 college-credit, in person classes offered at CHS, not everyone knew how to take advantage of that option.

To achieve both of these goals, teachers will be reviewing class outcomes this winter to generate a list of students who could and should be encouraged to forecast for upper-level classes; by spring, advanced class teachers will issue individualized invitations to identified students and their families; a family night that she will lead, also in the spring, will discuss the benefits of taking advanced courses, she said.

The next goal, Ninth Grade On Track, centers on student success; it reads, “Improve the percentage of freshmen students passing all classes from 79% in the 22-23 school year to 90% by the end of the 24-25 school year.” Hume said action steps for January include freshman advisory teachers implementing skill-based lessons, and staff reviewing first trimester grades to identify students in need of support.

Statistically, students who don’t fail any classes freshman year are four times more likely to graduate, Hume said, adding, “What can we do to support the freshman who failed a class last year, and also incoming freshman to make sure they’re on track?”

The last set of goals and actions, this time around school attendance and climate, include the Smart Goal to “increase connectedness for students as evidenced by increased participation in extracurricular activities (athletics, clubs, after school program, co-curricular) and positive teacher/peer relationships.”

“We know that the more we can get kids connected into an extracurricular activity, whether that’s a sport or club, the afterschool program, Sources of Strength, any number of things, that will help with attendance but also just the school culture in general — a student’s sense of belonging,” Hume said.

This month, staff have completed a relationship mapping exercise; next month, advisory teachers will administer a climate survey to students, as will club and sports advisors. Hume said this goal is still being developed.

The entire CIP is available at go.boarddocs.com/wa/wsvsd/Board.nsf/Public (click the Dec. 14 meeting tab, then “View the agenda;” from there, click “CIP Plans” under Reports and Discussions.