LIBERTY RANCH HIGH SCHOOL FOCUS ON …...Liberty Ranch High School: Home of the Hawks 1 LIBERTY RANCH HIGH SCHOOL FOCUS ON LEARNING SELF-STUDY REPORT 12945 Marengo Road Galt, CA 95632

Liberty Ranch High School: Home of the Hawks

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LIBERTY RANCH HIGH SCHOOL FOCUS ON LEARNING

SELF-STUDY REPORT

12945 Marengo Road

Galt, CA 95632

Galt Joint Union High School District

February 2019

WASC/CDE Focus on Learning Accreditation Manual


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TABLE OF CONTENTS

GJUHSD Board Members and WASC Visiting Team Members………………………… 3

WASC Leadership Teams and Focus Groups……………………………………………. 4

Preface……………………………………………………………………………………..8

Chapter I: Progress Report…………………………………………………………...…. 11

Chapter II: Student/Community Profile and Supporting Data and Findings…………..... 51

Chapter III: Self-Study Findings…………………………………..…………………… 132

A: Organization: Vision and Purpose, Governance, Leadership and Staff,

and Resources…………………………………………………………… ...133

B: Standards-based Student Learning: Curriculum ……………………………162

C: Standards-based Student Learning: Instruction …………………………….182

D: Standards-based Student Learning: Assessment and Accountability …… ...199

E: School Culture and Support for Student Personal and

Academic Growth ………………………………………………….. 215

Chapter IV: Summary from Analysis of Identified Critical Student Learning Needs… 243

Chapter V: School wide Action Plan ………………………………………………… 251

Appendices…………………………………………………………………………….. 266


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Galt Joint Union High School District Board of Education Members

Daniel Danier- President

Terry Parker-Owning- Clerk

Mark Beck

Melissa Neuburger

Dennis Richardson

Superintendent

William Spalding

WASC Visiting Committee Members

Dr. Mark Sims—Chair

Principal

San Marin High School

[email protected]

Ms. Karen Carlson Mrs. Jennifer Medeiros

Assistant Principal Instructional Coach

Walnut Creek, CA Atwater, CA

[email protected] [email protected]

Mr. Justin Nunn Dr. Nicole Odell

Teacher Assistant Principal

Lathrop, CA Williams, CA

[email protected] [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]


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Liberty Ranch High School WASC Self-Study Groups

Leadership Team: Self-Study Coordinator—Janine Raybe

Principal--Joe Saramago

Administrators--Tony Lara, Anahi Perez

Chairs of School wide Focus Groups—Staff Members indicated with *

Chair(s) of Support Staff Group— Janine Raybe

Chair(s) of Student Committee—Becca Dennis

Home Groups: (by Departments with the chair being the leader) Agriculture

English

Math

Physical Education/HEALS/Health

Science

Special Education/Instructional Para-professionals

Social Studies

World Language

VAPA/Technology

Staff Support Group (counselors, registrar, health services, clerical/office staff, custodial, career)

Parent Group

Focus Groups: * Group Leader

^ Parent

Organization:

*Jeremy Duncan-VAPA

*Cherise Sims-English

*Kellie Gorelick (alt)-Social Science/Leadership

Maribel Barranco-World Language

Mandy Garner-AG

Kristie Cole-Registrar

Jeannie Westerman-SPED

Kevin Tarrant-VAPA

Dannel Montesano-Paraprofessional

Andy Petersen-PE

Tony Lara-Assistant Principal

Yan Yang-Math

Julie Lewis-Flex Academy

Ricardo Ordaz-Campus Security


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Bonnie Luitze-Office Staff

Leslie Myers-SPED

Lauren Elliott-AG

Yvette Valle-Paraprofessional

Nichole Hieronimus-Paraprofessional

Gem Falcon-Paraprofessional

Mary Jo Schroeder^

Angelia Leipelt^

Curriculum:

* Amanda McDonald-World Language

*Sam Messersmith-Counseling

*Sandra Moote (alt)-Science

Thom Bradley-English

Malissa Stotts-SPED

Samantha Cahill-Agriculture

Eugen Deaconu-Math

Krista Haas-English

Mia Sanchez-Echavarre-Paraprofessional

Alondra E. Anaya-Paraprofessional

Joe Saramago-Principal

Dario Meza-World Language

Jon Hunter- Flex Academy

Emily Loustale-Math

Mike Turpin-PE

Andrew Fisher- Social Science

Laurie George-Office Staff

Yajahira Zamora-Paraprofessional

Lisa Wise^

Kristin Amrine^

Instruction

*Lyn Neumann-VAPA/Social Science

*Siva Ponusamy-Culinary

*Ana Gonzalez (alt) Social Science

Joey Van Steyn-VAPA

Rosella Rowlison-Social Science

Paula Bauer-Social Science

Liesa Jordet-SPED

Mark Feuerbach-AG-Welding

Ashley Wood- Sports Medicine

Brad Simmons-Math

Sandra Vickland-English


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Alejandro Gutierrez-Duncan-Paraprofessional

Vega, Araceli-Paraprofessional

Sonja Brown-VAPA

Virginia Zamora-Paraprofessional

Alejandro Reynoso-Math

Jenn Jeffries^

Assessment and Accountability

*Maria Binney-World Language

*Anahi Perez- Assistant Principal

Steven Stewart-Science

Deanne Smithey-SPED

Warren Schroeder-Social Science

Sara Welge-VAPA

Josh Williams-PE

Devon MacLeod-Math

Nancy Snow-Office Staff

Trena Habedank-Paraprofessional

Alan Anderson-Paraprofessional

Lorena Anguiano-Paraprofessional

Jillian Harris-English

Ben Gill- Computer Tech

Bryan Dodson-AG

Erika Gonzalez- Campus Security

Jeanay Williams-Health Assistant

Jamie Hughes^

Jose Trujillo^

School Culture and Student Support

*Anngela Schroeder-English

*Judy Hays Sanchez-Counseling

Shanee Best-VAPA

Mitch Gorelick-SPED

Susie Williams-PE

Quoc Le-Psychologist

Jason Pyles-English

Jennifer Wilson-Science

Heather Harper-Math

Anthony Linebaugh-English/AD

Valerie Ripert-Library Technician

Mirella Ortega-Paraprofessional

Lidia Alarcon-Paraprofessional

Jennifer Petersen-World Language/AVID


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Jocelyn Chavez-College/Career Counselor

Missy Porter-AG

Becca Dennis-Social Science/Leadership

Sonya Powaser- Outreach Consultant

Darla Plant-Nurse

Brian Crosson^

Sheree Clay^

Parent Group: Kristin Amrine

Jocelynn Brown

Sheree Clay

Brian Crosson

Gabe Estrada

TJ Guidotti

Jamie Hughes

Jenn Jeffries

Angelia Leipelt

Christina Macri

Waldina Nunez

Mary Jo Schroeder

Juan Soria

Jose Trujillo

Lisa Wise

Student Groups: Leadership Class

Link Crew Class

Random Classes: AVID 9, Curriculum Support 9, ELD Academy, English 3D, English III (11), Language Live, Spanish Native 2


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Preface


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Liberty Ranch High School (LRHS) completed its last full Self-Study in March 2013. The school

received a six-year accreditation with a one-day mid-cycle revisit. The school worked diligently

on the Critical Areas of Follow-up and received a positive report after the Mid-Cycle Revisit

took place on Oct. 26, 2015. LRHS continued to address the suggested areas of growth from the

visiting committee mid-cycle report, even with extensive significant changes to school personnel

and schedule.

This cycle of self-study began in October 2017. LRHS began by introducing staff to the

accreditation and self-study WASC process with a PowerPoint review presentation and timeline

of expectations. The leadership team of Department Chairs was established and met as needed

during department chair meetings throughout the cycle. The staff continued the next few months

by reviewing the School-wide Action Plan from the WASC Mid-Cycle Revisit at both staff and

home group meetings. Groups responded with action plan refinements, progress, and works in

progress. In subsequent meetings, home groups discussed future department plans and goals to

support the action plan. In February 2018 staff indicated preferences for Focus Committee

Assignments. (The committees as indicated on previous pages were developed with

representation from different departments on campus and classified personnel were also

included.) In April 2018, Focus Committees met to discuss the mission statements, SLOs, and

the school’s vision. The members of committees were also asked to familiarize themselves with

the district LCAP in conjunction with our own action plan. In May 2018, department and home

groups met numerous times during the school collaboration hours to focus on significant changes

in the district and at LRHS. They also worked diligently on the five criteria for Chapter III,

providing evidence and strengths and growths for each category.

Parents were recruited through the school website, home phone dialer, and at Back-to-School

Night to join the WASC process. After an initial parent meeting with the WASC coordinator,

parents also selected FOCUS group preferences and were given a schedule of collaboration

meeting times. Parents continued to attend the FOCUS group meetings or were sent meeting

updates and responded via email to the WASC coordinator as needed. Students were also

recruited and responded to questions and surveys in a variety of classes on a myriad of subjects.

Liberty Ranch High School has been actively using and analyzing data from the SBAC tests,

Reading Inventory tests, surveys, and the School Dashboard, as well as common assessments in

departments to clarify and measure LRHS student achievement in relation to the SLOs. The

information from the data has been discussed at district and school staff meetings and in

department home groups for modifying the entire school plan as can be seen in the subsequent

pages of significant changes in both the district and LRHS. The new established action plan

reflects the use of data and the connection to both the ELPAC, Single School Plan and the

district LCAP. The completion of this WASC Self-Study Report has been a step-by-step process

for the entire staff with the input of all stakeholders. The WASC coordinator wrote and

compiled an extensive amount of the report from notes from all the Home and Focus group

meetings, with the exception of updated (significant) changes for individual departments, which

was written by Leadership Team members. Upon completion of the rough draft of the report, it

will be emailed to the leadership team for final approval and comments. The report will then be


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emailed to the staff and members of the parent committee. A number of printed copies and

online copies will be sent to the Visiting Committee, a copy will be sent to the ACS WASC

office, and after the Visiting Committee’s visit in February, the report will be posted on the

school website.


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Chapter I

Progress Report

Significant Developments,

School-wide Critical Areas for Follow-up,

Ongoing Follow-up Process


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Significant District and School Developments since 2012:

Changes in District Administration:

Since our last full WASC visit in 2012, there have been significant changes in district office

personnel. Due to differing view on what the district’s vision should be, these personnel changes

have had the district moving in a variety of directions. Galt Joint Union High School District

(GJUHSD) has had four different superintendents, including one individual, who served as an

interim superintendent twice, since LRHS’s last full WASC visit. Here’s an outlined timeline:

From 2012-2014, the new superintendent, Dr. Roberts continued (from the previous

superintendent) to focus the district on classroom instruction and updating curriculum.

In 2013/14, the Dr. Roberts resigned, along with the Director of Student Services. With

the departure of Superintendent Roberts, the Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum,

and the Chief Business Officer in 14-15, an interim superintendent, Kevin Brown, helped

to run the day-to-day programs and facilitate the search for a new superintendent.

In late summer and fall of 2015, the (newly hired) Superintendent Dr. Kaufman and

Chief Business Officer transitioned into their new positions. In 2015/16, the district also

hired a new Director of Curriculum. Dr. Kaufman worked on numerous programs for the

district including: passing the bond for facility improvements at Galt High School (GHS)

and LRHS, starting testing students for their Lexile reading levels, moving to the hybrid

block schedule, changing the format for the continuation high school (Estrellita), bringing

junior college classes onto the Estrellita campus, and restructuring the district office

personnel.

In 2016/17 a new technology director was hired. In June of 2016 both the Human

Resource Coordinator and the Payroll Analyst announced their retirement followed by

the departure of the Director of Maintenance and the Purchasing and Accounting clerk.

Upon the departure of these individuals, the district office replaced them and added the

following new positions: Director of Educational Opportunities, and HR and Business

Office Administrative Assistant, and a Financial Analyst.

In February 2018, the Superintendent's Executive Secretary announced her retirement, the

Director of Student Services left her position due to layoffs in March, Dr. Kaufman decided to

leave, and once again, an Interim Superintendent filled the position.

The current superintendent, William Spalding, began his position in May of 2018. His

executive secretary recently retired and a new one was hired for the position. The district

is currently focusing on retaining personnel, updating facilities, updating curriculum and

resources, and stabilizing programs on all three GJUHSD campuses.


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Changes in LRHS Administration:

In 2013/14, the founding principal of LRHS, Mr. Deis, selected a position in Southern California

as an Assistant Superintendent and left the district. In 2014/15 Mr. Mike Tambini became the

principal and brought the knowledge he gained from being a principal and vice-principal to

LRHS. Principal Tambini was replaced in 2016/17 and former assistant principal, Joe Saramago

was selected as principal for LRHS. Tony Lara was transferred from GHS to fill-in the vacant

Assistant Principal position. Also, during this time, the executive secretary retired and was

replaced by an intra-district transfer, now titled Administrative Assistant 2. This stable,

consistent administration team has been in place since 2016. Besides this team, a long-time

counselor retired and was replaced, the student guidance counselor was reinstated, and positions

in the classified front office have shifted numerous times with retirements, district transfers, and

changing job descriptions. Amid these changes, LRHS has been resilient in providing a

rigorous, high-quality education to its students in a safe and healthy environment.

Schedule Changes:

In 2016/17, LRHS moved from a six-period day to a hybrid block schedule. After years of

discussing this change, it was finally implemented. Staff members, students, and parents spent

time in 2015/16 to discuss the purpose, type, and implementation of block schedule. The purpose

for changing over to the block schedule was two-fold. First, it would allow students more

choices in classes to help meet both A-G requirements and pathway completion. Second, it was

also meant to help students who required English and/or math remediation; by opening up their

schedules, the theory was that they’d be able to take remediation courses while accelerating in

other subjects.

After meeting, departments could not come to a consensus for one type of schedule or even one

type within their departments; therefore, a hybrid schedule was created. The hybrid schedule

consists of some classes meeting each day on a 4X4 schedule to complete the class in half the

year, and some classes meeting every other day on an A/B schedule for the whole year. Most

students have between five and seven classes at any given time throughout the year with a

combination of 4X4 and A/B classes, which made student course scheduling very difficult.

During the first three years of the hybrid schedule, a few departments within the district had

differing preferences, which also made the intra-district transferring of students difficult. For

example, one school might have offered a class on an A/B schedule, but the other school had the

same course offered on a 4x4 schedule.

After a variety of department discussions and district input, departments within the district will

be on the same schedule for 2019/20. Fr example, all core English classes, excluding AP will be

on a 4X4 schedule at GHS and LRHS; core social studies classes, excluding AP, will also be on

a 4X4; whereas all Agriculture classes will be on an A/B schedule at both comprehensive

schools.


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(Because of the implementation of the hybrid schedule and students being bussed or walking to

alternate locations, the passing time between classes was changed from six minutes to ten

minutes.)

Along with this change in the school’s schedule, the student registration process also changed.

From 2012-2016 students came to the counseling office and met briefly with counselors and

administrators to select their classes for the next year. The district instituted online registration

beginning in the 2017/18 school year. Students come to the computer lab; listen to a counselor-

run presentation on classes, scheduling, and the process; are given transcripts; and select classes

for the next year with counselors’ help. The course catalog and registration sheet are available

online and in hard copy, so students and parents can plan their classes before registration day.

During the second year of the hybrid block schedule, due to a technical glitch, many students had

to have schedule changes at the beginning of the year. This current year, registration ran

smoother as students and parents have become familiar with the schedule, more classes were

added, and there was more consistency within departments across the district.

Eighth grade student registration and enrollment also changed from 2012. In 2012 the

counselors completed 8th grade presentations at the middle schools and another presentation for

parents and students at LRHS’s Showcase Night. Counselors and administrators then went to the

middle schools in the evening to register the 8th graders. Currently, the 8th grade students come to

the LRHS campus during the day for a Shadow Day. The 8th graders receive campus and

program tours from Link Crew leaders and receive a lunch. In 2017/18 students from the smaller

feeder schools were given placement tests during Shadow Day. In 2018/19, all placement tests

occurred at the feeder schools. The students and parents were also invited to attend the showcase,

and the counselors registered the students at their home school.

In conjunction with the change to block scheduling and the attempt to align with Galt Joint

Union Elementary School, the school calendar has gone through significant changes. From

2012-2016, the school year started the beginning of August and ended the first week of June,

with the first semester completing before Winter Break. (After the change to the hybrid block

schedule, calendar terms were changed so that the period between August and January as well as

the period between January and June are referred to as “terms”. These were no longer necessarily

“semesters” because for the 4x4 courses, the “semester” would actually end in October or

March.) In 2017/18 and 2018/19 the school year started the middle of August and ended the first

term after Winter Break, during the second week of January. This change was made because the

majority of stakeholders wanted a balanced first and second term. Before changing to the hybrid

block, the two semesters were never balanced. This change in having Finals after Winter Break

caused contention among LRHS staff.

LRHS has remedied this contention for the 2019/20 school calendar. After articulation with the

elementary district in aligning the two districts’ calendars as closely as possible, and by starting

the school year earlier than in years past, the calendar allows for Finals to occur before Winter

Break. School will begin earlier in August, end the last week of May, and includes one teacher


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workday in June. The schedule also allows for a long weekend in October and March to facilitate

planning and finals grading for 4X4 courses.

Pathways and New Courses:

Students at LRHS now have the opportunity to complete a variety of different CTE pathways in

the district (see Course Catalog pg. 11) The CTE pathways appeal to a variety of student

interests and can be a step to college, career, and civic readiness. As pathway completers,

students must fulfill the following requirements of an introductory course, concentrator course,

and completer course. All courses must be in the same pathway for students to be considered a

pathway completer. Students may also complete a fourth-year course to gain more thorough

understanding of the subject area. Students can take classes at LRHS for the newly formed

Sports Medicine Pathway and Information Technology Pathway, and the three AG Academy

Pathways: AG Mechanics, Agriscience, and Ornamental Horticulture. Students can also take an

introductory course in the Culinary Pathway, Foods and Nutrition, at LRHS and then travel to

Estrellita Continuation School for the completion of the Culinary Pathway. Students can take

classes at Galt High School in the HEALS pathway for Careers with Children or Interior Design.

They can also take classes at GHS in the BEST Academy for pathways in Biomedical Science,

Engineering, and Technology. These CTE pathways allow students to be college and career

ready in a variety of fields.

The change in scheduling to the hybrid block also has allowed for more electives to be offered to

students to expand classes for their choices of interest. The following new classes have been

offered the last three years or will be offered in 2019/2020 at LRHS:

English: Language Live 1 and 2, English 3D, AP Language and

Composition, ERWC, Creative Writing, Film as Literature

Math: Math Foundations, EAP Senior Year Mathematics,

Science: Chemistry in the Community, AP Physics II, MESA

Social Science: Geography and World Affairs (9th grade requirement), AP Human

Geography, AP Psychology

Agriculture: Farm to Fork,

PE: Walking and Fitness, Cardio and Fitness, Football Conditioning

and Fundamentals, Soccer, Basketball

VAPA: AP Studio Art, Digital Photography I and II, Guitar, Theatre

Directing

World Language: Spanish Culture 1A/1B, Spanish for the Workplace, Emerging

Spanish

Elective Courses: College and Career Ready (9th grade requirement) Senior Seminar,

Link Crew, AP Study Hall

Pathway Courses: Sports Medicine I and II, Internet Engineering I and II, Art of

Video Production


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Increase in credits and graduation requirements:

In the past, students needed 220 credits to graduate from LRHS. Once the hybrid block schedule

was implemented, many seniors were unscheduled for one or two periods because they met the

graduation credit requirements. This sparked a discussion about increasing graduation

requirements, and it was determined that for the graduating class of 2020, students will need 280

credits with increased credits needed in elective classes. For the class of 2021 and beyond,

students will continue needing 280 credits, but will have increased requirements in math,

science, and world language. Students will move from needing 20 credits in math to 30 credits,

from 20 credits in science to 30 credits, and from 10 credits in world language or VAPA to 20

credits in World Language and 10 in VAPA (see course catalog). This increase in math, science,

and world language requirements will make students more college-ready by fulfilling A-G

requirements.

Student Class Opportunities at all District Schools:

Students within the district have the chance to take classes at GHS, LRHS, or (a culinary class)

at Estrellita Continuation School (EHS). At the time of the last WASC report, a few students

from LRHS and GHS took classes at each high school that were not offered at their home school;

these classes were upper level AP classes (combined because of lack of student numbers) and

pathway classes from the BEST Academy at GHS. For the last two school years, students were

provided with bus transports between high schools each period for AP, pathway, band, and

theater courses. Because of lack of appropriate facilities for band and theater at LRHS, the

programs were moved to GHS.

Changes in Estrellita and credit recovery affecting LRHS:

From 2012-2016, EHS educated around 180 students each year with approximately six teachers.

Students who were behind in credits were transferred to EHS in 11th or 12th grade. Migrant

Education students were also able to make up credits using Cyber High, but that has now been

changed to Fuel Ed. In 2016/17 per the superintendent, most of the students at EHS returned to

their home campuses, with the exception of one teacher and one class, which remained at EHS.

LRHS constructed an educational plan for each of these students to help them successfully

transition back into the school culture where they had been previously unsuccessful. With the

departure of the superintendent, in the 2018/19 school year, EHS has been reestablished as a

continuation school with more teachers and students. Adult Education, which was used before

2012 to encompass concurrent enrollment, was discontinued from 2012-2016. It was then re-established in 2016 without concurrent enrollment.

In 2017/18, a partnership with Delta Community College was established using EHS facilities.

After judging student and community interest, classes were implemented, and students could

concurrently enroll in college classes their senior year. Classes were held in the afternoons and


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evenings, and the district is currently in discussions with Delta College to see if this partnership

will continue.

As a continuation school, EHS also provided credit recovery for students wanting to return to

their home school for graduation. With the changes at EHS, new credit recovery programs were

established at LRHS and have been continued. In 2015 the Advanced Academics program for

online credit recovery was discontinued. LRHS then started using an alternate credit recovery

program only offered after school. Because of limited success with this structure, in 2015/16,

LRHS began the online credit recovery program using Fuel Ed with random full-time teachers

teaching two periods a day. In 2017/18, Flex Academy with the Fuel Ed curriculum was used for

online recovery during the school day with two full-time teachers and two paraprofessionals in

the program.

The summer school credit recovery program has also had numerous changes. Summer school is

held alternately at GHS or LRHS. From 2012 to 2016, summer school held two sessions and

courses were taught by classroom teachers. In 2016 the summer school program was mainly

limited to students attending a bridge program in English or math after taking the RI placement

test. These students were three to four Lexile reading levels behind their peers and the courses

were taught by classroom teachers. Even though classes were limited in 2016, migrant education

and special education students have continued (since before 2012) to be able to participate in

credit recovery in English and math. In 2017 more classes were added for credit recovery. In

2018, summer school was continued in two sessions with some courses taught online through

Fuel Ed. Although mainly a recovery program, summer school does offer reading and math

bridge programs for students who are not at grade level and have tested into lower level English

or math classes as well as limited courses for acceleration.

Facilities:

Major changes in facilities have taken place since the last full WASC visit. The new agriculture

building (the 700s) was completed a year after the school opened. This building houses the

majority of the agricultural programs such as welding, small mechanics, and floriculture as well

as classrooms for ag science and ag leadership. There is also a community garden outside of the

building where plants and crops are grown for sale in the Farm to Fork program. The agriculture

department and LRHS have also secured land across Marengo Road for future crop production.

In 2017/18 a school bond was passed for the district. From the 36 million passed for the bond,

the district delegated approximately 6 million dollars to Liberty Ranch High School. The rest of

the bond will be to address 100+ year old Galt High School’s greatly needed facilities updates.

The bond money for LRHS was used to complete the athletic stadium on campus which was

opened August of 2018. Before the stadium, Liberty Ranch High School had an unlighted

practice field and dirt track for sports such as football, soccer, and track and field to share with

the variety of teams. The completed all-weather track, turf field, and lights were met with much

enthusiasm and anticipation upon the stadium’s completion and has provided a boost in school


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spirit as games can now be played on a home field instead of at the GHS stadium or an across

town community soccer field. Although there are still elements to be completed in the future

such as restrooms and a snack facility, this stadium has been a goal for LRHS since the school’s

completion in 2010.

Smaller changes to facilities have been the addition of outdoor murals to enhance the appearance

of the school and the change in location of the weight room to further enhance the PE program.

Originally the weight room was in an extra classroom in the 800’s wing before moving to the

gym building. After the classroom was remodeled and enhanced, the weight room returned to

the 800s wing while the room in the gym building was transformed into a locker room/team

room. Another addition is the extra computer lab which will be discussed in the following

paragraph.

Technology Updates:

Many significant changes have been made to technology at Liberty Ranch High School. In

2013/14 LRHS was updated with new teacher computers. In 2017/18 the entire infrastructure for

technology was updated allowing for enhanced services throughout the campus. Servers, the

network, Wi-Fi hot spots, data centers, and cabling were all part of the update. In 2018/19 new

phones were established in each room allowing for better access and teacher ability to conference

call and business skype. This new enhancement also allowed individual student access to log-ins

and Wi-Fi which increased the student and teacher ability to use technology in the classroom.

New security cameras were also installed on LRHS campus and in the new stadium, bringing the

total number to 36. In the summer of 2016, a new computer lab was established in the main

office building providing for two permanent labs including the one connected to the library. A

new portable lab was also purchased be used across the campus. In 2016/17 the Flex Academy

lab was established with 40 total computers, and two new portable labs were purchased for the

College and Career Readiness and the Language Live classes. In addition, document cameras as

well as LCD projectors were placed in each classroom.

The continuous change in software for grading/parent contact and testing by the district has

affected teacher use and training. Since 2012, the district has used MyBigCampus, Edusoft, and

PowerSchool. Software currently being used is CANVAS and Power Teacher Pro (grading and

parent communication) and Illuminate (testing). Office 365 is also being used, and the students

have their own account that they can access at school and at home. LRHS has currently

reestablished a technology committee to pursue the idea of 1-to-1 access of computers for all

students. In the spring of 2019 select teachers will pilot a 1-to-1 curriculum with students before

the programs will be implemented.

New Testing:

To fulfill one of the district goals of all students reaching a Lexile reading level of 1300 by


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graduation to become college and career ready, LRHS implemented the Scholastic Reading

Inventory Test (SRI) now called RI Lexile testing for all students. Before students are admitted

to LRHS, they are administered placements tests in English and mathematics. Students take the

RI for reading and the Math Diagnostic Test Project (MDTP) for math. Their performance on

these tests, as well as their CAASPP tests, determine the appropriate class placement for the

students as described in the course catalog in the appendices. As a common assessment, all

students from 2015-2017 were tested three times a year for their Lexile reading level (RI).

Because of the amount of testing for students and implementation of the SBAC practice tests in

math and English, in 2018/19 the Reading Inventory testing will take place only two times a

year.

As with all schools in the district, LRHS standardized testing changed from CST test to the

SBAC testing for juniors in English and math. In 2017/18 a select group of sophomores, juniors,

and seniors also completed the standardized California Science test (CAST). Because of the new

hybrid schedule and students taking English or math classes only part of the year, the testing of

juniors in certain classes became difficult; therefore, juniors not in these classes in the spring

were randomly pulled from other classes. This created problems in scheduling along with

problems in student and teacher enthusiasm, resulting in a schedule change this year to all

students being tested with an English or math teacher that they currently have or have had that

year. Another change in the SBAC testing this spring will be that all tests are to be completed in

two days (one for English and the other for math) on a special school schedule.

In 2012/13 all sophomores took the ACT Plan test to provide them guidance on skills needed for

the regular ACT test. Over the last two years, all sophomores and juniors in the district take the

PSAT test in the fall. This year, the SAT test was also scheduled for the same day; therefore,

some juniors and all seniors also were scheduled to take this test. The results of these tests are

received before the end of the term, and a day is scheduled to review these results with all

students to prepare them for SAT and ACT tests in the future. In 2017/18 students were tested

with the ELPAC test which took the place of the CELDT. In 2018/19 the California Spanish

Assessment will be administered to Spanish-speaking English Learners and upper level Spanish

students in Level 3 or 4. Juniors in this group will continue to take the regular CAASPP as well.

Spanish-speaking newcomers at LRHS who have been in the U.S. less than 12 months will take

the California Spanish assessment instead of the CAASPP. This year LRHS will also administer

the CAA (California Alternative Assessment).

Personnel Additions/Changes:

Different changes in personnel besides administration have also greatly affected change at

LRHS. The much-needed career center position has been in flux since the school has opened.

The first two years after opening, LRHS did not have a career counselor and the teachers and

current counselors served as mentors for the students. The career counselor position was then

added as a part time position and an office in the library was established for a year. The


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following year the position became full time. In 2015 the position was reduced to part time, and

in 2016 the position was eliminated due to budget constraints. This loss was deeply felt by

students, parents, and staff. Currently the position has been reestablished as a part time shared

position with GHS and is now staffed by a credentialed career counselor with a doctorate instead

of a classified staff member. This individual has reestablished college connections for students,

built relationships and partnerships with potential scholarship donors and local colleges and

universities, introduced college testing information to students, helped students obtain

information about college scholarships and helped the current site counselors with registration

and other counseling duties.

Before 2013, the LRHS library was only open part-time to students because of staffing shortages.

Since 2013, the school now has a full-time library media technician who makes the library

accessible to students from 7:30 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. Under her tutelage, there has been a steady

increase in clientele to the library, 2000+ books added to the shelves reflecting curriculum needs

and pleasure reading, and access for students to computers and printing. The technician has also

taken over the duties of textbook and novel distribution to classes and has made the library a

comfortable place for students to complete homework and gather to study.

In reaching out to those students who are struggling in the traditional school environment, LRHS

has been fortunate to provide a shared Outreach counselor, now called Program Coordinator 2,

and add a campus police officer. Upon the retirement of LRHS part-time Outreach counselor in

2017, LRHS continued a shared counselor with GHS for the benefit of LRHS students. More

recently since the school was annexed into Galt City limits in 2018, Liberty Ranch has been able

to share a campus resource officer with GHS. In the past, the police presence was the one or two

sheriffs in the county who were called only for emergencies. Another change in personnel in

2017/18 is a full time ASB secretary, now called Program Coordinator 1, who originally was

shared with GHS.

Tardy/Out of Classroom Passes Policy Change:

The tardy policy as listed in the student handbook for 2012-2015/16 remained consistent in

amounts and enforcement guidelines. However, in 2016/17, as the change was moving to block

schedule and teachers were restructuring their curriculum, the LRHS administration choose to

handle most of the tardy policy in the office and out of the teachers’ responsibility. With limited

personnel, the tardy problem increased, and the policy became ineffective. Also, student passes

outside of the classroom with students randomly roaming the campus became a problem. In

2017/18 similar bathroom lanyards were established for each classroom to limit students exiting

the classroom and for security to easily see the pass. A two-minute warning after eight minutes

have passed between classes has helped students be on time to class. At the end of 2017/18 a

School Culture Committee was established and after a teacher survey, it was revealed that tardies

and students being out of class and on their phones were still significant problems in the culture

of the school. A new policy was then established utilizing teachers, administrators, and campus

security. The tardy policy in 2018/19 currently consists of teacher contact with student and


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parent for the first two tardies, then detention for the student for further tardies and subsequently

Saturday School and the SARB process for habitual offenders. There has been an easy to access

online detention list created for each month so immediate detentions can be assigned with

students receiving a form from the teacher and a reminder from the office when they must serve

the detention. Concurrently, since LRHS has a limited number of student restrooms, students

were often loitering across campus to a bathroom furthest from their classroom. Color-coded

lanyard passes were developed for each area of the school which requires students to use the

bathroom in that area only. Furthermore, campus security issues detention to students who are on

their phones while using the bathroom passes out of class. After the first half of the school year

in 2018, these changes have seemed to make a significant difference in reducing tardies, students

leaving the classroom, and outside of the classroom phone issues. In addition, random tardy

sweeps have helped to curtail students who are tardy.

Significant LRHS Department Changes:

WASC Math Department Narrative:

The LRHS Mathematics Department has seen many significant changes during the past six years.

These changes fall into three basic categories: curriculum, technology, and structure.

Curriculum:

The department went through a piloting process during the 2014-15 school year which led to the

adoption of new textbooks for the 2015-16 school year. In addition to changing the textbooks,

LRHS also moved from the traditional Algebra 1, geometry, and Algebra 2 sequence to the

integrated model. The math department is now using the College Preparatory Mathematics

curriculum for Integrated Math I, II, and III. CPM was also adopted for our Precalculus and

Calculus programs during the 2017-18 school year. AP Statistics updated editions for the 2015-

16 school year.

Several programs have been tried in efforts to meet the needs of LRHS underperforming

students. The PASSAGE program was initiated to give struggling students more support in

math, English, and science. This program was designed to help at risk 9th graders and

encompassed a period of support for these students. This small learning community was

dissolved for the 2015-16 school year. In 2013/14 LRHS reinstated pre-algebra as a course to

get students ready for integrated math. However, in 2014/15 this pre-algebra class changed to

Math Foundations which serves as a “pre-Integrated I” class, and every effort is made to keep

that class size at 24 or less. McGraw-Hill California Math Course 3 was selected as the

curriculum for this course. For one year there was a Math Essentials class for students who were

not ready for Math Foundations, but that program has been discontinued. Currently, the math

department is experimenting with co-teaching. One Integrated Math I and several Math

Foundations classes are being co-taught by a math teacher and a teacher from our special


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education department. The classes have a mix of special education students and other students

who would benefit from more time and attention from the instructors.

Significant professional development was provided for teachers moving to Integrated Math I, II,

and III. Eight full days of training was provided for each of the courses. Teachers were either

paid to attend the trainings on the weekends or given release time to go to the workshops during

the school day. With the curriculum changes and subsequent training, all classes are being

taught using collaborative learning groups to foster communication skills and academic success.

Using the CPM curriculum, students are required to discuss and explain their thinking and

approaches while working through various problems as a group. Students must also be familiar

with using manipulatives to illustrate their way of thinking or solving problems. Since the CPM

curriculum is reading intensive, the math department is attempting to use more reading strategies

(jigsaw, numbered heads, etc.). Concurrently, with the change in testing format for SBAC,

students must be able to show how they discover solutions to word problems and real-world

situations not just find a multiple-choice solution. The instructional and curriculum change by

using CPM will help students practice these new methods to be more successful in testing.

Technology:

The use of technology in the classroom by both the teacher and students has greatly increased

over the past six years. The math department has continued to bolster the number of TI-84

graphing calculators available in class sets for student use. All teachers have access to TI-

Smartview on their computers for classroom presentations. Every student in Integrated Math I,

II, III, and Precalculus has an eBook. These eBooks have Desmos access, as well as, many other

electronic tools imbedded in them.

During the 2018 calendar year, the LRHS Math Department has invested funds to provide 2-in-1

Dell Laptops to all the math teachers. This change, along with the document cameras that all

math classrooms have, allows teachers to project the eBook, write directly on the screen, and

provides for a more dynamic and fluid lesson.

Structure:

Over the objections of the entire math department, the district moved to block schedule for the

2016-17 school year. The math department now sees the students for only half the school year,

instructional time with them has been decreased by 25%, and the students have 50% fewer days

to master the material. To say the least, this has been a major challenge. In order to meet the

challenge, the math department was forced to disband the “accelerated” paths and cut significant

portions out of each course’s curriculum.

Students, as a result of the schedule change, have been able to “double-up” on math classes by

taking one course in the fall and another in the spring. In this way, students choosing to do this

have been able to reach higher math courses than they previously had been able to reach. The

flip side is that students are sometimes unable to get into the courses they want, due to


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overcrowding and must put off taking classes. This has resulted in students sitting out of math

for an entire year.

Another change is that the graduation requirement for mathematics has been increased from two

years to three years. The effects of this have not fully been felt yet, but LRHS anticipates even

larger enrollment in math courses in the coming years. This requirement change has initiated

plans to create new math classes to help students meet the new requirement. Next year the math

department will be offering Integrated Math IA and Integrated Math IB. Students will be able to

get two years of math credit towards graduation for the completion of these two courses. Also, it

is the math department’s hope that, with increased time devoted to the Integrated Math I

curriculum, these students will be more successful and more confident to move on to Integrated

Math II in greater numbers.

Some exciting news is that the math department has been able to add two new staff members to

the math department. One was to fill a vacancy of a teacher who moved and the other due to

increased mathematics enrollment. Other things to celebrate are our increasing rates of passing

the AP test for both calculus and statistics. After updating the statistics text in 2015-16, the AP

passing rate exceeded 80%. Last year, 2017-18, after fully implementing the new calculus

curriculum, 89.5% of the students passed the AP Calculus BC test.

WASC Social Science Department Narrative:

Curriculum:

From 2013-2015, the Social Science department began work on creating supplemental readers

for the core classes and AP courses. The department also acquired full DBQ binders and some

mini DBQ binders to promote primary and secondary materials as important source information.

In 2016/17 due to outdated materials, the District purchased new textbooks for the Criminal

Justice, AP World, and AP Psychology courses, and the department is currently in the process of

piloting new textbooks for the world history, economics, and government courses. These

textbooks with higher Lexile levels will be purchased for the 2019/20 school year.

In order to foster critical thinking in the government and economics classrooms, materials such

as the Up Front periodical have been purchased to facilitate discussion on modern political,

economic, and social issues. The department has also adjusted pacing guides for all classes due

to the transition to block scheduling and has assigned a few teachers to teach an additional class

to cover extra sections due to the increase in student population. The total number of Advanced

Placement courses has been increased, the pre-requisites refined, and additional supplemental

resources purchased. Some AP courses of study have been updated to reflect the recent

modifications to curriculum instituted by the College Board.

Technology:

Teachers are currently using the LCD and document cameras in the classroom, and there is more

access to technology for students and teachers with the adoption of the new textbooks. Some

teachers are using Illuminate for classroom data analysis of tests, but more training is needed on


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this software tool. Some teachers are also using CANVAS for the digital lockers, agendas,

assignment, calendars, and Turnitin.com. One teacher is also using a FlipGrid app and

storyboardthat.com for enhanced technology in the classroom.

Structure:

Due to the flexibility of the new block schedule, the freshman Geography course was

reintroduced as a required course which allowed the department to welcome back some staff who

had been assigned other courses to teach. The geography course will continue to be required for

incoming freshmen.

Although there are many positives for the new schedule with adding new classes, the transition

to an A/B schedule also increases the student contacts and workload, especially for the

government teachers who have anywhere from 185 to 195 students at a time. In 2019/20 the

department courses will be on a 4X4 schedule except for the gov/econ classes. Because of each

course length only being a semester long, a 4X4 schedule is not conducive for this class. Also,

this past year when a student failed the 2.5 credits for the grading terms in government and

economics, he or she attended Saturday School for credit recovery and completed online work in

Flex Academy as well as completing written prompts created by the government teachers. This

created an excessive amount of extra work for the government teachers, and a new solution must

be found for next year.

The Social Studies department has also added new personnel due to the increased student

population and the addition of new elective classes such as Advanced Placement Psychology.

The number of elective sections and AP sections have increased. This has increased the class

sizes, and two or more teachers this year and possibly next year will be on a 7/8ths schedule.

WASC English Department Narrative:

Curriculum:

New curriculum was written for all courses 9th-12th to reflect the New Common Core in 2014/15.

The curriculum was then implemented in 2015/16. After the change to the 4X4 block schedule,

the curriculum was then modified due to loss of instructional time with students. After piloting

this modified curriculum for the past two years, changes still need to be made to fit the needs of

the students. Because of the hybrid 4X4 schedule for core classes, English instructors are still

struggling with the loss of instructional time and, therefore, the loss of certain novel inclusion in

the curriculum. AP Literature and elective classes are following an A/B schedule for the year

with some teachers teaching both an A/B and 4X4 schedule which still needs adjustment time.

In 2017/18 the department also made numerous changes to the course catalog for English

sections. Reading Lexile prerequisites were added to not only the remedial support classes but to

the core classes and honors/AP classes. Classes formally known as English 9, 10, 11, and 12

were renamed English I, II, III, and IV. This renaming occurred because students who may have


25

had to take a support level at 9th grade may then be taking English 9 as a sophomore. To

eliminate the stigma of a 9th grade class for upper level students who are taking it for the first

time or repeating it, the names were changed. Besides the new support classes, the hybrid block

schedule has also allowed new electives to be added to the curriculum. Currently, the

department has added Creative Writing (2016/17), Film as Literature (2018/19) and AP

Language (2017/18). AP Language did not have enough sign-ups this year, so students who

were interested in that class could take it at GHS.

Deteriorating textbooks is an important issue for the English Department since they are now in

their 10th year of use. The department no longer has access to the online editions for students

and there are limited copies for students to take home. At this time, most reading from the

textbooks is done in class with novels and other assignments used as homework. It is being

determined at this time if there are funds to replace those textbooks experiencing the most

damage. Over the past year, LRHS has also purchased Read Live and English 3D textbooks for

the support classes and sets of the Power Plus Vocabulary books for each of the grade levels.

These books not only support vocabulary expansion for Lexile improvement but also institute

grammar and usage practice in testing format and writing format practice.

In 2017, Expository Reading and Writing Course (ERWC) was added to the class selections for

seniors. Most teachers in the department have been trained in the use of ERWC, with three

teachers recently trained in the application of ERWC as an entire class. Specific units from the

ERWC curriculum were previously added to each of the core classes to give students more

relevant, nonfiction material to annotate and analyze in accordance with the fictional material in

the class. When adding the entire course on a block schedule many elements were considered.

Originally, according to the California State Universities, passing of the ERWC class with a C or

better would allow students to be excused from the college placement test and any remediation at

the college level. Thus, curriculum was established for this course in 2016/17, and the course

was taught in 2017/18. Juniors who scored “conditionally ready” on the SBAC test were placed

into this class their senior year. Because of the requirements of the class dictated by the college

and the higher level of students in the class, it moved at a seemingly faster pace with different

curriculum than English IV. Also, it created a tiered English system at the senior level with AP

Literature, ERWC, and English IV. Therefore, the regular English IV classes contained a

proportionately large number of the Special Education students causing the English IV classes to

move at a much slower pace. In May of 2018, it was determined that the ERWC class would

serve as only one minor component of admission into the CSU system; therefore, students were

not automatically placed into the class. It is also believed through test scores and senior

interviews that juniors taking the SBAC tests did not want to be in the ERWC class; therefore,

may not have been as highly motivated to do well on the test. For 2018/19 the class in its

entirety was eliminated; however, specific units from the ERWC curriculum have been added to

the English IV curriculum to integrate more nonfiction and college and career ready assignments.


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Technology:

Teachers in the English Department make active use of LCD projectors, document cameras, and

computer labs when available. Most teachers use CANVAS, Teacher Power Pro, and/or

Illuminate software with Turnitin.com for submission of writing assignments and essays.

Teachers in ELD and the support classes integrate student computers in the classroom and the

portable lab for their curriculum needs.

Currently (2018) teachers are using the computer labs for interim common assessments based on

the practice tests for the SBAC. This testing not only allows students to practice the type of

testing functions on the computers before they test as juniors, but it will also allow teachers to

analyze the data and modify the curriculum.

Structure:

There have been numerous changes to the ELD courses and curriculum on campus. Starting in

the fall of 2011 through the spring of 2014, ELD students were included in the PASSAGE

program which was an academy designed to bring students who tested below standard in either

math or English up to grade level. PASSAGE provided students with common English, math

and science teachers, allowing teachers freedom within students’ schedules to remediate targeted

groups where necessary while the rest of the students moved forward. The PASSAGE program

was eliminated, and from August 2014-June of 2017 LRHS returned to the former structure of an

ELD program. This included an ELD 1/2 course which was grouped in a two hour block due to

having little or no English skills, and an ELD 3/4 course for long term ELs who had not made

adequate academic progress in reading and writing comprehension. These groups used the

EDGE curriculum and English 3D. In the fall of 2017, Galt Joint Union High School District

created an ELD Academy which combined students from both LRHS and GHS for a two-period

block meeting on the LRHS campus. In August 2018, both highs school brought back their

separate ELD courses. ELDs currently have two 90-minute periods which meets daily based on

the A/B schedule. Although the ELD students are no longer brought together for a combined

ELD Academy, the ELD teachers have taken advantage of the new bus schedule transporting

students to and from the high schools every period. They have instituted Friday Literary Circles

to give ELD students greater opportunity to participate in academic discussions and tap into a

greater diversity of language development and perspectives of thought.

In 2016/17 RI Lexile Level testing was administered to all students before entering LRHS and

given three times a year to current students. The goal is to see the progression of students

moving to the college Lexile level of 1300. Based on the results of initial testing, two English

support classes were added to the curriculum, Language Live and English 3D. For students in

the 8th grade, based on a student’s Lexile score and CAASPP score, he or she will be placed in

one of the following: Language Live I, Language Live II, English 3D, or English I (previously

English 9) (See Course Catalog) Initially, in order for a student to move to the next course, he or

she must increase his or her reading Lexile to qualify. Currently, however, the department and

district are working on a solution from just moving the students from one course to the next.


27

Since 2012, the English Department has also made changes regarding how it meets the needs of

special education students. Prior to the 2016-2017 year, many students with IEPs were placed in

SPED grade level English classes with a curriculum support class. Beginning in the 2016/17

school year, many of these students were mainstreamed into grade-level English because it was

determined to be the “least restrictive environment” which was required by law. To

accommodate this change, there have been additional paraprofessionals or Special Education

teachers place into classrooms with the highest concentration of special needs students.

However, this change was not a smooth transition because there were not enough

paraprofessionals or SPED teachers to cover all the classrooms where needed, and there was not

training for the teaching staff as to how they could best utilize the assistance provided. In many

cases, the pace of lessons slowed to allow all students to keep up with classroom activities.

Teachers in the department have individually developed techniques for ensuring that the IEP

accommodations are being provided and the English teachers are in close contact with the case

managers when challenges arise. The Language Live and 3D classes have a larger proportion of

students with an IEP or 504 plans than the core classes; therefore, they are often provided with

paraprofessionals.

WASC Science Department Narrative:

Curriculum:

A challenge that should be addressed is the adoption of the National Science Standards or Next

Generation Science Standards. These are government researched and developed standards for

curriculum that are intended to increase science awareness and scientific thinking among youth

and educators to develop a more forward approach to problem solving in the coming years. The

idea is to encourage and train students to become better problem solvers by using inquiry rather

than rote memorization of science facts. The government predicts there will be an increased

need for students to not only master current technology but develop future technologies and

solve problems associated with exploration of other worlds and environmental changes here on

Earth.

As a result, the long-adopted standards for teaching science at each grade level have changed to

reflect this new goal. The NGSS focuses not only on understanding of previous scientific laws

and theories but also in their application to other areas of study.

Despite having training in “Inquiry Based Learning” almost all science teachers experience some

difficulty in intertwining the Common Core Standards with the NGSS, as it seems like such an

enormous task. At this time, the department is carefully choosing concepts and practices that

reflect all the new standards and assessing and re-writing pacing guides and curriculum to blend

all these elements together into a cohesive whole called “Science Curriculum.”

Student instruction, engagement, classroom arrangements, and common assessments are all

requiring change. The science department is working diligently to accomplish this;

unfortunately, it will not be an overnight change but a living document.


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The current text books are over ten years old and contain only fragments of useable reading and

laboratory exercises that can be used to meet the NGSS. The nature of science also forces the

textbooks to fall out of date quickly. In the past year, several physics’ theories have unified, new

elements have been discovered in chemistry, the paths of human evolution have required

reexamination as well as adding new information on the DNA revolution in biology. And finally,

the discovery of new earth-like planets and the probability of intra-stellar travel looming ever

closer has changed in the earth sciences. This new information requires teachers to rethink how

and why it is necessary to teach science.

Since 2012, technology use in the science classrooms has increased. In addition to the document

cameras in each classroom, specialized technology such as an analytical balance, Gel

Electrophoresis equipment, and colorimeter probes have been added. These tools will expose

students to the current technology being used in science laboratories worldwide.

New curriculums being offered in 2017 and 2018 are AP Chemistry, Sports Medicine, and

MESA class and club. These new classes provide students with real world experiences to

become college and career ready. In 2017 an LRHS MESA student placed first in the individual

Mathematics Challenge for the region, and two seniors competed in the Civil Engineering Bridge

Design project in 2018.

Structure:

With the adoption of the Common Core state standards, the paper and pencil Life Science tests

of the past have disappeared. In their place are computer-based testing for science. The format

of the questions and the need to master the technologies that are needed to complete the testing

are a challenge for the department in lieu of LRHS’s lack of computer accessibility for students.

The students do not have enough computers to allow adequate practice in this kind of testing

format; therefore, they do not have the skills and experience necessary to meet the demands of

this type of testing.

To further complicate the issue, the questioning format of the SBAC has also changed. Students

are asked to put several sources together and form a solution to a proposed problem within the

testing program, and there may be one or more acceptable answers to each problem posed. This

new testing asks students to put together, process, and analyze possible solutions; however, the

science staff finds it difficult to include practice problems and exercises because of lack of

research and collaboration time and lack of training in this sort of assessment.

The science department continues to tackle these issues with a positive attitude, shared ideas, and

a spirit of growth as different demands are made to make our students college and career ready.

Personnel and Facility Challenges:

In the past three years, the science department has both hired and retired several science teachers.

In 2016/17, Science Department Chair, Sean Duncan, accepted a position with the district as a

Curriculum and Student Services Assistant Superintendent mid-year which left the department


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needing a replacement. At the same time, the economy was experiencing a surge of new growth

and a downturn in the numbers of graduates trained to teach high school science because the

demand for science experienced workers increased in the private sector. It became more and

more difficult to find qualified personnel to take on the role of high school science teaching.

The department initially hired a temporary teacher from another district but were unable to retain

her as she moved on to Minnesota to be with her aging parents. After posting the position again,

a gentleman with university experience accepted; however, he failed to meet the expectations of

district employment and was released. Finally, the district contacted a retired Galt High School

science teacher, who agreed to return for a semester to assist us until the end of the school year.

After posting again in 2017/18 the position was filled by an intern, who worked out very well but

became pregnant and opted to stay closer to her home instead of commuting. At the present

time, our Physics teacher is out on maternity leave with another retired teacher filling in with a

probationary contract. At the beginning 2018/19, one of the longest teaching district science

teachers unexpectedly retired and moved out of state. The department has had ongoing difficulty

in filling her position. Our department also has a second-year intern who is teaching Biology,

and AVID 9 and 10 classes. She anticipates completing her credentialing coursework in June

and will apply for her Clear Credential afterwards.

The science department has added a new Sports Medicine teacher. She was previously a long-

term substitute teacher and athletic trainer in the district who wrote the curriculum for Sports

Medicine Classes and received certification. She now has a full schedule teaching both Human

Anatomy and Sports Medicine in her first year as a teacher as well as maintaining her

responsibilities as an athletic trainer.

With the shortage of science teachers, current teachers are taking on more responsibilities; for

example, the Science Department chair is teaching Forensics, AP Biology, Biology and the

Living Earth (9th grade Biology) and three sections of College and Career Readiness as an

overtime teacher, in addition to chairing the department. Another solution was to decrease the

number of Biology students by increasing numbers of students in Agricultural Biology this year

and hiring additional staff to fill the AG Biology positions.

Although the department has been unable to attract and keep qualified candidates, on the positive

side, the influx of new teachers has brought with them many useful new ideas which continue to

be implemented.

In reference to facility challenges, at the present time, the science department shares science

laboratories/classrooms with a Mathematics teacher and a Health/Physical Education Teacher

instead of science teachers which often makes setting up labs and collaboration difficult. The

department, however, was pleased to pass a site inspection from OSHA, Cosumnes Fire

Department, and district maintenance to check our facilities and protocol for safety and accident

prevention.


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WASC World Language Department Narrative:

Curriculum and Textbooks:

The World Language Department adopted new Spanish textbooks because the previous series

was 14 years old. The implementation started in 2013-14 with Spanish 1 and continued in

subsequent years with Level 2 and 3. The textbook is organized at a slower pace as compared to

the previous textbook which contains more scaffolding for ease in acquiring the language. The

students not only have online access to the textbook, but also vocabulary and grammar support as

well as the capability of recording audio samples for teacher feedback. The textbook series

revolves around the AP Spanish themes as well as allowing for practice of the structure of the

AP test. It also comes with modified assessments and updated culture readings. The only

negative is that the Spanish 3 textbook doesn’t cover the same amount of grammar as the

previous textbook series. Thus, the creation of the Spanish 4 class.

Because of the new hybrid schedule, language students have “doubled up,” taking levels 1 & 2 or

levels 2 & 3 in the same year, particularly those who are worried about the semester “gap” that

can occur on a 4x4 block schedule. This last year, the department noticed more students taking

advantage of this opportunity. The need is to make sure that incoming freshmen are aware when

choosing their schedules of the possibility of taking multiple Spanish classes in a school year in

order to complete their World Language requirements sooner. Additionally, the department has

proposed a new course, “Spanish for the Workplace” that would address the potential gap in

course sequence for level 3 students although enrollment was not enough for the course to be

offered this year.

Due to a loss of 20% of instructional time when transitioning to the block schedule and the

slower pacing of the Spanish 3 textbook, the department has expanded the Spanish 4/AP courses

to two separate classes. Students must take Spanish 4 before taking AP Spanish Language &

Culture. Spanish 4 is taken in the fall while AP Spanish is taken in the spring. This allows for

all grammar to be completed in Spanish 4, allowing focus on the themes in AP Spanish. This was

only possible due to the 4 x 4 block schedule. This has kept all students, both second language

learners and heritage speakers, successful on the AP Language exam. Beginning in 2020/21,

students will have to “double-up” and take two courses in one year in order to take AP Language

which has recently been changed to an A/B course in their senior year.

In order to help all students meet the new graduation requirement of two years studying a world

language, the department has divided the level 1 curriculum into two new courses to be offered

starting in the 2019-2020 school year: providing a slower paced pathway, allowing more time for

processing of concepts, re-teaching of difficult material, and enrichment activities.

Technology:

From the World Language student perspective, the limited computer lab time has significantly

curtailed the number and variety of technology-based activities offered. Currently, computers

are used minimally (3-6 times per semester) for review before unit exams and/or during


31

administration of final exams. There are only two labs on campus that are equipped with the

MP3 program necessary to record oral samples, which students ultimately use when taking the

AP Spanish Language & Culture exam. This is hardly enough time to become familiar with the

program. AP Spanish students have had to resort to recording oral samples on their phones in

order to get practice feeling comfortable speaking into a computer, yet not becoming familiar

with the program that will be used for the final exam/AP test.

On the instructional side, all levels of Spanish administer common unit tests, midterm and final

exams, and Spanish teachers are using Illuminate to collect and analyze data for the midterms

and finals, as well as Levels 2, 3, and 4 lesson quizzes. All world language teachers post daily

assignments as calendar events on CANVAS, and 3 out of 5 teachers use the CANVAS

gradebook. All classes have electronic copies of notes and worksheets archived on CANVAS

for student reference, and Level 4/AP regularly uses the discussion board function. All levels

use a variety of electronic submissions of work as is appropriate to the level (audio/video

recordings, images, text), and a few online tests/quizzes are administered through CANVAS.

Seal of Biliteracy:

The implementation of the State Seal of Biliteracy at LRHS began in the 2012-13 school year.

The number of students receiving the State Seal of Biliteracy has increased over time: 2012-

2013 (19), 2013-14 (28), 2014-15 (29), 2015-16 (44), 2016-17 (37), and 2017-18 (38). In the

2017-2018 school year, the State of California added an additional requirement for oral

proficiency to the seal qualification process, but LRHS has not seen any negative impact on the

students’ achievement. Additionally, the department has had a handful of students who have

received the Seal of Biliteracy for both German and Spanish simultaneously.

Facilities and district-wide impacts:

At the end of the 2016-17 school year, the German teacher at GHS, was pinked slipped due to

anticipated district budget cuts. She left GHS, and a Spanish teacher was hired in place of the

German teacher for the 2017-2018 school year. The students wanting to meet their world

language requirement in German were bussed from GHS to LRHS for that year, impacting the

German classes at Liberty Ranch. The summer before the 2018-19 school year, the Spanish

teacher position was eliminated, and the German teacher position was partially reinstated. Only

German 1 is currently offered on the GHS campus, and all upper level students were given the

option to travel to LRHS. Also, one Spanish teacher was previously teaching in a cooking

classroom, but all teachers are now in regular classrooms.

WASC Visual and Performing Arts Department Narrative:

Curriculum and Classes:

From 2012-2016 VAPA experienced growth within its department and established new classes

and hired new personnel to accommodate the increase in students. Increased class selections

were added to the department with new curriculum completed for each: digital photography I and


32

II, guitar, and theater production. The department hired a new 3D arts teacher. It also transferred

two teachers already employed by LRHS to the art department because of over enrollment and

after maintaining a substitute ceramics teacher for a year. A new kiln was donated to the

department in 2016, and new photography equipment was purchased for the digital photography

classes in 2016-2018. Because of the unexpected passing of the theater arts teacher in 2018, a

substitute teacher was employed, and then a permanent teacher was hired in 2018/19.

Structure:

Students at LRHS interested in band and theater classes work in a combined group with students

from GHS called GLUE. Because of smaller enrollment for these classes, performing arts

teachers travel between LRHS and GHS for classes, creating both a hardship for the teachers and

students. From 2012-2017, band, choir, guitar, and a beginning theater class were offered at

LRHS. The band members would then meet in the evening for a combined practice with GHS

students. For students wishing to take advanced theater classes, they would have to travel to

GHS in the afternoons for these classes.

Upon implementation of the hybrid block schedule and the increase in graduation requirements,

there have been more electives added in other departments and more academic requirements for

students to fulfill. Thus, students within the department have been decreasing, and teachers have

been moved into different art assignments. Currently, the new 3D Art instructor is teaching

beginning digital photography, and the former digital photography teacher now has only one

class of advanced photography and is also teaching geography. Most of the performing arts

classes have also been transferred to GHS because of combined numbers and inappropriate

facilities. Choir classes, guitar, and beginning theater still have classes at LRHS; however, band

and full theater production now takes place during the school day at GHS. Students from LRHS

are bussed there in the afternoon. Even though most band students are from LRHS, the band

facilities at LRHS are not conducive for the development of the students or for the classes

surrounding the room designated for band.

Despite the lack of facilities and the personnel changes, the students in the VAPA department

have been very successful. There have been multiple theatre awards at Mother Lode and Lenaea

showcases; band achievements include placing in major competitions and having individual

students selected for regional, all northern, and state bands; and visual arts students awarded at

the CA state fair and the Galt Winter Bird Festival.

WASC Physical Education Department Narrative:

Curriculum and Personnel:

From 2012-2014, Health class was a separate semester class for all 9th grade students. In

2015/16 Health class became part of the PE curriculum and was taught in the PE classes. One

day a week, the students met in a classroom to cover the health curriculum which is accessed by

teacher materials online. In 2018/19 health class was removed from the PE classes again

because of block scheduling and although taught by the PE teachers, is now a separate semester


33

class for freshmen students paired with the new College and Career Readiness program.

Students take one semester/term of each class.

New curriculum was also added to the PE department in the 2018/19 school year. These classes

were soccer, basketball and body sculpt. Equipment for these classes was also purchased. In

2019/20 there will be name changes to courses: Aerobics to “Walking and Fitness” and Body

Sculpt to “Cardio and Fitness.” A new football class will also start in 2019/20.

In 2014/15 PE teachers received IPads to travel with them into the facilities, so they could take

roll and keep track of exercise and physical testing instead of waiting to return to the locker

rooms. Students also use running aps on their phones to track their progress. With added

technology, teachers now use their cell phones for taking roll, entering grades, and parent

communication via email. As per school policy, students do not use cell phones during class.

In 2017/18, a long time PE teacher with the district retired and current teachers added more

classes to their schedules.

Facilities:

Major changes in facilities have helped the students in the PE department to reach their SLOs

healthy living goal. In 2017/18 a new updated, relocated weight room allows for better weight

training for athletes and a facility for athletic teams to work in during the off season. In August

of 2018 a new stadium with an all-weather track, turf field, lights, and bleachers was added to the

LRHS campus. In the past, because of a dirt track and grass practice field, during, and after

rainy days, the options for outdoor activities were very limited. Because LRHS has only one

small gym, PE classes were often forced to share this one small location. Concurrently, athletic

teams also had to share these locations or move to off campus sites.

Currently LRHS does not have a designated PE classroom on campus for testing students or for

giving lessons and demonstrations. LRHS also does not have a swimming pool to accomplish

the PE aquatics unit. Our current swim team members must travel before and after school to

GHS to use their pool facilities.

Despite the lack of some facilities including a second gym, swimming pool, and a sports/PE

classroom, the LRHS athletic teams have been very successful winning 21 league championships

at the varsity level in a variety of sports.

WASC Agriculture Department Narrative:

Curriculum and Facilities:

The implementation of PBL has been very exciting for the AG program and has created a strong

marriage between the department’s teaching style and curriculum. Professional development

with outside sources such as HighTech High has been eye opening and has helped the AG

teachers enhance PBL in the classroom as well as ensuring the learning process is authentic for


34

students to be college and career ready. A difficulty for students is adjusting to less direct

instruction in the classroom, and more exploratory learning.

In 2015, the agriculture program adapted the three course UCCI courses. These classes are A-G

approved, NGSS aligned, and relevant to current agriculture practices. These classes are

cohesive in their manner, one easily building upon another. While these classes have been a huge

asset and courses are very complete, there are very few resources available to teachers which

poses a challenge in daily teaching.

In 2018/19 for the first time, the agriculture department now has a comprehensive Horticulture

pathway of three courses that build upon each other. The classes are A-G approved and

articulated and are preparing students to enter the horticulture industry. Last year students piloted

the horticulture and floriculture student certification test, and Ag teacher, Mandy Garner, became

a California Certified Florist. Extensive facility development happened with the outdoor learning

area including greenhouse, shade house, garden beds, compost area, rainwater collection, storage

building, solar panels, sales area, and the McCaffrey fruit tree orchard.

For the Ag Mechanics pathway, small engines and diesel engine curriculum was updated and

approved. An investment was made to purchase new welding and power mechanics tools and

engine kits that are used in the industry. These tools are being used for American Welding

Society Certifications.

In 2016, the agriculture department developed a Food Science: From Farm to Fork curriculum

and utilized an unused culinary facility on our campus. The department installed 40 garden beds

for students to learn how to grow their own food and learn how to prepare that food into healthy

meals. Students may use this class as a fourth-year class in the Agriscience Pathway.

Besides the extensive facility improvements already mentioned, the agriculture building (700s)

was also completed and two AG vehicles (truck and van) were purchased.

Agriculture students continue to be successful with leadership responsibilities and competitions

at the local and national levels. AG teams in welding, parliamentary procedures, marketing,

public speaking, agriscience, Ag sales, farm records, job interview, and floriculture have taken

top places in the region and the state in many competitions since 2012, as well as received many

accolades for livestock and animal competitions at county and state fairs. Through participation

in the Agriculture, these students work countless hours with dedicated staff members to prepare

them for these real-world experiences of competition.

Personnel and Grants:

Since 2012, several teachers have moved onto different opportunities including graduate school,

industry, and distance education as well as relocating due to family obligations. The department

has been able to retain quality teachers within the program; however, losing new agriculture

teachers is a loss to the community and students. The department has had a few student teachers,

and the retraining of new staff can be time consuming which takes away from moving forward

with a common vision. However, the department has increased numbers, enhanced programs,


35

and implemented new classes with a dedicated agriculture staff many who have received

certificates and awards for their efforts.

Through over $400,000 in grants from CRANE and the Central Region, the Ag Department has

been able to purchase a tremendous amount of industry standard materials for students to be

current and trained on material used in industry. In addition, it has paid for student/teacher

certifications, professional development for teachers, encouraged articulation with community

colleges, and helped to develop the Horticulture Pathway. While this is a huge positive for

students and teachers, the implementation has become very time consuming for teachers.

WASC Special Education Department Narrative:

Curriculum and Structure:

The Special Education department has had many changes and improvements since 2012 to better

service the students at Liberty Ranch High School. In the last few years, the department has

changed the model of services to inclusion in the general education classrooms with SAI

supports. From 2012-2014 LRHS maintained Special Education RSP classes for each of the core

subjects and provided curriculum support for those classes. In 2015/16 LRHS began the

inclusion model with grade level curriculum support classes for those students. Most special

education students were mainstreamed (included) in the core general education classes. The

support at this time consisted of either paraprofessionals or special education teachers monitoring

core classes making sure accommodations were being implemented, and students were able to

access the curriculum. This change occurred as a result of state and federal changes around

better preparing students for life beyond the K-12 system. Currently, Special Education teachers

and paraprofessionals continue this monitoring process in a variety of classes to help RSP

students be successful. With the inclusion model, the SPED department has also increased the

teaching staff from four education specialists to six, plus additions to the paraprofessional staff.

These teachers and paraprofessionals were also given laptops to accurately record information

being completed in the classrooms. In 2013/14 a team teaching approach was first tried with

limited success due to lack of collaboration time and training. Currently in Math Foundations

and Integrated Math 1, a co-teaching model is also being implemented with a math teacher and

special education teacher.

The Special Education Department has also added an SDC class in 2018/19. Previously this

class was only offered on the GHS campus.

A current program that was implemented in 2018 is the “Social Exchange Program.” Partnering

with the Leadership program and leadership teachers, this program is focused on improving the

social pragmatic skills of some of the Special Education students, while providing them with the

opportunity to form relationships with their peers. They participate in meaningful, fun, and

needed verbal and social interactions, and they become more involved here on campus. Special

Education Students identified to need support with social pragmatic skills and relationship

building will be paired with leadership students whom have shown great leadership

qualities. Students will engage in social interactions within the framework of the leadership and


36

activities class, participate in its functions, and heighten the possibilities of their social pragmatic

progress through building relationships with some of our best leaders on campus. Seventeen

students within the Special Education classification were chosen for this program; room is

limited, so those who have been identified with the most need were chosen. Some students have

higher pragmatic skills than others, and these students were chosen for the program, given an

innate, high level need to form social relationships and try and bridge social isolation here on

campus due to their various disabilities.

WASC Information Technology Department Narrative:

From 2012-2016, the LRHS Computer Science Department was establishing technology courses

on campus. The department had only one teacher who implemented a small program of students

who advanced through computer science to video production where students worked on HAWK

TV and filmed productions such as the LRHS graduation. In 2013 the department added new

courses including a new game design course, Computer Applications, and Video Production. In

June of 2017, as the information technology pathway was being established, the technology

instructor retired. In 2017/18, a former English teacher took over the position but was released at

the end of 2017/18. At the beginning of 2018/19, a new technology instructor was hired to start

and implement the information technology pathway. Currently students are completing

computer science classes, doing advanced video productions to reinstate Hawk TV, and

competing in a robotics challenge. Students are also enrolled in classes that prepare them to take

several IT industry certification exams such as CompTIA, A+, and Certiport IC3. Students also

produce live TV shows featuring athletics and community events.

WASC AVID Narrative:

The AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) program undergoes changes each year

depending on the support of the county, district, and LRHS administration. In the past, the

district would not designate specific teachers for AVID even though they may have been trained

in AVID instruction. In the past, the district/administration has used the AVID classes as a place

to put teachers out of their credentialed subject matter. Also, on the past six period day, many

students did not have room in their schedules to take an AVID class; some committed to taking

the class were willing to take a summer school class for PE. The health and growth of the

program depends on the level of support and with the high turnover rate in district and

administration in the past; the AVID program seems to be in a constant rebuilding mode. Also,

with teachers constantly changing, there is a difficulty in retaining students.

Currently, AVID is growing in our AVID district (Region 3), school district, and school site.

There was a new county supervisor the last two years and in 2018 another new one will be

installed. Because of current growth, the supervisors are constantly rearranging site caseloads

and certification visits. As AVID is an A-G elective course, there have been many recent

benefits for enrollment in this program: the hybrid block schedule greatly enhances the ability of

students to take this course and still meet all their requirements; there is a strong 8th grade AVID

program at McCaffrey middle school; and with the new graduation requirements, students must

take either CCR (College and Career Readiness) or AVID 9. This year the program has four


37

sections of AVID 9, and one each for AVID 10, 11, and 12. We have three teachers instructing

these classes and have the district coordinator as a member of this team on the LRHS campus. In

2019/20 the program hopes to see increasing enrollment in all levels of AVID.


38

Progress on the Schoolwide Action Plan from 2012

Goal #1: Increase student success of each of our identified subgroups: Hispanic/Latino,

EL, and SED to raise their academic achievement levels by measuring the number of

students on pace to graduate and those successfully completing University of California

A-G requirements. ESLR #2—Academic Achievers

ACTION PLAN PROGRESS

1. Incoming freshmen will be

given an ELA and Math

placement test in May and placed

in appropriate classes.

Due to administration changes in 2013/14, students in the

feeder schools did not take placement tests in May. Freshmen

were placed into classes based on their 8th grade class grades,

teacher recommendation, and past CST results. However, at

the end of 2014/15, all students in English were given the

Stanford Diagnostic Reading Tests to identify their reading

grade-level equivalent. The director of curriculum as well as

English teachers evaluated those tests to make comparisons

with reading level, class grades, and standardized testing

results. In 2015/16, all incoming freshmen were given the

SDRT to determine their appropriate placement in English 9 or

English 9 Honors and the Algebra I to determine placement in

math.

All freshmen are given the SRI reading Lexile test and the

MDPT math test before entering LRHS. Placement for classes

uses these tests along with 7th grade CAASPP scores and for

honors level classes, a teacher recommendation. Upon

receiving 8th grade CAASPP scores, placement for students is

reevaluated and changed if needed. Students have taken the

placement tests either on Shadow day visits to LRHS or at their

home school depending on school site. Currently the student

will be taking the tests at the feeder schools.

2. EL students who have not been

re-designated will be assigned an

EL support class where ELD

strategies and study skills are

emphasized.

LRHS had 38 (2013/14) and 49 (2014/15) students who were

not Reclassified (RFEP). Most of these students were enrolled

in one period EL support class with a bilingual teacher and

instructional aid. In 2013/14 we had three New Comers (less

than 12 months in the US) who were placed in the PASSAGE

program and one junior who was placed in mainstream classes.

In the 2014/15 school year we also had four New Comers, but

LRHS placed them in one period of EDGE Fundamentals and

EDGE C. In the 2015/16 year, EL classes were established for

students. There were six students enrolled in EL 1 /2 for a


39

two- period block and 28 students enrolled in EL 3/4 for one

period. These classes were using the EDGE program and

Course II of English 3D.

In 2016/17 the EL classes were removed and an ELD Academy

was formed. Because of the new block schedule, students not

reclassified from Galt High School and Liberty Ranch High

School were place in the two-hour block class with a single

teacher and bilingual aides. In 2017/18, this academy

instructed students at each of their separate schools. In 2018,

the academy, taught by an English teacher with a TESOL

degree, consists of two 90-minute blocks for a full year on an

A/B schedule.

3. Organize a task force to

address issues of parent

involvement for all subgroups.

This task force was never developed; however, the

administration and leadership teams, as well as departments

have continued to address this action plan. LRHS has strong

booster clubs in the following areas: Athletic, FFA, Combined

Bands (GLUE) and Theatre. Although the former PTSA

committee has disbanded, LRHS has an active ELAC

committee as well as a School Site Council. Currently parents

can access information about LRHS activities through the

LRHS newsletter, website, and newly developed Facebook

page. They can also access grades through PowerSchool and

CANVAS. Teachers and administration communicate with

parents through phone calls, emails, and phone dialers while

there is also bilingual office staff available to communicate

with Spanish-speaking parents. Many departments also connect

with parents by using grade reports, homework assignments and

syllabi posted on to CANVAS, Remind 101, mini-conferences

with student and parent for a notebook checks, Monday

Updates, email, and progress reports signed by parents. With

the new math CPM program and new social science adoptions,

parents can also access the textbooks and concepts online. In

2014/15 a district parent program, Parent Institute for Quality

Education (PIQUE) was brought to Galt as a means of parent

involvement. This program was open to the parents of English

Learners in the district. Fifteen LRHS EL parents completed the

program.

LRHS consistently makes parents welcome on campus for

Back-to-School and Open House nights, Showcase nights,

Homecoming events, Honor Roll Assembly, sporting events,

parent conferences, and committees. LRHS continues to look


40

for new ways to involve parents and all stakeholders in the

learning process.

4. Use data to identify student

needs to guide instruction and

teaching practices.

The following testing data has been used to guide instruction

and formulate Best Practices: SRI testing, Smarter Balance

tests and practice tests, CAHSEE tests (2012-2016) CELDT

tests (ELPAC), Stanford Diagnostic Reading Test (2012-2016),

Illuminate, BMI apps for testing in PE, common benchmark

assessments by departments, student “F” lists, and re-teaching

and re-testing by teachers.

Currently teachers in departments are working on common

assessments to test the Common Core and NGSS standards.

The results of these tests will be used to modify the teaching

practices and reteach different standards.

5. Further address the PASSAGE

PLC for at-risk 9th grade students

in English and/or math for

targeted instruction and support

and explore options for continued

support in their 10 -12th grade

years.

The PASSAGE program was dissolved in 2015/16. It was

determined that grouping the at-risk 9th grade students together

for math, English, and science as a system of tracking was not

providing the desired outcome. Although teachers worked

together to establish a program of rigor and positive social

atmosphere, grade data indicated that students, although some

were improving in academic skills, were not experiencing the

benefits of being in classes with peers who saw education as a

positive experience. In 2015/16 Freshman Houses (Teams)

were established. These teams consisted of English, Science,

PE, and math teachers. There was also a Freshman House

coordinator given one period in the teaching schedule to work

with teachers and students. Link Crew class devoted time to

help provide activities for the freshmen houses. Due to

difficulties in scheduling, the freshman houses were disbanded

in 2017/18.

Currently, at risk students are identified through placement

testing in English and math. These students are then placed in

language acceleration classes or Math Foundations. These

classes are purposely kept at a limited number of students for

more interaction with the teacher and the paraprofessionals

assigned to these classes. Link Crew continues to support

students who are not excelling academically or socially through

a variety of activities for freshmen including in-class academic

lessons, encouraging notes, and separate activities for failing

freshmen such as Dudes and Donuts and Chicks and Chocolate.

Currently LRHS also has a freshmen coordinator for one period


41

on an A/B day who oversees the required class for freshmen,

College and Career Readiness. The coordinator helps secure

resources for the class and meets with at-risk freshmen to help

encourage and guide them to success.

6. Explore options to provide a

remediation program for students

to be “retaught and reassessed.”

From 2012-2015 students who had failed a class had the option

to take the class for credit recovery through Advanced

Academics during the school day. In 2013/14 one class was

offered during the day; in 2014/15 two classes were offered as

well as an after-school credit recovery program for four hours

one day a week. After assessing the cost and success of the

students in Advanced Academics, the program was eliminated

in 2015/16. In 2015/16 seniors who were behind in credits from

both LRHS and Galt High School were completing credit

recovery in an after-school program that was offered two days a

week. On Tuesday, students with only 5 credits to recover

completed work and took tests in the LRHS library from 4-6

P.M. On Thursday students that needed to recover 10-20 credits

met in the LRHS library form 4-7 P.M. Students with more

than 20 credits to recover as seniors were transferred to the

continuation school, Estrellita.

This credit-recovery system was eliminated in 2016/17.

Because of the new hybrid block schedule, students who failed

a class in the first two terms would have the opportunity to

retake the class immediately in the next term. Theoretically this

immediate remediation was one of the reasons for the change to

block scheduling. Most classes for 3rd and 4th terms are already

filled with students, leaving failing students to retake the class

in the summer or the next year. Currently, juniors and seniors

who are behind in numerous credits may also remediate in the

Flex Academy during the school day using the online Fuel Ed

program.

Other remediation by individual teachers consists of tutoring

before school, during lunch, and after school; retaking of tests;

and re-teaching of significant concepts within the classroom.

7. Continue to provide tutoring in

ELA and math. The math department has continued since 2012 to provide

tutoring after school for students on Monday, Tuesday, and

Thursday. Participation in this tutoring is very high.

The English department has also offered tutoring after school

for students on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. Participation

in this program, even though it has been held in the computer


42

lab, has been significantly low. In 2015/16 Tuesdays and

Thursdays tutoring was offered during lunch in the computer

lab in the hopes that more students would attend. These times

were also not well-attended. Currently this program is held after

school in the Flex Academy classes so students can continue to

access the computers and can also complete credit recovery

units. The English Department continues to pursue other means

of tutoring that would be more beneficial to students.

Both the English and math departments also enlist upper grade

level student tutors in the classroom to help those students

struggling with this course work.

8. Explore opportunities to

provide more technology access

to students.

As listed in the significant school changes, much advancement

in technology has been made on the LRHS campus. In the past,

it has been difficult for teachers to obtain time to take their

classes to the computer labs for instruction and assignment

completion. In 2015/16 room 407 was made into a permanent

computer lab instead of only being available for a few periods

to teachers. Unfortunately, with the adding of digital

photography to the curriculum, this lab is used all day and is

unavailable to other teachers. In 2016/17 room 132 was

changed from a classroom to a computer lab. Thus, LRHS now

has two permanent computer labs available for classroom

teacher use. Two computers were added to the library for

student use (5 total). A new mobile lab (15 computers) has

been added to the library and students can check out the Surface

Pros for use before school, during lunch, or after school.

Teachers may also reserve the library for this computer use.

Because of the update in the technology infrastructure, current

technology access has been improved for students by providing

them with individual Wi-Fi and student passwords. This makes

access and security of the system much easier. Students can

now use their computers or phones to access PowerSchool and

CANVAS to check grades and assignments and store

documents and access the LRHS website and Facebook page to

check calendars and activities. The district technology

committee is researching a 1-1 program for student computer

use and will be piloting select classes during the spring of 2018.


43

Goal #2: Provide an effective transition program for incoming freshmen to reduce teacher

referrals for defiance and disruption, decrease the number of classes failed, and increase

performance scores in freshmen core classes. ELSR #1 Healthy Individual (positive

relationships); ESLR #2 Academic Achiever and ESLR #3 Well-rounded citizens (respect

diverse cultures and contribute to society)

1. Fully implement Link Crew

program including orientation and

a Link Crew class.

Since 2010 LRHS has implemented a Link Crew program with

two trained advisors. In 2011/12 a Link Crew class was

developed and has continued to 2018/19. As LRHS numbers of

freshmen remain stable (near 300) each year, the Link Crew

program also remained stable with approximately 65 members

in the club. The class has fluctuated between one class of 20

students when first introduced to two classes totaling 55

students. Currently there is one class of 28 students. Numbers

fluctuate depending on current members’ schedules and

placement of the class with other singleton classes. Members

train a day in May and a day in August to prepare for the

freshman orientation which lasts from 8 AM to 12 PM three to

four days before the beginning of school. During orientation

freshmen students complete whole class activities in the gym,

then meet in small groups with Link Crew members who

complete activities and take students on a campus tour. These

activities help the freshmen students become acclimated to the

campus and provide for new friendships with peers and upper

level students on campus. Link Crew class and club continues

enhancing the on-campus experience for freshmen and other

students throughout the year by completing many activities.

Some of them include:

Alex’s Lemonade Stand Cancer Sucks: Think Pink FLUD Day Mini-Lessons—Link Crew groups go into freshmen classes and do activities and teach a lesson. Zombie Walk Ice bucket Challenge Blankets for Christmas Super Hero Day Gamer Nights Flannel Friday Dudes and Donuts Chicks and Chocolate A variety of encouraging notes to freshmen

2. Continue to provide “Making

High School Count” presentations The “Building Bridges” presentations have been eliminated, but

the counselors have continued the “Making High School


44

at all feeder schools and

“Building Bridges” presentations

to all parents of incoming 9th

graders.

Count” which is presented to 8th grade students. Originally the

counselors went to the feeder schools to present, but when

LRHS introduced Shadow Days, the counselors chose to

present the information when the students were here on the

LRHS campus.

3.Provide freshmen “Reality

Check” presentation

This presentation is continuing for our freshman from 2012-

2018.

4. Provide freshmen

assembly From 2012-2014/15 a separate freshman assembly was not

completed. With the implementation of Freshman Houses in

2015/16 a freshman assembly/rally was completed by dividing

the freshman class by English teachers into three different

groups. They were provided t-shirts and competed in a variety

of competitions to create unity and spirit in the freshmen class.

Since 2016/17, one freshmen assembly per year has been

completed in the spring. These assemblies have been organized

by the Link Crew class around a specific theme with a message

to unify the freshman class as they prepare for the end of the

year finals.

Goal #3: Transition and fully implement the California Common Core Standards and Next

Generation Science Standards in all English, math, and science classes with a special

emphasis on literacy. ESLR#2 Academic Achiever and ESLR #4 Knowledgeable Individual

(21st century skills).

1. Provide training for all

staff on new standards.

The district provided training for teachers on the CCS and the

NGSS standards on numerous occasions in 2014-2015. The

trainings have been provided by outside sources and members

of LRHS staff. Trainings have continued on an as needed basis

by different departments into 2018. See the PD File

2. Implement new

benchmark exams and

practice material

incorporating literacy.

By 2014/15, benchmark quarter and semester exams were

implemented in each subject. The results of many of these

exams were entered into School Net. These findings were then

noted by the departments. SchoolNet was eliminated as a data

tool in 2015/16.

With the change to CC and NGSS, new curriculum and new

interim assessments and benchmarks had to be established

district-wide. Just as these new measures were being

implemented, the change to the hybrid block schedule in

2016/17 caused a change in the common assessments once


45

again. With the loss of teaching minutes in the classroom, new

electives being added, new textbooks being adopted, and a new

data system being implemented (Illuminate), instructors have

been focused on adapting and modifying existing and new

curriculum and teaching strategies. Each department currently

has identified common assessments for their levels and classes

and are using collaboration time to analyze the current data.

Each department has also been incorporating CC Literacy

Standards using AVID strategies and CLOSE reading activities

within their classes for improving literacy.

3. Update the curriculum

and textbooks to align for

all English, math, and

science classes.

The curriculum was updated in both English and math in

2014/15 and in the summer of 2015/16. The curriculum has

since been modified for the hybrid block schedule and the

addition or deletion of classes in the core subjects. All English

and math courses 9-12 utilize the common core standards and

implement common benchmarks and assessments. Math has

also adopted new CPM materials. Science classes are revising

curriculum and have provided supplemental material to meet

the needs of NGSS. See the department significant changes in

the above section.

Goal #4: To create a school-wide 5-year plan for staff development in the areas of

technology, new standards (CCSS, NGSS), common assessments, and effective instructional

strategies. ESLR# 2 Academic Achievers, ESLR #4 Knowledgeable Individuals, ESLR #5,

Self-motivated

1. Re-establish the

professional development

committee.

A Professional Development committee was reestablished in

2015/16. This committee consisted of 6-8 members who met to

create a survey for the staff and to develop a professional

development plan for this year and in the future. In 2016/17

this committee did not meet and no permanent plan for

Professional Development was created. At their January

meeting, the Instruction Committee decided to take on the task

of helping the district administration, along with the three

principals, coordinate and manage the Professional

Development calendar for the 2018/2019 school year.

2. Survey for staff on staff

development needs.

A survey was given to the staff in 2015/16. The result of this

survey indicated more training was need in the newly acquired

teacher software for grading and testing.


46

3. Create a staff

development calendar for

the 2013/14 school year and

beyond.

This calendar was created for 2015/16 but not continued

because of the change in district leadership. Currently there is a

collaboration Wednesday calendar to indicate if the

collaboration days are district, staff, or teacher days. Even

though the calendar was not developed, teachers attended a

plethora of hours of Professional Development offered by the

district and/or outside sources as seen through the PD Link

4. Conduct an annual

review of the professional

development plan and

calendar.

This was not completed. The plan in 2018/19 is to work with

the newly formed PD committee, and by using the LRHS

critical learning needs for students and current Action Plan,

complete a three-year PD plan that follows these goals.

Follow-up on Schoolwide Key Areas of Growth from the 2012 Visiting

Committee:

During the first self –study in March of 2013, the visiting committee suggested the following key

areas of growth for LRHS which serve as a major focus for ongoing school improvement:

1. The growing Latino population and their special needs and issues need to be addressed in a

thoughtful and systematic way. Their inclusion is not an issue; their success is. Attention to

several specific, related issues for ELLs is essential to successfully working with these

students. Developing a stable, consistent, broadly-based program is essential. In addition, the

involvement of Latino parents is a major concern. Because of the importance of family in the

Latino community, this is an area of encompassing concern.

The following items have been accomplished since 2012 (Most of these items have been discussed in

the previous significant changes in the district and departments):

Two EL classes, then an ELD Academy, now two 90-minute ELD blocks a day

AVID strategies were presented at staff meetings and used in classrooms for all students

ELAC Meetings once a month (4-10 members attend)

Website can be translated into Spanish

All documents from school sent home in English and Spanish including the phone dialer

Migrant education program on campus 1 day a week

Student tutors or pairing of EL students with bilingual students in the classroom and PE

Visual demonstrations and modeling examples are used as strategies in the classroom

Spanish version of the Biology textbook/ workbook

Math ebook

Academic language sentence stems

Spanish version of some tests

English structures for grammar used in World Languages

Vocabulary prefixes, suffixes, and root words for new words


47

Bilingual paraprofessionals in classrooms

Visual vocabulary lists

Emphasizing hands-on activities and graphic organizers

Bilingual Office staff who can also translate for parent meetings

Bilingual Administrators and counselor for parent contact

Items being considered and work in progress for ongoing school improvement:

Distributing lists of EL, re-designated, and migrant ed. students instead of just with names in

PowerSchool and/or requiring teachers to make their own list with instructional notes to turn in to

administration.

Consistent ELD program with a consistent teacher and bilingual paraprofessional

Outreach to Thornton (feeder school with Hispanic population)

More help for teachers contacting Spanish-speaking parents

Transportation/babysitting for parents during meeting times

Special leadership team for parent outreach

2. Socio-economically disadvantaged (SED) students have several unique and special needs.

While there is some “overlap” with Latino issues, there are also key needs that are unique to

SED students. There will often be a significant group of non-Latino students who are

classified SED, e.g. the “homeless” and students living on their own or with family support;

their special needs and issues must always be of special concern and addressed.

The following items have been accomplished since 2012 (Many discussed previously) It is also acknowledged that many of the RSP students also fit into this category.

Inclusion and mainstreaming of RSP students

Additional Paraprofessionals for support in the classroom

Part time outreach counselor

Full-time psychologist

Staff awareness through counselor notification

Curriculum support classes

Social Exchange for Leadership and RSP students

Extra support classes for math

Tutoring for math and English, and computers available for use

Free and reduced breakfast and lunch

Campus Resource officer for home visits

Fuel Ed for credit recovery


More time and resources for the group Strategies for Change

Parental outreach and involvement

New Parent Project


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3. Attention to and support for instructional improvement/development needs to be

systematically addressed. While many--most in fact—teachers are doing a commendable

job, the changes currently seen and those in the making can affect instruction in large

ways.

a) Technological advances need to be utilized: inclusion (development and utilization)

of every possible tool should be utilized; more equipment, better training, taking

advantage of all tools and opportunities must be a priority.

The following items have been accomplished since 2012 (Most items previously discussed)

New teacher computers, phones, LCD projectors and document cameras in all classrooms

Epson Smart Boards for some math teachers

Use of graphing technology and calculators in all levels of math

Geogebra and Desmos software (math)

Current online textbooks for Social Sciences and math

Some departments have online resources

SBAC practice assessments used in both English and math

Specialized technology for science (Gel Electrophoresis equipment and Colorimeter probes)

IPads, Co2 Laser Engraver, Plotter Printer, 5 Star (Ag Department)

Digital cameras and editing software

Drama production soundboard

Mobile apps, online blogs, video equipment (CSIT)

MP3 recording program software (World Language)

More computer access for students.

o There are four labs (two for all staff use, one for IT classes, one for yearbook and digital

photography) The library has five computer stations and 15 SurfacePros that can be checked out.

LRHS also has a variety of portable labs for student use in English and Ag class rooms.

Updated and current software programs: PowerTeacher Pro (PowerSchool), CANVAS, Illuminate

The basic goals for the Computer Science/Information Technology Pathway established.

New technology infrastructure for student access on own computers and phones.


Teacher training NEEDED in new and updated technology in the classroom and for the new data system

1-1 computers for students

b) New core curriculum, standards, federal benchmarks, common assessments, etc. all

have major impacts on instruction and must be addressed in the immediate future.

The following items have been accomplished since 2012 (most previously discussed):

Newly updated curriculum with common core assessments in English and math

New curriculum for courses in agriculture and in VAPA

Use of Smarter Balance interim assessments in English and math

Incorporation of AVID and CLOSE reading activities in classes, CC Literacy


49


Science developing curriculum and common assessments using the NGSS standards

All departments working on common core assessments after hybrid block change

c) Staff development and in-servicing needs are a continuing and permanent need.

While the school has done a good job of meeting individual needs, a comprehensive,

schoolwide 5-year plan for staff development in all areas, and across all areas needs to

be developed and put in place.

The following items have been accomplished since 2012:

Staff development on individual, department, and school-wide basis continues to be effective

See Professional Development Attachment


Professional Development Calendar and three-year plan

Other ongoing works in progress to consider in conjunction with the Schoolwide Action

Plan:

Staff survey in 2013 indicated that the greatest needs were technology, class choices for students, and an

increase in department budgets:

Increase in technology see previous comments

New class choices for students: See list in previous section and Course Catalog

Other stakeholders’ surveys in 2013 indicated class choice and college and career readiness are somewhat of a

problem at LRHS:

New classes listed above

In 2012/13, LRHS did not have a career center; 2013-2014/15 a career center technician was scheduled at

LRHS part-time; in 2015/16 LRHS had a career center technician full-time. From 2016-present LRHS

has had a part-time credentialed career counselor (shared with GHS). See previous comments on her

impact at LRHS.

Part of the new curriculum for English IV includes the ERWC “What’s Next Unit” which includes

college and career articles, reflections, research, a resume, and a college essay or workplace application.

Also, in English IV, seniors complete a research paper on a career choice.

ERWC units that apply concepts of annotating articles, group collaboration, and critical thinking have

been included in each English grade level

An ERWC class was added to the class course selections.

Work in all departments on presentations, use of technology, partner and group work on assignments and

projects; discussion and problem-solving assignments

Units in Government and Economics on charity research, voting, and financial spending decisions

Counseling giving seniors the 411 presentations

9th, 10th, 11th grades given a brief presentation on grad. Requirements, A-G, NCAA, and post-secondary

options

Human Impacts Units in each science discipline teaching global world views and 21st century skills

Articulation with community colleges for class credit and certification in computer and Ag classes


50

All classes, including electives, are annotating articles in their subject matters

As discussed, when using technology, accessing and submitting online assignments is required for some

classes to prepare students for work and college online assignments.

A College and Career Readiness class or AVID class is required at the freshmen level where they

establish short and long-term goals.

New CTE pathways have been developed

Graduation requirements have been increased due to the block schedule and allowing students to be more

college ready through A-G classes and pathways.

Parent Survey given to PTSA, ELAC, and Boosters in September 2015 (20 returned):

Most categories received “strongly agree with “or “somewhat agree with;” however, the most common

elements that need to be addressed are College and Career Readiness, Facilities, and Technology.

Progress in all three categories has been previously discussed.


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Chapter II

Student /Community Profile

and

Supporting Data and Findings


52

Chapter II: Student/Community Profile

Community Description

Liberty Ranch High School is located in southern Sacramento County, just outside the northeast

boundary of Galt, California. The city of Galt was founded in 1869, and while the area’s

economy has been primarily based on agriculture, there has been increased economic expansion.

Galt experienced rapid growth during the 1990s and early 2000s as a commuter town with many

of its inhabitants traveling to Sacramento, Lodi, or Stockton for employment. During the last ten

years, the employment picture has been brightening with increased job opportunities in

manufacturing, construction, and retail. The “Twin Cities Corridor” near the high school has

seen many businesses established including Walmart and numerous retail stores and fast food

restaurants. In spite of this growth and other economic challenges within the community, Galt

has preserved its safe, “small town” culture with hard-working families who welcome new

community members of many ethnicities and who maintain pride in the town’s history.

Liberty Ranch High School in Galt serving both a rural and suburban population was built in

response to overcrowding at its sister school, Galt High School. The campus of Liberty Ranch

High School was proposed in an area of increasing home construction and rising student

population. With the world-wide recession, home construction in the area halted and the school

is currently surrounded on three sides with farmland. A person traveling one block to the west

will enter a suburban community, while that same person heading east will encounter a rural area

of crop farming and dairies. Even though enrollment was declining, the Galt Joint Union High

School District made the decision to honor its promise to the community by opening Liberty

Ranch High School on August 18, 2009. Currently, home construction is increasing with a new

subdivision under construction to the southwest of campus and plans for a new subdivision to the

southeast of campus. In 2017, Liberty Ranch High School was annexed into the city of Galt,

therefore, enabling the school to be serviced by the Galt Police Department instead of the county

sheriff’s department.

Liberty Ranch High School has a diverse student population. Since 2012, the student population

has consistently remained near 1200 with the current population in 2018-19 at 1198. Students

enrolling in Liberty Ranch High School as freshmen enter from one of three feeder schools from

three different districts: Arcohe, New Hope and McCaffrey. The majority of students come

from the Galt Elementary School District and attend a suburban 7-8th grade single junior high

school, McCaffrey across the street from Liberty Ranch High School. These students then

separate and attend both Galt High School and Liberty Ranch High School for 9-12 grade.

Arcohe and New Hope schools are from smaller rural communities and are 1st-8th grade schools.

With the current transportation rules, the majority of our students walk, receive rides from


53

family, or drive their own vehicles. Students who attended Arcohe and New Hope receive bus

transportation. LRHS students come from varied backgrounds and housing: living on farms and

dairies, living in nearby rural small towns, living in subsidized housing, or living in the suburban

area with homes ranging above $500,000. The students reflect the surrounding areas’ diversity

in 2018/19 the ethnicity of the students on LRHS campus is as follows: Hispanic (520-43%);

White (514-43%); Two Races (86-7%); Black or African American (30-2%); Asians (27-2%)

with all other races being 1% or lower).

Family and Community Trends

According to City of Galt website, the city population in 2018 is 25, 983. In 2010, the Census

count in the area was 23, 647. The rate of change since 2010 is 1.15%. The five-year projected

growth for the population in the area is 27, 577. Currently the population is 49.2% male and

50.8% female. The median age in this area is 33.5, compared to the U.S. median age of 38.3.

The race and ethnicity for the Galt area in 2018 is as follows:

White Alone 63%

Black Alone 1.7%

American Indian/Alaska Native Alone 1.5%

Asian Alone 3.8%

Pacific Islander Alone .5%

Other Race 22.5%

Two or More Races 6.8%

Hispanic Origin (Any Race) 46.5%

From the 2010 Census and updated 2018 results, the household and income information for the

Galt area is as follows:

Housing

Currently, 70.5% (5, 766) of the 8,177 housing units in the area are owner occupied; 25.9%

(2,119), renter occupied; and 3.6% (292), are vacant. Currently, in the U.S., 56.0% of the

housing units in the area are owner occupied; 32.8% are renter occupied; and 11.2% are vacant.

In 2010, there were 7,678 housing units in the area - 69.6% owner occupied, 25.0% renter

occupied, and 5.4% vacant. The annual rate of change in housing units since 2010 is 2.84%.


54

Median home value in the area is $286,366, compared to a median home value of $218,492 for

the U.S. In five years, median value is projected to change by 4.43% annually to $355,676.

The average household size is 3.27 people with the number of families in the 2018 is 6, 289.

Income

Current median household income is $66,118 in the area, compared to $58,100 for all U.S.

households. Median household income is projected to be $76,944 in five years, compared to

$65,727 for all U.S. households. Current average household income is $80,897 in this area,

compared to $83,694 for all U.S. households. Average household income is projected to be

$94,438 in five years, compared to $96,109 for all U.S. households. Current per capita income is

$25,050 in the area, compared to the U.S. per capita income of $31,950. The per capita income is

projected to be $29,006 in five years, compared to $36,530 for all U.S. households

State and Federal Program Mandates

Liberty Ranch High School has the primary responsibility to follow all the state and federal

mandates.

Liberty Ranch follows the Uniform Complaint Procedure s(UCP), the William’s Act, Title IX,

Title X, and the education codes for suspension and expulsion as fully explained to students and

parents in the signed student handbook.

Teachers at Liberty Ranch High School attend mandatory training that includes Sexual

Harassment: student issues and responses, Bloodborne Pathogen: exposure prevention,

Workplace Safety, and Mandated reporting: child abuse and neglect.

GJUHSD is a Title I district and LRHS is a Title I school that follows all of the mandates and

guidelines for funding.

LRHS also participates in the CAASPP test programs including the SBAC, CAA, ELPAC, and

CAST.

Parent and Community Organizations

Some of the major parent and community organizations consists of the following:

The School Site Council made up of administration, teachers, parents, and students meets to

approve school site funds while making decisions on other schoolwide projects. (This committee

meets quarterly).


55

The ELAC (English Learner Advisory Committee) consisting of administration and parents

provides advisory support to the administration for the success of ELs on the LRHS campus.

Other district committees with parent and community involvement are the District Advisory

Committee-Title I and the District English Learner Advisory Committee- EL. Both of these

committees oversee the LCAP. Two other committees are the Parent Advisory Committee-

SPED and the Migrant Ed Advisory Committee-Migrant.

Parents are also encouraged to join the AG, GLUE, Theater, and Athletic Boosters on campus, as

well as the WASC focus groups. These groups bring forward ideas to implement for the success

of LRHS students and are a vital part of the decision-making process.

School/Business Relationships

Many Liberty Ranch programs and clubs have relationships with the businesses in Galt. Because

Galt is a relatively small city, the schools are supported by the surrounding community. The

CTE programs work with businesses in a variety of ways from internships and industry

certification to guest speaking and donations. LRHS work experience students work in the

community. Businesses are constantly making donations to clubs and the school through good

and services. These business relationships are given in more detail in Chapter III E.

Staff Description

Liberty Ranch High School has a staff of around 90 including certified and classified personnel.

In 2017/18 there were 59 certificated instructors, 2 full time counselors and 1 shared position

counselor,1 registrar, 1 psychologist, 1 library technician, 5-6 front office staff, 9-10

paraprofessionals, 1 shared outreach consultant, 1 nurse and nurse’s assistant, 2 campus security,

1 part time migrant education liaison and intern, 1 shared SRO, and numerous food services and

maintenance staff. The administrative team that has been in place for three years includes 1

principal, and 2 assistant principals.


56

Conclusions made from the above data: There is a wide variety of staff for instructional support,

however the staff ethnicity does not match the ethnicity of the school.

Beliefs and Establishment of the Mission, Motto, and Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs).

In 2009, Liberty Ranch High School developed its mission, motto, and ESLRs (Expected

Schoolwide Learning Results) now known as SLOs (Students Learning Outcomes). Staff,


57

student, and parent groups established and reviewed these statements which are posted in every

classroom in English and Spanish and available on the school website.

According to comments from our initial WASC review, the teacher, student, and parent groups

for the 2012 WASC self-study revised the ESLRs. In 2017-18 department and FOCUS groups

reviewed and moderately revised the mission, motto and SLOs removing the word

“personalized” educational opportunities in the mission and simplifying the SLOs to focus on the

major elements of the acronym “HAWKS.” The stakeholders now believe all statements are

relevant, teachable, learnable, and measurable for each student.

All Liberty Ranch High School stakeholders have a clear vision for the students of LRHS

as proposed by the mission statement.

Mission Statement:

It is our mission at Liberty Ranch High School to provide educational opportunities

in a safe, positive learning environment for all students empowering them to reach

their full potential as productive, responsible citizens.

Liberty Ranch High School Students Learning Outcomes

The commitment of Liberty Ranch High School is to promote life-long learning, effective

communication, and respect for self and others.

Liberty Ranch High School students are expected to be:

Healthy Individuals who-

Make healthy lifestyle decisions and establish positive relationships with others.

Academic Achievers who-

Demonstrate a mastery of academic standards through critical thinking, problem-solving, and communication.

Well-rounded Citizens who-

Understand global issues, respect diverse cultures, and contribute to the improvement of

their school and community.

Knowledgeable Individuals who-

Apply learning and 21st Century skills to their daily lives and future experiences.

Self-motivated Individuals who-

Persevere through challenges and progress towards their short term and long term goals.


58

Liberty Ranch High School

Motto

―Instilling PRIDE in our Community One HAWK at a time by-

Promoting

Respect,

Integrity,

Determination, and

Excellence

WASC Accreditation History

Liberty Ranch High School went through the initial WASC visit in 2009 and completed its first

WASC Self Study in 2012. LRHS was granted a 6-year accreditation with a 2-day mid-cycle

revisit in 2015.

LCAP Process: The Galt Joint Unified District invited all stakeholders to a meeting to discuss

and draft ideas for the LCAP. The Director of Curriculum and Instruction met with all

stakeholders to get input for the significant district needs for the LCAP. After meeting with the

District cabinet and having the CBO produce budgetary reports, the cabinet made

recommendations for the LCAP. The LCAP went through a variety of drafts after review by the

Schoolboard. These drafts were also made available to the public, and staff was informed at

district teacher workdays to provide further input. After the final draft was completed, it was

board approved and put on the website.

The following is a summary of the LCAP goals that relate to LRHS and our SPSA:

LCAP GOAL 1: College, Career, and Civic Readiness

*Percentage of four-year cohort graduates/seniors who completed AG requirements will increase

by 5% annually

*Percentage of four-year cohort graduates/seniors who completed at least one CTE pathway will

increase by 5% annually.

*Percentage of Students Who passed at least one of their AP Exams with a Score of 3 or Higher

will increase by 5% annually


59

2018/19 SPSA GOAL 1: College and Career readiness for all students.

GOAL: Increase success of all students by measuring the number of students on pace to graduate,

those successfully completing the University of California A-G requirements, and annual growth

of 200 on Lexile scores.

STRATEGY: During the 2016-2017 school year implement a school wide reading acceleration

program to address the reading Lexile level with struggling readers and English language learners

as measured by Language Live and Reading Inventory Assessments.

LCAP GOAL 2: Rigorous Learning & High Achievement

*The percentage of students reading proficiently will increase 10% annually, as measured by the

SRI Lexile assessment.

Baseline: May 2016 59%; May 2017 60%; May 2018 59%

*The percentage of graduating seniors achieving at least a 1300 Lexile will increase 10%

annually.

Baseline: 2016 22.4; 2017 25.8; 2018 33.5% (gain of 8%)

*The percentage of English Learners Making Annual Progress in Learning English will increase

by 5% annually.

Baseline: 2015 57.6%; 2016 31.5%; Current Data not available

*The percentage of English learners who are reclassified will increase by 2% annually

Baseline: 2015 7.3%; 2016 8.1%; 2017 6.1%; 2018 5.6% (decrease of .5%)

*Increase the percentage of students who meet and exceed standards on the CAASPP by a total

5% annually in English language arts and mathematics. (CAASPP results now are used for

EAP).

Baseline

CAASPP English 2016 Met or Exceeded Standard 60%

CAASPP Math 2016 Met or Exceeded Standard 23%

CAASPP English 2017 Met or Exceeded Standard 65.2% (Increase 5.3%)

CAASPP Math 2017 Met or Exceeded Standard 31.1% (Increase 8.1%)


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LRHS CAASPP English 2017 Met or Exceeded Standard 74%

LRHS CAASPP English 2018 Met or Exceeded Standard 57% (Decrease 17%)

LRHS CAASPP Math 2017 Met or Exceeded Standard 39%

LRHS CAASPP Math 2018 Met or Exceeded Standard 37% (Decrease 2%)

2018/19 SPSA GOAL 2: Rigorous learning and high expectations for all

learners

GOAL: Increase the percentage of English Learners making annual progress in learning English as

measured by the CELDT/ELPAC

STRATEGY: The academic progress of EL and RFEP Students, who have been re-designated within

a year, will be reviewed and if deemed necessary will be recommended to be placed in an ELD

class.

LCAP Goal 3: Transparent Communication and Engagement of All

Stakeholders

* Increase the percentage of students who graduate from high school by two percent annually as

measured by the Four-Year Cohort High School Graduation rate annually until the rate

approaches 100%.

Baseline: 2016 96.1%; 2017 98.2 (increase of 2.1%)

* Decrease the percentage of students who do not graduate from high school by two percent

annually as measured by the Four-Year Cohort Drop Out rate annually until the rate drops to 0.

*All schools will increase participation of parents of unduplicated pupils and of parents of

students with exceptional needs in School Site Council, School Advisory Committee (if

receiving Title I funds) and English Learner Advisory Committees, and the District Advisory

Committee and District English Learner Advisory Committee, as measured by attendance

records of each committee.

*All schools and the district will seek input from parents in decision making, as measured by

participation in annual parent survey.

*Increase the percentage of students who participate in at least one extracurricular or co-

curricular activity by 5% each year


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2018/19 SPSA GOAL 3: Open Communication & Participation for all stake

holders

GOAL: Develop a plan to increase parent involvement

STRATEGY: involve parents through committees (School Site Council, English Learner Advisory

Committee, Parent Teacher Student Association) with at least four regularly scheduled meetings

throughout the school year.

LCAP GOAL 4: Safe, Healthy, and Supportive School/Work

Environment for all.

*The percentage of staff, students and parents reporting that school is safe will increase by 2%

annually

*The percentage of staff, students and parents reporting a favorable Sense of Belonging at the

school will increase by 2% annually.

*The percentage of staff, students and parents reporting a favorable climate of support for

academic learning at the school will increase by 2% annually.

*The percentage of students who are suspended and expelled will decrease .5% annually.

*The percentage of EL students who are suspended will decrease 1% annually.

*Facilities Inspection Tool will continue to demonstrate that all schools meet the good repair

standard (# of identified instances where facilities do not meet the “good repair” standard” will

remain at 0.)

2018/19 SPSA GOAL 4: Safe, Healthy, and Supportive School/Work


GOAL: Provide a transition program for incoming freshman to help students acclimate, decrease

the number of classes failed and reduce teacher referrals for defiance and disruption.

Strategy: LRHS will fully implement the Link Crew program including an orientation, academic

outreach, and class to support the difficult transition from middle school to high school and

conduct outreach meetings with parents to communicate high school expectations, programs

available and to seek parent involvement.


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After research and discussion concerning the LCAP and the SPSA goals, Liberty Ranch is

committed to the following: Designing an educational community that is committed to

achieving the goals set forth in Galt Joint Unified School District's LCAP Plan with specific

emphasis on the following:

1. All students will develop and consistently demonstrate character traits necessary to become

respectful, contributing, responsible, and caring members of the Hawk community.

2. By June 2019 all students will consistently contribute to and actively engage in their learning

process.

3. By June 2019 LRHS will increase the number of students meeting A-G requirements by 10%.

4. By June 2019 LRHS will decrease the percentage of low performing students scoring below

proficient on standardized testing by 40%.

5. By June 2019 the rate of students earning C's or higher in all their courses will increase by

40%.

6. Decreasing the Freshman F-Rate by 25% for each semester.

7. Assess all student reading levels based on the Reading Inventory.


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School Program Data

Regular Program Data

Classes and programs are offered at Liberty Ranch High School to address the needs of our

diverse student population, including but not limited to, the following:

• The Liberty Ranch High School student population includes a substantial number of Special

Education students; currently all students are mainstreamed for all core and elective classes.

• Liberty Ranch High School’s student population includes some English Learner students,

mainly Spanish speakers, who require supported curriculum and English Intensive Support

classes.

• There are many students who are offered honors and AP courses to meet their needs for a

rigorous and challenging curriculum beyond the standard college-prep classes. Liberty Ranch

High School also offers a variety of Visual and Performing Arts electives.

• Teachers have accepted the challenge of addressing the needs of students, who fall in the

middle, by improving their achievement through increased attention to standards-based

instruction and assessment. Liberty Ranch High School has an expanding AVID program to

encourage students to work towards college enrollment after high school. AVID provides

tutoring, study skills practice, field trips to colleges, and encouragement for students with no

family history of college enrollment.

• Students performing below standard in academic core areas have urgent needs for additional

support to increase their skills and raise their level of academic performance. There are many

support systems in place which include:

1. Foundations of Math which is used to prepare students to take Integrated Math 1.

2. Language Live and English 3D is used to improve students reading Lexile levels to prepare

them for the rigors of their core classes.

3. After school tutoring for all subjects

To ensure all LRHS students participate in a rigorous, relevant, and coherent standards-based

curriculum that supports achievement, the school has instituted many programs.

These programs, including CTE, World Languages, Leadership, and Advanced Placement, are

available to all students. For some classes, applications and/or interviews are required. To ensure


64

their effectiveness, each program will be reviewed by any or of the following groups: School Site

Council, Site Leadership Team, CTE Program advisory groups, and an area AVID Program

review.

Liberty Ranch High School provides after school homework assistance from 3:15 p.m. to 4:15

p.m. on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. Students may drop in and receive support/assistance in

any subject area.

Liberty Ranch High School‘s academic departments use common core state standards and

frameworks to determine curricular content. Instructional strategies and assessments are

developed to support attainment of standards and the Student Learning Outcomes. Each teacher

uses a variety of instructional strategies that encourages the active involvement of each student.

Students are encouraged to develop techniques to organize, access and apply knowledge.

At Liberty Ranch High School, regular observations and evaluations confirm and support

teachers are using a variety of strategies and resources in their teaching. Teachers across all

departments enrich instruction with innovative and effective classroom activities which appeal to

many different learning styles. In addition to the use of traditional instructional techniques like

lecture and note-taking, problem sets, reading comprehension activities, sciences labs, and

classroom discussion, students are up on their feet, engaged in simulations, debates,

performances, problem-solving activities, and hands-on experimentation. Each classroom has a

ceiling mounted projector for teachers to use for video and presentations. Many departments

have common PowerPoint presentations that are shared for consistency.

Some of the following narratives discussing the school program were also used in the significant

changes section Chapter 1.

In 2016/17, LRHS moved from a six-period day to a hybrid block schedule. After years of

discussing this change, it was finally implemented. Staff members, students, and parents spent

time in meetings during 2015/16 to discuss the purpose, type of block schedule, and

implementation of the schedule. The block schedule was originally considered to allow students

more choices in classes to help meet both A-G requirements and pathway completion; it was also

chosen to help students who required remediation in English and math and acceleration in other

subjects. The hybrid schedule consists of some classes meeting each day on a 4X4 schedule to

complete the class in half the year, and some classes meeting every other day on an A/B schedule

for the whole year. After meeting, departments could not come to a consensus for one type of

schedule or even one type within their departments; therefore, a hybrid schedule was created.

Because of the different class arrangements, the scheduling of students became very difficult.

Most students have between 5 and 7 classes at any given time throughout the year with a

combination of 4X4 and A/B. During these first three years, different departments across the


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district had preferences to either the 4X4 schedule or the A/B schedule; therefore, it was difficult

for collaboration of the transfer of students. Through a variety of department discussions and

district input, all departments at each school will be on the same schedule for 2019/20; for

example all core English classes excluding AP will be on a 4X4 schedule at GHS and LRHS,

core social studies classes excluding AP will also be on a 4X4; whereas all Agriculture classes

will be on an A/B schedule at both comprehensive schools. Because of the implementation of

the hybrid schedule and students being bussed or walking to alternate locations, the passing time

between classes was changed from six minutes to ten minutes.

Students at Liberty Ranch High School now have the opportunity to complete a variety of

different CTE pathways in the district (see Course Catalog pg. 11) The CTE pathways appeal to

a variety of student interests and can be a step to college, career, and civic readiness. As pathway

completers, students must fulfill the following requirements of an introductory course,

concentrator course, and completer course. All courses must be in the same pathway for students

to be considered a pathway completer. Students may also complete a fourth-year course to gain

more thorough understanding of the subject area. Students can take classes at LRHS for the

newly formed Sports Medicine Pathway and Information Technology Pathway, and the three AG

Academy Pathways: AG Mechanics, Agriscience, and Ornamental Horticulture. Students can

also take an introductory course in the Culinary Pathway, Foods and Nutrition, at LRHS and then

travel to Estrellita Continuation School for the completion of the Culinary Pathway. Students

can take classes at Galt High School in the HEALS pathway for Careers with Children or Interior

Design. They can also take classes at GHS in the BEST Academy for pathways in Biomedical

Science, Engineering, and Technology. These CTE pathways allow students to be college and

career ready in a variety of fields.

The change in scheduling to the hybrid block also has allowed for more electives to be offered to

students to expand classes for their choices of interest.

Students within the district have the chance to take classes at Galt High School, Liberty Ranch

High School, or Estrellita Continuation School (culinary class only). At the time of the last

WASC report, a few students from LRHS and GHS took classes at each high school that were

not offered at their home school. These classes were upper level AP classes combined because

of lack of numbers and pathway classes from the BEST Academy at GHS. For the last two

years, 2017/18 and 2018/19 buses have transported students between high schools each period

for AP classes, pathway classes, band, and theater. Because of lack of appropriate facilities for

band and theater at Liberty Ranch High School, the programs have been moved to Galt High

School.


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There have been recent adoptions in textbooks for World Language and in Social Science.

Safety of students and staff is a primary concern of Liberty Ranch High School. The school is in

compliance with all laws, rules, and regulations pertaining to hazardous materials and state

earthquake standards. The school’s disaster preparedness plan includes steps for ensuring student

and staff safety during a disaster. Fire and disaster drills are held regularly throughout the year.

The School Site Safety Plan has been implemented and is updated annually each summer; the

School Site Safety Committee is comprised of school administration. The plan was last updated

in October 2017. Daily monitoring of school grounds before, during, and after school is

performed by assigned staff. All visitors must sign in at the school’s main office before entering

the campus.

The Comprehensive School Safety Plan was developed by the School Site Council in

cooperation with local law enforcement in order to comply with Senate Bill 187 of 1997. The

plan provides students and staff a means to ensure a safe and orderly learning environment.

Components of the Comprehensive School Safety Plan include: Emergency Safety Procedures


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binders in each classroom; detailed evacuation plans for fire and other emergencies; detailed

lockdown plans for other emergencies.


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Demographic Data

Socioeconomic Data

Student Enrollment

LRHS has consistently maintained a student enrollment of approximately 1200 students from

2012-2019. Below are supporting numbers from the last self-study report to the present (2012-

18).


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Grade Level Enrollment

Year 9th grade 10th grade 11th grade 12th grade Totals

2018-19 297 307 277 315 1196

2017-18 313 286 317 295 1211

2016-17 290 315 315 273 1192

2015-16 320 308 265 282 1175

Enrollment by Gender

Year Male Female Totals

2018-19 597 599 1196

2017-18 596 616 1211

2016-17 595 597 1192

2015-16 580 596 1175

2016-2017 Enrollment by Student Group


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Enrollment by Ethnic Group

Year

American

Indian /

Alaska

Native

Asian

Pacific

Islander/

Native

Hawaiian

Black or

African

American

White Hispanic/

Latino

Two or

More Race

Categories

No

Response

Total

#

# % # % # % # % # % # % # % # %

2018-

19 1 .0% 27 2% 4 .0% 30 2% 514 43% 520 43% 86 7% 14 1% 1196

2017-

18 2 .2 14 1.2 3 .2 26 2.1 532 44.9 534 44.1 88 7.3 11 .9 1211

2016-

17 1 .1 12 1 5 .4 28 2.3 461 38.6 592 49.7 80 6.7 10 .8 1192

2015-

16 1 .1 12 1 4 .3 27 2.3 508 43.2 531 45.2 75 6.4 11 .9 1175

It is noted that in 2016/17 LRHS has a significant loss in the White subgroup and gain in the

Hispanic subgroup. Currently the two major ethnicities are similar in student population. It is

also noted that the campus is evenly matched in gender in 2018.

Enrollment by Subgroup

Year English

Learners

Foster Youth Homeless

Youth

Migrant

Education

Students

with

Disabilities

SED

17/18 55 0 124 33 94 611

16/17 71 2 103 16 83 616

15/16 55 1 83 25 110 564

14/15 49 1 58 24 99 533

LRHS notes that there is a significant increase in the number of homeless youth and the SED

population. LRHS has many support programs to help these populations be successful. These

programs are noted in Chapter III.


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Program Enrollment

Year Special

Education

AVID Advanced Placement

(AP)

Agriculture

2017/18 106 89 N/A 669

2016/17 109 142 128 570

2015/16 107 111 119 569

2014/15 102 104 138 548

This data will be updated when the information in dataquest becomes available. The number of

special education students has been consisted for the last few years. The AVID numbers

according to this data have fallen, yet there are more classes of AVID on campus. The advanced

placement numbers have fallen even though there are more classes available. The numbers in Ag

have risen over the past years. The department has added more classes in the sciences and social

sciences with an Ag focus and has also added to its pathways.

AVID

Liberty Ranch High School has established an AVID program to encourage students to work

towards college enrollment after high school. AVID provides tutoring, study skills practice, field

trips to colleges, and encouragement for students with no family history of college enrollment.

The AVID coordinator also organizes articulation meetings for different subjects with the feeder

schools in the district. Since the elementary and high school districts are separate, this provides

invaluable information between the school sites. The AVID enrollment numbers continue to

increase each year. Each summer the school has sent a team of teachers to the AVID Summer

Institute to expand the number of teachers trained in AVID strategies, with school wide trainings

to begin by qualified staff in 2013. Due to the hard work of the LRHS AVID Site Team and

director who also teachers German at LRHS, LRHS expanded to 7 sections of AVID. The

coordinator has also taken the lead in organizing articulation meetings between the high school

district and feeder schools.

Agriculture

Although we do not have an agriculture academy at LRHS, the agriculture program is thriving by

adding new teachers, students, and classes each year. The program not only consists of academic


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classes during the school day, but also encourages students to be a part of FFA and other outside

corresponding activities such as projects and speaking competitions. LRHS Ag dept. has

received over $10,000 in outside funding to build a community garden where food will be

harvested for the local food bank and LRHS has partnered with the local elementary schools to

teach them about agriculture by having them plant seeds and by having a 3rd grade Agriculture

Field Day. Most recently the Ag. Department has received $400,000 from CRANE for their

program. See narrative in Chpt. 1 for more information.

Special Education

The Special Education department has had many changes and improvements since 2012 to

better service the students at Liberty Ranch High School. In the last few years, the department

has changed the model of services to inclusion in the general education classrooms with SAI

supports. From 2012-2014 LRHS maintained Special Education RSP classes for each of the core

subjects and provided curriculum support for those classes. In 2015/16 LRHS began the

inclusion model with grade level curriculum support classes for those students. Most special

education students were mainstreamed (included) in the core general education classes. The

support at this time consisted of either paraprofessionals or special education teachers monitoring

core classes making sure accommodations were being implemented, and students were able to

access the curriculum. This change occurred as a result of state and federal changes around

better preparing students for life beyond the K-12 system. Currently, Special Education teachers

and paraprofessionals continue this monitoring process in a variety of classes to help RSP

students be successful. With the inclusion model, the SPED department has also increased the

teaching staff from four education specialists to six, plus additions to the paraprofessional staff.

These teachers and paraprofessionals were also given laptops to accurately record information

being completed in the classrooms. In 2013/14 a team teaching approach was first tried with

limited success due to lack of collaboration time and training. Currently in Math Foundations

and Integrated Math 1, a co-teaching model is also being implemented with a math teacher and

special education teacher.

AP Classes

The 21 Advanced Placement (AP) classes being offered to LRHS students have all been

submitted and approved by the UCs and College Board. The course catalog discusses the

importance of the classes, class rigor, and information about the AP exams. The course catalog

also notes the Lexile, GPA, and grade standards for these classes.


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Language Proficiency

English and Spanish are the predominant primary languages at Liberty Ranch High School. The

population of English Learners increased in the 2014-2015 school year, making up 4% of the

school total population (1,175). For the same school year, the population of Fluent English

Proficient made 24.5% of the total population. In the 2014-2015 school year 8.2% of the English

Learners were Re-designated FEP. In the 2015-2016 school year Liberty Ranch High School

implemented an ELD course to support English Learners. There were two ELD courses. The

ELD 1/2 course was for English Learners who received a Beginning or Early Intermediate score

on the CELDT. This course was part of the students’ daily schedule as their English class.

English Learners in the ELD 1/2 class were enrolled in a two- hour block, due to having little or

no English skills. This group used the EDGE program along with English 3D. The students

enrolled in the ELD 3/4 course were English Learners who had received an Intermediate or Early

Advanced score on the CELDT. English Learners enrolled in the ELD 3/4 were long term ELs

who have not made adequate academic progress. The focus of the ELD 3/4 course is to help our

long term ELs who have struggled in reading comprehension and writing by using Course II of

the English 3D curriculum. In the fall of 2017, Galt Joint Union High School District created an

ELD Academy which combined students from both LRHS and GHS for a two-period block

meeting on the LRHS campus. In August 2018, both highs school brought back their separate

ELD courses. ELDs currently have two 90-minute periods which meets daily based on the A/B

schedule. Although the ELD students are no longer brought together for a combined ELD

Academy, the ELD teachers have taken advantage of the new bus schedule transporting students

to and from the high schools every period. They have instituted Friday Literary Circles to give

ELD students greater opportunity to participate in academic discussions and tap into a greater

diversity of language development and perspectives of thought. In the 2016/17 school year an

ELD Academy was established at LRHS. Some English Learners are also served by the AVID

classes and by the migrant education program. Other English Learners are also identified under

special needs. Currently the migrant education coordinator is on campus one day a week. To

support parents of English Learners, Liberty Ranch High School has an ELAC parent group that

meets once a month.

Year English Learner

(EL)

Fluent-English-

Proficient (FEP)

Re-designated FEP

(RFEP)

Totals

17/18 55 36 314 405

16/17 71 33 288 392

15/16 55 31 264 350

14/15 49 32 258 339


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As noted above, the structure of the EL classes have changed tremendously over the last few

years. Because of the restructuring, there is a need for sequential materials, a consistent EL

instructor, and perhaps a district coordinator to organize and purchase curriculum as well as meet

with parents and implement incentives for those students who continuously not moving through

the EL structure. Since 2014/15 there has been a continual increase in reclassified students.

LCFF Priority 1: Basics (Teachers, Instructional Materials, Facilities)

Staffing:

Teachers Education Report:

Year Dr MA +30 MA BA+30 BA Total

12/13 0 17 3 32 2 54

13/14 0 13 3 36 2 54

14/15 0 13 5 35 2 55

15/16 0 0 21 29 0 50

16/17 0 0 21 31 5 58

17/18 1 0 21 31 6 59


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Staffing

Liberty Ranch High School has an experienced staff. All teachers have a bachelor’s degree with

many teachers having 30 or more units above the degree requirement. A significant number hold

advanced degrees. The average teacher experience is 14 years of teaching in the classroom and

over 11 years teaching in the district. LRHS’s teaching staff does not match the student

population in percentages of Hispanic, white, Asian, other groups. Teacher ethnicity consists of

Hispanic, white, Asian, and Pacific Islander. One hundred percent of the teachers are NCLB

core and compliant in classes by subject area.

Teacher Assignment and Credentials

All teachers are appropriately assigned with appropriate credentials according to SARC.

Baseline: 2016-18 Met

Even though SARC recorded meeting the baseline, there were three teachers who were

completing their credentials in 2017/18.


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Access to Standards Aligned Instructional Materials

All students have access to standards-based instructional materials, as measured by classroom

observations and annual curriculum audit.


Staff Development

Due to changing leadership in both the district and site administration and a new curriculum

director recently added to the district, a fully sequential plan for staff professional development

has not been implemented. However, the district has provided numerous trainings to staff on a

variety of subjects including but not limited to testing, technology, student engagement

strategies, and the required training for all teachers. In addition, teachers individually have

attended training offered through a variety of sources to enhance their curriculum, teaching

strategies, and professional knowledge. Common development that staff from different

departments have attended include AVID Training, AP Training, and Common Core Training.

The LRHS math department attended an 8-day training spread out through the year for the

implementation of the CPM curriculum.

Some professional development has been to train teachers on each new software which has

changed three different times since 2012. Representatives from English, math, social science,

science, and agriculture attended workshops on the Performance Fact’s Eye on the Goal training

for data analysis. Teachers were taught how to review the new analysis that will be forthcoming

in our new data system of School Net. Teachers have also gone to training for the new data and

technology systems of CANVAS and Illuminate.

Professional Development also has included learning new instructional strategies; for example,

the district and site sponsored Dr Raja (state teacher of the year) for a workshop on his unique

teaching style with underperforming students. Teachers from different departments then made

school visits to see Dr. Raja in action.

Some teachers at Liberty Ranch have received training on the theories of the International Center

for Leadership in Education (ICLE), with teachers attending conferences and workshops

sponsored by ICLE or their Successful Practices Network (SPN). With this training, teachers

reviewing their activities to determine where they stand on the "Rigor/Relevance Framework"

and make adjustments accordingly.


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Professional Development has also consisted of teachers training teachers in web site design,

student engagement, EL strategies, reading strategies, effective instructional strategies, and data

analysis.

Every Wednesday students are released at 2:00 P.M., while teachers remain to collaborate as

departments or full staff. Collaboration in departments consists of discussions about data

analysis, curriculum, and good teaching practices. If there is a 5th Wednesday of the month, then

students are released at 12:15 and teachers collaborate from 1:00-3:00.

The following list includes a variety of professional development attended by the staff:

LRHS Professional Development since 2012 by District and Department:

District:

2015 Buy-back days, staff was trained in AVID and effective instructional strategies

2016/17 Common Core Training

2016/17 CALLI Training

2017/18 Illuminate and CANVAS training

2017/18 AP Equitable Training

This is a sample: More on the PD Link

Department (different members attending different PD)

Math Department:

UC Davis Math Project Workshop 2013 – 2015 during summer and various Saturdays throughout

the school year

Currently attending EMITS since Summer 2014-2017

NCTM Asilomar Conference December 2013 and December 2014, sent new teacher 2018

AVID Conference Summer 2014; AVID Math Strategies for Success, SCOE 2014

Link Crew Training 2013 (1)

SCOE Common Core Training;

S.A.M.E. Conference Spring 2013 at Sacramento State

EMITS program and training (1)

8 days of CPM training 2015 (per teacher, per course) and 2016 Summers of 2014/2015 and

follow-up days (all)

AP Training, 2 teachers, Calc. BC 2016, Stats 2016, Stats 2018 (2)

CADA conference (1)

Co-teaching training (1)


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World Language:

South West Conference on language teaching 2013 (2)

Common Core Strategies for World Language and AP Spanish Language & Culture Exam 2013

California Language Teachers’ Association Conference (Spanish) 2015 (all)

German workshop by the Goethe Institute 2014 (1)

BERS Technology in World Language classroom workshop 2014 (2)

AVID Summer Institute 2013,14, 15 (2)

FLANC 2017 (2)

FLAGS 2017 (2)

Science:

CTSA Conference each year (4)

SIRC Conference (4)

AP Training (3)

K12 Alliance/West Ed Collaboration (4)

SCOE classroom visitations (all)

Sports Medicine Training (1)

Social Studies:

AVID Summer Institute (3)

AVID Workshops (3)

AP World History readings (1)

AP Training (4)

Common Core Training (1)

Project-Based Training (1)

New Framework Conference (2)

English:

ERWC training 2014/15/16/17 (5)

AVID Conferences 2014/15 (1)

Teaching Tolerance 2015 (2)

Evaluation units of study for Common Core 2014/15 (all)

AP Training 2015, 2017 (1)

Common Core Training 2014/15 (1)

Smarter Balance Training 2013-2015 (all)

Kate Kinsella (4)

Get Focused, Stay Focused (1)

Language Live (3)


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English 3D (3)

CALLI Conference (1)

ELD Common Core (1)

Agriculture:

CATA conferences

Arc Exposure Butte College

Manufacturing Technology Teacher’s Association Conference (President)

California Industrial Technology Teacher’s Association Conference(Vice—President)

CRANE conference

Ag in the Classroom curriculum writing

Skills USA

Delta

Linked learning conference

High Tech High

Hazardous Materials Training

American Welding Society Monthly Meetings

Tulare Farm Equipment Show

American Institute of Floral Design Symposium

Briggs and Stratton Training

California Certified Florist Exam

VAPA:

AP Art Training

Ceramics and Greek and Roman Art Course at CRC and Uof P

Wire and Jewelry workshop at San Joaquin Office of Ed.

Project-based Learning conference

Additional college units in Ceramics, Digital Photography and Sculpture (1)

High School observation visits for Visual Arts

EMITS 3 year membership

CCACA Conference

CAEA Conference (Art Educators)2015

CMEA conference (Music Educators) 2012-2018

Computer Science/Information Technology: all (1)

Exploring Computer Science Curriculum Training 2015

Java Fundamentals (2014) Java Programming (2015)

Work Experience Coordinators Training and Certification 2014


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CS4HS (AP Computer Principles) 2015

CISCO Instructor Training 2018

CA Education for Careers Conference 2011-2018

CTE Conference 2018

Special Education:

CPM Training (3)

ERWC certification and training for module writing(2)

AVID Summer Institute (4)

Autism Summer Institute and Certification (2)

Applied Behavioral Analysis Training (Assistants) (7)

Co-teaching Training(1)

Language Live (1)

ABA

SEIS training (6)

Safety Training (6)

Counseling:

EAOP UC Conference (3)

CSAC Financial Aid Conference (3)

CRC Conference (3)

AVID Conference (1)

UC Conference 2017 (3), 2018 (1)

CSU Conference 2017 (3), 2018 (1)

CTE Conference 2017 (3), 2018 (1)

Local Community Colleges Conference

ARC, 2017 (2)

Sac City , 2017 (2), 2018 (1)

Delta, 2017 (2)

Get Focused, Stay Focused 2016 (2), 2017 (2)

PAC 12 Counselor Conference 2017 (1)

North Easter Conference 2017 (1)

CSU-Stan 2018 (1)

AVID:

SCOE Conferences: 5 per year, open to all staff

AVID Summer Institute: 3 Day Conference, open to all staff and required by all AVID elective

teachers


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AVID Pathway Trainings: open to all staff

PE

Football Glacier Conference (1)

LCFF Priority 2 –Implementation of Academic Standards

Implementation of State Standards

CCSS ELA and Math, NGSS Science and ELD Standards are implemented in all classrooms, as

measured by classroom observation reports and annual curriculum audit.


LCFF Priority 3—Parent Engagement

Liberty Ranch High School employs a variety of strategies to encourage and support parental and

community involvement. Starting with freshman year until graduation, parents and community

members are invited to take an active role with students on the LRHS campus. In the spring,

incoming freshman, as well as and their parents are invited to attend a showcase specifically

designed to introduce them to our campus, available programs, and academic expectations.

Prior to school starting, a student mailer is sent to all students explaining basic school policies,

school calendar, the bell schedule, a campus map, and important forms along with a welcoming

message from the principal. School business days start before the first day of school and allow

students and parents to turn in paperwork, pay student fees, and pick up schedules and books.

Parents are encouraged to become informed decision makers regarding their child’s education by

helping their child with online registration and attending Liberty Ranch High School’s annual

Back-to-School Night. At this event and through written communication, parents are given

PowerSchool and CANVAS information and passwords to ensure they can monitor grades and

attendance or contact teachers directly. Communication is regularly established with parents

through an annual school calendar, Principal’s newsletters (which are online in English and

Spanish), and phone dialer service (English and Spanish) which relays school events, procedures

and opportunities for involvement. An Open House in the spring is also an opportunity for

parents to have contact with the administration and teachers. Parents are strongly encouraged to

access Liberty Ranch High School’s website, PowerSchool, and CANVAS to view general

school information, the daily bulletin, teacher driven website links outlining homework and

assignments, athletic events, school-community events and opportunities to serve on different

committees and booster clubs at LRHS. In 2017 the leadership class implemented an Instagram

account which reminds students of upcoming events and parents of upcoming events. In the fall


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of 2018, an LRHS Facebook page was established to inform students, parents, teachers, and

community members of activities and important events that have happened or are happening on

campus.

Senior parents are specifically addressed in separate meetings outlining graduation requirements,

college information, college testing, financial aid, military options, etc. Senior meetings take

place in the evenings after Back to School Night and Open House. Meetings are also scheduled

with parents of all seniors and juniors who are credit deficient and are in danger of not

graduating. In these meetings attended by the parents as well, credit recovery, alternative

graduation options, discipline history at LRHS and post-secondary plans are discussed.

Parents receive progress reports and final term grade reports which facilitate a dialogue between

parents and faculty to increase student success. Parents can access teachers and school

counselors through email or phone to address student academic, personal, or social concerns or

to schedule PTC, SST, IEP and 504 meetings. Referrals to medical or mental health support

services are generated as issues are identified impeding student success. LRHS has two full time

counselors, one shared counselor with GHS, one part time migrant education counselor and

intern, a school psychologist, a part time outreach consultant, a school nurse and a health

assistant. The support staff meets with students and parents when needed. LRHS has a Strategies

for Change program, which is an outside counseling resource for students who have used alcohol

or drugs. Translators are available on-site to assist Spanish-speaking parents.

Liberty Ranch High School recognizes the importance of parent support and the positive impact

it has on student academic success. Parents are encouraged to take an active role in the decision-

making process regarding how campus funds are allotted. Site Council has both parent and

student representatives who assist in determining budget decisions that support student learning.

Liberty Ranch High School invites both English and non-English speaking parents to be strong

advocates in their child’s education and attend special events conducted on campus. LRHS has

several evening events that are presented in both English and Spanish. Spanish translators are

available on campus for parent meetings with faculty and students. The school as an ELAC

committee and participating ELAC parents are involved in discussions regarding school

programs, academics, college information and post-graduation student pathways.

At the beginning of each semester, LRHS holds an Honor Roll Assembly to acknowledge

students who received more than a 3.0 GPA in the previous semester. Superintendent’s Honor

Roll (GPA: 4.0 and above), Principal’s Honor Roll (GPA: 3.5 to 3.99) and Honor Roll (GPA: 3.0

to 3.49). Parents are invited to attend this morning assembly.


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Parents and the community are also invited to the induction ceremony for the National Honor

Society, which recognizes students for their scholarship, character, leadership, and service

program established last year at the school.

Parents are invited to support students in Liberty Ranch High School’s band program in multiple

ways. Parents are actively involved in the Band Booster Club which is known as Galt and

Liberty United Ensemble (GLUE) which facilitates organizing parent volunteers at specific

events. Many of the members are parents of students who participate in the band program at

Galt High School and Liberty Ranch High School and a few whose children are band alumni.

Another VAPA program that has an active booster club is the drama department. These parents

help with transportation, building sets, finding materials, and fundraising for the program.

Other groups that invite parent participation are the Booster Clubs for athletics and agriculture

and the Parent Advocacy group that supports RSP students.

Parents are also encouraged to attend Board Meetings, college fairs, homecoming events, athletic

events, and other campus activities.

LCFF Priority 4—Performance on Standardized Tests

This section begins with past data information from standardized tests that have

been discontinued.

(AYP) Adequate Yearly Progress

The federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) required that all students performed at or above

the proficient level on the state standardized tests called (CST) by 2014. As these standardized

tests are no longer in place, this is the last data available. In 2010/11 and 2011/12, LRHS did not

meet the schoolwide AYP criteria. In 2012/13 and 2013/14 LRHS did meet all the schoolwide

AYP criteria as well as increased the number of students at or above proficient marginally in

ELA from 59% in 2011/12 to 61.3 % in 2013/14 and with a larger increase in math from 59.9%

in 2011/12 to 65.7% in 2013/14. Our English Learners and SED students increased numbers in

advanced and proficient, while our Hispanic or Latino students decreased. This data has been

discontinued.


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ELA (AYP at or above proficient)

Mathematics (AYP at or above proficient)


85

API (Academic Performance Index)

The following chart gives a historical review of LRHS’s API progress towards the mandated

score of 800. As this Index is no longer a part of the federal data process, the last scores are for

2012/13. In 2011/12 our API score was 762. LRHS improved their score to 771 with an

increase of the White (Non-Hispanic) students of 21 points and the SED students of 31 points;

however, our Hispanic or Latino students fell slightly (-2) and our ELL students fell more

significantly by -41 points. The White, Asian, Black/African American, and two or more race

groups all scored above 800 in 2012/13 with the Black/African American (824); a first- time

subgroup, and the Asian (843) scoring the highest.

CAHSEE Testing History

The following data record the number and percentage of students who passed the CAHSEE test

along with the significant sub-groups. In 2013, 83% of the students passed the ELA and Math

portions of the CAHSEE. The numbers went dramatically up in 2014 for both ELA (90%) and

Math (89%). There was a slight drop in both groups for 2015 with ELA (88%) and Math (87%).

The number of students taking the tests also decreased from 2014 to 2015. There is a significant

difference in the number of students passing the CAHSEE and the number of students passing at

the proficient level. In 2015 only 55% in ELA passed at the proficient level and 60% in Math.

The data also shows that the percentage of Hispanic/Latino students passing are 6-10% below

the general passing rate but are near 80% for the past two years. The CAHSEE test was

discontinued in 2016.

Liberty Ranch HS 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

ELA

# Tested 232 334 293 306 309 275

# Passed 189 292 248 254 278 242

Passing % 81% 87% 85% 83% 90% 88%

% Proficient NA 63% 59% NA 62% 55%

Subgroups: % Passed -- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- -----------

Econ Disad 76% 81% 79% 75% 79% 80%

EL 52% 58% 0% 50% 43% 39%

Hisp/Latino 76% 80% 83% 77% 81% 82%

SPED 17% 33% 42% 24% 39% 35%


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Liberty Ranch HS 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Math --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ----------

# Tested 237 336 296 305 311 282

# Passed 205 296 255 252 278 245

Passing % 86% 88% 86% 83% 89 % 87%

% Proficient NA 60% 58% 60% 66 % 60%

Subgroups: % Passed - --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- -----------

Econ Disad 83% 81% 76% 79% 82% 77%

EL 67% 56% 0% 64% 50% 44%

Hisp/Latino 82% 81% 83% 77% 81% 79%

SPED 28% 32% 36% 34% 57% 28%

LRHS CST/SBAC Course History for Percentage of Students Proficient and

Advanced.

In CST testing from 2011/12, LRHS saw improvement in almost every testing area; however, in

2013/14, CST testing was eliminated in all subject areas except Life Science for sophomores. In

2013/14, Life Science continued to rise, but in 2014/15 those scoring advanced or proficient

decreased by 18 points.

Smarter Balance testing (SBAC) was administered for the first time in 2013/14, but no overall

scores were received. In 2014/15, Smarter Balance testing was administered to juniors in both

English and math. This created a baseline score for LRHS. In English, 68% of the students

scored proficient or advanced; in math, the score was 27%.


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School and Student Performance Data

CAASPP Summary Results (all Students): representing the percentage of students for each

category

Conclusions based on this data:

For the 15-16 school year 71% of our students met or exceeded the standards, however only 11%

of our EL and 10% of our students with disabilities met or exceeded the standards.

In 16-17 74 % of our students met or exceeded the standards which was a 3-percentage point

increase from the 15-16 school year. We also saw an increase in EL students who met or

exceeded the standards at 33%, a 22-percentage point increase; students with disabilities also

went up to 20% having met or exceeded the standards, which was a 20-percentage point

increase.

In 17-18 only 56% of our students met or exceeded the standards which unfortunately was an 18-

percentage point drop from the previous year. We also saw a decrease in our EL’s scores from

33% to 5% meeting or exceeding the standards which was a 28-percentage point drop. Students

with disabilities also dropped 2-percentage points from 20% to 18% meeting or exceeding the

standards.

Based on student feedback there are concerns that the pull-out method for testing (pulling

students out of classes to test in our limited computer lab space along with the perception that

students who performed well would be placed in the new ERWC English class which some

Year

Grade

Level

# of

students

Enrolled

# of

Students

Tested

% of

Enrolled

Students

Tested

# of

Students

With

Scores

Mean

Scale

Scores

Standard

Exceeded

Standard

Met

Standard

Nearly

Met

Standard

Not Met

2015 11 291 285 97.9 285 2619.9 28 40 22 14

2016 11 268 262 97.8 262 2626 26 45 21 8

2017 11 307 296 96.4 296 2638.2 36 39 17 8

2018 11 317 303 95.6 303 2592.5 18.5 38.3 26 17.2

English Language Arts/Literacy

Year

Grade

Level

Above

Standard

At or

Near

Standard

Below

Standard

Above

Standard

At or

Near

Standard

Below

Standard

Above

Standard

At or

Near

Standard

Below

Standard

Above

Standard

At or

Near

Standard

Below

Standard

2015 11 38 49 13 35 54 10 20 66 14 39 51 11

2016 11 32 55 13 39 49 12 21 73 6 43 50 7

2017 11 46 44 10 45 44 11 30 60 10 48 42 10

2018 11 29.6 49.5 20.9 29.9 48.5 21.6 20.9 64.5 14.6 26.9 53.5 19.6

Research/InquiryArea Achiecvement

Levels Investigating, analyzing, and Demonstrating understanding Producing clear and purposeful Demonstrating effective

Reading Writing Listening


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students perceived to be “harder” contributed significantly to our lower test scores in 17-18. A

new plan for testing will be instituted this year where all juniors will test at the same time using

both permanent and mobile labs as well as clarification on the placement of the ERWC class.

For the 15-16 school 27 % of our students met or exceeded the standards in mathematics. 11 %

of our EL’s and 5 % of our students with disabilities met or exceeded the standard.

In 16-17 39 % of our students met or exceeded the standard which was a 12-percentage point

increase from the previous year. However, our EL’s dropped 7-percentage points and our

students with disabilities went down 1-percentage point.

In 17-18 37% of our students met or exceeded the standard which was a 2-percetage point drop

from the previous year but still a 10-percent increase from the 15-16 year. Our EL population

did drop 4 percentage points however our students with disabilities did increase by 6-percentage

points.


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Our average distance from standard on the ELA CAASPP dropped by 45.6 points.

Our average distance from standard on the Math CAASPP dropped by 5 points.


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English Learner Proficiency Data

Long-Term English Learners (LTEL) by Grade:

Conclusions about this data:

Many of LRHS’s English Learners fit the description of Long-term English learners (LTELs) due to not

demonstrating improvement in English Development. However, the number of identified ELs in the 9th

and 10th grade have decreased.


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California English Language Development Test (CELDT) Results


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Conclusions based on this data:

45% of our EL population scored at Early Advanced or Advanced on the CELDT for the 2016-

2017 school year. Compared to 48% in 2015-2016, the percentage decreased by 3 percentage

points. Comparing classes matriculating from year to year (2015-2016 to 2016-2017),

percentages of students scoring at Early Advanced or Advanced decreased for grade 9 moving to

grade 10 and for grade 10 moving to grade 11. Last school year was the first year that the

ELPAC (replacing the CELDT) was fully operational. Many of our students scored at Level 3 or

4, demonstrating to have reached or close to reaching English Proficiency as measured by the

ELPAC.


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Advanced Placement

Liberty Ranch began its first year in 2009/2010 with two sections of AP World History. As

grade levels were added each year, AP classes were also added. We currently have 21 different

AP classes offered in the course catalog. In 2013/14, 263 tests were taken and in 2014/15 with

enrollment on a slight decline, only 220 exams were taken by 189 students. While there was a

decline in students taking the tests, the pass rates on most tests rose dramatically; for example,

from 64% to 82% in U.S. history, 29% to 58% in Calculus AB, 40% to 63% in English literature,

and 28% to 70% in U.S. government. In 2017/18, 204 exams were taken. Increases were seen in

math and world language tests.

Advanced placement numbers vary from course to course, seeing gains in some areas and

declines in others. LRHS will continue to prioritize the importance of taking AP classes as well

as encouraging all AP students to take the AP exams. A concern to be addressed is the

comparison between the number of students enrolled in the classes and the number of students

taking the exam.

Other Local Assessments:

Stanford Diagnostic Reading Assessment:

In 2014/15 all English students were given the Stanford Diagnostic Reading Assessment © 2008.

The scores indicated that many of our students were reading at below their grade level. Because

the 8th graders were not given an incoming assessment test, the English 9 classes tested the


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students also using the same diagnostic test. This indicated that many of our 9th graders (60%)

were reading at two or more levels below their grade level. The data reviewed and discussed

from these reading tests indicated that reading comprehension for our students needed to be

improved. This test is no longer being used for placement.

Comprehensive data is currently being analyzed for the SRI tests for all students.

Report of Ninth Grade students failing one or more classes

Conclusion based on the data: This is the third year of implementing a Block Schedule. During

the 2015-2016 school year, our semester (S1, S2) grading periods were Aug. to Dec. and Jan. to

June. Currently in the 2018-2019 school year, our grading periods are shorter, so T1 is

considered the first half of the class (semester 1 – Aug. to Oct.) and T2 is considered the second

half of the class (semester 2 – Oct. to Jan.). We are able to see that the failure rate of freshman

fluctuates. Our Link Crew team and Freshman Coordinator continue to monitor students



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LCFF Priority 5 Pupil Engagement

Liberty Ranch High School graduation rates have been consistently high while the dropout rates

have remained consistently low with 4 in 16/17 and 3 in 17/18.


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2017-18 Chronic Absenteeism Rate

The chronic absenteeism rate is higher than LRHS would like. The SARB process has not been

a district priority during the 16-17 and 17-18 school year. This year we have reinstituted the

SARB process as part of the restructuring of the district staff. A new principal was hired at the

continuation school and one of his responsibilities is to chair the SARB panel. With this process

in place we anticipate seeing these numbers steadily decline.

The average daily rate of attendance ranges from 92% -95% depending on the month. A

significant number of our students go to Mexico around Christmas time causing our attendance

rate to dip during the winter months.

LCFF Priority 6 School Climate


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LRHS Physical Fitness Reports

LRHS is committed to working on SLO # 1 (Healthy Individual) by trying to reduce the number

of High Risk students in need of improvement by looking at the fitness report. Our comparison

is focusing on the two categories with high risk students (Aerobic Capacity and Body

composition).

After reviewing the data, it is clear there are many positive situations that are occurring at

Liberty Ranch High School. LRHS has a professional, dedicated teaching staff with academic

educational experience (degrees) as well as classroom experience. LRHS is also increasing

different programs on campus such as AP, AVID, and agriculture. Another positive aspect is the

decrease in suspensions and truancies.

Other Local Survey Data:

Student/Staff/Parent Surveys: (with more results in from surveymonkey and panorama)

LRHS provided online surveys for parents, staff, and students to receive input on student

achievement, curriculum, school/teacher communications, school safety, and climate of the

school. The survey results were then analyzed by the home groups. The results from all surveys

have been very positive about LRHS.

Student Surveys from 2013:

Overall the students who took the survey demonstrated a positive perception of Liberty Ranch

High School. There were 955 online surveys completed in the computer labs on campus during

the students’ English class. The numbers taking the survey are as follows: 287 freshmen, 192

sophomores, 250 juniors, and 226 seniors. According to the survey, 84.7% of the students

strongly agree and somewhat agree that they are satisfied with their overall experience at

LRHS. After discussing the survey in focus groups, some significant pieces of information

were revealed.

Positive: (addition of strongly agree and somewhat agree percentage totals above 80%)

Students feel safe on campus in or out of class and there is enough security (90%, 84%)

Students regularly attend class (81%)

Students are respectful towards each other (85%)

Students believe administration enforces rules fairly (80%)

Students believe administrators attend activities, care about the students, and model

respectful behavior (86%, 80%, 82%)

Students believe the office staff is friendly and counselors help students with course

selections (80%, 85%)


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Students agreed and somewhat agreed that teachers put forth effort to help students

learn, are prepared for class, care about student success, have high expectations

for students, are available for extra help, are knowledgeable about the subject,

and communicate objectives clearly (86%, 80%, 84%, 87%, 83%, 88%, 82%)

Students also believe teachers are respectful to students, different ethnicities, and each

other, and model professional behavior (80%, 80%, 90%, 85%)

When thinking about themselves as students, the students have very positive feelings:

They think teachers know their name, like them, and respect them (94%, 87%)

They feel safe, respected, and accepted at school (88%, 88%, 86%)

They want to learn, attend class, complete homework, participate, and have a plan

For the future, and believe students are being prepared to accomplish their

goals (88%, 93%, 85%, 88%, 90%, 82%)

Students also agree that parents are aware of how they are doing in school (90%)

Improvements: (The students’ lowest score totals of agreeing and somewhat agreeing below

70%) indicate:

Students need to be more organized, follow rules, stay motivated and help one another

(63%, 67%, 68%, 57%)

Teachers need to be more creative with lesson plans and give more feedback (68%,

69%)

Students themselves need to be more involved and get extra help when needed (65%,

52%)

Students feel they do not know their counselor and are not prepared to live a healthy

Lifestyle (64%, 69%)

Students feel that they need more challenging classes (43%)

Staff Surveys (Certificated and Classified) from 2013:

Click Here for Student/Staff Surveys

The 85 staff surveys completed also indicate a positive atmosphere on campus. In accordance

with the environment and climate of the school, 83%-90% agree that the campus is safe, orderly,

clean, and offers students activities, ways to develop socially and emotionally, and provides

positive incentives. The highest indicates the campus is safe and orderly (91%). The lowest

indicates that 26% believe we need more security

When thinking about the staff and teachers on campus, every question garnered a response of

strongly agree or somewhat agree above 85% with most being in the 90% range. Thus the staff

believes that we are respectful, work together, enthusiastic, put forth effort, have high

expectations, and are prepared and accessible for students. The highest result indicates that the

staff puts forth effort into making sure students learn (93%) The lowest result indicates

that 14% of teachers believe that rules and expectations need to be consistently enforced.

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With response to the administration on campus the staff consistently has nothing below the 70%

range. Therefore, staff believes administrators provide positive leadership, support teachers,

enforce rules, gets feedback from stakeholders, and pays attention to student needs. The two

highest scores indicate that the administrators are visible on campus (91%) and that they

have a clear vision for the LRHS (88%). The lowest result indicates that 26% of the

teachers believe that administrators do not support all programs equally.

When staff was asked their view of other teachers, they responded that their colleagues knew

their subject area (92%), believed children could learn (90%), cared for students (89%),

maintained discipline (84%) and differentiate for individual students (78%). This again shows a

very positive view.

When looking at themselves on a typical day, staff indicated with 87%-91% that they were

passionate about teaching, liked their students, felt successful and respected and felt that the

students were learning the objectives. The highest score was passionate about teaching

(91%). The lowest scores indicated that 55% felt overwhelmed with responsibilities and

50% felt frustrated and unappreciated in their job.

Staff overwhelmingly believes that they are preparing students for life and their future goals.

81%-92% believe the students will be prepared for college, for good jobs, to be a good citizen,

and to live a healthy lifestyle. The highest score at 91% is being a good citizen; the lowest is

being self-motivated (76%).

Finally, the staff believes the biggest problems that need to be addressed at LRHS are

technology (87%), class choices for students (86%) and department budgets (76%)

Parent Surveys from 2013:

There were 91 responses to the parent survey that was available in both English and Spanish

online. Phone dialers and other announcements went home encouraging parents to take the

survey; however, there was not a huge response. The response LRHS did receive was again very

positive. 62% of the parents strongly agree and 25% somewhat agree totaling 87% who

are satisfied with their child’s overall experience at LRHS.

With regards to the environment at LRHS, the parents are very complimentary. All scores for

strongly agree and somewhat agree are above 80%. The highest results are that LRHS is safe

and orderly (94%), clean (95%), and most of all students demonstrate pride in their school

(97%).


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When parents regard the staff at LRHS, they are very complimentary. Over 90% of the parents

believe the staff show respect for each other and students, expect students to work hard and be

responsible, hold high standards, and are knowledgeable in their subject area. The highest of

these is that teachers are knowledgeable (95%). The lower responses are still at 80% and

above, but include: the staff is respectful of parents (88%) and demonstrates a concern for their

education (82%). The lowest percentage is that (80%) of parents believe that teachers are

available to students and parents to discuss problems.

When parents view the administration, over 54% strongly agreeing on all categories except for

administrators supporting all programs which was 47% strongly agreeing. When adding strongly

agree and somewhat agree, all categories are over 81%, except one. Parents believe

administrators have a clear plan (87%), are approachable (81%), enforce rules fairly (86%),

model respectful behavior (88%), and provide positive leadership (87%). The highest of these is

the administrations visibility on campus (93%). The lowest is the administrators

supporting all programs equally (75%).

When parents think about their own contact with the school, most of the responses were in the

70% range. 74% attend events and receive adequate academic information. The lowest

percentage is regarding receiving adequate information about events at school (70%). The

highest with 79% strongly agreeing and 92% total with somewhat agreeing is tracking the

students grades through PowerSchool.

LRHS is fortunate that very few of the parents believe we have any major problems. The highest

percentages deal with providing class choices for students; 13.3% think it is a big problem,

45.6% believe it is somewhat of a problem. The other problems that could be noted are at 11.2%

which are parent communication and college career readiness.

Student Panorama Survey from 2018: In a slightly different survey geared more to own student evaluation given to

approximately 600 LRHS students, the results ranged from 47% for Self-Efficacy to 79% for

Self-Management. After reviewing the survey questions, the majority of the students answered

in the “strongly agree” or “agree” categories on most questions. However, the teachers and

parents’ views sometimes differed such as the category on Climate of Support for Academic

Learning. Student results were 64%; parent results were 79%; and teacher results were 92%.

Staff will be reviewing student results compared to the staff and parent surveys to understand the

implications for the school.


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Student Group Question Results from 2013:

Two different student groups met to answer a variety of questions about LRHS. The leadership

class represented one group of 40 students. The other group was composed of random students

from 9-12 with a variety of genders, ethnicities, and average grades. The responses to the

questions are noted on the following pages; however, both groups 40/40 for leadership, 23/25 for

the selected students regarded their overall experience at LRHS as positive.

WASC Student Group Questions-----Leadership Students

Question: How many of you feel that overall the experience at LRHS has been positive?

40/40

Question #1: What are some good or positive things about LRHS?

Awesome sports Cheer section is great Principal cares about students Very supportive staff

Teachers spend extra hours and are nice We are represent a community Smart kids Different cliques get along

So many clubs to choose from Great AP program Leadership is awesome Art and music programs are great Rallies are awesome

Question #2: What are some areas of improvement for LRHS?

More bathrooms Expand Science with AP Focus on all sports (boys and girls) Better class choices Need lunch trays back Better communication on expectations in AP

Teachers need to improve on classroom management: 24 believe 5% should improve; 4 believe

10% should improve; 9 believe 15% should improve

Teachers need to improve on teaching style: 20 people believe at least one of their teachers needs to improve

Question: How many of you tried your best on the CST tests? 30/36 (no freshmen)

Question #3: Why do you think the scores dropped?

Students know it doesn’t affect their grades People think it is “cool” to fail CST cards----teachers don’t let students use them, different things need to be on the cards Doing well on the tests year to year doesn’t help them

Question #4: What could we do to increase test scores next year?


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Snacks before tests More practice questions More immediate prizes Adjustments to cards

Question #5: Do you think you were academically prepared for the CSTs?

32/36 kids said that the content in classes prepared them.

Question #6: Should there be different incentives or can we intrinsically get students to do

better?

More advertisement by teachers Incentives for teachers, so they care

When teachers care, students do better

After passing out the new ESLRs and discussing them, students were asked, how many of

you feel that the school is mainly accomplishing these goals? 36/40

Question #7: Are there some that you feel are NOT being accomplished?

Technology not always available More current/global events

Healthy lifestyle only PE and Health Need more variety with nutrition in lunchroom

Percentage Questions: Do you feel safe at school? 38/40

Do you feel that the teachers, staff, and admin. care about you? 40/40

Do you feel the class choices are sufficient? 3/40

Do you feel there are enough activities at school 30/40

WASC Student Group Questions-----Selected Students

Question: How many of you feel that overall the experience at LRHS has been positive?

23/25

Question #1: What are some good or positive things about LRHS?

Nice/Caring Teachers Students don’t feel judged Comfortable Atmosphere Good relationships between students and teachers Activities always going on Clean

Teachers have a good sense of humor Teachers try hard to push students to succeed Enjoyable classes Good subject matter teachers

Sports programs help keep up grades

Question #2: What are some areas of improvement for LRHS?

More bathrooms Parking/Traffic Dangerous


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No facilities (stadium, field, pool,etc) Busses are cramped Need more color (murals, etc) More language classes Need a “Hawk” tower (shade) More class choices (engineering)

Full-Time librarian More counseling to help with schedules Students want a “say” when they are being switched out of classes Some students don’t want to make the effort for school

Question: How many of you tried your best on the CST tests? 16/25 (no freshmen)

Question #3: Why do you think the scores dropped?

No personal buy-in Students don’t know how it affects the school Not popular to try (“labeled”) if they try No personal responsibility

Question #4: What could we do to increase test scores next year?

Increase motivation by adding incentives---Grade-bump, off campus pass

Question #5: Do you think you were academically prepared for the CSTs? (5 freshmen in

group)

Math—15/25 English--- 22/25 Science---14/25 Social Studies—12/25

Question #6: Should there be different incentives or can we intrinsically get students to do

better?

Promoting “cards” to freshmen, motivational speaker,

After passing out the new ESLRs and discussing them, students were asked, how many of

you feel that the school is mainly accomplishing these goals?

No number, just teachers have mastery and push students to achieve.

Question #7: Are there some that you feel are NOT being accomplished?

Healthy: Concern about drugs and patrolling the restroom/ more drug awareness for staying

clean

Academic: College visitations/test to see if prepared for college

Well-rounded: No reviewing of global or current event issues, more languages, world culture

day


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Knowledge: Need a basic computer skills class, need a more advanced class, Wi-Fi availability,

teachers need to use more technology and have more knowledge of it; need more life skills

preparation (job interviews, resumes, etc.)

Percentage Questions: Do you feel safe at school? 19/25

Do you feel that the teachers, staff, and admin. care about you? 14/25

LRHS STRENGTHS/GROWTHS

RANDOM STUDENT GROUPS SURVEY 2018

Curriculum Support 9:

Strengths:

Nice school

Older kids were kind and welcomed me Some teachers good (keep class in check, organized, helpful

10 minutes passing time Lunch is good Football team

Get helpful advice from teachers

School cares about your grades Sculpture class is fun FFA program is great

Sports teams try hard Support period to help with homework

Lunches Safe Some teachers are nice and cool

Growth: Not much to improve upon… maybe less homework

Classes are too long Work a little more on the food selection Off campus lunch rewards and more food days Shade

Too Strict Field trips for a wide variety of students Establish walking lanes for students trying to get through groups to get to class Too much homework


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Leadership:

Strengths: School spirit leaders

New stadium Sports teams and their work ethic and good sport spirit Diversity of clubs Teachers helping students Amazing coaches

Tight knit community

Acts of community service

Work Experience Classes Good Dances

School is welcoming and has a good attitude School has good academic goals

Strong in athletics Making sure students have the classes that fit them best for their needs Feel like you belong

Diversity of everything School is active in the community

Great Student section in sports Leadership and Link Crew helping people

School doesn’t have a lot of problems

Growth: Swimming pool More electives Mobile lab for every class

A computer lounge area Focus on all sports (not just football and boys basketball)

Block schedule makes the academics too fast/slow it down Our students need to be motivated to do better/they just do the minimum to graduate Most teachers inspire, but some fail to get material across properly or don’t seem to spend time

preparing for their subject matter School time should change

More activities in the classroom-less lecture Stop taking students out of class for testing

Landscaping Sports facilities (softball, baseball, swim) New and diverse sports teams Classes to help find career choices Off campus lunch rewards


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Drama and theater on our campus Being more inclusive to increase participation in all our clubs, programs, and sports Make personal connections with others on campus

English 3D:

Strengths: Football Stadium AG Program option

Good lunch program

Good # and Variety of Clubs Having only 4 classes daily

School Schedule Variety of electives Office staff is nice

90 minute classes Good basketball program

Cafeteria organization

Growth: 2 minute warning isn’t long enough Study hall period for an elective A/B confusing and hard to remember

Too much homework Cell phones banned 8:00-3:00 schedule?

Consistent and earlier Wednesday min. days Quality Cafeteria food Cliques of students

Language Live:

Strengths: School is fun School is safe The helpers (aides) in class are really nice Basketball and Floral Teachers nice and helpful (I love all my classes) Sport coaches


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Athletic programs Clubs Students in the school are nice

Teachers believe everyone can succeed

Growth: Nothing Longer lunch

More connection between groups More restrooms Students have more respect in the classrooms

Shorten class periods

Link Crew:

Strengths: Safe campus Love culinary class Sports culture

Teachers teach well No fighting or bullying

Opportunities to have VAPA electives Staff great at helping school run smoothly

Food Days Fundraising to help others

School Spirit Nice Students Classes helping freshmen

Growth: More color/murals on campus Need more spirit for dress up days More students involved in activities and rallies

Make the trees grow Better way to notify students Better website interface for phones

Equality for all sports teams.

English 3 (11):

Strengths: Productivity of AG department


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Kind Staff Sports programs Welding Program

Block Schedule Leadership activities Close to my house Fun and nice students who treat people well Rallies, events, and activities

Medical classes Our high school is preparing us for college Care about students and willing to make sure a student is doing OK

Food Days Students coming together as one Teachers care and it is a strong strength

Stadium Mechanics program

Variety of classes, clubs, and sports 12:15 days Spirit weeks

Special Ed teachers really care about their students

Growth: Students are divided in friend groups

Scheduling

More real life curriculum Off campus lunch Dislike the red lunch line/less restrictions at lunch

Phone use Schedule still confusing

Less homework More freedom in choosing classes More ways for kids to go to sporting events More opportunities for credits

Traffic in the parking lot More language options More teachers that “get us” and that we learn differently

Make the rallies more school and hawk pride based More art classes Longer lunch Students to be motivated more especially for group projects

Learning languages like Spanish are hard on this schedule-too fast School needs to care more about a student’s mental health, not just their grades


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AVID 9 ( Period 1):

Strengths: Teachers make learning fun Kind Teacher and students You can try different sports in different seasons

Good teachers and overall good place Freedom on class choices Great Staff Good organized teachers

Love everything about Liberty Teachers interact with students

College and Career Readiness and AVID to think about the future Fun classes and learning opportunities Dances

Good food Ag Classes

LRHS offers a good education Welding Everyone is welcoming and works together/Unity

Teachers supportive The whole school seems involved

School Spirit

School is getting you prepared for college

Lots of opportunities Activities like Winter Wishes

Phone use Schedule still confusing Less homework

More freedom in choosing classes More ways for kids to go to sporting events

More opportunities for credits Traffic in the parking lot More language options More teachers that “get us” and that we learn differently Make the rallies more school and hawk pride based

More art classes Longer lunch

Students to be motivated more especially for group projects Learning languages like Spanish are hard on this schedule-too fast School needs to care more about a student’s mental health, not just their grades


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AVID 9 (Period 2):

Strengths: Teachers make learning fun Kind Teacher and students You can try different sports in different seasons

Good teachers and overall good place Freedom on class choices Great Staff Good organized teachers

Love everything about Liberty Teachers interact with students

College and Career Readiness and AVID to think about the future Fun classes and learning opportunities Dances

Good food Ag Classes

LRHS offers a good education Welding Everyone is welcoming and works together/Unity

Teachers supportive The whole school seems involved

School Spirit

School is getting you prepared for college

Lots of opportunities Activities like Winter Wishes

Teachers: explain things clearly and more than once Old rules are better than the new ones? Students need help getting more credits faster.

Spanish Native 2:

(limited discussion time)

Strengths: The teachers – most know their subject area, teach well and are nice people

The number of rallies is good

Growth: There are too many rules The rules about headphones are too strict, students should be allowed to use them sometimes Improvement of rallies Students should be allowed to go off-campus for lunch if they have a qualifying GPA


129

LCFF Priority 7-Access to a Broad Course of Study

As noted, we have many students enrolled in A-G requirements, 99%, but only 44% of the

graduates are completing these requirements. This is a concern for LRHS. According to the CA

Dashboard, 50.9% of LRHS students are college and career ready which is an increase of 3.1%

from 16/17.


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LCFF Priority 8-Other Pupil Outcomes

A list of the state and local funding sources for LRHS is listed below:

Site Discretionary $189, 085: Lottery $11,662; CCPT $11,662; AG Voc Ed $49,000; CTEIG

$125,690

Federal Programs:

Title I $115, 076; Perkins Grant $49,784

Areas of Strength:

Graduation rates remain consistently high.

Advanced Placement, AVID, and agriculture courses offerings and enrollment has

increased. More students are also taking the advanced placement tests

Above the state and county average in overall ELA and Math scores for the CAASPP

Staff is fully credentialed, knowledgeable, and passionate about teaching and students.

Parent/Teacher/Staff Surveys and meetings: Overall impression of the environment,

administrators, staff, and school is very favorable.

According to the surveys and SARC, many stakeholders feel LRHS is safe and orderly.

According to surveys, most parents are using PowerSchool to track academics for

students.

There are a variety of supports for all students to be successful.

Areas of Critical Academic Need:

LRHS’s ELA scores, while still higher than the county and state, decreased significantly

Decrease achievement gap between the White and Hispanic/Latino subgroup.

LRHS students had a high rate of absenteeism in 2016/17. How can we help students and

parents understand the importance of school attendance?


131

The following questions have been raised from the data analysis and related to the Critical

Learning Needs:

1. What can LRHS do to motivate all students to increase test scores?

2. What other teaching strategies, programs, or remediation can LRHS provide for the math and

English students to help them be successful?

3. LRHS offers many different programs to help incoming students succeed; yet, what kind of

programs can LRHS offer to the upper level students to help them succeed?


132

Chapter III:

Self-Study Findings


133

Chapter III: Self-Study Findings

Category A: Organization: Vision and Purpose, Governance, Leadership and Staff,

and Resources

A1. Vision and Purpose Criterion

The school has a clearly stated vision and mission (purpose) based on its student needs, current educational research,

current educational research, the district Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP), and the belief that all students

can achieve at high academic levels. Supported by the governing board and the district LCAP, the school’s purpose is

defined further by schoolwide learner outcomes and the academic standards.

Online Programs: iNACOL Standard A: Mission Statement: The mission statement of a quality online program clearly

conveys its purpose and goals. It serves as the basis for the program’s day-to-day operations, as well as a guide for its strategic

future plans. Communications between and buy-in from stakeholders is a critical component of a mission statement. [iNACOL

Standard A, 2009]

Vision – Mission – Schoolwide Learner Outcomes – Profile

A1.1. Indicator: The school has established a clear, coherent vision and mission (purpose) of what students should

know and demonstrate; it is based upon high-quality standards and is congruent with research, practices, the

student/community profile data, and a belief that all students can learn and be college and career ready.

A1.1. Prompt: Evaluate the degree to which the development of the school’s statements has been impacted by

pertinent student/community profile data, the district LCAP, identified future global competencies, current

educational research and an overall belief that all students can learn and be college and career ready.

Findings Supporting Evidence

MISSION STATEMENT:

The mission of the Galt Joint Union High School District is to

ensure that each student graduates, achieves his/her goals, and

becomes a contributing member of society through effective

educational programs and facilities in partnership with family and

community.

Liberty Ranch High School

Student Learning Outcomes The commitment of Liberty Ranch High School is to promote life-

long learning, effective communication, and respect for self and

others.

Student/ Staff

handbook

School Website

Classroom posters

Course Catalog



https://www.ghsd.us/

https://gjuhsd-my.sharepoint.com/:b:/r/personal/sduncan_ghsd_k12_ca_us/Documents/LRHS%20WASC/2019-20%20Course%20Catalog.pdf?csf=1&e=BcXJDw


134

Liberty Ranch High School students are expected to be:


Make healthy lifestyle decisions and establish positive

relationships with others.


Demonstrate a mastery of academic standards through

critical thinking, problem-solving, and communication.


Understand global issues, respect diverse cultures, and

contribute to the improvement of their school and

community.


Apply learning and 21st Century skills to their daily lives

and future experiences.


Persevere through challenges and progress towards their

short term and long-term goals.

Development/Refinement of Vision, Mission, Schoolwide Learner Outcomes

A1.2. Indicator: There are effective processes in place to ensure involvement of all stakeholders in the development

and periodic refinement of the vision, mission, and schoolwide learner outcomes.

A1.2. Prompt: Evaluate the effectiveness of the processes that engage representatives from the entire school, the

district board, business, and the community in the development and periodic refinement of the vision, mission, and

schoolwide learner outcomes.


The original mission statement and ESLRs (now Student Learning

Outcomes or SLOs) were established before LRHS opened. These

have subsequently been revised twice with the participation of

staff, students, and parents, most recently during the 2018 WASC

FOCUS and home groups. These FOCUS groups consist of

administration, teachers, counselors, instructional assistants,

classified members, and parents while the home groups consist of

teachers in common subject areas (departments). The FOCUS

groups discussed the mission statement, SLOs, and the vision of

LRHS for the coming year. The Mission statement’s biggest

change was removing the word “personalized” because of its

Mission Statement

WASC meeting

agendas


135

vague meaning or varied understanding by stakeholders. The

SLOs were revised to be more succinct and to bold/increase the

size of the major elements associated with the acronym HAWKS.

Understanding of Vision, Mission, and Schoolwide Learner Outcomes, District LCAP

A1.3. Indicator: Students, parents, and other members of the school and business community demonstrate

understanding of and commitment to the vision, mission, the schoolwide learner outcomes, and the district LCAP.

A1.3. Prompt: Evaluate the degree to which the school ensures that students, parents, and other members of the

school’s community understand and are committed to the school’s vision, mission, and schoolwide learner outcomes.


Liberty Ranch High School is dedicated to fulfilling the mission

statement and the SLOs. The SLOs were developed not only for

the academic achievement and college and career readiness of the

students but for each student’s individual success in reaching his or

her goals which, in turn, will reach the goals of the Galt community.

LRHS’s success depends not only on high grades and CAASSP test

scores, but on producing citizens in the Galt community and beyond

who will be make healthy lifestyle choices, respect diverse cultures,

have positive relationships, persevere through challenges to succeed

in their goals, and use 21st Century skills to become college and

career ready and to contribute to the community and the world.

The mission statement and SLOs are made available for students

and parents in the staff/student handbook and are posted in each

classroom in English and Spanish. In the German classroom, they

are also written in German. Besides the SLOs being posted in

each classroom, they are also located in other areas of campus

(library, computer labs, counseling offices, and entrance to the

school). Thus, they are visible to parents and community

members who visit the school. The SLOs and mission statement

are also posted on the LRHS website for parent and community

access.

Students are reminded of the SLOs using a PowerPoint and

leadership skits during the year. Some teachers reference the

SLOs during class assignments or discussions. The leadership

Staff/student

handbook

Course Catalog

Website

SLOs in classrooms

SLOs PP and

student reminder

skits






136

team has outlined other strategies to continue encouraging

familiarity of the SLOs to students and parents which LRHS hopes

to implement in the future. Some examples include:

Warm-up activities for the classroom, wallet cards, poster

contests, awards for students modeling SLOs (HAWKS sightings),

acronym HAWKS for goal setting or journal writing, HAWKS

temporary tattoos, on the back of ID cards, used at rallies in games

or by yells, theme of the week, poster contest, social media

scavenger hunt event with pictures on Instagram.

Liberty Ranch High School encourages all students to strive

towards high academic and personal standards as outlined through

the mission statement and SLOs.

Leadership team

minutes

A2. Governance Criterion

The governing board (a) has policies and bylaws and the school’s purpose is aligned with them to support the

achievement of the schoolwide learner outcomes, academic standards, and college- and career- readiness standards

based on data-driven instructional decisions for the school; (b) delegates implementation of these policies to the

professional staff; and (c) monitors results regularly and approves the single schoolwide action plan and its relationship

to the Local Control and Accountability Plan.

Online Programs: iNACOL Standard B: Governance Statement: Governance is typically provided by a Board of Directors,

an Advisory Board or an ISCHOOL Board. In a quality online program, governance and leadership work hand-in-hand, developing

the operational policies for the program and its leadership and staff. [iNACOL Standard B, 2009]

Indicators with Prompts

Governing Board and District Administration

A2.1. Indicator: The district policies and procedures are clear regarding the specific duties and roles of the governing

board and district administration in their relationship to the school and staff.

A2.1. Prompt: Determine the clarity of board policies and procedures regarding the roles of the board and district

administration, including supporting the school’s vision, mission, schoolwide learner outcomes, monitoring student

progress, engaging parent and community participation in site governance, implementing complaint procedures, and

reviewing program effectiveness in alignment with the district LCAP requirements.


137


Our governance consists of the following entities: The

GJUHSD School Board and the administration at the district

and site level. There are a variety of district committees with

administrative and staff members from each school. At the

LRHS administration level there is an administrative cabinet

team comprised of administrators and key district officials.

The LRHS school site council which helps to govern the

school also meets with administrators, parents, and students.

An ELAC/Bilingual Advisory committee made of

administration and parents meets at LRHS. Continuing with

the governing bodies, at LRHS there is a site leadership team,

department leadership team and committees for safety and

campus school culture. Each of these governing bodies meets

once a month with occasional specialized meetings upon

necessity.

The student handbook that outlines the policies and procedures

for the LRHS is given to students every year. On a single day

during the first week, sections of the handbook are reviewed

during each period, so all information is discussed and covered

for each student. The handbooks are then taken home and

students and parents sign for the receipt of the handbook. The

student handbook is available on the LRHS website.

Meeting agendas

Monthly calendar

Students handbook

printed copy

Student handbook on

website

A2.1. Additional Online Instruction Prompt: Evaluate the policies related to online instruction for effectiveness in

clarifying the vision for the school’s use of various types of online curriculum, instruction and support methodologies;

this includes, upgrading or updating technology, acceptable use policies, CIPA policies, and policies to ensure

internet safety.


At the business days before school, students and parents sign

an internet agreement acknowledging the internet use policies.

Also, upon signing the student handbook, students and parents

are aware of the governing policies concerning technology and

plagiarism.

Teachers use technology across campus for a variety of

instruction strategies and online resources including online

Computer agreement

Student Handbook

Help Desk Icon

and IT district log







138

textbooks, supplementary materials, YouTube videos, and

other sites. The district IT department manages internet issues

of accessibility and safety and the staff are notified of periodic

updates. Staff notifies IT of any problems through an online

help desk.

Flex Academy using Fuel Ed is the instruction for online

credit recovery during the school day. Students and parents

sign a contract for the class and are updated by the Fuel Ed

teachers and counselors about student online class completion.

Fuel Ed Contract

Understanding the Role of the Governing Board

A2.2 Indicator: There is a clear understanding about the role and responsibilities of the governing board and the

professional staff.

A2.2 Prompt: Determine the extent to which there is clear, sustainable understanding regarding the relationship

between the governing board and the professional staff.


The GJUHSD governing board is comprised of five elected

community members. Members of the district office,

including the superintendent and financial officer; the three

principals from the high schools; and student representatives

from each school attend the meetings. GJUHSD board meets

in the Galt City Chamber or LRHS library and all community

members and stakeholders are welcome to attend. Community

members may address the board in writing or at the beginning

of board meetings on any school related item. They may also

speak on board agenda items during the meeting. The board

has adopted a Uniform Complaint policy that outlines

procedures and policies that are to be followed for all

stakeholders wishing to file complaints. The Board agendas

and minutes are published, and the Board meetings have been

taped. Recently, the Board meetings have been video recorded

for viewing by those who are interested.

The Board hears presentations about district and site finances,

programs, accolades, and activities which relate to and affect

Board meeting minutes

Tapes/Videos


139

the LCAP, Single School plan, SLOs, college and career

standards, and the community.

The board sets and monitors annual goals of LRHS that

address all areas of curricular needs including the SLOs. The

state CASSP scores and other data tools are presented and are

used to monitor the degree of accomplishment of academic

goals and programs at LRHS. After school site

recommendations, the board makes decisions on personnel,

supply and textbook purchases, and program improvements

which support the vision and mission of the LRHS.

The governing board maintains a good relationship with

professional staff. The board allows for the superintendent and

the administrative staff to carry out their duties, which is to

run the school and district. Staff often make presentations

about their programs, inform the board about accolades of

students, and feel comfortable speaking on board agenda items

as well as during public comments. The board does intervene

at times with sensitive topics, negotiations, or staff grievances.

Governing Board and Stakeholder Involvement

A2.3. Indicator: Parents, community members, staff and students are engaged in the governance of the school.

A2.3. Prompt: Evaluate the ways the school community and parents are a) informed as to how they can participate

in the school’s governance and b) engaged in the governance of the school through their participation on the School

Site Council, ELAC, district LCAP committees and other advisory or shared decision-making groups that provide

guidance or direction to the school.


The following governing bodies meet monthly unless special

sessions or workshops are scheduled.

The School Site Council made up of administration, teachers,

parents, and students meets to approve school site funds while

making decisions on other schoolwide projects. (This

committee meets quarterly).

Meeting minutes and

agendas


140

The ELAC (English Learner Advisory Committee) consisting

of administration and parents provides advisory support to the

administration for the success of ELs on the LRHS campus.

A Site Leadership Team made up of the site administration,

head counselor, activities director, and athletics director meet

to discuss areas of concern and future activities so that LRHS

does not duplicate services and can offer support with

concerns and/or upcoming projects

Another governing organization is the leadership team which

consists of administration, department chairs, the activity

director, the AVID coordinator, and the athletic director. This

team discusses all aspects of the school including site-based

budgeting where departments work together to decide the best

allocation of funds and schoolwide activities

LRHS has representatives on the different district committees

including Curriculum, Professional Development, Calendar,

Data and Assessment, Health Benefits, Technology, and the

College and Career Readiness (previously the Graduation

Requirements) committee. These representatives bring

information back to the LRHS campus for discussion and

input.

LRHS also has a safety committee and Campus Culture

committee with representatives from different departments on

campus. The Culture committee was established in 2017/18 to

focus on instilling unity and spirit across the campus. Most

recently they have worked on the new tardy policy and the

holiday gathering for teachers.

Other district committees with parent and community

involvement are the District Advisory Committee-Title I and

the District English Learner Advisory Committee- EL. Both of

these committees oversee the LCAP. Two other committees

are the Parent Advisory Committee-SPED and the Migrant Ed

Advisory Committee-Migrant.

Presentations by staff

members at board

meeting and staff

meetings

Agendas and minutes


141

Parents are also encouraged to join the AG, GLUE, Theater,

and Athletic Boosters on campus, as well as the WASC focus

groups. These groups bring forward ideas to implement for the

success of LRHS students and are a vital part of the decision-

making process.

Student Government also functions in an advisory capacity to

the school community by meeting periodically with

administration to plan and implement school activities and

events that promote a positive school culture.

Board’s Evaluation /Monitoring Procedures

A2.4. Indicator: There is clarity of the evaluation and monitoring directed by the governing board and carried out

by the district administration.

A2.4. Prompt: Determine the degree to which there are evaluation and monitoring procedures conducted by the

district administration and reported to the governing board. Including the annual LCAP assessment of district goals

and the Eight State Priorities, the review of student performance toward career and college readiness, assessment of

overall school programs and operations and the fiscal health of the school.


Communication throughout the site ensures that there is

uniform adherence to all policies and expectations. The

GJUHSD board receives regular budget and program updates

by the superintendent, chief business officer, administration,

and student representatives. The board ensures that programs

receive proper funding, and that LRHS facilities are

maintained in great condition. Presentations to the board on

current and new programs as well as other aspects of the

campus help the board evaluate and monitor the school’s state

of affairs.

Each year presentations are given to the school board and staff

on the LCAP (this year included the Eight Priorities), budget,

and all school programs. Meetings on LCAP are also made

available for parents and members of the community to attend.

Board Meetings

Administration duties

list


142

Administrators also have certain responsibilities on

committees and for teacher evaluations to assure the best

instruction and academic progress for our students.

In addition, since 2012 a variety of surveys (47) have been

given to staff, students, and parents regarding all elements of

the district including student performance and school

programs and operations. Surveymonkey.com surveys for

students (18) consisted of WASC, Hybrid Schedule, Senior

Exit, CCR for Freshmen, Athletic, and most recently

CAASPP. The results are then analyzed by the district or staff

to make improvements to LRHS for the success of each

student. Surveymonkey.com surveys for staff (22) consisted of

Standards Implementation, CANVAS, Graduation

Requirements, Maintenance, CALLI Professional

Development, Hybrid Schedule, and CAASPP.

Surveymonkey.com surveys for parents in both English and

Spanish (5) consisted of Hybrid Schedule and WASC.

Through panoramaed.com students, parents, faculty, and

family (parents) completed the survey about a variety of topics

dealing with LRHS in the Spring of 2017 and 2018. In 2017,

182 students, 67 staff, and 161 family completed the survey. In

2018, 593 students, 85 staff, and 110 parents completed the

survey.

Surveys Link

Uniform Complaint Procedures

A2.5. Indicator: The school leadership understands and utilizes the Uniform Complaint Procedures from the district.

A2.5. Prompt: Evaluate the degree to which the school leadership ensures understanding and use of the district’s

Uniform Complaint Procedures. (Priority 1).


Students and parents receive the Student Handbook which

explicitly outlines the complaint procedures. Parents sign to

acknowledge that they have read and understood the

procedures. This handbook is also on the school website.

Student Handbook

LRHS Website





143

A3. Leadership: Empowerment and Continuous Planning and Monitoring Criterion

Based on student achievement data, the school leadership, parent/community, and staff make decisions and initiate

activities that focus on all students achieving the schoolwide learner outcomes, academic standards, and college- and

career-readiness standards. The school leadership and staff annually monitor and refine the single schoolwide action

plan and make recommendations to modify the LCAP based on analysis of data to ensure alignment with student

needs.

Online Programs: iNACOL Standard C: Leadership: The leadership of a quality online program is accountable to the

program’s governance body, and is responsible for setting and meeting the operational and strategic goals in support of the

program’s mission and vision statements. [iNACOL Standard C, 2009]

Online Programs: iNACOL Standard I: Integrity and Accountability: In a quality online program, leadership is transparent

in its management of the program, providing regular and timely information on progress towards attainment of goals, alignment

with policies and standards, and achievement of student learning outcomes. [iNACOL Standard I, 2009]

Online Programs: iNACOL Standard D: Planning: A quality online program makes planning, managed by the leadership and

staff of the organization a regular part of the program. There are several types of planning activities, including strategic planning,

long-range and operational planning, which identifies annual goals. Effective planning is not a one-time activity, but instead should

provide opportunities for reflection on how to improve the organization’s performance. [iNACOL Standard D, 2009]

Online Programs: iNACOL Standard F: Commitment: In a quality online program governance, leadership and staff are

responsible for creating an organization that demonstrates a commitment to attaining the program’s goals and mission statement.

Everyone within the organization understands the mission statement and works to achieve it. [iNACOL Standard F, 2009]

Online Programs: iNACOL Standard I: Integrity and Accountability: In a quality online program, leadership is transparent in

its management of the program, providing regular and timely information on progress towards attainment of goals, alignment with

policies and standards, and achievement of student learning outcomes. [iNACOL Standard I, 2009]


Broad-Based and Collaborative

A3.1. Indicator: The school’s broad-based, collaborative planning process is a continuous improvement cycle that a)

assesses data to determine student needs, b) collaboratively determines and implements strategies and actions and c)

monitors results.

A3.1. Prompt: Determine the effectiveness of the continuous school improvement planning process to ensure that it

is broad-based, collaborative and fosters the commitment of the stakeholders.


144


LRHS planning process is broad-based, collaborative, and has

the commitment of shareholders throughout the school-wide

community. Different heterogeneous teams plan for

continuous improvement of the school. The School Site

Council consists of community members, students, teaching

staff, counselors, and administration who help create and

monitor the Single School Plan (SPSA). LRHS WASC

committee also includes community members, teaching staff,

counselors, students, classified staff and administration who

assess data and work to create the WASC report. Other

groups including home departments and committees, as stated

earlier, are also part of the collaborative and evaluative

process for continued success of LRHS students.

A single school plan for LRHS is revised each year with input

from School Site Council and staff. The plan reflects the state

of the school and addresses action plan items as LRHS strives

to help students become successful in reaching the SLOs. The

board approves the plan, the goals, and the funding

assignments.

Data is analyzed on all students, and programs are created with

an emphasis on reducing the achievement gap and increasing

CAASPP scores. With the change in state testing, and

administration at both the district and site levels, there has also

been changes in the data collection systems. Originally, CSTs

and the district data system SchoolNet were used by teachers

to gather and analyze data. Teachers had the ability to break

down analysis by key indicators which led to department

discussions and changes to instruction. With the change to

CAASPP testing and the new district program Illuminate,

teachers are learning the new systems through district, staff,

and individual teacher training to make a more consistent

effort to analyze data. While staff is well-aware of student

CAASPP scores through district discussion and data,

School Site Council

Minutes

WASC committees

Single School Plan

(SPSA)

Benchmark Exams

Illuminate

School Report Card

(SARC)

School Dashboard

Buy-back Day minutes

Survey Link





145

Illuminate scoring of common assessments is still a work in

progress.

Core classes use common benchmark exams as a means to

analyze data resulting in test changes, remediation, and raising

standards and expectations for the future.

Dept. meeting minutes

Single School Plan for Student Achievement Correlated to Student Learning

A3.2. Indicator: The school’s Single Plan for Student Achievement (SPSA) is directly correlated to and driven by the

analysis of student achievement data and aligned with district LCAP.

A3.2. Prompt: How do staff ensure that the analysis of student achievement of the critical learner and college- and

career-readiness needs, schoolwide learner outcomes, academic and career-readiness standards, and the California

School Dashboard data are incorporated into the SPSA and impact the development, implementation, and monitoring

of the SPSA and the LCAP?


The SLOs are embedded in the current School Single Plan for

Achievement (SPSA). The SPSA is also correlated with the

LCAP focusing on increasing students’ college and career

readiness, raising tests scores, reducing student absenteeism,

and

After analyzing the school data at staff meetings and

department meetings, the SPSA was developed and

implemented to reflect the goals of the staff and community.

Most departments are currently working on updated

curriculum, pacing guides, and common assessments to reflect

the Common core and the action plan of the SPSA.

Also, data from a multitude of surveys helps to guide this

SPSA.

The administrative team, SSC, district office, and school board

monitors LRHS’s progress towards the SPSA.

SPSA

SLOs

CA Dashboard

Staff and District

Meeting agendas

Survey Link




146

Staff Actions/Accountability to Support Learning

A3.3. Indicator: The school leadership and staff demonstrate shared decision-making, responsibility, and self-

reflection on actions and accountability for implementing practices, programs, actions, and services that support

student learning.

A3.3. Prompt: Determine the effectiveness of the processes and procedures for involving staff in shared decision-

making, responsibility, and self-reflection on actions and accountability to support student learning throughout all

programs.


Within departments, collaboration time is used to strengthen

the curriculum to align it with state standards. Teachers

develop new strategies based on data collected from student

assessments. Some departments are using their benchmarks

and assessments created; math and English departments are

using SBAC practice tests to prepare the CAASPP tests. test

results to monitor and refine the delivery of curriculum to

ensure alignment with all students’ needs

Articulation during common planning times between subject

teachers ensures that each teacher is progressing at the proper

rates according to subject pacing guides while aligning with

the Common Core Standards

As mentioned earlier, many different governing bodies help

with the decision making and accountability. Staff meetings

are also used to make decisions and share responsibility. It is

evident that the LRHS administration also has an open-door

policy for all LRHS staff, students, and other stakeholders

(parents, community members) to discuss ideas, share

concerns, and resolve differences.

LRHS has a staff with a history of shared responsibility and

accountability to support student learning. Many members of

the staff moved from Galt High School where they had been

teaching together for several years to start Liberty Ranch High

School in 2009. There is a collegiality among the staff, and

they have great pride in their school and students. This

cohesiveness and enthusiasm help support the student learning

atmosphere. Staff represents a significant voice in school

affairs by belonging to different committees and sharing their

Collaboration Calendar

Meetings calendar and

minutes

Survey Link



147

opinions at staff and department meetings. Department chairs

are encouraged to observe members of their department for

effective teaching strategies. The qualified staff not only

emphasizes student learning and the SLOs in the classroom,

but also supports student learning of being a well-rounded

individual by showing school pride and enthusiasm in the

school activities by attending student athletic, drama, band,

and FFA events; participating in rallies and dress-up days; and

organizing and competing in classroom competitions

Internal Communication and Planning

A3.4. Indicator: The school has effective existing structures for internal communication, planning, and resolving

differences.

A3.4. Prompt: Evaluate the effectiveness of the existing structures for internal communication, planning, and

resolving differences among the staff or administration.


All the staff at LRHS uses school wide email. Email is

essential for communication between teachers and for

communication with parents. Email is used for clear and

effective dialog to resolve differences in curriculum,

assessment, and in planning professional events and activities.

LRHS also utilizes CANVAS, Illuminate, and PowerSchool as

online social networking tools to distribute pertinent

information relating to respective classes, and an automated

phone system that can get messages to staff, students, and

parents at home in an effective and timely manner in both

English and Spanish. Every classroom has a phone list along

with a room utilization list and master schedule to help with

communication. LRHS staff is still learning the features of a

new phone system installed in 2018, but it allows for tracking

teachers to different classrooms and business skyping. LRHS

has staff meetings once a month to keep the staff up to date on

important relevant information. Department heads have

monthly meetings to keep teachers current with school wide

planning. At collaboration each Wednesday, department

chairs disseminate information from the dept. chair meeting

Software programs

IT logs

Staff Meeting Agendas


148

and discuss ideas to bring back to the next dept. chair meeting.

LRHS representatives on district committees keep staff

informed on pertinent issues. The administrative team meets

regularly to review planning and resolve any differences.

Staff members may access the school and district website from

school or at home which allows them email, grade book,

AESOP sub-finder, and Office365 access if they desire. This

helps with communication and planning even when teachers

are off campus. Technology such as surveymonkey and

Panorama are also used for informal and formal surveys.

The open-door policy not only with administration, but with

counselors and all staff allows for internal communication

between all stakeholders to truly benefit LRHS students and

community. One benefit of our facilities structure is the

internal doors that open to a hallway and other classrooms.

Often teachers are isolated in their classrooms, however, with

this arrangement, teachers can have easy contact with other

teachers between passing periods, at lunch, during

collaboration, and after school. Most departments are located

in the same building or hallway. This also allows for shared

materials and a collegial unity between the staff.

Collaboration Meeting

minutes

Survey Link

District Website

School map

A4. Staff: Qualified and Professional Development Criterion

A qualified staff facilitates achievement of the student academic standards and the schoolwide learner outcomes

through a system of preparation, induction, and ongoing professional development. There is a systematic approach to

continuous improvement through professional development based on student performance data, student needs, and

research.

Online Programs: iNACOL Standard E: Organizational Staffing: A quality online program recognizes appropriate levels of

staffing are critical to the success of an online program. Staff should be well-trained in order to successfully meet their

performance goals, and are provided with appropriate levels of support, resources, feedback and management. [iNACOL

Standard E, 2009]




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Qualifications and Preparation of Staff

A4.1. Indicator: The school has confidence in district procedures to ensure that staff members are qualified based on

staff background, training, and preparation. The processes to assign staff members and provide appropriate orientation

for all assignments maximizes the expertise of the staff members in relation to impact on quality student learning.

A4.1. Prompt: Evaluate the effectiveness of district procedures to ensure all staff members in all programs, including

online instruction, are qualified for their responsibilities and that the process to assign staff members and provide an

appropriate orientation process, including online instruction and focused programs, maximizes the expertise of all

staff members in relation to impact on quality student learning.


Employment policies are updated as needed, and the district

and school maintain fair, professional employment practices.

Having clear expectations for employment and job

expectations is very important to ensuring consistency and

ongoing success. In some cases, the details are in the labor

contract, and instruments like evaluations, although district

approved, are part of an agreement with the union. LRHS

employees are hired after a paper screening process usually

associated with Edjoin and a formal interview by a competent

panel which may include administration, department chairs,

other staff, parents, and students. Once a candidate is chosen,

HR is contacted to start the paperwork process including a

formal background check. Currently, the school does not

provide staff for separate online instruction except for credit

recovery.

LRHS has 100% highly qualified teachers, and all teachers

have EL/CLAD certification. All teachers are credentialed in

the content area that they teach. All teachers have a bachelor’s

degree with a majority of the teachers having 30 or more units

above the degree requirement. A significant number hold

advanced degrees. The average teacher experience is 14 years

of teaching in the classroom and over 11 years teaching in the

district. Teachers are placed appropriately in accordance with

their credentials. The master schedule is created from March-

May after student registration, and teachers are informed of

their teaching schedule before the end of the school year.

District hiring process

CDE staff data

Teaching schedule


150

New teachers are given extra support from LRHS through

staff meetings and department collaboration, as well as the

Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment program (BTSA),

now called the SCOE Induction program. New teachers also

have a separate day of introduction at the beginning of the

school year. AP teachers, intervention teachers, and special

education teachers have received additional training for their

specialty courses.

Induction meeting notes

PD Link

Defining and Understanding Practices/Relationships

A4.2. Indicator: The school implements a clear system to communicate administrator and faculty written policies,

charts, and handbooks that define responsibilities, operational practices, decision-making processes, and relationships

of leadership and staff.

A4.2. Prompt: Evaluate the system used to communicate administrator and faculty written policies, charts, pacing

guides and handbooks that define responsibilities, operational practices, decision-making processes, and

relationships of leadership and staff. Determine the degree of clarity and understanding of these by administration

and faculty.


At the beginning of each school year Liberty Ranch High

School distributes a faculty handbook and an Emergency

response binder. The faculty handbook includes operational

information. The Emergency binder has all the procedures for

any school emergency that may arise. The emergency plan

and binder are updated each year. Students also receive a

student handbook which has all policies concerning student

accountability. The student handbook is reviewed school wide

with students during the first week in the classroom. SLOs are

also posted and discussed with students. The staff receives a

list of administration and department head roles and

responsibilities so there is a clear path of duties and

communication. LRHS teachers also have a collective

bargaining agreement which specifically outlines teacher

duties and responsibilities

Faculty Handbook

Emergency Binder

Student Handbook

Support of Professional Development/Learning and Measurable Effect on Student Learning

A4.3. Indicator: The school effectively supports professional development/learning with time, personnel, material,

and fiscal resources to facilitate all students achieving the academic, college- and career-readiness standards, and the

schoolwide learner outcomes.




151

A4.3. Prompt: Determine the effectiveness of the professional development support, time and resources to meet the

needs. To what measurable effect have the professional development/ learning activities, including coaching and

mentoring, had on student learning.


Teachers have the chance to improve their skills and learn

from their peers through weekly collaboration which provides

teachers time to collaborate with colleagues, sometimes within

the same discipline, sometimes across disciplines on academic

needs and the fulfillment of the SLOs.

LRHS has aligned the core content areas to the state content

standards. Departments without state standards are using

national standards where applicable. Work continues in

content areas to evaluate current practice and further align

curricula to state content standards. Teachers are given time

during the school year and using summer project money to

rewrite the curriculum. Most recently curriculum is being

rewritten to follow the CC and NGSS standards.

During buy-back days, or minimum collaboration days

(students released at 12:15), teachers experience professional

development from expert colleagues on a variety of teaching

strategies or technology use. Most recently LRHS teachers

have focused on student engagement, developing the common

core curriculum, and assessments. Buy-back days are no

longer being offered by the district.

Other use of staff expertise has been through BTSA (now

SCOE Induction Program) and PAR (Peer Assistance

Review). Through the Induction program, all new teachers are

matched with an LRHS support provider who helps the new

teacher navigate through the teaching process as an observer

and mentor during the first two years. The PAR program

provides a system of mentors/teacher associations to facilitate

excellence in teaching.

AVID teachers and site team members also participate in

regular workshops and seminars to learn AVID-based

instructional strategies to improve student performance and


CC and national

standards

PD Link

PAR and SCOE notes

PD Link




152

increase college readiness which they share with the staff

through emails or collaboration. More recently professional

development has been used for CALLI student engagement

strategies.

At LRHS, administration and staff go the extra mile to ensure

a solid learning experience for students. This includes using

their expertise and enthusiasm for coaching athletics and FFA

teams, being advisors to clubs and classes, tutoring during

lunch or after school, and being involved in groups called

stafftivities or campus culture to make LRHS successful for all

students.

Club, Ag Link

A4.3. Additional Online Instruction Prompt: Evaluate the processes and procedures for involving online staff

members in professional development activities that enhance the use of technology in the delivery of instruction and

support student learning.


NA NA

Supervision and Evaluation

A4.4. Indicator: The school implements effective supervision and evaluation procedures in order to promote

professional growth of staff.

A4.4. Prompt: How effective are the school’s supervision and evaluation procedures?


Teachers must complete STULL bills each year due the first

week in Oct. These bills discuss specific objectives of the

teachers for the year and the strategy to reach this objective.

Administrators have an evaluation schedule to follow each

year. Through evaluations LRHS administration supports

teacher progress through honest collaboration with teachers to

improve student performance. The process uses professional

standards, goal setting, and observation to help with the

professional development options. Written and verbal

assessment are by administrators during the pre and post

evaluation discussions.

STULL bills

Evaluation Calendar

Evaluation Templates


153

In the past, administrators went through walk-through training

to give valuable, non-evaluative feedback to teachers for

professional growth. Because of changing administration and

priorities of both district and LRHS, there has been little time

for the current administration to accomplish this process.

The leadership and staff work very closely on implementing

student programs and reviewing data to set goals to improve

student learning. There is an ongoing conversation between

school leadership and staff on how to educate students and

reach the goals of the SLOs. The staff is intelligent, caring,

and dedicated to successful student learning.

A4.4. Additional Online Instruction Prompt: How effective is the school’s supervision and evaluation procedures

in order to promote professional growth of online instructional staff, including their technological competencies and

use of technology within the curriculum, and their fulfilling requirements for quality student-teacher interaction?


NA NA

A5. Resources Criterion

The human, material, physical, and financial resources are sufficient and utilized effectively and appropriately in

accordance with the legal intent of the program(s) and LCAP to support students in accomplishing the schoolwide

learner outcomes, academic standards, and college- and career-readiness standards.

Online Programs: iNACOL Standard G: Financial and Material Resources: A quality online program has adequate financial

and material resources to accomplish the mission of the organization. These resources are appropriately planned for and expended

using sound business practices. [iNACOL Standard G 2009]


Allocation Decisions and Their Impact

A5.1. Indicator: There is a relationship between the decisions about resource allocations, the district’s LCAP and the

Single Plan for Student Achievement (SPSA), the school’s vision, mission, the schoolwide learner outcomes, critical

student learning needs, academic standards, and college- and career-readiness standards. The school leadership and

staff are involved in the resource allocation decisions.

A5.1. Prompt: Evaluate the extent to which the resources are allocated to meet the school’s vision, mission, the

schoolwide learner outcomes, the critical student learning needs, the student needs identified in the district LCAP and

the SPSA, the academic standards, and the college- and career-readiness standards. Determine the extent to which


154

leadership and staff are involved in the resource allocation decisions. What impact has the process for the allocation

of resources made on student learning?


The LRHS site plan (SPSA) is aligned with the mission

statement, SLOs, and the district goals of the Galt Joint

Unified High School District (LCAP). The LRHS Site Council

actively works on ensuring resources are distributed with these

plans in mind. Department Chairs receive department budgets

at their leadership meetings. Department chairs may also see

the principal to request extra allocations for certain budget

situations. The leadership team discusses the purchase of

large budget items. Funds are also allocated during the

summer for summer projects. Teachers apply to the district by

sending proposals which are allocated by a selected district

panel. Teachers are informed of time and money appropriated

for their projects.

Currently the district is re-implementing a textbook adoption

calendar as well as researching the budgeting for a 1-to-1

computer purchase. These large expenditures involve the

discussion and collaboration of departments and all staff to

further the success of LRHS students.

SPSA

District Summer School

Application

Practices

A5.2. Indicator: There are district processes and practices in place for developing an annual budget, conducting an

annual audit, and at all times conducting quality business and accounting practices.

A5.2. Prompt: Evaluate the effectiveness of the school’s processes in relationship to district practices for developing

an annual budget, conducting an annual audit, and at all times conducting quality business and accounting practices,

including protections against mishandling of institutional funds. (Note: Some of this may be more district-based than

school-based.)


The development of the annual budget and periodic updates

are required by law and reports are approved by the governing

board. The annual audit is what effectively closes the

financials for the year. The audit accounts for checks and

balances and tests for potential breakdowns. The

superintendent and CBO work closely together to give

LRHS Budget

POs to District

GJUHSD annual

budget



155

information to the board so they may make informed

budgeting decisions for the district. The Board, through the

District Administration, is responsible for determining the

various funds and sources of funding available to LRHS each

year, in addition to determining FTE available for LRHS

staffing.

The school board approves the SPSA and the LRHS principal

is responsible for approving all site expenditures, which are

processed and tracked through the District’s CBO and the

business department.

Also, at the site level, ASB follows the FCMAT fiscal rules

with all funds.

ASB Accounts

Facilities

A5.3. Indicator: The school’s facilities are adequate to meet the students’ learning needs, support the educational

program (i.e., accomplish the vision, mission, and the schoolwide learner outcomes) and are safe, functional, and well-

maintained.

A5.3. Prompt: Determine the extent to which the facilities enable the school to maintain a learning environment to

meet the educational health and safety needs of students.


The LRHS campus is regularly inspected for necessary repairs.

Safety, cleanliness, and maintenance are high priorities to

staff, students, and the community. As seen in recent surveys,

including one evaluating the maintenance staff, the

stakeholders believe that LRHS is a safe, clean, orderly school

and the maintenance staff takes his or her job seriously and

keeps all classrooms and buildings clean and safe. During the

summer, maintenance does a thorough cleaning of all rooms

including carpets, whiteboards, windows and shades.

LRHS buildings were created to establish greater

communication between colleagues by having inner pod halls

and rooms which are accessible to teachers. Each classroom is

in use on the campus including one that was remodeled for a

Survey Link

FIT report

School map



156

weight room. Currently most teachers can use their own room

throughout the day including on their prep period.

The campus contains an office, library, five major computer

labs (two for all classroom use, one for information

technology classes, one for yearbook and digital photography

classes, one for Flex Academy classes), gymnasium, updated

weight room, aerobics room, band/choir room, three art rooms,

cafeteria, school store, and two cooking kitchens for foods

classes. The science labs were recently inspected and are fully

equipped including the ability of students to use computers.

The agriculture building, constructed during the 2nd year the

school was open, contains classrooms, shops for

welding/mechanics and floriculture, and has outside buildings

for agriculture-based learning. The Ag department also

recently passed a safety inspection. For the Ag department,

extensive facility development occurred with the outdoor

learning center and the recently (2018) McCaffrey fruit tree

orchard established across Marengo Road.

Most recently, as listed in the earlier narrative, a new stadium

was constructed on the east side of campus. These new

facilities were completed after a recent bond was passed. The

stadium consists of an all-weather track, bleachers, press box,

turf field, and lights. At the moment there is a portable snack

bar and restrooms. Hopefully in the next few years, these can

become permanent structures.

Input from student discussions and surveys indicate a student

need for more restrooms, and a hope for a pool and

auditorium.

LRHS also has enhanced safety by adding new security

cameras bringing the total to 36 including ones in the new

stadium.

In 2017/18 LRHS passed a safety inspection protocol through

the company Imgenium. In accordance with this inspection, all

science and agriculture teachers and maintenance staff went to

training and are certified and in compliance with the safety

protocol, thus, all “wet labs” have met the appropriate safety

expectations.

Maintenance


157

Instructional Materials and Equipment

A5.4. Indicator: The policies and procedures for acquiring and maintaining adequate instructional materials and

equipment, such as textbooks, other printed materials, audio-visual, support technology, manipulatives, and laboratory

materials are effective.

A5.4. Prompt: Evaluate the effectiveness of the policies and procedures for acquiring and maintaining adequate

instructional materials and equipment, such as technology tools and software, the support systems for technology,

software, textbooks, other printed materials, library media resources, manipulatives, and laboratory materials for

instruction including online.


Standards-based instructional materials are available in most

content areas including English, math, social science, science,

world language, agriculture, and special education. In

compliance with the Williams Act, all students are issued

textbooks (or textbooks are available online or in the

classroom) and instructional materials for all classes that

require such materials. All recent adoptions have been based

on aligning materials to content standards. After department

and administration consultation over materials, the district

makes the final decision to allocate money.

In each department narrative in Chapter I, outdated and

updated curriculum is discussed. Updates to technology are

also discussed.

Each regular classroom contains a ceiling mounted LCD

projector, DVD player, document camera, and printer which

help teachers with different instructional strategies to meet the

SLOs.

Williams Act

District Textbook

Adoption List

Teacher Syllabi for

books and online

supplemental support

WASC report Chapter 1

Monitored by IT

Well-Qualified Staff

A5.5. Indicator: Resources are available and used to enable the hiring, nurturing, and ongoing professional

development of a well-qualified staff for all programs, supporting the school’s vision, mission, schoolwide learner

outcomes, and identified student learning needs.

A5.5. Prompt: Determine if the resources are available and used to enable the hiring, nurturing and ongoing

professional development of a well-qualified staff for all programs, supporting the school’s vision, mission,

schoolwide learner outcomes, and identified student learning needs.


158


The staff members are highly qualified, NCLB compliant, and

CLAD certified. Students and parents believe teachers are

knowledgeable about their subjects, model professional

behavior, and care about their students.

New teachers have been entering SCOE Induction training

with a district staff member as the support provider. They are

also provided with information at the new teacher work day,

meet with department chairs, and are given a teacher

handbook.

We have three counselors (2 with a student caseload, 1 career

counselor), a psychologist, a shared outreach counselor, and a

part-time migrant ed and migrant ed intern to provide

academic, emotional, and scheduling support for students as

they are guided through the requirements of their four-year

plan for graduation. They also provide orientation events for

students and parents in addition to planning and advice note

only for students but for staff as well.

Well-qualified office staff are available to assist students,

certificated staff, and parents to ensure that students meet the

SLOs. Many of these staff are bilingual. Two bilingual

campus supervisors assist in keeping the campus safe. They

also provide security for all attendees at school-sponsored

events. LRHS also maintains well-qualified paraprofessionals,

many of whom are bilingual, to help both students and

teachers on campus.

Ongoing Professional Development is very important to

develop well-qualified staff for all programs. Even with the

change in district and LRHS administration, there has been

numerous professional development opportunities provided by

the district or funded by the district for the staff. After surveys

of staff, a common theme for professional development has

been technology training. This is still an on-going issue with

the many changes or updates of software.

Survey link

Induction Meetings

Staff Roster

Survey Link

PD Link





159

Representatives from departments and administration have

attended training to implement the Common Core Standards in

the core classes.

Other teachers have gone to trainings for AVID (summer

institutes) and Link Crew which are programs designed to help

students reach personal success in high school and the future.

Workshops and visitations by Dr. Raja were also sponsored by

the district and sites for teachers to enhance their teaching

strategies.

Professional Development has also consisted of teachers

training teachers in web site design, student engagement, EL

strategies, reading strategies, effective instructional strategies,

and data analysis.

Every Wednesday students are released at 2:00 P.M., while

teachers remain to collaborate as departments or full staff.

Collaboration in departments consists of discussions about

data analysis, curriculum, and good teaching practices. If

there is a 5th Wednesday of the month, then students are

released at 12:15 and teachers collaborate from 1:00-3:00.

Long-Range Planning

A5.6. Indicator: The district and school’s processes for regularly and effectively aligning the Local Control

Accountability Plan (LCAP) with site resource decisions ensures the continual availability and coordination of

appropriate funds to support students’ achievement of the schoolwide learner outcomes, critical student learning needs,

academic standards, college- and career-readiness indicators and standards, and schoolwide learner outcomes.

A5.6. Prompt: Evaluate the effectiveness of these processes.


Long range planning is done on several levels with the

administrative and superintendent team meetings and board

allocation of funds. The SPSA plans reflect the LCAP plans;

both use data to allocated funding for student achievement.

These plans focus on improving student academic success and

helping students accomplish the SLOs. The SSC and the

School board regularly monitor the long-range Action Plan.

SPSA

LCAP

SSC minutes



160

The School Site Council makes funding decisions, but this

process is not transparent to the general staff who are not on

the committee. This can be improved by providing clear

procedures and giving regular updates to the staff at staff

meetings.

Through the WASC process, Home Groups reflected on three-

year plans for their departments and the funding sources. The

department chairs responsible for their own budget which is

then monitored by the principal. The funds in this budget are

allocated based on current need and department goals.

WASC meeting

minutes

Dept. Budgets

ACS WASC Category A. Organization: Vision and Purpose, Governance,

Leadership, Staff, and Resources:

Summary, Strengths, and Growth Needs

Review all the findings and supporting evidence and summarize the degree to which the

criteria in Category A are being met.

Include comments about the degree to which these criteria impact the school’s ability to

address one or more of the identified critical learner needs (Task 2, Chapter II).

Summary (including comments about the preliminary identified critical learner needs)

Liberty Ranch High School has undergone significant challenges in changes of personnel,

schedule, curriculum, testing, and facilities. Throughout these changes, LRHS has continued in a

structured manner from the governing board, district and site administration, and staff to stay

resilient and focused on the educational missions, SLOs, and critical needs of our students.

Parents have numerous chances of involvement with the school and there are a variety of ways to

communicate to the parents and community; however, work is needed to encourage more

parental involvement. The qualified, enthusiastic staff have completed important professional

development provided by the district or outside sources, but the district and LRHS need to

establish a long-range professional development plan that is connected to the critical learner

needs, LCAP, SPSA and Action Plan. The continued monitoring and evaluation of teachers and

professional development need a more systematic approach in the future. Although LRHS offers

an excellent support system with the current allocations, more support is needed, as a 1-600

counselor caseload is insufficient for meeting the critical needs of LRHS students. As noted by

staff, parents, and students, the current facilities are safe, clean, and updated, but continued


161

search for moneys for athletics, VAPA, and other student needs would greatly enhance the

facilities at the school. Although significant improvements have been made to technology on the

campus, a continued process to update and add technology and train teachers in its use would

help fulfill many of the critical needs of students.

Prioritize the strengths and areas for growth for Category A.

Category A: Organization: Vision and Purpose, Governance, Leadership, Staff, and Resources: Areas of

Strength

100% of teachers are highly qualified

Most departments have had additional subject-related training

The district/school has reestablished or continued committees for staff and

parent/community input

LRHS leadership structure provides an effective communication network to meet the

specific needs of students and staff.

Updates in technology for students and staff

Administration and staff are fully committed to helping students achieve the SLOs

Open Door Policy for students and staff from administration

Safe, Clean facilities

Category A: Organization: Vision and Purpose, Governance, Leadership and Staff, and Resources: Areas of

Growth

Increased staffing in the area of student support (counselors)

Regular cycle and budget planning by the District for adoption of textbooks and 1-to-1

computer usage

Increased collaboration and articulation between the District, school, and feeder sites in

the implementation of a common vision for the SLOs and academic growth

Continued budgeting for facilities improvements (restrooms, shade structures, athletics,

performing arts)

Develop a systematic approach to monitoring instruction and providing feedback to the

teaching staff on a consistent basis

Develop and implement a school-wide three-year PD plan with a focus on the LCAP,

SPSA, Action Plan and Critical Learning Needs


162

Category B: Standards-based Student Learning: Curriculum

B1. Rigorous and Relevant Standards-Based Curriculum Criterion

All students participate in a rigorous, relevant, and coherent standards-based curriculum that supports the achievement

of the schoolwide learner outcomes, academic standards, and college- and career-readiness standards in order to meet

graduation requirements. Through standards-based learning (what is taught and how it is taught), these are

accomplished.

Online Programs: iNACOL Standard J: Curriculum and Course Design: A quality online program will have a well-thought-

out approach to its curriculum and course design whether it develops its own courses and/or licenses curriculum from other

educational providers. [iNACOL Standard J, 2009]


Current Educational Research and Thinking

B1.1. Indicator: The school uses current educational research related to maintain a viable, meaningful instructional

program that prepares students for college, career, and life.

B1.2. Prompt: Evaluate how effective the school uses current educational research related to the curricular areas to

maintain a viable, meaningful instructional program for students.


LRHS uses current educational research to develop programs,

decide on professional development, and improve classroom

instruction. Teachers at LRHS have completed current and

relevant Professional Development by attending conferences

in their curricular area and those offered by the district. See

attached PD list for full information. Some of the PD includes:

District: AVID, CALLI, Common Core, Technology

(Illuminate and CANVAS),

The district also introduced educational research from EOS

(Equal Opportunity Schools) called Lead Higher which

focused on equity in the AP and honors classes.

Department:

Math: 8 days of CPM training, AP Training, UC Davis Math

Project, EMITS, AVID, S.A.M.E., co-teaching

PD Link



163

World Language: CLTAC (Spanish), AP Training, BERS

Technology in WL classroom, AVID, FLANC, FLAGS,

German Workshop

Science: CTSA Conference, SIRC conference, AP Training,

K12 Alliance/West Ed Collaboration, SCOE visitations

Social Science: AVID, AP history readings, AP Training,

Project-Based Training, New Framework Conference

English: ERWC, AVID, AP Training, Kate Kinsella,

Language Live, English 3 D, CALLI, ELD CC,

Agriculture: CATA, High Tech High, CRANE, MTTA,

CAITTA, Linked Learning, Welding, Floral Design

VAPA: EMITS, CCACA, CAEA, CMEA, Project-based

Learning, AP Art Training, University art courses

Information Technology: SC4HS, Java Fundamentals and

Programming, Exploring Computer Science Curriculum,

Special Education: CPM Training, ERWC, AVID, Co-

teaching training, Applied Behavioral Analysis Training

Counseling: AVID, College Conferences, CTE, CSAC

Financial Aid,

Current educational research states that technology and

computer usage is important for student college and career

success. With the new technology changes discussed earlier

as a school and per department, students have more access to

technology across the district and within each department.

Teachers have been to training to help incorporate technology

in their lesson plans.

Current educational research suggests college and career

readiness promotes critical thinking, collaborating in groups

and having real-world hands-on experience to promote a well-

rounded student as suggested by the LRHS SLOs. Teachers

have attended numerous workshops and conferences to

WASC report, Chpt 1

Classroom curriculum

and observation


164

maintain viable, meaningful instructional programs for all

students.

Samples of these elements taking place in the classroom would

be the collaborative learning style taking place in all classes by

seating arrangement, discussion techniques, group projects,

and group discussions.

Academic and College- and Career-Readiness Standards for Each Area

B1.2. Indicator: The school has defined academic standards and college- and career-readiness indicators or standards

for each subject area, course, and/or program that meet or exceed graduation requirements.

B1.2. Prompt: Determine the extent to which there are defined academic standards and college- and career-readiness

standards for each subject area, course, and/or program that meet state or national/international standards and,

where applicable, expectations within courses that meet the UC “a-g” requirements. (This includes examination of

the annual submission of course syllabus approval to UC for all AP courses. Verify that the facility requirements for

"wet labs" are met for all lab science courses.)


All curricula within each program and department follow a

standards-based curriculum, and support achievement by CTE

courses, college prep and advanced placement classes, special

education support classes and ELD classes. Every department

uses the defined standards by the state of California or the

national standards if no state standards exist. Other than some

support classes, PE classes, and the newly implemented SDC

class on campus, all classes meet the A-G requirement.

The course catalog explains the meaning of College, Career,

and Civic Readiness as measured by the GJUHSD. The

catalog explains that any graduate who meets two or more of

the following measures is considered adequately prepared to

be successful beyond high school, regardless of the path

he/she chooses:

*Completion of the CSU/UC “A-G’ admissions requirement

*Earning “Met Standard” or above on the junior year

CAASPP English/Language Arts and Math Exams

CA Standards

National Standards

Course Catalog



165

*Completion of a CTE Pathway

*Earning a score of 3 or higher on at least 2 Advanced

Placement Exams

*Completion of the Seal of Biliteracy requirements

*Completion of the Golden State Seal Merit Diploma

Requirements.

The A-G requirements are also listed and explained in the

course catalog and each classroom has the fulfilled

requirement for that subject posted. Students were also given a

slide presentation discussing A-G requirements.

The 22 Advanced Placement (AP) classes being offered to

LRHS students have all been submitted and approved by the

UCs and College Board. The course catalog discusses the

importance of the classes, class rigor, and information about

the AP exams. The course catalog also notes the Lexile, GPA,

and grade standards for these classes.

RSP students, as indicated in significant changes, have been

mainstreamed into regular A-G courses on campus to remain

college eligible. RSP students are monitored by a case

manager and yearly IEPs to ensure their goals and

requirements are being met.

The district has revised the curriculum template numerous

times for easier access and accountability. The district

curriculum committee continues to look for rigor and

relevance in the curriculum as it is introduced into the course

schedules.

The Common Core Standards are being implemented in each

English and math classroom and are reflected in the

curriculum for each subject and level. Common assessments

are being given and collaboration time, though limited, is

being used to analyze the data and make curriculum

adjustments.

SLOs and A-G

PowerPoints

Course Catalog

WASC Chapter I

District Template and

Curriculum Meeting

Agendas

Department Curriculum

and Common

Assessment Binders



166

Science is currently developing curriculum in compliance with

NGSS. Newly developing pacing guides provide for a variety

of “wet lab” experiences and hands-on activities in accordance

with the NGSS guidelines. All science classes are taught in

lab facility classrooms with a collaborative pod area to facility

collaboration and lab preparation.

World Language courses are based on World Language

standards. The department also uses CC Literacy reading and

writing standards.

CTE class standards are based on the CA adopted CTE

standards. The course catalog continues to explain the course

for pathway completion in the CTE pathways. Many CTE

classes have certification standards that must be met by the

end of the 3rd year completer course.

After the change to CC and NGSS standards and hybrid block

schedule, LRHS is currently on a path of rapid curriculum

development/revision and benchmark/ common assessment

revision and development. Each department assesses its

curriculum yearly after analyzing benchmark and common

assessments, students’ grades, and overall student success.

Most departments also have or are currently working on

common formative assessments to develop a faster and better

data picture of how their students are performing so that

adjustments can be made sooner.

Regular communication between staff, students and parents

assists with appropriate academic placement and enables staff

to continually encourage a more rigorous academic pathway.

NGSS Standards

World Language

standards

Course Catalog

CA CTE standards

B1.2. Additional Online Instruction Prompts: Evaluate the extent to which the online curriculum/courses

consistently meet state academic standards. Determine if there is effective integration of outsourced curriculum into

the program.


The only current online curriculum program offered at LRHS

is Fuel Ed through Flex Academy for credit recovery. Fuel Ed

has been in place for three years. The first-year classes were

Fuel Ed Program and

Curriculum



167

offered during the day taught by random on campus teachers.

Last year (2017) a full program was established during the day

with 40 computers available, two full time credentialed

teachers, and two paraprofessionals. Fuel Ed courses are all

aligned to the CA content standards and iNACOL standards.

Many of the classes are also A-G approved. Students are

monitored for completion by the Fuel Ed teachers and the

counselors.

Congruence

B1.3. Indicator: There is congruence between the actual concepts and skills taught, the schoolwide learner outcomes,

academic standards, and the college- and career-readiness indicators or standards.

B1.3. Prompt: Evaluate the extent to which there is congruence or consistency between the actual concepts and skills

taught, the schoolwide learner outcomes, academic standards, and the college- and career-readiness indicators or

standards.


Liberty Ranch High demonstrates congruence between the

actual concepts and skills taught, the academic standards, the

college-and-career readiness standards, and the schoolwide

learner outcomes by using school-wide benchmarks and

common assessments in all of the tested core subject areas.

These benchmarks are aligned with the standards. Also, the

core classes adhere to curriculum pacing guides that create

congruence between what is taught and the standards.

According to student surveys, students feel that they are

academically prepared for CAASPP testing, other

assessments, and college or careers. Core subject teachers are

following pacing guides, using defined academic standards,

common assessments, and are instrumental in choosing the

current curriculum.

All staff are utilizing technology for classroom assignments to

prepare the students. Some examples include the following:

PowerPoints, Beyond the Question (clicker assessment),

graphing calculators, CANVAS discussion boards and online

testing, and other appropriate software to not only enhance

instruction and meet different learning modalities but to

continue to prepare students with 21st Century Skills.

Common Assessment

binders

College and Career

Senior Data

CTE pathway

certification data

Graduation Rate

Survey Link

Classroom syllabi

Teacher interview and

visitations

CANVAS



168

A majority of LRHS classes are using hands-on projects,

performance standards, and collaboration among students to

enhance the rigor of the classroom.

Integration Among Disciplines

B1.4. Indicator: There is integration and alignment among academic and career technical disciplines at the school

and where applicable, integration of outsourced curriculum into the program so that curricular integrity, reliability,

and security are maintained.

B1.4. Prompt: Evaluate to what extent is there integration among disciplines and where applicable, integration of

outsourced curriculum into the program so that curricular integrity, reliability, and security are maintained.


While Liberty Ranch High School does not have a formalized

program of cross-curricular collaboration or activities, teachers

of specific courses from different departments collaborate with

each other. Some examples of cross-curricular collaboration

include the following:

The leadership program and the RSP students work on

socialization skills between the classes. See Chapter 1 for

explanation.

The VAPA ceramics classes coordinate with specific AG

classes to create handmade pots filled with plants. These

items are then sold to the community at the Farmer’s Market

in the LRHS parking lot.

After a PD visit with High Tech Academy, some members of

the social science department collaborated with the AG

department to create and integrated class project on Galt

history.

Among changes in the standards, district personnel, site

personnel, hybrid schedule, and new elective classes, LRHS

has been concentrating on the SLOs and career and college

readiness within each department. With more collaboration

time and curriculum becoming stabilized, it is the hope of staff

to be able to collaborate more effectively between

departments.

Teacher interviews

Class syllabi


169

Articulation and Follow-up Studies

B1.5. Indicator: The school articulates regularly with feeder schools, local colleges and universities, and technical

schools. The school uses follow-up studies of graduates and others to learn about the effectiveness of the curricular

program.

B1.5. Prompt: Determine the extent to which the school articulates curricular programs and expectations with its

feeder schools, local colleges and universities, and technical schools. Explain how the school uses follow-up studies

of graduates and others to learn about the effectiveness of the curricular program.


Being that GJUHSD has three separate feeder districts coming

into the high schools, the major articulation is between

districts. Current articulation is made between the

superintendents of the feeder districts and GJUHSD

concerning scheduling, transportation, the status of incoming

8th graders. Also, the LRHS principal is in contact with the

feeder school principals to discuss curricular programs,

scheduling, and expectations of incoming students.

The district calendar committee met with representatives of

Galt Elementary District to devise a calendar that was closely

related for the benefit or our students and families.

Eighth grade students come to Liberty Ranch for a Shadow

Day where they are given a presentation by the counselors,

campus tour, and fed lunch. The counselors then return to the

feeder schools to register the students for classes at LRHS.

Less formal articulation with the feeder schools occurs

through student activities. Students from elective classes and

clubs visit the feeder schools at different times to promote

certain programs or do certain activities; for example,

leadership students make presentations and do projects with

certain elementary schools to promote active learning and

expectations for the high school level and students volunteer at

the feeder schools for tutoring, clean-up days, and making

crafts for the Sandhill Crane Fair.

Superintendent’s

agendas

Shadow Day Agenda

New school calendar


170

Students also travel to the feeder schools with the ABC mentor

program. LRHS students help younger students at the feeder

school by tutoring them after school.

The Agriculture department meets with interested incoming 8th

graders personally to set up a plan for the student and get them

started in the Ag program.

Agriculture students also present an Agriculture Fall Field Day

for 3rd graders on LRHS campus to interest the students in

agriculture. Students learn about Ag jobs, animals, and

products (plants, bees, pumpkins).

Band articulates with the feeder schools to recruit interested

students into the program.

The ERWC class is articulated with the CSUs to fulfill one of

the entrance requirements. Teachers teaching the class went to

trainings with CSU to understand the units, pacing schedule,

and requirements of the class.

SPED teachers and counselors articulate with the feeder

schools to set up or continue IEPs and 504s for students at

coming into LRHS.

The CTE pathways have an excellent articulation with local

colleges, technical schools, and businesses within the

community. Students completing these pathways learn

valuable skills and can earn certificates which help them

secure a place at a college, technical school, or a job.

The career center also has an excellent articulation with local

colleges, universities, and technical schools. A vast number of

colleges and universities visit LRHS, and the number is

growing each year. The Career counselor keeps accurate

records of students and completes a senior survey to record

students’ postsecondary choices.

Special Education Students complete a senior follow-up

meeting with counselors, administration, core teachers, and

Ag syllabi

Ag Agendas

Course Catalog

information

IEPs, 504s

Syllabi of programs

Interviews with

teachers

Counseling sign in

records

Senior exit surveys

TTP meeting notes and

SPED notes



171

parents to make sure the students are prepared for the next step

in life. The students are often working with the TTP

Workability and transition program to complete their

educational and career goals.

Science instructors attend workshops for the K12 Alliance of

the NGSS standards; therefore, collaborating with other

schools to enhance curriculum and instruction.

B2. Access to Curriculum Criterion

All students have equal access to the school’s entire program and are provided assistance with a personal learning

plan to meet the requirements of graduation and are prepared for the pursuit of their academic, personal, and career

goals.

Online Programs: iNACOL Standard H: Equity and Access: A quality online program’s policies and practice support students’

ability to access the program. Accommodations are available to meet a variety of student needs. [iNACOL Standard H, 2009]


Variety of Programs — Full Range of Choices

B2.1. Indicator: All students are able to make appropriate choices and pursue a full range of realistic college and

career and/or other educational options. The school provides for career exploration, preparation for postsecondary

education, and pre-technical training for all students.

B2.1. Prompt: Evaluate the effectiveness of the processes to allow all students to make appropriate choices and

pursue a full range of realistic college and career and/or other educational options. Discuss how the school ensures

effective opportunities for career exploration, preparation for postsecondary education, and pre-technical training

for all students.


Because of the hybrid block schedule LRHS has been able to

add a significant number of new classes to the campus over the

last few years. Classes have been added in almost every

department (see Chapter I), thus providing student with a wide

variety of choices to pursue a full range of realistic college and

career and/or other educational options. The course catalog

outlines choices from special education support classes to 22

Course Catalog


172

AP classes. Students also have a wide variety of CTE classes

to choose from.

Currently students can take classes at GHS if the class is not

offered at LRHS. Some CTE pathways are currently either at

LRHS or GHS. The course catalog lists the classes available,

their location, and the CTE pathways.

The Liberty Ranch Information Technology, Agriculture and

science departments prepare LRHS students for their post-

secondary career technical and/or college studies. The

technology department offers web design, video production,

and game design. The agriculture department offers several

levels of mechanics, including small engines and welding and

floriculture. Through these pathway courses students can earn

industry certification. In addition to these courses, the students

participate in the nationally recognized FFA program which

includes community service, farm projects, and speaking

competitions. The science department offers a newly formed

Sports Medicine pathway.

Other CTE pathways that are available to LRHS students

include Careers with Children, Interior Design, Biomedical

Science, Engineering, and Culinary.

There are a wide variety of classes in each department that a

student can choose according to their interest. Besides general

core, upper level, and CTE classes, students in need of more

academic help can take support classes in reading and

mathematics. A new support study skills class is also offered

for AP students taking more than two AP classes.

AVID (Advancement Through Individual Determination) is a

program that assists students with staying on track during high

school and preparing them to attend a four-year college.

Teachers involved in the AVID program and the AVID

counselor monitor student’s grades and credits. Students must

be interviewed to be involved in the program and students

falling behind are put on probation or removed from the

Course Catalog

AVID curriculum


173

program. Students participate in an AVID class each year, in

which they work on class assignments and study skills.

AVID students are strongly encouraged to select courses that

have a pathway for a four-year college. They are given help in

applying for colleges and financial aid. Statistics have shown

that more AVID students meet graduation requirements than

non-AVID students and more of them attend four-year

colleges and universities.

Special Education students and their case manager meet with

the parents and students to help select courses that will be

appropriate for them. RSP students are mainstreamed into the

classroom, but with IEP and 504 accommodations, students

are able to choose classes that will make them successful.

Special Education

Meetings

Accessibility of All Students to Curriculum, including Real World Experiences

B2.2. Indicator: A rigorous, relevant, and coherent curriculum that includes real world applications is accessible to

all students through all courses/programs offered.

B2.2. Prompt: Evaluate students’ access to a rigorous, relevant, and coherent curriculum across all programs that

includes real world applications. To what extent do the instructional practices of teachers and other activities facilitate

access and success for all students?


Liberty Ranch High School serves a large body of students

that come from varying ethnicities and socioeconomic levels.

In order to prepare all students for graduation and success

beyond high school, Liberty Ranch High School has

developed and implemented various academic programs that

provide all students access to a standards-based curriculum

that is rigorous and relevant to their individual style of

learning and current educational abilities. Through extensive

collaboration between all staff members, data collection for

appropriate placement of students, and curriculum training,

Liberty Ranch High is able to offer a range of rigorous,

standards-based options to students.

Liberty Ranch has a comprehensive school guidance program

that focuses on academic, college/career, and personal social

Course Catalog


Counseling binder


174

counseling. Liberty Ranch students are focused into 2

alphabetic groups, each group being assigned to a counselor.

These counselors work with students throughout the year.

Students meet with their counselors each year to discuss

graduation requirements, A-G college requirements, and

career and academic goals. Counselors monitor students'

progress towards graduation by regularly evaluating credits

and analyzing transcripts. In 2016, a shared credentialed

career counselor was also hired. Each year, LRHS counselors

provide the most up-to-date information at parent nights,

financial aid nights, and classroom presentations. Counselors

also provide “Reality Check,” an in-classroom presentation

about graduation, A-G requirements, and career opportunities.

Liberty Ranch High School has a college and career center

that students can access for up-to-date information on college

programs and career information. The counseling office at

Liberty Ranch High School offers a window of 2-3 weeks in

which students can reevaluate and change courses to fit their

desired career or educational pathway.

At Liberty Ranch High School there are many support services

that are available to help students be successful at accessing

the curriculum. Students can attend the English/Math

Tutoring provided Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays after

school. This tutoring program takes place in the Flex Academy

room where students can also work on the computers or credit

recovery.

The Link Crew Program is in place to foster a healthy

transition to high school for the incoming freshman. This

program demonstrates Liberty Ranch High School’s

dedication to the SLOs in that students are given the

opportunity to enhance interpersonal relationships, resolve

conflict, and receive mentoring.

Instructional Support Teams, Section 504s, and Special

Education Individualized Education Plans allow teachers and

Tutoring logs

Link Crew Curriculum

Special Education

Binders


175

counselors to support students and their needs throughout the

school year.

Interventions for academic needs or credit deficiencies are

offered through the counseling office and the Fuel Ed online

program.

AVID (Advancement via Individual Determination) classes

are also offered at Liberty Ranch to help students transition

from high school to their eventual career goal. It is a support

program for students in the academic middle. Support includes

instruction in organizational skills, note and test taking

strategies and applying for college, financial aid and

scholarships. Furthermore, tutorials are offered two days a

week, during the AVID period, with college students or cross-

age tutors who assist students in accessing rigorous classes.

The AVID teachers and coordinator attend a three-day PD in

the summer to gain necessary skills for team building and

success of the program. This program brings in guest speakers

from colleges and careers of interest in order to hear first-hand

about post-graduate pathways. The last several years, AVID

seniors have completed A-G requirements and have applied at

a UC or CSU college. The AVID program demonstrates a

commitment to Liberty Ranch’s SLOs, especially focusing on

students demonstrating study and organizational skills.

The Special Education Department is staffed with trained

educators that work closely with the counseling staff with the

implementation of IEPs so that students are better equipped to

handle the courses required for graduation. Students can be on

either the diploma or certificate pathways for graduation. The

majority of students have some general education classes in

addition to their special education class. These general

education classrooms are staffed with trained teachers as well

as paraprofessionals. Case managers for special education

students work collaboratively to ensure that special education

students receive any and all accommodations and

modifications as per their IEP.

AVID curriculum

SPED binders


176

Every department on campus offers real world experiences for

their students. Some examples are as follows: Science (global

lessons, MESA day); Math (collaborative groups when

problem solving real scenarios); English (resumes, writing in a

variety of styles); Social Science (simulations, debates);

VAPA (performing and showcasing to the public); World

Language (presentations, everyday speaking of language); Ag

and CTE pathways (hands-on projects and certification); Info

Tech (Hawk TV, robotics challenge); SPED (Social

Exchange); PE (competition through sports, healthy living).

All students have access to real world applications of their

educational interests in relationship to a rigorous standards-

based curriculum. In congruence with the SLOs students in

the real world will strive to live a healthy lifestyle with

positive relationships. These applications can be seen in the

physical education program, foods and nutrition class, and the

health class.

Department curriculum

and teacher observation

B2.2. Additional Online Instruction Prompt: Evaluate the procedures to ensure that students have access to

courses that meet the UC “a-g” requirements, including lab courses.


NA NA

Student-Parent-Staff Collaboration

B2.3. Indicator: Parents, students, and staff collaborate in developing and monitoring a student’s personal learning

plan and their college and career and/or other educational goals. (This includes the evaluation of whether online

instruction matches the student’s learning style.)

B2.3. Prompt: Evaluate to what extent parents, students, and staff collaborate in developing, monitoring, and revising

a student’s personal learning plan and their college and career and/or other educational goals.


Parents have access to the Course catalog online and if needed

a hard copy. After previewing the choices, the parents sign the

course sheet to acknowledge the classes the students are taking

before registration takes place. Parents also must sign the AP

class registration form to understand and agree to the rigor of

an AP class and the number of AP classes that a student

Course Catalog

Registration forms and

AP recommendations



177

chooses to take. After online registration (as discussed in

Chapter 1), counselors will return to 1-1 registration with

students as they fill out the online form. This allows

counselors the opportunity to make sure correct prerequisites

are met, correct combinations of classes are chosen, and

students are accelerated or remediated according to test scores.

Parents can also use technology such as PowerSchool,

CANVAS, and teacher websites to access students’

attendance, grades, and assignments to help their child

successfully fulfill their intended plan.

In 2018 all freshmen students were required to take the

College and Career Readiness class (CCR) or AVID 9. In

these classes, students set up a four year and ten-year plan. As

students continue to the upper grades, each year they will

relook at this plan and their transcripts to revise or continue on

the same plan. The CCR class uses the “Get Focused, Stay

Focused” curriculum, and requirements for that curriculum

will be met in world history in 10th grade, US history in 11th

grade, and English in the 12th grade. Students continuing in

AVID will also look more closely at their plan and expand

upon it.

The counseling and administrative staff encourages students to

work to complete their plan of graduation and postsecondary

experiences.

The Migrant Education program affords students of migrant

workers the opportunity to earn additional credits through the

Fuel Ed. Additionally, the migrant advisor or intern has a plan

for each of the students, provides home visits and

transportation to the students, and serves as a secondary

liaison to parents. The advisor and intern provide translation

services for students and parents as well as provide support for

discipline and attendance issues. Also, the intern has

established a newsletter for parents to provide them with more

information. These individuals provide students with support

necessary to ensure student success and graduation from

Syllabi

CANVAS examples

District Website

Course Catalog

Transcripts

Curriculum

Migrant Education

Meetings



178

Liberty Ranch High School. Currently the migrant advisor is

on campus one day a week while the intern in at LRHS two

time a week.

Post High School Transitions

B2.4. Indicator: The school implements strategies and programs to facilitate transitions to college, career, and other

postsecondary high school options and regularly evaluates their effectiveness.

B2.4. Prompt: Evaluate the effectiveness of the strategies and programs to facilitate transitions to college, career,

and other postsecondary high school options.


The counseling department facilitates a variety of programs to

facilitate post high school transitions. Counselors meet with

each senior to determine graduation eligibility and

postsecondary plans.

The newly established, shared certificated career counselor has

established and expanded the opportunities for students with

career information, scholarships, and testing information. She

posts an updated calendar each month to the website, to

teachers, and on her door for her availability for students at

Liberty Ranch. She also posts test dates, scholarship

information, and college activities (LRHS visits, application

deadlines, and on-campus college visitation days). The

counselor also hosts a college night for students and parents of

the district. For two years the career counselor has surveyed

exiting seniors to determine postsecondary plans of the senior

class. This survey provides information on numbers and

which colleges, vocational school or military branch each

student will attend. It also provides information on

scholarships.

Liberty Ranch High School offers ways which allow students

to successfully transition from high school to a career or

educational program. The CTE classes and pathways allow

Counseling binder

Career Guidance binder

LRHS Website

LRHS announcements

and fliers

CTE syllabi



179

students to enter the workforce or college interests with

desired skills and many times industry certification.

The AVID programs successfully mentor students in college

preparation and career preparation for the post high school

transition. AVID also promotes and plans a college fair to

help facilitate transitions to college and career and takes

students on campus tours. In addition, AVID students

complete a college survey about their experiences in AVID

and preparation for postsecondary education.

Many senior students participate in work experience to help

transition between school and job opportunities. The Work

Experience students must attend a class a week while working

to learn job experience information and turn in appropriate

documents.

For five years, Migrant Ed has sponsored an annual college

trip to the American Consulate in Sacramento where students

and parents are exposed to college campuses and information.

Migrant Education students and parents are invited to come,

but other LRHS students and parents also take advantage of

this opportunity.

The district is currently pursuing an EAOP program (Early

Academic Outreach Program for students. This course is

designed for students who show the potential for college but

may not have the support to attain this goal. The program

provides course planning, tutorials, college visits, and other

support for students and families which is provided by UC

personnel.

In Special Education, the TTP Workability program facilitates

the transition from high school into the workplace. This

program begins in the sophomore year and helps students with

information and activities for the job search including filling

out applications, completing resumes, and mock interviews.

Seniors complete the senior essay which emphasizes a career-

based research project including article and website research,

AVID binder

Work Experience

Curriculum

Migrant Ed Agendas

TPP Notes


180

interviews and a written component. The also complete

college essay and resumes.

As noted earlier in the department information, the Ag

department and CTE pathways have significant contact with

colleges, universities, and industries to understand and

facilitate students’ transitions to postsecondary activity

English Curriculum

Ag curriculum

ACS WASC Category B. Standards-based Student Learning: Curriculum


Review all the findings and supporting evidence and summarize the degree to which the criteria in

Category B are being met.

Include comments about the degree to which these criteria impact the school’s ability to address one

or more of the identified critical learner needs (Task 2, Chapter II).


With the change to hybrid block schedule, Liberty Ranch has been able to add even more A-G

electives for students in each department and add to or establish new CTE pathways. Along with

these new classes, current programs are using updated curriculum and teaching strategies and

real-world applications to address the critical learning needs of LRHS students. To make sure

that all students are placed in the appropriate classes, incoming students are given placement

exams and current students meet with counselors to review their transcripts before registration.

Therefore, all students have access to a rigorous and relevant curriculum. There are numerous

support systems in place from SPED, EL, and language support classes to a newly offered AP

study skills class to help students access this curriculum and be successful. LRHS has numerous

co-curricular activities to enhance the curriculum including participating, competing, and

performing in the community. Although the new hybrid schedule brings added depth to the

course selections and supports, it also brings areas of growth. Staff needs additional

collaboration time because of the loss of instructional minutes to restructure curriculum and

develop and analyze new common assessments. Additionally, with these adjustments, teachers

have had limited time to collaborate across disciplines. Finally, with the new technology

infrastructure in place, the critical learning need of computer literacy must be addressed to

provide for more student access.


181

Category B: Standards-based Student Learning: Curriculum: Areas of Strength

Strengths:

Multitude of support programs for all levels of students on campus

Real world experiences in classrooms

Staffing for library and college and career

Increased pathways for students

Increased elective choices for students

Academic testing for correct student placement

Competing and participating in local/regional/state fairs, contests, and showcases

Category B: Standards-based Student Learning: Curriculum: Areas of Growth

Regular cycle and budget planning by the district for the adoption of textbooks and 1-to-1

computer usage

More collaboration time for departments to review data and adjust to new hybrid

schedule time frame and changes in curriculum while also using the time to collaborate

for cross curricular activities

The development and evaluation of common core assessments and benchmarks


182

Category C: Standards-based Student Learning: Instruction

C1. Challenging and Relevant Learning Experiences Criterion

To achieve the schoolwide learner outcomes, academic standards, and college- and career-readiness standards, all

students are involved in challenging and relevant learning experiences.


Results of Student Observations and Examining Work

C1.1. Indicator: The students are involved in challenging and relevant work as evidenced by observations of students

working and the examination of student work.

C1.1. Prompt: Evaluate the degree to which all students are involved in challenging and relevant learning to achieve

the schoolwide learner outcomes, academic standards, and the college- and career-readiness indicators or standards.

Include how observing students working and examining student work have informed this understanding.


The faculty at Liberty Ranch High School provides the

students with a variety of strategies and resources for learning

beyond the textbook to engage students and emphasize higher

order thinking skills to improve their success. In the past

teachers have been involved in professional development

including Elements of Effective Instruction; Rigor, Relevance

and Relationships; Eye on the Goal; and Dr. Raja workshops

and visitations. More current professional development with

instruction has been CALLI student engagement, AVID

summer institutes and trainings, AP training, math CPM

training, and others which emphasized implementing strategies

to improve teacher instruction and student learning. The ten-

step instruction plan from Effective Instruction is used by

some teachers which provides common language between

teachers who were employed by the district from 2011.

Also, to enhance instruction which would challenge students,

teachers collaborate at least twice a month during

Collaboration Wednesdays to share instructional materials,

strategies and curriculum, and to review and assess progress in

adherence to benchmark tests and formative assessments

which in some subjects are district wide. Teachers are

provided additional opportunities to collaborate, as well,

including two-hour long collaboration Wednesdays once per

Classroom Observation

PD Calendar

PD link

PD calendar



183

month. During these days, teachers often share effective

teaching strategies to challenge students. During the last year,

at least one if not more of these days was used for WASC

home or Focus group meetings. Until 2017, the district also

provided the staff with two to three Buy-Back Days which

have since been eliminated.

Some of the different instructional strategies used are Cornell

Notes, PowerPoint lectures, Socratic Seminars, collaborative

learning groups, graded class discussion, A/B partners, exit

slips, white board drills, direct instruction, labs, random

calling on students, simulations, peer editing, modeling, 1-1

instruction, peer tutors, and project-based learning.

In many classrooms, technology is also used to enhance

instruction: LCD projectors, DVD players, and document

cameras are standard equipment in all classrooms. In addition,

CCR, Language Live, and Ag classrooms have portable

computer labs, and four permanent labs are available for

teachers’ instructional use (two labs-all teachers, one for

Information technology classes, one for Yearbook and digital

photography) Also, some staff uses, Beyond Question clickers,

scientific probe ware, computer operated welders, and updated

software for yearbook, Hawk TV, and digital photography.

AP instructional techniques from AP training are used to

enhance critical thinking and challenge the students with

rigorous, relevant work in preparation for the AP test.

The district has supported the measure to promote the school

wide practice of establishing clear objectives for students.

Through Dr. Ernie Stokowski’s Effective Elements of

Instruction in 2011, many teachers have been educated on the

effectiveness of establishing clear learning objectives for

students. Many teachers post the learning objectives on the

board each day in many classes or discuss them while

reviewing the agenda at the beginning of each class period.

AVID strategies

Classroom observation

Class syllabus

Technology Changes

WASC Chpt. 1

PD Link




184

These learning objectives relate to not only the academic

content standards, but also the SLOs.

Liberty Ranch High School counselors utilize classroom

presentations and parent night presentations to explain high

school graduation requirements and to encourage students to

complete beyond the minimum, i.e. additional math and

science (A-G requirements). The parent night presentations are

also offered in Spanish.

Students who are struggling to achieve the academic standards

and SLOs are provided with individual programs that will

provide a challenging learning experience for them. Students

are involved in establishing the individual expectations for the

students. The special education department supports students

with disabilities in the general education classes.

Individualized Education Plans are written with goals based on

California standards, and accommodations are written to

provide the necessary support for them to experience success.

504 plans are additional avenues of support for students with

special needs.

Math and English Tutoring is offered three days a week

(Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays) after school with a

credentialed teacher in the Flex Academy room to help

students understand curriculum and achieve the daily learning

goals. Students may also use the computers for assignments

and credit recovery.

The AVID class often tutors at lunch, and several teachers

make themselves available for students seeking help at before

school, at lunch, and/or after school.

Counseling

presentations

IEP Case manager

notes

Tutoring Flyer

Tutoring Rosters

AVID class and teacher

observation

C1.1. Additional Online Instruction Prompt: Evaluate the effectiveness of timelines and pacing guides for

completing coursework for asynchronous online instruction.


NA NA


185

Student Understanding of Learning Expectations

C1.2. Indicator: The students understand the standards/expected performance levels for each area of study.

C1.2. Prompt: Examine and evaluate the extent to which students understand the standards/expected performance

levels that they must achieve to demonstrate proficiency.


Students at Liberty Ranch High School have a solid

understanding of the academic learning expectations and the

SLOs. Conversations with student groups and the student

survey indicate that students know the expectations at LRHS

and how their work will be assessed for each individual

subject. Students understand the policies and procedures as

stated in the student handbook and the course catalog.

SLOs in each classroom, on the LRHS website, reviewed

through PowerPoints and classroom discussion.

Each individual teacher outlines class expectations for his or

her class at the beginning of the year through class

presentation, syllabi, and to parents at Back-to-School Night.







A variety of electives providing challenging learning

experiences to help students succeed in meeting the SLOs are

offered at LRHS. Teachers use performance rubrics and

models to help students understand the expectations in these

classes.

All students are required to meet the minimum graduation

requirements set forth by the State of California and the

governing board of the GJUHSD. (Add New Grad

Requirements and senior grad rate)

Student Handbook

Student Discussions

and surveys

SLOs posters

School Website

Teacher observation

Counselor presentations

Teacher syllabus,

common assessment

binders

Graduation

Requirements






186

The district has supported the measure to promote the school

wide practice of establishing clear objectives for students.

Through Dr. Ernie Stokowski’s Effective Elements of

Instruction in 2011, many teachers have been educated on the

effectiveness of establishing clear learning objectives for

students. Many teachers post the learning objectives on the

board each day in many classes or discuss them while

reviewing the agenda at the beginning of each class period.

These learning objectives relate to not only the academic

content standards, but also the SLOs.







Students who are struggling to achieve the academic standards

and SLOs are provided with individual programs that will

provide a challenging learning experience for them. Students

are involved in establishing the individual expectations for the

students. The special education department supports students

with disabilities in the general education classes.

Individualized Education Plans are written with goals based on

California standards, and accommodations are written to

provide the necessary support for them to experience success.

504 plans are additional avenues of support for students with

special needs.

Math and English Tutoring is offered three days a week

(Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays) after school with a

credentialed teacher in the Flex Academy room to help

students understand curriculum and achieve the daily learning

goals. Students may also use the computers for assignments

and credit recovery.

Orientation Agenda

Link Crew Binder and

Class Syllabus

Counseling binder

SPED teacher and

paraprofessional

schedules

Tutoring schedule sign-

in sheets


187

The AVID class often tutors at lunch, and several teachers

make themselves available for students seeking help at before

school, at lunch, and/or after school

Freshmen orientation coordinated by the Link Crew also

provides students with the knowledge of the expectations at

LRHS. For the last eight years Link Crew has invited

freshman before school to a ½ day orientation featuring a large

group assembly and small group meetings. At this time,

freshmen are exposed to the campus, campus rules and

expectations, and are matched with a Link Crew leader who

will offer them support during the year.

AVID tutoring schedule

Link Crew Orientation

schedule

Differentiation of Instruction

C1.3. Indicator: The school’s instructional staff members differentiate instruction, including integrating multimedia

and technology, and evaluate its impact on student learning.

C1.3. Prompt: Determine how effectively instructional staff members differentiate instruction, such as integrating

multimedia and technology, to address student needs. Evaluate the impact of this on student learning.


As discussed earlier, many different techniques are used to

engage student learning. Teachers not only use direct

instruction but provide opportunities for students in different

disciplines to use powerful teaching strategies. Some

examples are the following: In math, students work problems

together on the board and work in collaborative groups to

critically solve problems in a variety of ways; in science,

students are working together to complete lab experiences, and

students discover problems as team and come up with a plan

and solutions which are presented by power point to the class;

in English, teachers have students act out parts, write their

own poems and plays, and create self-selected projects after

reading novels; in social science, students create magazine and

power point projects and use real life experiences to create

their own budget in economics; in world language, students

consistently use partner work and oral language work to

enhance their skills; in agriculture, students are constantly

Teacher observation

Course Syllabi

Course Catalog



188

using hands-on projects and other activities with caring for

animals and plants, preparing for oral presentations, and

keeping record books; PE offers a wide variety of activity for

students based on different units; however, they also require

students to write and take tests; for VAPA students, since they

are performance-based, student differentiation comes when

they are asked to write, read, or take notes on different artists

they are studying. These are only a few examples of the

different techniques used. Classes such as leadership, Link

Crew, yearbook, and computer applications (Hawk TV)

provide students with challenging learning experiences by

using computers, keeping budgets, organizing events, and

working with the community.

SPED teachers and paraprofessionals were also given laptops

to accurately record information being completed in the

classrooms.

Besides class instructional differentiation, within the

classroom, teachers differentiate for specific students

depending on need and IEPs or 504s; for example, reduced

assignments, limited writing, more time for assignments,

pairing with a different level of student, and reduced answers

on multiple choice questions,

IEP case manager notes

C2. Student Engagement Criterion

All teachers use a variety of strategies and resources, including technology and experiences beyond the textbook and

the classroom that actively engage students, emphasize higher order thinking skills, and help them succeed at high

levels.

Online Programs: iNACOL Standard K: Instruction: A quality online program takes a comprehensive and integrated approach

to ensuring excellent online teaching for its students. This process begins with promising practices but is equally committed to

continuous improvement and adaptation to student learning needs through professional development. [iNACOL Standard K, 2009]


Current Knowledge

C2.1. Indicator: Teachers are current in the instructional content taught and research-based instructional

methodology, including the integrated use of multimedia and technology.


189

C2.1. Prompt: Evaluate the extent to which teachers effectively use a variety of strategies including multimedia and

other technology in the delivery of the curriculum.


Teachers at Liberty Ranch High School understand the value

of exposing students to a variety of learning opportunities in

order to help them develop their abilities to think more

critically. Teachers do not teach strictly from the textbooks

but use a variety of teaching strategies and supplemental

materials to enrich students’ education. Teachers use LCD

projectors in their rooms for instructional use as well as a

teacher computer. In most classes, varied assessments are

used such as projects, notebooks, essays, research projects,

and performances require many levels and types of thinking.

Besides LCD projectors, teachers also use other types of

media such as CANVAS for submitting documents and

completing discussion boards, and Office 365 where students

can share documents. Teachers use Remind 101 to notify

students of class assignments and activities. Although

completing some technology training on software, more is still

needed. Other technology such as SurfacePro computers,

document cameras, graphing calculators, and tablets are also

being used. Six Teachers in the Spring of 2018 will be piloting

a 1to1 use of computers to enhance the instruction to the

students. Many of these teachers are social science teachers,

because they just purchased new textbooks which will have

online access. The math department also has online book

availability for students, while the English teachers no longer

have that access.

Teachers have completed professional development training to

stay current on teaching strategies schoolwide and within their

own department, AVID summer institutes, AP training, and

Common core training as well as other staff development have

been attended as noted in the PD link

As more and more dollars are lost through budget cuts,

teachers throughout all areas of curriculum who attend

Teacher observation

PD Link

Teacher observation

PD Link




190

conferences, seminars, web seminars, and trainings come back

to LRHS to bring new ideas to the staff, share strategies, and

mentor younger/newer teachers. Staff with advanced training

in technology, AVID, EL, Common Core, intervention, rigor

and relevance, and effective teaching strategies spend time

during staff meetings, teacher work days, or collaboration

enhancing the instruction of all teachers. Peer observations by

some teachers also give others the opportunity to observe and

glean ideas to incorporate into their own classroom.

Mentor teachers also work with teachers new to the district in

the SCOE Induction program. This beginning teacher support

program provides the teams a new teacher with a support

provider who helps them through the learning process during

their first two years.

The PAR (Peer Assistance and Review) program also provides

teachers who may be struggling in the class room with coaches

to help observe them and offer guidance. These teachers often

observe other classes to gain insight on teaching strategies and

classroom management.

Staff on campus also works in extra-curricular roles to

facilitate learning for all students. There are many on-campus

sports coaches, class and club advisors, and those that provide

supervision for students.

Staff Meetings and Buy

Back Day agendas

Induction meeting

agendas

GFCCE labor contract

Teacher Observation

C2.1. Additional Online Instruction Prompt: Evaluate how teacher technology competencies are assessed during

online instruction.


Teachers as Coaches

C2.2. Indicator: Teachers facilitate learning as coaches to engage all students.

C2.2. Prompt: Evaluate and comment on the extent to which teachers use coaching strategies to facilitate learning

for all students. Provide examples such as equitable questioning strategies, guided and independent practice, project-

based learning, and other non-didactic techniques to engage students in their own learning.


191


LRHS teachers use a wide range of strategies in the classroom

to ensure engagement of students. Many of these strategies

are listed in the previous section. Current training for

engagement strategies has occurred for the staff through

CALLI and other staff development opportunities.

The CTE pathways as well as other classes in Ag and electives

provide project-based learning. Besides these classes, teachers

in core classes use strategies of modeling then whole group

and finally individual practice. Teachers use strategies such

Socratic Seminar and project-based learning while questioning

in a variety of manners. Many of these strategies are listed in

the above information.

Although many physical education teachers are athletic

coaches, they also exemplify the facilitating technique in

instructing. After demonstration, students practice the

techniques as the teacher moves through the class facilitating

the active learning.

Teacher observation

CTE curriculum

PE Syllabi

Examination of Student Work

C2.3. Indicator: Students demonstrate that they can apply acquired knowledge and skills at higher cognitive levels to

extend learning opportunities.

C2.3. Prompt: Evaluate the extent to which students demonstrate a) that they are able to organize, access and apply

knowledge they already have acquired; b) that they have the academic tools to gather and create knowledge and c)

that they have opportunities to use these tools to research, inquire, discover, and invent knowledge on their own and

communicate this.


Teachers at Liberty Ranch High School understand the value

of exposing students to a variety of learning opportunities in

order to help them develop their abilities to think more

critically. Many different strategies are used by different

departments to enhance student learning. Other examples

would be using graphing calculators in math; creating

brochures and mobiles and conducting debates and trials in

social science; using Socratic seminars, creating their own

Greek plays and using discussion boards in English, modeling

Teacher observation

Teacher syllabi


192

projects in art, creating an individual healthy eating plan in

health; taking field trips to colleges in AVID; attending FFA

competitions, county fairs, and leadership conferences in

agriculture; hosting art shows and drama and band

performances for the community and school in VAPA;

working in the student store for leadership, and much more.

Students are asked to solve critical problems in math in

collaborative groups as well as complete simulations in

history.

Students around LRHS campus demonstrate higher level

thinking skills in all classes as even classes traditionally using

multiple choice answer tests like math have moved to a

collaborative learning model.

Teacher observation

C2.3. Additional Online Instruction Prompt: Evaluate and comment on the effectiveness of reviewing student work

online and online communications to determine the degree to which students are analyzing, comprehending, and

conducting effective research.


C2.4. Indicator: Students demonstrate higher level thinking and problem-solving skills within a variety of

instructional settings.

C2.4. Prompt: Evaluate and provide evidence on how well the representative samples of student work demonstrate

that students are able to think, reason, and problem solve in group and individual activities, projects, discussions and

debates, and inquiries related to investigation.


Students are taught in a variety of instructional settings.

Teachers use traditional classroom settings where students sit

in rows, partners, or collaborative groups. Some chairs and

desks are not connected, so students can set them in different

areas for different instructional techniques. Some classrooms

contain moveable tables or labs for students to work together

or complete experiments.

Other courses requiring hands-on projects use pottery wheels

or outdoor labs. The CTE pathways give instruction to

students in a variety of locations and ways. Some students for

Child Development work at elementary school sites; some


Class Syllabi


193

learn in engineering labs with computers and laser printers;

some learn in carpentry or welding shops; some learn in a

classroom designed for floriculture; some learn in the ag

gardens or kitchens for Farm to Fork or culinary; others learn

in a physical surrounding for weight training and sports; while

some learn in a setting of performance for band or drama.

Agriculture students continue to be successful with leadership

responsibilities and competitions at the local and national

levels. AG teams in welding, parliamentary procedures,

marketing, public speaking, agriscience, Ag sales, farm

records, job interview, and floriculture have taken top places

in the region and the state in many competitions since 2012, as

well as received many accolades for livestock and animal

competitions at county and state fairs. Through participation

in the Agriculture, these students work countless hours with

dedicated staff members to prepare them for these real-world

experiences of competition. Most of these activities show

learning taking place in a different instructional setting.

Extensive facility development happened with the outdoor

learning area including greenhouse, shade house, garden beds,

compost area, rainwater collection, storage building, solar

panels, sales area, and the McCaffrey fruit tree orchard.

For the Ag Mechanics pathway, small engines and diesel

engine curriculum was updated and approved. An investment

was made to purchase new welding and power mechanics

tools and engine kits that are used in the industry. These tools

are being used for American Welding Society Certifications.

Thus, the students have real world experiences in a variety of

instructional settings which allow the students to critically

think and respond to not only different questioning techniques,

but also to each other in collaborative groups.

Ag Binder


194

C2.5. Indicator: Students use technology to support their learning.

C2.5. Prompt: Evaluate the extent to which representative samples of student work demonstrate that students use

technology to assist them in achieving the schoolwide learner outcomes and academic standards.


Since 2012, technology use in the science classrooms has

increased. In addition to the document cameras in each

classroom, specialized technology such as an analytical

balance, Gel Electrophoresis equipment, and colorimeter

probes have been added. These tools will expose students to

the current technology being used in science laboratories

worldwide.

All world language teachers post daily assignments as calendar

events on CANVAS, and 3 out of 5 teachers use the CANVAS

gradebook. All classes have electronic copies of notes and

worksheets archived on CANVAS for student reference, and

Level 4/AP regularly uses the discussion board function. All

levels use a variety of electronic submissions of work as is

appropriate to the level (audio/video recordings, images, text),

and a few online tests/quizzes are administered through

CANVAS

Currently students are completing computer science classes,

doing advanced video productions to reinstate Hawk TV, and

competing in a robotics challenge. Students are also enrolled

in classes that prepare them to take several IT industry

certification exams such as CompTIA, A+, and Certiport IC3.

Students also produce live TV shows featuring athletics and

community events.

Office 365 is also being used, and the students have their own

account that they are able to access at school and at home.

LRHS has currently reestablished a technology committee to

pursue the idea of 1-to-1 access of computers for all.

The use of technology in the classroom by both the teacher

and students has greatly increased over the past six years. The

math department has continued to bolster the number of TI-84

graphing calculators available in class sets for student use. All

teachers have access to TI-Smartview on their computers for

classroom presentations. Every student in Integrated Math I,

Teacher observation

CANVAS

Course syllabi

Teacher observation

Site Budgeting


195

II, III, and Precalculus has an eBook. These eBooks have

Desmos access, as well as, many other electronic tools

imbedded in them.

Teachers are currently using the LCD and document cameras

in the classroom, and there is more access to technology for

students and teachers with the adoption of the new textbooks.

Students are also using CANVAS for the digital lockers,

agendas, assignment, calendars, and Turnitin.com. One teacher

is also using a FlipGrid app and storyboardthat.com for

enhanced technology in the classroom.

These are a few examples from previous chapters that also

discuss the use of technology in instruction

C2.6. Indicator: Students use a variety of materials and resources beyond the textbook.

C2.6. Prompt: Evaluate the extent to which representative samples of student work demonstrate student use of

materials and resources beyond the textbook; availability of and opportunities to access data-based, original source

documents and computer information networks; and experiences, activities and resources which link students to the

real world.


Teachers use a variety of resources outside of the textbook.

Many of these have been discussed in previous areas of the

report. However, Online materials, Youtubes, TedTalks,

simulation material, ERWC outside articles, MP3 software for

world language and other software, DBQ articles, magazines

like Up Front, and guest speakers, and the numerous

accumulated outside resources by every teacher. Students also

use online textbook resource material and study guides.

Syllabus

Teacher Observation

Real World Experiences

C2.7. Indicator: All students have access to and are engaged in career preparation activities.

C2.7. Prompt: Evaluate the degree of and the effectiveness of student access to career awareness, exploration and

preparation that may include such activities such as job shadowing, internships, apprenticeship programs,

regional occupational programs, career academy programs, on-the-job training programs, community

projects and other real-world experiences that have postsecondary implications.


Opportunities are made available to students at LRHS to

further their academic goals and provide real world

Teacher Observation

Club Offerings


196

experiences. Teachers create opportunities for students to

succeed within the classroom and community at large. Many

students take advantage of the many extra-curricular activities

and real-world experiences provided for them through

academic classes and clubs. Some of the classes have already

been mentioned previously; some other examples are

simulations in social studies, working in the student store,

producing the yearbook, FFA Newsletter, and Hawk TV.

Many of these experiences provide students with the

opportunities to work in the community:

In FFA, students hold fundraisers, blood drives, compete in

county and state competitions, work with the community for

ag-based projects, and work with the elementary schools to

promote agriculture. These opportunities are discussed with

the students during their Monday updates within the

Agriculture classes.

As members of clubs such as NHS (National Honor Society),

CSF (California Scholarship Federation), LHS (Letterman’s

Honor Society), Leadership, students do various amounts of

community service such as 30 Hour Famine, school clean-up,

tree planting, visiting and cleaning yards for the elderly, and

getting donations of food, jeans, and paper products to

shelters.

Liberty Ranch also instills real world experiences through the

recycling club as students see the advantages of going green

and the art club who works with younger students at the bird

festival and is working to create murals for the LRHS campus.

Other real-world applications of lessons are with advanced

floriculture class who met with a “Bride to Be” and developed

a flower proposal, presented it, and were approved. They then

worked with the students in introduction to floriculture to

create the flower arrangements. The ag department also has a

community garden where the food will be going to a local

food closet.

FFA Monday updates

Club Meeting Notes

Club Meeting Notes

Classroom Observation


197

C2.7. Additional Online Instruction Prompt: Evaluate the effectiveness of opportunities within online instruction

for real world experiences and applications for the students.


ACS WASC Category C. Standards-based Student Learning: Instruction:


Review all the findings and supporting evidence and summarize the degree to which the criteria in Category C

are being met.

Include comments about the degree to which these criteria impact the school’s ability to address one or more

of the identified critical learner needs (Task 2, Chapter II).


Liberty Ranch High School has a highly qualified teaching and support staff and is committed to

the success of our students. As indicated in narrative, the teachers use a variety of teaching

strategies to best suit the individual learning needs of LRHS students. A high morale and sense

of collegiality exists within the staff. Although Liberty Ranch has only been in existence for 10

years, many members of the current staff have been in the district much longer, having taught at

Galt High School prior to making the move to Liberty Ranch High School. LRHS are very

proud of the dedicated, professional staff at the school.

We recently changed the format of Student Learning Outcomes (SLO’s) to match the new

acronym. The students at Liberty Ranch High School have a solid understanding of the

academic learning expectations and the SLO’s as indicated in conversations with the students

and through the results of student surveys. However, more effort needs to be made to create a

connection to the SLO’s in the classroom and around campus allowing students to take on a

sense of ownership or accountability of their school.

Technology has been significantly improved upon and continues to be an area of focus going

forward. A significant amount of money was committed to our technology infrastructure in

order to support our goal of moving all students to 1 to 1. This will start with a pilot project next

term where a small group of about 6 teachers have volunteered to receive training in order to

implement technology into the classroom. Currently, each room has a teacher computer, LCD

projector, DVD player, and most rooms also have document cameras, but it is noted as an area

for improvement to add more and infuse technology into the classroom. Student access and


198

appropriate use of technology continues to be an area of growth with our students. This is also

an area of growth for staff as continued training on CANVAS, Illuminate, and other software is

needed.

Prioritize the strengths and areas for growth for Category C.

Category C: Standards-based Student Learning: Instruction: Areas of Strength

Strengths:

Professional Commitment by teachers to use a variety of teaching strategies

High Staff Morale/Collegiality

Qualified and caring support staff

Newly revised SLOs

New Facilities for PE and new computer lab and technology ability for students

Many opportunities for students to challenge themselves.

Increased elective offerings

Student and parent access to current grades, calendars, and assignments

More real world experience and collaboration in instruction in math classes with the

change to Integrated math

Category C: Standards-based Student Learning: Instruction: Areas of Growth

Areas of Growth:

More teacher training for CANVAS, Illuminate, and other software

More connection in the classroom to SLOs

More collaboration time to modify teaching techniques and curriculum for the

hybrid-block schedule


199

Category D: Standards-based Student Learning: Assessment and

Accountability

D1. Using Assessment to Analyze and Report Student Progress Criterion

The school leadership and instructional staff use effective assessment processes to collect, disaggregate, analyze, and

report student performance data to the school staff, students, parents, and other stakeholders. The analysis of data

guides the school’s programs and processes, the allocation and usage of resources, and forms the basis for the

development of the schoolwide action plan (SPSA) aligned with the LCAP.

Online Programs: iNACOL Standard R: Program Evaluation: A quality online program recognizes the value of program

evaluation. Program evaluation is both internal and external and informs all processes that effect teaching and learning. Internal

evaluations often are more informal in nature and may provide immediate feedback on a targeted area of inquiry. External program

evaluations typically look at the entire program from an objective perspective that will bring additional credibility to the results.

[iNACOL Standard R, 2009]

Online Programs: iNACOL Standard S: Program Improvement: A quality online program establishes a culture of continual

program improvement. Improvement planning focuses on using program evaluations, research, and promising practices to improve

student performance and organizational effectiveness. It fosters continuous improvement across all aspects of the organization and

ensures the program is focused on accomplishing its mission and vision. [iNACOL Standard S, 2009]


Professionally Acceptable Assessment Process

D1.1. Indicator: The school uses effective assessment processes to collect, disaggregate, and analyze student

performance data.

D1.1. Prompt: Evaluate the effectiveness of the school’s assessment processes to collect, disaggregate, analyze, and

report student performance data to all stakeholders. [This would include the collection of data from state, national,

and local sources; the disaggregation of data for ethnic groups, socioeconomic status, and students with disabilities;

and the analysis of performance that provides feedback as to how students are meeting the expectations of the

academic standards (including Common Core) and the schoolwide learner outcomes.]


To fulfill one of the district goals of all students reaching a

Lexile reading level of 1300 by graduation to become college

and career ready, LRHS implemented the Scholastic Reading

Inventory Test (SRI) now called RI Lexile testing for all

students. Before students are admitted to LRHS they are

administered placements tests in English and mathematics.

Students take the RI for reading and the Math Diagnostic Test

Project (MDTP) for math. Their performance on these tests, as

well as their CAASPP tests determine the appropriate class

placement for the students as described in the course catalog in

SRI data results


200

the appendices. As a common assessment, all students from

2015-2017 were tested three times a year for their Lexile

reading level (RI). Because of the amount of testing for

students and implementation of the SBAC practice tests in

math and English, in 2018/19 the Reading Inventory testing

will take place only two times a year.

Similarly, to all schools, LRHS standardized testing changed

from CST test to the SBAC testing for juniors in English and

math. In 2017/18 a select group of sophomores, juniors, and

seniors also completed the standardized California Science test

(CAST). Because of the new hybrid schedule and students

taking English or math classes only part of the year, the testing

of juniors in certain classes became difficult; therefore, juniors

not in these classes in the spring were randomly pulled from

other classes. This created a problem in scheduling and student

as well as teacher enthusiasm resulting in a schedule change

this year to all students being tested with an English or math

teacher that they currently have or have had that year. Another

change in the SBAC testing is that all tests will be completed

in two days (one for English and the other for math) on a

special school schedule.

In 2012/13 all sophomores took the ACT Plan test to provide

them guidance on skills needed for the regular ACT test. Over

the last two years, all sophomores and juniors in the district

take the PSAT test in the fall. This year, the SAT test was also

scheduled for the same day; therefore, some juniors took the

SAT instead of the PSAT. The results of these tests are

received before the end of the term, and a day is scheduled to

review these results with all students to prepare them for SAT

and ACT tests in the future. The information collected through

the PSAT will assist students, parents, and staff to identify

interests, areas for academic growth and areas of academic

strength with suggestions on how to target areas in need of

growth. The results from these tests are mailed home to the

student by the testing company and/or school

Liberty Ranch High School utilizes a variety of assessments to

measure student learning. With the SLOs and state standards

in mind, teachers incorporate interactive and cooperative

activities, problem-based learning projects, hands-on projects,

CAASPP results

PSAT results

Teacher observation

Course Syllabi


201

multiple choice tests, research reports, oral presentations, oral

language discussions, athletic fitness tests, essay and open-

ended exams, and standardized subject-matter benchmark and

formative assessments, all of which are recorded as part of a

student’s grade on their report card and included in the online

grade book program PowerSchool available to parents and

students. Teachers have developed common grading rubrics

within their departments or levels for many of the assessments.

Many departments have common core assessments and work

on analyzing these assessments during collaboration time.

With the change in standards, purchase of new textbooks, and

change to the hybrid block schedule, all departments are

continuing to develop common assessments which will later be

analyzed and used to change/enhance instruction and the

curriculum for academic success for all students.

Classes such as Leadership, Link Crew, and the Performing

Arts are assessed not only through individual performance but

also through completion of group activities and performances.

Other standardized tests given at LRHS that measure student

performance are the CELDT (ELPAC), California State

Physical Fitness Exam and Advanced Placement. In 2017/18

students were tested with the ELPAC test which took the place

of the CELDT. In 2018/19 the California Spanish Assessment

will be administered to Spanish-speaking English Learners and

upper level Spanish students in Level 3 or 4. Juniors in this

group will continue to take the regular CAASPP as well.

Spanish-speaking newcomers at LRHS who have been in the

U.S. less than 12 months will take the California Spanish

assessment instead of the CAASPP-ELA. This year LRHS

will also administer the CAA (California Alternative

Assessment) to qualified students with special needs.

Teachers can access the student results on the CAASPP and

other school assessments through Dataquest, CA Dashboard

and Illuminate. Teachers are becoming more familiar with

Illuminate this year and many have undergone training to

disaggregate the data. Teachers discuss these results in staff

PowerSchool

Common Rubrics

Collaboration time

Course syllabi and

observation

Standardized Tests

Current data software

SARC report


202

and department meetings. Teachers then use this collaboration

time to review the validity of the questions, identify areas of

strength, and to identify areas for re-teaching.

The Accountability report is also available to parents online

and is reported in the news media.

The Administration/Leadership team meets with the School

Site Council, ELAC and other parent organizations to share

the data.

During the last few years, LRHS has experienced three

different data gathering software programs. This learning

curve has caused difficulty in data analysis and assessment.

Another consideration for teachers is consistent grading across

within and across departments. As collaboration time has been

limited, these items still need to be addressed.

SCC meetings

LRHS Website

Software information

Basis for Determination of Performance Levels

D1.2. Indicator: The school leadership and instructional staff determine the basis for students’ grades, growth, and

performance levels to ensure consistency across and within grade levels and content areas.

D1.2. Prompt: Evaluate the impact and effectiveness of the basis for which standards-based grades, growth, and

performance levels are determined.


To determine student grades, their growth, and performance

levels, Liberty Ranch High School uses a wide variety of

assessments. Some of those include essays, rubrics, reading

and literature responses, tests, quizzes, research papers, senior

projects, lab reports, homework, projects, binder and notebook

checks, oral presentation, graded discussions, simulations,

performance assessments, and presentations. Using these

assessments, teachers analyze data to adjust teaching practices,

collaborate on good teaching strategies, move students to

appropriate classes, and meet with students to discuss their

performance. Formative test results are disaggregated and are

Class Syllabi

Teacher observation



203

available school wide for faculty and administration to analyze

on Illuminate.

By use of some common assessments and common rubrics

such as 6-point writing rubrics in English, teachers can

effectively evaluate the growth of students.

Data results are reviewed and discussed during presentations at

Board meetings and staff meetings. The testing data for the

CAASPP and the school’s accountability report card (SARC)

is also made available through links on the school and district

website for parent and community access. The WASC report

with analysis of data and the school’s programs will posted to

the website upon completion and approval.

Teachers’ grading scales are made apparent on their syllabi

and when they submit their grades sheets at the end of each

term.

Common Assessment

and rubrics

Board meeting agendas

SARC

LRHS and district

website

Term Grade and syllabi

Monitoring of Student Growth

D1.3. Indicator: The school has an effective system to determine and monitor all students’ growth and progress

toward meeting the schoolwide learner outcomes, academic standards, and college- and career-readiness indicators or

standards, including a sound basis upon which students’ grades are determined and monitored.

D1.3. Prompt: Evaluate the effectiveness of the system used to determine and monitor the growth and progress of all

students toward meeting the schoolwide learner outcomes, academic standards, and college- and career-readiness

standards, including the basis for which students’ grades, their growth, and performance levels are determined.


To determine and monitor growth and progress toward

academic, college and career readiness standards, and

schoolwide learner outcomes, various departments have

already created common benchmarks and assessments or are

working on creating them. These assessments are then

analyzed to show the growth of the students.

Illuminate is used by some departments to disaggregate data to

be used for discussion. With the revised SLOs and newly

established critical learning needs, teachers are working to

evaluate the assessments connection to determine whether

these goals are being met.

Syllabi

Common assessment

binder

Illuminate

Collaboration time




204

To fulfill one of the district goals of all students reaching a

Lexile reading level of 1300 by graduation to become college

and career ready, LRHS implemented the Scholastic Reading

Inventory Test (SRI) now called RI Lexile testing for all

students. Before students are admitted to LRHS, they are

administered placements tests in English and mathematics.

Students take the RI for reading and the Math Diagnostic Test

Project (MDTP) for math. Their performance on these tests, as

well as their CAASPP tests, determine the appropriate class

placement for the students as described in the course catalog in

the appendices. As a common assessment, all students from

2015-2017 were tested three times a year for their Lexile

reading level (RI). Because of the amount of testing for

students and implementation of the SBAC practice tests in

math and English, in 2018/19 the Reading Inventory testing

will take place only two times a year.

As with all schools in the district, LRHS standardized testing

changed from CST test to the SBAC testing for juniors in

English and math. In 2017/18 a select group of sophomores,

juniors, and seniors also completed the standardized California

Science test (CAST). Because of the new hybrid schedule and

students taking English or math classes only part of the year,

the testing of juniors in certain classes became difficult;

therefore, juniors not in these classes in the spring were

randomly pulled from other classes. This created problems in

scheduling along with problems in student and teacher

enthusiasm, resulting in a schedule change this year to all

students being tested with an English or math teacher that they

currently have or have had that year. Another change in the

SBAC testing this spring will be that all tests are to be

completed in two days (one for English and the other for math)

on a special school schedule.

Standardized Tests


205

In 2012/13 all sophomores took the ACT Plan test to provide

them guidance on skills needed for the regular ACT test. Over

the last two years, all sophomores and juniors in the district

take the PSAT test in the fall. This year, the SAT test was also

scheduled for the same day; therefore, some juniors and all

seniors also were scheduled to take this test. The results of

these tests are received before the end of the term, and a day is

scheduled to review these results with all students to prepare

them for SAT and ACT tests in the future. In 2017/18 students

were tested with the ELPAC test which took the place of the

CELDT. In 2018/19 the California Spanish Assessment will

be administered to Spanish-speaking English Learners and

upper level Spanish students in Level 3 or 4. Juniors in this

group will continue to take the regular CAASPP as well.

Spanish-speaking newcomers at LRHS who have been in the

U.S. less than 12 months will take the California Spanish

assessment instead of the CAASPP. This year LRHS will also

administer the CAA (California Alternative Assessment).

Results of different standardized assessments are discussed at

district collaboration and staff meetings.

D1.3. Additional Online Instruction Prompts: Evaluate the effectiveness for determining if a student is prepared to

advance to the next unit, course, or grade level. Evaluate how course mastery is determined and evaluate the “steps”

or “gates” that are in place to prevent students from proceeding to the next unit if mastery has not been demonstrated.

Evaluate the effectiveness of the procedures for grading student work whether it is done electronically or individually

by the teachers.

Evaluate how teachers ensure academic integrity and determine students are doing their own work in the online

environment. Comment on the degree to which the results of state and local assessments are used in decisions about

student achievement and advancement.


LRHS online instruction is credit recovery using Fuel Ed.

This recovery system is used in the Flex Academy and

independent study during the regular school year but is also

Fuel Ed Curriculum


Counseling meetings


206

used by migrant education during the summer. There are two

full time credentialed staff members and two paraprofessionals

to help with instruction and monitoring during Flex Academy.

These instructors report to both counselors and parents the

information about a student’s progress on classroom

completion. Students complete credits online and move

forward when classes are complete. There are 40 computers

available for student use as all classwork and testing is done

online.

Assessment of Program Areas

D1.4. Indicator: The school leadership and instructional staff periodically assess each program area, including

graduation requirements, credits, course completion, and homework and grading policies, to ensure student needs are

met through a challenging, coherent, and relevant curriculum.

D1.4. Prompt: Evaluate the processes that the school leadership and instructional use to review and assess the

effectiveness of each program area, including graduation requirements, credits, course completion, and homework

and grading policies, to ensure student needs are met through a challenging, coherent, and relevant curriculum.


LRHS uses a variety of tools to assess each program area to

ensure student critical learner needs and the SLOs, SPSA, and

Action Plan are being met.

Graduation rates, AP test scores, A-G completion, CAASPP

scores, RI reading scores, MDTP math scores, and ELPAC

results are reviewed for correct student placement and the

forward movement of students towards graduation.

Departments meet in collaborative groups to discuss

homework and grading policies for their departments.

Teachers include their grading scales on their syllabus and

when turning in their grade reports to the registrar.

Counselors review transcripts with students and parents.

These transcripts are also reviewed in AVID classes with

students.

All standardized testing

data

Department

collaboration data

Teacher Syllabi

Registrar data

Counselor meetings

AVID class curriculum

Schoolwide Modifications Based on Assessment Results

D1.5. Indicator: The school uses assessment results to make changes in the school program, professional development

activities, and resource allocations demonstrating a results-driven continuous process.


207

D1.5. Prompt: Comment on the overall effectiveness of how assessment results have caused changes in the school

program, professional development activities, and/or resource allocations, demonstrating a results-driven continuous

process. Examine examples and comment on the overall effectiveness of changes in the online opportunities,

professional development of the staff, and the resource allocations to support student achievement and their needs.


Liberty Ranch High School has used the assessment results

from CST/CAASPP, CELDT/ELPAC, and RI, to modify the

school programs and professional development as well as

allocating district resources. Results in graduation rates, A-G

requirements, and school, staff, and parent surveys have also

caused changes in the school programs.

The major changes are listed in site and department significant

developments in Chpt. 1. Some include the following

changes:

Hybrid Schedule and training

Additional CTE pathways

Graduation Requirements

Elective Offerings

Math program curriculum, class sequence, and training

Nonfiction reading assignments and training

Interim practice tests

Continued SRI testing and added ELA support classes

Added College and Career Readiness class

Testing schedule change

Data from standardized

tests

Changes in programs

PD link

D1.6. Indicator: The school periodically assesses its curriculum and instruction review and evaluation processes.

D1.6. Prompt: Evaluate the process that the school utilizes to review and assess the effectiveness of each program

area, including graduation requirements, credits, course completion, and homework and grading policies, to ensure

student needs are met through a challenging, coherent, and relevant curriculum.


Same prompt at D1.4



208

D2. Using Assessment to Monitor and Modify Learning in the Classroom Criterion

Teachers employ a variety of appropriate formative and summative assessment strategies to evaluate student learning.

Students and teachers use these findings to modify the learning/teaching practices to improve student learning.

Online Programs: iNACOL Standard L: Assessment of Student Performance: A quality online program values student

academic performance and takes a comprehensive, integrated approach to measuring student achievement. This includes use of

multiple assessment measures and strategies that align closely to both program and learner objectives, with timely, relevant

feedback to all stakeholders. [iNACOL Standard L, 2009]


Appropriate Assessment Strategies

D2.1. Indicator: The school leadership and instructional staff use effective assessment processes to collect,

disaggregate, analyze, and report state/school performance data to all stakeholders.

D2.1. Prompt: Evaluate the effectiveness, the appropriateness and the frequency of the assessment strategies,

especially student work, based on the programmatic goals and standards to determine student achievement.


School Data is collected, disaggregated, analyzed, and

reported by the district, LRHS administration, registrar, and

staff. The data is shared with staff and the community through

direct mail, email, the school newsletter, the local newspaper,

SARC Report, as well as the school and district web site.

Staff discusses the data at district, staff, and department

collaboration

Teachers develop objectives for units and lessons and assess

student performance of these objectives using a variety of

assessments stated earlier. These assessments are often

discussed with students and some departments ask for student

feedback on surveys.

Many of the core classes use district wide common

assessments so that teachers can assess data and share

effective teaching practices across the district.

Counselors meet with students to review grades, standardized

test scores and progress towards graduation as well as

personal, behavioral, and academic concerns. These activities

support student input into their success. Counselors provide

All forms listed

Dept. Syllabus

Counseling binder


209

valuable information about college, career, and testing by

meeting with students and parents individually and through

classroom presentations and parent nights. The counselor

facilitates Intervention Support Team (SST) meetings as

necessary. SST meetings involve parents, students, teachers,

administrators and other support personnel as needed to

discuss achievement and develop a plan for progress toward

graduation.

Teachers record grades using the online grade book program

in CANVAS or directly into PowerSchool, thus making

grades available to parents and students online at any time.

Teachers use weekly Wednesday collaboration time to review

best practices, develop and analyze standardized lesson plans,

units, and exams for their course of instruction. Teachers also

analyze data from benchmarks and standardized tests, to

review student achievement, and to align curriculum to state

and national standards.

Special Education staff, coordinator, parents and students also

hold IEPs and 504s for students to modify their individual

learning plans. These are made available to all the teachers of

that student. Student health and discipline information is also

easily accessed through PowerSchool to help modify

programs for students. Administration, Special Education

Coordinator, and teachers have been working diligently to

provide a more inclusive education setting. In the 2012-13

school year all students with an IEP were mainstreamed into

Biology and Economics classes using a co-teaching approach.

It was a tremendous success with, at times, the heterogeneous

class outperforming the homogenous counterparts. All RSP

students are now mainstreamed into the classes with a co-

teaching model still in math support classes.

School wide assessment scores are also used to make

decisions about placing EL support classes and special

education classes into the master schedule. Grades and other

CANVAS and

PowerSchool

Collaboration Minutes

SPED meeting notes

PowerSchool

SRI, ELPAC, MDPT

Scores


210

assessments are also used to place students into the

appropriate classes

Grades are recorded on quarterly report cards and mid-quarter

progress reports; there are a total of 6 progress notifications in

a year. Semester report cards are mailed home. Student

growth is also monitored by CAASPP scores, ELPAC scores,

AP scores, EAP scores, PSAT assessment, benchmark

formative assessments, physical fitness tests, individual

teacher grading rubrics, and other assessments listed above.

Teachers help to monitor this growth by collaborating with

other teachers on student progress by analyzing data in dept.

meetings

PowerSchool

Registrar

Collaboration notes

D2.1. Additional Online Instruction Prompts: Evaluate the use of student work and other online assessments

(formative and summative) that demonstrate student achievement of academic standards and the schoolwide learner

outcomes.


At LRHS students use CANVAS to upload assignments,

complete discussion boards, take tests and quizzes, store work,

and share documents such as PowerPoints for presentations.

Students also use online interactive lab activities or

simulations in different departments. Some teachers use online

grading for student assignments through CANVAS.

Annually, students take the online standardized tests as listed

in the above section which are reviewed for student success.

This year, students also completed the SBAC practice tests in

English and math as common assessments and practice in

using the technology before the test is taken their junior year.

The students in digital photography upload and complete

assignments online which are then analyzed and graded with

feedback on the computers. Yearbook students are assessed

through completion of the online yearbook and meeting the

yearbook deadlines.

CANVAS

Computer labs

Standardized tests

Course Syllabi


211

Students in Info/Tech classes complete assignments online or

use technology in Hawk Productions and are assessed each

week on their final product made available to students and

staff.

Hawk TV

Demonstration of Student Achievement

D2.2. Indicator: Teachers use the analysis of assessments to guide, modify and adjust curricular and instructional

approaches.

D2.2. Prompt: Examine the effectiveness of the processes used by professional staff to use formative and summative

approaches. This includes how professional learning communities and subject matter teams collaborate to collect,

analyze, and use assessment data for the basis of curricular and instructional decisions.


Teachers at Liberty Ranch perform assessment and standards

monitoring through quizzes, exams, projects, essays,

discussions, observations, and performance-based

assignments. Teachers use progress reports and quarterly

grades to mark the progress. Core classes are using or

developing common formative assessments for finals. Staff

reviews these assessments during faculty and dept.

collaboration meetings.

Parents, teachers, staff, students, and community members

who are members of the School Site Council are an integral

part of the assessment and monitoring process, especially in

the creation and monitoring of the Single Plan for Student

Achievement (SPSA).

Students and parents are notified of the results of these

assessments by the student’s grades on PowerSchool, grade

print-outs, progress report checks, phone calls, emails, parent

conferences, and standardized testing information that is

mailed home.

Parents also made aware of student progress by student award

assemblies and senior awards night.

Currently there is no formal SLO monitoring system for the

newly revised SLOs. ESLRs (now SLOs) were originally part

Report cards

Collaboration time

Class syllabi

SSC meeting notes

CANVAS

PowerSchool

Agendas


212

of each written curriculum; however, since the establishment

of LRHS as the second comprehensive high school in the

district, with different SLOs than Galt High School, they were

eliminated from the district-wide curriculum. Teachers are

monitoring them individually within their own classrooms and

assignments.

Within the CTE pathways student complete coursework that

allows for their industry certification such as in welding,

floriculture, and informational technology.

CTE syllabi

Teacher and Student Feedback

D2.3. Indicator: Teachers provide timely, specific and descriptive feedback in order to support students in achieving

learning goals, academic standards, college- and career-readiness standards, and schoolwide learner outcomes.

Teachers also use student feedback and dialogue to monitor progress and learn about the degree to which learning

experiences are understood and relevant in preparing students for college, career, and life.

D2.3. Prompt: Using interviews and dialogue with students, evaluate the extent to which students understand the

expected level of performance based on the standards and the schoolwide learner outcomes in relation to preparation

for college, career, and life. Evaluate the effectiveness of the student-teacher interaction and monitoring of student

progress based on teacher and student feedback.


A variety of student surveys are given to receive feedback on

the success of not only the school’s academic programs, but

also the school’s social atmosphere including safety, facilities,

and teacher instruction and interaction.

Senior Exit Surveys and Career information is also gathered to

analyze the college and career readiness of students. Graduate

students returning to the school relate through anecdotal

evidence and college/career success how LRHS has prepared

them for future postsecondary study or careers. AVID has

returning students give presentations about colleges and

careers for their students.

Student feedback in the classroom is essential for student

learning. Students have opportunities to give feedback to their

teachers and their peers through a variety of techniques for

checking for understanding such as pair/share, AB partners,

graded discussion, Socratic seminar, peer-editing of essays,

Survey link

Class observations

Career Data

Teacher observation



213

student surveys, teacher use of game formats for review

(Jeopardy, Jenga, team competition) and others.

ACS WASC Category D. Standards-based Student Learning: Assessment and

Accountability: Summary, Strengths and Growth Needs

Review all the findings and supporting evidence and summarize the degree to which the criteria in Category D

are being met.




At LRHS, student learning is assessed by using standardized assessment data and results of

district/site benchmarks. Departments collaborate to analyze student data to determine student

progress, develop standards-based lesson plans and common assessments/benchmarks.

Information from benchmark assessments is analyzed to modify instruction. The results of

student surveys are also analyzed to determine student critical needs in the classroom and

schoolwide. State testing data is analyzed and used to implement new programs and modify

current practices. The principal shares this data with the Board of Education annually. This

information is also available to the community through different resources such as the school’s

website and local newspaper.

In efforts to improve student academics, the school has established the need to focus on the

following areas: critical thinking skills, effective communication, student accountability, and

computer literacy. Through collaboration the school has also identified the need for more

collaboration time to deeply analyze student data and to develop and implement an incentive

program for student achievement. Though we have data systems in place, more training and time

is needed for all staff to know how to access different data reports.


214

Prioritize the strengths and areas for growth for Category D.

Category D: Standards-based Student Learning: Assessment and Accountability: Areas of Strength

Strengths:

Use of RI and MDTP testing for correct placement of entering students

Continued RI testing and practice SBAC testing

The sharing of district/school data at faculty meetings and collaborations

Safe collaboration among teachers when sharing data

Variety of classroom assessments

Category D: Standards-based Student Learning: Assessment and Accountability: Areas of Growth

Areas of Growth:

More collaboration time to analyze data

More training on the data systems

Work on providing more motivation and incentives to students taking standardized

tests

Design a better structure for students taking the standardized tests

Increase in SBAC scores in both English and math


215

Category E: School Culture and Support for Student Personal and Academic

Growth

E1. Parent and Community Engagement Criterion

The school leadership employs a wide range of strategies to encourage family, business, industry, and community

involvement, especially with the learning/teaching process.

Online Programs: iNACOL Standard Q: Parents/Guardians: In a quality online program, parents and guardians play an

integral part in their students’ educational life. They work as a team with faculty, administrators, guidance services, and

organizational support to ensure a quality educational experience for their students. [iNACOL Standard Q, 2009]


Regular Parent Involvement

E1.1. Indicator: The school implements strategies and processes for the regular involvement of all stakeholder

support groups in the learning and teaching process, including parents of non-English speaking, special needs and

online students.

E1.1. Prompt: Evaluate the strategies and processes for the regular involvement of the family, business, industry,

and the community, including being active partners in the learning/teaching process. Comment on the effectiveness

of involving parents of non-English speaking, special needs and online students.


Liberty Ranch High School employs a variety of strategies to

encourage and support parental and community involvement.

Starting with freshman year until graduation, parents and

community members are invited to take an active role with

students on the LRHS campus. In the spring, incoming

freshman, as well as and their parents are invited to attend a

showcase specifically designed to introduce them to our

campus, available programs, and academic expectations.

Prior to school starting, a student mailer is sent to all students

explaining basic school policies, school calendar, the bell

schedule, a campus map, and important forms along with a

welcoming message from the principal. School business days

start before the first day of school and allow students and

parents to turn in paperwork, pay student fees, and pick up

schedules and books. Parents are encouraged to become

informed decision makers regarding their child’s education by

helping their child with online registration and attending

Spring Showcase and

Open House fliers

Parent Mailer


216

Liberty Ranch High School’s annual Back-to-School Night.

At this event and through written communication, parents are

given PowerSchool and CANVAS information and passwords

to ensure they can monitor grades and attendance or contact

teachers directly. Communication is regularly established

with parents through an annual school calendar, Principal’s

newsletters (which are online in English and Spanish), and

phone dialer service (English and Spanish) which relays

school events, procedures and opportunities for involvement.

An Open House in the spring is also an opportunity for parents

to have contact with the administration and teachers. Parents

are strongly encouraged to access Liberty Ranch High

School’s website, PowerSchool, and CANVAS to view

general school information, the daily bulletin, teacher driven

website links outlining homework and assignments, athletic

events, school-community events and opportunities to serve on

different committees and booster clubs at LRHS. In 2017 the

leadership class implemented an Instagram account which

reminds students of upcoming events and parents of upcoming

events. In the fall of 2018, an LRHS Facebook page was

established to inform students, parents, teachers, and

community members of activities and important events that

have happened or are happening on campus.

Senior parents are specifically addressed in separate meetings

outlining graduation requirements, college information,

college testing, financial aid, military options, etc. Senior

meetings take place in the evenings after Back to School Night

and Open House. Meetings are also scheduled with parents of

all seniors and juniors who are credit deficient and are in

danger of not graduating. In these meetings attended by the

parents as well, credit recovery, alternative graduation options,

discipline history at LRHS and post-secondary plans are

discussed.

Parents receive progress reports and final term grade reports

which facilitate a dialogue between parents and faculty to

increase student success. Parents can access teachers and

Back-To-School Night

Open House

CANVAS

PowerSchool

LRHS Website

LRHS Facebook

Leadership Instagram

Course Catalog

Senior Meeting Agenda

Grades and progress

reports

Counselor and SPED



217

school counselors through email or phone to address student

academic, personal, or social concerns or to schedule PTC,

SST, IEP and 504 meetings. Referrals to medical or mental

health support services are generated as issues are identified

impeding student success. LRHS has two full time counselors,

one shared counselor with GHS, one part time migrant

education counselor and intern, a school psychologist, a part

time outreach consultant, a school nurse and a health assistant.

The support staff meets with students and parents when

needed. LRHS has a Strategies for Change program, which is

an outside counseling resource for students who have used

alcohol or drugs. Translators are available on-site to assist

Spanish speaking parents.

Liberty Ranch High School recognizes the importance of

parent support and the positive impact it has on student

academic success. Parents are encouraged to take an active

role in the decision-making process regarding how campus

funds are allotted. Site Council has both parent and student

representatives who assist in determining budget decisions that

support student learning.

Liberty Ranch High School invites both English and non-

English speaking parents to be strong advocates in their child’s

education and attend special events conducted on campus.

LRHS has several evening events that are presented in both

English and Spanish. Spanish translators are available on

campus for parent meetings with faculty and students. The

school as an ELAC committee and participating ELAC parents

are involved in discussions regarding school programs,

academics, college information and post-graduation student

pathways.

At the beginning of each semester, LRHS holds an Honor Roll

Assembly to acknowledge students who received more than a

3.0 GPA in the previous semester. Superintendent’s Honor

Roll (GPA: 4.0 and above), Principal’s Honor Roll (GPA: 3.5

meeting notes

Support staff meeting

notes

Strategies for Change

sign-in sheets

SCC meeting agendas

School websites and

agendas

Student Grades and

event program

Event program




218

to 3.99) and Honor Roll (GPA: 3.0 to 3.49). Parents are

invited to attend this morning assembly.

Parents and the community are also invited to the induction

ceremony for the National Honor Society, which recognizes

students for their scholarship, character, leadership, and

service program established last year at the school.

Parents are invited to support students in Liberty Ranch High

School’s band program in multiple ways. Parents are actively

involved in the Band Booster Club which is known as Galt and

Liberty United Ensemble (GLUE) which facilitates organizing

parent volunteers at specific events. Many of the members are

parents of students who participate in the band program at Galt

High School and Liberty Ranch High School and a few whose

children are band alumni. Another VAPA program that has an

active booster club is the drama department. These parents

help with transportation, building sets, finding materials, and

fundraising for the program.

Other groups that invite parent participation are the Booster

Clubs for athletics and agriculture and the Parent Advocacy

group that supports RSP students.

Parents are also encouraged to attend Board Meetings, college

fairs, homecoming events, athletic events, and other campus

activities.

Booster club minutes

and performance event

programs

Booster club minutes

Board meeting minutes

and event calendar

Use of Community Resources

E1.2. Indicator: The school uses community resources to support student learning.

E1.2. Prompt: Evaluate to what extent the school solicits and employs business and community resources to

support and extend learning. Determine how effectively community members expertise and services, such as

professional services, business partnerships, guest speakers, job fairs, field trips to local employers, and

evaluation of student projects and classroom presentations, provide real world applications of the learning

standards and schoolwide learning outcomes.


219


LRHS uses community resources to support student learning

but also invites the community to take part in many activities

on the LRHS campus.

The FFA Annual End of the Year Awards Banquet awards

students with scholarships, leadership awards, and agriculture

awards. Parents and community members plan, organize, and

volunteer their time to provide a safe evening event for

graduating students. The AG Boosters (which is for both

comprehensive high schools), are mainly comprised of

parents, alumni and community members, who organize

fundraisers that directly support student leadership activities at

school and statewide. The Annual Steak and Oyster Dinner

and the Tractor Pull are examples of fundraisers of the AG

Boosters. Another more current fundraiser in the community is

the Farm-to-Fork Farmers Market where students grow plants

and produce to sell to the community. Another community Ag

event is the Fall Ag Field Day, where the Ag department

invites 3rd graders from neighboring schools to the campus to

learn about animals and produce, and to participate in fun

agricultural activities. The Ag Floriculture class also works

with the community by creating flowers for weddings,

monthly bouquets to staff members, Christmas Wreaths, and

Flower bouquet classes for community members taught by the

advanced students. In addition, the Ag CTE pathways all have

business partnerships in the community to provide guest

speakers, internships, field trips, and help with industry

certification. The boosters and Ag community provide

thousands of dollars for scholarships to LRHS students.

The community is also invited to participate in, help with, and

enjoy many of the other activities on the campus including

music and drama performances, athletic contests, and

Homecoming activities. During Homecoming, LRHS has a

parade of floats, royalty cars, and the band that starts at a

nearby park and parades through a residential section with

residents sitting in their yards, then past two elementary

FFA event programs

Ag syllabi

FFA Weekly bulletin

Observation

Event schedules


220

schools where the children are released to watch the parade

and then return to class. Cars and items for the floats are often

donated by the community for use.

Parents and the community have always been great supporters

of all LRHS athletic teams. Parents and the community are

invited to be in the Athletic Booster Club which works for the

benefit of all teams on the campus. Besides attending athletic

events, the community support was evident at the annual

Hawk 5K run/walk to raise money for LRHS athletics. The

boosters and parents are also involved in many other

fundraising activities in the community and provide awards

and booster scholarships to some graduating athletes.

As discussed in E1, the community also participates with the

band and drama booster clubs by attending performances and

making donations.

Parents and family members of senior students are invited to

attend Liberty Ranch High School’s Senior Awards Night.

Community businesses and military representatives are also

invited to participate. Senior students are recognized for

academic achievement and college scholarships awarded.

Department awards, athlete of the year, staff scholarships, the

citizenship award, and numerous other community

scholarships are presented to graduating seniors. Many other

programs (Athletics, Drama, Band, and FFA) also hold their

own banquets and awards nights attended by students, parents,

staff members and community members.

We have variety of clubs on campus that participate in

community service in the area and are often provided with

community resources. Some examples include the following:

Leadership: Canned Food Drive, Food Day with food from

local businesses,

CSF: collected paper products for local shelters

Athletic schedules

Booster Agendas

Events program

Counseling binder

Student Hand book and

club meeting minutes

Weekly Board Updates


221

NHS: Donated ice cream from a local business to sell at food

day to raise money for Lodi-Adopt-a-Child (Christmas gifts

and present wrapping); organized a Community Bike Safety

Day and a Community Car Show;

Art Club: Participation in the community art show and local

Sand Hill Crane Festival with children’s booths; hosted and art

show on campus

FFA: Annual Blood Drive

Latinos Unidos: Spring Fling Fest for families in the

community with activities, egg hunts, and photos with

bunnies; Raised funds for a student whose mother was a

victim of a drunk driver; raised funds to purchase backpacks

and umbrellas for fellow students

Creative Writing: The book signing and reading short

excerpts of a student-written and published creative writing

book, Spilled Ink: Nature, Growth, and New Beginnings;

sponsors the Jane Austen Ball where students, staff, and

community members can experience music and participate in

traditional dancing of the 1800s.

Free Thinkers: Poetry Slam and Talent presentation to the

community.

Link Crew: Hosted a cancer awareness week and raised over

$1000 for Alex’s Lemonade stand; made blankets for children

in the community

AVID: Donated $100 worth of Toys to the school toy drive;

raised money to provide each AVID student with a USB drive

SWAP: Hosted See You at the Pole with community members

leading the event, Christmas caroled in the community;

collected jeans for local shelters

FCA: Hosts huddles once a month with a community guest

speaker

Weekly Bulletin

Jane Austen Ball flyer

Weekly Bulletin


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Key Club: Participation at the McFarland Ranch Carnival,

Winter Bird Festival, and served Thanksgiving dinner @ a

Lutheran Church; collected items for Newborns in Need,

Socks for Seniors, and PJ’s for Sleep Train

Yearbook: Local businesses buy adds to promote their

business in the yearbook

A large community event with participation of many LRHS

clubs and community booths is the Timmy Strong Community

Event. Organized by the senior class advisor and NHS

members, this event in recognition of the senior class advisor’s

son’s journey through cancer, has taken place the last three

years and raises money for cancer research. The event takes

place on a Friday evening featuring jump houses; LRHS club

activity booths for children; cheerleading, karate, and Zumba

demonstrations; food booths; community business booths;

police, firefighter, and military demonstrations and vehicles; a

silent auction; a dunk booth (featuring administration and

teachers, and football players); and even a visit from a Star

Wars troop. In 2016 this event raised $3500 for Kaiser

Pediatrics Cancer Center; in 2017, $7000 was raised to grant a

child’s Make a Wish to Disneyworld, in 2018 the event raised

$5700 for Kaiser.

AVID classes incorporate guest speakers who are

professionals within the community as well as college

representatives. These professionals share their personal

experience, education background and career pathway.

College representatives link students to various potential

college majors-careers and 4-year college information. These

representatives are available for AVID students to contact in

the future with regards to career questions. AVID also takes

students on college tours and works with them on financial

aid.

Liberty Ranch High School hosts a Career Fair and Cash for

College Financial Aid Night. Representatives from nearby

businesses and college/trade schools regularly participate in

Observation and

interview

AVID Class


223

helping LRHS students’ progress towards their goals for the

future.

At certain times of the year on Thursdays during lunch, the

culinary pathway students put on a lunch for the community.

The classroom is set like a restaurant and the students cook,

serve, and do the clean-up. Any members of the community

may attend for $5.

Career Binder

E2. School Environment Criterion

The school is a) a safe, clean, and orderly place that nurtures learning and b) has a culture that is characterized by

trust, professionalism, high expectations for all students, and a focus on continuous school improvement.

Online Programs: iNACOL Standard P: Organizational Support: A quality online program has organizational support to

oversee the instructional learning environment as it is conveyed through technology. Some organizational support services may

be distributed between the programs and other entities, depending on the physical location where the students are taking their

online courses. [iNACOL Standard P, 2009]


Safe, Clean, and Orderly Environment

E2.1. Indicator: The school has existing policies and regulations and uses its resources to ensure a safe, clean, and

orderly place that nurtures learning, including internet safety and Uniform Complaint Procedures.

E2.1. Prompt: Determine the extent to which the school has implemented policies and committed resources to ensure

a safe, clean, and orderly environment that nurtures learning. Evaluate the effectiveness of the school’s practices and

procedures for all aspects of student safety including: effective operating procedures for internet safety, bullying, drug

and alcohol abuse education and intervention, conflict intervention, use of derogatory or hateful language especially

in the context of race or gender, disaster preparedness and other safety topics of local concern that may interfere with

learning.


The Liberty Ranch High School community believes that the

school environment is safe and secure and conducive to

learning as is evident by the parent/teacher/student surveys. In

order to provide a quality education, LRHS staff believes that

school safety is imperative. Liberty Ranch High School is

committed to enforcing the Galt Joint Union High School

District’s discipline policies. Administrators are the primary

enforcers and facilitators of the discipline policy set forth by

Student handbook

School Website and

district website





224

both Galt Joint Union High School District and Liberty Ranch

High School’s conduct code and policies.

In order to ensure school safety, Liberty Ranch High Staff

actively participates in regularly scheduled and unscheduled

fire and lock-down drills. Recently the fencing was removed

from around the outside basketball courts where students line

up on class numbers during a fire drill. After review by the

safety committee, it was noted that these fences enclosed

students with little entry or exit capabilities thus creating an

unsafe situation. Liberty Ranch High School is equipped with

36 surveillance cameras to ensure campus safety. LRHS is

also a closed/fenced-in campus.

There are two full- time bilingual campus security personnel

utilized during the school day and at some night time activities

to monitor student behavior on campus outside of the

classroom. Supervision is provided before school, during

lunch and passing periods, after school, and on an as needed

basis in the classrooms throughout the school day. School

administrators also monitor the campus before school, during

lunch and passing periods, and after school. During lunch,

students are required to stay in a specified zone unless

attending club meetings or meeting with a teacher to help

monitor for safety. Teachers are encouraged to monitor the

area near their classroom during passing periods. Students are

required to utilize certain colored lanyard passes that are given

by their teachers when using the restroom and other brightly

colored green passes when leaving the classroom for any other

reason. All visitors must check-in with the main office and

receive a visitor pass and wear an identification badge when

on campus. Extra-curricular activities are monitored by

administrators and assigned for adjunct duties to Liberty

Ranch High faculty.

To ensure communication on campus, there is an intercom

system that is utilized during emergencies as well as specified

bells to indicate a potential risk to students and/or staff.

Safety committee

minutes

Emergency Binders

Surveillance video

Campus Security

School Map

Lunch Zone Map


225

Students and families are informed of the school and district’s

discipline policy by administrators, teachers, and review of the

student handbook. Teachers’ classroom rules and discipline

policies as noted in their syllabi coincide with the school and

district’s overall safety policies. Teachers review these

policies with the students the first week of school. The

classroom policies are also discussed with parents during

Back-to-School Night.

Administrators have provided staff development regarding

current social trends that impact students, campus, or

community safety including but not limited to gang

prevention, fire extinguisher use, and health issues relating to

diseases and seizures. Teachers recently completed ALICE

training

Each student is required to complete an emergency card. All

cards are on file in the administration office and information is

posted on PowerSchool which can be accessed by all staff. All

classrooms are provided with a first aid kit, phones, and fire

extinguishers in case of a lockdown or other emergency. Each

classroom is also equipped with an emergency bathroom

lockdown kit. An emergency escape map is included in the

emergency binder. Most recently, door hinge stoppers were

created from fire hoses, and when placed on the hinge, stop the

door from opening when pulled from the outside. All doors

have inside locking mechanisms that can be locked or

unlocked by any staff members’ key.

In 2018 LRHS was annexed into the city limits, therefore a

shared campus resource officer is now a physical presence on

campus and is readily available for emergencies and to help

with home visits.

Recently LRHS passed an extensive safety inspection for all

areas of campus and teacher in science and agriculture were

trained and certified in the storage of and use of hazardous

materials.

Student Handbook

Teacher Syllabi

PD Link

Staff Development

Calendar

PowerSchool


Campus Resource

Officer

Safety Inspection

Observation of staff




226

In the cafeteria, administrative staff enforces a safe, orderly

environment. Students are encouraged to clean up after

themselves. All food handling is held to the highest safe-serve

standards. Staff wears appropriate gloves and clothing. Food is

placed behind protective class and refrigerated when

necessary.

Liberty Ranch High School strives to maintain a campus that

is clean and orderly. The custodial staff, members of GJUHSD

Maintenance & Operations, and school staff work to the best

of their abilities with the resources provided to maintain a safe,

clean, and orderly campus by keeping bathrooms stocked and

sanitized, trash emptied, floors cleaned, desks wiped down,

and landscaping maintained on regular basis. Immediately

after evening events, the custodial staff cleans the venue where

the event took place on campus. A recent survey conducted by

the maintenance department listed all maintenance activities as

favorable to the campus.

Trash cans are located throughout the school grounds and

students are encouraged and expected to clean up after

themselves. Between lunch periods, custodial staff empty full

trash cans and pick up any trash that is on the ground.

LRHS also has a recycling club on campus. The recycling

bins are place in the cafeteria and in each classroom. These

items are picked up in a timely manner and used as a

fundraiser for the club.

Transportation for student off-campus activities is completed

by the district transportation department. This department

completes safety inspections each year and makes sure that all

bus transportation through GJUHSD buses and outside charter

buses are safe and organized. Students must get field trip

permission slips signed by parents.

On staff, student, and parent surveys and interviews, LRHS is

consistently highly rated as a clean, safe campus that students

feel comfortable attending and visiting.

Observation and

maintenance

Survey

Transportation Dept.

Logs

Surveys




227

High Expectations/Concern for Students

E2.2. Indicator: The school demonstrates caring, concern, and high expectations for students in an environment that

honors individual differences and is conducive to learning.

E2.2. Prompt: Evaluate to what extent the school has created and supported an atmosphere of caring, concern, and

high expectations for students in an environment that honors individual differences. Determine how effectively school

policies, programs and procedures support student learning by examining information such as: proportionality of

discipline data, use of positive behavior strategies by staff, restorative justice practices, celebrations of students’

heritage and ethnicity and other information or practices that support a caring, learning environment.


The mission and SLOs establish the high expectations

expected for LRHS students. Students will be Healthy

Individuals, Academic Achievers, Well-rounded Citizens,

Knowledgeable Individuals, and Self-motivated Individuals.

There are two full-time counselors, a nurse and a nurse’s

assistant available at LRHS. A psychologist, and shared

outreach consultant meet with “at risk” students on the school

campus and make home visits when necessary. A newly

established shared resource officer also has an established

presence on campus to promote positive behavior. There is

also a program called Strategies for Change where “at risk”

students meet and discuss how to implement positive behavior

changes both in and out of the classroom.

A variety of social clubs on campus create a safe place for

individual differences to meet and discuss topics of their

interest. These clubs are discussed in the next section.

Administration and staff adhere to the school handbook policies

in a fair manner for all students.

SLOS posted

Counseling and Support

staff

Strategies for Change

sign-in sheets

Atmosphere of Trust, Respect, and Professionalism

E2.3. Indicator: The school has an atmosphere of trust, respect, and professionalism.

E2.3. Prompt: Evaluate the degree to which there is evidence of an atmosphere of trust, respect, and professionalism.

Examine the quality and consistency of communication and collaboration between and among the school’s leadership,

staff and stakeholders; this includes the degree to which stakeholders are involved in the review of the Single Plan for

Student Achievement and District’s Local Control Accountability Plan and to what extent they are included in

decision-making.


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Our classified staff in the front office routinely shows respect

and professionalism to both students and parents when parents

check students in and out, make appointments, and/or want to

discuss concerns.

Each day teachers lead the students in the Pledge of

Allegiance at the beginning of our first period.

Teacher Supervision is required in the classroom and is

encouraged outside our classroom doors during passing

periods.

Adjunct Duty is contractual, and teachers attend after school

activities such as sporting events, band concerts, plays, speech,

and dances.

Student tutors and leaders from clubs and programs are trusted

on campus to run errands, order materials, handle money with

supervision, and work with the community.

The Liberty Ranch High School faculty meets once per month

(School wide Collaboration) to discuss ongoing issues such as

our SBAC scores and how to improve. Approximately two

times a month the staff breaks into cooperative groups during

our Common Planning time (Department Collaboration) to

align teaching standards, analyze data from common

benchmarks, and share best teaching practices. Staff used to

have professional development on Buy-back days which is

organized by the administration or district but could cover

teaching strategies, technology use, data analysis, etc. Buy

back days were eliminated, but a district-wide collaboration

Wednesday is used approximately once a month.

At staff the staff meetings, a staff member is selected by a peer

to have the HAWK award for the month. Staff give a small

speech of accolades about the other individual. Staff also feel

comfortable at the staff or department meetings sharing their

ideas and opinions in a respectful manner.

Observation

Observation

Observation

Adjunct duty list

Observation/Interviews


Meeting minutes

Observation

Survey Link



229

Teachers are respectful of each other’s time at meetings,

attend PTCs, SST, 504, and IEP meetings, follow the school

policies, and volunteer time to make LRHS a welcoming place

for both staff and students. Teachers volunteer to be on

district and site committees and as advisors and coaches on

campus.

As noted by staff/student/ and parent surveys, the staff and

administration ranked highly in caring, support, and

professionalism.

Surveys

E3. Personal and Academic Student Support Criterion

All students receive appropriate academic support and intervention to help ensure school, college, and career success.

Students with special talents and/or needs have access to a system of personal support services, activities, and

opportunities at the school. These are enhanced by business, industry, and the community.

Online Programs: iNACOL Standard N: Organizational Support: A quality online program has student support services to

address the various needs of students at different levels within the organization. The levels of support are appropriate and adequate

for a student’s success. [iNACOL Standard N, 2009]

Online Programs: iNACOL Standard O: Guidance Services: A quality online program has guidance services to support

students and parents to ensure success of the online program. Depending on the program, these services are either directly provided

by the program or a service provider, or in the case of supplemental programs, these services may be provided by the local school.

[iNACOL Standard O, 2009]


Adequate Personalized Support

E3.1. Indicator: The school has available and adequate services to support student’s academic and personal needs.

E3.1. Prompt: Evaluate the availability and effectiveness of academic and personal support services, including

referral services, to support students in such areas as physical and mental health, and career, academic and personal

counseling, including an individualized learning plan.


Home Instruction (Home and Hospital) is provide for students

who are not able to attend school for medical reasons. Galt

Joint Union High School District teachers provide this service

for the students. Independent Study is also available through

Students Handbook and

Admin. Office



230

our District Independent Study Program which requires

students to apply. Applications for Independent Study are

discussed and approved at meetings (which are held once a

month).

Student Support Team (SST) meetings are called by the

counselors/teachers for students that need extra support and

for students that are struggling academically. Teachers are

required to attend these meetings after school. There are also

meetings held for 504’s and IEP’s that not only address

academics, but also address social and mental concerns.

At any point in time, more intensive individualized places for

academic success are available to every student through the

Student Support Team (SST) process. This program is

designed to help students remain on track, using a process that

explores student’s strengths and weaknesses and emphasizes

constructive advice on ways the students can improve. This

process may result in recommendations for further

individualized accommodations and/or academic placements.

The student, parent(s)/guardian(s), teachers, counselor, and

site administrator are all members of the team.

LRHS has encouraged programs on campus such as “Breaking

Down the Walls,” “Rachelle’s Challenge,” and “What’s on

Your Whiteboard” to help students learn respect for each

other. Leadership and Link Crew also present lessons to

freshmen and other students regarding respect and setting

goals.

In addition, every other year, the school puts on the program

“Every 15 Minutes” to help students understand the

destructive process of drinking and driving.

To help support the EL community, LRHS has translators

available at parent meetings, and has bilingual office staff,

counselors, paraprofessionals, and administration. The migrant

education program also offers support to students with an

advisor working on campus one day a week. Students work

Counseling Binder

Leadership Activities

Plan and Agendas

Outreach Consultant

Staffing

SPED staffing


231

on the Fuel Ed program if they are credit deficient, but also

have access to adult tutoring and computers. For student

support, our ELAC parent group meets 5-6 times a year led by

the administrator in charge of EL. With parent knowledge and

support, the EL students have a better chance of succeeding

The SPED department offers 1-1 paraprofessionals for some

students on campus according to their IEPs

Prior to school business days, freshmen students go through an

orientation facilitated by Link Crew, a student-based group.

The main purpose of the orientation is to acclimate freshmen

to high school life. It is designed to provide them with a

network of upperclassmen to support them. The

upperclassmen can assist freshmen in small tasks, such as

helping them find their classrooms on the first day, to yearlong

activities both in and out of the classroom.

A crucial factor in determining student academic success is

parent/guardian involvement. At Liberty Ranch High School,

we value and promote this involvement by including parents

and guardians as part of our team. Counselors, health workers,

teachers, and a psychologist working collaboratively with

parents, foster a culture which empowers students and

parents/guardians to make informed choices about students’

academic needs throughout their high school years.

Plans for correcting deficiencies in credits are addressed

through placement in an online credit recovery program called

Fuel Ed or summer school. Serious deficiencies may result in

alternative learning placements. Every February, all students

come to the office during their scheduled time and meet with a

counselor to select their courses for the following year. Prior

to their assigned time to register for classes, all current 9th-11th

grade students receive a course selection sheet and information

on how to access our course catalog. During registration is

also the time students are given AP/Honors course

Link Crew Agenda

Paraprofessional

schedule

Agendas of parent

meetings

Counselor binder and

course selections

Counselors

Teacher observations



232

recommendation forms and/or summer school forms, if

needed.

Teachers use a variety of teaching strategies to personalize

student learning including partner and group work, using

technology for notes and review, oral speaking components,

and project-based assignments of student choice.

Liberty Ranch High School offers students many support

services and resources intended to help them be successful in

academic and personal growth. Our counselors meet

individually with students as needed to help them plan a study

path through high school, insuring that they will meet all the

requirements for graduation. They also speak to students who

have personal rather than academic concerns. Students can fill

out a request to speak with their counselor before and after

school and during both lunches. The counseling department

had been responsible for all 504’s prior to 2017, currently the

504’s our handled by the Assistant Principals. Counselor from

Strategies for Change (Alcohol/Drug use) is available to

students on site once a week.

Liberty Ranch High School provides a comprehensive school

guidance program that focuses on academic, college/career,

and personal/social counseling. Liberty Ranch High School

students are divided into 2 alphabetic groups, each group

being assigned to a counselor. These Alpha counselors work

with their students throughout the year. Liberty Ranch

counselors are here to make sure students have positive and

healthy experiences and are prepared for life after graduation.

Individualized plans and academic support can only be

successful when coupled with support for educational and

career choices beyond high school. Without that piece, the

classes at Liberty Ranch High School would be far less

relevant and meaningful, and students would be far more

likely to engage in behaviors both in and out of the classroom

Counselors

Counseling case loads

Course catalog



233

that were ‘less than their best’. With that in mind, these links

are drawn for all students both in and out of the classroom.

LRHS offers honors and AP courses across most disciplines

for students who are ready for a more challenging educational

experience. Courses, including singletons, are arranged on the

master schedule throughout the day to try and offer the most

selections to the most students.

In summary, Liberty Ranch High School offers a complex and

multi-faceted system to provide individualized learning plans

for all students. These individualized learning plans help

students move through high school and on to postsecondary

plans. These plans also help support students in their

endeavors and involve their parents/guardians in helping set

realistic goals. They help design successful plans for the

single steps they take through high school and the combination

of steps that contribute to a rewarding journey for the rest of

their lives.

E3.1. Additional Online Instruction Prompts: Comment on the availability and adequacy of the academic

counseling, college preparation support, personal counseling, and health services provided for the students involved

in online instruction.


Support and Intervention Strategies Used for Student Growth/Development

E3.2. Indicator: Strategies are used by the school leadership and staff to develop and implement personalized multi-

tiered intervention approaches to learning and alternative instructional options.

E3.2 Prompt: Evaluate the effectiveness of the types of strategies used by the school leadership and staff to develop

and implement personalized multi-tiered intervention approaches to learning and alternative instructional options

which allow access to and progress in the rigorous standards-based curriculum.


234


Included with the many strategies and programs listed above,

the school also has a MTSS program and a Strategies for

Change program to help students who are struggling in the

traditional school setting. Other personalized approaches that

were discussed earlier consist of SST, IEP, and 504 plans.

There is an outreach consultant, psychologist, migrant ed

liaison, counselors, case managers, and health professional

who help students develop academic instructional plans and

personal goals.

Other elements include a variety of programs for credit

recovery.

Students who are credit deficient can transfer to Estrellita

Continuation School in 11th or 12th grade. In 2016/17 per the

superintendent, most of the students at EHS returned to their

home campuses except for one teacher and one class which

remained at EHS. LRHS constructed an educational plan for

each of these students to help them successfully transition

back into the school culture where they had been previously

unsuccessful. With the departure of the superintendent, in the

2018/19 school year, EHS has been reestablished as a

continuation school with more teachers and students. Adult

Education, which was used before 2012 to encompass

concurrent enrollment, was discontinued from 2012-2016. It

was then re-established in 2016 without concurrent

enrollment.

As a continuation school, EHS also provided credit recovery

for students wanting to return to their home school for

graduation. With the changes at EHS, new credit recovery

programs were established at LRHS and have been continued.

In 2015 the Advanced Academics program for online credit

recovery was discontinued. LRHS then started using an

alternate credit recovery program only offered after school.

Because of limited success with this structure, in 2015/16,

LRHS began the online credit recovery program using Fuel Ed

with random full-time teachers teaching two periods a day. In

2017/18, Flex Academy with the Fuel Ed curriculum was used

Counseling Binder

Special Education

information

Counseling


235

for online recovery during the school day with two full-time

teachers and two paraprofessionals in the program.

The summer school credit recovery program has also had

numerous changes. Summer school is held alternately at GHS

or LRHS. From 2012 to 2016, summer school held two

sessions and courses were taught by classroom teachers. In

2016 the summer school program was mainly limited to

students attending a bridge program in English or math after

taking the RI placement test. These students were three to

four Lexile reading levels behind their peers and the courses

were taught by classroom teachers. Even though classes were

limited in 2016, migrant education and special education

students have continued (since before 2012) to be able to

participate in credit recovery in English and math. In 2017

more classes were added for credit recovery. In 2018, summer

school was continued in two sessions with some courses

taught online through Fuel Ed. Although mainly a recovery

program, summer school does offer reading and math bridge

programs for students who are not at grade level and have

tested into lower level English or math classes as well as

limited courses for acceleration.

Counseling binder

E3.2. Additional Online Instruction Prompt: Provide evidence that the processes and strategies are effective for

incoming students with regard to orientation or induction and the ongoing monitoring and support of the students to

ensure all have a full opportunity for academic success.


Support Services – Multi-Tiered Interventions and Student Learning

E3.3. Indicator: The school leadership and staff ensure that the support services and related activities have a direct

relationship to student involvement in learning based on the schoolwide learner outcomes and academic standards,

e.g., within and outside the classroom, for all students, including the EL, high achievers, special education, and other

programs.

E3.3. Prompt: Evaluate the extent to which student learning needs are accurately identified in a timely manner and

the appropriate support and intervention services are provided. Examine how the school monitors the effectiveness

and appropriateness of intervention for each student within and outside the classroom.


236


As earlier comments indicate LRHS has multi-tiered

interventions for student learning. There are many programs

and transition points at which students’ learning needs are

identified and interventions are assigned. When 8th graders

transition to the school they are identified for support. As

discussed earlier, Case Managers, paraprofessionals, COST or

MTSS services, SARB, and PTC all provide much needed

services to help students.

Outside the classroom, academic support is available to all

students through after school tutoring program available at

Liberty Ranch High School offered in Math and English.

Through English tutoring, the computer lab is also available

Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. Lunch tutoring is also

available through our AVID program.

The library is open certain days of the week. At these times it

is available for student use and also has three available

computers.

In many classes, students are checked out books that they may

take home for further study. Many classes also have textbooks

online for student access. These textbooks offer the regular

curriculum, plus online quizzes and homework help.

Teaching Schedule

Paraprofessional

Schedule

MTSS Meeting minutes

SARB schedule

Tutoring Schedule

Library Schedule

E3.3. Additional Online Instruction Prompt: Evaluate the extent to which the support services and related activities

have a direct relationship to student involvement in learning with respect to equity of access, availability of computers

and internet.


Equitable Support to Enable All Students Access to a Rigorous Curriculum

E3.4. Indicator: Through the use of equitable support all students have access to a challenging, relevant, and coherent

curriculum.

E3.4. Prompt: Evaluate the school’s effectiveness in regularly examining demographic distribution of students for

disproportionality throughout the class offerings (e.g., master class schedule and class enrollments).


237


LRHS offers equitable support to enable all students to have

access to a challenging, relevant, and coherent curriculum.

Many of these discussed in above sections include Migrant

Education; SPED curriculum support for RSP mainstreamed

students; a newly offered AP study skills class; counselor

meetings for (SST, IEP,504, and PTC); after school tutoring,

two EL 90-minute block periods on an A/B schedule, ELA

remediation using Language Live and 3D, math remediation in

Math Foundations, credit recovery using Fuel Ed during

regular year and summer school, and the hybrid schedule that

allows students a chance to take complete remediation and

support while still taking classes of interest in electives and

pathways. Many other programs discussed earlier.

These supports help meet the critical learning needs of

students.

Course Catalog

Counseling Binder

Meeting Notes

Co-Curricular Activities

E3.5. Indicator: The school ensures that there is a high level of student involvement in curricular and co-curricular

activities that link to schoolwide learner outcomes, academic standards, and college- and career-readiness standards.

E3.5. Prompt: Evaluate the availability to and involvement of students in curricular and co-curricular activities.

Determine the effectiveness of the extent to which co-curricular activities link to the schoolwide learner outcomes and

academic standards. Examine the process that the school utilizes to evaluate the level of involvement for all students

in a variety of activities.


An integral part of LRHS is the large amount of student

involvement on campus in curricular and co-curricular

activities. Through senate meetings, class discussions, and

staff, student, and parent surveys, the students at LRHS have

indicated an overall positive perception of the school and its

support services, staff, and opportunities

Outside the classroom, the College/Career Center at Liberty

Ranch High School offers information to students exploring

their post-secondary options. The center, located in the library

building, has information on post-secondary options, including

junior colleges, 4-year universities, vocational and technical

Surveys

Counseling Binder



238

programs, and military careers. Both print and non-print

media are available to students and parents, along with internet

access to appropriate and relevant websites. A shared career

guidance counselor organizes and facilitates the Career Center

activities. These activities include, but are not limited to,

visits from colleges, universities, military recruiters and

potential employers, field trips to career and college fairs, one-

on-one advice and support to students for planning future

pathways, test preparation information for

SAT/PSAT/ACT/College placement, and in-class large group

guidance units. She is a resource for college scholarship

information and is available to help students with online

applications as well. Last year the counselor helped students

secure and keep track of FAFSA/merit and need based

scholarships totaling $1,284, 824 and local scholarships

totaling $17, 800.

The staff at Liberty Ranch High School is also involved with

students outside the regular classroom by serving as advisors

for many extra-curricular activities. A variety of clubs, sports,

and performing arts gives students a chance to interact with

their peers and teacher advisor/coaches while pursuing an area

of interest. The clubs or programs provide students with

leadership and community service opportunities as well as

fostering personal growth and good citizenship.

With approximately 21 clubs on campus a year, four different

leadership classes including Link Crew, 30 different sports

teams representing 15 different sports, there are many

opportunities for students to get involved. Through these co-

curricular opportunities, students work on the Critical

Learning Needs of Critical Thinking focusing on problem

solving skills and real-world applications; Effective

Communication focusing on writing, speaking, and listening

skills, and Student Accountability focusing on organization,

time management and perseverance.

Some clubs not yet mentioned that show the richness of

diversity in activities on the LRHS campus are the following:

List of clubs

List of clubs

Athletic Schedules


239

Galt Trap Shooters, Sophisticated Tea Society, GSA (Gay and

Straight Alliance), Galt Writer’s Guild, Color Guard, Fitness

Club, MESA club, Dungeons and Dragons, LHS, and German

Club.

In previous years, the daily bulletin was either broadcast into

the classrooms during 1st or 4th period or delivered by a media

blitz from a leadership student during the same period. In

2018, after the pledge is completed, teachers read the daily

bulletin to the students. This change was made to encourage

all staff and students to be knowledgeable about the school

activities, sports, and career and college information. This also

allows teachers to skip events that do not pertain to their level

of student. The school website also has updated information

about club and school activities, and many clubs have their

own face book pages to keep their members aware of

activities. Clubs meet during lunch time, before school, or

after school.

Leadership is responsible for senate meetings which have been

established to keep all clubs, programs, and students informed.

A representative from each club and program, attend the

meeting and bring back information to their clubs. Leadership

is also responsible for many different activities on campus

including a program called Winter Wishes where they raise

money and students anonymously wish for items to be granted

to students on campus that might be in need. Teachers also

participated by donating or purchasing different items for these

students. Leadership also puts on themed rallies for school

spirit that include decorations, activities, and student/teacher

participation.

In addition, leadership partners with the SPED department on

campus for the Social Exchange discussed previously in the

SPED significant changes in Chapter 1 and Autism Awareness

month. RSP students participate with leadership students

promoting Autism Awareness by decorating the campus,

planning events, and doing school announcements.

LRHS Website

Senate Meeting

agenda’s

Athletic team rosters



240

A significant number of students participate in and attend

LRHS athletic events. Teams have had excellent success with

individuals bringing home 21 SVC championships to date

along with numerous individual medals and awards which

were discussed in the earlier PE narrative. A unique tradition

here at Liberty Ranch High School which started in 2011 and

continues to this day is that for every varsity sports team that

wins a league championship administration celebrates by

providing that team with a tri-tip BBQ dinner.

LRHS holds numerous awards assemblies to promote

academic success. Honor roll assemblies and award nights for

seniors, Ag, Band, Theater, and NHS have already been

mentioned. In 2018 students were also rewarded with T-shirts

and early lunch passes for their scores on the SRI tests. These

students were given “1300” t-shirts for reaching the school

goal and awards for even higher scores were given.

Awards assembly

invitations

E3.5. Additional Online Instruction Prompt: Evaluate the school’s processes to address the needs of socialization

for the students and involvement in the school. Provide evidence about the effectiveness of the students’ involvement

in school and community activities, such as clubs, yearbook, newsletter, newspaper, field trips, volunteer work, service

projects, college courses, etc.


ACS WASC Category E. School Culture and Support for Student Personal

and Academic Growth: Summary, Strengths and Growth Needs

Review all the findings and supporting evidence and summarize the degree to which the criteria in Category E

are being met.




LRHS uses a variety of events to welcome family and community member involvement on

campus. There are district and site committees including ELAC and SCC, parent and

community nights, Booster Clubs, College and Career Fairs, Financial Aid workshops,

fundraisers, ELAC, showcases and performances, athletic events, and many other activities.


241

Although there are many ways parents can get involved on campus, it is a continuous struggle to

find a variety of parent volunteers for committees and to involve EL parents and those of

struggling students.

Students and parents consistently believe that Liberty Ranch is a safe, supportive environment

where both students and staff are actively involved on campus. Teachers show schoolwide

professionalism and collegiality which fosters trust and respect between students and staff. A

large portion of the students enjoy participating in co-curricular activities and are involved with

service in the community. The campus, although not diverse in ethnicity (the majority being

white and Hispanic) offers many diverse clubs and organization for student interest. There are

also many awards events that recognize student achievement in a variety of ways.

Students have access to a wide variety of support services to meet their personal learning needs

both academically and socially which reflect favorably on our high graduation rates and low

dropout rate.

Although LRHS has a dynamic school atmosphere, it is clear this positive culture needs to also

be established for academic testing. An atmosphere of motivation and perseverance as noted in

our critical learning needs must be established for continued success.

Prioritize the strengths and areas for growth for Category E.

Category E: School Culture and Support for Student Personal and Academic Growth: Areas of Strength

School wide professionalism

School spirit

Participation in extra-curricular activities

Administrative consistency with regards to policies and follow-up

Knowledgeable and caring support staff

Safe environment

Campus Security

Variety of clubs and programs to fit student needs

Staff involvement on campus

Variety of support services for students

High graduation rate

Good student involvement with the community


242

Category E: School Culture and Support for Student Personal and Academic Growth: Areas of Growth

Continue to find ways to communicate with parents of students who are

struggling

Continue to find ways to motivate lower achieving students

Establish a culture of increasing test scores

Explore and implement ways to increase parental involvement


243

Chapter IV

Summary from Analysis of

Identified Critical Student

Learning Needs


244

Participants:

The WASC focus groups, as listed in the beginning of this WASC report, consisted of the

WASC leadership team

School Administrators

WASC Coordinator

LRHS Department Chairs

Home Groups

Academic Departments led by Department Chairs

Focus Groups

Representatives from certificated staff

Representatives from classified staff

Parents

Student Groups

Leadership Classes

Random Selection of Classes

Perception of the Critical Learning Needs:

After reviewing data from Chapters I and II of the WASC report, a variety of critical learning

needs were suggested for LRHS students by the LRHS WASC groups. These needs were

narrowed down and selected by members of the leadership team including the district curriculum

director. The critical learning needs established through this collaboration that need to be

addressed are as follows:

1. The improvement of Critical Thinking

Problem Solving Skills

Real World Application

Memory and Retention

2. The improvement of Effective Communication

Writing

Speaking

Listening


245

3. The improvement of Student Accountability

Ownership and Independence

Organization and Time Management

Motivation and Perseverance

4. The improvement of Computer Literacy

Appropriate Use

Student Access

Ability

These four areas are growth areas of critical need for LRHS students and ALL are connected to

the LCAP, SPSA, and, most importantly, the SLOs.

The areas of Critical Learning Needs are connected to the following LCAP Goals:


LCAP GOAL 2: Rigorous Learning & High Achievement

LCAP GOAL 3: Transparent Communication and Engagement of All Stakeholders

LCAP GOAL 4: Safe, Healthy, and Supportive School/Work Environment for all.

The areas of Critical Learning Needs are connected to the following SPSA Goals:

2018/19 SPSA GOAL 1: College and Career readiness for all students GOAL: Increase success of all students by measuring the number of students on pace to graduate,

those successfully completing the University of California A-G requirements, and annual growth of

200 on Lexile scores.

2018/19 SPSA GOAL 2: Rigorous learning and high expectations for all learners

GOAL: Increase the percentage of English Learners making annual progress in learning English as

measured by the CELDT/ELPAC

.


holders



246

2018/19 SPSA GOAL 4: Safe, Healthy, and Supportive School/Work Environment for all

GOAL: Provide a transition program for incoming freshman to help students acclimate, decrease the

number of classes failed, and reduce teacher referrals for defiance and disruption.

The areas of critical learning needs are connected to the following SLOs:


Make healthy lifestyle decisions and establish positive relationships with others.

The improvement of Student Accountability




The improvement of Effective Communication

Writing

Speaking

Listening


Demonstrate a mastery of academic standards through critical thinking, problem-solving,

and communication.

The improvement of Critical Thinking





Writing

Speaking

Listening


Understand global issues, respect diverse cultures, and contribute to the improvement of

their school and community.


Writing

Speaking

Listening

The improvement of Critical Thinking





247


Apply learning and 21st Century skills to their daily lives and future experiences.

The improvement of Computer Literacy

Appropriate Use

Student Access

Ability


Persevere through challenges and progress towards their short term and long term goals.

The improvement of Student Accountability




Although all the Critical Learning Needs can fit under each SLO, the most prevalent ones are

listed underneath a specific learning outcome.

Areas of Strength and Areas of Growth as identified by the Focus Groups:

Areas of Strength Areas of Growth

Highly qualified credentialed teachers

teaching in their subject matter

Continue to find ways to motivate lower

achieving students

LRHS leadership structure provides an

effective communication network to meet the

specific needs of students and staff

Develop and implement a school-wide three-

year PD plan with a focus on the LCAP,

SPSA, Action Plan, and Critical Needs

The district/school has reestablished or

continued committees for staff and

parent/community input

Continuous evaluation and update of WASC

Action Plan and the critical learning needs of

students

Updates in technology for students and staff Establish an academic culture of increasing

test scores

Administration and staff are fully committed

to helping students achieve the SLOs

More collaboration time for departments to

review data and adjust to new hybrid schedule

time frame and curriculum changes as well as

using the time to integrate among disciplines

for cross-curricular activities

Open Door Policy for students and staff from

administration

Increase staff for student support (Counselors)

Safe, Clean Facilities


248

Explore and implement ways to increase

parental involvement

Multitude of support programs for students on

campus

The development and evaluation of common

core assessments and benchmarks

Real world experiences in the classrooms Continue to find way to communicate with

parents of struggling students

Staffing for library and college and career More teacher training for CANVAS,

Illuminate, other software and use in the

classroom of computers 1-to-1

Increased elective choices for students Develop a systematic approach to monitoring

instruction and providing feedback to the

teaching staff on a consistent basis

Increased CTE pathways for students Provide more motivation and incentives to

students taking standardized tests

Academic testing for correct student

placement

Increased collaboration and articulation

between the district, school, and feeder sites

in the implementation of a common vision for

the SLOs and academic growth

Competing and participating in

local/regional/state fairs, contests, and

showcases

More connection in the classroom to SLOs

Professional commitment by teachers to use a

variety of teaching strategies

Regular cycle and budget planning by the

District for adoption of textbooks and 1-to-1

computer usage

High staff morale/collegiality Continued budgeting for facility

improvements (restrooms, shade structures,

performing arts, athletics)

Qualified and caring support staff

Newly revised SLOs

Facility Updates (Stadium, Computer Lab,

Technology infrastructure)

Many opportunities for students to challenge

themselves academically and socially

Student and parent access to current grades,


249

calendars, and assignments

More real world experience and collaboration

in instruction in math with the change to CPM

curriculum

School-wide professionalism of staff

School spirit

Student and teacher participation in extra-

curricular activities

Administrative consistency with regards to

policies and follow-up

Safe Environment with competent, friendly

campus security

Variety of clubs and programs to fit student

needs

Staff involvement on campus

Variety of support services for students

Emerging Themes:

These areas of strength and growth display 4 major themes. Identifying these themes will help

the staff to modify the Critical Learner Needs and help LRHS to continue to plan and improve

the SPSA and Action Plan:

1. Raise achievement for all students through more collaboration on curriculum, lesson

plans, and teaching strategies. Teachers want more collaboration time and will use the

time to focus on student learning. They want analyze student work and data to change

their teaching practices and share best practices among each other.

2. Another repeated theme is the need for an increase in planned professional development

to meet the Critical Learner Goals and SPSA goals. The need is especially apparent in

technology use and interdisciplinary project-based assignments.

3. Communication between feeder schools, parents, and the community needs to be

improved. Achieving this growth would help the transition of students, increase the

academic achievement for incoming students as well as upper level students, and increase

the role of parents and the community in the education of all students.


250

4. Increase the nunber of students who are College and Career ready. The state has started

looking at College and Career ready through a different lens as part of the CA Dashboard

and eight priorities. This aspect means increasing students who graduate completing A-G

requirements and CTE credits, getting “Conditionally Ready” or above on the SBAC

tests, and passing the AP tests with a minimum of 3. LRHS has a high graduation rate,

but still has low scores in sections of College and Career ready.

Liberty Ranch High School is committed to monitoring and addressing these new critical

learning needs through the SPSA and Action Plan. With stable leadership directing the plans

and a resilient, dedicated staff working to implement them, LRHS plans to see improvement

each year and will evaluate and update the work in progress.


251

Chapter V

School-wide Action Plan


252

Process of Developing the Plan:

The LCAP goals, Site Council goals (SPSA), and the areas of Growth and Strength from

Chapters II and III of the WASC study helped to narrow down the areas of the Action Plan.

After reviewing the past action plan with Home Groups and Focus Groups, as well as the critical

learning needs from Chapter IV, the WASC leadership team formulated the final plan. The plan

was approved by each WASC group.

The WASC Action Plan has been aligned to the following 2017/2018 LCAP goals and the

2018/19 SPSA goals:


*Percentage of four-year cohort graduates/seniors who completed A-G

requirements will increase by 5% annually

*Percentage of four-year cohort graduates/seniors who completed at

least one CTE pathway will increase by 5% annually.

*Percentage of students who passed at least one of their AP Exams

with a score of 3 or higher will increase by 5% annually

2018/19 SPSA GOAL 1: College and Career readiness for all students. GOAL: Increase success of all students by measuring the number of students on pace to graduate, those successfully completing the University of California A-G requirements, and annual growth of 200 on Lexile scores. STRATEGY: During the 2016-2017 school year implement a school wide reading acceleration program to address the reading Lexile level with struggling readers and English language learners as measured by Language Live and Reading Inventory Assessments.

LCAP GOAL 2: Rigorous Learning & High Achievement *The percentage of students reading proficiently will increase 10% annually, as measured by the SRI

Lexile assessment.

Baseline: May 2016 59%; May 2017 60%; May 2018 59%

*The percentage of graduating seniors achieving at least a 1300 Lexile will increase 10% annually.

Baseline: 2016 22.4%; 2017 25.8%; 2018 33.5% (gain of 8%)

*The percentage of English learners making annual progress in learning English will increase by 5%

annually. Baseline: 2015 57.6%; 2016 31.5%; Current Data not available


253

*The percentage of English learners who are reclassified will increase by 2% annually

Baseline: 2015 7.3%; 2016 8.1%; 2017 6.1%; 2018 5.6% (decrease of .5%)

*Increase the percentage of students who meet and exceed standards on the CAASPP by a total 5%

annually in English language arts and mathematics. (CAASPP results now are used for EAP).

Baseline

CAASPP English 2016 Met or Exceeded Standard 60%

CAASPP Math 2016 Met or Exceeded Standard 23%

CAASPP English 2017 Met or Exceeded Standard 65.2% (Increase 5.3%)

CAASPP Math 2017 Met or Exceeded Standard 31.1% (Increase 8.1%)

*Teacher Assignment and Credentials

All teachers are appropriately assigned with appropriate credentials.


*Access to Standards Aligned Instructional Materials

All students have access to standards-based instructional materials, as measured by classroom

observations and annual curriculum audit.


*Implementation of State Standards

CCSS ELA and Math, NGSS Science and ELD Standards are implemented in all classrooms, as measured

by classroom observation reports and annual curriculum audit.


2018/19 SPSA GOAL 2: Rigorous learning and high expectations for all

learners GOAL: Increase the percentage of English Learners making annual progress in learning English as measured by the CELDT/ELPAC STRATEGY: The academic progress of EL and RFEP Students, who have been re-designated within a year, will be reviewed and if deemed necessary will be recommended to be placed in an ELD class.

LCAP Goal 3: Transparent Communication and Engagement of All

Stakeholders * Increase the percentage of students who graduate from high school by two percent annually as measured

by the Four-Year Cohort High School Graduation rate annually until the rate approaches 100%.

Baseline: 2016 96.1%; 2017 98.2 (increase of 2.1%)

* Decrease the percentage of students who do not graduate from high school by two percent annually as

measured by the Four-Year Cohort Drop Out rate annually until the rate drops to 0.


254

*All schools will increase participation of parents of unduplicated pupils and of parents of students with

exceptional needs in School Site Council, School Advisory Committee (if receiving Title I funds) and

English Learner Advisory Committees, and the District Advisory Committee and District English Learner

Advisory Committee, as measured by attendance records of each committee.

*All schools and the district will seek input from parents in decision making, as measured by participation

in annual parent survey.

*Increase the percentage of students who participate in at least one extracurricular or co-curricular

activity by 5% each year


holders


STRATEGY: Involve parents through committees (School Site Council, English Learner Advisory

Committee, Parent Teacher Student Association) with at least four regularly scheduled meetings


LCAP GOAL 4: Safe, Healthy, and Supportive School/Work


*The percentage of staff, students and parents reporting that school is safe will increase by 2% annually

*The percentage of staff, students and parents reporting a favorable Sense of Belonging at the school will

increase by 2% annually.

*The percentage of staff, students and parents reporting a favorable climate of support for academic

learning at the school will increase by 2% annually.

*The percentage of students who are suspended and expelled will decrease .5% annually.

*The percentage of EL students who are suspended will decrease 1% annually.

*Facilities Inspection Tool will continue to demonstrate that all schools meet the good repair standard (#

of identified instances where facilities do not meet the “good repair” standard” will remain at 0).

2018/19 SPSA GOAL 4: Safe, Healthy, and Supportive School/Work


GOAL: Provide a transition program for incoming freshman to help students acclimate, decrease

the number of classes failed and reduce teacher referrals for defiance and disruption.


255

Strategy: LRHS will fully implement the Link Crew program including an orientation, academic

outreach, and class to support the difficult transition from middle school to high school and

conduct outreach meetings with parents to communicate high school expectations, programs

available and to seek parent involvement.

Supporting the District's LCAP Goals, Liberty Ranch is committed to the following:

Designing an educational community that is committed to achieving the goals set forth in Galt Joint

Unified School District's LCAP Plan with particular emphasis on the following:

1. All students will develop and consistently demonstrate character traits necessary to become respectful,

contributing, responsible, and caring members of the Hawk Community.

2. By June 2019 all students will consistently contribute to and actively engage in their learning process.

3. By June 2019 LRHS will increase the number of students meeting A-G requirements by 10%.

4. By June 2019 LRHS will decrease the percentage of low performing students scoring below proficient

on standardized testing by 40%.

5. By June 2019 the rate of students earning C's or higher in all their courses will increase by 40%.

6. Decreasing the Freshman F-Rate by 25% for each semester.

7. Assess all student reading levels based on the Reading Inventory. Students scoring below level 4 will

be placed in a Reading acceleration class at the beginning of the first semester.

The 2018/19 SPSA goals approved by the Site Council were also used to formulate the WASC

Action Plan. The SPSA goals were done with some collaboration, but not all stakeholders were

consulted. After reviewing data through the WASC process, all stakeholders got to collaborate

about critical learning needs and goals that they deemed important to the school. The SPSA

goals are maintained in the new Action Plan but have been modified for the benefit of the school.


256

LCAP GOAL #1: College and Career Readiness for all students

SPSA and ACTION PLAN GOAL 1: Increase academic success of all students by measuring the number of students on

pace to graduate, increasing those students who meet the UC A-G requirements, and achieving an annual growth of 200 on

Lexile scores for those not meeting the college equivalency.

SLO: Academic Achiever, Knowledgeable Individual

RATIONALE: Although LRHS graduation rate, an indicator of the school dash board, is in the blue range, the importance

of monitoring the rate annually is recognized. Due to a low percentage of A-G requirement completers and students

matriculating into a four-year university, the district increased the graduation requirements to be aligned with the A-G

requirements. In order to be successful academically, LRHS is committed to reading comprehension, thus the

implementation and consistency of administering the Reading Inventory assessment to all students bi-annually to monitor

student progress.

Critical Learning Need: Improvement in Critical Thinking, Improvement in Effective Communication

ACTION PLAN PERSON(S)

RESPONSIBLE

RESOURCES ASSESSMENT TIMELINE REPORTING

1. Incoming students continue

to be given the RI and MDTP

placement test in January and

placed in appropriate classes for

reading and math acceleration.

*Counseling

*English/Math Dept.

Chairs

*Feeder School

Administration

*Administrator

*RI Test

*MDPT

*Counselors and

teachers for testing

*Scoring tests and

setting up rubric

for class placement

*Tests given by Jan.

30 prior to

registration in Feb.

*Test Scores and Master

Schedule

2. Continue and improve

support for the inclusive SPED

model.

*Counseling

*Administrator in

charge of master

schedule

*SPED Director and

Case Managers

*SPED students

*Master Schedule

*Grade Checks

* Assessment

scores

*Teacher feedback

*Ongoing *Progress reports

*Quarter and semester

grades

* Assessment scores


257

3. All courses will continue to

develop common assessments

and collaborate on the results.

*Administration

*Dept. Chairs

*Teachers

*Course

Curriculum

*Standards

*Illuminate

*Scoring of

Common

Assessments

*Dept. Meeting

Minutes

*Ongoing *Common Assessment

Scores

4. Continue and improve the

incorporation of critical thinking

skills in instructional strategies.

*Professional

Development

committee

* Administration

*Dept. Chairs

* Outside

consultants

* Professional

development

*Data

*Time

*Student

performance grades

*Benchmarks

*Ongoing *Progress reports

*Benchmark data

*Assessment scores

* IEP meetings

5. Continue to explore incentive

options for those students

meeting expectations.

*Dept. Chairs

*Admin.

*Site Budget *Attendance

*Individualized

CAASPP scores

*Ongoing *Attendance Records

*CAASPP Results

*RI Results

6. Create and implement a

systematic process of

intervention that addresses the

needs of all students and target

subgroups in order to ensure that

all students have access to

higher level learning

*Department Chairs

*Principal

*Creating

curriculum

*Teacher training

*Grade reporting

*Teacher

observation

*May 30 for the

following year

*Assessment scores

*Teacher observation

7. Continue to provide tutoring

in all core areas.

* Principal

*Dept. Members

*Funding for after

–school tutoring

*Grade reporting *Ongoing *Grade reports

*Tutoring roster

*Assessment scores

8. Explore opportunities to

improve computer literacy for

students and teachers.

*Administration

*Department chairs

*Director of

Technology

*Budget and

staffing

*Equipment

*Grant applications

*Budget

Allocations

*Increased Lab

*Ongoing *Minutes of staff meetings

*Minutes of Tech

committee


258

*CBO

*Superintendent

hours

9. Identify strategies to increase

stakeholder’s awareness of A-G

requirements.

*Teachers

*Administration

*Student

Handbook

*Class

Identification

Posters

*Current

Technology

*UC/CSU

Qualifications

report

*Observation

*Completion of A-

G Requirements

*Ongoing *Survey

10. Continue SRI testing and

analysis of data.

*Administration

*Teachers

*Computer Labs

*Testing Material

*SRI scores *Biannually (August,

May)

*SRI results to all

stakeholders


259

LCAP GOAL #2: Rigorous learning and high expectations for all learners

SPSA GOAL 2: Increase the percentage of English Learners making annual progress in learning English as measured by the

ELPAC.

ACTION PLAN GOAL: Increase the achievement rate of LRHS English Learner students

SLO: Academic Achiever, Knowledgeable Individuals

RATIONALE: English Learners continue to underperform on the CAASPP math and ELA assessments. Also, English

Learners are overrepresented in the D/F list and SARB hearings.

Critical Learning Needs: Critical Thinking, Effective Communication, Student Accountability, Computer Literacy


RESPONSIBLE


1.Identify EL students and schedule

them for an ELD class

*Administrator in charge

of EL

*Counselors

*Master Schedule

*Staffing

*Training

*Master Schedule

*Annually

June 1

*Class Schedules

2.Continue to develop and finalize

curriculum for the ELD program


of EL

*Teachers

*Course Curriculum *Curriculum binders

*Student Grades

*Ongoing *Curriculum Binders

3.Identify EL student needs and

focus on effective EL and SDAIE

strategies


*Teachers

*SDAIE strategies

*Training

*SBAC & RI results

*Student Grades

*Teacher

Observations

*Ongoing *Results from formal

and informal

observations

*RI Scores

4.Identify RFEP students who are not

demonstrating successful progress to

be placed in an ELD class


of EL

*Grades

*Teacher

Recommendations

*Students Grades *Ongoing *Assessment Scores


260

5.Identify and provide credit

recovery

*Administrator

*Counseling

*Site Funds

*Summer School,

Fuel Ed.

*Master Schedule

*Summer School

Schedule

*Ongoing *Summer School

Schedule

*Student Transcripts

6.Decrease number of ELs with D’s

and F’s

*Teachers *Teaching Staff

*Student grade

Reports

*Biannually

End of Terms

*Student grade reports

7. Form a network for students who

are not reclassified.


of EL

*Administration

*EL teachers

*ELAC

*Teacher Feedback

*Student Survey

*Ongoing *Committee notes

*Survey results

8.Provide PD for SDAIE strategies *District Curriculum

Director

*Administration

*District and Site

collaboration time

*District Funds

*Admin. Observation

*PD roll sheets

*Ongoing *District and site PD

Schedules

9. Research and implement a reward

program for EL improvement

*Administration

*EL teachers and

paraprofessionals

*Site funds *Teacher Feedback

*Student

Feedback/Survey

*Ongoing *Increase in attendance

and academic

achievement rates for

EL’s


261

LCAP GOAL #3: Open Communication and Participation for all stake holders

SPSA GOAL 3: Develop a plan to increase parent involvement

ACTION PLAN GOAL 3: Increase parent, community, students, and all stakeholder engagement in the areas of

communication and school involvement

SLO: Healthy Individuals (Positive Relationships), Well-Rounded Citizens (Community)

RATIONALE: Current school committees and parent meetings demonstrate a need for parent participation/input due to low

attendance. There is a low percentage of parent participation in surveys. Parent involvement is an important factor in student

academic achievement.

Critical Learning Need: Student Accountability, Computer Literacy, Effective Communication


RESPONSIBLE


1. Increase attendance at

parent meetings including

SSC and ELAC.

*Administrators

*Teachers

*Phone Dialer

*Facebook Page

*Newsletters

*Numbers in attendance *Ongoing *Sign in Sheets

2. Create Opportunities for

parent involvement

*Administrators

*Teachers

*Phone Dialer

*Facebook Page

*Newsletters

*Numbers in attendance

*List of meetings and

committee opportunities

*Ongoing

*List

3. Continue updating the

school website, marquee,

and Facebook page

*Administrators

*Teachers in charge of

Facebook Page

*Leadership Staff

*Website

*Facebook Page

*Marquee

*Observation of all

items

*Ongoing

*Feedback from staff

and parents

4. Update parents on student

grades and academic

progress

*Teachers

*Counselors

*PowerSchool

*CANVAS

*Number of participants *Ongoing

*Binder of Lists and

agendas


262

5. Parent involvement survey *Administrators *Surveymonkey *% of participation *Ongoing

*Survey Results

shared

6. Annual Review of parent

involvement

*Administrators *Surveys

*Phone Dialer

*% participation in

Back to School and

Open House

*Ongoing

*Share Results

7. Continue using CANVAS

and PowerSchool and

provide information and

training for parents.

*Administrators

*Teachers

*IT Support Staff

*Counselors

*Computer Labs

*CANVAS and

PowerSchool

programs

*IT Staff

*% of parents logging

on to CANVAS and

PowerSchool

*Ongoing

*Results shared with

staff and stakeholders

8. Translate all documents into

English and Spanish

*District Translator *Site Funds

*Translator

*Translated Documents *Ongoing

*Translated

documents

9. Establish collaboration with

the feeder schools in ELA,

math, and science

*Administrators *Time to Collaborate *Collaboration

Schedule

*Ongoing

*Meeting Minutes

*West Ed

Documentary

10. Continue parent WASC

group

*Administrators *Email

*Phone Dialer

*Facebook Page

*Parent Response *Ongoing/

Once a Term

*Parent Meeting

Minutes


263

LCAP GOAL #4: Safe, Healthy, and Supportive School/Work Environment for all.

SPSA GOAL 4: Provide a transition program for incoming freshmen to help students acclimate, decrease the number of and

reduce teacher referrals for defiance and disruption.

ACTION PLAN GOAL: Provide an effective transition program for incoming freshmen to reduce teacher referrals, decrease

the number of classes failed, increase performance scores, and maintain a positive school culture for freshmen.

SLO: All SLOs Apply

RATIONALE: Research shows the transition from middle school to high school can be very difficult. Freshmen are

overrepresented in the D/F list and discipline referrals.

Critical Learning Needs: All Apply


RESPONSIBLE


1. Continue the implementation of

the Link Crew program including

orientation and a Link Crew class

which will provide the freshmen

class with positive programs,

incentives, and support.

*Link Crew Coordinator

*Counseling

*Principal


of counseling

* Master schedule

*Student interviews

and selection

*Teacher

recommendation

*Site Funds

*Link Crew/freshmen

contacts

*Teacher observation

*End report of Link

Crew Activities

*Grade Reports

*Assessment results

*Ongoing

*Early May

Selection of

Students

*Assessment scores

*Data analysis of

referrals and F numbers

2. Continue to provide “Making

High School Count” presentations to

all incoming freshmen.

*Counseling


of counseling

*Power Point

*Time

*Administrator for

feeder schools

*Teacher feedback

*Student responses

*January *Decrease in referrals

*Assessment scores

*Data analysis of


3. Provide freshmen with a “Reality

Check” presentation

*Counseling


of counseling

*Power Point

*Time schedules

during English

classes

*Teacher feedback

*Student responses

*May 30 * Decrease in referrals

*Assessment scores

*Data analysis of



264

4. Provide freshmen assembly *Link Crew Coordinator

* Principal

*Time scheduled

from 4th period

*Teacher feedback

*Student responses

*May 30 * Decrease in referrals

*Assessment scores

*Data analysis of


5. Develop and implement a plan to

help students develop positive

relationships.

*Link Crew Coordinator

*Leadership Teachers

*Administrators

*Collaboration Time

*Link Crew and

Leadership Classes

*Teachers

*Teacher, student,

and parent survey and

feedback

*Decrease in referrals

*Ongoing:

Established by

May 30

*Records of ideas,

implementation, and

student attendance

reported to all

stakeholders


265

LCAP GOAL #2: Rigorous learning and high expectations for all learners

SPSA GOAL: None

ACTION PLAN GOAL: To create a school-wide 3-year plan for staff development in the areas of technology, new standards

(CCSS, NGSS), common assessments, and effective instructional strategies.

SLO: All Apply

RATIONALE: Given the high turnover rate of the district and site level administration, a 3-year staff development plan is

needed based on the LCAP, SPSA and SLOs. Staff survey results strongly indicated the desire for a 3-year staff development

plan which will set the direction for the school.

Critical Learning Needs: All Apply


RESPONSIBLE


1. Establish a professional

development committee for Liberty

Ranch High School.

*Administration

*Department Chairs

*Time *Professional

Development 3-year

plan

*May 20 *Minutes of

meeting

*Plan

2. Survey the staff on staff

development needs according to

Critical Learning Needs

*Administration

*WASC Chair

*Survey

*Time

*Staff Feedback *June 1 *Survey results

3. Create a staff development

calendar for the 2019/20 school year

and beyond.

*Professional

Development Committee

Chair

*Survey

*Outside Consultants

*Staff

*Finished calendar

*Staff Feedback

*Evidence of plan

implementation

*June 1 *Staff sign-in

sheets

*Staff Feedback

4. Conduct an annual review of the

professional development plan and

calendar.

*Professional

Development committee

*Plan

*Staff Feedback

*Plan revisions *May 1 Yearly *Revised

professional

development plan