Serving Smaller Learning Communities Schools Making Progress Series: Brockton High School

Brockton High School Smaller Learning Communities Schools Making Progress v0.9

Introduction

Restructuring

School Governance

The Literacy Approach

Professional Development

Bridging the Minority Achievement Gap

Conclusion

Brockton High School
Brockton, Massachusetts

Forty-seven percent of the student body is African American, 10 percent Hispanic, 3 percent Asian, and 39 percent white; 34 percent speak English as a second language.
English/language arts student scores rose in every category and a failure rate of 31 percent in 2000 dropped to 13 percent by 2002.
A failure rate in math dropped from 76 percent in 1999 to 34 percent in 2001.
On all four open-response questions on the MCAS, Brockton exceeded the state average.
Minority students achieved above the state average in both English/language arts and math and had a significantly lower failure rate than the state average. A high percentage of African American and Hispanic students scored in the "advanced" and "proficient" categories.
SAT verbal mean scores increased from 436 in 2000 to 446 in 2001; math mean scores rose seven points, from 434 in 2000 to 441 in 2001.

- From Brockton High School reports

School Governance

Brockton High School has two primary mechanisms for implementing school improvement initiatives: a Restructuring Committee and a School Improvement Council. Members of both groups work closely together on important issues and approaches to school change. The superintendent is actively involved with these committees.

The Restructuring Committee of 30 staff members represents all disciplines. When it became clear that too many students were failing the Massachusetts standardized tests (MCAS), the committee studied how to improve student achievement. It decided to focus on writing skills in ninth and 10th grades. Because the MCAS test requires significant open-ended writing responses, the committee chose literacy as a focus for the school's restructuring effort.

<< RestructuringThe Literacy Approach >>

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Table of Contents

Brockton High School Brockton, Massachusetts

Brockton High School
Brockton, Massachusetts