Underwood Hills Focus School

Description of School

The Underwood hills Focus school is a joint collaboration between three school districts and has been created as a potential model for the Professional Learning Community legislation in Nebraska. The three districts are the Elkhorn Public School District, the Omaha Public School District and Westside Community Schools. The school opened in 2008-2009 and is open to all 11 districts within this learning community with the students chosen through a lottery system. The school is similar to a magnet school but has no boundaries. Currently four districts are represented. Surrounding district superintendents’ had to sign a letter to participate in this learning community school. The school is currently structured under an interlocal agreement with the three districts sharing staff, budget and resources. The core curriculum is from Westside and supplemented from the other districts. Extra value standards were written to emphasize the theme of Leadership through Technology and Communication. The diverse population , extended day learning activities and extended calendar are a few features that set the Focus school apart from tradition.

School Improvement Goals:

• All students will improve Math procedures and problem-solving skills across the curriculum.
• All students will increase reading vocabulary and comprehension across the board.
• All students will demonstrate respect and responsibility for others in the learning environment and school activities. Our school will develop a safe and secure learning environment where students thrive.

School Improvement Planning

All three districts participate in school improvement planning. The Underwood Hills Focus School has started the AdvancED (called Advance Education) accreditation process through the Nebraska Department of Education. The process represents the unified accreditation process for the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement (NCA CASI). In order to earn and maintain this accreditation schools must follow the AdvancEd accreditation process. This process also meets the State Department of Education requirements for school accreditation. The process is ongoing strategic planning that focuses on the success of all students with student achievement as the end result. All school buildings and districts set goals and implement a strategic improvement plan especially adapted to the needs and interests of students, parents, staff and community. AdvancEd is expected to increase innovation and improvement, increase student achievement and participation in the learning process, focus on planning and implementation, and empower school staff and clientele in the process.

During 2008-2009 (our first year) we are gathering data and getting baseline information on where our students are achieving. We will then create academic achievement goals based upon the direction of our student data. We will have a communication goal, a math/science goal and a safe and secure climate goal. Our safe and secure climate goal is: We will develop a safe and supportive learning environment where students thrive.

During 2009-2010 our goals have been realigned to match our data and we currently have three goals: a math goal, a reading goal and a behavior goal. Assessments are being aligned as well and we are gathering data to help our students improve achievement. The staff consistently reviews data and creates SMART goals with strategies to improve in each area. Our ongoing needs assessment assures that we are always planning for success!