Written by the Journalism Class

At the start of the school year, MCPS called on all schools to create literacy, math and cultural proficiency goals to narrow the achievement gap between white and non-white students. In its School Improvement Plan (SIP), Sherwood opted to focus on lowering ineligibility, specifically among African-American and Hispanic students, as well as raising the percentage of students from these groups who pass English 9 and Algebra II with a C or better.

Principal Bill Gregory acknowledges the need to provide additional help for underperforming students. In addition to intensified efforts in the classroom, administrators have identified struggling students who will be in a Focus Group to receive extra monitoring and supports.

“Several years ago we realized that most of the students who were coming down to the office with referrals also had low grades. So what we decided to do is to create a focus group,” said Gregory. “Part of the mentoring is talking with the student, having a relationship with the parent, working with the counselor, working with other teachers, to try and help that student improve.” Recently, the administration gathered a group of successful African-American and Hispanic students to gain insight into their academic achievement and learn what they think should be done to help their underperforming peers.

According to Gregory, Sherwood has one of the lowest ineligibility rates in the county. However, ineligibility is still an issue, especially when a disproportionate number of ineligible students at Sherwood are African-American and Hispanic students. In 2015, Sherwood’s ineligibility rates showed 6.5 percent for Asian students, 7.3 percent for white students, 15.4 percent for African-American students and 19.6 percent for Hispanic students.

Sherwood’s large ESOL program may contribute to the ineligibility rate being higher for certain populations.  “How horrible is it that we expect ESOL students to [meet the same benchmarks] … when they barely know English?” asked Gregory. Sherwood has one of the largest ESOL populations in the county, making up around eight percent of the school’s student population.

To decrease ineligibility across the board, teachers are targeting underperforming students with their individual Student Learning Objectives (SLOs). There is an emphasis to improve in English 9 and Algebra II since those are considered “milestone” courses by MCPS.

English department resource teacher Shelley Jackson, who also teaches an on-level English 9 class, wants to focus on the students who are not meeting academic goals. The aim is to raise the percentage of African-American and Hispanic students who complete English 9 with a C or better; the current percentages must jump from 75 percent and 83 percent, respectively, to 90 percent in three years. The English department has been able to assign a Special Education professional and a composition assistant in on-level English 9 classes and some English 10 classes.

Jackson created her SLO to target all underperforming students. “One of the challenges in an on-level class is you see a broader range unlike anywhere else,” she explained. For major assignments, Jackson has divided the process into multiple steps, and her students must turn in one step before they can move onto the next one. Jackson believes this will decrease the numbers of Es and zeroes in the gradebook.

Algebra II Teacher Emily Prenatt also targets all underperforming students through her SLO. “The majority of the students in my SLO are African American or Hispanic, but there are other students included in that plan,” said Prenatt.

Sherwood’s math goal is to increase the percentage of African- American and Hispanic students who complete Algebra II with a C or better from 71 percent and 66 percent, respectively, in 2015, to 85 percent within three years. Prenatt’s personal goal is to improve the grades of struggling students by one letter grade, through lunch or after school help. She also reaches out to math honors society tutors to assist her students.

“I did see improvements in a few students, I did see their grades jump from either an E to a D or from a low D to a high D,” she said. Prenatt will continue to measure her data until the end of the second quarter.

Gregory has high hopes for the plan, but he cautions that improvement is a process that requires time. “Whenever you begin something new, it’s always a little rocky,” he said of the new additions to the SIP. Gregory explained that the school plan is open to further modification, if necessary, to decrease the number of struggling students.