VILLAGE GLEN SCHOOL 

SCHOOL DESCRIPTION

Village Glen School serves students with challenges in the areas of socialization and peer relations, pragmatic language/nonverbal communication skills and academic performance.  Students in this program are typically challenged with one or more of the following diagnoses: high functioning autism, Asperger’s Syndrome, pervasive developmental disorder, nonverbal and specific learning disabilities.  Students range in cognitive ability from average to gifted.  Village Glen’s programs are highly structured with a varied curriculum that is designed to meet each student’s individual needs. Educational programming is determined by grade level, the individualized education plan, framework in core content areas and well-researched methodology.  A unique aspect of the Village Glen curriculum is the focus on social skills.  Due to the atypical social/emotional development of the student population, social facilitation is necessary for the students to maximize their full potential.  In addition, Village Glen offers a grade level program for children with behavioral issues. The multidisciplinary team collaborates to assess cognitive, academic, social functioning and behavioral challenges in order to plan a program that best accommodates the student’s strengths and weaknesses.  Related services may include speech/language therapy, adaptive physical education, occupational therapy, counseling and psychotherapy. 

OPPORTUNITIES FOR PARENT INVOLVEMENT

Village Glen School is fortunate to have a very active Parent Association that generously contributes time and effort to enhance our school program.  The Parent Association organizes fund raisers such as the Book Fair, gift-wrap sale, and the Annual Auction that support various co-curricular and extra-curricular activities.  Parents donate funds that are earmarked for special projects that augment technology, creative arts, athletic program and the library through the Annual Giving campaign. They also manage the school library on a daily basis.  Village Glen parents also support their child’s individual classroom teachers by acting as Room Parents. Parent Support Nights, run by a therapist and a parent help to disseminate current research and information regarding Autism, and to lend support to our parents.

DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION

 Student Enrollment by Grade Level

 STUDENT ENROLLMENT BY GROUP

This table displays the percent of students enrolled at the school who are identified as being in a particular group.

 Average Class Size and Class Size Distribution

This table displays by grade level the average class size and the number of classrooms that fall into each size category (a range of total students per classroom).

Average  Class  Size  and  Class  Size  Distribution  (Secondary)

This table displays by subject area the average class size and the number of classrooms that fall into each size category (a range of total students per classroom).

SCHOOL CLIMATE

School Safety Plan

 Village Glen makes every effort to provide a safe environment for learning.  Students participate in emergency drills held on a monthly basis for earthquake and fire preparedness.  All staff receive mandatory yearly training regarding Child-Abuse Reporting, Sexual Harassment, Prejudice and Blood-Borne Pathogens.  The Safety Committee meets monthly to discuss concerns and correct safety issues. Earthquake supplies are available on site.  Staff members practice emergency drills and are assigned to stations such as triage, search and rescue, and first aid.  The front gate is kept locked and visitors are required to contact the front office to enter the premises.  Teachers are aware of lock-down procedures and procedures for requesting immediate assistance.

 School-Based Behavior Management System

 Philosophy:

The Village Glen School believes that children show the most growth in their academic, social, communication, emotional and behavioral skills when they are provided with a safe, predictable and structured learning environment.  The most effective manner that this is achieved is through the establishment of “clear-cut” rules and expectations.

The Village Glen philosophy is that the way to strengthen all skills is to highlight what a student is doing correctly, by attending to appropriate behaviors rather than inappropriate behaviors.  Once a student knows how to respond appropriately, and receives positive feedback for such, the likelihood is that he/she will continue to respond appropriately.  When too much attention is focused on a student’s poor behavior or academic failure, motivation decreases and maladaptive (negative/inappropriate) behaviors increase.

In any school setting it is often found that children display negative behaviors because the more severe their outburst: 1) the more attention they receive; 2) the more likely staff are to withdraw demands; 3) the more assistance they will be given and 4) the more likely staff are to allow the student increased time with a preferred adult or activity (such as letting a child avoid a task while “taking a walk”).

What is missing in many programs are increased attention, assistance, and preferred activity time for appropriate behaviors.  The behavior management system at Village Glen seeks to change this way of responding.  Village Glen students will receive desired reinforcement for “good” behaviors and following rules, and not for undesirable behaviors.

In order to accomplish this, students work toward building up the necessary skills to deal effectively with their need for attention, assistance or break-time, handling anger, frustration and over-excitement appropriately, and develop social and problem-solving skills which allow them more control in dealing with negative situations.

Village Glen employs a pro-active approach, which means that we attempt to deal with any situation we know will lead to negative behaviors BEFORE the problem behavior occurs.  We also work on building up any necessary skills that the student requires in order to handle such situations/ environments.  When students feel comfortable and understand the rules of their environment, a positive learning situation is created, and disruptive behaviors decrease dramatically.

Village Glen adheres to a proactive classroom management system philosophy that believes that any behavior plan will be more effective if it includes interactive strategies and or techniques.

Social Skills Curriculum

 Village Glen School takes a multi-disciplinary approach to helping our students succeed both academically and socially.  All students participate in a social skills class every day of the week. The curriculum focuses on 4 areas of skills necessary for social success:  1) fundamental skills; 2) social initiation skills; 3) getting along with others; 4) social response skills.  Research based curriculum is presented developmentally and is interactive and multi modal.  Current lesson plans are shared with parents weekly, thereby ensuring that skills are reinforced and encouraged at home.

 Behavior Management:

Village Glen School emphasizes a positive behavior management system.  The Behavior Management System is designed to target behaviors that impeded academic success in the classroom and reinforce positive behaviors. Our school believes that students experience increased motivation both in the classroom and in social settings when they are provided with consistent positive reinforcement from the staff.  Village Glen recognizes that is  often difficult for students with autism, learning differences and attentional deficits to comply with classroom and social expectation at all times, and believes that each day is a fresh start for our students. This system includes:

• Token Economy
• Classroom Management Techniques
• Individual Student Target Goals
• Student of the Month assemblies that recognize students who have shown growth in academics, behavior and/or social skills.

Consequences for Inappropriate Behavior

• Self Time Out
• Teacher Initiated Time Out
• Refocus Room
• Quiet Area
•  In-house suspension – loss of privileges
• Suspension

 Suspensions:

 A student may be suspended for threatening, attempting, or causing physical injury to another person.  Disrupting school activities or willfully defying the authority of school personnel may also result in suspension.  A re-entry conference with an administrator takes place when a student returns to school after suspension.  Village Glen School has zero tolerance for possession of controlled substances and weapons.

 SCHOOL FACILITIES

Village Glen School maintains a clean, safe physical plant.  School facilities are cleaned daily.  Repairs are made in a timely manner.  There is a maintenance crew on site to provide immediate assistance to staff and students. Floors and carpets are cleaned and waxed thoroughly during pupil-free days.  There is an on-going schedule of touch-up and repairing to ensure upkeep of the facility.  The school receives annual inspections and clearances from the Health and Fire Departments. Our staff has the ability to submit Maintenance Requests on the intranet.

TEACHERS

 Teacher Credentials

All Village Glen special education teachers hold a full California Teacher Commission credential authorizing service for our student population or are Internship Permits or Short Term Staff permits that are also authorized by the California Teacher Commission.

 Substitute Teacher Availability

Village Glen School contracts with Cal West Educators to provide substitute teachers when needed.  In addition, a number of our instructional aides have passed the CBEST and have substitute credentials to cover teachers when they are absent.  This system ensures familiarity and continuity for our students and causes the least disruption.  We also call on regular substitute teachers that have taught previously at Village Glen School or similar schools that serve students on the autism spectrum, and are familiar with profiles of our students and the specialized teaching strategies we use.

Teacher Evaluation Process

 Teachers and instructional aides are formally evaluated once a year by the director and principals. In addition, administrators conduct observations and classroom visits several times a year on an informal basis.  Teachers receive feedback and suggestions regarding implementation of lessons, behavior management and addressing learning styles.

Designated Instructional Services Providers and Other Support Staff

Professional Development

 Minimum days are scheduled once every month for staff development.  In the 2006–2007 school year, the following topics were addressed during teacher-training workshops:

• Guidelines for writing Present Levels of Performance
• Progress/Report Cards
• Curriculum and State Standards
• New Woodcock Johnson III Norms
• Transition Planning
• Assessments and Rubrics
• Lesson Planning
• Behavior Modification
• Behavior Plans
• Social Skills Review

 CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS

 Village Glen School offers a core curriculum that meets or exceeds the California State Standards.  In addition to academic subjects, we are able to offer physical education, art, music, drama and computer technology. At Village Glen, students receive specialized remedial instruction in a small group setting that addresses specific deficits and diverse learning styles.  Organizational, writing, and study skills are weak areas for many of our Village Glen students.  Supplemental resources are used to teach the students accommodations for these deficits.  Daily Planners and homework organizers are used in all grades, and notebook organization is stressed and checked on weekly.   Computer software such as Inspiration and Wynn provide guidance in concept mapping for written expression.  Study strategies, outlining techniques, graphic organizers and the use of reference materials are explicitly taught.

 The elementary program includes grades K through 6, the middle school program grades 7 and 8.  These classes are self contained with the same teacher except for math and reading groups which are based on the student’s skill level and needs.   

The scope and sequence of classes in grades 9 – 12 are based on the graduation requirements adopted by Los Angeles Unified School District.  In addition to the minimum courses required for high school graduation, Village Glen offers higher level courses such as Pre-Calculus, Chemistry, Physics, Spanish 3 and Environmental Science. Village Glen has an approved University of California A-G list that enables our students to apply for admission to the UC system.

Mastery of content and access to curriculum are ensured through alternative assessment and accommodations in testing, curriculum and presentation.  Textbooks and curriculum materials are selected from the instructional resources reviewed and adopted by the California State Board of Education and the LAUSD approved textbooks list.  In order to ensure that textbooks meet state standards, we purchase the California editions of textbooks when available. Due to the diverse cognitive levels of the Village Glen population, supplemental resources are necessary.  Resources have been chosen that address not only the regular course of study for grades K – 12, but also implement remediation strategies for those students with specific learning disabilities and socialization deficits.

 LIST OF SUBJECT AREA COURSES BY GRADE LEVEL

Elementary

Grades 1-6       Language Arts, Math, Social Studies, Science, Art, Music, P.E.

Middle

Grade 7            English, Math, Life Science, World Cultures, P.E., Elective

Grade 8            English, Math, Earth Science, American History, P.E., Elective

High School       

Grade 9            English, Intro to Algebra/Algebra 1, Earth Science, Spanish 1, Life Skills/Health, P.E

Grade 10          English, Algebra 1/Intermediate Algebra, Algebra 2, Geometry, Biology, World History, Spanish 1, Spanish 2, P.E. 

Grade 11          American Literature, Contemporary Composition, Algebra 2, Geometry, Chemistry, U.S. History, Science Elective, Spanish 1, Spanish 2, Fine Art, Workability

Grade 12          Expository Composition, English Elective, Algebra 2, Geometry, Pre-Calculus, Math Elective, Government/Economics, Spanish 2, Spanish 3, Fine Art, Physics, Science Elective, Career Pathways, Technical Art

                                                                                                Pupils Who Lack

                                                                                                   Textbooks and

                                                                                                     Instructional

                                                Core Curriculum Areas              Materials_______

                                                Reading/Language Arts                        0%

                                                Mathematics                                                      0%

                                                Science                                                                   0%

                                                History-Social Science                          0%

                                                Foreign Language                                        0%

                                                Health                                                                       0%

 RESEARCH-BASED LITERACY INTERVENTIONS

Elementary Program

Village Glen provides a literacy program that targets the specific strengths and deficits of students diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders as well as providing basic structured sequential reading.  The various reading programs address phonemic awareness, decoding, vocabulary, fluency, reading comprehension, and literature.  Instruction includes writing skills, comprehension strategies, vocabulary, phonemic awareness, high frequency sight words, fluency, and phonics. Village Glen students require a special emphasis on reading comprehension and higher order critical thinking skills.  Village Glen has chosen SRA/McGraw-Hill Open Court Reading as the school wide adopted literacy program. 

    Students within the Elementary Program receive daily Language Arts instruction for a total of 120 minutes per day, which includes reading groups for all pupils.  Students are placed into reading groups based on assessments which identify if they are performing at their grade level or above, or if they require intervention.  Village Glen school also offers additional programs identified by the State of California as approved Intervention Programs which  include Language!, SRA Direct Instruction, and SRA Language for Learning and Voyager Passport. These programs are implemented when students fall two grade levels below there expected grade level standards.  Along with the Core and Intervention Programs, Village Glen also uses the following supplemental programs: Literacy Place, Visualizing and Verbalizing, LiPS, Seeing Stars, Beyond the Code, Step up to Writing, Wilson Reading and Junior Great Books.

Students are evaluated using formal, informal and curriculum based assessments.  There are follow-up program development and staff meetings to facilitate lesson planning.

CORE READING PROGRAM

Open Court

SRA/McGraw Hill

Open Court Reading is a Pre-K-6 language arts program. Open Court incorporates sound teaching practices from scientific research.  It offers intense explicit and systematic instruction in the five areas that are essential for students’ reading success. This instruction stresses the following five areas that are essential for reading success:

Development of phonemic awareness

Phonics instruction

Development of reading fluency

Development of vocabulary

Development of text comprehension strategies

INTERVENTION READING PROGRAMS

I.       Language!

         Sopris West

       By using strategies that are supported by research in each instructional strand, the Language! Curriculum teaches older students with low literacy (reading levels between first and sixth grades and below the 40th percentile) the structure and use of all language systems necessary for successful reading and writing.  Each language system is addressed in almost every lesson.  The strands include phonemic concepts; phonemic awareness; phoneme-grapheme associations: syllabication; word recognition; vocabulary development; text reading; comprehension; spelling; orthographic concepts; mechanics; composition; grammar and usage; syntax and sentence structure; semantic relationships; figurative language; and morphology.  Each language strand is interwoven with the others daily, so that language skills are developed in relation to one another.  Each language component is taught systematically, cumulatively, sequentially, and explicitly until mastery is achieved.  Divided into several instructional units, the curriculum begins with basic language concepts and progresses to more complex reading and composition.

II.     SRA Corrective Reading

         Direct Instruction Program from McGraw Hill

       Corrective Reading provides intensive intervention for students in Grades 4-12 who are reading one or more years below grade level. This program delivers tightly sequenced, carefully planned lessons that give struggling students the structure and practice necessary to become skilled, fluent readers and better learners. Four levels for decoding plus four for comprehension address the varied reading deficits and skill levels found among older students. Includes a point system based on realistic goals to motivate students who are often expected to fail.

Corrective Reading Decoding
           

The Corrective Reading Decoding programs accelerate learning through a unique blend of high-frequency practice and review for students who have difficulty reading accurately and fluently.  This tightly leveled intervention program progresses from teaching letter sounds and blending skills to reading expository passages typical of textbook material. Detailed data on performance allows students to monitor their own improvement and experience success.

Level A: Word Attack Basics (65 lessons) teaches non-readers the relationship    between the arrangement of letters in a word and its pronunciation.

Level B: Decoding Strategies (B1, 65 lessons; B2, 65 lessons) refines and applies word-attack skills to more difficult sound combinations and words. These skills are applied in stories of increasing length and more complex syntax.

Level C: Skill Applications (125 lessons) bridges the gap between advanced word-attack skills and the ability to read textbooks.

Corrective Reading Comprehension

            The Corrective Reading Comprehension programs develop vocabulary, information, and comprehension strategies needed for academic success for students who read without understanding.  This program helps underachieving readers develop higher-order thinking and reasoning tactics used by successful readers—applying prior knowledge, making inferences, and analyzing evidence.  Lessons incorporate information from science, social studies, and other content areas to build general knowledge and develop study skills.

Level A: Thinking Basics (65 lessons) teaches basic reasoning skills that form the framework for learning information. It also fills crucial gaps in students’ background knowledge.

Level B: Comprehension Skills (B1, 60 lessons; B2, 65 lessons) teaches literal and inferential comprehension strategies.

Level C: Concept Applications (140 lessons) teaches students to use thinking skills independently.

III.    SRA Language For Learning

         Direct Instruction Program from McGraw Hill

       Language for Learning helps develop strong language skills and gives young children a solid foundation for literacy.  Students learn language skills as well as how to think.  They learn to group objects in different ways, to see the logic behind rules and strategies, and to know who and when to apply these rules.  Language for Learning provides practice in vocabulary, word and sentence variety, the development of precise word knowledge, and in hard to teach concepts such as some/all/none and same/different.  This program is recommended for preschool through 2nd grade as an intervention program.

IV.    WRITING:  Step Up To Writing

          Sopris West

       Step Up to Writing is an organizational program that teaches explicit writing strategies within the writing process (pre-writing, drafting, revising, editing, final copy, proofreading, sharing) to help students organize their thinking and their writing. It is used primarily for informational, expository writing.

       Color-coding enables students to visualize writing organization. Using the colors of a traffic signal, students are better able to see which aspects of their writing need improvement. They can also verify the logic and organization of their ideas.

Step 1: Informal Outline.  Students learn the importance of prewriting strategies. Spending the time to structure and place ideas results in cohesive, organized paragraphs.

Steps 2 and 3: Convert Outline to Sentences and Compile the Paragraph.  Using colored strips of paper, students learn to write down their thoughts one sentence at a time and then organize their sentences into paragraphs using the traffic signal guide.

V.   Voyager Passport

      Voyager Expanded Learning

            The goal of this program is to accelerate struggling readers to grade-level proficiency through 26 weeks of targeted, explicit, systematic instruction.  Lessons are 30-45 minutes in length, and instruction is given five days a week.  Voyager Passport provides scientifically based instruction and valid, reliable assessments in the five essential components of reading: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, comprehension and vocabulary.

SUPPLEMENTAL READING PROGRAMS

I.     LiPS (Lindamood Phonemic Sequencing)

        Gander Publishing

       Lindamood Phonemic Sequencing (LiPS) is a curriculum for K-2 students with poor phonological processing.  The curriculum provides intense instruction in word-levelskills including building awareness of the sounds within words (”phonemic awareness”) and letter-sound correspondences to enable students to “decode” individual words.  After the children demonstrate mastery in decoding words, they begin reading text that is readily decodable, followed by oral reading of regular books with tutors focusing on comprehension skills.

II.     Seeing Stars

        Gander Publishing

     The Nancibell® Seeing Stars®: Symbol Imagery for Phonemic Awareness, Sight Words and Spelling Program successfully develops symbol imagery and directly applies that sensory-cognitive function to sight word development, contextual fluency, spelling and increasing the speed and stability of phonemic awareness.  The program begins by visualizing the identity, number, and sequence of letters for the sounds within words, and extends into multi-syllable and contextual reading and spelling.

III.   Visualizing/Verbalizing

       Gander Publishing

       The Visualizing/Verbalizing process is delivered in a series of specific steps.  The imaging process moves from small units of language to larger units of language – first for a word, then to sentences, paragraphs, pages, and chapters. 

       Students are taught how to connect visual imagery to language in a sequenced series of steps as follows: (1) Picture to Picture. Here the student is presented with pictures and is then asked to describe them using “structure words” of what, size, color, number, shape, where, movement, mood, background, perspective, when and sound. The objective is to have the student develop fluent verbalizing of a real image “Choice and contrast” questions are used to stimulate appropriate verbalizing and thinking. (2) Word Imaging. In this step, the student describes his/her own internal images for familiar, high-imagery words in order to develop both the “imogen” in the first place and then to describe it to someone (structure words are used to assist this). (3) Sentence Imaging. The teacher creates a simple sentence and the student images and verbalizes. (4) Sentence by Sentence Imaging. The teacher assists the student in the creation of images for paragraphs of longer duration. The process starts receptively (teacher reads to the student) and moves to an expressive mode (student reads him/herself). The student places a colored square on the table once s/he has an image for the sentence. Once the paragraph is completed, the student is asked for a “picture summary” and then a “word summary”. (5) Sentence by Sentence with Interpretation. At this level, higher-order thinking skills can be stimulated since the individual, by this time, is making clearer internal “gestalts” or “imogens” for the information that is being listened to or read. (6) Multiple Sentence Imaging, Paragraph Imaging, Paragraph by Paragraph Imaging. The student is now challenged with information that is both longer and denser. Extensions and overlaps into writing and note-taking take place as appropriate for the individual’s needs and processing ability

IV.    Beyond the Code

         Educators Publishing Service

       This series develops important comprehension and thinking skills at the earliest level. The books contain stories with exercises that follow the same phonetic structure as the Explode The Code series. Each story is preceded by writing and spelling activities that introduce new sight words and teach phonetic patterns. The charmingly illustrated stories are followed by questions and exercises that develop comprehension as well as critical thinking.  The following skills are addressed:  Sight word development, vocabulary development, sequencing, categorizing, following directions, critical thinking, story recall, inferential thinking, rhyming words, multi-syllabic words, and matching sentences to pictures.

V. Wilson Reading System

     The Wilson Reading System gives those beyond early elementary grades the chance to become fluent readers and spellers.  It is a highly structured remedial program that directly teaches the structure of the language to students who have been unable to learn with other teaching strategies, or who may require multisensory language instruction.  The Wilson Reading System allows teachers to incorporate into their daily lessons what reading research indicates is critical for student success:  phonemic awareness, alphabetic principle, decoding, encoding, word analysis, vocabulary development, sight word instruction, fluency, metacognition and comprehension strategies.

VI.     Shared Inquiry:  Junior Great Books

         Junior Great Book Foundation

       Shared inquiry is a distinctive method of learning in which participants search for answers to fundamental questions raised by a text. This search is inherently active; it involves taking what the author has given us and trying to grasp its full meaning, to interpret or reach an understanding of the text in light of our experience and using sound reasoning.

       The success of shared inquiry depends on a special relationship between the teacher and the students. As a shared inquiry teacher, the teacher does not impart information or present their own opinions, but guides the students in reaching their own interpretations. The teacher does this by posing thought-provoking questions and by following up purposefully on what students say. In doing so, the teacher helps the students develop both the flexibility of mind to consider problems from many angles, and the discipline to analyze ideas critically.

       In shared inquiry, students learn to give full consideration to the ideas of others, to weigh the merits of opposing arguments, and to modify their initial opinions as the evidence demands. They gain experience in communicating complex ideas and in supporting, testing, and expanding their own thoughts. In this way, the shared inquiry method promotes thoughtful dialogue and open debate, preparing the students to become able, responsible citizens, as well as enthusiastic, lifelong readers.

       Junior Great Books address the following skills:

Reading:  The students learn how to cite specific passages read closely and compare passages, and consider different interpretations.  These skills allow them to recall details, understand cause and effect, and analyze the author’s tone and purpose.  Students learn to comprehend through using the context.  Student’s vocabulary skills are also increased through presentation of multiple-meaning words, metaphors, and figures of speech.

Thinking:  The students learn how to generate and support their ideas by identifying a problem, clarifying an argument, and supporting an argument with reasoning and evidence use inference.  They learn how to evaluate and revise their ideas by considering more than once side, weighing the evidence, by questioning and testing an argument, drawing conclusions, and revising and improving their argument.

Writing:  Students learn how to take notes, write persuasively, relate personal experience to ideas, use story themes in writing, and how to creatively write.

Speaking:  Students learn how to state ideas clearly and fully; explain and defend concepts; agree and disagree constructively; and maintain a purposeful discussion.

Listening:  Students learn how to listen for different ideas, ask for clarification, and how to synthesize and build on others’ ideas.

VII. Literacy Place

Scholastic

     Literacy Place is a K-5 reading and language arts program that offers a research-based combination of systematic skills development, great literature, and state-of-the-art technology.  Each level has six readers with the same themes across all grade levels.  All the stories are authentic literature.  Each book has its own workbook and mentor that students meet through a video. In all grades, additional reading is supported through leveled books that are both fictional and non-fiction.  The program focuses instruction on four key points:

Teach decoding without sacrificing meaning.

Build strong vocabulary and comprehension strategies.

Model writing through reading.

Assess and evaluate to inform instruction and monitor progress.

Middle School Program

Instruction includes writing skills, comprehension strategies, vocabulary, phonemic awareness, high frequency sight words, fluency, and phonics. Village Glen provides literacy programs which target the specific strengths and deficits of students diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders as well as providing basic structured sequential reading.  The various reading programs address phonemic awareness, decoding, vocabulary, reading comprehension, and literature.  For Village Glen students there is a special emphasis for reading comprehension and higher order critical thinking skills.  The core reading program has been Prentice Hall supplemented with the Junior Great Books from the Great Books Foundation.  After intensive review of State Adopted Reading Programs, Village Glen has chosen Sopris West Language! as the school wide adopted reading intervention program.  Teachers were trained in implementing the program in the summer of 2005.

Students within the Secondary Program receive daily Language Arts instruction for a total of 120 minutes per day.  Visualizing and Verbalizing, SRA Corrective Reading or Language! is implemented for students who require intensive remediation in comprehension.  Students are evaluated using formal, informal and curriculum based assessments.  There are follow up staff development and meetings to facilitate lesson planning. 

CORE READING PROGRAMS: 

Prentice Hall Literature

Village Glen’s 7^th and 8^th grade middle school classes use Prentice hall Timeless Voices/Timeless Themes, Bronze and Silver Editions. Prentice Hall is designed to teach middle school and high school students to be critical readers and thinkers through a unique questioning strategy.

• Each anthology begins with an essential question and a set of related cluster questions. Students explore these questions through reading relevant and challenging fiction and nonfiction selections.

• As students read, they analyze, interpret, compare, and synthesize information from the selections, always focusing on the essential question. In addition, they identify, practice, and apply specific critical thinking skills throughout their reading.

• Students react to the cluster questions through writing prompts, group discussions, and independent projects as they read.

• At the end of the reading experience, students respond to the essential question based on what they have learned.

SUPPLEMENTAL READING PROGRAM

SHARED INQUIRY:  JUNIOR GREAT BOOKS

        Shared inquiry is a distinctive method of learning in which participants search for answers to fundamental questions raised by a text. This search is inherently active; it involves taking what the author has given us and trying to grasp its full meaning, to interpret or reach an understanding of the text in light of our experience and using sound reasoning.

        The success of shared inquiry depends on a special relationship between the teacher and the students. As a shared inquiry teacher, the teacher does not impart information or present their own opinions, but guides the students in reaching their own interpretations. The teacher does this by posing thought-provoking questions and by following up purposefully on what students say. In doing so, the teacher helps the students develop both the flexibility of mind to consider problems from many angles, and the discipline to analyze ideas critically.

        In shared inquiry, students learn to give full consideration to the ideas of others, to weigh the merits of opposing arguments, and to modify their initial opinions as the evidence demands. They gain experience in communicating complex ideas and in supporting, testing, and expanding their own thoughts. In this way, the shared inquiry method promotes thoughtful dialogue and open debate, preparing the students to become able, responsible citizens, as well as enthusiastic, lifelong readers.

        Junior Great Books address the following skills:

Reading:  The students learn how to cite specific passages read closely and compare passages, and consider different interpretations.  These skills allow them to recall details, understand cause and effect, and analyze the author’s tone and purpose.  Students learn to comprehend through using the context.  Student’s vocabulary skills are also increased through presentation of multiple-meaning words, metaphors, and figures of speech.

Thinking:  The students learn how to generate and support their ideas by identifying a problem, clarifying an argument, and supporting an argument with reasoning and evidence use inference.  They learn how to evaluate and revise their ideas by considering more than once side, weighing the evidence, by questioning and testing an argument, drawing conclusions, and revising and improving their argument.

Writing:  Students learn how to take notes, write persuasively, relate personal experience to ideas, use story themes in writing, and how to creatively write.

Speaking:  Students learn how to state ideas clearly and fully; explain and defend concepts; agree and disagree constructively; and maintain a purposeful discussion.

Listening:  Students learn how to listen for different ideas, ask for clarification, and how to synthesize and build on others’ ideas.

ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY

Village Glen school believe that their computer laboratories and library utilize the latest technology and equipment.  It is expected that Village Glen students be able to fully use the technology that is currently available in order to afford them the opportunity to become productive and independent participants in work, classroom and leisure settings.  Village Glen has two twelve-station computer labs.  In addition, all classrooms are equipped with one or more computers. Every student uses an Alphasmart word processor daily for practice until they are able to show keyboard proficiency.  Alphasmarts are also available to take notes and write compositions.  The 9^th grade Technical Arts classes meet in the computer lab, as does our Digital Photo/Art class.

Village Glen has purchased site licenses for the following programs:

WYNN

 This innovative software product reads printed text aloud to students in clear, synthetic speech.  Pages from textbooks can be scanned into the computer and the appearance of the page modified to suit individual needs.  Text can be enlarged, spacing between words, lines and characters can be changed, and the background color can be altered.  Each word is spotlighted to provide simultaneous auditory and visual input.  In addition, the student can highlight important passages, insert bookmarks and add written and spoken notes.  In addition, WYNN features a word processor with word-prediction capabilities to accommodate written language difficulties.  The program also includes study tools such as highlighting, a dictionary and voice notes.  The software has been installed on computers in the computer lab.

INSPIRATION

 Concept mapping is a process that been widely recommended for studying content area material and for enhancing the writing process.  Inspiration is a powerful computer program that teaches students to visually develop and organize their ideas.  A single keystroke converts visual maps into structured outlines.  The Outline view also enables students to quickly prioritize and rearrange ideas.  Students are able to outline a textbook chapter that can later be used as a study guide.  Inspiration facilitates excellent study strategies and actively engages students in the learning process.  Village Glen also provides Kidspiration for our younger students.

MAVIS BEACON TEACHES TYPING

 This typing tutorial teaches typing skills using entertaining games and adjusts to the student’s skill level.  It provides instant feedback on every exercise and generates individual reports.

EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITES

 Village Glen School offers many opportunities to support extracurricular activities on and off the campus during the school year.  This is done to add enrichment and experiential opportunities that are not covered in the core curriculum. Village Glen serves a population of students on the autism spectrum, and these activities promote self worth, independence and the ability to generalize appropriate social skills within a mainstream environment.

On Campus Activities:

•  School Dances
• Student Interest Clubs
• Student Government
• Workability
• Sports Teams
• Awards Ceremonies
• Art
• Music – Orff/Instruments/Choir
• Drama
• Computers
• Fitness Room
• Weekly Conversational Spanish Instruction – Elementary and Middle School

Off Campus Activities:

•  Inter School sports Teams/California Interscholastic Federation
• Prom
• Educational Field Trips
• Odyssey of the Mind Competition
• Opportunities for local transportation use
• World Strides Trips – Elementary, Middle and High School (Overnight Field Trips)
• Art Exhibits of Student Work – Finegood Art Gallery
• Community Service
• Heal The Bay Beach Clean Up
• M.E.N.D. (Meet Each Need with Dignity)
• LA Regional Food Bank
• Pen Pal Letters to Solders in Iraq
• SPCA
• Frontline Fund
• Inner Warmth

CAREER PREPARATION AND VOCATIONAL TRAINING

 All Village Glen students, 14 years and older, complete an interest inventory and a teacher-initiated interview as part of their IEP process.  During this interview the results of the inventory are discussed as well as student strengths as related to their interests.

Village Glen School offers the following career preparation classes and vocational training opportunities for students 14 years of age and older:  Career Pathways Classes, Life Skills Classes, Workability Program, Individual Transition Plans and dual enrollment for students in the 11^th and 12 grades. 

Our school has a college/transition counselor who works with all high school students and their families to help them make a smooth transition between high school and post graduation studies and vocations.  College tours, presentations from vocational schools, colleges and universities and outside services such as Regional Center and the Department of Mental Health are offered through the school year.  Field trips are scheduled to college fairs and vocational institutions. 

 SCHOOL COMPLETION AND POSTSECONDARY PREPARATION

 Indicator

 Village Glen’s graduation rate for 12^th graders                                            100%.

Measures

 Drop Out Rate for high school students                                                                  0%.

Students who completed all courses required for University                    21%

Of California or California State University admission

CAHSEE Results

INSTRUCTIONAL DAYS

 This table  displays a comparison of the number of instructional days offered at the school compared to the state requirement for each grade.