Verdugo Hills High School WASC Self-Study Page 1

Verdugo Hills High School WASC/CDE Self-Study ReportB. Standards-based Student Learning: CurriculumThe WASC Curriculum Focus Group met regularly during designatedProfessional Development time to discuss areas of success and challengesregarding Verdugo Hills High School’s curriculum programs and processesand how they are used to support student success. Our team consisted of 21certificated and classified staff members.Question 4 - WASC -The Task: Curriculum AnalysisHome/Focus Group Work: What currently exists and how effective is it?B1 – Curriculum - To what extent do all students participate in a rigorous,relevant, and coherent standards-based curriculum that supports theachievement of the academic standards and the expected school widelearning results? Through standards-based learning (i.e., what is taught andhow it is taught), the expected school wide learning results areaccomplished.Current Educational Research and ThinkingVHHS encourages all staff to stay current with educational research, asdisseminated in Professional Development meetings, Small LearningCommunity meetings, department meetings, and on a personal basis, toinform curriculum development intended to achieve meaningful instructionalprograms for students.The VHHS principal stays abreast of current research based literaturethrough his association with the University of Southern California’s RossierSchool of Education (educational leadership, current teachingmethodologies, achievement gap), The Education Trust (achievement gap),the Association for California School Administrators (educational leadership,school improvement, supervision), the National Association for SecondarySchool Principals (educational leadership, school improvement), theAssociation for Supervision and Curriculum Development (educationalleadership, teaching methodologies), the Music Center of Los Angeles County(arts education), as well as professional journals such as Education Week.The principal uses current research to guide decisions regarding schoolVerdugo Hills High School WASC Self-Study Page 63