Northwest High School
Justin, Texas
One facet of Northwest High School’s excellence is professional development. Their program is based on the continuous improvement model and represents a coherent approach that coordinates district and campus improvement plans.
On-campus professional development is designed to address a variety of needs such as curriculum training, needs of diverse populations, Baldrige training, brain research, and the Intel Teach to the Future program. Staff receives gifted and talented training, technology training, attends Pre-AP/AP conferences, and is offered a convenient on-site master’s program. Teachers are encouraged to attend subject-area/job-related conferences. All staff, including counselors, administrators, office personnel, and teachers’ assistants are given opportunities to grow professionally. Whether it is the summer Principal’s Academy, the counselors' College Board workshop, or technology training provided for office personnel, it is all important. Assessment surveys are provided periodically to use in future planning. Participants take a vital role in designing, presenting, and implementing professional development.
Besides providing department heads a period for departmental coordination, ample departmental time is provided to work on curriculum, alignment, and effective instructional techniques. There are weekly meetings of counselors and administrators and bi-monthly meetings for department heads to facilitate planning and communication. The 30-member site-based management team meets on a monthly basis.
We have flexible programs and training sessions, exemplifying the flexibility and philosophy of the district and the campus. Flex days may be earned by attending training outside of the school day, enabling faculty and staff to take selected days off during the year. In addition, there are departmental flex days that can be used to coordinate content-specific training. All teachers are encouraged to participate in conferences with the district paying for registration fees and expenses.
Appropriate professional development opportunities are provided to teachers in all stages of their career. Beginning teachers are provided professional development and mentoring through the Texas Beginning Educator Support System (TxBESS), a two-year program that targets their specific needs, resulting in improved induction and retention of beginning educators. As a result of this program, Northwest High has retained over 90% of new teachers. Veteran teachers are encouraged to pursue specific training, such as differentiation, reading, curriculum design, or SAT/ACT. This training is provided on-site through state and nationally recognized consultants, by district curriculum coordinators, by campus training teams, or at conferences with costs being covered by the district or campus.
Staff evaluations are critically linked to the professional development program. Teachers meet with administrators to discuss achievements and future goals involving professional development, student performance, instructional strategies, and classroom management. All other staff members have specific evaluation instruments for their specific position that include a professional development component. The evaluation cycle is on-going and directly affects the campus professional development program. Through this process, tremendous gains are achieved in the quality of instruction, as measured by the evaluation system, resulting in improved student performance. By making professional development a priority, Northwest has reached exemplary status and keeps the vision of serving every student in every class every day.
Northwest High School is located at the center of one of the oldest and largest consolidated school districts in Texas. Covering 232 square miles, incorporating seven communities, a major airport, and an international NASCAR speedway, Northwest Independent School District is one of the fastest growing areas in Texas. Teachers, administrators, staff, students, parents, and all the stakeholders in the district are excited and looking forward to the changes the next few years will bring. Since 2001, a $55 million remodeling and renovation project has taken place at Northwest High School – and expects an 11% increase in growth through 2008 with the district’s plans for a second high school. At Northwest, the philosophy of meeting the needs of all students has resulted in an exemplary rating from the Texas Education Agency.
Nearly 200 different classes are offered ranging from Cisco training, welding, Advanced Placement Art History, student leadership, and medical terminology to business law and creative writing. Students at Northwest have access to graphing calculators to facilitate learning in all their math and science classes. Students at Northwest have the opportunity to earn certifications, such as a Cisco Certified Networking Associate, an Emergency Medical Technician, or as a Certified Nursing Assistant. In addition to academic courses, Northwest provides for and supports the students in a myriad of extracurricular and co-curricular activities, such as rodeo, athletics, dance, Academic Decathlon, marching band, theater, and Business Professionals of America. Service organizations and clubs abound to give the students a chance to help others and to find a place for themselves. Examples include Project LIFT (Leading Individuals for Tolerance), the Military Gaming Society, the International Club and many others. There is open enrollment in pre-AP and AP classes, providing all students an opportunity to take advanced courses. Through inclusion, special education students are encouraged to take regular education classes every day. Fall and summer PSAT/SAT academies prepare students for high-stakes testing. Students, teachers and administrators are at school before and after learning, tutoring, coaching, and mentoring. Students are placed into advisory groups their freshman year and remain with that same homeroom group and the same teacher for all four years. Northwest also has a house system in which students remain with the same counselor and house principal for their high school career. To provide for students' additional assistance, a registered psychologist, two resource officers, and two registered nurses are on campus. At Northwest, students are not only given the opportunities to become whoever they want to become, they are also given the support to make sure that it happens.
Besides “human” support, Northwest students also have the facilities and equipment to make their dreams come true. Every classroom is equipped with networked student computers and a presentation station or Infocus projector. Among multiple labs, a state of the art Sony foreign language lab, a multimedia lab, and an AutoCAD lab are included. The performing arts center has been recognized as one of the top 100 facilities in the state. The library is equipped with over 50 networked computers available from 7:30 AM to 5:30 PM and is a part of the Texas Library Connection that provides access to excellent research resources and interlibrary loan services. The library is adjacent to the coffee shop, making it convenient, accessible, and student-friendly. To ensure students’ safety, only two access entrances that go through office areas are open during the day, all students and staff wear ID badges, and 88 surveillance cameras keep an eye on the public areas.
It is a very exciting and challenging time to be an educator in the US, and particularly at Northwest where the vision is to increase student achievement as accountability standards are increased. Faculty and staff reassess curricula, examine classroom assessment, develop effective instructional strategies, and arrange time and resources for additional assistance to students. Teachers at Northwest have been working for several years on aligning curricula, not just within content areas but across subject areas, making school and learning more relevant and meaningful to students through cross-curricular assignments and inquiry-based learning.
The administration at Northwest and throughout the school district require and encourage teachers, administrators, and staff to attend quality professional development, give feedback, and plan for future challenges. Students’ families and the community are also major stakeholders in what they are doing at Northwest. Northwest has a fall and spring “Meet the Teacher” night; the counseling staff organizes informative “College Nights,” an annual meeting for parents of pre-AP and AP students; and a spring orientation for upcoming ninth graders.
Eighth graders from all three middle schools come to Northwest High School to tour the programs and facility to help them develop their four-year plan. Communication with students’ families is a priority at Northwest because the belief is held that teachers and parents must work together for the success of the students. The school and district webpages are updated regularly to keep parents abreast of upcoming events; teachers and parents email each other with updates of grades and concerns; each teacher has a phone with voicemail in the classroom to facilitate ease of communication; progress reports are sent out every three weeks or more often at the request of parents; and an automated calling system alerts parents of missing assignments. The Northwest Education Foundation, made up of over 200 business leaders from across the district, supports innovative teaching grants and has created the Shining Stars Gala recognizing outstanding students and teachers each year.
Northwest High School is fortunate to have a campus of teachers, staff, and administrators with the vision and ability to make students' educational opportunities an extraordinary journey towards adulthood. Northwest High School has an exemplary rating from the Texas Education Agency, is a National Blue Ribbon School, and programs have achieved state and national recognition. Administrators, teachers, and students are continually challenged and held accountable through the vision of “Every Student. Every Class. Every Day.”