High School Transition Recommendations
Glossary Terms
Terms listed below can be used for clarification to better understand their meaning when used within this document.
A
Achievement Gap - Lower one fourth of students as defined by district assessments.
Advisory Program – a regular time each day/week for a small number of students to meet with one staff member who can act on their behalf to marshal every school and community resource needed for the student to succeed, including personal development and social relations.
Advocate - Any staff member that provides an opportunity for personalized guidance and active monitoring of a student's progress. The effectiveness depends on the trust forged through continuity in relationships over time.
Annenburg Institute (for School Reform) – Walter Annenburg died in 1994 and left $500 million for school reform. Ted Sizer heads up it up at Brown University and uses fund to train teachers in facilitating school reform.
AP – Advanced placement; a national program with a specific highly academic curriculum in high school core subjects which allows a student to test at the end of the year and be awarded college credit.
Assessments - Measuring on-going student progress.
Authentic – Genuine, true; in this context it refers to involvement in the school that helps set direction and makes decisions; it also refers to assessment that is multi-faceted, not just a one high-stakes test.
B
Best Practices – As defined by analysis of instructional research, reports from pilot classrooms, and landmark sets of professional recommendations in every field of teaching regardless of grade level. Best educational practice in every content area includes the following: investigation of student’s own interests; active, hands-on, concrete experiences; whole ideas in purposeful context; real, rich, complex ideas and materials; employment of a whole range of communication media; reflective of what a student thought, felt and learned; collaborative; inclusive of higher-order thinking skills; developmentally appropriate; challenging; and, mindful of the need to not just receive information, but to re-create and reinvent it to gain understanding.
C
CIM (Certificate of Mastery) – A designation awarded to a student who
successfully passes all areas of the 10th grade Washington Assessment
of Student Learning (WASL).
Closing the Gap – A phrase referring to the gap in academic achievement between white students and students of color, and plans to narrow that gap.
Cognitive - An instructional strategy in which a teacher assesses what students already know about a subject and then builds on students' prior knowledge.
Collaborative Learning or Cooperative Learning - Students of varying abilities and interests work together in small groups to solve a problem, complete a project, or achieve a common goal.
Common Elements - All schools will have the same basic structure i.e., start/end times, required courses etc.
Competencies - The district and state standards to which a student is expected to perform.
Comprehensive - Covering many things or a wide range; in today’s high schools this means a variety of electives and activities to try to meet all needs.
Configuration - Kindergarten - grade 5 (elementary), grades 6 - 8 (middle school), and Grades 9 - 12 (high school).
Constructivism - An approach to teaching and learning based on the premise that cognition (learning) is the result of "mental construction." In other words, students learn by fitting new information together with what they already know. Constructivists believe that learning is affected by the context in which an idea is taught as well as by students' beliefs and attitudes.
Continuum of Learning - Demonstrating competency at one level of a course prior to moving to the next level i.e. Algebra 1 is taken before Algebra 2.
Core Subjects - Those subjects – math, English, social studies, science, physical education, fine arts – that are required of all students by Washington State Graduation Requirements.
Course Based Assessments - Demonstrating competency in a specific course through a variety of activities.
Course Expectations - The minimum course content and skill development that all students are expected to acquire while taking a class.
CRC - Federal Way Public Schools Community Resource Center located in the SeaTac Mall.
Critical Friends - Group that articulates what constitutes good teaching and learning, calling on both outside sources and their own experience. Members visit each other's classes, give feedback on each other's teaching strategies or curricula, and gather evidence of what works best for student learning.
Culminating Project - Requirement for graduation as required by Washington State Law. Each student shall complete a culminating project for graduation. The project consists of the student demonstrating both their learning competencies and preparations related to learning goals three and four. Each district shall define the process to implement this graduation requirement, including assessment criteria, in written district policy.
Curriculum - The framework for teaching course content, but not content itself.
D
Democratic - Characterized by free and equal participation in the decision-making processes of an organization or group.
Differentiating Instruction - Teaching to meet the needs of all students within a setting.
Direct Instruction - Model aims to provide intense, efficient lessons that will allow all children to master academic skills.
E
EALR's - Essential Academic Learning Requirements (Based on Washington State Standards).
Electives - A class that can be chosen and is not required.
Endorsements - Specialized training in a specific subject matter and/or grade level.
Equity - Actions, treatment of others or a general condition characterized by justice, fairness, and impartiality, particularly in reference to generally marginalized students.
Experiential Learning – Learning which takes place outside of the formal classroom.
Expressive - To fully engage ideas, construct meaning, and remember information, students must regularly employ the whole range of communicative media - speech, writing, drawing, poetry, dance, drama, music, movement, and the visual arts.
F
Fine Arts - A course of study designed to teach students practical artistic skills as well as the theory and history of dance, music, theater and visual arts.
Flexible Scheduling - A daily/weekly school schedule that allows for classes of different length or re-defines the traditional "school day".
Flexible Time - The ability to structure the use of time to best meet the needs of student learning.
Frameworks - A systematic approach to teaching skill levels within a subject area.
FWEA - Federal Way Education Association
G
Goal 4 – The fourth Washington state learning goal as adopted by the Legislature which states: Understand the importance of work and how performance, effort, and decisions directly affect future career and educational opportunities.
H
Heterogeneous Grouping - A wide spectrum of differences within a group which should reflect the school community.
Holistic - Young people learn best when they encounter whole ideas, events, and materials in purposeful contexts, not be studying subparts isolated from actual use.
Honors - A program of advanced study in a subject area which is available for interested students.
Houses – A way of grouping students with teachers designed to keep the number of student limited and the contact with teachers more personal and in-depth; typically 150 students with 5 teachers.
I
IB – International Baccalaureate, a national academic program.
Inclusion - The practice of teaching mentally and physically challenged children in public school classrooms instead of in separate classrooms.
Inclusive – Using practices that include all students in the classroom.
Inquiry - A process through which students investigate a problem, devise and work through a plan to solve the problem, and propose a solution to the problem.
In-service – Classes, workshops, seminars or trainings given to staff while they are employed by the district. This word is used interchangeably with 'staff development'.
Instructional Strategies - Methods by which material is presented to meet the learning styles of all students.
Instructional Teams - One or more teachers responsible for teaching the same group of students.
Integrated Curriculum - See Interdisciplinary. Practitioners use these terms interchangeably to describe any effort to make curriculum connections across subjects.
Interdisciplinary - Teaching which involves combining different subject areas i.e. math/science or language arts/social studies.
J
Job Shadowing - A studentfollows closelyan adult in their work environment to learn the specifics of their job.
L
Learning Styles - Recognizing the diverse ways that people approach learning i.e., visual, auditory, kinesthetic.
Least Restrictive Environment - The students will be in the general education classroom to the maximum extent appropriate to their needs.
LEP - Limited English Proficiency formerly known as English as a Second Language (ESL).
Looping - A strategy where a class stays with the same teacher for two or more years, then the teacher "loops" back to pick up a new class for two or more years.
M
Mentor - Someone, usually older and more experienced, who provides advice and support to, and watches over and fosters the progress of, a younger, less experienced person.
Mission Statement - This is a statement that describes the district's purpose as it pursues its vision.
Multiple Intelligences - All people possess, to some degree, the seven intelligences which are commonly referred to as multiple intelligences. They are: musical, spatial, linguistic, logical/mathematical, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and tactile/kinesthetic.
O
Optimal, Multiple 4-12 Endorsements - A teacher who has certification in several subjects/grade levels. This endorsement maximizes flexibility when staffing a building.
OSC – Acronym for Occupational Skills Center, located in Burien.
OSPI – Acronym for the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, located in Olympia.
P
Parent - Refers to biological parent or a guardian.
Partnerships- Community businesses, service groups, churches who share a relationship with schools that benefit all groups involved.
Partner Teaming - Consists of 2 or more teachers.
Portfolios - A purposeful collection of student work that tells the story of his/her growth as a learner.
Post-Secondary Plan - A plan required by the state of Washington for all high school graduates that outlines plans for post-secondary.
R
Reflective - Opportunities for learners to look back, to reflect, to debrief, to abstract from their experiences what they have felt and thought and learned.
Relationships - The connection between two or more people or groups and their involvement with each other, especially as regards how they behave and feel toward each other and communicate or cooperate.
Relevant electives – Courses that support a student’s specific interests.
Research - Methodical investigation into a subject in order to discover facts, to establish or revise a theory, or to develop a plan of action based on the facts discovered.
Rigorous – Precisely accurate and strict; demanding.
Rubric - An established set of criteria for scoring or rating student's performance on tests, portfolios, writing samples, or other performance tasks. Synonym: scoring guide
S
Secondary Course Assessments - Federal Way Public School system of assessing student learning based on the district's course expectations.
Sequenced - The following of one thing after another.
SLT - School Leadership Team for the purpose of monitoring the school learning plan. This team consists of staff, student, parents, and community members.
Social - The methods of instruction and instructional materials that build community within a classroom and create better working relationships between students and teachers and among students.
Staff development- A practice of teaching new innovations to the school staff during their employment with the district; adult professional learning. This term is used interchangeable with 'in-service'.
Standards (Standards-based curriculum) - Those course expectations from the district and the state which guide instruction; they describe what students should know and be able to do at the end of a course.
Strategic Planning- Action plan targeting a set of priorities to improve student learning i.e. literacy focus each student reading at grade level by 2003 (FWPS focus).
Student Advocate - An adult staff member who has a professional one-on-one relationship to provide support for a student.
Student Centered Learning - Students are active participates in their learning versus course content being the focus.
Support Services - These include special needs programs, guidance and counseling, nursing and health care, and learning resource center (library). Support staff enhances the efforts of individual teachers, instructional teams, and the school as a whole.
T
Transitions - Passing from one place to another.
V
Vision Statement - This statement is a description of the middle schools' preferred future. It is an image adjusted to meet new challenges and opportunities.
W
WASL - Washington Assessment of Student Learning - A state required test given to 4th, 7th and 10th graders.