Liberty High School 2018-19 Annual School Performance Report

Annual School Performance Report Liberty High School

2019-20

425-837-4800 • www.issaquah.wednet.edu/libertyhs 16655 SE 136th Street, Renton, WA 98059

Principal Sean Martin

Welcome Our goal is to create a school culture that helps students achieve personal excellence, live with integrity, and maximize their opportunities as we all strengthen the Liberty community. Each student’s individual successes and our collective achievements are based on partnerships with each student, parent, and the larger Liberty Community.

Mission We are a community committed to educating all students by promoting critical thinking, supporting individual needs, and fostering a sense of belonging, with the goal of preparing students to achieve personal success and to become meaningful contributors to society.

District Report

To review the Issaquah School District 2019-2020 budget details and more, please visit www.issaquah. wednet.edu/district/annual-community-report/.

The Issaquah School District believes in seeking continual feedback from a broad and diverse range of constituents regarding their experiences with the District and their neighborhood schools. See the Community Polling Study site at www.issaquah.wednet.edu/district/polling for more information and survey results.

Data from the Office of the Superintendent of Instruction (OSPI) State testing is required by Washington State (RCW 28A.230.095) and federal law. The federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), enacted in 1965, is the nation’s national education law and shows a longstanding commitment to equal opportunity for all students. On December 10, 2015 President Obama reauthorized ESEA as the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). These state and federal laws result in elementary students being regularly tested by the State to assess their progress as they move through school. State tests at the elementary level which fulfill the federal Every Student Succeeds Act include the following:

• Smarter Balanced Assessments (SBA): English Language Arts (ELA) and Math tests (3-5) • Washington Comprehensive Assessment of Science (WCAS): Science test (5)

Demographic Data

Grades: 9-12

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Enrollment: 1,523

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93.6%

80 60

54.3%

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Teacher Experience Data Teacher’s with National Board Certification

12.6

9

Average Years Teaching Experience

Teacher with Master’s/Ph.D

63.6%

COVID-19 Pandemic In an effort to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), Governor Jay Inslee ordered all schools in Washington closed as of March 17, 2020. While the initial order mandated school closures only through April 24, 2020, the order was extended to the end of the 2019-2020 school year due to increasing COVID-19 infection numbers across the state.

The Issaquah School District submitted its plan for remote learning at the end of March 2020, and remote learning began for all students on Monday, April 20. Students and staff moved to an online classroom setting, using various platforms such as SeeSaw, Classlink, and Office 365. District laptops and internet hotspots were distributed to families in need, and free meals were still provided for families qualifying for the Free and Reduced Lunch program at designated pick up spots around the district daily.

Highlights Liberty High School offers a rigorous curriculum in our traditional core classes as well as offering a robust Advanced Placement (AP) program in 23 different courses offered within English, Math, Science, Social Studies, Computer Science, World Languages and Art. These are college level classes so they are rigorous, challenging and offer the greatest preparation for students who seek to gain this distinction on their high school transcripts.

Liberty High School also provides students opportunities to earn Dual Credit through Tech Prep, College in the High School (CHS) and Running Start Programs. Students can earn both high school and college credit at the same time by successfully completing select courses and paying any applicable fees. Tech Prep credits give students a jumpstart on a career by preparing them for a college technical degree program. We are also a proud to work with Bellevue College (BC) in offering College in the High School (CHS) courses. They allow students to earn college credits at a very affordable price.

Our dedicated staff teach these courses on our campus. The Running Start program allows qualified juniors and seniors to attend classes at the local community or technical colleges with the possibility of earning both their high school diploma and an AA degree by the time they graduate from high school.

Liberty High School has a very active STEM Program. Our Robotics Club, Iron Patriots 4131, has continued to work hard in actively promoting STEM thru Robotics which was recognized when they were rewarded the Entrepreneurship Award for all the outreach work they have done throughout the community to introduce robotics to more students. It started with FIRST Lego League teams at local elementary schools, FIRST Tech Challenge Club at the middle schools, and then working with the Special Olympics Unified Club to field three robotic teams for Special Needs students. Over the summer they conducted two 2-week summer robotic camps. Then the young ladies on the team sponsored a “Wonders of Women in STEM” (WOWS) Conference for elementary and middle school girls. Overall, the team has started 84 FLL teams over 19 schools, mentored 38 of them and assisted an additional 28. They have started 47 of the teams in the past year and impacted over 770 kids with the teams that were started. Liberty robotic team also held a FLL competition which had approximately 800 attendees.

Of special note, is a first ever and highest Unified Robotics Award, called the “FIRST Unified Robotic Foster Award,” won by our Unified Robotic Team!

Not to be outdone our NJROTC Program is generating interest in STEM through hands-on activities like Sea Perch, an underwater robotics program where students design, build and operate an underwater ROV. Another exciting program NJROTC is participating in is Cyber Patriot, which is a National Youth Cyber Education Program by the Air Force Association.

AFA hopes to inspire students toward careers in cybersecurity or other STEM disciplines critical to our nation’s future.

Students complete virtually from all around the globe! Additional STEM highlights include the continued opportunity to have Liberty staff teach AP Computer Science through TEALS. TEALS is a program supported by Microsoft Philanthropies that recruits, mentors, and places passionate technology professionals into high school classrooms as volunteer instructors.

The Liberty Visual and Performing Arts Departments include opportunities in drawing, ceramics, orchestra, choir, band and drama & theatre production. The Patriot Players, our drama program, are recognized every year with multiple 5th Avenue Theatre Awards. In addition, two drama students qualified to compete at the State Competition in Costume Design & Stage Management while many others received Blue and Yellow Ribbons for Superior and Excellent ratings. Last year, the Liberty Choir was invited to a once in a lifetime experience in New York City to perform at the famed Carnegie Hall!

Liberty High School also received the Safe Schools Award by the National Athletics Trainer’s Association. This award champions safety and recognizes secondary schools that have met the recommended standards to improve safety in sports.

It reinforces the importance of providing the best level of care, injury prevention and treatment for students not just during games and practices but also during the school day.

Improving Student Achievement

Liberty offers a number of programs to assist students in achieving academic success. Students can attend work sessions after school with teachers in various departments, either as individual appointments or as a part of the Liberty High School Tutoring Program. On a peer-to-peer level, our National Honor Society provides academic help on Wednesday mornings, which allows students to take advantage of fellow peers’ expertise and knowledge. For students who need help in supporting their technology needs, we offer access to a quiet computer lab during the week. Additionally, Liberty has on staff a full time On Time Graduation Specialist to support students.

Within the school day, the Math & Science Departments offer Support Lab courses in Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2 and Chemistry. Our English Department offers ILS (Improving Literacy Skills) support classes for grades 9, 10, and 11. These classes function on a pre-teach/re-teach system allowing students to gain stronger understanding of the skills and content of the course. These especially focused support classes are smaller and provide a strong foundation in the subject area.

Extra-Curricular Activities

During the school year, Liberty provides a variety of co-curricular clubs. Clubs allow students to connect with others who share their same interests. Including the Patriots United Club that brings together students with and without disabilities to train and compete as teammates in an inclusive athletic and club environment which this year included basketball, soccer, Unified Robotics and newly added cheerleading. The club has been such a success that Liberty High School was recognized as a Special Olympics Unified Champion Banner School! It recognizes demonstrated commitment to inclusion by meeting 10 national standards of excellence. In addition, the NJROTC team capped off an undefeated season that culminated in being crowned the Northwest Drill & Rifle Conference (NWDR&C) -Puget Sound Division Champions!

Other in school academic clubs available to students at Liberty include: The Patriot Press (8 publications of a student newspaper), Yearbook, DECA, Culinary Arts, NJROTC (which offers many other areas of interest like Orienteering, Precision Air Rifle, Underwater Robotics, Cyber Patriot, etc.) Drama, Jazz and Marching Band, Orchestra, Choir, and ASB. Other after school extra-curricular student-led clubs include: Art Club. Badminton/Volleyball, Book Review Club, Celebrate Your Culture, Cheer, Drill Team, Chess Club, Craft Club, F.A.N.D.O.M.S., FCCLA, Gaming Club, Green Team, Gender-Sexuality Alliance, History Club, Honor Society, JSA, Key Club, Korean Culture Club, Math Club, Model United Nations, New Generation, Patriot Crew, Physettes, Ping Pong Club, Robotics, Rocketry Club, Science Olympiad, SMASH, Video Club,Volunteer Together for Service, Woods Club and Yu-Gi-Oh Club. If students do not see something of interest, they can always complete an application and start a new club any time during the school year!

Liberty High School consistently fields competitive athletic teams. During the regular athletic season, we compete in a 2A/3A combo league, but during post-season we compete in 2A. The Liberty Girls Soccer, Basketball, Swim & Dive, and Cross Country programs all qualified to compete in state championships! Other programs showed their strength in fielding numerous athletes qualifying or competing at the District or Regional levels. There were also a handful of individual state qualifiers with one outstanding Boys Swimmer setting two new state records in the 200 & 500 freestyle and being named Swimmer of the Year! Unfortunately, we were unable to field any teams for Spring season due the closure of schools as a result to the coronavirus pandemic. The Class of 2020 also had 13 athletes extend their athletic careers by committing to compete in college athletics at various colleges and universities throughout the country.

State Testing Two tests given to high school students—The Smarter Balanced Assessment and the Washington Comprehensive Assessment of Science help indicate how well Issaquah students are learning.

COVID-19 Disclaimer

Due to early facility closure and suspension of end of year testing, 2019-2020 assessment data is not available. The data below relfects the school’s scores for the 2018-2019 school year.

Smarter Balanced Assessment (SBA)

The SBA consists of two parts: a computer adaptive test and a performance task. Writing is included at every grade level and students are asked to solve multi-step, real-world problems in math. Performance tasks ask students to determine an array of research, writing, and problem solving skills. The SBA results describe student achievement (how much students know at the end of the year).

The Grade Level Total ELA and Grade Level Total Math charts on the right-hand side of the page indicate the percent of tenth grade students who met or exceeded standard in ELA and Math on the SBA compared to the percent of tenth grade students who met or exceeded standard district-wide.

60

60 87.8%

89.0%

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60.8%

71.1%

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10

100

English Language Arts (ELA)

Washington Comprehensive Assessment of Science (WCAS) The WCAS fulfills the federal requirement that students 100 be tested in Science once at the elementary level.

The WCAS measures the level of proficiency students have achieved (what students know and can do) 80 based on the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). The WCAS assesses all three dimensions of the learning standards (Science and Engineering Practices, 60 Disciplinary Core Ideas, and Crosscutting Concepts).

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29.6% 14.1% Gr ad

The numbers on the chart represent the percentage of students in eleventh grade who met or exceeded standard on the WCAS compared to the percentage of students in grade 11 who met or exceeded standard districtwide. Given that a limited number of students took the WCAS, scores may not provide a full picture of science achievement.