School Improvement
JHS participates in year round continuous learning that entails five primary steps.
step 1: Unified Improvement Plan
JHS’s Unified Improvement Plan is developed by using multiple data points such as academic achievement, school attendance, climate and culture, and stakeholder satisfaction/perceptual feedback. The input of all staff members and students and families provide guidance on areas of improvement. The most current Unified Improvement Plan can be found publicly on SchoolView.
step2: Individualized Growth Plans
All staff members create professional growth plans that focus on self identified areas of improvement. Growth plans provide a foundation for planning for training and development opportunities. Staff members work in small groups and share their ideas and progress towards improvement efforts.
step 3: Professional Development
Professional development activities promote life-long learning and provide a platform for staff to focus on continuous improvement. Staff members participate in professional development activities for a minimum of twenty hours a year. School wide needs and initiatives, observation and self-reflection data, and Professional Effectiveness Standards are the indicators that guide professional development.
All professional development activities are:
- Intentional
- Tied to goals and needs
- Improve program quality
- Utilize evidence based research and best practices
- Linked to specific measures
Types of professional development activities:
- District trainings
- Conferences and workshops
- Mentoring and coaching
- Staff meetings and work sessions
Experiential learning for professionals:
- Hands-on
- Learning by doing
- Reflection for self-growth and discovery
Activities include:
- Interviewing
- Observing
- Preparing and overseeing projects with peers
- Facilitation of professional development sessions
step 4: Staff Improvement Model
The Staff Improvement Model is year long and consists of four factors which are Growth Plans, Peer Support, Evaluations, and Feedback. At the beginning of the school year, all staff members participate in the development and sharing of Professional Growth Plans. During the school year and in pairs, staff members share their work progress and they provide peer to peer feedback. Throughout the year, school leadership conducts formal Evaluations and provide feedback. At the end of the year celebration, staff members present their personal growth journey along with JHS’s overall improvement efforts.
In adherence with Colorado’s SB 10-191 legislation on educator evaluations, JHS uses BVSD’s Educator Effectiveness Model to guide the evaluative process.
The Educator Effectiveness Model process consists of:
- Gathering baseline data for student performance through formative assessments
- Peer to peer and administrative observations of the classroom environment
- Collection of data and progress monitoring of students and teachers
- Dialogue and problem solving among teachers and administrators
- Professional development to support continuous improvement initiatives
step 5: School Accountability Report
In accordance with the Education Accountability Act of 2009 (SB 09-163) as amended by HB18-1355, the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) in conjunction with Boulder Valley School District (BVSD) establish school performance standards and expectations for JHS.
JHS worked hard with internal and external stakeholders to achieve a Performance rating with CDE for the 2024-25 school year. The Performance rating means that the school met all of its goals and objectives regarding Academic Achievement and Growth, Student Engagement, Attendance and Graduation Rates, and Post and Workforce Readiness.
