Annual School Performance Report Gibson Ek High School
2019-20
425-837-6350 • www.issaquah.wednet.edu/gibsonekhs 379 1st Place SE, Issaquah, WA 98027
Principal Julia Bamba
Welcome Gibson Ek is a small choice high school, based on the Big Picture model, where design thinking and “learning through interest” are central tenets. Students commit to a personal vision through authentic new learning that empowers them to contribute their knowledge and skills to meaningfully influence the school and community. Through a combination of coursework, self-directed projects, and real-world internships, students develop mastery of 20 different competencies aligned with state, national and collegiate standards. Each student spends more than 600 hours interning with regional companies and organizations to explore career interests. Additionally, all students complete a two-year research project that culminates in their senior year, in which they identify a real-world need and then design and implement a response.
Mission Gibson Ek students thrive by engaging in rigorous interest-based learning and real-world experiences in a vibrant and supportive community.
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
•
Enrollment: 166
100 85.5%
80
75.3%
60 40 20 0
9.0% 1.8%
0.6%
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Teacher Experience Data Teacher’s with National Board Certification
12.5
4
Average Years Teaching Experience
Teacher with Master’s/Ph.D
78.6%
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.
Personalized Model As an innovative real world learning school, Gibson Ek’s program is Communication: consistent with the standards at all ISD schools. A core objective of this • Collaboration and Engagement design is to develop self-directed learners highly capable of navigating • Understanding systems, defining their work in complex contexts, thinking critically, • Expression and Representation and collaborating. Gibson Ek is authorized by the Washington State • Evaluation and Research Board of Education (SBE) to graduate students based on mastery of Quantitative Reasoning: competencies rather than credits and the competencies are aligned • Interpretation with Common Core State Standards, Next Generation Science • Representation Standards, and admissions expectations of selective baccalaureate • Calculation colleges in Washington and nationally. The competencies are clustered within five interdisciplinary Learning Goals representing the skills, core • Application and Analysis knowledge, and attributes of effective learners prepared for college Empirical Reasoning and career. • Design and Conduct Investigation • Scientific Knowledge and Theories Each student’s experience is unique. Gibson Ek always strives to create • Mathematics & Computational a kind, respectful, inclusive, and vibrant school culture that honors Thinking the personalization that each student deserves. Staff and students • Construct and Defend Arguments never stop exploring ways to help students realize their future dreams and the impact they have in their community and the world. Through small advisories, students get to know at least one adult well and that Social Reasoning • Critical Issues and Events advisor facilitates each student’s learning over the four-year program. • Geography and Environment Students develop Learning Plans with the guidance of their advisor • Institutions, Systems, & Government and input from their parents, mentors, and peers. • Human Behavior and Expression Students use their quarterly exhibitions as a time to publicly show Personal Qualities evidence of their learning. Students collect and organize their evidence • Creativity and Innovation in many ways such as online portfolios, videos, photography, projects • Productive Mindset and products, online files, and binders. The student’s portfolio is a • Better the World repository of the growth and accomplishments of our students and can • Health and Wellness be a valuable tool for college admissions.
Extra-Curricular Activities and Special Programs
Leadership and Senate, Gender Sexuality Alliance Club, Robotics, Hiking Club, Imagine Tomorrow Team, Game Design, Yearbook, Newspaper, Gibson Ek TV, Travel Club, TEALS Partnership with Microsoft, Seattle Shakespeare Company, Teen Health Counselor Partnership with Swedish, Friends of Youth Drug and Alcohol Prevention, Project Wayfinder, YMCA and Bold and Gold Partnership for Outdoor Education and Leadership, Debate Club. Students participate in athletics through their home high schools
Innovative Learning Environment
In order to truly personalize learning, we have designed our campus to create a vibrant, innovative, and collaborative school environment. The school is flexible with large open space, makerspace, cafe areas, gardens, a recording studio, production labs, research labs, and quiet reading and writing spaces. Students and staff are able to quickly adapt our campus to meet the learning needs of our students.
Internship Program
In the 2019-20 school year, Gibson Ek students worked with more than 150 mentors who provided internship experiences during the course of the year. Placements ranged from local businesses on Front Street in Issaquah to regional nonprofit organizations to Seattle-based tech startups, and much more. Most internships incorporate an independent project that requires higher-level thinking and learning. Some examples include: •
Collins Woerman Architects. Intern observed and assisted with a range of commercial building design projects.
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Institute for Systems Biology. Intern learned to analyze gut bacteria, extract DNA and other lab techniques.
•
Village Theatre KIDSTAGE and Broadway Bound Children’s Theatre: Multiple interns worked with both youth theaters to support in the creation, production, and direction of performances.
•
Shujinko. Intern worked on computer coding projects for a cloud compliance tech startup.
•
Bellevue Botanical Garden. Intern learned about botany and landscaping as she supported the grounds crew.
•
Trail Youth Coffee. Multiple interns supported this community nonprofit while learning about small business, food service and coffee roasting procedures.
•
KEXP: Two interns work on the radio station’s youth programming, with one in his fourth year as an intern able to move into a regular DJ spot.
•
Center for Wooden Boats. Multiple interns worked as a team, learning construction techniques as they built boats to be used during the center’s summer camps.
•
Integrity Automotive. Intern learned automotive repair techniques.
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.
100
60
60 85.4%
89.0%
40
0
0
33.3%
Gr ad
e
Di st r ic
e Gr ad
t
20 10
20
71.1%
t
80
Di st r ic
80
40
Math
10
100
English Language Arts (ELA)
Washington Comprehensive Assessment of Science (WCAS) The WCAS fulfills the federal requirement that students100 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).
40 59.6%
20
t ric st Di
11 e
0
29.6%
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.