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STRATEGIC SCHOOL PROFILE 2009-10

High School Edition

Capitol Preparatory Magnet School

Hartford School District
STEPHEN D. PERRY, Principal RICHARD BEGANSKI, Asst. Principal Telephone: (860) 695-9800 Location: 950 Main Street Hartford, Connecticut

This profile was produced by the Connecticut State Department of Education in accordance with CT General Statutes 10-220(c) using data and narratives provided by the school district or testing services. Profiles and additional education data, including longitudinal data, are available on the internet at www.sde.ct.gov. TYPE OF SCHOOL School Type: Interdistrict Magnet School School Grade Range: 6 - 12 Instructional Focus: Social Justice and College Prep STUDENT ENROLLMENT Enrollment on October 1, 2009: 276 5-Year Enrollment Change: N/A

District Reference Group (DRG): I DRG is a classification of districts whose students' families are similar in education, income, occupation, and need, and that have roughly similar enrollment. The Connecticut State Board of Education approved DRG classification for purposes of reporting data other than student performance.

INDICATORS OF EDUCATIONAL NEED

Need Indicator Number in Percent in School School 174 7 4 12 0 63.0 2.5 1.4 4.3 0.0 High Schools % in DRG Students Eligible for Free/Reduced-Price Meals Students Who Are Not Fluent in English Students Identified as Gifted and/or Talented Students with Disabilities Juniors and Seniors Working 16 or More Hours Per Week 81.5 12.7 3.1 13.5 10.4 % in State 27.9 3.6 5.1 10.6 13.6

PROGRAM AND INSTRUCTION

Average Class Size Algebra I Biology I English, Grade 10 American History School 16.8 24.5 18.5 24.5 DRG 19.7 18.7 20.4 19.8 State 18.9 19.6 19.7 20.1 Language Instruction: Instruction was offered in the following language(s): Spanish

64 - 69 Instructional Time Total Days per Year Total Hours per Year School 201 1,134 State High Schools 181 1,006

Page 2 State law requires that at least 180 days of school and 900 hours of instruction be offered to students in high school grades.

Lunch An average of 30 minutes is provided for lunch during full school days. Minimum Graduation Credits The state requires a minimum of 20 credits for graduation.

% Juniors and Seniors Enrolled in a Course or Courses for College Credit During the 2008-09 School Year Total Number of Credits Required for Graduation Required for Class of 2009 School State School 21.0

School 17.8 DRG 22.9

State 31.9 State 23.6

% of Class of 2009 Graduates who Took Higher Level Courses or Earned More Credits in Selected Subjects than Required by the State for Graduation Algebra I or Equivalent Chemistry 4 or More Credits in Mathematics 3 or More Credits in Science 4 or More Credits in Social Studies Credit for Level 3 or Higher in a World Language 2 or More Credits in Vocational Education 2 or More Credits in the Arts Special Programs

Class of 2009 97.2 100.0 91.7 8.3 16.7 100.0 97.2 75.0 91.5 72.9 65.2 89.5 53.2 60.9 56.4 40.5 School 2.5 0.0 100.0 High Schools DRG State 3.4 36.1 73.5 12.1 45.0 67.7 This school required more than the state minimum number of credits for graduation in science, the arts and/or vocational education, physical education, health

% of Students in Bilingual Education Program or Receiving English as a Second Language Services % of Gifted and/or Talented Students Who Received Services % of Special Education Students Who Spent Over 79% of Their Time with Their Non-Disabled Peers:

LIBRARY AND COMPUTERS

Free on-line access to periodicals, newspapers, and other resources is available to all Connecticut schools through the Connecticut Digital Library at www.iconn.org.

Instructional Computers and Library Materials # of Students Per Computer % of Computers with Internet Access % of Computers that are High or Moderate Power # of Print Volumes Per Student* # of Print Periodical Subscriptions
*This school does not have its own library.

School

High Schools DRG State 2.3 98.5 97.1 16.6 39

17.3 100.0 100.0 N/A N/A

2.0 93.7 95.4 14.9 18

Interactive Distance Learning: This school does not utilize interactive distance learning. Interactive distance learning ranges from on-line courses with student-instructor interaction via the internet to live classroom interactions through two-way audio and video transmissions. Statewide, 32% of high schools in the state utilize interactive distance learning.

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SCHOOL STAFF
Full-Time Equivalent Count of School Staff General Education: Special Education: Teachers and Instructors Paraprofessional Instructional Assistants Teachers and Instructors Paraprofessional Instructional Assistants Library/Media Specialists and/or Assistants Administrators, Coordinators, and Department Chairs Instructional Specialists Who Support Teachers (e.g., subject area specialists) Counselors, Social Workers, and School Psychologists School Nurses Other Staff Providing Non-Instructional Services and Support Teachers and Instructors Average Number of Years of Experience in Education % with Masters Degree or Above Teacher Attendance,2008-09: Average # of Days Absent Due to Illness or Personal Time % Assigned to Same School the Previous Year School 10.7 75.0 2.7 87.5 13.4 73.4 8.5 81.5 15.00 0.00 1.00 0.00 0.00 2.00 0.00 1.00 1.00 12.00 High Schools DRG State 14.0 74.5 8.1 89.6 In the full-time equivalent count, staff members working part-time in the school are counted as a fraction of full-time. For example, a teacher who works halftime in a school contributes 0.50 to the schools staff count.

HOME AND SCHOOL COMMUNICATION AND SUPPORT Teacher E-Mail Addresses: All teachers at this school have been issued e-mail addresses.

The following narrative about how this school promotes and supports parental involvement was submitted by the school.

Capital Prep is designed to support the engagement of parents and as an advocacy program for students and their families. Every child is assigned an academic advisor that stays with the child all seven years that he/she attends Capital Prep. The advisor is responsible to phone home every two weeks to inform the parents of the childs academic and social progress. Through the development of the relationship with their childs advisor, parents are engaged in the process of educating their child because they learn that they have their own advocate in the school. The advisor is the person they call when the child is out and needs to receive work. The advisor is the first line of defense or information when the parent recognizes that there are issues in the home. Finally, the advisor is an embedded component of the solution upon which the families can relay, thereby breaking down the traditional walls that exist between families from historically disadvantaged populations and school. Advisors are just the beginning. Parents are also provided daily access to their students grades via ParentConnect, an online monitoring program that allows parents to stay on top of their childs academic performance so that they may support him/her in a timely fashion. Capital Prep also developed and conducted workshops for parents. College workshops for parents included taking them through the application, financial aid and acceptance processes. We have created opportunities for families to come together in non-traditional ways by offering them tickets to plays at the Hartford Stage, as well as passes to the Science Center and the Wadsworth Athenaeum. We sent out morning reminders to families that kept them abreast of daily activities. Finally, we engaged parents in both traditional and nontraditional activities. We held a brick fundraiser, breast cancer football fundraiser, jump rope, monthly PTO meetings.

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SCHOOL DIVERSITY
Student Race/Ethnicity Race/Ethnicity American Indian Asian American Black Hispanic White Total Minority Number 0 6 164 74 32 244 Percent 0.0 2.2 59.4 26.8 11.6 88.4 Non-English Home Language: 21.0 % of this school's students come from homes where English is not the primary language.The number of non-English home languages is 9 Percent of Minority Professional Staff :57.9

EFFORTS TO REDUCE RACIAL, ETHNIC, AND ECONOMIC ISOLATION

Below is the description submitted by this school of how it provides educational opportunities for its students to interact with students and teachers from diverse racial, ethnic, and economic backgrounds.

The interest in Capital Prep has been unprecedented. Weekly, we receive requests for information from students, parents, educators and policy makers. Our visibility in the local, regional and national print and electronic media, including but not limited to cable television, has been an effective means of attracting potential students to our school. We have instituted a Catholic school day. This is a culminating activity in which we send buses and vans to 5 area Catholic schools and bring the entire 5th and 8th grades to our school for a day of activities. Last year we had over 100, mostly non-minority suburban students, attend. Over 15% of our student body has participated in True Colors, an interdistrict student organization. We have developed partnerships with organizations in which the majority of the participants are non-minority. These are relationships that we anticipate will produce greater numbers of non-minority applicants. We have added this to our traditional methods of recruiting.Finally, we are developing programming, such as theater and music, which will also increase the number of non-minority applicants. We are working to extend the reach of The Capital Preparatory Magnet School into communities that have more non-minority students. Although our suburban population has been robust, most of the students are minority. This has presented compliance challenges in years past, however, this year we have improved by 7%.

STUDENT PERFORMANCE AND BEHAVIOR

Physical Fitness: % Reaching Health Standard on All Four Tests* Grade 10 School State % of Schools in State with Equal or Lower Percent Reaching Standard 37.8

40.7

50.4

*Includes tests for flexibility, abdominal strength and endurance, upper-body strength and aerobic endurance.

Advanced Placement Courses 2008-09 Number of Courses for which Students were Tested % of Grade 12 Students Tested % of Exams Scored 3 or More*
*A score of three or higher is generally required for earning college credit.

School 0 0.0 N/A

State High Schools 9.5 22.3 N/A

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Connecticut Academic Performance Test, Third Generation, % Meeting State Goal. The CAPT is administered to Grade 10 students. The Goal level is more demanding than the state Proficient level, but not as high as the Advanced level, reported in the No Child Left Behind Report Cards. The following results reflect the performance of students with scoreable tests who were enrolled in the school at the time of testing, regardless of the length of time they were enrolled in the school. Results for fewer than 20 students are not presented. For more detailed CAPT results, go to www.ctreports.com. CAPT Subject Area Reading Across the Disciplines Writing Across the Disciplines Mathematics Science SAT I. The lowest possible score on each subtest is 200; the highest possible score is 800. School 38.9 67.6 25.0 10.8 State 45.9 59.6 48.7 45.3 School 463 446 429 100.0 School 94.7 1.3 % of Schools in State with Equal or Lower Scores 47.4 65.4 22.1 12.6 State 508 503 506 68.5 State 91.3 3.0 % of Schools in State with Equal or Lower Scores 30.9 24.2 19.1 N/A % of Districts in State with Equal or Less Desirable Rates 50.8 49.7

To see the NCLB Report Card for this school, go to www.sde.ct.gov and click on No Child Left Behind.

SAT I: Reasoning Test Class of 2009 Average Score: Mathematics Critical Reading Writing % of Graduates Tested

Graduation and Dropout Rates Graduation Rate, Class of 2009 2008-09 Annual Dropout Rate for Grade 9 through 12

Activities of Graduates % Pursuing Higher Education % Employed, Civilian and Military

School 100.0 0.0

State 84.5 10.4

Student Attendance % Present on October 1

School 96.0

State High Schools 94.6

Number of Incidents by Disciplinary Offense Category, 2008-09 Disciplinary Offenses Disciplinary offenses committed by students include all serious offenses, offenses involving drugs, alcohol, or tobacco, and all incidents resulting in suspension or expulsion. In the 200809 school year, 73 students were responsible for these incidents. These students represent 26.9% of the estimated number of students who attended this school at some point during the 2008-09 school year. Offense Category Violent Crimes Against Persons Sexually Related Behavior Personally Threatening Behavior Theft Physical/Verbal Confrontation Fighting/Battery Property Damage Weapons Drugs/Alcohol/Tobacco School Policy Violations Total Location of Incident School 0 2 14 12 41 5 12 0 0 18 104 Other Location 0 0 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 6

64 - 69 SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PLANS AND ACTIVITIES

The following narratives was submitted by this school.

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Capital Prep has been reconfigured to include a 6th grade academy, lower and upper school. The faculty has been assigned to Professional Learning Communities. We have created a Director of Professional Development and Data Analysis position to support our staff. Our focus this year is clear; address some of the natural transitional issues for students while increasing the capacity of staff to serve our students.We have also begun the creation of electronic portfolios for both students and staff. These provide opportunities for both staff and students to show and share information. Our school has had a capstone project, the senior social justice project, as a graduation requirement for a few years now. What we have done this year, in an effort to ensure that all students are prepared for this very important project, is to engage all students and staff in an on-going collection and sharing of data to inform both teaching and learning.Now, staff lead professional development is aligned with the professional learning communities. Finally, Capital Prep is organized around five learning expectations and a document we refer to as the Blue Print. Both the five learner expectations and Blue Print have been re-written to include what we have learned about our staff and students capacity to learn and teach.

SUPPLEMENTAL SCHOOL INFORMATION

The space below was optionally used by this school to describe aspects of the school not presented elsewhere in the profile.

The Capital Preparatory Magnet School has been recognized by CNN, US News & World Reports, Essence Magazine, Teachers of Color and Jet as one of Americas top high schools. We are a Hartford Shining Star for our sustained performance and have sent 100% of our graduates to 4 year colleges since 2004.Capital Preparatory Magnet School was developed to compete against area private college preparatory schools for seats in the nations four-year colleges. We instituted elements of these schools operations that we found to be essential to the development of meaningful relationships between students and staff. This was the root of our advisory system. We have also included other similar strategies for educating and engaging students.Capital Prep has a two sport requirement. Unlike traditional public schools, we have expanded our physical education to include after school activities. This provides students with a greater breadth of engagement as well as helps them to develop a resume that will support their college aspirations. Our social justice theme is imbedded throughout the academic and social experience that is Capital Prep. What is not often known is that the students hold leadership positions within the school that extend beyond typical student government. Head boy and girl, deputy head boy and girl, prefect, house captain are all components of our adherence to the model of a traditional English model prep school. Finally, Capital Prep has become a destination for elected officials and community leaders, as well as educators looking to develop an effective school in their communities. Thus, we have become a training institute for education reformers.