To meet the needs of all students, including economically disadvantaged students, students with disabilities, ELLs, and gifted and talented students, TTA core curriculum will be supported by a supplemental curriculum that includes research-based interventions to improve student learning such as:  

Math Lab is an intervention provided to students in Tier 3 of TTA’s RTI model. Math Lab course provides more instruction time using a hands-on approach for the students who need additional support in mathematics to master the learning targets. 

Reading Lab is an intervention provided to students in Tier 3 of TTA’s RTI model. Reading Lab course provides more instruction time using a hands-on approach for the students who need additional support in ELA to master the learning targets. 

Newcomer Mathematics - this course is designed to enable newly immigrated students to master the skills which are prerequisite for Introduction to Algebra. The course covers the skills typically taught in grades 1 through 8 in Arizona schools.  

Leadership courses are designed to strengthen students’ personal and group leadership skills needed to enter college or workforce. These courses will emphasize on effective communication, human relations, collaboration, and groups dynamics. 

Academic Advisory class: This course is designed to support completion of graduation requirements and may include regular academic monitoring, remediation, design of a High School and Beyond Plan, post-secondary application, administration of tests, and preparation for student led conferences. Each advisory teacher is responsible for no more than 20 students to monitor and support their academic progress through the year. 

Dropout Prevention Program: is an intervention provided to students who are targeted as “risk of dropping out”. The leaders will partner with the community agencies to provide some prevention program courses, job preparation, interview skills, communication skills, personal assessment and awareness activities, speaker presentations and small group seminars. 

Special Education Students: 

TTA will adopt Special Education Policies and Procedures that ensure all children with disabilities have the right to a free appropriate public education (FAPE). TTA will comply with section 613(a)(5)* and 613(e)(1)(B)** of the IDEA. An all-inclusive model with a continuum of Special Education and 504 services will be implemented to meet the needs of students with disabilities. TTA will ensure that students with Individual Education Plans (IEPs) progress steadily towards post-secondary preparedness and placement. To this end, TTA will contract services from a Special Education provider. Additionally, TTA will ensure all classroom teachers are trained on Child Find, 45-day screenings, accommodations and modifications, and teachers will be required to read and sign an acknowledgement that they have their student’s IEPs prior to the start of each quarter and know how to effectively implement the required modifications or accommodations.

Behavior Expectations:  

Expectations for behavior will be outlined in TTA’s handbook. TTA will create a safe culture of learning that encourages students to behave in a positive manner. To foster a safe and orderly environment, TTA will implement with fidelity the Flippen group’s Capturing Kids Heart program which helps teachers connect with students and students connect with each other students by creating and strengthening relationships.  Capturing Kids Hearts is comprised of: 1) the EXCEL model 2) the social contract 3) The four questions of misbehavior 4) and the four questions of disrespect. Teachers and staff will be trained in utilizing this model. Students will also be taught how to respond to situations and talk to others using these strategies.  

English Language Learners (ELLs): 

The school’s targeted area is characterized by a high population of English Language Learners ELLs). Therefore, TTA will ensure that each teacher holds a Structured English Immersion (SEI) endorsement and receives appropriate professional development to provide the best learning experiences for ELLs. Although the language of classroom instruction for core content is English, ELLs will receive scaffolded instruction and targeted support to assist them in attaining proficiency in English language, as well as mastery of course content standards. ELL courses are grounded in the Arizona English Language Proficiency Standards and will be complemented with the “ESL Reading Smart” program, a free, innovative, standards-based English language-learning program for grades 4-12. These courses enable students to demonstrate progress from the pre-emergent level of understanding of English words and verb tenses to the proficient level. Informational texts will help ELLs experience an extensive orientation to the customs and culture of the the United States. 

Upon enrollment, ELL students will be identified through a primary home language survey (PHLOTE) and an English language proficiency test (Arizona English Language Learner Assessment, AZELLA). Students who score below proficiency as measured by the AZELLA will be identified as ELLs and placed on Individualized Language Learner Plans (ILLP) which are tailored to describe how ELLs will master the English Language Proficiency (ELP) Standards.  These plans detail how students will receive the required four hours of English language development instruction and identify which teachers are responsible for this instruction.  

Instructional Methodology:

TTA teachers will use the following instructional methods to deliver rigorous, relevant lessons that promote higher level thinking skills, inquiry based learning and enhanced problem solving. 

Differentiated Instruction: 

Due to the diverse learning needs of the target population, the curriculum will be delivered through differentiated instruction which requires teachers to consider not only what they are teaching (content), but also whom they are teaching (individual students). Thus, TTA teachers will address the following while designing unit and lesson plans:   

Content - what students learn: includes curriculum topics and concepts, reflects state standards, provides students with choices to add depth to learning, provide students with additional level that matches their level of understanding, pre-assess student’s skills and understanding and then match learners with appropriate activities

Process -how students learn: refers to how students make sense of the information and skills being taught and reflects students learning styles and preferences. 

Product - the result of student learning) which reflects the rigor and variety of the curriculum, as well as the opportunity to demonstrate learning in myriad ways 

Responding to the need of all learners, TTA teachers will ensure:  

Differentiation of instruction by engaging students in respectful tasks, allowing flexible grouping, and conducting ongoing assessment.

Differentiation via content, process, and product

Differentiation according to: readiness levels (Vygotsky, 1986), interests (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990), and learning profiles (Sternberg et al., 1998) of each of their students. 

Differentiation with varied texts and materials; use of tiered lessons, centers, and products; varied homework assignments etc.

Response to Intervention (RTI): To deliver positive learning outcomes, TTI will offer rigorous and relevant learning experiences that are individualized to each student’s learning needs. TTA will also utilize RTI, a multi-tiered system of support to proactively identify and address the learning and behavior needs of students. At the base of the RTI program is the school’s guaranteed and viable curriculum. Layers of support are added to effectively address student need.

 The following describes TTA’s RTI model.

Tier 1: Core universal instruction and supports that are differentiated for all students.  

Tier 2: Secondary prevention or strategic intervention. TTA will provide Tier 2 students with increasingly intensive instruction according to their needs based on performance and rates of progress. Intensity varies across group size, frequency and duration of intervention, and level of training of the professionals providing instruction or intervention. These interventions are provided in small group settings. 

Tier 3: (tertiary prevention): At this level, TTA students who are identified as being at-risk of experiencing problems after receiving supplemental or small-group interventions as mentioned before, will receive individualized, intensive interventions that target the student’s skill deficits. This aims to provide remediation to the existing problems and prevent more severe problems. 

Each teacher at TTA will implement the following instructional strategies to deliver lessons with fidelity. 

TTA will implement standards-based performance assessment plans to meet the needs of all its learners. Engaging students through performance assessment plans is a powerful instructional and assessment vehicle for all learners in a standards-based system3. It is used to evaluate higher-order thinking and the acquisition of knowledge, concepts, and skills required for success in the 21st century workplace. 

More student-centered than traditional assessment, performance assessment consists of a series of performance tasks that allow students to develop a deeper understanding of concepts and skills embedded in the standards being taught through application in the context of a real-life situation.

 Inspired by Flach’s4 assertion that priority standards from the centerpieces of the performance assessment, each task of the performance assessment plan will include corresponding scoring guides that help promote self-assessment, self-monitoring, and adjustment of learning strategies based on teacher feedback. Advance access to scoring rubrics helps TTA learners know exactly how their performance will be evaluated, for example in an oral or written response, multi-media presentation, learning logs etc.

Differentiating Instruction with Menus 5:  

To effectively meet each student’s learning needs, teachers will offer differentiated assessments with menus that provide students with choices of assignments and assessments. Instead of giving every student the same assignment, students will be given options of assignments aligned to their interest and learning levels. This strategy is designed to engender “thoughtfulness,” one of the core values of TTA. Differentiating instruction with Menus also provides opportunities for teachers to tap further into their students’ interests, find out how they best learn, and how to best to reach them in future lessons. 

Digital literacy 

TTA uses technology in the classroom to equip TTA students with digital literacy skills required for 21st century jobs. Students will learn how to use blogs and digital boards as well as other software applications which helps keep them globally competitive. Students will present ideas and projects using such tools as Garage Band, Audacity, Moviemaker, and iMovie all of which demonstrates TTA’s commitment to using authentic assessment practices. 

Cooperative Learning 

A wide body of research confirms that corporative learning results in positive student outcomes in all the domains and also fosters positive diverse student interactions which furthers TTA’s mission, vision, and core values. According to Kagan, S. (2008)9, cooperative learning structures are designed to increase academic achievement, improve social skills and social relations, improve thinking skills, reduce discipline problems, and foster leadership skills. Using such cooperative learning structures as Socratic Seminars, TTA students will create and present their understanding of integrated themes across various disciplines, a skill they will utilize beyond their high school experience. This strategy requires teachers to use open-ended questions that push students to think at the higher levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy. Along with developing inquiry based learning and higher order thinking among students, the Socratic seminars also encourage thoughtful peer interactions aligned to the school’s core values.

Project Based Learning (PBL) 

TTA will use Project Based Learning to provide opportunities for interdisciplinary learning. Eric Jensen notes that providing innovative, conceptual, and project-based learning experiences is important toensure rigor, as well as improved higher order thinking and problem-solving skills across the curriculum. Given this, TTA will use PBL to help students apply and integrate the content of different subject areas instead of learning each subject in isolation. One immediate benefit of PBL is the unique way that it motivates and engages students. PBL provides opportunities for students to pursue their interests and make decisions about how they will find answers and solve problems. PBL also provides opportunities for teachers to build relationships with each other and with the larger community. Student work, which includes documentation of the learning process as well as the student’s final projects, can be shared with teachers, parents, mentors and the business community, all of whom have a stake in the student’s education. Other features of PBL include: activities that include the entire group and give students experience in negotiating with a team (a skill sought by their future employers); work with smaller groups consisting of students of varying first languages, which requires intense use of spoken English, since students must speak English to accomplish their work; and, groups that consist of speakers of the same language, which reinforce students’ literacy in their first language, as well as allowing students a way to express sophisticated concepts they want to discuss but cannot with their limited English proficiency

The following Tier 2 interventions will be implemented for students who are not successful in Tier 1:

Small group instruction: both in the core classroom and supplemental supports during, before/after school, and when school is not in session during Fall, Spring, and Summer breaks 

Tutoring sessions: available for students before and after school and on Saturdays.

Supplemental programs: students will be provided individualized interventions in one of the following programs aligned to the school’s vision, mission, and core values: IXL, Khan Academy, and/or teachers recorded lessons. 

The following Tier 3 interventions will be implemented for students who are not successful in Tier 2:

Math lab and/or reading lab:  The math lab and reading lab are intervention courses where the teacher to students’ ratio is only 1:12. This course will provide students with one-on-one support and increased time to master the learning target taught in their regular Math course. 

Supplemental Programs: Students will be provided instruction by supplemental programs in math and reading such as Math in Focus and Read 180 respectfully. 

Students who do not achieve the desired level of progress in response to these targeted interventions will be referred for a comprehensive evaluation and considered for eligibility for Special Education services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA) of 2004.  Documented interventions through the RTI program will help inform eligibility decisions.

English Language Learners (ELLs): 

The school’s targeted area is characterized by a high population of English Language Learners ELLs). Therefore, TTA will ensure that each teacher holds a Structured English Immersion (SEI) endorsement and receives appropriate professional development to provide the best learning experiences for ELLs. Although the language of classroom instruction for core content is English, ELLs will receive scaffolded instruction and targeted support to assist them in attaining proficiency in English language, as well as mastery of course content standards. ELL courses are grounded in the Arizona English Language Proficiency Standards and will be complemented with the “ESL Reading Smart” program, a free, innovative, standards-based English language-learning program for grades 4-12. These courses enable students to demonstrate progress from the pre-emergent level of understanding of English words and verb tenses to the proficient level. Informational texts will help ELLs experience an extensive orientation to the customs and culture of the the United States. 

Upon enrollment, ELL students will be identified through a primary home language survey (PHLOTE) and an English language proficiency test (Arizona English Language Learner Assessment, AZELLA). Students who score below proficiency as measured by the AZELLA will be identified as ELLs and placed on Individualized Language Learner Plans (ILLP) which are tailored to describe how ELLs will master the English Language Proficiency (ELP) Standards.  These plans detail how students will receive the required four hours of English language development instruction and identify which teachers are responsible for this instruction.  

Tier 1:

Each teacher at TTA will implement the following instructional strategies to deliver lessons with

fidelity.

TTA will implement standards-based performance assessment plans to meet the needs of all its learners.

Engaging students through performance assessment plans is a powerful instructional and assessment

vehicle for all learners in a standards-based system 3 . It is used to evaluate higher-order thinking and the

acquisition of knowledge, concepts, and skills required for success in the 21st century workplace. More

student-centered than traditional assessment, performance assessment consists of a series of performance

tasks that allow students to develop a deeper understanding of concepts and skills embedded in the

standards being taught through application in the context of a real-life situation. Inspired by Flach’s 4

assertion that priority standards from the centerpieces of the performance assessment, each task of the

performance assessment plan will include corresponding scoring guides that help promote self-

assessment, self-monitoring, and adjustment of learning strategies based on teacher feedback. Advance

access to scoring rubrics helps TTA learners know exactly how their performance will be evaluated, for

example in an oral or written response, multi-media presentation, learning logs etc.

- Differentiating Instruction with Menus 5 :

- Digital literacy

-Cooperative Learning

- Project Based Learning (PBL)

Tier 2:

The following Tier 2 interventions will be implemented for students who are not successful in Tier 1:

- Tutoring sessions: available for students before and after school and on Saturdays.ng,

before/after school, and when school is not in session during Fall, Spring, and Summer breaks

 Tutoring sessions: available for students before and after school and on Saturdays.

- Supplemental programs: students will be provided individualized interventions in one of the

following programs aligned to the school’s vision, mission, and core values: IXL, Khan

Academy, and/or teachers recorded lessons.

Tier 3:

The following Tier 3 interventions will be implemented for students who are not successful in Tier 2:

Math lab and/or reading lab: The math lab and reading lab are intervention courses where the teacher to

students’ ratio is only 1:12. This course will provide students with one-on-one support and increased

time to master the learning target taught in their regular Math course.

Supplemental Programs: Students will be provided instruction by supplemental programs in math and

reading such as Math in Focus and Read 180 respectfully.

Students who do not achieve the desired level of progress in response to these targeted interventions will

be referred for a comprehensive evaluation and considered for eligibility for Special Education services

under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA) of 2004. Documented

interventions through the RTI program will help inform eligibility decisions.

Rotational Model 11 :

TTA will follow the rotational model to implement its Differentiated Instruction, RTI, PBL and STEM.

Within this model, each session begins with the whole class working together with the teacher. Then, the

class breaks into small groups which rotate among the following stations:

• Computer Station: Individualized online learning stations for practice, enrichment, and intervention.
• Collaboration Station: Students will work with each other to alternative solutions, and thoughtfully solve problems.

C.3 Program of Instruction Think Through Academy Page 5 of 8

• Project Station: in-class collaborative learning groups students. Each team member will have specific roles and responsibilities.
•  Catch-All Station: small group led by teacher for intervention, reinforcement, or enrichment.
• At the end of the session, the whole class comes together with the teacher to wrap up the lesson. The

Rotational model helps prepare students with critical 21 st century skills of collaboration, communication

and team building.

Block Schedule

A body of research indicates that block scheduling benefits teachers and students, particularly those

students from traditionally underserved populations. Proponents of block scheduling, including the Arizona Department of Education stress that one of the benefits of block scheduling: provides additional time for hands-on learning and collaboration and critical instructional strategies. 

Within TTA rotational model described in above, which requires students to perform tasks at different stations. A block schedule provides sufficient time needed to complete such tasks in each course, it does also provide increased opportunities for more in-depth learning.

 In addition, this will provide teachers extra time to

plan for effective instruction and learning and creates increased opportunities for one-on-one instruction during which teachers provide immediate and constructive feedback to students. As described in the Target Population Section (A. 2) students are likely to enter TTA significantly below grade level in

Reading and Math. In response to these data, TTA schedule will offer “Two-Double-Dosing Block

Schedule ” (TDDBS). TDDBS is type of block scheduling that offer students double time of instruction in

two subjects. TDDBS is proven 13 to be effective in improving students’ academic achievements