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Academy Park high school presents CSI plan, sets targets for attendance and ninth‑grade reading
Summary
Academy Park leaders outlined their Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI/ACSI) plan, setting near‑term targets — a 50% increase in regular attenders and ninth‑grade benchmarks of 40% reading proficiency and 20% math proficiency — and described 'lab' double‑dose classes and data conferences to drive growth.
Academy Park High School leaders presented a multi‑year Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI/ACSI) plan to the Southeast Delco School District board on April 23, outlining enrollment context, designation history and specific targets for the coming year.
"My name is Richard Sharon, very proud principal of Academy Park, and we are happy to be here this evening to give you an update on our CSI plan, which are comprehensive support plan," said Richard Sharon, the school's principal. He explained the school's ACSI designation traces back to 2018 and stems from lagging indicators inherited from earlier years.
Jessica Secrenti, Academy Park's school‑based instructional specialist, described the plan's research‑based components: professional learning communities (PLCs), interventionists for English and math, use of Panorama and Edmentum for progress monitoring, and partnerships with Catapult and the DCIU. "Our plan was actually approved," Secrenti told the board, noting the team will present its approach at a summer PDE conference.
School leaders gave year‑one numeric goals focused on ninth grade: increase the percentage of regular attenders by 50%, raise the share of ninth‑grade students meeting or exceeding the reading benchmark on the STAR assessment to at least 40%, and lift the ninth‑grade math benchmark to 20%. Presenters emphasized that growth measures across interim benchmarks inform end‑of‑year projections and that final performance will be confirmed by later state testing windows.
A second, operational element of the plan is the district's lab classes — scheduled, rostered, credit‑bearing courses that provide daily, targeted "double‑dose" instruction in algebra I, ninth‑ and tenth‑grade English, and biology. "Double dose means you get instruction in the subject and then we find a way to put you in front of another qualified, competent individual to take that same content but look at your specific data," the presenter said, describing how lab rosters change as students meet growth targets.
Board members asked about roster movement and test validity given dramatic interim growth. Secrenti said teachers conduct data conferences with students, retest flagged students when necessary and use multiple indicators — not a single benchmark — to guide placement. School staff said their fourth benchmark will be completed by June 3 and that Keystone and state results will be available in the summer, which will inform plan refinements.
The presenters asked the board to treat the materials as living documents and noted the state reviews and reporting timelines that shape improvement windows. The board took no formal vote tied specifically to Academy Park's presentation; the plan was described as approved by state reviewers and the school intends to continue refining targets based on July data.
