As we get ready to kick off the new school year, it is always important to establish some goals for the year.  At ELHS, we take a collaborative approach to developing what we call SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Results-focused, and Timely). Our goals are designed with the best interest of our students in mind.  Here are the 2015-16 ELHS SMART goals:  

SMART GOAL #1:  ELHS will work to remain above the state MCAS target for ELA and improve MCAS achievement scores in the area of Math.

While this goal is targeted toward improving MCAS scores, we believe that the actions steps we put in place to achieve this goals will benefit ALL students in improving their literacy, computation and problem solving skills. Our newly developed common assessments in ALL content areas will give our teachers detailed information on how students are progressing in their mastery of their course standards both on an individual, class and school  level.

SMART GOAL #2: 100% of our instructional staff will collaborate to provide a solid core instructional block that consistently includes the effective, research- based instructional strategies related to objectives, activators, student engagement activities, mini lessons and wrap ups to support standards-based curriculum planning.

Our district has adopted a common instructional block format that has been proven to increase student engagement and critical thinking.  We also encourage our teachers to be members of professional learning communities (PLC) that are focused on improving student achievement in our building.  These PLCs meet regularly throughout the year and then present their findings to the full staff at the end of the year.  ELHS continues to explore the use of technology to support student engagement and other 21st century learning skills such as creativity, critical thinking, collaboration and communication.  Lastly, we have adopted the Understanding by Design model for our curriculum guides to ensure that we provide a relevant and rigorous curriculum.

SMART GOAL #3: All ELHS staff will foster a safe, positive, and respectful learning/working environment resulting in an increase in stakeholder (staff, parents, students) satisfaction. 

ELHS maintains several collaborative decision-making groups that work together to improve all aspects of school climate.  These groups include our school council, principal's advisory committee and department chairs.   We utilize school data, student surveys and other input from our stakeholders to establish various policies, procedures and practices. Additionally, we are in the process of creating advisory groups for our students