CAN 
US/Global
DEMOGRAPHICS
March Mountain High School in Moreno Valley, California, serves as a continuation school for grades 9–12 students who need extra support outside a traditional high school. March Mountain, which is a part of the Moreno Valley Unified School District, offers different programs to fit each student’s needs.
350 Students
- 17.9% English learners
- 9.5% Special needs
March Mountain High School's CHALLENGE
Providing high-quality direct instruction in only 12 weeks is not an easy task for any school leader to manage. Yet, as a former teacher and now principal, Steve Quintero took on the challenge with more than graduation in mind for his students.
M.A.R.C.H., March Always Raises Children Higher, puts continuation students from March Mountain High School together with traditional students from March Valley High School, with students rotating every 12 weeks. The 26 teachers inside the continuation school are challenged with delivering a year’s worth of curriculum before the next round of new students enters the class. Their mission, without the use of packets or computer programs, is to teach and help students recover and retain skills they initially did not master in a traditional or comprehensive high school.
Quintero knew his team was not operating as one cohesive unit in the earlier years of his principalship. At that time, teachers were divided and only wanted to deal with their current grade level. The school needed collaboration.
When the state later determined the school was priority and in need of a Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI) plan—due to their high suspension rates and low scores in English and math—Quintero’s district, seeing that improvement was necessary, reached out to Solution Tree.
IMPLEMENTATION
“The PLC process helped us hone the skills and standards we felt were essential. . . so when [students] leave us, they are prepared for the next steps in life.””
March Mountain High School engaged in Priority Schools in a Professional Learning Community (PLC) at Work® processes and practices with Solution Tree Coach Eddie Velez.
While M.A.R.C.H. had seen professional development prior to Solution Tree, the school was not operating as a professional learning community. Velez immediately took inventory of where each department and teacher stood in the PLC process.
“Eddie was brilliant enough to ask that important question first: Where are you guys at in the PLC process? Tell me what you know and what steps you have completed. Each department was somewhere different, which gave us a better understanding of where to start as a whole,” Quintero says.
Leadership teams then began to meet more frequently to ensure the school’s guiding principles were being incorporated in planning and sessions. Principal Quintero created weekly flex days with 90-minute time slots to allow teachers to meet, plan, and focus on growing their collaborative teams.
Quintero and his teams also allocated time for classroom walkthroughs, data review, and reflection in order to determine the most effective methods to ensure students learned the essential standards.
RESULTS
Over the last two years, March Mountain High School has gone from a struggling school with many challenges to a school where students are not only graduating but accepting scholarships and offers from four-year institutions.
The staff now understands the true meaning of collaboration in the PLC process, and teachers are committed to doing more to see their students graduate. They’re no longer preoccupied with mere compliance and checking off boxes; now, they’re truly invested in their students’ learning.
Principal Quintero’s celebration of students who have gained university admissions has been a great encouragement to students and teachers that high-level achievement is possible.
The data is another reflection of the collaborative efforts at M.A.R.C.H. While the school is still below standards, its ELA scores increased more than 40 points compared to the prior year. This transformation from March Mountain High School is a testament to their collaborative efforts. With a newfound focus on student success, the entire school community is now invested in ensuring every student reaches their full potential.
March Mountain HS ELA Growth on CAASPP
one-year comparison
(Schoolwide Distance from Standard shown)
Why Priority Schools in a PLC at Work?
As an educator, you are an integral part of students’ lives. Your time with each child will impact their future, no matter what school or district you serve. Schools labeled as low-performing or high-priority struggle with many challenges, but we can help your staff work together to overcome the obstacles that stand in the way of student success.
