Spotlighting Amherst CHS in NYSED Publication
Amherst Central High School, named a High Performing Reward School in May by the NYSED, is the spotlight school in a Strategies for Success feature in the December 2017 issue of the OA Newsline, a publication from the New York State Education Department's Office of Accountability.
Amherst CHS was one of eight WNY high schools and 185 high schools statewide to be named a 2017-18 Reward School by the NYSED for its high academic achievement and progress with minimal gaps in student achievement between certain populations of students for English language arts (ELA) and math performances.
OA Newsline is distributed to all Office of Accountability staff and to various groups statewide through the NYSED Commissioner's office including district and school superintendents.
"The 2017-18 Reward School designation is a testament to faculty and staff at Amherst Central High School whose mastery of content knowledge and instructional delivery has created a robust academic environment for all students," said Gregory Pigeon, ACHS principal. "We pride ourselves on being a close-knit, culturally diverse learning community where students' instructional goals are supported and intense commitment is given to the value of co-curricular activities, engagement in school climate, and student-leadership growth opportunities."
With Board of Education support, the data-driven framework for success at Amherst Central High School includes:
- Appropriate use of data by building-based data teams to drive dynamic instruction and guide annual strategic goal setting.
- Ongoing development of an in-depth culturally responsive teaching model targeting inclusiveness and traditionally underserved subgroups.
- Institutionally focused professional development and continuous improvement built on a common language of instruction, clinical supervision and mentoring.
- Strong Response to Intervention program with major focus on at-risk students and tracking interventions through the Instructional Support Team Model.