SELF-STUDY VISITING COMMITTEE REPORT
ACCREDITING COMMISSION FOR SCHOOLS
WESTERN ASSOCIATION OF SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES
CALIFORNIA STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

FOR

Bullard High School
5445 N. Palm Ave.
Fresno, CA, USA
Fresno Unified School District
April 8-11, 2018
Visiting Committee Members

Mr. Robert Long, Chairperson
English Teacher, Foothill High School

Ms. Mia Onodera
Science Teacher, Monta Vista High School

Mr. Scott Haner
Math Teacher, Bakersfield High School

Mr. Brook Penca
Principal, Summit High School

Mr. Matthew McCracken
Principal, Burton Horizon Academy

Dr. Ignacio Ramirez
Principal, Waterford High School

Mr. Justin Nunn
Social Science Teacher, Tracy High School

Mrs. Cindy Zelinsky
CTE Culinary Arts & Foods Teacher,
Sonora High School

 Preface
Bullard High School in Fresno, California is a school in transition. Three years ago saw
the appointment of a largely new administrative team, headed by principal Carlos Castillo. This
team inherited a school in process of modernization, three years into the previous accreditation
term with a significant list of recommendations from the previous study, and a campus that was
entertaining a push to become a charter school, based on shifting demographics and a
stakeholder group that was interested in preserving the previous identity of the school.
The work they have done is remarkable, but much of that work is morale based and has
not responded to the needs of the 2011 Self-Study. They are well aware that they have significant
work left to do, opportunities for growth, issues to solve and avenues to improve. There are
indicators that the team is skilled at identification of many of the issues facing them, as well as
an ability to solve these problems, and to apply the right tool to the right job. There is effort to
meaningfully engage all stakeholder groups to support student achievement, to varying degrees
of success.
Bullard is in transition from an ESLR structure, having recently adopted the Fresno
Unified School District’s Student Learning Outcomes. The SLOs BHS is now operating under
are:
1. All students will excel in reading, writing, and math
2. All students will engage in arts, activities, and athletics
3. All students will demonstrate the character and competencies for workplace success
4. All students will stay in school on target to graduate
Measurements of these outcomes are indefinite, though SPSA goals for 2017-18 include
● Gains of 6% in SBAC ELA and 7% in SBAC Math of students defined as
meeting/exceeding standards.
● 100% of Accountable Communities (ACs - a.k.a. PLC) will increase by at least one
indicator, based on AC Rubric of Implementation Matrix (Parts 1 and 2).
● 80% of classrooms will score 3 or better as measured on Instructional Practice Guide
(IPG) tenets 1-3.
● 5% increase in the number of students who feel a sense of belonging at school.
Bullard reports an embrace of the PLC process and the use of data in guiding instruction,
but this is not indicated on a systemic level. Some of this is due to the shift in collection method;

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 Bullard’s API moved from 782 in 2011 to 769 in 2012 to 758 in 2013, the last year of collection.
The performance of the African-American subgroup lags behind the overall API, from 714 to
696 to 677. In 2014-15, Bullard’s CAASPP data indicates 43% of students met or exceeded
standards in English Language Arts, while 15% met or exceeded standards in Math. In 2015-16,
that number increased to 60% (ELA) and 25% (Math), but in 2016-17, that metric dropped to
48% (ELA) and 20% (Math). The African-American subgroup lagged behind the main group at
27.94% (ELA) and 9.09% (Math) in 2017. Bullard structures a significant amount of its
curriculum around its Advanced Placement courses. Their AP scores indicate a decline from a
46% passage rate from 669 tests taken in 2014 to a 20% passage rate from 1126 tests in 2017.
Bullard High School has committed to the PLC process (which they call Accountable
Communities, or ACs), as Fresno Unified School District has contracted with Solution Tree.
Success in implementing the PLC process is varied, however. BHS describes themselves as
recently having been “PLC Lite,” and are still in the process of implementing the full program.
Some departments report full implementation of Common Formative Assessments (CFAs),
including data analysis and adjustment of best practices, others report partial implementation,
and still others report that they do not participate at all.
The Single Plan for Student Achievement (SPSA) is aligned to the school’s areas of need,
and there is an accountability system for monitoring the accomplishment of the plan. The
number of areas to be addressed is noteworthy, based on the previous WASC visit . Bullard has
been limited in its success moving forward. As one vice principal put it, “It takes awhile to turn a
battleship.” We believe the battleship is turning, we even believe that the course being charted is
a positive one, but we also believe Bullard has some difficult conversations ahead of them in
order to complete their turn and reach full speed ahead. The task is significant, and whereas we
are ostensibly doing our visit at the end of a six year term, Mr. Castillo has really only been able
to chart the course for three, and his results aren’t indicative of management over the full term.
Much of the achievements of the last three years have empowered Bullard with the morale to
move in the right direction. We feel strongly that BHS should be empowered to continue that
work.

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 Chapter I: Progress Report
Bullard High School identifies the following as significant developments since the last
full WASC visit:
1. 2014-15 School Year:
a. A counseling position dedicated solely to freshman and sophomore academic
supports was created and implemented.
b. Bullard added three teachers on special assignment (TSA’s) to aid in
promoting professional development and student achievement, known as the
Professional Learning Updraft System (PLUS).
2. 2015-2016:
a. With the exception of one Vice Principal, a new administrative team was
installed.
b. Re-investment into Link Crew to help acclimate freshman and boost schoolwide pride.
3. 2016-2017:
a. Full implementation of District adopted Guaranteed Viable Curriculum
(GVC).
b. Implemented co-taught English and Math classes for SPED support.
4. 2017-18: New facilities were added to Bullard’s campus; construction was
completed in February.
Bullard High School was given 7 Critical Areas for follow-up at their last WASC Visit in
2011:
1. Increase consistent use of engagement in instructional strategies to reach all students:
Bullard identifies several tactics they have used to address this area.
They have implemented an Instructional Practice Guide (IPG) to aide in lesson design,
and to collect data on the consistent use of a variety of engagement and instructional strategies.
They identify an area of growth here with regards to teacher buy-in of the district’s Guaranteed
Viable Curriculum (GVC), specifically how it integrates Common Core State Standards (CCSS)
in Math and English. They also identify some misalignment with student assessment, experience,
rigor and expectation within their Science Department, attributed to the flux surrounding which
standards to teach from, either the California State Standards or the Next Generation Science
Standards (NGSS) that are to replace them. Bullard has started IPG Walks, in which teachers
visit classrooms to use the IPG as an assessment tool for the level of instruction happening in
other classrooms in their subject area.

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 Bullard has rebooted their Accountable Community (AC) teams to focus around best
practice, especially in Math and English. They identify this tactic as still having opportunities for
growth, particularly around teacher efficacy, high expectations for all students, consistency
within AC teams, and consistency of high level instruction across teams by department. Some
instructional leaders have been sent to participate in AC (PLC) professional development by
Solution Tree. There are additional challenges creating a plan for teachers to meet cross-district
(particularly if there is no like teacher on campus), or in shared subjects (i.e. VAPA).
Bullard identifies Professional Development as an opportunity for the development of
engagement in instructional strategy, both at the District level and in weekly AC meetings on
campus. This PD is voluntary, and backed by a pay incentive.
2. Alignment of curriculum in all content areas:
Bullard identifies the AC time as a significant initiative to the alignment of curriculum;
they also identify the efficacy of this time as an area of growth, through both consistent teacher
attendance and contribution. Time has been allotted to ACs in the school calendar; teams meet
most Mondays after school on an early out schedule.
They indicate the English Department has Common Formative Assessments (CFAs)
developed for English I and II, who are using their AC time to make informed decisions on
instruction, driven by assessment data. They indicate that effective usage of AC time is an area
of growth for English III and IV. The Math department utilizes a common grading system, and
meets in AC teams to discuss formative assessments. The Science Department is in the
aforementioned transition regarding standards to guide instruction, expecting full implementation
by the end of 2018-19 school year. There is greater training needed in NGSS to create proper
alignment within the department.
Fresno Unified has just finished the adoption process of new curriculum in the Social
Science subject area. Through the use of PLCs next year, Bullard High School has indicated that
AC/PLC time can be used to develop Common Formative Assessments (CFAs) and use data
from these assessments to make informed decisions on instruction. CFAs and lessons based on
the new curriculum will be built around Common Core State Standards.
Bullard reports that their next step is schoolwide cohesiveness in instruction and
solidarity in concept, so that skills based learning can be transferred cross-curricularly. This will
require that all departments have committed CFA processes so that departments can start looking
at their academic calendar to align units with the same skill based learning in other content areas.
Bullard has not fully implemented the PLC/AC process systemically, though this is the vehicle
they have committed to in order to improve alignment of curriculum in all content areas.
There is some vertical alignment of varying success in many content areas, but crosscurricular work like the alignment of skills based units on instructional calendars is not a bridge
they are yet ready to cross. For example: several English classes were observed including various
elements of Theater in both content and assessment strategy - two studying Romeo and Juliet,

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 one studying the seven facets of voice, one with a billboard dedicated to Greek amphitheater
design that was populated with note cards that carried facts about the subject. Despite the fact
that the Theater 1 class was observed covering Theater History, seemingly from Greek to
Medieval Theater (a period proximate to the English Renaissance, inclusive of amphitheater
design, and in which vocal production is ubiquitous), no articulation was observed between the
two departments. Indeed, the Self-Study states, “Some department meetings, particularly in areas
that are considered “non-core” or “non-academic,” focus on departmental business rather than
curricular needs. This is reported as an opportunity for growth, as is a shift from teacher focused
to student focused perspective.” VAPA and other “non-core” subjects are referred to as “nonacademic” at multiple places in the Self-Study, a description that contradicts the PLC model that
all areas of study are worthy of content mastery, with test scores as a byproduct, as well the PLC
concept that P.E. and VAPA are the models by which other content areas are studied, as both are
true skills based learning. In order to reach their goals, Bullard needs to empower all subjects and
staff as pieces of a unified whole, cooperating with the model of a holistic academic culture for
their students. This may require some adjustment of academic vocabulary, looking for
opportunities of cohesion and integration, rather than separation. Bullard is a school seeking to
unify diverse elements; their demonstrated vocabulary does not serve this purpose.
3. Increase use of checking for understanding techniques and formative assessments to
assess student learning:
Bullard admits This is an area of growth that has not been as heavily addressed as it could
have been. Bullard credits the AC reboot with a consistent use of comprehension strategies and
activities in some classrooms, but not all. Algebra I and II ACs are using Illuminate to administer
CFAs, while English I and II are using both Illuminate and Springboard to create them.
Administration estimates teacher buy-in of PLC/AC process at 50-80%. It was our experience
that there was significant pushback against the process, especially among those who had not
attended Summer Institute, or any PLC training beyond guest speakers brought in for staff
buyback days, which occur via district funding twice a year. Only department chairs and lead
teachers have had significant training in the process, and as a result, those who have experienced
only buyback days seem to be cherry picking pieces of the process they like and discarding the
rest. This leads us to believe that though Bullard believes they have exited “PLC Lite” into full
implementation, they’re really in a “PLC Lite Plus,” and still need significant buy in from the
staff, which is reflected in the mathematical estimate they provided us. Continuing to pursue full
implementation will help them significantly in attaining stated goals, and they should be
empowered to continue in this direction. Sending department members and “non-core” staff,
groups who are not department leadership will yield additional benefits in growing staff buy-in
beyond what can be attained if only leadership is attending Summer Institute.
Additionally, Bullard has begun to practice Instructional Walks to share best practice
amongst their staff. This is a practice that should be continued and grown. Bullard is relying on

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 the IPG Walks to help disseminate CFU best practices; there is a lack of consistency in
implementation that BHS is working to address.
4. Continued use of data to deepen understanding and drive instructional changes:
Bullard is committed to the use of data, and has identified several avenues of data
collection to aid in their progress, including:
● Illuminate
● District interim data
● CFAs
● Summative Assessments created within ACs
● GVC embedded assessments
There is a wide variety of progress markers between departments and between ACs
within departments with regards to the development and adoption of CFAs. Bullard identifies a
critical area of growth to develop and implement a school wide Response to Intervention (RTI)
plan.
Despite these reported factors, data is not yet a integral part of the understanding of
Bullard’s performance nor the driving of instructional change. There is awareness of data, such
as the aforementioned PLC Lite Plus that is part of Bullard’s practice. Most teachers are using
some form of data in many classrooms to direct instruction (including CFU practices embedded
in instruction and the cycling of subject matter to reteach organically), but there are larger trends
of data in more sweeping assessments that are not having an impact on the culture at Bullard
commensurate with Bullard’s critical needs. We looked at trends in CAASPP data, AP
performance results, California Healthy Kids Survey data, all of which indicate trends at Bullard
that are not yet being reacted to in a significant way. There are demonstrable performance gaps
between significant subgroups in Bullard’s measurable assessments, but when asked about these
gaps, we received responses like “It’s that way all over California, and the nation,” and “We just
need better kids.” These responses aren’t conducive to educating the student body at Bullard
High School, and these stated attitudes seem to be wishing for a Bullard that is no longer
reflected in the demographics of Bullard’s clientele. There’s a saying in poker that “You play the
cards you’re dealt, not the cards you want.” Bullard knows what cards they’re holding, and
elements of the staff are knowledgeable in how they should be played. The communication of
those shared perspectives will be critical to Bullard’s ongoing unity of purpose and ongoing
success.
5. Increase academic support programs for all students:
Support programs are not yet tied to instruction, and Bullard is, as a campus, grappling
with where responsibility lies between teacher, student or both, for the seeking of support
programs. They are in the process of exploring varied philosophies and attempting to create

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 consensus. Bullard is at the beginning of creating tutorial structures within the school day to
increase student attendance and teacher involvement, and have made attempts at tutorial
structures that they are re evaluating and reimplementing in the attempt to increase rates of
success. Existing opportunities, such as online tutorials and partnerships with College Board and
Khan Academy are underutilized by both students and staff. These resources are identified as
strengths, such as the use of Teaching Fellows to monitor and communicate about after-school
tutorials, APEX and Edgenuity; there are questions about the efficacy of these resources,
however, such as the level of rigor in the APEX program, as well as how best to move this
growth area forward.

6. Ensure common understanding, expectations and implementation of District and School
initiatives:
Bullard made a switch from Expected Schoolwide Learning Results (ESLRs) to Student
Learning Outcomes (SLOs) recently, and used Fresno Unified District goals as a guide to the
creation of the SLOs. Bullard’s SLOs are:
1. All students will excel in reading, writing and math.
2. All students will engage in arts, activities and athletics.
3. All students will demonstrate the character and competencies for workplace success.
4. All students will stay in school on target to graduate.
Bullard has created a poster of District goals/Bullard SLOs, but they are at the beginning
of implementation of unified understanding of SLOs. Communication is an issue at Bullard, and
as such, knowledge of the SLOs is not pervasive to the school’s culture. In the many issues
Bullard is addressing, SLOs are one poster on the wall among several posters, and as such it is
difficult to draw focus to individual pieces of information that are deemed important in a SelfStudy or in a SPSA amongst all the other information that is being disseminated among
stakeholders. Students that were quizzed on the SLOs were unable to answer. Teachers were not
quizzed, but we were made aware that the SLO poster we observed was a new arrival on the
Monday morning of our visit.

7. Leverage structures already in place to support the achievement and well-being of all
students:
Bullard indicates strength in being able to identify challenges and utilize existing
resources to meet those challenges. Cafeteria logistics, uniform referrals, socio-emotional
support staff growth, including counseling, and the administration of the PSAT and SAT are all
identified as examples of use of this action item. They also indicate a lack of consistency that

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 surrounds many structures that are in place at Bullard. The crux of this issue is the staff’s lack of
united ideology in the systems that are in place. We agree with their assertions. Bullard is
capable of triaging issues, coming up with solutions, allocating resources, delegating personnel
and creating new systems to solve the problems they have. Their issues are consistency,
communication and unity.
We would like to reiterate the previous findings as Bullard moves forward on this action
item: “...support the achievement and well-being of all students.”
It is worth noting that we largely wrote our response to the 2011 data. We did not
discover the 2015 mid-cycle report until Tuesday night of our visit, and obtained it from WASC
on Wednesday morning ourselves. There was a significant shift in Bullard’s demographics
between 2011 and 2015 which significantly affects the direction of the school.

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 Chapter II: Student/Community Profile
Bullard High School, located in northwest Fresno, is one of eight comprehensive high
schools in the Fresno Unified School District, serving approximately 2500 students in grades 912. The demographics of Bullard High School have changed over the past several years. They
have experienced an increase in students who are socio-economically disadvantaged and the
student population has become more ethnically diverse.
The Fresno Unified School District serves a community that relies on public
employment, agriculture, and manufacturing. The city of Fresno, with a population exceeding
470,000, is one of the fastest growing regions of California. The Fresno Unified School District
(FUSD) is the fourth largest in the state, serving over 73,000 students. About 20% of high school
students in Fresno Unified are English Learners, and there are over 100 different languages
represented in the Fresno community. Bullard has a lower percentage of EL students than the
district population, at just under 5%. The city is diverse and characterized by poverty. A national
scorecard ranked the congressional district that includes Fresno last in the nation—436th out of
436 congressional districts—in measures of poverty, graduation rates, health, and welfare.
Preparing career-ready graduates and providing their students with multiple options upon
graduation is a key component to meeting the demands of their community.
Bullard continues to have a larger population of White students than the district as a
whole, as well as a larger African American population. The Hispanic population is increasing at
Bullard, while the African-American and White populations have declined slightly. The chart
below shows enrollment trends for the last three years.

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 Bullard’s graduation rate in 2017 was 92.8%, down .5% from 2016, when it was 93.3%
and an additional .3% from 2015, when it was 93.6%. Bullard’s API moved from 782 in 2011 to
769 in 2012 to 758 in 2013, the last year of collection. The performance of the AfricanAmerican subgroup lags behind the overall API, from 714 to 696 to 677. In 2014-15, Bullard’s
CAASPP data indicates 43% of students met or exceeded standards in English Language Arts,
while 15% met or exceeded standards in Math. In 2015-16, that number increased to 60% (ELA)
and 25% (Math), but in 2016-17, that metric dropped to 48% (ELA) and 20% (Math). The
African-American subgroup lagged behind the main group at 27.94% (ELA) and 9.09% (Math)
in 2017. SAT scores are provided below, and indicate a significant gain from 2016 to 2017.

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 CASSPP TESTING DATA
In 2017, Bullard students scored, on average, 48% proficient or exceeds in English
language arts, 3% higher than their District average.

In Math, Bullard’s students scored, on average, 19.59% proficient or exceeds which was
4% above their District’s average.

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 Bullard’s truancy rate is reported at 73.54%, significantly higher than both the district
and state average. There are concerns about the accuracy of reporting, as we found significant
issues with students out of class during instruction (though we’re told that number is down
significantly from 3 years ago when “hundreds” of kids were on campus not in class). We also
found issues with the usage of the ATLAS program and whether teachers are keeping accurate
attendance.
English Learner students make up just under 5% of Bullard’s student population,
currently 119 students. Of these, the largest language group is Spanish, followed by Armenian
and Punjabi. Beyond those three languages, there are an additional nine languages spoken by
BHS’ EL population, including Arabic, German, Hmong, Vietnamese, Cantonese, and Hindi.
Bullard currently offers two section of ELD English for students.

Bullard is fortunate to maintain steady and continuous enrollment throughout the year.
The rate of students maintaining continuous enrollment from November to May (a measure of
the transiency of the population) is above 90%. Truancy data indicates an issue to be addressed;
Bullard’s truancy rate is 73.5%, whereas the District and State averages are much lower:

The instructional staff consists of 119 classroom teachers; all teachers have a minimum
of a Bachelor’s degree and 30 units, and just over 30% hold master’s degrees. In addition to
being well-educated, Bullard’s teachers bring experience to the classroom, with years of teaching
experience surpassing the average in Fresno Unified and the state of California.

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 Bullard reports that 49% of graduates are on track to fulfill A-G requirements this year.
For the past three years, Bullard’s challenges have been complicated by transitions in
multiple areas, including change in staffing, adoption of Guaranteed Viable Curriculum, the
reboot of Accountable Community teams, and availability of new facilities.
BHS is just beginning to get accurate data to measure their performance; 2017 marked
only their third year of CAASPP data. This data analysis was also complicated by the fact that
meaningful stakeholder participation in surveys to voice opinion and perspective is minimal.
With a school population of over 2000, Bullard recorded only 42 parent responses to recent
surveys regarding school culture.
Bullard has identified the need to improve Common Core skills such as listening,
problem solving, application of knowledge and reasoning and analytical skills, as well as the
need to invest in team-building, unifying belief systems amongst staff, and improved
communication about the various school structures that are in place.

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 Chapter III: Quality of the School’s Program
CATEGORY A. ORGANIZATION: VISION
LEADERSHIP, STAFF, AND RESOURCES
A1.

AND

PURPOSE,

GOVERNANCE,

Vision and Purpose Criterion

To what extent a) does the school have a clearly stated vision and mission (purpose) based on its student needs,
current educational research, the district LCAP, and the belief that all students can achieve high academic levels?
To what extent is the school's purpose supported by the governing board and the district LCAP further defined by
schoolwide learner outcomes and the academic standards?

Vision – Mission – Schoolwide Learner Outcomes – Profile: The school has established a clear,
coherent vision and mission (purpose) of what students should know and demonstrate; it is based
upon high-quality standards and is congruent with research, practices, the student/community
profile data, and a belief that all students can learn and be college and career ready.
Bullard High has adopted FUSD Core beliefs that students must learn at grade level or
beyond. It is a part of their framework of holding students to higher expectations of learning.
Bullard High School Instructional Leadership Team (ILT) developed and created a mission
statement that was aligned with the goals of the vision statement. They are stating that the
students will have shown ownership of their academic success by earning a grade of C or better.
The overall mission of the ILT is to get the students college and career ready.
Development/Refinement of Vision, Mission, Schoolwide Learner Outcomes: There are effective processes in place
to ensure involvement of all stakeholders in the development and periodic refinement of the vision, mission, and
schoolwide learner outcomes.

Bullard High stated that the ILT has created and developed this Vision plan; but there
doesn't appear to be buy in from the entire staff.
It is the belief of the BHS staff that by teaching rigorous academics and soft skills it will
increase students’ successfulness in becoming career and college ready. It is a shared belief
among staff that by developing a sense of personal growth along with perseverance, it will
increase the graduation rate as well as prepare their students for future endeavors. Bullard HS has
established the following Student Learning Outcomes:
● Students will excel in reading, writing and math.
● Students will engage in arts, activities and athletics.
● Students will demonstrate the character and competencies for workplace success.
● Students will stay in school on target to graduate.

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 2017-2018 increase the % of students meeting or exceeding current standards by 6% on SBAC
ELA
2017-2018 increase SBAC Math score by 7%
2017-2018 100% of ACs will increase by 1 indicator (Rubric provided)
2017-2018 80% of classrooms will score a 3 or better on tenants 2A and 2B of the IPG
2017-2018 5 % Increase of students sense of well belonging at the school.
Understanding of Vision, Mission, Schoolwide Learner Outcomes, District LCAP: Students, parents, and other
members of the school and business community demonstrate understanding of and commitment to the vision,
mission, the schoolwide learner outcomes, and the district LCAP.

Bullard High School has taken a broad approach of dispersing information, to the staff,
students, parents and community.
● District surveys
● Remind.com
● Surveys
● Atlas
● School messenger
● Edutext
● Open House
● Back to School Night
● Attendance contracts signed by parents
● Knights Code Posters
● Sending information packet home to parents
BH states, that it is evident that the stakeholders are engaged in the process due to the fact
that they volunteer to help at sporting events, concessions, donating funds, by encouraging the
students to follow the rules.
BHS Staff members are expected to post and disperse information connected to mission
statement as well as SLO, to students and parents. The teachers are to articulate the learning
target from the daily lesson as well as connect the information to the mission statement, it is
stated that this is one of the ways they are measuring the effectiveness.
Bullard uses
● Website
● Posters in classrooms and on campus
● During Staff , ILT and Regional Team Meetings
● Weekly Parent communication

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 BH administration does a weekly robocall to communicate with students and parents,
informing them of upcoming events and school group sector achievements. Data provided
indicated that they currently using School messenger and Edutext to disperse current
information.
BH has all the proper tools for communicating with the parent, by it isn’t evident that it
has been effective . The are currently using Edutext, with 1188 participants, 36 parent emails on
the Atlas system, and remind.com.
Information is also delivered when stakeholders give feedback as they are attending to
other business commitments or dealings they have on campus, in person, by phone and email.
This type of data is hard to track and substantiate. The effectiveness of these kinds of
communications can lead ineffective decision making, and has a tendency to be less transparent.
BH is very appreciative of the level of support the surrounding community gives to its
CTE programs by donating knowledge, time and money to give the students the opportunity to
get to know its local community. The support of athletes is demonstrated in the willingness of
the parents, booster and community volunteers to work gates and in the donation of resources to
create a high standard of pride in Bullard. Local business invest their time, energy and money
into ensuring that vital programs are supported and funded.
BH community is working hard to build programs that encourage parent involvement in
the PTSA, this program has grown from 8 members in the 2016-2017 school year to about 100
members of which about 25 are active participants.
BH has devoted time during the beginning of the year, by way of Vice Principal
messages to students during their Physical Education classes. PE teachers bring their classes to
the cafeteria for the VP and Counselor presentations regarding expectations and academic
achievement along with character and citizenship as it relates to the Knight Code and our
mission.The Bullard Staff support and encourage them to follow dress codes, be at school and
follow our standards of behavior established for them.
The data gathered did not support the characterization of these strategies being effective.
Bullard has made a shift in policy to address chronic tardiness as well as poor attendance
numbers by implementing a school wide tardy policy, but communication issues seem to affect
the consistent application of the new policy. Addressing effective communication and refining
the process to ensure equality and consistency will be a vital piece of addressing BHS’
attendance issues.
The Senior year school culture has made it relatively easy to cut class without serious
ramifications, the attendance policy is cumbersome to navigate, and the communication between
Bullard and parents has demonstrated some critical flaws. The school gathers information at the
beginning of the year, and policies and procedures that must be followed to keep all student data
current was not in evidence. If and when changes occur mid cycle, it was unclear who was
responsible for tracking this information and updating student files.”The district holds most of
the critical data” and “few people have access to change or update the file,” as well as “lack of

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 resources dedicated to accomplish the work,” were all cited as justifications for the lack of
accountability.
BH has created new policies to help address the concerns of truancy; the students seemed
well informed of the policies and the level of expectation, but there seemed to be loopholes in the
communication chain that students knew about and were able to exploit regularly. There is a
perception of inequality amongst a select group of students. Bullard is dedicated to addressing
these issues and supporting the educating of the staff and students to the standard procedures and
level of expectations needed to be successful in achieving college and career ready graduates. As
Bullard develops and refines new programs, they realize the importance of a standard level of
expectation and a clear plan to disperse, inform, and hold accountable their stakeholders.

A2.

Governance Criterion

To what extent does the governing board a) have policies and bylaws that are aligned with the
school's purpose and support the achievement of the schoolwide learner outcomes and academic,
college, and career standards based on data-driven instructional decisions for the school?
BH has aligned its policies with FUSD district policies.
Theory of Action
The Theory of Action focuses on the need for a significant increase in support for all,
through the following means:
1.

Building capacity for student learning

2.

Authentic (teacher-centered) professional development

3.

Increasing system capacity to support instruction

4.

Engaging to collaborate

5.

Directing resources where required

6.

Piloting new ideas

7.

Empowering schools will follow demonstrated performance

Professional Learning
The purpose of the professional learning policy is to support the collective of Fresno
Unified Board Policies. Professional learning is centered on empowering employees to engage in
continuous improvement and extend learning throughout the entire district. In a well-functioning
school district, professional learning is part of a seamless process of tightly-linked instruction
and improvement for adults and students.

17

 In order for professional learning to work as a cumulative learning process, it has to be
connected to the practice of improvement, which requires focus, knowledge, persistence and
consistency over time.
Data Dashboard-School Quality Improvement Index (SQII)
The purpose of the Fresno Unified data dashboard is to establish the strategic indicators
that the Superintendent regularly uses to communicate progress and improvement to the
Governing Board and public. These indicators provide a snapshot of the operational health of the
District and progress towards the Boards strategic goals. The data dashboard enables
stakeholders to monitor District performance.

To what extent does the governing board delegate implementation of these policies to the
professional staff?
BH provides professional development address cumulative learning process, it has to be
connected to the practice of improvement, which requires focus, knowledge, persistence and
consistency over time.
BH states that leadership and accountability at all levels are essential, but is not attached
to specific roles or official titles.
Actions that demonstrate leadership are expected from everyone, they are in the process
of implementing policies and procedures to better address these issues. Due to the changes that
BH has experienced over the last 3 years it have been become a norm to support risk-taking and
learning from setbacks during it goals of supporting its success. BH stresses the importance of
accountability to peers and colleagues in the pursuit of learning. All learners are expected to take
responsibility for their learning. This includes students, teachers, staff, administrators, parents,
families, community, the superintendent and the Board.
To what extent does the governing board monitor results regularly and approve the single
schoolwide action plan and its relationship to the Local Control and Accountability Plan?
The Governing Board addressed the SLPA and LCAP by requiring the School Site
Council to include the following criteria for its members: parents of students attending the school
elected by such parents, or community members residing or working full time in the school
attendance area and selected by parents of children attending the school, and students attending
the school.
Parents and community members have access to participate and have the opportunity to
provide input on the school through membership on the School Site Council. They participate
and vote on school rules and regulations, such as dress code, school safety plan, and provide
input and approve the Single Plan for Student Achievement (SPSA) from draft to the final
version in April. The SSC also participates in revisions of the SPSA in the fall of the next school

18

 year. Parents and community members on the SSC typically meet on the third Thursday of each
month.

Governing Board and District Administration: The district policies and procedures are clear
regarding the specific duties and roles of the governing board and district administration in their
relationship to the school and staff.
BH teachers and classified people strongly agree that changes are needed to be more in
compliance with union structure guidelines, they would like to make such such issues are
addresses.... not the right kinds of discipline and not enough autonomy or power given to teach
the students as the teachers feel they should be taught.
Understanding the Role of Governing Board: There is clear understanding about the role and
responsibilities of the governing board and the professional staff.
BH staff shows support of the goals of the Governing Board through the teacher
evaluation process, walkthroughs, required attendance at meetings, and the iACHIEVE
evaluation and professional development documentation system. The process is well established
and understood by stakeholders, yet when asked about consequences when a staff member chose
not to participate it was unclear to the visiting committee the follow up actions that would be
implemented.
BH policy to address the SPSA/Action Plan involves a review of data, of overall data
student performance indicators and data related to particular programs or action steps. Bh used
this data to address concerns and effectiveness of the policies in place.
The SSC, the ILT, and the administrative team review data and ask critical questions. The
questions and data points raised are shared with stakeholders and the feedback received is used
for modifications and/or additions to actions. This results in the updated SPSA, which is voted
on by the SSC and shared with staff annually, and staff carry out actions identified in the SPSA.

Governing Board and Stakeholder Involvement: Parents, community members, staff, and
students are engaged in the governance of the school.
BH states that SPSA is reviewed by the entire ILT which is composed of lead teachers
and the entire administration team. The SPSA development process also involves students,
parents, and staff on the School Site Council (SSC). BH wasn’t able to provide minutes for these
meeting so that the visiting committee could verify the frequency and topics that it had
addressed.
Data gathered shows a lack of importance placed on Bullard’s digital profile, which it’s
stated is one on the main ways of engaging BH’s parents, student and community . The website
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 consist of outdated information, incorrect cultural identification of student population, and test
scores from 2011-12 school year.
Evidence provide lacked information to substantiate the effectiveness of BH abilities to
communicate with it stakeholders.
Board’s Evaluation/Monitoring Procedures: There is clarity of the evaluation and monitoring
directed by the governing board and carried out by the district administration.
BH board members primary duty is to oversee the district through establishing and
revising district policies and procedures, and creating an annual budget. The board members
have the responsibility of overseeing a district of roughly 73,000 students and 10,000 employees.
The Board meets twice monthly on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of each month at the FUSD
Education Center.
BH Governing Board fulfills 4 major leadership roles for the district and partners with the
Superintendent on all major decisions that come before the school board. The first role is
creating and establishing a long-term vision for the district. This vision is created through
offering avenues for community and staff input as needed. The district established four district
wide goals and core beliefs for the term of 2008-2013, and the goals were recently renewed for
2014-2017. This information was listed on the FUSD website, but was missing and outdated on
BH website. It was unclear of any procedures in place to evaluate the follow through of action
items. There was variance in the availability of information on the website, but if the information
was available, it was unclear .

Complaint and Conflict Resolution Procedures: The established governing board/school’s
complaint and conflict resolution procedures as they apply to the school’s stakeholders are
effective.
At Bullard, the district policies and procedures are made very clear regarding the specific
duties and roles of the governing board and district administration in their relationship to the
school and staff. The Administrators conduct in-person visits, phone calls, emails and classroom
walkthroughs. The Administrators are there to answer questions or provide guidance as needed.
The Governing board serves four major leadership roles, and partners with the
Superintendent on all major decisions.
1.Create and establish a long term mission statement for the district.
2. Hiring and directing the District Superintendent,
● Adopting district policies
● Establishing district wide curriculum
● Creating the structure of the CBA between FUSD and the FTA
● Evaluation of the Superintendent
3 .Voice of accountability for the surrounding community for the districts programs,

20

 fiscal services and personnel serves.
4. Provide community leadership, advocating for the district, at the state, and federal
level. Allocate funding to create or support district programs. The board has the ability to
designate responsibilities to individuals and the superintendent.
Key Board Policies that are focused on achievement and student decision making:
1. Aligned instructional system
2. Specific planning
3. Effective targeted instruction.
The key elements of the FUSD aligned instructional system are:
1.Standards-Based: this includes, but is not limited to, the California state content
standards for students, CSTPs, and the Fresno Unified standards for leaders.
2.Purposeful Assessments: all challenging district curriculum must be supported by
classroom based assessments of and for learning.
3.Intense and Specific Planning: based on assessment for learning, great attention must
be paid to every student’s unique learning needs.
4.Effective Targeted Instruction: based on assessment and planning, powerful
instructional approaches should be used, maximizing teacher expertise and creativity.
Bullard high has aligned its goals and mission to reflect Fresno Unified School District,
it appears that in doing so, Bullard struggles to maintain its individuality and identity. The
evidence suggest that moves have been made to address the need to gather data to help support
student achievement, and teaching accountability.
The purpose of the Fresno Unified data dashboard is to establish the strategic indicators
that the Superintendent regularly uses to communicate progress and improvement to the
Governing Board and public. These indicators provide a snapshot of the operational health of the
District and progress towards the Boards strategic goals. The data dashboard enables
stakeholders to monitor District performance. There is a clear need to address the collection of
data to help support student achievement, and teaching accountability. Bullard is using multiple
platforms to assess student currently, making it difficult to aggregate the data.
Bullard is utilizing the School Site Council effectively; they have appropriate bylaws in
place. At this time the Bullard Web-site has not listed current agendas, or minutes; the last noted
update was in 2016.
Bullard has dedicated funds for twelve members of the AC groups and Lead Teachers, it
would benefit the student population if more teachers that are currently not in leadership roles
were to attend professional development that identifies cultural sensitivities.

21

 A3.

Leadership: Empowerment and Continuous Planning and Monitoring Criterion

To what extent based on student achievement data, does the school leadership,
parent/community, and staff make decisions and initiate activities that focus on all students
achieving the schoolwide learner outcomes and academic, college, and career standards?
To what extent do the school leadership and staff annually monitor and refine the schoolwide
action plan and make recommendations to modify the LCAP based on analysis of data to ensure
alignment with student needs?
Broad-Based and Collaborative:
The school’s broad-based, collaborative planning process is a continuous improvement cycle
that a) assesses data to determine student needs, b) collaboratively determines and implements
strategies and actions and c) monitors results.
BH utilizes a variety of assessment strategies, collaborative techniques, and action plans
to monitor student success. Pathway programs have been revamped and the focus BH are the
Biomedicine, Law and Social Justice, and Business Entrepreneurship pathways. These CareerTechnical Education Pathways are overseen and facilitated by a site level pathway coordinator to
ensure student achievement in college and career readiness. The coordinator works closely with
administration, counselors and instructors to create viable pathways for each sector.
Time is allotted for BH pathway teachers to have the opportunity to meet during times
outside of the school day and have access to summer trainings to prepare lesson plans and
projects for their pathways.
BH LT meet to address improvement, student achievements and areas of critical needs
and use this to plan out the agenda for AC meetings. This keeps AC discussions focused on
planning, implementation, analysis, assessment, intervention/enrichment and back to planning
for the next unit focused around essential skills.

Single School Plan for Student Achievement Correlated to Student Learning:
The school’s Single Plan for Student Achievement (SPSA) is directly correlated to and driven by
the analysis of student achievement data.
BH (SPSA) targets interventions and supports to encourage student achievement.
BH data-based goals are supported by teachers' daily instruction, the current textbooks
and learning materials, progress reports, Common Formative Assessments in Core courses, and
Interim Assessment data.
BH uses verbal communication, as well as emails, and built in collaborative time for staff
to address stakeholders.
Parents are engaged though ongoing communication regarding college workshops,
PTSA, and school events, teachers through regular AC and Department meetings and trainings,
staff through trainings and collaborations on student discipline and social-emotional supports,
and students through intervention, support, opportunities for advanced placement coursework
and college readiness opportunities.

22

 Staff Actions/Accountability to Support Learning:
The school leadership and staff demonstrate shared decision-making, responsibility, and selfreflection on actions and accountability for implementing practices and programs that support
student learning.
BH Responsibility are structured to be inclusive and address the issues presented from
past decision-making protocol. The structure now starts with administration, counseling
personnel, and teachers share an equal responsibility in supporting student learning throughout
all programs.
BH encourages teachers and provides training for self-reflection on a continuous basis.
Most teachers are highly sensitive of the need to adjust and/or redirect their instruction to
improve student learning. Teachers discuss such strategies during AC meetings.
Department Chairs play a large role on the BH campus in making sure that information
from administration is relayed to the teachers as a whole. This process of communicating is hard
to substantiate. BH believes this process allows for an open channel of communication , but the
VC after meeting with teachers and students agree that is effectiveness is minimule and can lead
to interruptions of biases based on individuals’ agendas.
Department Chairs are voted into office with in departments, where members creates a
shared process of decision-making in terms of who is allowed to lead. Department Chairs
facilitate department meetings to discuss both the successes and areas needing growth in the
pedagogical practices used by the department as a whole.

A4.

Staff: Qualified and Professional Development Criterion

To what extent does a qualified staff facilitate achievement of the student academic standards
and the schoolwide learner outcomes through a system of preparation, induction, and ongoing
professional development?
To what extent is there a systematic approach to continuous improvement through professional
development based on student performance data, student needs, and research?
Qualifications and Preparation of Staff:
The school has procedures to ensure that staff members are qualified based on staff
background, training, and preparation.
BH has identified FUHS written policies, practices, and qualifications for employment
related to all staffing positions in the district as it basic structure for all hiring. The policies,
practices, and qualifications are in alignment with California Education Code. FUSD is
committed to recruiting, retaining, and growing a high performing workforce.
Staff Assignment and Preparation:
Staff assignments and preparation are a work in progress, the change in leadership has
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 opened up the opportunity to address improvements in making more opportunities available and
clear policies for obtaining more personal development in critical areas are being developed. BH
is now relying on using SBAC testing, district formative assessment, Illuminate, and the use of
iACHIEVE for identifying professional development needs. Teachers showed interest for more
training in the use of these online tools and testing formats.
The school has a process to assign staff members and provide appropriate orientation for
all assignments, including online instruction and focused programs, to maximize the expertise of
the staff members in relation to impact on quality student learning.
BH dedicates time at the beginning of every school year for staff review results of
school-wide assessment , they evaluate the scores of CAASPP, PSAT ,SBAC, SAT and AP
Exams. AC identified SMART goals that are aligned to the SLOs and the district goals and use
the data to align strategies of instruction throughout the course of the year. The departments
meet collaboratively to discuss data regarding student performance and areas of weakness.
Defining and Understanding Practices/Relationships:
The school implements a clear system to communicate administrator and faculty written
policies, charts, and handbooks that define responsibilities, operational practices, decisionmaking processes, and relationships of leadership and staff.
BH has identified systems in place to support communication, planning, and resolving
differences. These include meetings for ILT, AC, and department chairs for staff and Back to
School Night/Open House, ELAC meetings include staff, parents and students. Communication
is also done through email, including the weekly Principal’s email, our PA system, school
messenger, Remind, Edutext, the BHS website, monthly activities and events calendars, and
some teacher websites. The VC has determined that that BH need to address and expand its
digital profile to better communicate with its stakeholders.
Freshmen receive an Agenda to help with their personal organization and to help inform
parents of daily work. Communication is also available through Facebook, Twitter, and the
School Messenger, evidence was not provided to determine the effectiveness of these efforts.
SharePoint, OneDrive, Google Docs and Google Classroom are used by various teachers. Data to
track what percentage of staff was using each method of communication was unavailable. The
stated philosophy was “As long as they’re using something.”
District uniform complaint procedures are explained in the faculty and parent handbooks,
linked on BHS’ website and posted in each classroom, where the stakeholders can find
information on resolving differences.
Staff have written policies for submitting formal complaints to ensure that the process is
documented. BH uses “open-door” policy for staff, students, and parents, where stakeholders
have the opportunity to meet with administration regarding their concerns and ideas. This has
been an effect tool used by staff, parents and students, to meet with administration, and this
communication opportunity has helped mediate some concerns and develop ideas for solutions.
Dure the WC visit, parents and students that were interviewed felt that comfortable approaching
BH administration to address areas of concern.
Support of Professional Development/Learning and Measurable Effect on Student Learning:
24

 The school effectively supports professional development/learning with time, personnel,
material, and fiscal resources to facilitate all students achieving the academic, college- and
career-readiness standards, and the schoolwide learner outcomes.
FUSD offers a wide range of opportunities for ongoing professional development
throughout the year. Training in common core, subject specific topics, and discipline are readily
available.
Additional opportunities for professional development are offered through the Fresno
County Office of Education (FCOE). All of the professional development is tracked and
advertised on the district iACHIEVE program. Each ILT Lead also facilitates AC meetings to
involve orienting new staff, preparing and planning for the new year, staying current on best
practices in their discipline, and collaborating on common assignments.
BH also identified BTSA, the District Teacher Development Department offers summer
and Saturday trainings to new teachers that deal with classroom management, CHAMPS
Trainings, Differentiation for students, EL/SIOP Strategies, as programs used for professional
development.

Supervision and Evaluation:
The school implements effective supervision and evaluation procedures in order to promote
professional growth of staff.
BH evaluation process is done over a one year time period and in accordance with the
Collective Bargaining Agreement. First year teachers are evaluated annually to insure that they
are being supported. Permanent teachers are evaluated every other year. Permanent teachers who
have at least ten years of experience and history of positive evaluations may be placed on a fiveyear evaluation cycle at the Principal's discretion, this could lead to the culture witnessed by the
VC. Some staff members that have been with the district for multiple years were clearly not
willing to participate with the WASC evaluation process, multiple teacher displayed hostility
when ask basic questions about culture, instructional practices and student needs.
Teachers meet with their assigned evaluator to discuss the evaluation process, and review
the CSTPs and the Fresno Unified Continuum of the CSTPs, which provides a rubric describing
performance expectations for each sub element of the CSTPs.
Goals are generated based on the teacher's self-evaluation required in the iACHIEVE
system. The teacher and the evaluator collect evidence and provides feedback, with a minimum
of two complete formal lesson observations followed by a post-observation conferences.
In the event that the evaluation indicate the need for further support, FUSD provides the
PAR program offers assistance. Teachers have the option of working with their administrator, or
being assigned to partner with a Teacher Development Coach.
Teacher Coaches are responsible for helping to facilitate meetings between evaluator and
teacher to come to shared understanding about strategies recommended on the Teacher
Development Plan, co-planning with the teacher, sharing instructional strategies to aid in

25

 addressing a standard, observing and providing feedback, and obtaining release time for the
teacher to observe in other classes. Progress is reviewed at regular intervals.

A5.

Resources Criterion

To what extent are the human, material, physical, and financial resources sufficient and utilized
effectively and appropriately in accordance with the legal intent of the program(s) and LCAP to
support students in accomplishing the academic standards, the college- and career-readiness
standards, and the schoolwide learner outcomes?
Allocation Decisions and Their Impact:
There is a relationship between the decisions about resource allocations, the school’s vision,
mission, the schoolwide learner outcomes, the critical learner needs, the district’s LCAP and the
Single Plan for Student Achievement (SPSA), the academic standards, and the college- and
career-readiness standards. The school leadership and staff are involved in the resource
allocation decisions.
LCAP funds support linked learning pathways and provide students with the opportunity
to explore careers in real-life application and career readiness. Financial resources are designated
for ELL in the SPSA. The SPSA allocates funds to pay students in Advanced Math classes to
tutor students in need of support in an effort to decrease the D/F rate.
CAASP scores are analyzed to help determine targeted supports for student achievement
Qualified students get paid to tutor other students in math after school with designated funds in
the SPSA.
Practices:
There are processes operating in relationship to district practices for developing an annual
budget, conducting an annual audit, and at all times conducting quality business and accounting
practices.
BH budget is appropriated and designated by district policy through district personnel.
Funding formulas BH are set according to the individual needs assessed by the LCFF, which
includes a base budget and supplemental budgets to support specific needs of our students and
families.
Facilities:
The school’s facilities are well maintained, clean and well designed to meet the students’
learning needs, support the educational program (i.e., accomplish the vision, mission, and the
schoolwide learner outcomes) and are safe, functional, and well-maintained.

Due to the Measure Q bond, BH has experienced major changes in facilities. All
permanent classrooms have been modernized including ways to expand technology in the
26

 classrooms. A new pool complex with a 50 meter pool along with an all-weather track and field
complex with competition lighting has been built on campus. BH recently expanded and remodeled the library adding areas for student learning that includes placement for technology,
adjacent counseling offices, registration, and a career center. BH administration building and two
new academic buildings that have eliminated the need for any portable classrooms. The newly
constructed buildings, reconfigured our campus and provides our students with more space by
doubling the size of our quad. BH was was clean and the feeling of pride was noticed. When
student groups were interviewed it was stated multiple times that the improvements were
appreciated and that it felt good to have such an amazing campus.

Instructional Materials and Equipment:
The policies and procedures for acquiring and maintaining adequate instructional materials and
equipment, such as textbooks, other printed materials, audio-visual, support technology,
manipulatives, and laboratory materials are effective.
Williams Act was posted in most classrooms, 2 classrooms that were visited could not
locate where it was hung but stated that they normal had it. BH must ensure that every classroom
has it posted. The availability of textbooks and instructional materials, and the number of teacher
missed assignments and teacher vacancies must be reported in annual SARC that are made
available to all parents and the public, BH currently had outdated information posted on website,
which is confusing to the community and stakeholders.
FUSD has purchased Vernier lab probes for BH, to support science education.
Grade books, student information , and attendance are web-based, and using ATLAS;
when asked about accuracy of the information and the accessibility to update student data, the
VC noted that it was unclear as to who was responsible for updating basic student profiles, it was
explained that FUSD makes it hard to make basic changes to a student profile and the lack of
staffing made it hard to manage these changes.
BH has recently purchased computer tablets and carts to support instruction, expedite
school-wide assessments, and support student access to post-secondary educational
opportunities.
FUSD policy for technology is to update teachers computers every three years. Teachers
are equipped with computers, document cameras, and data projectors in the classroom. VC
witness the uses of these devices as part of BH teaching strategies. Some teachers were using the
ATLAS program to track inventory of class equipment that is available to students.
Well-Qualified Staff:
As of this year FUSD has implemented the placement of a school social worker on all
comprehensive high schools including BH. The district appropriately hired and trained qualified
staff to fulfill this role and meet the needs of the students, families, and school sites.
BH provides PD for these programs: AP Institutes, SpringBoard training, English Learner
Services, IPL Training for Algebra and Geometry, Solution Tree, Cycle training for
History/Social Science and for 9, 10 and 11th grade, PLI training for incorporating technology in
the classroom.

27

 BH budgeted money from SPSA for staff to attend conferences for professional
development purposes.
Long-Range Planning:
The district and school’s processes for regularly and effectively aligning the Local Control
Accountability Plan (LCAP) with site resource decisions ensures the continual availability and
coordination of appropriate funds to support students’ achievement of the critical learner needs,
the academic standards, college- and career-readiness standards, and the schoolwide learner
outcomes.
BH states that they engages all Stakeholder to insure adheres to the LCAP . The process
of including Site Council, PTSA, Student Data, helps to effectively examine plans to ensure
availability and coordination of appropriate positions and services.
CATEGORY A: ORGANIZATION: VISION AND PURPOSE, GOVERNANCE,
LEADERSHIP, STAFF, AND RESOURCES
Areas of strength for Organization: Vision and Purpose, Governance, Leadership, Staff, and
Resources (if any):
● Bullard is a tight community of teachers, parents and students. The feeling of pride in
being a “KNIGHT” was felt all throughout the campus. The parents that we spoke with
hold the new administration in high regards and are willing to support them in making
Bullard the Best school in Fresno Unified.
● Community, Staff and Students, were proud of Bullard’s new facilities as well the
cleanliness of the school.
● Bullard Administration Team has been working as a cohesive team for almost 3 years;
they are working to create systems of accountability for teachers and students. This year
they identified the need to address truancy. The administration team created and
implemented new strategies to address students that are being marked tardy to class, they
have outlines clear guidelines, expectations and consequences.
● PTSA has been invigorated at Bullard High; last year it had a total of 8 members, this
years roster indicates about 120 members. This group is diverse and can help identify
some of the culture needs of your students, and group supports BH efforts to
communicate with student and parents about opportunities that are available.

Key issues for Organization: Vision and Purpose, Governance, Leadership, Staff, and Resources
(if any):
● Emails, website and texting were identified as Bullards main resource for distributing
data to community partners, students and parents. Currently Bullard is reaching about 36

28

 parents with email and about 1188 via text messages. The amount of response from
stakeholders is well below average.
● The cultural makeup of Bullard is shifting yearly; personal development, teaching
strategies, and sensitivity trainings are needed to address the changing demographics of
students. Allow for more Professional Development for non lead team staff members, the
more staff involvement allows teachers to identify areas of strength, weakness and to
collaborate, analyze data, create and share curriculum, and create common assessments.
● The lack of responses from survey data, from parents, students, and faculty indicate a
breakdown in communication with Bullards Stakeholders.

Important evidence from the self-study and the visit that supports these strengths and key issues
include the following:
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●

Edutext
School messenger
Bullard website
PTSA
Remind.com
Illuminate Data
Meeting with Parents
Focus group meeting and binders
Meeting with students

29

 CATEGORY B. STANDARDS-BASED STUDENT LEARNING: CURRICULUM
B1.

Rigorous and Relevant Standards-Based Curriculum Criterion

To what extent do all students participate in a rigorous, relevant, and coherent standardsbased curriculum that supports the achievement of the academic standards, the collegeand career-readiness standards, and the schoolwide learner outcomes?
To what extent through standards-based learning (what is taught and how it is taught), are
these accomplished?
Selected statements from the school self-study report:
The district has adopted SpringBoard for English, Big Ideas for math, and the NGSS
standards for science.
Bullard High utilizes curricular scope and sequences that were developed and aligned
with the Common Core State Standards by Fresno Unified School District. Students engage in
group projects, paired shared activities, jigsaw group work and oral group presentations and
various writing activities.
To ensure their students graduate college and are career ready, Bullard is committed to
implementing a guaranteed and viable curriculum (GVC). A guaranteed and viable curriculum
ensures that all students in Fresno Unified have the opportunity to learn challenging content.
The great majority of courses at BHS are A–G approved through UC / CSU. All AP
course syllabi are approved through College Board.

Visiting Committee Comments:
Bullard High School is undergoing an adoption of curriculum materials for core subject
areas including ELA, Math, Social Studies, and Science. BHS utilizes AC/PLCs to vertically
articulate curriculum within departments and to a lesser extent, cross-curricular. Through ACs,
teachers have had more chance to collaborate and develop common core aligned lessons and in
some instances have even observed each other. Many staff members are involved in district wide
ACs that vary in content and focus including learning strategies and curriculum adoption.
Accountable Communities have been built in to the master schedule and are utilized on a
majority of the early release mondays throughout the school year.
In the areas of math and science, there are district curriculum guidelines for students that
are not at the level of students and therefore, not relevant to students. The algebra geo 3 course
is available for students to increase their algebra and geometry skills as a third year of math.
Math classes are being taught to the standards using district curriculum and pacing
guides. However, with algebra I being the lowest level of math offered, students who are
performing below grade level in math when they enter high school are not receiving instruction
30

 at their ability level, despite the fact that graduation requirements allow room for students to
take two years of general math before taking algebra I in eleventh grade and geometry in twelfth
grade.
B2.

Access to Curriculum Criterion

To what extent do all students have equal access to the school’s entire program and are
provided assistance with a personal learning plan to meet the requirements of graduation
and to prepare them for the pursuit of their academic, personal, and career goals?
Selected statements from the school self-study report:
Bullard’s faculty grounds all curriculum, instruction, essential skills, and course
objectives in the California State Standards and Frameworks in All academic disciplines.
The school has structured the college prep program to comply with the admissions
requirements of the University of California and California State University Systems. Counselors
meet with both parents and students to explain graduation requirements and the UC “a-g”
requirements. College and career readiness has become a key priority for Bullard High School,
ensuring that students graduate ready to succeed in college and careers by supporting the mastery
of knowledge skills Beyond traditional core subjects.
Our CTE pathways offer students a variety of experiential learning opportunities and
programming to ensure that students develop emotional maturity, professionalism and technical
abilities and an awareness of post-secondary options.
Counselors use ATLAS software to track and analyze data about college and career
plans, and provide current Information specific to our school. They facilitate Parent Nights to
share information with parents and students about upcoming college visits, summer enrichment,
scholarships, meetings, news and events, as well as other web-based college and career
resources.
Committee Comments:
Benchmarks are currently not being utilized across all departments. Different
departments are at different stages of creating common assessments and using results from
assessments to improve instruction and student student achievement. Alignment conversations
have begun with a lead teachers in AC groups at Bullard.
Informal student polls conducted by visiting committee members regarding taking classes
to be CSU/UC eligible indicate a lack of understanding of what it means but are familiar with the
terms. Students indicate wanting more information available to them regarding post-college
options without having to make an appointment to see a counselor. Specific examples include
assistance in choosing classes and the college readiness and application process.

31

 CATEGORY B: STANDARDS-BASED STUDENT LEARNING: CURRICULUM
Areas of strength for Standards-Based Student Learning: Curriculum (if any):
The following are identified strengths:
● A process is in place for the adoption of curriculum materials. The majority of teachers
involved in the adoption process expressed positive feelings towards the process.
● PLUS support in 9th grade English and Mathematics
● GVC for both Math and English
● Strong extra-curricular programs including Drama, Choir, Band and Speech and Debate.
● Remediation and intervention programs (after school tutorials and 7th period credit
recovery)
● New Career pathways via CTE programs
● Mathematics labs after school
● Regional Lead Teacher Meetings to strengthen vertical articulation with all feeder
schools
Key issues for Standards-Based Student Learning: Curriculum (if any):
● Improving accountability of teachers to each other (through AC teams and CFA’s) in the
implementation of the curriculum.
● Science Adoption in progress:
○ Transition to NGSS needs to be supported
○ Technology and equipment shortages was expressed by the staff
○ Ensure that content as well as skills are identified and taught for student to
perform at the expected level.
● Increase cross-curriculum collaboration
● Some electives have been eliminated from the master schedule. Teachers, students, and
parents expressed the desire to see some of these electives to be offered again.

Important evidence from the self-study and the visit that supports these strengths and key issues
include the following:
Self Study:
● The self-study report provided information of the curriculum adoption process and the
collaborative process to implement the curriculum.
Focus group meetings:
● The departments that have recently adopted curriculum provided feedback for the
adoption process at focus group meetings.
Classroom Visits:

32

 ● The classroom visits provided evidence of teachers using the adopted curriculum with
fidelity.

CATEGORY C. STANDARDS-BASED STUDENT LEARNING: INSTRUCTION
C1.

Challenging and Relevant Learning Experiences Criterion

To what extent are all students are involved in challenging and relevant learning experiences to
achieve the academic standards, the college- and career-readiness standards, and the schoolwide
learner outcomes?
In order to further the implementation of Common Core Standards, many teachers at
Bullard HS have emphasized discussions, Socratic Seminars, multimedia presentations, and
student projects. In addition, there has been increased use of skill-based assessments and
informal evaluations to guide instruction and enhance student learning. Some ELA and Algebra
I classes are co-taught to help with reteaching, and social studies classes invite students to
contribute to teaching, especially with respect to religious or ethnic groups to which they belong.
In addition to syllabi and course policies, students are increasingly provided with rubrics
and work samples/examples in order to clarify expectations. Student feedback indicated that
some ELA classes are less than clear in what is expected. For all students, a student/parent
handbook is produced that includes graduation requirements, grading and attendance policies,
and student behavior expectations.
Struggling learners and SPED students are well-served at Bullard and have many
different resources available to them. Many teachers offer students extra help after school, either
through an informal availability or a 7th period class. The SPED department is very data-driven
and student progress is closely tracked. It was observed that a desire for a pre-algebra class
would help many students on campus that are not currently prepared for Algebra.
Although Bullard continues to address the challenges of limited technology on campus,
the technology that is available is used throughout the campus. Teachers use online videos,
powerpoint presentations, and Google Docs to enhance instruction. The math department uses
Desmos to demonstrate graphing topics, and the English department uses SpringBoard to help
with vocabulary words. Continued implementation of technology is needed throughout campus.
Some teachers have begun to use independent reading structures to allow students to
access the curriculum at their own ability level, while other teachers invite guest speakers to help
complement their instruction. The challenge for Bullard is to help spread these strategies to all
departments, along with other diverse methodologies.

33

 C2.

Student Engagement Criterion

To what extent do all teachers use a variety of strategies and resources, including technology and
experiences beyond the textbook and the classroom that actively engages students, emphasizes
higher order thinking skills, and helps them succeed at high levels?
Direct instruction, project-based learning, and technology-based learning all have a role
in instruction at Bullard. Teachers are supported and instructed by Instructional Coaches, and
peer support and coaching is encouraged in the classroom. Classroom sets of tablets and staff
document cameras and projectors all add to effective instruction.
Instruction in evidence and claim analysis occurs in ELA classes at Bullard, and students
can “test themselves” through online resources in math and science classes. Socratic seminars,
science labs, and classroom debates all help to extend student learning opportunities. Students
also use notebooks in many classes that include corrections and peer collaboration as evidence of
problem solving skills.
Technology resources include tablets, graphing calculators, and online resources such as
Big Ideas online and Quizlet. Relevant YouTube videos, electronic simulations (stock market),
and online databases all enhance learning. English and math classes use tablets regularly as most
classrooms have class sets of computers.
There are numerous pathway programs at BHS to help students prepare for future
careers: biomed, law, business, and CTE. Our observations lead us to conclude that some
admission requirements are unclear for entrance into these pathways but they are well-supported
and highly rigorous. Career cruising assists students in exploring after-high school options.
Student participation in field trips, community events, and academic contests is encouraged.
CATEGORY C: STANDARDS-BASED STUDENT LEARNING: INSTRUCTION
Areas of strength for Standards-Based Student Learning: Instruction (if any):
-

Improved use of technology throughout most departments.
Many opportunities for Professional Development.
Opportunities for learning walks to observe other teachers.

Key issues for Standards-Based Student Learning: Instruction (if any):
-

Continued distribution of technology throughout campus.
Increase cross-curricular alignment/cooperation.
ACs: Accountability is lacking for all to participate.
High levels of student disengagement in a high percentage of classes.

34

 Important evidence from the self-study and the visit that supports these strengths and key issues
include the following:
●
●
●
●

Classroom Observations
Staff Interviews
Instructional Practice Walks Observation Forms and Rubrics
Professional Development Calendar

35

 CATEGORY D. STANDARDS-BASED STUDENT LEARNING: ASSESSMENT AND
ACCOUNTABILITY
D1.

Using Assessment to Analyze and Report Student Progress Criterion

To what extent does the school use a professionally acceptable assessment process to collect,
disaggregate, analyze, and report student performance data to the school staff, students,
parents, and other stakeholders?
The school staff uses effective assessment processes to collect, disaggregate, analyze, and
report student performance data.
The Visiting Team concurs, Bullard HS staff uses data from state, national and local
sources to drive instructional practices; though this is a work in progress. Bullard HS had 99%
of 11th grade students take the CAASPP test in 2017, as well as PSAT, AP, SAT, Math and ELA
benchmarks testing results to help guide instruction. The information is posted to the school
webpage and provides disaggregated data on all subgroups, including racial minorities,
economically disadvantaged and students with special needs. Current data from the CAASPP
and AP Tests show that White students score the highest, followed by Hispanic students and the
lowest being Black/African American. Data review takes place at monthly School Site Council
meetings and staff meetings. The staff stated that there is a major review of data at the beginning
of each year. The goal is to note trends, anomalies and gaps. One example: CAASPP data
analyses led to the Math and ELA teachers creating a list of essential skills as well as formative
and summative assessments. The Science department has embraced the NGSS which align with
the Common Core standards. The visiting team agrees that data drives instruction and new
policies and procedures, but new and current data could be addressed more often.
D2.

Using Assessment to Monitor and Modify Learning in the Classroom Criterion

To what extent do teachers employ a variety of formative and summative strategies to
evaluate student learning?.
To what extent do students and teachers use these findings to modify the learning/teaching
practices to improve student learning?
INDICATORS: Use the following indicators as a guide to ensure all key aspects of the criterion
are addressed. Add any additional reflections based on the criterion.
Appropriate Assessment Strategies: Teachers consistently use appropriate formative and
summative strategies to measure student progress and guide classroom instruction.
Demonstration of Student Achievement: Teachers use the analysis of assessments to guide,
modify and adjust curricular and instructional approaches.
Monitoring and Reporting Student Progress: The school informs and creates
understanding through effective processes in order to keep district, board, parents, and the

36

 business and industry community informed about student progress toward achieving the
academic standards, the college- and career-readiness standards, and the schoolwide learner
outcomes. There is evidence to show data is available to parents, students and all stakeholders
through the school website as well as the FUSD website as well. Teachers meet regularly to
discuss data from common assessments and brainstorm cross-curricular strategies to best assist
student learning.
Monitoring of Student Growth: The school has an effective system to determine and
monitor all students’ growth and progress toward meeting the academic standards, the collegeand career-readiness standards, and the schoolwide learner outcomes, including a sound basis
upon which students’ grades are determined and monitored. Many staff believed this was
communication and articulation was improving over the last few years, as well as more
opportunity for collaboration. There is still work to be done regarding improving African
American test scores.
D3.

Using Assessment to Monitor and Modify the Program Schoolwide Criterion

To what extent does the school, with the support of the district and community, have an
assessment and monitoring system to determine student progress toward achievement of
the academic standards, the college- and career-readiness standards, and the schoolwide
learner outcomes?
To what extent does the system drive the school’s program to continually improve and to
allocate resources to effectively meet student needs?

INDICATORS: Use the following indicators as a guide to ensure all key aspects of the criterion
are addressed. Add any additional reflections based on the criterion.
Schoolwide Assessment and Monitoring Process: The following stakeholders are involved in the
assessment and monitoring process of student progress: district, board, staff, students, parents,
and the business and industry community.
Curriculum-Embedded Assessments: The school regularly examines and analyzes standardsbased curriculum-embedded and standardized assessments for English language and
mathematics in all subject areas.
Schoolwide Modifications Based on Assessment Results: The school uses assessment results to
make changes in the school program, professional development activities, and resource
allocations demonstrating a results-driven continuous process. The school periodically assesses
its curriculum and instruction review and evaluation processes. The school employs security
systems that maintain the integrity of the assessment process.

37

 In 2015-16, BHS staff began a school-wide study of the book Learning by Doing. The
objective was to focus on accountable communities to which some had common pacing guides
and assessments. The process resulted in all the accountable communities began creating and
using common formative assessments to drive teaching and learning. The communities include:
Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II, Advanced Mathematics, Social Sciences, Life Science,
Physical Science, World Languages, Physical Education, Business and Fine Arts. Some of the
programs currently utilized through BHS are: Illuminate, Atlas, and Springboard along with
Common Core standards based instruction.
At the start of every school year, staff review results of school-wide assessments such as
SBAC, CAASPP, PSAT, SAT and AP Exams. Each of the aforementioned accountable
communities identified SMART goals that are aligned to the SLOs and the district goals. The
goals were meant to guide the planning of instruction throughout the course of the year. The
departments meet collaboratively for the most part to discuss data regarding student
performance.
Student Feedback: Student feedback is an important part of monitoring student and
classroom progress over time based on the academic standards, the college- and career-readiness
standards, and the schoolwide learner outcomes. Interviews and dialogue with representative
students inform the degree to which learning experiences are understood and relevant in
preparing students for college, career, and life.

CATEGORY D: STANDARDS-BASED STUDENT LEARNING: ASSESSMENT AND
ACCOUNTABILITY
Areas of strength for Standards-Based Student Learning: Assessment and Accountability (if
any):
● There is administrative support on the school site for allocating resources to support
student learning needs. The staff appear willing to confront gaps between the subgroups
to raise scores for everyone, and ultimately decreasing the gaps.
● Students have equal access to resources, academic courses, technology and counseling
services. Grades, credit completion, and attendance are regularly monitored to ensure
student-based student learning assessment and accountability. There is conscientious
effort to see more African Americans take AP courses and exams.
● BHS has a functioning system of formal and informal assessments, continually analyzing
data in order to drive instructional practices. Cultural relevance is also a focus for the

38

 staff. There is access to many learning platforms within classrooms to enhance student
learning.
● Student access to technology is definitely improving at Bullard High School.
______________________________________________________________________

Key issues for Standards-Based Student Learning: Assessment and Accountability (if any):
● Of the three largest ethnic groups of BHS students, White students collectively score the
highest, followed by Hispanic students, with Black or African American students scoring
the lowest.
● Improve method for enrolling students in courses, Pathways, AP courses and Electives.
● Increase the opportunities for parent and student communications regarding expectations
for schoolwork and grading policies.
● Allow for more Professional Development to allow teachers to collaborate, analyze data,
create and share curriculum, create common assessments, and share best practices to
address of Essential Skills and Common Core Standards, In addition, work towards
rubric and rigor norming, work vertically as well as by grade level and/or specific
subjects.

Important evidence about student learning from the self-study and the visit that supports these
strengths and key issues include the following:
● CAASPP Test results (ELA and Math) broken down by student groups.
● AP School Summary by Student Demographics
● The monitoring of the efficacy of new and previously existing courses, programs and
supports.

39

 ●

Collaboration regarding school culture and accountability has began.

● Visiting team WASC Panel Discussion with Staff on 4/10/18
● Bullard HS should continue to create formative and summative assessments as well as
identifying the critical areas in each accountable community. Teachers that are not on
board with school initiatives SHOULD NOT be department leads.
● Continue to articulate expectations with students and parents regarding school work and
grading procedures.
● Continue the work to make teachers feel supported by the administration and district.

40

 CATEGORY E. SCHOOL CULTURE AND SUPPORT FOR STUDENT PERSONAL
AND ACADEMIC GROWTH
E1.

Parent and Community Engagement Criterion

To what extent does the school leadership employ a wide range of strategies to encourage
family, business, industry, and community involvement, especially with the
learning/teaching process?
The school employs a variety of electronic and paper methods to communicate with
families including flyers, Messenger, Edutext, and Atlas. For 2449 students enrolled at Bullard,
data shows only 36 email addresses have been logged in Atlas and 1188 phone numbers for
Edutext. When asked, administration and teachers were not aware of the number of families
that do not have email or internet access at home. The Bullard High School website includes
social media links for Facebook, Twitter, Vimeo, Flickr, and YouTube; these all link to district
accounts, not Bullard High School accounts. There has been a focus on getting students to
communicate about their school through social media directly replying to the Vice Principal who
created and monitors these accounts. There has been no mention of involvement related to
learning/teaching.
The school leadership describes being in the early stages of developing internship
opportunities for some students. The Career Technical Education focus group described a
partnerships with the Community Media Access Collaborative (CMAC) and local hospitals.
Leadership elaborated, saying that internships have not yet become a consistent or required
component of career technical education. Evidence of internships was not provided.
School leadership also described having local professionals involved in mentoring
students and presenting at the school, including local attorneys, judges, and the district attorneys;
supporting evidence was not provided.
WASC Survey results indicate that 28.6% of parents are neutral or disagree that the
school provides many opportunities for parents to become involved in school activities. 67% of
the 42 parent responses indicated agreement on high school staff behaving professionally.

INDICATORS: Use the following indicators as a guide to ensure all key aspects of the criterion
are addressed. Add any additional reflections based on the criterion.
Regular Parent Involvement: The school implements strategies and processes for the regular
involvement of all stakeholder support groups in the learning/teaching process, including parents
of non-English speaking, special needs, and online students.
93% of respondents agree that the school communicates in a language they can
understand. According to the three parents who attended the WASC focus group meeting, the

41

 (Parent Teacher Student Association) PTSA has grown from a handful of members to over a
hundred this year due to active recruitment by parents and the administration. Meeting minutes
were provided for a September meeting and a January meeting. The minutes showed that as
many as 21 parents, 2 students, and 1 teacher were present at the meetings. This year is a new
experience regarding activities that the PTSA is hoping to lead. The three parents who attended
the focus group meeting stated that the volunteers who regularly attend PTSA meetings are a
well-rounded representation of the student population (ethnicity and feeder school boundaries
specifically). With regard to student participation, the two students identified in the minutes as
having attended cannot adequately represent the diversity of the student population.
School administrators describe efforts to communicate with families in Spanish and
Hmong. According to the WASC Parent Survey, 93% of respondents agree that the school
communicates in a language they can understand. Evidence was provided of communications
that had been translated from English to Spanish. Evidence was also provided of the California
Healthy Kids Survey in Hmong.

Use of Community Resources: The school uses community resources to support student learning.
Several comments have been made regarding the “strong community support” for Bullard
High. There is no documentation, but the primary example regarding support for student
learning include professionals in the community have volunteered time to speak, teach, and
participate with students in Pathway programs such as law and biomed.
E2.

School Environment Criterion

To what extent is the school a safe, clean, and orderly place that nurtures learning?
Based on observation and interviews of staff and students the Bullard High School
campus is clean and well maintained. Construction that was underway during the mid-cycle
review has been completed and is no longer an impediment to school operations.
The school is adequately staffed to provide for the safety of students and the maintenance
of good order. However, all members of the visiting committee frequently observed students out
of class without permission in the presence of staff members.
From the student survey, approximately 27% of students indicate their school is not safe
and secure and under the sense of belonging category over 50% either “feel safe” or “neither
disagree or agree” with the statement.
After speaking with students, several suggested building a higher fence around the
campus and having more security. When asked what their concerns were, the students had
difficulty articulating their fear, but mostly felt that something from outside the campus would
come to them similar to events that have happened other places and highly covered in the media.
Speaking with the resource officer, he commented that some students appreciated his presence,
but in many ways he is limited on what he can do before an incident occurs (i.e. the inability to

42

 searching a backpack or asking certain questions without cause) and that frustrates students and
staff. He acknowledged that students do not want to “snitch” so it is possible that students that
want more police presence are actually looking for consequences of things that they know are
going on.
The Self-Study indicates that, “BHS has an emergency safety plan in place that is
reviewed annually and shared with local jurisdictions,” as well as a full-time Fresno police
officer. “The school has also implemented the Breaking Down the Walls and Link Crew.”
These elements of the campus have an opportunity to grow student involvement, especially
among subgroups, as well as effective communication of information. Respected, meaningful
participation should be available to all subgroups in all areas, including Link Crew and
Leadership, and the Freshman Class requires more guidance, as many interviewed students
indicated a barrier to entry in involvement in campus organizations, as well as a lack of
knowledge in how to do so - even though information is in daily announcements and on the
website.

To what extent does the school have a culture that is characterized by trust, professionalism, high
expectations for all students, and a focus on continuous school improvement?
From WASC team member interviews, there seems to be a mixed feeling concerning
trust, professionalism, and high expectations. However, all stakeholders (students, parents,
teachers, and admin) continuously suggest that the morale of the school is on an upswing.
Some students feel that teachers are supportive and available. Other students feel that
consequences are not fairly assigned and that some teachers respond rudely to students,
responses that are consistently with data from student surveys. Therefore, there is are elements
of a lack of trust between the students and staff that cannot be ignored. Most comments from
staff have suggested that there is support from administration for things that are desired. 35% of
60 faculty respondents agreed or strongly agreed that “Students are involved in decision making
that affects them.”
There appears to be lack of decision making at several levels. For example, regarding
student schedules, a couple of students indicated that they sign up online but there are no or little
descriptions for the courses. However, a Fresno Unified School District course catalog which
included detailed course descriptions was provided in the evidence binders. Parents at the focus
group meeting mentioned that they signed a paper indicating they know what classes their
students signed up for, but with the exception of 8th graders visiting campus to sign up for
classes with counselors, they are not a part of the class selection process. Lastly, at least three
teachers mentioned that they are given their schedule without discussion or preferences and one
teacher and one student mentioned teachers teaching outside of their field of study.
INDICATORS: Use the following indicators as a guide to ensure all key aspects of the criterion
are addressed. Add any additional reflections based on the criterion.

43

 Safe, Clean, and Orderly Environment: The school has existing policies and regulations and
uses its resources to ensure a safe, clean, and orderly place that nurtures learning, including
internet safety.
Over 50% of faculty respondents to survey indicate students being disruptive in
classrooms as a problem.
WASC team member observations summarize a culture of non-positive behaviors such as
eating in class, using technology inappropriately, both earbuds in during class. Students were
also frequently observed having side conversations or shouting out questions or comments out of
turn. However, team members felt that overall students displayed positive behavior in many
ways such as minimal profanity, very little trash left out after lunch, respect of space amongst
social groups and hallway use. Therefore, classroom behavior seems to be more of a concern
than campus behavior.
High Expectations/Concern for Students: The school demonstrates caring, concern, and high
expectations for students in an environment that honors individual differences and is conducive
to learning.
Survey data indicates 60% of students agree or strongly agree that teachers are committed
to teaching. 75% of teachers indicate they’re passionate about teaching.
WASC team observations have varied responses in the area of caring, concern, and high
expectations for students. In many cases, observers saw students (disproportionately black and
hispanic) being allowed to sit in the back of class and not participate in the lessons.
Atmosphere of Trust, Respect and Professionalism: The school has an atmosphere of trust,
respect, and professionalism.
● In the 16-17 CHKS 25% of students agreed or strongly agreed that students treat teachers
with respect.
● In the 16-17 CHKS, 40% of students agreed or strongly agreed that adults treat all
students with respect.
● Survey data indicates 52% of teachers are enthusiastic about teaching.
● 62% of survey responses agree that Bullard staff models respectful behavior.
Bullard has reported in its self study that it has added a series of motivational speakers to
address diversity, trust, and respect and that professional development has been dedicated to
helping teachers develop strategies to model respect. No evidence was provided for this.
However, visiting team observations show mixed feelings among staff and students regarding
trust and respect. Many staff and students love Bullard, have a great sense of pride in their
school, and indicate the way in which diverse students interact as the best thing about Bullard.
However, a significant number of comments include lack of consistency in discipline
(specifically tardy policy implementation and consequences for other infractions), disrespect by

44

 staff members toward students and students towards staff, and the “not wanting to be called a
racist pass” by staff for discipline issues with the African-American subgroup. One student was
very specific concerning the comradery between some security personnel and students that goes
as far as hanging out during class or watching students leave and return to campus consistently.

E3.

Personal and Academic Support Criterion

To what extent do all students receive appropriate academic support and intervention to
help ensure school, college, and career success?
● 38.3% of students responded with positive efficacy beliefs about their classroom
performance in school.
● 20% of AP exams received a passing score.
The data shows there was a large increase in the number of AP exams taken in the past
year. The rate of passage dropped. The self study report stated that there has been teacher
selection and encouragement for underrepresented sub groups such as African American males
to enroll in AP courses. Even so, the data clearly shows AP exam as and writing and math
scores falling consistently between 2011-2016 in all subgroups.
Based on informal visiting team polls, students overwhelming have attended tutorial
sessions or seek help from teachers. A reasonable number of teachers feel the AC/PLC process
is moving forward to help students improve or feel their department’s work cohesive or
progressing. However, students (individual interviews and leadership class) feel guidance for
college and career success is lacking. Specific examples include counselors not knowing
answers to college application questions beyond Fresno City College and Fresno State or not
having enough time to reach all students during the application process; students being unsure of
the process to sign up for the SAT or how to apply to college; parents having to ask specific
questions regarding the application process; students not being college ready but thinking they
are college ready based on passing grades in classes (including special ed or online courses not
having appropriate rigor for college); students reaching graduation and not having a plan for after
graduation. In focus group meetings, counselors and administration shared in depth on the ways
information is disseminated such as counselor “blasts” to specific grade levels. Visiting team
observations show a disconnect between senders and receivers of information.
To what extent do students with special talents and/or needs have access to a system of
personal support services, activities, and opportunities at the school, and how are they
enhanced by business, industry, and the community?
INDICATORS: Use the following indicators as a guide to ensure all key aspects of the criterion
are addressed. Add any additional reflections based on the criterion.
Adequate Personalized Support: The school has available and adequate services to support
student’s personal needs.

45

 55% of 42 respondents indicate the teachers respond in a timely fashion to concerns.
The self study report indicates that the ATLAS program allows parents and students to
check in on progress at any time. Teachers can also assign tutorial to students through their
online system. From the visiting team observations, the ATLAS program is available, but not
consistently utilized by teachers with very few students and parents checking. There are 36
email addresses for 2449 families logged in the system and 1188 text numbers on Edutext. In
addition, when flyers are sent out, there is a lack of monitoring on the collection of forms.
During the administrative focus group, it was reported that information has been disseminated
primarily by flyers sent home through students, but efforts have been added to include Spanish
only in recently. Parents are encouraged to use digital means for communication. Visiting team
checks with teachers showed that few teachers contact home regularly and if they do, most will
attempt contact by phone.
Support and Intervention Strategies Used for Student Growth/Development: Strategies are used
by the school leadership and staff to develop and implement personalized approaches to learning
and alternative instructional options.
Support Services – Interventions and Student Learning: The school leadership and staff ensure
that the support services and related activities have a direct relationship to student involvement
in learning based on the academic standards and the schoolwide learner outcomes, e.g., within
and outside the classroom, for all students, including the EL, GATE, special education, and
other programs.
BHS, from district goals, have incorporated their viable curriculum for all students into
their SPSA plan that was recently completed. A strong focus from the administrative and
counselor perspective is for students to graduate a-g ready.
Visiting team members observations when asking students about what the term “a-g”
means were that students were uncertain of the meaning but knew it was the goal. In addition,
there were several comments by staff members regarding keeping graduation rates high by
moving failing students from classrooms to online or alternative classes to make up credits. In
their opinion these courses help graduate more students, but they are less college ready.
The EL program consists currently has 11 language backgrounds. The students with the
most need have a one or two period course. The teacher is utilizing district supported electronic
programs to improve reading comprehension. She has computers in her classroom and
understands how to use them appropriately. Some class time is provided for one on one help for
academic success. The teacher indicated the use of former students for translating to speak to
parents, although with the small number of students, there are limitations to support for some
students based on native their native language. In addition, the remainder of the EL students are
placed in general education classes.
From focus group and individual interviews, the special education department appears
cohesive in their goals for students in an inclusion model for students to be successful on a

46

 diploma track. Even though there are many SDC classes and separate Autism and ALP classes,
the special education teachers make the effort to “push” students into general education classes.
Staff have also made efforts to have active roles in general education classes through co-teaching
or assisting. Recent changes also include credit recovery classes during 0 or 7th period that are
tailored toward special education success and a business center for students to learn skills such as
copying and binding. A highlight is the integrated PE class where general education students
choose to work with students with special needs. Special education teachers have a process in
place to help students register for community college courses. However, along with a general
concern of graduating BHS students not being college ready, it was suggested that special
education students receiving a regular diploma are even further from being college ready but
have the belief that they are college ready.
Equitable Academic Support to Enable All Students Access to a Rigorous Curriculum: Through
the use of equitable support all students have access to a challenging, relevant, and coherent
curriculum.
The visiting team observed many opportunities for students to access the district’s
initiative for a viable curriculum. Examples include the online programs for junior English and
the EL students in reading comprehension. In addition, several AC’s already have in place
common assessments and use Illuminate or Google forms to collect data on student results.
Several departments work regularly with colleagues teaching same subjects to align curriculum
to district curriculum guidelines. The visiting team could not find any evidence of how this work
and data collection correlates to schoolwide test results for benchmarks such as CAASPP.
Co-Curricular Activities: The school ensures that there is a high level of student involvement in
curricular and co-curricular activities that link to the academic standards, the college- and
career-readiness standards, and the schoolwide learner outcomes.
Student survey indicated 56% of students are involved in school related activities.
The climate of Bullard is positive overall with the exception of a few subgroups that
identify inequities in opportunities for leadership or voice. One expressed example is the desire
to run for student leadership but being unclear on qualifications such as “show a record of past
leadership,” nor how to acquire said qualifications. Also expressed was a lack of diversity of
perspectives as well as opportunities to participate in school cultural events such as rallies. The
visiting team could not elicit much conversation regarding academic standards from any of the
stakeholders in casual conversation (ignoring data driven conversations and district established
expectations) whether in co-curricular activities or regular classroom activities.
However, Bullard offers a variety of programs with academic foci including the AP
classes (e.g. Music program demonstrating academic excellence utilizing the PLC model of

47

 instruction, practice, assess, reteach, and perform and a diverse methodology of instructional
techniques), pathway options (e.g. courtroom procedures), clubs (e.g. biomed, future business),
and competitions (e.g. Model UN, Math Field Day).

48

 CATEGORY E: SCHOOL CULTURE AND SUPPORT FOR STUDENT PERSONAL
AND ACADEMIC GROWTH
Areas of strength for School Culture and Support for Student Personal and Academic
Growth (if any):
● Bullard Pride: BHS has tremendous school pride and strong community support.
A significant percentage of the staff are former Bullard students. Many students
made comments that Bullard is a great school because students of diverse
backgrounds get along. The visiting committee observed mostly respectful
behavior towards others in the open areas.
● Variety of activities and classes and a large number of students choose to
participate. There is an emphasis on helping students through tutorial, student
support group (Knights of Valor), and open classrooms at lunch. Informal polls by
the visiting team indicate that students are aware and feel teachers are available
for academic help. Subgroups such as special education and students identified
with emotional needs (i.e. foster youth, students requiring outside evaluations)
appear to have strong programs in place.
● Teachers and staff support students’ emotional and academic growth. A large
percentage of students feel there is an adult on campus they can go to if they have
a problem.
Key issues for School Culture and Support for Student Personal and Academic Growth (if any):
● Representation of all student subgroups in PTSA, SSC, and leadership: The
minutes from PTSA meetings provided to the visiting committee indicated that
one or two students were present at meetings. Pages 9 and 10 of the self-study
document indicate that students are included as part of the SPSA development
process conducted by the SSC, but evidence of student representation of all
student sub-groups was not provided to the visiting committee. Similarly, the
composition of the student leadership team does not reflect the diversity of the
school’s student population.
● Use of survey data to inform the continued improvement of school culture: The
climate surveys provided in the self report do not adequately represent the school
population (i.e. 42 parent responses). Student responses to questions provided in
the self-study indicate that the survey was not taken seriously by some students
(see page 213 of the self-study).
● Purposeful modeling and development of relationship skills: From the 800 student
survey responses, 67% of students agree that teachers treat them with respect and
52% agree that teachers and staff are involved in their school experience. 64%
agree that they are learning at Bullard and 51% are happy. There are several
categories that can be addressed with regard to school culture and support. The

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 topics brought up the most in informal discussions include respect towards others
(i.e. student AND teacher behavior in class) and the perception of inconsistent
discipline related to attendance, dress code, rules for privileges (taking SAT,
running for office, borrowing library materials-- “in good standard” or “caught
up”), and open campus privileges.

Important evidence about student learning from the self-study and the visit that supports these
strengths and key issues include the following:
Evidence Supporting Strengths
● My colleagues care about their students. (78% of faculty agree or strongly agree)
● Most of my colleagues are enthusiastic about teaching and they communicate that to their
students. (60% of 60 faculty agree or strongly agree).
● 62% of survey responses agree that Bullard staff models respectful behavior.
● The self study pp. 159-160 satisfactorily describes Bullard’s strengths and growth needs.
The visiting team verifies that strengths include increased efforts in communication
(although this is also a priority growth area), completion of facilities, and various groups
having strong support by the local business community.
Evidence Supporting Key Issues
● Minutes from PTSA meetings show 1-2 students present at meetings.
● Pages 9 and 10 of the self-study document indicate that students are included as part of
the SPSA development process conducted by the SSC, but evidence of student
representation of all student sub-groups was not provided to the visiting committee.
● 62% of survey responses agree that Bullard staff models respectful behavior.
● Parent survey received only 42 responses out of 2,449 families.
● In the 16-17 CHKS, 25% of students agreed or strongly agreed that students teach
teachers with respect.
● In the 16-17 CHKS, 40% of students agreed or strongly agreed that adults treat all
students with respect.
● Survey data indicates 52% of teachers are enthusiastic about teaching.
● 38.3% of students responded with positive efficacy beliefs about their classroom
performance in school.
● 20% of AP exams received a passing score.
● Areas of growth in reaching all students was also adequately described (i.e. EL or
socioeconomically disadvantaged needs) in the self report. The visiting team verifies the
need for growth in “assessment of all remediation, enrichment and intervention classes
and programs” and “analyze student data to make informed decisions” school wide

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 (strong individual or small group efforts, but little evidence of personal and academic
growth of ALL students) is a major growth area.
● Students frequently mentioned the need for a “safer campus” (more security officers and
a fence- primary focus was someone from off campus coming onto campus).

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 Chapter IV: Synthesis of Schoolwide Strengths and Critical Areas
for Follow-up
Schoolwide Areas of Strength (list numerically)
1. Bullard Pride: All stakeholders are very proud of the school, its history and its
environment. When the parent focus group was asked for the “best thing about Bullard,”
after a thoughtful pause, they responded and mutually reinforced, “The facility.” The
school and its character are a place that all stakeholders are very invested in, and
committed to its success.
2. Committed, Caring Staff: The staff has an overall commitment to the student body.
The SEL team is very active in strong, positive ways, and a large portion of Bullard’s
staff is available to their students, including keeping a remarkable number of classrooms
open at lunch.
3. Faith in Leadership: We heard universally from all stakeholders how much they
admired and appreciated the current leadership of the school, its principal in particular.
We believe this foundation of a trusting, respectful relationship will empower Bullard to
tackle the issues facing the school, and that the building of these relationships represents
time well-spent.
4. Problem Solving Process: Bullard’s leadership has demonstrated aptitude in
diagnosing the school, being aware of the majority of its issues, managing resources to
correct issues, and delegating responsibility to capable staff to see solutions through.
When Bullard’s leadership team brings focus to particular issues, the resulting process to
improve those issues is impressive.
Schoolwide Critical Areas for Follow-Up
(list numerically; include who, what, why, and the impact on student learning)
The visiting committee concurs with the school’s identified critical areas for follow-up that are
outlined in the schoolwide action plan. These are summarized below:
1. Develop and seek ways to support students to meet a-g requirements and/or participate in
Career Technical Education programs to prepare college and career ready graduates (31
Action Items identified).
2. Explicitly align professional development to address high quality instruction, school
culture, intervention and social emotional competencies (12 Action Items identified).
3. Develop a stronger sense of community amongst all stakeholders so that ALL students
have a sense of belonging to Bullard High School’s community (17 Action Items
identified).
4. Develop a technology plan that will improve the use of resources and grant access of
regular use of technology to all stakeholders, which in turn will improve students meeting

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 their educational goals and teachers meeting students’ educational needs (4 Action Items
Identified.)
In addition, the visiting committee has identified critical areas for follow-up that need to be
addressed:
1. Communication: The visiting committee recommends that school leaders form a
unified, purposeful, and systemic approach to exchanging current information with and
among staff, students, families, and stakeholders.
2. PLCs/ACs: The visiting committee recommends that school leaders ensure the viability
and efficacy of ACs through broader commitment to the process, depth of school-wide
PLC training, and clarity of expectations with systematic monitoring.
3. Attendance & Safety: The visiting committee recommends that Bullard High School
improve attendance procedures and campus monitoring/security (including ingress and
egress) in order to reduce truancy rates and ensure student safety.

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 Chapter V: Ongoing School Improvement

1.

2.

3.

4.

Bullard’s action plan consists of 64 action items divided into four domains:
Develop and seek ways to support students to meet a-g requirements and/or participate in
Career Technical Education programs to prepare college and career graduates. This
domain has 31 action items in 4 areas of focus:
a. Student Course Placement (3 action items)
b. High Quality Instruction (9 action items)
c. Intervention/Remediation (7 action items)
d. College/Career Going Culture (12 action items)
Explicitly align professional development to address high quality instruction, school
culture, Intervention and social emotional competencies. This domain has 12 action items
in 4 areas of focus:
a. Culture (3 action items)
b. RTI (2 action items)
c. High Quality Instruction (4 action items)
d. SEL Competencies (3 action items)
Develop a stronger sense of community amongst all stakeholders so that ALL students
have a sense of belonging to Bullard High School’s community. This domain has 17
action items in 5 domains:
a. Communication Structures (2 action items)
b. Student Involvement (Art, Activities, Athletics) (1 action item)
c. Adult/Staff Culture (2 action items)
d. Campus Culture (7 action items)
e. Safety (5 action items)
Develop a technology plan that will improve the use of resources and grant access of
regular use of technology to all stakeholders, which in turn will improve students meeting
their educational goals and teachers meeting students’ educational needs. This domain
has 4 action items in 2 domains:
a. Hardware/Software (2 action items)
b. Professional Learning (2 action items)

The action plan is more than adequate to address the critical areas of follow-up. Major
issues are addressed, and student learning will be enhanced through this plan. The plan is userfriendly, though we note concerns with its size. We believe Bullard has done an excellent job
bringing attention to bear on its issues, but in thoroughly diagnosing its systems, we were
concerned that the most critical needs may get lost in the size of the plan. As such, we considered
our recommendations to be largely triage of things Bullard’s staff already knows.
The action plan is feasible within existing resources, aligned to the LCAP, and has
substantial support both schoolwide and systemwide. Monitoring procecures and benchmarks of

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 success are built into the action plan. The administrative team has spent significant energies
building buy-in and changing the morale of the staff for the better. This support is clearly evident
to the visiting committee, and is still growing.

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