Giano Intermediate SchoolA School in the Rowland Unified School District

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How Giano Organizes the School to Support Student Progress

Offer parents opportunities to engage with the school: Giano has a parent center that offers 12-week parenting classes provided by the Parent Institute of Quality Education, a non-profit parent group. These classes, attended by over 100 parents annually, offer specific strategies for parents to better support their child's success in school.
Provide interventions and assistance within and outside of the school day: Giano offers an array of interventions for struggling students including �double dose� classes in core subjects, daily before- and after-school tutoring, and weekly Saturday classes in the Giano Acceleration Program (GAP) from 9 a.m.-noon. While students do lose out on some exploratory electives due to �double dose� classes, Giano staff believe that these classes improve student performance, especially for English learners.

Conduct an annual comprehensive planning process: Giano staff undertake a four-level approach to school improvement using student data. First, they develop schoolwide instructional strategies based on demonstrated student needs; next they develop departmental goals, grade-level goals, and classroom goals to reinforce the schoolwide focus.
Identify gaps in student learning: Giano teachers analyze data to reveal gaps in student learning and identify areas to re-teach or ways to modify instruction.
Create an individualized student experience: To ensure that students are placed into classes that will meet their needs, the school counselor and teachers visit each elementary school that sends students to Giano to talk to incoming students� sixth grade teachers and obtain student data.

Identify schoolwide instructional strategies: Giano teachers select an instructional strategy and use it across the curriculum. For example, the school uses the Cornell notetaking method which teaches students how to record, recite, reflect, review, and summarize main ideas from a lecture. Teachers discuss the success of these schoolwide instructional strategies during staff meetings and make changes accordingly.
Integrate technology to increase student understanding: Giano teachers use various technologies, such as PowerPoint, and interactive whiteboards, such as SmartBoards, to support instruction. This technology has helped to engage students with instructional material. Though some teachers were resistant to using technology at first, they were willing to try to integrate it into their teaching once they saw how effective it was in helping students access the curriculum.

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