Dr. victoria Pettis

EDUL 6026

Summer Cohort 2006

 

 

EDUL 6026: Planning for School Improvement (1 hour)


Based on current models followed in the school improvement process, this course acquaints students with developing a plan for improvement that includes analysis of mission statements, gap analysis, and a specific improvement plan to be implemented in a school setting.

NOTE:  The assignment below reflects a grade level action plan for improving student performance that I worked on with other 7th grade teachers as part of my school’s middle school improvement plan.

 

 

2006-2007 Action Plan for Improving Student Performance

 

School: CMS                      Grade: 7th Grade

 

Performance Target for 2007: Move all students at less than mastery proficiency level up at least one level

 

PLAN

Opportunity for Improvement

 

 

7th Grade:

19% at mastery level

35 % at system level

17 % at “bubble” proficiency level

18 % at “reteach” proficiency level

11% at foundation proficiency level

 

ELA:

18% at mastery level

29% at system level

18 % at “bubble” proficiency level

21% at “reteach” proficiency level

14% at foundation proficiency level

 

math:

18% at mastery level

29% at system level

 18% at “bubble” proficiency level

 20% at “reteach” proficiency level

15% at foundation proficiency level

 

reading:

23% at mastery level

46% at system level

16% at “bubble” proficiency level

12 % at “reteach” proficiency level

 3% at foundation proficiency level

 


 

 

Study the Current Situation:

 

Describe the data you gathered.

Describe your analysis of the data.

What conclusions did you draw?

 

I examined disaggregated local and statewide spring 2006 CRCT data in the areas of reading, English language arts, and math.

 

Too many students did not meet standards in all three areas:

·         Reading – (per cent that did not meet) – grade 6, 19%; grade 7, 31%; grade 8, 17%

·         ELA – (per cent that did not meet) – grade 6, 22%; grade 7, 32%; grade 8, 24%

·         Math – (per cent that did not meet) – grade 6, 43%; grade 7, 31%; grade 8, 31%

 

Overall student achievement is not acceptable.  Our school ranks somewhat better than the other three CCSD middle schools in some areas, but is not as good as it should be.  Compared to schools statewide, CMS did not do well.  As is the case with other schools in the district, a high percentage of our white students are meeting or exceeding standards, but our minority, poor, ELL, and SWD students are not, particularly in math.  Those must be primary areas of focus.  We also need to push our gifted students harder so that more of them are exceeding, and not just meeting standards.

What is the root cause of the improvement need?

 

Summarize the 4-5 top root causes you included in your root cause analysis charts.

·         There is often a great disparity between our teachers’ backgrounds and our students, especially with those are most at risk.  We need more realistic strategies to engage and facilitate learning within this target population.

·         We feel that the lack of relationships formed between teachers and students is related to students coming to school without sufficient motivation to work hard and to be successful. They need to learn that respecting both their education and learning translates to respecting their futures.

·         An atmosphere of serious academic expectations to focus on student accountability, consistency, and discipline throughout the building is lacking.

·         The curriculum must become more engaging, interactive, and hands-on so that students will make the connection between learning and future success.

 

What is your idea for improvement?

 

·         All students, who did not meeting standards on last year’s CRCT, have been placed in CRCT-Review Extended Learning Time (ELT) classes in math and/or reading.

·         At 8th grade, all students who failed more than one class in 7th grade have been placed in a Study Skills Extended Learning Time class.

·         All students not meeting standards on last year’s CRCT are being recommended for the Pathways After-School program with additional help in reading and math.

·         We are implementing the NWEA/MAP (Measures of Academic Progress) testing program.  As part of this program, all teachers will be required to keep a MAP notebook, listing individual student results and class scores in all testing areas and domains.  The notebook will also include the teachers’ proficiency level charts, grade-level action plans (this document), and individual teacher GTEP goals charts.  This information will inform daily instruction, lesson and unit planning, grade-level meetings and decisions, and parent-teacher conferences.

·         CMS teachers are involved in intensive professional learning activities throughout the year, including:

o        Analysis of data, development of student proficiency level charts, and implementation of grade-level action plans.

o        Participation in monthly faculty study groups. 

v      ELA/reading – Focus: Implementation of new GPS. Creating units and aligning curriculum across all four CCSD middle schools. Weekly grade-level content meetings and monthly schoolwide ELA meetings.

v      Math – Focus: Implementation and alignment of new GPS.  Weekly grade-level content meetings with math coach Glenda Huff.  Monthly schoolwide math meeting (also with math coach). 

v      Science – Focus: Implementation and alignment of new Science GPS.  Reading across the curriculum, based on text and video series, “I Read It, But I Don’t Get It.” Weekly grade-level content meetings and monthly schoolwide science meetings.

 

o        Weekly and monthly meetings include core, special education, gifted, and connections teachers.

o        Addition professional learning activities will include after-school dinner dialogues course on multicultural awareness, working with students and families in poverty.

 

 

Each grade level will list at least two more grade-level specific improvement strategies:

·          Connections using core content curriculum guides to connect core learning areas with specific connection curriculums specifically with warm-up activities.

·          PE is utilizing junior coach approach as an incentive program

·          Special education teachers are offering small group reading and math remediation for special education students

·          NC and NP are offering reading remediation for all students not meeting standards on CRCT

·           Informal reading inventories for each child to determine specific reading comprehension weaknesses. We are teaching strategies to deal with those areas.

·          JW, LB, MG, and EA are giving small group direct instruction remediation in math for students who did not meet standards on CRCT.

·          MM’s class are reading different articles and researching about endangered animals.  Writing journal entries that are summarizing the research they have discovered.

·          RB and SB incorporate reading and writing enrichment for students meeting or exceeding standards on the CRCT in their world affairs current events ELT.

·          AL incorporates reading and writing enrichment for students in the  reading, writing, and technology  ELT.

·          LD incorporates reading and writing enrichment for students in the art and culture ELT.

·          RH incorporates reading and writing enrichment for students in the health ELT.

·          BW and RC are offering reading remediation for students who did not meet standards on the CRCT.

·          NP and PV are monitoring calculating and recording heart rate data as a way to improve core math skills.  They are also using vocabulary for starters to link reading/language arts with P.E.

·          CS’s ELT class is using technology and research skills in his entomology ELT.

·          Victoria Pettis’s ELT applies core reading and writing skills in her character education ELT.

·          Thirteen teachers utilize websites as communication tools to keep parents and students informed of lessons, work, and activities.

·          SB and MM offer morning study sessions to help struggling students.

·          Thru FBLA, FCCLA, and TSA, AL, BW, and MG encourage students to develop leadership, technology, and core math skills.

·          Using the CMS after school program as a tool, Victoria Pettis teaches reading remediation for all students across grade level who did not meet reading CRCT standards.

·          An art exhibition, sponsored by LD, showcased at CMS provides students another avenue for expression dealing with issues and positive recognition.

·           SB provides at-risk students, who typically would struggle in the school environment, a connection with the step team.  The step team also provides a link with the disengaged population to our community.  Students must show academic achievement and an effort to maintain proper behavior in order to stay eligible for step team.

·           ST, NP, RH, and JH connect further into students’ lives and the community by coaching sports.  Students are required to maintain a passing grade in five out of six classes and exhibit acceptable behavior in order to remain eligible for participating on any team sport. 

 

 

 

 

What specific steps are you going to take to implement your improvement idea?

 

(See Grade Level Specific Improvement Strategies box.)

 

Connections teachers will meet weekly to discuss how they can connect their curriculum to core content areas. They will study proficiency data, discuss differentiation strategies, and communicate with core area teachers over these curricular changes.

 

Core and special education meet weekly to discuss strategies to improve both student behavior and academics. These teachers attend IEP, 504, and SST meeting to discuss these strategies as well as individual student modifications that must be made in the classroom to ensure a student’s success.

 

Finally, we value parent communication and involvement. Our commitment can be seen through frequent phone calls to parents, email communications between teachers and parents, the Parent Portal, written notes in the agenda books, quarterly syllabi, and the Owl quarterly newsletter.

     

 

Who is going to be responsible for each step?

 

(See Grade Level Specific Improvement Strategies box.)

 

All connections teachers will be responsible for implementing curricular additions incorporating math/language arts and/or reading into their content area.  LD, the connections team leader, will be responsible for communicating with core area teachers.

 

CRCT math review classes are taught by JW, LB, and MG.  Students who did not meet standards are placed in these ELT classes.  Classes began on 8/14.

 

CRCT reading review classes taught by NC and BW.  Students who did not meet standards are placed in these ELT classes. Classes began on 8/14. BW plans to use various computer software packages – such as Buckle Down with the CRCT and Ketchup – to provide remediation in both math and reading for students in grades 6-8. 

 

Morning tutoring is offered in math by Wilkins and Benson.  Tutoring began on 8/14.

 

Each content area teacher in seventh grade will have students solve at least one word problem a week that relates to the new 7th grade math GPS.  Teachers have been given a copy of the overview of 7th grade skills so that they can target word problems to meet one or more of the standards.  All 7th grade teachers will participate.

 

Finally, all 7th grade students are required to bring a novel to every class. This was a grade level decision, because we want students to read every spare moment that they have. We think this requirement will: 1) foster/nurture a love of reading; 2) emphasize for the students how important reading should be; and 3) boost our English/language arts scores.

     

 

When are you going to implement each step?

 

(See previous question.)

 

During the first week of September, connections teachers will begin making plans to implement core content area strategies, such as class starters, etc.

     

 

Are there additional resources that you do not have but that you will need in order to implement your action plan?

Ruby Payne’s A Framework for Understanding Poverty

 

     How will you know that the steps in your action plan are working?

 

Artifacts to be used as evidence are MAP testing results, quarterly assessments in math and English/language arts that test students over all GPS taught during the quarter. In addition, we will draw our conclusions from the following: teacher observations, students rubrics, classroom assessments, parent conferences (those made person-to-person, by team, email and letter correspondences, and by phone), progress reports, and report cards. Finally, we would hope to see a decrease in the number of behavior infractions classrooms.