Georgia Department of Education
Title I Schoolwide/School Improvement Plan
SCHOOLWIDE/SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PLAN TEMPLATESchool Name: Pleasant Valley Innovative School / District Name: Murray
Principal Name: Marcus Richardson / School Year: 2015-2016
School Mailing Address: PO Box 1001 Eton, GA 30724
Telephone: 706-517-5355
District Title I Director/Coordinator Name: Barbie Kendrick
District Title I Director/Coordinator Mailing Address: PO Box 40 Chatsworth, GA 30705
Email Address:
Telephone: 706-695-4351
ESEA WAIVER ACCOUNTABILITY STATUS
(Check all boxes that apply and provide additional information if requested.)
Priority School / Focus School
Title I Alert School
Principal’s Signature: / Date:
Title I Director’s Signature: / Date:
Superintendent’s Signature: / Date:
Revision Date: / Revision Date: / Revision Date:
SWP Template Instructions
· All components of a Title I Schoolwide Program Plan and a School Improvement Plan must be addressed. When using SWP and SIP checklists, all components/elements marked as “Not Met” need additional development.
· Please add your planning committee members on the next page.
· The first ten components in the template are required components as set forth in Section 1114 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA).
· Please submit your School Improvement Plan as an addendum after the header page in this document.
Planning Committee Members
NAME
/MEMBER’S SIGNATURE
/POSITION/ROLE
Mr. Marcus Richardson / PrincipalMrs. Nathan Ridley / Assistant Principal
Mrs. Michele Canfield / Teacher
Ms. Kassandra Martin / Paraprofessional
Mrs. Elizabeth Selvage / Instructional Coach
Mrs. April Mathis / Parent
Mrs. Christy Pate / Parent
SWP/SIP Components
1. A comprehensive needs assessment of the entire school, (including taking into accountthe needs of migratory children as defined in Section 1309(2)) that is based on information which includes the achievement of children in relation to the state academic content standards and the state student academic achievement standards described in Section 1111(b)(1). /
A. Response: We have developed our school wide plan with the participation of individuals who will carry out the comprehensive school wide/school improvement program plan. Those persons involved were Marcus Richardson (principal), Nathan Ridley (assistant principal), Mrs. Elizabeth Selvage (Instructional Coach), Michele Canfield (teacher), Kassandra Martin (parapro), April Mathis (parent)The ways they were involved were reviewing data to revise school improvement plan.
The Pleasant Valley Innovative School faculty and staff meet three times a year to review and amend the School Improvement Plan. The faculty looks at benchmark, Student Learning Objectives, EOG, EOC, Writing Assessment(first semester only)(only used first semester), and survey data to determine the strengths and weaknesses in instruction and relationships to better plan for student success. Teachers and administration also meet weekly to collaborate to look at assessments and lessons to help to students meet and
exceed state educational standards and specific student needs.
B. We have used the following instruments, procedures, or processes to obtain this information:
To assess student academic needs, Pleasant Valley Innovative School uses quarterly benchmark assessments, Student Safety Surveys, Scholastic Reading Inventory Lexile scores, Student Learning Objectives, EOG, EOCT and Writing Assessment(first semester only) Data to determine strengths and weaknesses. The faculty and staff look at the data, brainstorm ideas where there are discrepancies (one group is performing more successfully than others are, another group does not feel as safe as another does) in an effort to improve by gleaning ideas from one another as a strategy for Needs Assessment.
C. We have taken into account the needs of migrant children and students new to the United States (New Comers) by:
Teachers of identified migrant children take extra precaution to provide one on one instruction, and submit updates to the system level migrant director, Mr. Spencer Gazaway. A parent liaison helps to keep open communication between the school and parents. Of the 265 students, .008% of students were considered migrant students.
To accommodate the students entering the United States for the first time, we are providing a bi lingual paraprofessional, individual and group instruction (English and Math). Of the 265 students, .06% of students are considered New Comers.
D. We have reflected current achievement data that will help the school understand the subjects and skills in which teaching and learning need to be improved. For example . . .
The school met May 26, 2015 to perform an End of the year Title-I Evaluation. The faculty and staff looked at Scholastic Reading Inventories, CCRPI, Student Growth Percentiles, GAPPS, Odyssey Percent Complete reports and Writing Assessment (first semester only) data to measure achievement and plan for improvement of instruction. In addition, we looked at the amount of credits students have earned for the last three years from Odyssey Ware and the increase was from 2.43 in 2012-2013 to 6.89 in 2014-2015.
Ø SRI – 39% are below basic and 39% are basic in reading levels
Ø CCRPI – 2012- 29.1, 2013-42.0, 2014 -39.2
Ø SGP –(2014 EOCT) 9th Lit 36%, 11th Lit 11.0%, Coordinate Algebra 45.0%, Geometry 55.0%, Biology 19%, Physical Science 15%, U.S History 6%, Economics 24%
Ø GHSGT – 55% passed
Ø EOG – data not available
Ø EOC – data not available
E. We have based our plan on information about all students in the school and identified students and groups of students who are not yet achieving to the State Academic content standards [the Common Core Georgia Performance Standards (CCGPS)] and the State student academic achievement standards including:
Ø Economically disadvantaged students . . .
One Hundred percent of the Pleasant Valley Innovative School students receive free breakfast and lunch, due to a grant provided by the Federal Government.
Using the major ideas presented in Ruby Payne’s book A Framework for Understanding Poverty and Eric Jensen’s book Teaching with Poverty in Mind., professional development has been provided to all teachers for working with students who live in poverty- situational and generational.
Ø Students from Major racial and ethnic groups . . .
Pleasant Valley Innovative School is representative of a variety of ethnic groups. Of the 265 students who attend PVIS in the SY15-16:
Caucasian 85%
Hispanic >15%
Multi-racial .008%
African-American >0%
Asian 0%
Indian 0%
Ø Students with disabilities
Regular and special education teachers teach with needs in mind. As weak areas are identified, every effort is made for correction. All teachers are provided accommodations/modifications for each student with an IEP to make sure their educational needs being met.
Of the 265 students, 8% received special education services.
Ø Students with limited English proficiency . . .
ELL students are given the Access test to determine their levels of English proficiency. Regular education teachers are provided with Access scores and recommendations of differentiated teaching strategies to incorporate in their classrooms. WIDA standards are posted in every academic classroom. The ELL teacher provides self-contained language instruction. ELL students receive at least one segment of ELL instruction per day.
Of the 265 students, >7% received ELL services.
Ø The major strengths we found in our program are . . .
Using internet-based tools such as, Odyssey Ware, Virtual Nerd,, and Fast ForWord with fidelity has increased student engagement and student achievement. The use of these tools has helped teachers work with students needs.
In addition, providing students with content area teachers for all subjects will enable students to receive instruction better than before.
2. Schoolwide reform strategies that: /
Response: Pleasant Valley has implemented different strategies to provide instruction to all students who struggle in traditional school settings. In addition, we have implemented a New Comers Academy for students entering the United States for the first time and a Young Pioneers Academy for students who are retained for eighth grade.
· Provide opportunities for all children to meet the state’s proficient and advanced levels of student academic achievement described in Section 1111(b)(1)(D). /
Response:
In an effort to provide opportunities for all children to be proficient and graduate from high school, we offer the following:
Ø Online tutoring with Virtual Nerd and Khan Academy access
Ø Home school is offered to students struggling in traditional school environments
Ø Evening school is offered to students who need to support their families during the day
Ø New Comers Academy – bilingual paraprofessional and ESOL certified teacher deliver instruction in push in environment and a inclusion model is used for mathematics, English and social studies.
Ø Young Pioneers Academy – students who did not meet requirements to promote to ninth grade are provided opportunity to obtain high school status in first eight weeks of school.
Ø Day school – content area teachers provide instruction to students in all subject areas.
· Use effective methods and instructional strategies that are based on scientifically based research that:
o strengthen the core academic program in the school.
o increase the amount and quality of learning time, such as providing and extended school year and before- or after-school and summer programs and opportunities, and help provide an enriched and accelerated curriculum
o include strategies for meeting the educational needs of historically underserved populations
Response:
We realized out main weak area is with the literacy skills of our students and determined this by performing the following:
Ø ROOTCAUSE/s analysis discovered:
· High poverty rate
· Transiency
· Non content area teachers
· Low reading skills and vocabulary acquisition rate
· Weak study skills
· New methods of communication have undermined correct writing skills (texting, IM, Face book, and Tweeting)
· Attendance
Ø Providing before/afterschool tutoring for students who need extra assistance in math and reading has made a tremendous impact on the number of students who are performing better in the classroom and who are struggling to meet the standards on the EOG’s and EOC’s first testing administration.
Ø Providing content area teachers in all subjects this year has aided in providing accurate instruction to all area needs of students.
Ø To provide more instruction to our students, we increased the instruction time by 30 minutes to accommodate the large number of classes.
Ø Providing Fast ForWord to our struggling reader students.
· Include strategies to address the needs of all children in the school, but particularly the needs of low-achieving children and those at risk of not meeting the state student achievement standards who are members of the target population of any program that is included in the schoolwide program which may include:
o counseling, pupil services, and mentoring services;
o college and career awareness and preparation, such as college and career guidance, personal finance education, and innovative teaching methods, which may include applied learning and team-teaching strategies; and
o the integration of vocational and technical education programs; and /
Ø Response: The major needs we discovered were . . .
In an effort to improve, the faculty and staff of Pleasant Valley Innovative School looked at the academic areas where student achievement can improve and were professional learning was needed.
· Professional learning:
Ø Literacy Across the Curriculum/Language Acquisition
Ø Lexile Scores
Ø Marzano Learning Strategies
Ø Technology- Student Use
Ø Thinking Maps
Ø The needs we will address are:
· Teachers will need more learning that is professional and support as we continue to implement Literacy instruction.
· Greater efforts will be made in science and social studies to address Literacy across the Curriculum.
· Teachers will continue to incorporate learning strategies developed by Marzano that will encourage student engagement and interaction.
· All teachers will continue to use and integrate more use of assistive technology using iPods, iPads, Science probes, iRover, Smart boards, Lego Mindstorms and Kindles.
· All teachers will go complete a Reading Endorsement program through our local RESA organization.
Ø The specific academic needs of those students that are to be addressed in the school-wide program plan will be:
· All students are given quarterly benchmarks (pre/post) to assess specific academic needs.
· For students who do not master standards, small group interventions and assistive technologies are implemented
· In an effort to move from teacher-focused instruction to student-focused instruction, teachers will continue implementing Marzano’s Highly Engaged Classroom Strategies
· Students will use technology for assessment, research, skill practice, communication, product creation, vocabulary acquisition
· Students will be engaged in learning through Thinking Maps – Pals – Project Based Learning
F. The measurable goals/benchmarks we have established to address the needs were . . .
Georgia Milestones
· 8th grade students meet the state standard score in ELA, Math, Science and Social Studies
· 7th grade students will meet the state standard score in ELA, Math, Science and Social Studies
· 6th grade students will the state standard score in ELA, Math, Science and Social Studies
Georgia End of Course:
· Students the state standard score in English 9 Lit, English 11 Lit, Coordinate Algebra, Analytic Geometry, Biology, Physical Science, US History, and Economics
Graduation:
· Graduation rate will increase from 55% to 75%.
· Address how the school will determine if such needs have been met; and
· Are consistent with, and are designed to implement, the state and local improvement plans, if any.
Response:
Ø To determine the school needs are being met, the staff meets weekly to discuss graduation, attendance, behavior, instructional strategies and small group interventions.
Ø Teachers are required to be using SLDS (State Longitudinal Data System) to identify areas of need for a student.
Ø Use research based strategies to implement small group instruction
3. Instruction by highly qualified professional staff /
Response:
Ø We will provide instruction by highly qualified teachers who meet the standards established by the state of Georgia. All staff has been verified as HiQ in their content areas.
Ø Paraprofessionals can perform the following allowable duties in accordance with Title I requirements:
· One-on-one tutoring
· Assist in classroom management
· Provide computer lab assistance
· Conduct parental involvement activities
· Serve as a translator
· Provide support in a media center