Are We Implementing the 10 Components?
A Programmatic Review of Our Schoolwide Program
***This tool CANNOT be the only piece of a schoolwide Annual Review. It MUST be used in conjunction with student performance data and other pertinent data.***
Date/Time of the Meeting: May 6, 2015
Persons in Attendance at the Meeting:
Name / PositionBrandon Sutton / Principal
Dr. Jacqueline Smith / Title I Director
Dr. Regina Mathis / Assistant Superintendent
Outline of Questions
School-wide Reform Strategies-Helping All Students Learn
§ What did we do to make sure that ALL students at the school had the opportunity to reach the state's proficient and advanced levels of student achievement?
§ How did teaching for standards improve student learning?
§ What alternative instructional techniques and services were implemented?
§ How did we address the needs of all children in the school, particularly low-achieving students?
§ What did we do to assess students on a regular basis?
§ What did we do to help students who, as a result of the above assessments, were falling behind?
Responses:
§ Star Reading 3x year; Moby Max for Math; CLC Tools; Extreme Reading; SRA Language(6th and 8th have performed better that the 7th)
§ Implemented AR-Title I money helped support AR-Focus has been on reading
§ Use schoolnet benchmarks (1 every 9 weeks)
§ STAR –will be 3 times a year
§ PLCS –discuss common assessments
§ Common-formative assessments
§ Writing samples
§ Khan Academy
Schoolwide Reform Strategies-Scientifically Based Research
§ What programs at our school are based on SBR? What research do we have to document this claim?
§ What research should we consider reviewing to improve our schoolwide plan?
Responses:
§ STAR-Renaissance
§ Leader in Me
§ PLC—Culture Built to Last—Systematic PLCs at work (Richard Dufour and Michael Fullan)
§ Content Literacy Continuum Leaders Guidebook
§ Designing and Teaching Learning Goals and Objectives (Robert J. Marzano)
§ Building Professional Learning Community at Work- (Richard and Rebecca Defour)
Schoolwide Reform Strategies-Core Academic Program
§ What did we do to strengthen the CORE ACADEMIC program of the school?
Responses:
§ PLC
§ CLC
§ STEM PD
§ Pictures of STEM
§ Creation-- pacing guides
§ Lesson plans—learning goals and objectives—turned in weekly
§ Principal keeps a spreadsheet of faculty and lesson plan submission
§
Schoolwide Reform Strategies-Extended Learning Time
§ How did we increase the AMOUNT and QUALITY of learning time?
§ If we implemented an after-school program, was it effective? Was it research-based?
Responses:
§ After-school program—grant funded—2 paid tutors paid through grant. GEAR UP is paying for tutoring as well
§ Schedule reformed to have 90 minutes (math and reading) for the year
§ 90 minutes common planning
§ one-on-one initiative with laptops
Schoolwide Reform Strategies-Enriched, Accelerated Curriculum
§ Are all students given the opportunity to learn in an enriched environment rather than some students receiving only basic skills instruction?
§ Are students given opportunities to solve real-world problems, to think creatively and demonstrate their reasoning?
§ Are all students given the opportunity to progress at their own pace?
Responses:
§ Groups—based upon needs--skills in math and language arts---students placed according to “like needs.” Groups are created based upon EOG, Language data, STAR, and teacher recommendation.
§ AIG ---inclusive model
§ Math I
§ Math 4 to 3 plan---4 maths in 3 years
Alignment to Improvement Planning
§ Is our schoolwide plan directly aligned to our state school improvement plan? The NCA plan? The professional development plan?
Responses:
§ District Plan---School Improvement Plan----PDP-----Professional Offering
Instruction by "Highly Qualified" Teachers
§ How many teachers at our school do not meet the "No Child Left Behind" (NCLB) definition of a highly qualified teacher? Are those teachers working to meet the definition?
§ Are we utilizing all staff, especially those paid with federal funds, in the best way possible, and are they appropriately certified? For example, if we continue to pull some students from the classroom for extra reading instruction, do those individuals have reading credentials?
Responses:
§ One—Alternative School teacher will be retiring
§ No one is pulled from regular classroom
§ One Teacher Assistant is EC…has received Corrective Reading Training
Professional Development
§ How did our professional development drive the school-wide plan?
§ Did our work in professional development improve instruction? Did it have an effort on student achievement?
§ Did we devote sufficient resources toward implementing the professional development piece (if "time" is often cited as an obstacle, then we need to try and allocate more resources to overcoming this)?
§ How were ALL staff involved in professional development?
Responses:
§ PD is focused on Leader in Me and CLC
§ Print out of who has been trained in Reading Foundations
§ Student Videos, mission statements, and student notebooks
§ Goldenleaf slideshow
Highly Qualified Teachers to High Need Schools
§ Do we have a high teacher-turnover rate? If so, are we taking appropriate actions to lower this rate?
§ What are we doing to support teachers and their employment at our school?
§ What is the experience level of our staff?
Responses:
§ Overall turn-over rate is not high---this year is a but unusual…lost 4 employees
§ BT program: mentors
§ Birthday celebrations each month
§ Faculty Christmas
§ Above and Beyond every month---send teacher and team to lunch that month
§ Teacher Appreciation—PTO dinner
Parental Involvement
§ Did we truly involve parents in our schoolwide program?
§ Was communication with parents ongoing and two-way, or was it mainly the school telling the parents what they can do to help?
Responses:
§ Yes: We have a joint PTO SIT Team meeting that will have minutes
§ Send home “Middle Years” sheets—monthly newsletters
§ Title I Parent Nights
§ Students showcase nights
§ Meet and Greet—Open House
Reviewing the Schoolwide Parent Involvement Policy and Compact
§ Are these documents truly reflective of what happened this school year?
§ If not, how can we improve these instruments?
Response:
§ PTO—SIT Team—Parental Involvement Plan
§ Put an estimated time of when to have parental involvement dates
Review Results of Parent Survey
§ Were there any surprises on the survey results? Are there any responses on the surveys that reflect a need to modify the program?
§ How many surveys were returned vs. sent out? Is there a change in the method of survey distribution that could increase the number of surveys returned?
§ Any suggestions from parents that need to be addressed immediately or that should be discussed at this meeting for a change in schoolwide program operation?
Response:
§ There were about 145 responses out of 400 students
§ The parent survey is attached to the SIT document given out at the beginning of the year
§ Low participation
§ 85% want kids to attend college
§ 20% felt they were not kept up to date
§ 20% felt that teachers did not report positive things
Preschool Transitioning
§ Did our program for transiting preschool into our school benefit our students?
§ Did we involve local preschool programs in our improvement work?
§ How could we increase communication between local preschool programs and our school?
Response:
§ N/A
Assessments
§ Do our assessments inform instruction, or are they used only to summarize student achievement?
§ Do we have a schoolwide system of assessment?
§ Do we utilize performance assessments and other authentic assessments?
Response:
§ STAR
§ Same as what was discussed in component #1
§ Using data to help drive decisions but can improve on
Timely Assistance
§ How did we identify students who were not achieving the state standards during the school year?
§ What did we do to help these students?
Response:
§ Students are put in programs to help them get caught up
§ Use data to determine where they need to be moved
§ Students are moved back if needed
Coordination of Programs
§ Are all facets of the school geared toward our schoolwide goals?
§ Is there any way that we could modify other programs (including violence prevention programs, nutrition programs, housing programs, Head Start, adult education, technical education and job training) to better support schoolwide goals?
Response:
§ PBIS ---Committee minutes
§ Use CTE to support STEM—County-Wide Goal—We need another CTE position
§ Nurse and social worker team
§ Big Brother-Big Sister Program---Check in—Check out—program buddies
§ Nutrition Department---set up during mornings for students who arrive late
Other items for discussion?
Response:
§ Pizza—Tuesday and Thursday—Pizza Hut Pizza…but would rather use this as option rather than students’ only meal
§ Mountain Mediation---attendance issue
Summary of Programmatic Review of Ten Schoolwide Components:
Swain Middle School has produced evidences that implementation of the 10 components are taking place successfully.