School Improvement Plan
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Part 1: General Information…………………………………….…………………………………..….p.
- Overview
- Instructions
- Timeline and Key Dates
Part 2: School Improvement Plan Template………………………………………………………p.
Section 1: Cover Page
Section 2: Vision, Mission, and Values
Section 3: Data Profile and Needs Analysis
Section 4: School Priority Areas and SMART Goals
Section 5: School Improvement Strategies and Implementation Timeline
Section 6: District-wide Initiatives
Part 3: RequirementChecklists …..…………..………………………………………………………p.
- Title I School-Wide Program Checklist
- SIG Model Elements Checklist (SIG Only)
PART 1: GENERAL INFORMATION
Overview
Pawtucket Public Schools participate in the Title I Schoolwide Program, which give schools greater latitude in organizing their resources and operations to support school improvement and improved student outcomes. As such, all schools are required to prepare school improvement plans. While PSDrequires schools to prepare school improvement plans every two years, federal regulation requires schools to submit school improvement plans every year. The district simplifies this process by asking schools to prepare two-year plans instead of yearly plans, but schools must revisit and modify the plan at the end of the first year and prior to the start of the second year. In other words, schools will be asked torevise their plans between years 1 and 2.
The planning process is the first phase in a very important cycle of implementationeffectiveness and performance monitoring. Pawtucket School Department has modified and streamlined the planning process to ensure that it is coherent, comprehensive, actionable, and results-oriented. The new school improvement plan (SIP) template is designed to provide a step-by-step, strategic approach to promote ongoing improvement district-wide. Through the planning process, school teamswill:
- Articulate the mission, vision and values of the school;
- Provide a data profile and needs analysis;
- Identify three to four SMART goals to address the prioritized areas of need;
- List specific strategies and implementation milestones to achieve eachgoal.
Instructions
Review and follow all directions carefully when completing the SIP template. School administrators should collaborate with their Instructional Leadership Teams (ILT) to complete all sections of the SIP template and use the checklist located in the Appendix Section to review the completed plan.
Timeline and Key Dates
- School teams attend SIP planning sessions
- School Teams/ Data teams do needs assessment
- School teams submit SIP sections 1-4 to Central Office for review
4. Feedback is given to school teams if needed. / June 3rd
- School teams incorporate feedback and complete sections 5
- Schools submit a final draft SIP for approval
PART 2: SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PLAN TEMPLATE
Section 1: Cover Page
Instructions: Please complete this cover page by entering the requested information below.
Name of School: / M. Virginia Cunningham Elementary SchoolSchool Address: / 40 Baldwin St., Pawtucket , RI, 02860
School Principal Name: / Paul A. Zona, Jr.
Classification (check one): / SIG School
X ESEA Waiver Warning School
ESEA Waiver Focus School
ESEA Waiver Priority School
None of the above
ILT/SIT Member Names: /
- Paul Zona
- Lisa Schultz
- Rebecca Zacharie
- Dennis Zacharie
- Jason Brule
- Laurie Ferland
- Cheryl Babiec
- Deborah Harrold
- Sandra Santos
- Alice Scullin
- Deb Rankowitz
- Dr. Carol MacNaught
- Michael Bennett
Parent and Community Member Representatives: / Elaine Cruz
Jane Blanchette
Superintendent : / Mrs. Patricia DiCenso
Superintendent ‘s Signature: / Date:
School Principal Signature: / electronic / Date: / 6.5.2014
Section 2: Vision, Mission, and Values
Instructions: Using the space provided below, insert the school’s vision statement describing the school’s aspirations for the future. Insert the mission statement explaining the school’s driving purpose. Lastly, define the core values or guiding beliefs that are to be embodied by all staff, students, and members of the school community.
What is the school’s vision statement?Our vision at M.V. Cunningham Elementary School is to provide a happy, caring and stimulating environment where children will recognize and achieve their fullest potential so that they can make their best contribution to society.
What is the school’s mission statement?
The mission of M.V. Cunningham Elementary School, in collaboration with families and community, is to provide all students with skills and opportunities to succeed in their educational experiences by creating a safe, positive, mutually supportive and respectful environment where all will take responsibility for their behavior and where expectations are high.
What are the school’s core values?
We believe that:
-All children can and will learn at their own pace.
-Education provides all children with the opportunity and skills to succeed.
-All families, teachers and community work as partners in education.
-All people will be assured a safe environment in which to work and learn.
-All children have a right to modified and individualized instruction to meet their needs.
-Our school will be a positive, mutually supportive and respectful environment for all.
-All partners and students will take responsibility for their behaviors.
-High expectations for all produce greater results.
Section 3: Data Profile and Needs Assessment
3.1. SCHOOL DATA PROFILE
Instructions: Complete the school data profile below by providing enrollment and demographic data for the current school year and inserting achievement and school climate data for the past several years.
Grades: / K-5 / # of Administrators: / 1.5Student Enrollment: / 568 / # of Teachers: / 38
5-yr Enrollment Trend: / steady / # of Support Staff: / 4
Student Demographic Breakdown (2012-13):
% Black: / 37 / % Limited English Proficient (LEP) / 26
% Hispanic: / 38 / % Special Education: / 8
% White: / 13 / % Free/Reduced (F/R) Meals: / 91
% Other: / 11
NECAP Achievement (Teaching Year): / 2010-11 / 2011-12 / 2012-13 / 2013-14
Math Overall % Proficient: / 45 / 40.6 / 51.4 / 45.3
Math % Below Proficient: / 55 / 59.4 / 48.6 / 54.7
Math African American % Proficient: / 53 / 38.8 / 48.1 / 41.2
Math Hispanic % Proficient: / 41 / 41.6 / 47.7 / 43.5
Math LEP % Proficient: / 13 / 13.8 / 28.2 / 12.8
Math IEP % Proficient: / n/a / 2.9 / 17.1 / 11.4
Reading Overall % Proficient: / 59 / 54.3 / 63.8 / 61.2
Reading % Below Proficient: / 41 / 45.7 / 36.2 / 38.8
Reading African American % Proficient: / 63 / 56.0 / 63.0 / 61.1
Reading Hispanic % Proficient: / 60 / 53.6 / 59.7 / 59.4
Reading LEP % Proficient: / 14 / 27.6 / 40.0 / 26.7
Reading IEP % Proficient: / n/a / 11.8 / 25.8 / 28.6
Writing Overall % Proficient: / 60 / 57 / 60 / 60
Science Overall % Proficient: / 16 / 17 / 11 / 11
School Climate Data: / 2010 / 2011 / 2012 / 2013
Student Attendance Rate: / 95 / 96 / 96 / 96.3
% of Students Chronically Absent: / 14 / 11 / 11 / 11
Graduation Rate (HS only): / n/a / n/a / n/a / n/a
Dropout Rate (HS only): / n/a / n/a / n/a / n/a
3.2. NEEDS ANALYSIS
Instructions: Prior to identify goals and strategies, school teams must engage in a thorough needs assessment to evaluate the current state of the school. School administrators and teams should carefully analyzeschool qualitative and quantitative data to identify school strengths and areas for development. Consider strengths and weaknesses in the following areas: academic achievement, teacher and leader effectiveness, curriculum and instruction, family and community engagement, use of time, use of data, culture and climate, and nonacademic supports. Summarize the school’s greatest strengths and growth areasand provide specific data points to support the analysis.
Summarize the school’s greatest strengths.- Student attendance rate of 96% in 2012-2013
- STAR assessment in Math and Reading is administered three times per year
- Common planning time is provided for all grade-level teamsonce a week
- Two members of the teaching staff attended the formative assessment professional development sessions led by Cassie Erkens
- MTSS (PBIS and RTI) year one implementation during 2013-2014 school year with support from RIDE and RIC. MTSS team meets at least once a month for PD training and team meetings.
- After-school COZ program
- College affiliations with RIC, URI and PC – practicum and student teachers
- Community partnership with Serve RI and Fidelity Investments
- Provide PD in-house by our own teacher leaders (Skyward, writing for ELLs transitioning into mainstream classrooms)
- Students know that they are cared for and safe.
- We have a hard-working faculty that cares about all students in this community.
- We hold a well-attended Kindergarten orientation every year.
Summarize the school’s most significant growth areas.
- Student growth in all academic areas - writing, reading, science, and especially in math.
- STAR Assessment – learning to use (analyze and implement) the STAR intervention program to inform instruction and pinpoint student gaps in learning.
- Academic vocabulary for all content
- Further training in RTI (academic and behavior) and PBIS (school environment)
- Incorporating writing into all content
- Skyward training
- Common Core and PARCC Readiness (technological component for implementation)
- Teaching of social and emotional competencies (self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills and responsible decision making) for students. Includes training for all staff members.
- Parent and community engagement
- Teacher training in high level quality questioning strategies, creation and use of assessments (formative and summative)
Section 4: School Priority Areas and SMART Goals
Instructions: Successful and sustainable school improvement requires a targeted and focused approach on the school’s most pressing needs and challenges. Please reflect upon school data and the needs analysis in Section 3 to identify a manageable set of priorities to guide the school’s improvement efforts over the next two years. Based on these identified priorities develop 3 or 4 SMART goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, results-oriented, and time-bound. SMART goals should align to and support the district’s vision, mission, and goals.
Step 1: Priority Areas
Priority Areas: Based upon the analysis conducted, what 3 to 4 priorities emerge for the school? Cite relevant evidence from your analysis to support these priorities.1. Improve student achievement in writing, reading, and mathematics.
2. Students will be able to comprehend and use academic vocabulary used in academia alone and in text.
3. To improve the school-family relationship:
- Currently we are not able to provide appropriate translation services for all school-home communication
- We have very limited participation in the Friends of Cunningham parent-teacher organization
- Currently we have very little information regarding parent needs and wishes in regard to the school-home relationship
- Currently we are developing a school-wide behavioral program (STAR) but need to develop a response to intervention program during the next school year.
Step 2: SMART Goals
Goal #1: Insert the first SMART goal below. / District strategic alignment:Specific:
At M.V. Cunningham Elementary School, we will increase student achievement in mathematics as it is measured by local and district indicators closing the achievement gap during the timeframe of this School Improvement Plan 2014-16. We are focusing primarily on mathematics for next year.
Measurement:
NECAP 2013-14: Mathematics – 45.3%. We will also be using our fall STAR data and pre and post-assessments. / Engaged students and families
Highly-effective educators
Student-centered instruction
Systems that work
Collaborative community
Goal #2: Insert the second SMART goal below. / District strategic alignment:
Specific:
Students will show growth in writing over the 2014-15 school year as measured by the use of district rubrics. All three rubrics measure organization and language/conventions. The majority of students will move from a 2 to a 3 (or a 3 to a 4, etc.) in both pieces of this rubric as measured from a baseline assessment used at the beginning of the year and then compared with a post/summative assessment given with the same rubrics at the end of the year.
Measurement:
- Formative and summative assessments given using the district rubrics (ie: extended pieces of writing)
- The first district writing task in November 2014
- The final district benchmark given in June 2015
- Previous year’s data on writing tasks
-The writing task is given three times a year, once in each type of writing: opinion/argument, informational/explanatory, and narrative
-Each grade level will be assigned a type of writing that they have taught during that trimester
-Grade level teams in each school will have a choice to use either a district-created task, or a task that has been created by the grade level team
-District rubrics will be used for each task
-These tasks will be used in summation for reporting to parents, and formatively as many aspects of the rubrics overlap, and all three writing standards will recur throughout the year.
Resources:
- Writing Assessments (district-wide) and rubrics
- Common Core State Standards (CCSS)
- Time to meet and share in PLC
- ELA Curriculum
- Given three times a year
Highly-effective educators
Student-centered instruction
Systems that work
Collaborative community
Goal #3: Insert the third SMART goal below. / District strategic alignment:
To improve the school-family relationship:
- Currently we are not able to provide appropriate translation services for all school-home communication
- We have very limited participation in the Friends of Cunningham parent-teacher organization
- Currently we have very little information regarding parent needs and wishes in regard to the school-home relationship
Measurement:
- Websites, including teacher websites, school website and district website
- Use of the School Messenger message system
- Informational Brochures and Flyers
- Communication by teacher newsletters and calendars
- Parent Informational Meetings
- Translation of communications with home whenever possible
- Update Cunningham website with relevant information on a continuous basis
- Have appropriate/relevant information posted on the Pawtucket School Department website
- Teacher websites to be created by interested individual teachers
- Alert Now messages in multiple languages by phone and email
- Informational brochures and flyers when appropriate should be sent home in multiple languages
- Teachers will be encouraged to communicate with home on a frequent basis using newsletters as well as phone calls and email (with translation as appropriate).
- Positive communication with parents regarding student achievement, behavior, special accomplishments, etc., will be encouraged
- Parent surveys to assess parents’ interests and needs regarding school information, events, etc.
- Encourage parent involvement in the Friends of Cunningham
- Use of translators, especially in Portuguese, Spanish and French Creole
- Alert Now Message System
- Translators through Pawtucket School Department
- Websites (District, School, Teacher)
- Surveys
- Use of the Alert Now system as appropriate throughout the school year
- Bi-monthly meetings of the Friends of Cunningham
Highly-effective educators
Student-centered instruction
Systems that work
Collaborative community
Goal #4: Insert the fourth SMART goal below. (Optional) / District strategic alignment:
Specific:
Cunningham will create, implement and sustain a Multi-Tiered Support System that encompasses Positive Behavioral Intervention and Support (PBIS) and Response to Intervention (RTI).
Measurement:
- Survey students and teachers on needs and successes pertaining to PBIS and RTI (various points during the school year).
- Analyze pertinent discipline and academic data (quantitative and qualitative).
- Attend PD sessions provided by the Sherlock Center.
- Work with TA’s (Technical Assistants from RIC).
- Research current best practices in PBIS and RTI.
- Analyze our current assessments (STAR, NECAP, SRI, district-wide writing, WIDA, pre and post tests, Survey Works, and benchmark assessments) in hopes of creating flexible groupings.
- Review data (on-going).
- Communicate progress to all stakeholders.
- RIC Sherlock Center (including TA’s)
- Surveys
- School, district and state assessments
- Common Core State Standards
- Time to meet (active PLC) and meeting times after school
- Skyward
- August 2014 – present MTSS yearly plan to teachers and staff.
- Follow plan throughout the year and adjust as needed.
- Gradual roll out of RTI portion of MTSS after receiving training from the Sherlock Center.
Highly-effective educators
Student-centered instruction
Systems that work
Collaborative community
School Improvement Plan
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Section 5: School Improvement Strategies and Implementation Timeline
Instructions: Identify a comprehensive and coherent set of strategies that are aligned with the school’s SMART goals identified in Section 4. Select strategies that are transformative, actionable, and student-centered. Complete the strategic planning process outlined below for each of the SMART goals. Provide a performance metric to help measure progress and gauge whether or not the strategy is being implemented effectively and with fidelity. Identify when each strategy will occur by year and semester.
Goal #1: Insert your first SMART goal below.- At M.V. Cunningham Elementary School, we will increase student achievement in writing, reading, and mathematics as it is measured by local, district, and state indicators closing the achievement gap during the timeframe of this School Improvement Plan 2014-16. We are focusing primarily on mathematics for next year.
- NECAP 2013-14: Writing – 60%, Reading – 61.2%, Mathematics – 45.3%
Summary: Briefly describe the school’s comprehensive approach to produce gains in this goal area.
Strategies: Identify a core set of strategies to achieve this goal. / Funding: If the strategy requires funding identify source: local or Title I / ESEA Waiver Intervention:
(If applicable) / Performance Metric: Identify an indicator for each strategy. / 2014-15 / 2015-16
9/14 / 1/15 / 5/15 / 9/15 / 1/16 / 5/16
1.1.Mathematics interventionists will work with grades 3-5 to analyze data to close the achievement gaps in mathematics. / Local and Title 1 / Lesson plans, observations, STAR / x / x / x / x / x / x