ENFA- Ensuring Numeracy for All A Middle School Model: Supporting Mathematics Instruction

1. ENFA- Ensuring Numeracy for AllA Middle School Model:Supporting Mathematics Instruction The LDOE Office of STEM Lynne Tullos, Director of Mathematics Guillermo Ferreyra, LDOE Deputy Superintendent

2. ENFA-Middle School Model ….is about leading change, about success, about partnerships, about reinventing the middle school, about preparing students to be successful in the 21st Century!

3. ENFA-MSM is a Whole School Reform Model • …designed to provide the support and professionalism needed to ensure quality instruction in math and across all content, integrated learning strategies, and a shared-leadership school structure. • … distinctive because of the focus on early adolescents’ needs and characteristics that make them unique.

4. Research-Based Partnership ENFA-MSM is based on successful research-based initiatives, such as TheTurning Points Model and SREB’s Making Middle Grades Work

5. Research says…. The most important function of middle schools is to address the developmental needs of the students who are transitioning and have a set of needs different from elementary or high school students.

6. Who ARE these “Tweens,” where did they come from, and what’s in their minds? Let’s step back and look at our audience. In your handouts you will find a list of the “Characteristics of Middle School Students.”

7. CHARACTERISTICS OF MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS • Early adolescents are in a particularly difficultstage of development. They begin to look at themselves, they begin to create, to seek their own self image, to try new behaviors, to wonder, to be not a child, but not yet an adult. • Middle schoolers experience dramatic changes in physical development which are wildly individualized. • Fatigue is common, due to the sheer amount of energy used in their metabolism.

8. Additional CHARACTERISTICS OF MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS • They seem mature, but often lack the experiences to understand the changes they are encountering. Many find it difficult to cope. • They see only black/white issues, not shades of gray as adults are able to do. • Abstract concepts may be discussed, but are less often understood. This is why Algebra is a tough subject in middle school, as most concrete thinkers have a hard time understanding abstract concepts.

9. And more CHARACTERISTICS OF MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS • Deflating comments or criticism can be devastating. Sarcasm is taken at face value, due to concrete thinking. • Peer approval and acceptance is a driving social need. Conversely, these students can be heartless in their own comments. • Most early adolescents thrive on competition, love sports, appreciate good sportsmanship, and practice hard at athletic skills. • Research shows that many early adolescents experience a lack of self-confidence, feel no control over their circumstances, and have a strong need for conformity.

10. “The developmental needs of middle school students…. • Include intellectual, social, emotional, and physical aspects, and all must be addressed for optimal student learning and well-being. • In order for middle schools to be successful, middle schools must implement a philosophy that addresses these developmental needs!” Source: Cherise Fuselier March 8, 2007 Final Paper Middle School Philosophy

11. Research Warns:Issues To Be Avoided In Transitioning to a True Middle School Model …………. • The lack of teacher content professional learning-- but also the lack of PD on the actual middle school structure; • The lack of attention to curriculum and pedagogy specific to the middle level learner; • The failure of a leadership style that is top-heavy and not shared; • Making decisions not based on research; • The failure to be honest about where we are and where we know we should be…. and then doing something about it.

12. The SREB studied the 10 highest performing schools in the MMGW network and analyzed data from the Middle Grades Assessment. Two major findings emerged: • Successful middle grades schools must have a clear mission and vision of success. • The principal, teachers, and district personnel must communicate and make decisions based on clarity of purpose — to prepare all students for rigorous college-prep courses in high school and to inform parents regularly of students’ readiness levels for high school.

13. Successful middle grades schools must set high expectations. • Ask students to redo work to the level of C or above, • Use rubrics to assist students in doing high-quality work, • Assist teachers in developing common end-of-course and unit exams (using the A,B,C, Not Yet grading practice), • Provide structured extra help for students, and • Provide multiple opportunities for students to learn.

14. To Reinvent Today’s Middle School, We Need…. • Teachers organized into teams that plan together, examine student work together, teach together, and help make decisions that affect instruction/assessment • Core and exploratory teachers working together • Advisory programs regularly available to all students • Competitive sports activities-- available to many • “Curriculadominated by best practices and increased rigor, rather than classical recitation, boring textbooks, and instructional blandness” (McEwin, Dickinson, & Jenkins, 1996) (Dickinson, T.S. (2001). Reinventing the Middle School: A proposal to counter arrested development)

15. Guidelines from Research on a True Middle School Model Components of Exemplary Middle Schools • Interdisciplinary teaming • Advisory programs • Varied instruction • Exploratory programs • Transition programs • Focus Teams or Shared Leadership

16. 1. Interdisciplinary teaming ….is really about creating small learning communities we will call “academies.” • Schools will organize teachers into small interdisciplinary teams of two to four people and students into academic teams with no more than 50-100 students per teacher. • Common planning time is created weekly for teacher teams. • Options exist for “looping,” which is the practice of teaching the same students for more than one year.

17. 2. Advisory programs …provide opportunities for a small group of students to bond with a caring adult. • Every two weeks, the schedule will allow 30 min. for Advisory Planning (AP) and 30 min. for either ZAP* (Zeros Aren’t Permitted) or Expository Clubs. • EACH student develops his/her Personal Learning Plans (PLP), similar to IEPs, to capture his/her current status and plans for success.

18. 3. Varied instruction (plus ensuring rigor in teaching and assessments) … means not every lesson is the same with every teacher every day. • Lecture, direct instruction, modeling, cooperative learning groups, hands-on, activity-based, or inquiry-based learning strategies are used, when appropriate (Levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy). • Teachers utilize the concept of gradual release of control: moving students from dependent, teacher-directed instruction to independent, student-autonomous learning.

19. 4. Exploratory programs …remind us “Curricula" is more than the content and skills covered in core academic courses. • Exploratory programs are designed based on teachers’ interests outside of school. • Students are allowed to select their exploratory classes based upon personal interest.

20. 5. Transition programs …..student movement into the school from elementary and out of the school to high school is facilitated by transition activities. • Visiting the school in spring during the year before entry • Orientation sessions for small groups of students during the summer • General orientation for large groups of students right before school starts • Big Brother/Big Sister sponsors at the receiving school

21. 6. Shared Leadership …….means many more people than the administrators have the information and the power to make decisions and enact school changes. • It requires an operational structure that allows more people to lead the thinking of the school and toparticipate in decision making at all levels.

22. Building Shared Leadership: • Form faculty teams and give them significant responsibility • Schedule regular meeting times for them to work together • Improve methods of communication, and • Find ways to implement shared decisions

23. ENFA-MSM and Data • EVERYTHING we do in ENFA-MSM must be the result of what our data tell us. • Data must be displayed on data walls to represent each student in your school and to remind us each student counts. • Planning, activities, instruction, scheduling, and classes must all focus on data.

24. Where Do We Begin? Cohort 1 in 2011-12 Year 1: Modified Turning Points Model Establishing STEM Leadership Teams ….tasked with incorporating these components into the School Action Plans and school-wide changes as the school moves toward a true Middle School Model. Conducting a gap-analysis of your data Creating an expectation of success and personal responsibility for that success through Personal Learning Plans (PLP)

25. Year 1 and Beyond….. Focuses on professional learning for all, including math content, Leading Change, and Increasing Academic Rigor Plans for block or modified schedules to meet the time needs for interdisciplinary teaming (common planning time), focus team meetings (“teachers making decisions for the whole school, but guided and supported by the administration”), and

26. Year 1 and Beyond………. Designs for STEM After School and Summer Programs–for all students Plans for additional Expository Classes that are based on teacher interest and Plans for a shared leadership role and anticipate success as everyone begins to take on a shared responsibility in making it happen!

27. Curricula should: • Include an understanding of the middle school student • Be based on what we want student to know and be able to do • Engage students and teachers in authentic work • Provide assessments that demonstrate students can do important work Source: Turning Points: Guide to Curriculum Development

28. What exactly does this mean to the STEM ENFA-MSM Partnership? • This partnership involves teachers and teams in collaborative work and planning to ensure that learning for ALL students is rigorous, purposeful and related to the real world. • A strong focus is placed on integrating effective approaches to teaching mathematics throughout the curriculum, including the transition to the CCSS curriculum. • Every week, teacher teams use data to guide decisions and engage in activities such as setting standards, creating assessments, curriculum development and looking collaboratively at student work.

29. It means: Increasing Rigor • Raise level of content • Increase complexity • Give appropriate support and guidance • Open your focus • Raise expectations Source: Blackburn, B. (2008). Rigor is Not a Four Letter Word.

30. SREB Research Supports Increased Rigor for All Students: “It is essential for teachers to collaborate on increasing the Proficient- and Advanced-level tasks, items, assignments and assessments.”

31. SREB research over the past 20 years contradicts a common stereotype….. • that low-achieving students prefer easy work that requires little effort. • “Repeatedly, SREB has found that students are more engaged, exert greater effort and learn more when they are challenged and supported by teachers to meet grade-level standards in English and math.”

32. ENFA-MSM Years 1, 2, and 3 Requirements Year 1: • Interdisciplinary Teaming with Common Planning Time • Leadership Teams • School Action Plans (focusing your SIP on mathematics needs) • Varied Instruction, RTI • Increased Rigor in All Content Areas Years 2 & 3: • Focus Teams= Shared Leadership • Advisory/Advocacy Program • Exploratory Classes • Ongoing and Planned Intervention Time

33. The LDOE Office of STEM Provides Support through: • Professional Learning workshops on mathematics content and pedagogy for teachers, interventionists, and district supervisors • The CCSS Math Transition Curricula

34. I’d like to introduce you to Molly Stadalis, formerly the Principal at Patterson JHS in St. Mary Parish…. “Four years ago, my teachers felt they lacked control over instruction and were unable to make a difference in student learning. The school had no common curricular focus and no set process for professional development. The teachers weren’t talking much about how their students were doing and what they could do to improve academic progress,” Molly Stadalis. (Handout: Article on Patterson JHS)

35. Principal Molly Stadalisof PJHS …encouraged the formation of focus teamsand implemented research that supported the teaming concept. “I began to see Patterson Junior High as a place where teachers would meet daily to work on becoming more effective professionals to increase student achievement,” said Stadalis, a past recipient of the Louisiana Middle School Principal of the Year award.

36. How did Molly accomplish this? • During daily common planning time, interdisciplinary core teacher teams meet to plan together and examine student work. • Schoolfocus teamsmeet monthly to address issues of importance across grade levels. • PJHS’s six focus teams concentrate on literacy, numeracy, rigor and high expectations, transitions, teaming, and CHAMPS (CHAMPS is a school-wide focus on student behavioral and procedural expectations). • The principal shifted her role at faculty meetings (now focus teams) from issuing directives to assisting and serving as organizer, monitor, participant and supporter.

37. Advice from Terrie Johnson, Principal at Elm Grove Middle School in Bossier, an ENFA middle school (Handout) “The research is clear, however, that implementing the model in parts dilutes the effect. The greatest gain that is sustainable is achieved by implementing the whole philosophy of the Middle School Model. It is demanding to do this. Surround yourself with supportive people you can trust.”

38. Terrie Johnson shares…… “Implementing the Middle School Model is difficult, but the time and energy commitment from all parties, particularly from the principal, is extraordinary and worth it. Keep your eyes on the big picture!”

39. STEM invites you to RSVP :

40. Contact Information STEM Goal Office: 225-342-3411 • Guillermo Ferreyra, STEM Deputy Superintendent Guillermo.Ferreyra@la.gov • Lynne Tullos, Director of Mathematics Lynne.Tullos@la.gov