School Improvement Planning and No Child Left Behind (NCLB)

1. School Improvement Planning and No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Lol Fearon Warren Logee Connecticut State Department of Education

2. Objectives: • Understand NCLB timeline • Learn process for developing school improvement plans and required components • Learn what school improvement resources are available and how to access them

3. School Improvement Planning Q: Who should complete a school improvement plan? A: Any school that is interested in continuously improving student achievement. Q: Who must complete a school improvement plan? A: Any school identified as being “in need of improvement” must complete a plan, have it peer reviewed, and approved by its Board of Education

4. Identification as “In Need of Improvement” • A school becomes identified after two consecutive years of failing to make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) in the same subject • A school exits improvement if it makes AYP for two consecutive years in the area(s) for which it was identified • A district can also be identified as being in need of improvement

5. Adequate Yearly Progress • % students Proficient and above in reading and math • 95% participation rate on CMT and CAPT or Skills Checklist • Additional academic indicators: • Elementary and middle schools: 70% at or above Basic on CMT Writing • High schools: 70% graduation rate

6. Intermediate Goals: Percent Proficient on Mathematics and Reading Tests to Determine AYP and Reach 100% Proficient by 2013-14

7. Safe Harbor • Safe Harbor is an alternate method for making AYP • Safe Harbor can be achieved when the school: • Reduces the % of students NOT proficient by 10% in the subject area and group that the school was identified for; • meets the additional academic indicator; and • meets the 95% participation rate requirement

8. Consequences for Title I Schools

9. Corrective Action Options: • Replace staff relevant to AYP failure • New curriculum (Scientifically Research-Based with professional development) • Significantly decrease management authority at the school level • Appoint outside expert (School Status Assessment can count) • Extend school year or day • Restructure the organizational structure of the school

10. Consequences for Title I Schools, cont.

11. Restructuring: • Replace staff • Hire outside agency/expert • Fundamental changes in governance • State takeover

12. What if a school is in need of improvement and makes AYP for 1 year? • School is put “on hold” in terms of the consequences, and does not advance to the next level of consequences • Same consequences remain in place for the school • If school makes AYP again the following year, then it exits school improvement

13. Small Group Activity • Please take out the Sample School Improvement Plan found in the left-hand side of your folder • With a partner, use the attached feedback form to determine whether or not all of the required components are evident in the Sample School Improvement Plan (15 minutes)

14. School Improvement Plan Pair/Share • Did you have a school improvement plan last year? • Who knows about it? • How frequently did you refer to the plan? • Did the plan act as a filter for all school activities? • Was the plan successful? How do you know?

15. Steps to Developing a School Improvement Plan • Treasure Hunt (Needs Assessment/Data Analysis) • Setting Priorities and Goals • Develop Actions and Strategies • Monitoring Implementation Plan 5. Staff Development & Resource Allocation

16. Taking Inventory • Think about the data that is analyzed most frequently in your school when planning for improvement. • Write the data point that is most frequently analyzed on a post-it note. • Turn to your neighbor and share the data point that you listed on the post-it note.

17. Data Rich Information Poor DRIP Syndrome

18. Why? “Until you have data as a backup, you’re just another person with an opinion.” Dr. Perry Gluckman

19. Two Types of Data • Effect Data:Student achievement results from various measurements • Cause Data:Information based on actions of the adults in the system

20. The Leadership/Learning Matrix (Reeves, 2005) Effects/Results Data Antecedents/Cause Data

21. Step 1: Treasure Hunt (Data Analysis/Needs Assessment) • Involve staff, parents, community members and students (as appropriate) in the process • Review disaggregated achievement data and note high priority areas • Identify school-wide factors that may be root causes or barriers to progress • Identify adult behaviors that may be root causes or barriers to progress

22. T.U.R.N. the Corner with Data Analysis • Triangulate cause and effect data • Urgency of action • Replication of best practices can only occur when antecedents of excellence are identified • Next Steps must be actionable, identified in terms of a timeline, and communicated to school community (Leadership and Learning Center, 2006)

23. Treasure Hunt Individual Reflection • Who will you include in your school improvement plan development and monitoring activities? Do they represent all school community stakeholders? • What data will you need to analyze (think cause and effect)? • Are the data in a user-friendly format?

24. Step 2: Setting Priorities and Goals • Identify 2 or 3 high priority areas of need • Set 3-5 Tier I Indicators that are written as SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound) goals • Example: The percentage of K-6 students with disabilities scoring at proficiency or higher in reading will increase from 52% to 79% as measured by the CMT administered in March 2011.

25. Are these SMART? • 7th grade will increase the percentage of students who are proficient in reading. • The percentage of students who graduate will increase to 95%. • The percentage of 6th grade girls who are proficient in estimation will increase from 62% to 75% as measured by CMT 2010.

26. Setting Priorities and Goals Individual Reflection • Is it clear whether your goals are stated in terms of percentage or percentage points growth? • How do the goals become operationalized in the classroom? • How are the goals communicated to staff? Students? Parents? Community?

27. Step 3: Develop Action Steps and Strategies • Determine Tier II Indicators that quantify the actions that adults will take to reach improvement goals • Example: Percentage of K-6 teachers implementing performance assessments at least once a quarter will increase from 10% to 100% as measured by lesson plans and student portfolios reviewed in December 2008. • Identify timeline, person(s) responsible, professional development and resources that are required to implement action steps

28. Action Steps and Strategies Individual Reflection • How will the strategies provide you with leverage in other areas? • Are the strategies phrased in terms of adult behaviors? • How will the strategies change instructional practices?

29. Step 4: Monitoring Implementation • Describe how, when, and by whom each strategy will be monitored • Set specific dates and benchmarks to communicate progress regularly throughout the year • Plans must be monitored on two levels: 1. Implementation 2. Efficacy

30. Monitoring Implementation Individual Reflection • How is the implementation of your plan monitored? • How is the effectiveness of your plan monitored? • How do you communicate monitoring results to the school community? • How do you determine whether or not the strategies should be revised?

31. Step 5: Staff Development & Resource Allocation • Identify new skills sets that will be needed to successfully implement strategies • Embed professional development into routine practices, such as looking at student work in data teams • All resources should be allocated through a data-driven decision making process so that the identified strategies can be successfully implemented

32. How Do We Allocate Teacher Quality – Our Most Important Resource? Source: Yun, J. T. & Moreno, J. F. (January-February 2006).“College Access, K-12 Concentrated Disadvantage, and the Next 25 Years of Education Research.” Educational Researcher, Vol. 35, No. 1, pp. 12-19.

33. Staff Development and Resource Allocation Individual Reflection • How have you determined where to place faculty? • What new learning must occur for staff to implement the plan? • How have you allocated resources to support the implementation of your plan?

34. If You Think That Document Drills Will Improve Student Achievement, You’re Wrong % Proficient Format of Plan Source: Reeves, D. B., The Learning Leader, ASCD, 2006.

35. Remember: • What gets measured and monitored gets done • Plans can only drive school improvement when they are regularly reviewed and revised through a Data Team process • Plans will most likely be realized when representatives from the people who are responsible for carrying them out are included in the planning process • Plans are only as effective as the leadership that monitors their implementation

36. Connecticut Accountability for Learning Initiative (CALI) • The goal of CALI is to develop and offer a model of state support to districts and schools to support the process of continuous school improvement and to accelerate the closing of Connecticut’s achievement gap • Title I schools/districts identified as being “in need of improvement” and Priority School Districts are being supported through CALI

37. FOR ALL EDUCATORS: Best Practices in Educating our English Language Learners (ELLs) Basic Training Best Practices in Educating our English Language Learners (ELLs) Advanced Training Data-Driven Decision Making/Data Teams (DDDM/DT)* Making Standards Work (MSW) Effective Teaching Strategies (ETS)* Common Formative Assessments (CFA)* Improving School Climate (ISC)* Scientific Research Based Interventions (SRBI, also known as Response to Intervention)* *Certification training available FOR COACHES & LEADERS: Coaching Instructional Data Teams Coaching Effective Teaching Strategies The Change Academy: Leading Change & Getting Everyone on Board Classroom Data: Feedback, Follow Up & Follow Through School Climate for Leaders School Improvement Planning & No Child Left Behind FOR PARAPROFESSIONALS: CALI Overview* CALI Professional Development includes:

38. Connecticut Accountability for Learning Initiative

39. Accessing CALI • Title I schools identified as being in need of improvement and schools in Priority School Districts can access CALI professional development for free • Schools who are not eligible for free training can register for a fee ($85.00 per day, per person for basic training and certification training, except for DDDM/DT, MSW, ETS, and CFA certification where the charge is $2500.00 per session, per person). • Any school can contact their local Regional Education Service Center (RESC) or the State Education Resource Center (SERC) as each has certified trainers in all CALI modules

40. Resources • Connecticut State Department of Education: http://www.ct.gov/sde • Connecticut Accountability for Learning Initiative: http://www.ct.gov/sde/CALI • School and District Improvement Guide: http://www.csde.state.ct.us/public/cedar/nclb/sip/index.htm • CALI Event Registration: http://www.sdecali.net

41. Questions? Comments? Iris White Associate Education Consultant Connecticut State Department of Education 165 Capitol Avenue, Room 227 Hartford, CT 06106 P: 860-713- 6794 F: 860-713-7023 Iris.white@ct.gov