Guidance for West Virginia Schools and Districts

1. Guidance for West Virginia Schools and Districts April 2012

2. Introduction to SPL “We have more than 280,000 students in West Virginia, each with unique talents and abilities that deserve to be recognized and developed. To achieve the promise of ALL CHILDREN LEARNING, we must harness the power of technology and collective action to more effectively nurture the special gifts of each child and personalize the learning process.” Jorea Marple, Ed. D. State Superintendent of Schools

3. Purpose of SPL

4. Purpose of SPL The West Virginia Support for Personalized Learning (SPL) framework is a state-wide initiative that suggests flexible use of resources to provide relevant academic, social/emotional and/or behavioral support to enhance learning for all students.

5. Purpose of SPL SPL is characterized by a seamless system of high quality instructional practices allowing all students to sustain significant progress; whether they are considered to be at-risk, exceeding grade level expectations or at any point along the continuum.

6. Purpose of SPL SPL operates with the understanding that student learning increases when the right supports are available and responsively revised or removed as each student’s learning advances and deepens.

7. Purpose of SPL SPL incorporates and builds on processes formerly implemented as RTI.

8. Purpose of SPL The SPL framework supports shared responsibility between general and special education teachers for the learning outcomes of all students.

9. Purpose of SPL SPL, at its strongest will look different for each student. SPL, at its strongest will be customized for each district, school and classroom.

10. Purpose of the SPL Guidance Document The goal of the guidance documentis to provide collaboratively conceived, current information about how to support personalized learning. This information is intended to serve as a resource for each local district and school to use as they customize the framework to align with the needs of their students and with their local resources.

11. Purpose of the SPL Guidance Document Preface: Core Principles of SPL Section I: Introduction to SPL Section II: Essential Components of SPL Section III: Decision–Making in SPL Section IV: Connecting the Pieces of SPL Section V: FAQs Section VI: Glossary Section VII: References Section VIII: Resources

12. Philosophy of SPL Students are more likely to experience success academically, socially/emotionally and behaviorally, when school personnel make available to students a comprehensive configuration of supports and services.

13. Essential Components of SPL

14. Essential Components of SPL

15. Leadership SPL is a significant change that affects the entire educational system. Therefore, leadership is critical for effective implementation. The collaborative approach applied at the state level to construct SPL guidance and support is equally as essential at district and school levels.

16. Leadership State • Guidance Document • Self-assessment tools • Website providing professional development materials and resources District • Developing leadership roles • Defining and communicating criteria used to make decisions • Providing professional development • Acquiring and disseminating relevant resources School • Supporting team problem-solving • Developing a plan to strengthen essential components of SPL • Managing time and schedules to focus on identified needs

17. Leadership District leadership teams… • Initially discuss and reach common understanding about the essential components and supports needed locally, to effectively implement SPL; • Establish a long term commitment of building capacity through providing knowledge, time and other resources; • Work with school administrators to monitor and review implementation at the school level.

18. Leadership School leadership teams… • Reach common understanding of the purposes of SPL and customize support for their students accordingly; • Conduct self-assessments to focus strengthening the essential components of SPL within their school; • Support collaborative problem-solving and relevant data collection and analysis

19. School Climate and Culture People in any healthy organization must have agreement on how to do things and what is worth doing.

20. School Climate and Culture A positive school culture provides the foundation on which instruction will occur and all students will be engaged in learning.

21. School Climate and Culture • The core principles of the SPL framework embrace the impact of school culture upon student learning, and support the process of self-assessment. Tools are available to classify the type of culture existing in a school.

22. School Climate and Culture • A positive school culture exists when key elements of a positive school climate are solidly in place. • Towards the goal of creating more positive school cultures, SPL also encourages self-assessment of school climate. It acknowledges the value in identifying relative areas of strength and need within each school setting.

23. School Climate and Culture • Positive school climate consists of three primary domains: • Engagement • Safety • Environment

24. School Climate and Culture • SPL recognizes the following practices as positive supports to be established at the CORE level: • Defining and consistently teaching expectations • Acknowledging appropriate behaviors • Applying inclusive collaboration to decision –making • Monitoring and correcting • Using a culturally sensitive, solution-focused approach

25. Teams and Processes A student who is highly supported by a team of teachers collaborating routinely for his/her learning success is far more likely to succeed. High functioning professional learning communities (PLCs) support common goals, combining resources, sharing knowledge and determining the most effective use of staff and other resources.

26. Teams and Processes SPL supports the use of school teams to lead the examination of student work as well as other types of evidence of student performance as essential processes of informed decision-making. It is important to remember that school teams leading implementation of SPL do not necessarily need to be new teams.

27. Organizational Learning Collaborative Conversations Data / Evidence Collective Commitment Psychology of Learning TRUST IMPACTS STUDENT ACADEMIC SUCCESS Student Self Efficacy Collective Efficacy InstructionalBestPractices (CAI) Kids See Their Learning Is Different/Better “Student Sees Success” Instructional/Engagement Change

28. Effective Professional Development • How? • Why? • What? • Peer Support

29. Effective Professional Development Component Knowledge Skill Transfer • How? Demonstration 30% 20% 0% • Why? Theory 10% 5% 0% • What? Practice 60% 60% 5% • Peer Support 95% 95% 95%

30. What happens when we go directly here? Organizational Learning Collaborative Conversations Data / Evidence Collective Commitment Psychology of Learning TRUST IMPACTS STUDENT ACADEMIC SUCCESS Student Self Efficacy Collective Efficacy InstructionalBestPractices (CAI) KidsSeeTheirLearning IsDifferent/Better “Student Sees Success” Instructional/Engagement Change

31. Family and Community Partnerships Central to effective partnership is the recognition of shared responsibility and ownership of student challenges and successes. An effective educational partnership that includes parents, families, students and community members is necessary to increase the success of students and schools.

32. Family and Community Partnerships • Parent involvement in the SPL framework is characterized by meaningful two-way communication. • Community involvement can take various forms including, for example: • Learning centers • Local businesses supporting volunteers, special presentations, awards and recognition • Companies and corporations providing funding and hosting special activities

33. Assessments SPL embraces effective and efficient use of assessments to drive instructional decision-making at the individual student, classroom and school levels.

34. Assessments Screening/Interim Assessments • Time frame: Occurs at the beginning , middle and end of the school year • Students assessed: All students are screened through the process • Main purposes: • Help teachers differentiate instruction based upon student performance • Help teachers determine instructional groups • Help teachers determine if students are making adequate progress through current instruction and if there is a need to change instruction • Help teachers determine risk status of individual students • Help identify a need to use additional assessment processes

35. Assessments Formative/Classroom Assessments Processes • Time frame: Ongoing • Students assessed: All students • Main purposes: • Help determine if students are meeting or exceeding grade level standards through current instruction and if there is a need to change instruction • Help teachers differentiate instruction by relevant content, process and product • Help teachers adjust the degree and type of scaffolding within a gradual release of responsibility • Help students and teachers determine rate of growth

36. Assessments Progress Monitoring • Time frame: Determined by risk status • Students assessed: Students receiving TARGETED and INTENSIVE Instruction • Main purposes: • Help determine if students are making progress towards learning specific skills, processes or understandings through current instruction • Inform school-wide action plans 

37. Assessments Diagnostic Assessment • Time frame: As needed • Students assessed: Selected students (done when more information is needed for program planning) • Main purposes: • Help teachers adjust degree and type of scaffolding within a gradual release of responsibility • Help teachers differentiate instruction by relevant content, process and product

38. Assessments Summative Assessments • Time frame: End of school year or end of course • Students assessed: All students • Main purpose(s): • Gives school leaders and teachers feedback about the overall effectiveness of their programs • Informs school-wide action plans • Provides a longitudinal view of curricular strengths and weaknesses

39. Assessments “Large scale assessments are designed to give the system feedback so the system can learn; classroom assessment is designed to give individuals feedback so the individual can learn.” (Anne Davies)

40. Curriculum and Instruction Improved Student Outcomes

41. Curriculum and Instruction High quality CORE instruction is the foundation of SPL. It is characterized by: • High expectations for all students • Takes place in an academic environment that is safe, challenging, engaging; allowing students to take academic risks without fear of failure. All students need access to high quality CORE instruction. Quality instruction at the CORE level requires a focus of personnel and resources as indicated by students’ needs. CORE Instruction

42. Curriculum and Instruction • Utilizes differentiated and scaffolded instruction to meet students’ needs • Incorporates small group activities • Focuses on the most critical standards and objectives • Utilizes evidence from summative and ongoing formative assessment to make instructional decisions • Maximizes instructional time • Emphasizes 24/7 learning CORE Instruction

43. Curriculum and Instruction The WV SPL framework suggests some type of universal screening for all students at the beginning of the school year. This screening should be brief and focus on important concepts that form the foundation for the year’s instruction. Significant value is also seen in teachers, administrators and building teams reviewing screening and progress monitoring data; utilizing a systematic process of discussing data so that effective adjustments to instruction can be made. CORE Assessment

44. Curriculum and Instruction The relevancy of the data used to drive instruction and scaffolding is a key consideration. SPL acknowledges the value of informal assessments such as observations, checklists, rubrics, student work samples and student self-assessments in furnishing the teacher with valuable information and data, resulting in improved educational experiences for the student. SPL also supports the use of performance tasks within instruction and as a means of demonstrating mastery of concepts and skills. CORE Assessment

45. Curriculum and Instruction TARGETED instruction providing additional support is triggered when a student’s progress in the regular classroom environment, despite strong commitment and high quality instruction at the CORE level, slows to below State-approved grade-level standards or exceeds State-approved grade-level standards. TARGETED Support

46. Curriculum and Instruction SPL endorses the value of instructional supports at the TARGETED level including: • Differentiating, scaffolding and using multi-modal strategies to engage students • Providing explicit instruction that emphasizes skill building as well as contextualized instruction that emphasizes application of skills • Peer interaction to scaffold student understanding • Teacher use of learning progressions within the standards and objectives as guidance for constructing scaffolding • Accommodations that affect how a student learns, not what they are expected to learn TARGETED Support

47. Curriculum and Instruction The focus is on identifying the specific understandings and/or skills needing support and on discerning the most effective means for meeting a student’s needs. Formative assessment processes are used by the teacher throughout TARGETED instruction. Classroom teachers use this information to adjust instruction within the flexible groups. Progress monitoring is systematically embedded within the TARGETED instruction. TARGETED Assessment

48. Curriculum and Instruction Discussions about student progress at the Targeted level may or may not take place formally in problem-solving team meetings. Informal consideration and reflection occur as ongoing processes. A student’s continued participation in TARGETED small group instruction is determined by the student’s needs and level of success, with the understanding SPL suggests movement to a more intense level of support not typically occur, before a student has a minimum of nine weeks of TARGETED support. TARGETED Assessment

49. Curriculum and Instruction INTENSIVE instructional support is designed for students whose progress, despite rich and meaningful instruction at the CORE and TARGETED levels, slows to below State-approved grade level standards, or significantly exceeds State-approved grade- level standards. Instructional support at the INTENSIVE level focuses on individual needs as indicated by the assembled data from CORE and TARGETED instruction and additional data sources as needed. INTENSIVE Support

50. Curriculum and Instruction INTENSIVE Support SPL endorses the value of instructional supports at the INTENSIVE level including: • Intensified scaffolding and time: suggested to occur 3 to 5 times per week for class sessions of 30 to 60 minutes • Smaller groups of similarly-skilled and needs-alike students or one-to-one • Most likely to occur outside the general education classroom • May occur before, during or after the school day dependent on available resources and personnel. SPL does not promote: • INTENSIVE support replacing opportunity to receive instruction in science, social studies, physical education and the arts • Isolated skill drill requiring students to independently make generalizations and connections back to the CORE content.