Union County Public Schools “A Passion for Excellence” KASC-Support in Schools

1. Union County Public Schools “A Passion for Excellence” KASC-Support in Schools Patricia Sheffer, Assistant Superintendent & Director of Instruction Holly Keeney, Supervisor of Instruction

2. Learning targets for this session are… Target #1 • Identifying the positive role that KASC played in assisting the Union County School District in making remarkable progress in student achievement Target #2 • Describe the various KASC products, trainings, resources, and supports that are available to individual schools or districts

3. Union County's ACADEMIC GAINSwith KASC Support • District climbed from 161 to 87, 87 to 71, 71 to ? • Trend-Continued Gains • MES met AYP in all areas for two consecutive years and is out of Tier status • High School met AYP in all areas -1st Time Since 2004 • Gaps between subgroups were significantly reduced • District has significantly reduced the number of students performing Novice • District increased the percentage of P & D African American students in both Reading & Math • District increased the percentage of P & D Special Education students in Math

4. Reasons for Success • Improved Teaching Pedagogy • Outstanding Instructional support staff • Motivated Students • Community’s understanding that Union County was in educational peril • Belief that Union County and excellence should go hand in hand • Continuous Formative Assessment • Kentucky Association of School Councils (KASC) Partnership • Right people in the right places • REAL Accountability

6. KASC Academic Data & Accountability Resources In 2009, lawmakers passed Senate Bill 1, calling for new standards, testing, and accountability in Kentucky. While the law set aside the usual practice of calculating an academic index for each school, KASC, the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence, and the Council for Better Education responded to requests from schools across the state to keep publishing testing results that would provide trend data for school-level performance. The Transition Index was first published in 2009 and uses a formula to compare test scores from 2007 to the present to show school progress. KASC has complied 2010 Data available online….. • Report which compares KCCT Test results from 2007 through 2010 and tracks the status of student groups based on family income, disability, gender, ethnic background, and other factors Disaggregated Transition Index Report. • Disaggregated Index Excel file download Disaggregated Index. • Sortable Excel version of the overall school and district Transition Index results, Transition Index Only 2010. • Overall district results Transition District Combined 2010. • Transition Index in each subject as well the Transition Index for each school and district, Excel file, Transition Index Subject 2010. KASC TOP 20 REPORTS • KASC publishes annual reports that show how schools across Kentucky are performing. These materials have helped many schools find new resources to boost performance in specific content areas or find schools with similar demographics to gain new insights on achievement. • OUR REPORTS • Top 20 schools, overall and by school type and content area: 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 • Disaggregated performance: 2007, 2008, The 2011 Data will be available soon from KASC…..

7. District Rankings

8. District Overall Index Scores

9. District Performance: 4 Year Trend % Proficient & Distinguished

10. District Novice Reduction 4 Year Trend

11. KASC Products & Resources KASC & Union County • SBDM Toolkits • Student Work Kits • 4.1 Core Content Checklists • 4.1 Core Academic Cards • 4.1 Vocabulary Kit & Vocabulary Cards • Brain-Based Teaching Checklist New KASC Materials • Program Review Toolkits • KCAS Student Mastery Gradebook • Constructed Response examples • KCAS Student Checklists • KCAS Vocabulary Kit & Vocabulary Cards • KCAS Checklists

12. KASC Training and PD SBDM topics • SBDM training for new and experienced council members • KASC principal selection training • Councils and Open Meetings • Council Glossary & Basics • Council Elections • Scoring Guide for Wise and Proficient Council Work • Councils and Staffing Cuts • Planning and Legal Issues COMPLETE INSTRUCTIONAL WORKSHOPS • RIGOR: STEP IT UP! • COLLABORATION: IT’S A PROFESSIONAL PARTNERSHIP • FORMATIVE (CONTINUOUS) ASSESSMENT • SUCCESS WITH RTI • PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITIES • SUCCESS WITH OPEN-RESPONSE • CLOSING THE DISABILITY GAP • DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION • ALL-STAR STRATEGIES KASC PD WORKSHOPS • ANALYZING STUDENT WORK • THE CHALLENGING LEARNER: TEACHING THE HARD-TO-REACH • ON-DEMAND WRITING • BRAIN-COMPATIBLE TEACHING AND LEARNING • REARCH AND CLASSROOM DISCIPLINE QUICK PD: ONE-HOUR POWER SESSIONS • TEACHING VOCABULARY • MARZANO BASICS • SIMILARITIES & DIFFERENCES • NON-LINGUISTIC REPRESENTATIONS NEW PD TITLES FOR 2011… • CONSTRUCTED RESPONSE –understand characteristics of short-answer and open-response questions and how to choose the assessment item that best matches specific standards. • SENATE BILL 1 IMPLEMENTATION AND LEADERSHIP -- Designed to help teachers and leaders in Senate Bill 1 Implementation.  Be sure your schools are all on the same page with Kentucky’s Core Academic Standards
, Formative Assessment, Program Reviews, and overall 
Assessment and Accountability

13. KASC Individualized Plans KASC will provide follow-up facilitation to help apply their resources to a district’s unique situation. The KASC consultants will also facilitate district leadership to develop critical steps in moving each of your schools forward depending on individual levels of competency. After declining KDE’s offer of assistance in 2008, Union County Public Schools choose instead to partner with KASC and develop a more in-depth, rigorous approach to achieving rapid gains for our district. Union County’s Plan • Commit to Excellence and define our “Top 10” vision by identifying , empowering, & equipping our District & School Level Leadership Teams with KASC facilitating this process • Face the “Brutal Facts” with frequent walk-through data and our position in the KASC district rankings (161/175) • Partner with KASC and utilize their resources to provide honest feedback • Utilize KASC instructional resources and professional development for improving student achievement • Visit” Top Performing” schools identified by KASC and borrow ideas that work • Implement our “Balanced Assessment System" with KASC support • Provide frequent support for building principals and SBDM councils through KASC resources • Emphasize an academic focus with “Top Ten Expectations” and improving “Student Achievement “above all else!

14. Union County’s Renewed ACADEMIC FOCUS for the Classroom with KASC Support • Implementing Engaging, Rigorous, Research-based Instructional Practices in Every Classroom • Understanding Congruency between Learning Targets & Standards • Utilizing Formative Assessment Effectively • Developing a Balanced Assessment System • Developing School Level Leadership Teams that focus on “Student Achievement” • Every KID, Every Classroom, Every Day!

15. The Connection between Learning Targets and Formative-Assessments-(Congruency) Bookends Sandwich Without the congruency between the target and formative-assessment, the whole lesson falls apart.

16. Underlying Principles of Continuous Formative Assessment: (KASC) 1. Success in your classroom has to be defined by student work that demonstrates mastery and meets the minimum standard of proficiency. • We don`t just want compliance from students. • We want demonstrations of learning.

17. Underlying Principles continued: 2. The focus has to be on the end result of student learning and build everything else from that foundation up. • Goal setting-students know about their own level of mastery and how they can work to increase it.

18. Underlying Principles continued: 3. All students can master the content they need, and you can lead them in doing that. • Do not limit students by the mistakes they`ve made • All students = potential success

19. Underlying Principles continued: 4. Students are the most important member of the education team. • Assessment truly becomes formative when students can use the information they receive to make adjustments to their own learning.

20. Underlying Principles continued: 5. Assessments are used consistently, as part of your regular instruction, to find out what can move the student to mastery. • Teachers constantly assess student progress towards mastery • Teachers adjust instruction based on all kinds of assessments

21. Underlying Principles continued 6.Knowing what students need to know and be able to do and assessing their learning can actually give you back more time in your life. • Being able to focus specifically frees up time for you and your students, because you are working smarter.

22. When can/should formative- assessment occur? • At the beginning of the lesson. • During the lesson. • At the end of the lesson.

23. What does F.A. look like in the classroom? • “Clicker” systems • Individual dry erase boards • Write on the desks with dry erase, water based markers, shaving cream • Yes/No, Green/Red, or ABCD cards • “Verbal” exit slips – student verbally responds to a teacher question before they walk out the door • Snowballing • Exit slips • Should include both informal and formal types (varied)

24. Example of Tracking Chart How can you use this information to impact classroom instruction and student learning?

25. Union County Public Schools Delivery of Instruction Checklist: G.A.M.E. Winning Plan… • “Flashback or Review of previous content” • Ask Fundamental Question – Hook • Activate Prior Knowledge • IntroducedailyLearning Target • ReviewContent Vocabulary • Explore Lesson Overview– explain CHAMPs behavioral expectations • Use 1st Strategy/Activity • RevisitLearning Target /informal F.A. • Use 2nd Strategy/Activity • Wrap Up Lesson Closure/Revisit F.Q. and Learning Target • Give Daily Formative Assessment

26. Union County’sBalanced Assessment System Developed with support from KASC

27. District Benchmark Assessments: • Curriculum Specialist create, score, and provide report of school analysis to principal and Director of Instruction. • Director of Instruction provides district report to Superintendent and discusses at Weekly District Leadership meetings (climate of DSA-scrolling data 24/7). • Superintendent and DSA reports to the public through our Board of Education, local media, civic organizations and other community groups. (Understand the district process-Thumbs up, thumbs down)

28. Six Steps to Implement Common Classroom F.A. by Content/School

29. F.A. WEEKLY ASSESSMENT PROTOCOL • Teachers will assign KCCT-like assessments weekly to be analyzed by the Curriculum Specialist and District Leadership teams. Students will be assessed as designated each Wednesday, beginning September, 2010 and for the remainder of this school year. Three scored assessments (high, medium, low) will be turned in to the curriculum specialists by 8:00 a.m. on Friday. • KCCT-like assessments will be designated by grade and content areas. The submission will include: • one cover sheet • one dated copy of the assessment • one copy of the specific scoring rubric • three samples of student work—one low, one medium, one high • (see attached packet) • District Expectations: • All teachers are expected to utilize KCCT-like assessments as their routine assessments. • All students are expected to produce level 4 open responses. • All teachers with students not receiving a 4 will submit evidence of re-writes (independent re-write after conferencing with student, live scoring-scoring as the students complete, mini-lesson with small group or entire class, if needed). • All students are expected to score at least 80% accuracy on Practical Living multiple-choice. • All students are expected to score at least a Proficient on Senior Portfolios.

32. District Formative Assessment Analysis of Data September 2, 2009 • *District Math Average: ORQ- 79.19% M.C. –90.67% • Strengths: • Good assessments this week! Keep them rigorous. We are working toward GREAT assessments. • Assessments required knowledge of specific math vocabulary this week. • Areas of Improvements: • Teachers need to focus on the amount of time used in guiding Formative Assessments/much too lengthy • Teacher feedback on open responses should be specific and directed toward the actually response, not directed toward neatness or restatements. • When modeling the power verbs “explain” and “describe,” teachers should model in-depth thinking, tell how & why (leave nothing to chance). • .

34. 6th Math

35. UCMS Curriculum Specialist Report SBDM Meeting Nov. 16, 2009 Formative Assessment – 11/4/09 Averages of students scoring a 4 Multiple Choice UCMS Reading 55.3% 89.3% UCMS PLVS n/a 93.32% Formative Assessment – 11/11/09

36. HALLWAY DISPLAYS • Student work should be displayed in the hallway in your assigned area. • The level of performance of this work should be distinguished. • Other sections in the building may be utilized if requested. • Displays should be creatively done. • Displays of distinguished work other than KCCT-like activities such as projects can be displayed as long as they are rigorous and include the information listed below. • Displays should include core content, learning target, rubric, example and description of activity. • Displays should be changed monthly. Interactive displays may be left up longer.

37. Review Learning targets for this session…… Target #1 Target #2 Describe the various KASC products, trainings, resources, and supports that are available to individual schools or districts • Identifying the positive role that KASC played in assisting the Union County School District in making remarkable progress in student achievement

38. Questions? Contact Information: • Patricia Sheffer, Assistant Superintendent & Director of Instruction • Holly Keeney, Supervisor of Instruction patricia.sheffer@union.kyschools.us holly.keeney@union.kyschools.us