School Improvement Planning

1. School Improvement Planning 2006-2007

2. Today’s Session • Review the purpose of SI planning • Review the components of SI plans • Discuss changes to SI planning for 2006-2007

3. Purpose of School Improvement Planning • Plan for increased learning for all students • Align curriculum standards and resources (human, financial, material) • Develop focus for all staff members • Promote involvement in the educational process by parents, students, families, and communities

4. Policy Base for SI Planning • It is the intent of the Cobb County School Board and Administration that all schools be held accountable for students performing at high levels • It is their expectation that schools will assess student performance, identify which students are not making adequate progress toward state standards, institute appropriate measures for improvement, and monitor student learning

5. Components of School Improvement Plans • Profile • School Mission/Beliefs • Action Plans for Student Performance and School Performance • Results

6. Profile • Several major categories of information about the school • Demographic characteristics • Performance information • Stakeholder perspective information • Organizational characteristics • Profile hits on major points about each data type to guide the reader through “big picture” information about the school

7. Mission and Beliefs • These two elements form the basis for all decision making • Mission is an expression of why the school exists and what it hopes to accomplish with the students • Beliefs are an expression of school values evident in daily practice

8. Action Plans • Keep the focus on students….development of the action plan is based on student needs, not adult needs or schedules • Clear goals, performance indicators, and benchmarks are essential to development of the resource plan (vision of SI leadership team)

9. Action Plan: Goals • Goals (reflect priorities) • Student Learning • School Performance • Performance Indicators • Current Performance Levels • Benchmarks • Resource Plans

10. Goals Arise from an analysis of the data and address the most pressing academic issue in the school Are written broadly Address proficiency OR grade level performance Remember Emphasize achievement in the learning area Be sure you can clearly describe what it will look like if students attain the goal (performance indicators) Exclude test or assessment measures in the goal statement GOALS FOR STUDENT PERFORMANCE

11. Goal Statement for Student Learning EXAMPLE All students will be proficient writers. Questions to consider: • Can proficiency in writing be defined in observable terms? (Performance Indicators) • Can proficiency in writing be measured? (Benchmarks)

12. Performance IndicatorsExamples • Students use correct spelling, grammar, and punctuation in written work • Students can successfully use the editing process to produce a grade level writing product • Student writing papers have a clearly articulated main idea with supporting details • Students write for a purpose Defines proficiency (or grade level performance)in terms of observable student behaviors. (What a student should do to demonstrate proficiency)

13. Current Performance Level • Defines where the school currently stands in the goal area • Data may be reported as school wide proficiency or by grade level performance • May include standardized test information as well as local school data (if they are to be used as a benchmark) • If there is a subgroup not meeting AYP requirements a current level of performance must be included for that group

14. Current Performance LevelsExamples • On the Georgia Writing Assessment, 42% of students are proficient, and 3% exceed standards • 56% of students were proficient writers on local school prompt at the beginning of the year • 43% of students scored above the 49th PR on the language section of the ITBS • 68% of students showed an increase in their ability to use the editing process to produce a grade level writing product.

15. Benchmarks • Sets the desired level of improvement sought • Written for a single year • Adjusted annually • Includes who, measure, amount of change, and when the measurement will be taken

16. Sample Benchmarks • 60% of fifth grade students will demonstrate proficiency or higher on the Georgia Writing Assessment in the spring of 2007 • 80% of all students in grades 3-5 will use the editing process to successfully produce a grade level writing product in the spring of 2007 • 85% of students will be proficient writers at the end of the 2006- 07 school year as measured by the local school rubric • 67% of special education students will meet or exceed standards on the English/Language Arts section of the CRCT in spring of 2007

17. Looks at the organizational and instructional effectiveness of the school and plans how to better align the systems to achieve the student performance goals Instructional effectiveness could be in curriculum, instruction, or assessment Organizational effectiveness might include scheduling, interventions for at risk learners, collaboration, parental/community involvement SCHOOL PERFORMANCE

18. RESOURCES Resources are what staff members need to fully implement and monitor the strategy. Typically includes: • People • Time • Training and Support • Money • Materials Identification of potential hotspots

19. Resource Plan Components • Strategy • Activities for teachers by year • Timeline and Professional Development • Financial Resources • Monitoring Plan

20. Strategies • Details the action steps taken by the adults in the building to achieve the goal • Targets the performance indicators related to the goal

21. Activities Usually one time implementation Require little or no training to become expert Require minimal planning Strategies Refined over time Require training and practice to become expert Require extensive planning to integrate resources Typically a string of activities related to the goal Activities/Strategies…What’s the difference?

22. Strategy Questions • What is the specific strategy to be used? • Does this strategy represent the best chance to improve student learning in the goal area? • When, in a teacher’s day, is the strategy to be used? • To what extent is the teacher expected to use the strategy? • How can we make time to fully implement this strategy? • What results might we see (for students) if the strategy is implemented?

23. Sample Strategy String of Activities for the Strategy Incorporate the use of writing across all content areas. • Increase the amount of non-fiction writing students produce. • Develop a writing rubric commonly used by all teachers to evaluate student writing. • Use collaborative scoring of student writing. • Use direct instruction to teach the editing process.

24. Professional DevelopmentExamples • Workshop on writing across the curriculum • Consultation with central office language arts specialist on the development of a rubric to evaluate student writing • In service sessions on collaborative scoring of student work • Specialist rounds or teacher rounds to develop best practices in student editing • Visits to demographically similar schools who are achieving at higher rates

25. Sample Resources • Literacy specialist and Instructional Lead Teacher to model writing across the curriculum (PEOPLE) • Faculty meetings devoted to collaborative scoring (TIME) • Sub days for selected teachers to develop a writing rubric and present to the staff for approval (TIME, MONEY) • Sub days and travel funds to visit another school who has been successful in raising student writing scores to identify best practices (TIME, MONEY) • Funds to purchase supplemental writing assessments for all students (MONEY, MATERIALS)

26. Monitoring Plan • Purpose is to determine if the strategy is getting results • Provides for a review of student data and implementation • Periodic through the year • Can use: • Performance Series • Data team work • Observations • Checklists • Rubrics • CWT

27. Monitoring Plan Examples • Individual teacher feedback on the number of students using the editing process as common practice • Specialist review of student writing in their area • Observation of students who demonstrate proficiency in a particular area • Use of a school wide rubric to measure a particular aspect of the goal • Teachers review of student work samples in the targeted area once per quarter and data reviewed by the SI team

28. Results Annual Evaluation of plan to identify what did and did not work

29. Changes for 2006-2007 • No more NSSE • Compacting of Parts • New Template • Standardized Data Profile • Storage of Plans on District Web page • Annual calendar of SI events • Mid Year Report

30. Timelines • Plans due to AAS and Accountability Office by September 1 • NI schools will meet at the end of August (date/location TBA) to identify location of components required by SDOE • Revised NI plans due by September 15

31. Questions?