(Insert Fictional School Name Here) ADMS 618 Leadership for Educational Change and Improvement Jamilah Anderson Christian Nolde Chris Sumner

School Demographics Total population – 905 students Asians – 52 students Black – 74 students Hispanic – 57 students White – 695 students Two or more races – 27 students Free and Reduced Lunch – 98 students

First Glance – The “Big Umbrella” Fully Accredited – scores remain steady from one year to the next Above ~20 points, or more, in all categories LEP = only group that did not meet AMO’s Math – Missed “Meet Higher Expectations” requirements School Membership – holding steady (3 year period) ~900 students

Reading – By Gender Weaknesses: 7 th Grade – Male reading (Standards changed 2010) Only 4 to 9 percentage points lower than everyone else in Overall scores decreased ( ) – except 8 th grade Females Overall - Males are slightly weaker than Females

Reading – By Ethnicity Strengths: White students – across the board Hispanic students – pass rates are variable, but strong Black students – cohort – showed overall improvement (6 percentage points) Weakness: Overall scores dipped in reading Black students had the lowest scores, across the board, in

Reading – Disabled, SES, and LEP Strength: LEP – all grade levels – except Weaknesses: Overall scores dipped in reading Hard adjustment for subgroups in

Writing – By Gender Weakness: Male and Female writing – downward trend

Writing – By Ethnicity Strength: Black students are stronger in writing than in reading Weakness: Hispanic 8 th Grade writing is weak Big decline from to

Writing – Disabled, SES, and LEP Strength: LEP – strongest subgroup in writing Weakness: Downward trend for all subgroups in writing Biggest weakness is seen in students with disabilities

Math – By Gender Strength: Overall increases since standards change ( ) – except 6 th grade Females Weakness: Low passing rates in 8 th grade

Math – By Ethnicity Strength: Increased in 6 th grade across ethnic groups

Math – Disabled, SES, and LEP Lots of room for growth

Concerns Writing and 7 th and 8 th grade Math seem to be the content areas needing focus across Genders, Ethnic Groups, and SES/Disability/LEP The black population is the lowest group by ethnicity in reading, writing, and math Gap Group 1 (Disabled, Eco. Disadvantaged, and LEP) This group seems to be the major issue

Things to Consider Things to consider Changes in standards which reflect expected drops in scores in these areas/timeframes Math Reading Students who are in multiple categories

Improvement Ideas Provide better Co-teaching instruction for Exceptional Ed. and ESL students via staff training, scheduling in common planning/data review, and follow-up training. Create an in-school remediation class in reading and math using many of the ideas seen below in proposed after-school program, such as rewards for progress, homework support, & engaged learning activities. If data shows need for additional remediation, offer after-school Enrichment-Time with a paid teacher who uses projects and/or other cool ways (like fun software, games, etc.) to engage students. This time could be used to shore up knowledge gaps (ie: games with multiplication tables, reading for fun/fluency), provide homework support, and offer project or experiential-based learning. Work with corporate sponsors and/or apply for grants to fund the program, paying for things like teacher salary, food & drink, and materials. Students targeted for the program should be lower SES kids, as identified by Free and Reduced lunch data. Other students needing support may be identified as well. Students would be specifically invited to the program via calls home/flyers, etc. Goals could be set, or simple base-line data could be taken and achievement monitored in some way based on what kinds of interventions we decide to use.

Plan for Success Provide training and support to 25 teachers on Collaborative Best Practices for instructing diverse learners Assistant Principal and EE Department Chair (Leaders) Staff training (Spring and Fall) Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) Common planning times How will we measure progress (Formative)? Pre and Posttest for each unit to assess strengths and weaknesses Survey teacher satisfaction at different points throughout the year How will we measure progress (Summative)? SOL results and teacher feedback reports Based on the results we will monitor and adjust as needed

Plan for Success (Cont.) Adjust the master schedule to accommodate remediation classes in Reading and Math This will be accomplished during a built-in enrichment period (45 minutes) For students who score below 360 on the Math, Reading, or Writing SOLs This would include our Gap Group 1 students The co-teaching initiative would accommodate students between 360 – 399 Instructional model will reflect skills deficiencies, fluency, engaged learning practices (i.e. PBL, Multiple Intelligences, and Computer Software) Reward students based on the progress observed on formative assessments

Staff Buy-In Present plan to staff in early spring; highlight the research- based strategies and supports that will be used to support targeted students *leaders will look for interested and qualified teachers Recertification points will be awarded to teachers for training and participation Collaborative teachers will have common planning times Teachers involved in implementation will have a reduction of other school-based duties/obligations Materials/rewards will be provided by administrators/school If after school program is implemented, teachers would receive a stipend; snacks and materials would be provided by administration

Estimated Budget for Plan Staff Development (SD) funds for buying books for collab/ESL/gen. ed teachers (~$300, one-time) SD: Use staff member to create a webpage for collaborative PLC’s to use (~$100, one-time) Grants and donations for rewards given during Remediation Program (~$500-$1000, ongoing) After-school program stipend (~$500 per teacher) Total for 1 st year = $1200, after-school program not included.