Handouts: Risk Indicators for Not Graduating Predictors of College and Career readiness Getting started in EWS

Jill Koenitzer, Technical Assistance Coordinator, WI RTI Center Lyn Weis, John Muir RtI Coordinator, Wausau School District John Muir Middle School: Early Warning System within a Multi-Level System of Support The Wisconsin RtI Center/Wisconsin PBIS Network (CFDA #84.027) acknowledges the support of the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction in the development of this PowerPoint and for the continued support of this federally-funded grant program. There are no copyright restrictions on this document; however, please credit the Wisconsin DPI and support of federal funds when copying all or part of this material

Agenda Grounding early warning data use in a multi-level system of support Wisconsin DEWS data and use NHSC EWS and where DEWS fits in it John Muir Middle School EWS experiences and lessons learned

Wisconsin’s Vision in detail... Early Warning Systems (EWS)

Agenda 2017: Wisconsin DPI Outcomes

Cross-Cutting Recommendation “Help schools and families recognize early warning signals and take action… encourage adoption of early warning systems… put students on the path to graduation.“ (p. 8-9)

Early Warning Systems Early warning systems (EWS) rely on readily available existing data housed at the school to: Predict which students are at-risk for dropping out of high school or not moving to next level Target resources to support off-track students while they are still in school, before they drop out Examine patterns and identify school climate issues

A ttendance Attendance/tardies Chronic absenteeism Mobility Engagement Participation B ehavior Social-Emotional Office referrals Suspensions Behavioral screening Internalizing behaviors Developmental assets At-risk support Behavioral plan Family stressors C oursework Academic screening Common assessments Standardized testing Grades Retention Accelerated learning Interventions, Title I Head Start, Summer School Risk Indicators—Use your ABCs Screening measures *See handouts : Predictors of Post Secondary Success and Risk Indicators for Not Graduating

Crucial Questions for Examining Existing Data  How do we identify students who are not likely to graduate?  How do we identify students who are not college and career ready?

Making Good on the Promise of College Readiness for All Dr. Robert Balfanz

Early Warning Systems fit in a Culturally Responsive Multi-Level System of Support

Universal Screening A process in which data from multiple measures are analyzed to determine whether each student is likely to meet, not meet, or exceed academic benchmarks or behavioral expectations. This screening process is also used to gauge the effectiveness of our universal level of instruction and support. Source: Wisconsin RtI Center glossary

For grades K-4 Use existing data and administer standardized screeners multiple times per year Above 4 th grade Use existing data to screen students multiple times per year Fuchs, D. Smart RtI: A Next Generation Approach to Multi-Level Prevention Research-based practice Promising practice Screening measures Recommended Practices

Dr. Robert Balfanz

Dropout Early Warning System Wisconsin DPI:

DPI DEWS: Purpose Considered part of an RtI system Assesses incoming risk; updated twice annually A data-based report done early enough to effectively intervene Identifies students who may be at risk for dropout or late graduation Used, along with other data, in local educational decisions for support services and interventions

DPI DEWS: How it Works Incoming Risk Group Report Student Profile

DPI DEWS: How it Works Incoming Risk Group Report Student Profile

How to use your DEWS data

Used, along with other data, in local educational decisions for support services and interventions DEWS…

Easy Access To Existing Data The Dropout Early Warning System (DEWS) and NHSC Early Warning System Tools provide easy access to existing data.

NHSC Early Warning Systems MS and HS level tools Screen multiple times per year Aid in diagnostic process Monitor student progress Valid and reliable thresholds established National High School Center Early Warning Systems in Education

Getting Started with Early Warning Systems Download The Guides

Follow 7-Step Process

Establish Roles and Responsibilities STEP 1 Can be a new or pre-existing team Team must receive PD to use tool effectively Early identification of students at risk Assign interventions & monitor progress Meet at regular intervals within first 20 days of school after every grading period (i.e.: 8x/year)

Download and Use the EWS Tool STEP 2 Set up thresholds for flagging students Download available student data Ensure data is entered at regularly scheduled intervals Reports available and accessible to all EWS team members

Risk Indicators in the EWS Tool v2.0 *Indicators/Thresholds must be locally validated IndicatorThreshold* AttendanceStudent missed 20% or more of instructional time BehaviorLocally validated thresholds (ODR) Course PerformanceStudent failed ELA or mathematics course

Localize Risk Indicators in the Tool Settings Update

Localize Risk Indicators in the Tool Settings

Review the EWS Data STEP 3 Understand patterns in student engagement and academic performance Identify students at-risk for dropout Organize and sort students into groups based on risk factors Consider allocation of resources for flagged students (needs vs. available interventions)

Find, Organize and Sort Students

Interpret EWS Data STEP 4 Dig deeper into complex causes of student disengagement and academic failure Examine additional information not included in EWS tool Additional teacher input Additional assessments Student & parent interviews Why?

Assign & Provide Interventions STEP 5 Map interventions from school, district and community Organize interventions into tiered levels of support and determine entry/exit decision rules Match students to interventions based on need

Intervention List & Descriptions

Monitor Student Progress STEP 6 Monitor students who are participating in interventions Determine effectiveness of intervention overall for groups of students Identify student needs that are not being met Identify new interventions to meet student needs Communicate with and engage family members

Evaluate and Refine EWS Process STEP 7 Team evaluates EWS process on annual basis Evaluate risk indicators & thresholds Evaluate decision rules & interventions Evaluate impact with student outcome data Reflect on strengths and challenges Make recommendations for improving the process

John Muir Middle School Early Warning Systems Implementation

John Muir Demographics Grades 6-8: 958 students Ethnic Groups 66.8% White 20.6% Asian 4.2% Hispanic 8.4% Other or Mixed Economically Disadvantaged 40.6% Limited English Proficient 8.6% Students with Disabilities 12.1%

The PURPOSE of an EWS to support students with an increased risk of academic failure in order to get them back on track for academic success and eventual graduation.

Goals for First Year of EWS Implementation 1.Begin to establish roles and responsibilities 2.Experience data collation process 3.Become familiar with the reports 4.Gain experience digging deeper with teams, and implementing some interventions 5.Evaluate and refine process to be culturally responsive to our school

Establish Roles and Responsibilities STEP 1 1.Professional Development roles 2.Data Collation roles 3.SAT team roles: Counselors, Social Worker, RtI facilitator, administration 4.Communication roles 5.Intervention roles: Staff, Student, Family

Our experience... ●Professional Development with grade-level teams (RtI facilitator) ○Year prior: Information shared as part of RtI presentation at inservice times (ABC’s of RtI) ○Team PDTeam PD ■Research behind and Purpose of Early Warning System ■Omarina video ■Sample reports & tool settings ●Data Collation: Marcia, our technology admin. asst. ●Counselors: Share data at team meetings, facilitate discussions for interventions

Next steps... Continued PD Review and Re-establish Roles Data entry refinement Involve SAT team in the data process Calendar set up to facilitate all the steps Plan for communication through the process, including student and family

STEP 2 Using the EWS Tool Goal: Experience data collation process ●Is it a manageable process (time and ease)? ●Worth the time investment?

Our experience... Webinar professional development is very valuable Support from EWS web site is timely and extremely beneficial Data collation is time consuming Some data shifts...learning from mistakes Tool settings resulted in too many flags to effectively manage within our time allotment

Next steps... Tool settings changes from DEWS Universal Instruction for attendance Continue to refine process for efficiency Calendar dates for data collection & SAT team review of data (all access) Possibly use the incoming flags, intervention listings, and access for record keeping Use of cohorts (grade-level teams) to sub- group student populations to make reports more manageable

STEP 3 Reviewing the Data Goal: Become familiar with the reports ●Ease of use? ●Useful data? ●Helpful to have ABC’s grouped together? ●Manageable number of flags? ●Tool settings appropriate? Procedure: After reporting periods data is collated and uploaded on storage device. RtI facilitator runs reports for counselors. Counselors review data and lead team discussions.

Our experience... Reports are easily interpreted Helpful to have ABC’s all in one report Many students were already on the radar, but some would have slipped between the cracks Discussions can turn negative in a heart-beat due to the circumstances that lead to the student’s issues Need established and reviewed group norms that focus on “How can we help this student?” Use form to document discussions and intervention actions Number of flags for attendance were unmanageable

Next steps... Identified need for a focus on attendance (What are we doing for all students? Part of our school SLO?) Preview EWS data (SAT), dig deeper and refine Potentially group students by needs to facilitate efficiency of team discussions With added department meeting time, we can begin to compile and analyze common assessment data in order to identify and intervene with students earlier (content issues) Future: Develop protocols and train facilitators (Attendance, Behavior, Content)

STEP 4 Interpreting the Data Goal: Gain experience digging deeper with teams and implementing some interventions ●What will it look like? ●Manageable within time frame? ●Keeping track of discussions, next steps, interventions

Roles and Responsibilities Counselors ●Review EWS report prior ●Interpret EWS report ●Lead “Digging Deeper” discussions ●Facilitate discussion of possible interventions/supports ●Lead assignment of interventions & monitoring tools ●Compile progress data ●Report progress (or lack of) to teams for cont’d discussion of supports ●Reflect/refine process with team Grade level teams ●Interpret EWS report ●Assist in “digging deeper” as needed/appropriate ●Participate in discussion of interventions/supports ●Help to provide interventions, as needed ●Help to monitor student progress, using tools developed ●Give data to counselor at determined frequency

STEP 5 Assign & Provide Interventions Goal: Gain experience implementing some interventions ●What will it look like? ●Who will be responsible? ●How will students respond? ●How/when will we review? ●How will we know when to end or change an intervention?

STEP 6 Monitor Student Progress Goal: Gain experience implementing some interventions ●How/when will we review? ●How will we know when to end or change an intervention?

Our experience... Interventions determined to fit circumstances of individual student Monitoring occurred during team meetings once per month

Next steps... Potentially group students with similar issues (such as tardy to school frequenty) and create intervention plan for the group Compile a list of strategies that have proven successful Plan for the monitoring (schedule) Compile data prior to meeting for efficiency

STEP 7 Evaluate & Refine Process Goal: Evaluate and refine process to be culturally responsive to our school ●What worked? ●What do we need to change? ●Is the EWS working for us? Is it worth the time invested?

Our focus Universal instruction: What do we do for all students? Attendance Behavior Content Continuing to build a system for data collection, review, and interventions

Early Warning Systems John Muir Middle School Jill Koenitzer, Lyn Weis, Questions? ?