District Context and Support for School Improvement

Improving the school within the framework of district support

IA10 - The district regularly reallocates resources to support school, staff, and instructional improvement.(10)(AllDistricts)

Pottsville School District has fully implemented this indicator/objective in the following ways: We have...ACSIP Meetings monthly; Grade Level Meetings weekly in Elem-JH; After completing a data analysis of assessment results and perceptual data, a needs assessment is developed. Based upon the needs assessment, vertical teams (K-12) meet to address student strengths and weaknesses; Professional Development Surveys are provided to faculty to determine areas of highest priority and money is set aside accordingly for professional development; To improve student achievement, release days are set aside for teachers to address student assessments, AIPs and to create a plan of action for students and one's professional growth; Professional Growth Plans, CWTs, formal and informal teacher evaluations also provide direction toward the professional development needed for individual teachers as well as building or district levels. Funds are set aside for any required PD such as AP Training that is mandated once every five years; Yearly WatchDog meetings (MG and Elem) and TASK FORCE meetings also provide guidance into ideas to help reduce achievement gaps. Again, professional development funds are set aside based upon faculty training needed. Pottsville Schools also partners with local businesses (Potts Inn) and national parks (Lake Dardanelle) to provide required professional development training for those who teach Arkansas History. Our Reading Recovery Teachers attend a monthly meeting (substitutes provided) to collaborate with UALR and other fellow colleagues to address reading strategies. Lastly, we partner with Arch Ford Co-op, ATU, and Monticello to provide individual trainings, paired trainings (mentoring), and group trainings based upon our needs assessment. PD funds are set aside as needed.

To sustain our efforts and continue our student focus, we will continue to have said weekly, monthly, and yearly meetings to analyze on-going data. Agendas, minutes, and sign-in sheets will be used to indicate documentation. PD Surveys will continue to be conducted (surveymonkey) and results/charts will be printed for documentation. A PD schedule will be documented with times/dates/agendas/minutes/sign-in sheets for each school year. Release Days will continue to be provided for faculty to collaborate and reflect on assessments and weak trends (subs provided through SUBTEACH--documentation from SUBTEACH). We will continue to partner with Arch Ford Co-op, ATU, and Monticello, and other stakeholders. Copies of agreements and PD fees for said collaboration will be used for documentation.

IA14 - The district recruits, trains, supports, and places personnel to competently address the problems of schools in need of improvement.(14)(AllDistricts)

Fully implemented:

Our teachers are Highly Qualified in content areas

Our paraprofessionals are Highly Qualified

We attract effective educators through competitive salaries compared to our surrounding districts and partner with Arkansas Tech University (cohort training)

We have a mentoring program in which we pair experienced teachers with new teachers to discuss classroom management, PGPs, observations, etc.

We have a meeting with new teachers at beginning of year to discuss purchase orders, professional development, etc.

We have an ELL Instructor (bilingual) and Coordinator who provide services to our non-English speaking students (daily schedule and lesson plans); attend PD; purchase materials and supplies as needed to improve instruction; assist students with Rosetta Stone.

Sustaining Efforts:

Throughout this school year, we will continue to provide competitive salaries to attract HQ Teachers and Paraprofessionals. Partnering with ATU will also be continued as well as mentoring (ADE Moodle) to support and to guide our new teachers. TESS/PGPs will also provide support for our teachers.

Additional licenses for Rosetta Stone have been purchased to help service our ELL students along with the continued lessons and guidance from our ELL Instructor. PD will also be attended by our instructor/coordinator to learn additional ways to improve achievement for our ELL students.

IA15 - The district allows school leaders reasonable autonomy to do things differently in order to succeed.(15)(AllDistricts)

Each school building has the decision to hire new personnel; they have the freedom to make changes in instruction and scheduling; Melissa Cox and Tara Thompson are the district liaisons and act as resources to each building and help schools gather and use data; provide schools with control over their own budgets; financial and staff resources are equitable; and the district solicits meaningful input from schools.

Through teacher surveys, monthly APSCN/EXCEL spreadsheets given to principals; meetings with sign-in sheets and agendas; and established communication through e-mails, phone calls, and meetings, we will sustain our effort to promote autonomy.

District Context and Support for School Improvement

Taking the change process into account

IB13 - The district monitors progress of the extended learning time programs and other strategies related to school improvement.(4542)(AllDistricts)

Fully Implemented:
Before and After School Tutoring
Enrichment Classes
CAPS
Counselors visit classrooms
ELL-Rosetta Stone
Reading Recovery
Paraprofessionals
Title I and NSLA set asides
Individual Curriculum Development
Grade Level Meetings
Double-blocked Math, Chemistry, ALE

Sustaining efforts:
Counselors and Administrators continue to meet for student scheduling
Set aside Title I/NSLA for tutoring, homeless/welfare needs
CAPS and classroom visitation by counselors
Grade level/Vertical team/Assessment wall/Dyslexia/RTI
Enrichment/Remediation
Scheduled PD
Supplemental SIP (HS)
Purchase licenses yearly for Rosetta Stone-ELL

District Context and Support for School Improvement

Clarifying district-school expectations

IC02 - The district designates a central office contact person for the school, and that person maintains close communication with the school and an interest in its progress.(29)(AllDistricts)

Instructional Facilitator/Supervisor implementation of indicator (Melissa and Tara):
*Informs and facilitates the design and implementation of coherent, integrated professional development based upon assessed student and teacher needs
*Assist teachers in analyzing classroom and state assessment data
*Facilitates communication about research based instructional practices and student achievement between and among teachers, within and across grade level
*Organize and implement vertical and horizontal teams
*Organize and oversee implementation of Common Core and state assessments
*Facilitates and participates in district and building level training
*Facilitates communication about research based instructional practices and student achievement between and among teachers, within and across grade level

Sustain efforts:
*Surveys for PD and needs
*Document meetings, agenda
*Provide sign-in sheets
*Release days for teachers
*Continue to provide resources to help each building be successful
*Continue analyzing data
*Continue to address individual weaknesses

IC03 - District and school decision makers meet at least twice a month to discuss the school’s progress.(30)

We currently only meet in Leadership teams once a month.

Tara Thompson

This objective will be fully met when we meet twice a month as noted in the wiseways.

Evidence objective is fully met: sign-in sheets, agendas, minutes, and emails.

Tara Thompson

twice monthly

See 5a.

IC05 - The district provides a cohesive district curriculum guide aligned with state standards or otherwise places curricular expectation on the school.(32)(AllDistricts)

Evidence to Support Full Implementation:
Professional Development-Vertical Teams meet at least twice each year, Horizontal Teams-Grade Level-weekly, Individual Curriculum Dev'l-maps (aligned to Common Core and other State Standards)
K-12 Instructional Facilitator assists faculty
CWT/TESS/LEADS--Admin observations formal and informal

Efforts will be sustained:
Vertical Teams will continue to be held at least twice a year to assess gaps from one grade level to the next/Sign-in sheets, etc..., will be used for documentation;
Horizontal Teams/Grade Levels will continue to meet on a weekly basis to assess gaps within a content/grade level/Sign-in sheets, etc..., will be used for documentation;
A K-12 Instructional Facilitator will continue to be employed to assist faculty with unwrapping the standards and any updates in curriculum;
Admin will continue with CWT's and TESS observations (formal and informal) to monitor the curriculum in classrooms/CWT data, etc..., will be used for documentation.

IC07 - Professional development is built into the school schedule by the district, but the school is allowed discretion in selecting training and consultation that fit the requirements of its improvement/restructuring plan and its evolving needs.(34)

For Professional Development, we currently:
1) Analyze test data to determine student needs-All Students and TAGG Students.
2) Offer PD Choices-TECH Expo
3) When admin attend conferences, data is brought back to the school buildings (attend trainings and share with co-workers).
4) Teachers learn from each other (attend trainings and share with co-workers).
5) We provide 2 FLEX Days as incentive to attend trainings.

Tara Thompson

Faculty will share input of Professional Development trainings through a PD Survey; analyze data; gather documentation (sign-in sheets, agendas, minutes, and survey results). Professional Development (pending amount of funding allotment) will be more attuned to teacher and student needs based upon the needs assessment survey.

Jonathan Bradley

twice a year

See above

School Leadership and Decision Making

Establishing a team structure with specific duties and time for instructional planning

ID01 - A team structure is officially incorporated into the school governance policy.(36)(AllDistricts)

Fully and effectively implemented:

Each building and the district has a team approach to planning and decision making and their input is necessary for improvement and school change. Each building/district has scheduled meetings involving a leadership team, teacher instructional teams, etc. Examples include: ACSIP/Indistar Teams; Administration Team; PPC; Vertical/Horizontal and Grade Level Teams; TASK Force Team; Character Ed; RTI Teams; and Parent Involvement Teams, etc.

To sustain efforts:

We will continue to meet in said groups...some weekly; some once or twice a month; others periodically throughout the school year.

Scheduled PD (part of 36 required PD hours) in ACSIP and Vertical/Horizontal Teams will allow teachers additional time to focus on improvement and reducing achievement gaps...

Minutes, sign-in sheets, pictures, and an agenda will be used for documentation of meetings. Surveys, TESS/LEADS evaluations, and student assessments will be used to determine the effectiveness of our teams. Any new administrator will be mentored regarding the procedures and processes involved in helping all be successful.

ID10 - The Leadership Team regularly looks at school performance data and aggregated classroom observation data and uses that data to make decisions about school improvement and professional development needs.(45)

At this time, we currently do/complete:
*Data Analysis
*Vertical Teams
*Assessment Walls
*Classroom Walkthrough's

Melissa Cox

When this plan is fully implemented, an increase in student performance will show readiness/exceeding expectations status on interim assessments and state assessments.

Tara Thompson

During the discussion, we shared that the Empowering Writers Training would be a fantastic to make sure all of our writing teachers are on the same page for grading and designing Writing tasks-Mrs. Thompson will contact trainers; the same was discussed for Math Tools for math teachers; Analyzing test results will occur during assessment wall discussions as well as informal observations and reflection forms will be created and shared with admin; and surveys will be sent to faculty to get their input on PD they need.

Melissa Cox

weekly

*See above