Focusing Achievement: Structuring Success for All Students

1
How Did We Get Here?
Source Illinois School Report Card
2
Focusing Achievement Intentionally Structuring
Success for All Students

• Kristal Armstrong, Kim Frank, Kim Hansen,
• Charles McNulty, Mary Tregloan, Bill Ware
• Carl Sandburg School
• Freeport School District
• Freeport, Illinois
• [phone]
• cmcnulty_at_freeportschooldistrict.com

3
Student Demographics

• District has 4200 Students in a urban setting
• Carl Sandburg School has 664 Fifth and Sixth
  Graders
• Racial/Ethnic Background
• White 62.7
• African American 29.4
• Hispanic/Latino 5.3
• Other 2.8
• Free/reduced Lunch 62
• English Language Learners 1.4
• Student Identified for Special Education 12
• Students Identified for Talented and Gifted 8

4
Percent of Student Population Who Receive
Free/Reduced Lunch
5
Prior to 2002

• Memorandum of Understanding
• Potential lawsuit due to lack of African-American
  student achievement
• Lack of uniformity in instruction
• No decision-making structure outside of building
  principal
• Assessment separate from instruction
• Lack of communication across and amongst grade
  levels
• Special education had no guiding curriculum and
  no uniform instructional model.

6
Initiatives or Action PlansSince 2001-02 School
Year

• Change in leadership ideology and practice
• Districts equity initiative/Heterogeneous class
  placement/Inclusion
• Development of professional teaming and
  participative decision-making
• Professional development with coaching to make
  all teachers instructional experts
• Grade-level scope and sequence aligned to the
  Illinois Learning Standards
• Standards based instruction/assessment for all
  students
• We will not assess what we will not re-teach
• Utilize Leading Indicators for intensive
  instructional intervention
• Two and one-half hours of balanced literacy
  instruction
• Flexible grouping

7
Change in leadership theory/ideology and practice

• Theory/ideology
• Critical theory/social justice (Freire, hooks,
  Bourdieu)
• Democratic participation in the workplace (Levine
  Tyson)
• Disability theory (Wolfensburger)
• High expectations of performance for self,
  teachers, and students
• Practice
• Increase reading instruction time
• Define decision-making roles
• Include special needs children in curriculum and
  instructional activities with their peers
• Teach for the assessment
• Consistent

8
Districts equity initiative Inclusion and
Heterogeneous class placement

• District equity initiative targeted
  African-American students
• Sandburg expanded the initiative to all students
  (ELL, special needs, any and all self-identified
  ethnic groups)
• Heterogeneous classroom grouping by reading skill
• Special needs students participating in regular
  classroom curriculum and activities

9
Development of professional teaming and
participative decision-making

• Grade level team structure
• Weekly meetings with instructional focus
• Data driven curriculum and instructional
  practices
• School Improvement Team ensures uniformity across
  grade levels and alignment with district
  initiatives
• Plan on the Page
• Integrated Action Plans
• Administrative team ensures implementation

10
Professional development with coaching to make
all teachers instructional experts

• Outside of work
• Conferences
• Seminars
• Workshops
• At work
• Presentations at faculty meetings
• Presentations at in-service days
• Teacher study groups
• In work
• Planning teams
• Mentoring of new teachers
• Coaching

11
Grade-level scope and sequence aligned to the
Illinois Learning Standards

• Matched Illinois Learning Standards to the
  concepts presented in the core content areas
• Developed grade-level scope and sequence
• Constructed grade-level instructional calendars
  with ISAT as the target point
• Grade-level teams respond to ISAT results through
  restructuring of scope/sequence and calendar each
  spring

12
Standards based instruction/assessment for all
we will not assess what we will not re-teach

• Developed common grade-level assessments for core
  content areas based upon the Illinois Assessment
  Frameworks
• Students and teachers analyze individual and
  group scores for each assessment
• Analysis is utilized to guide re-teaching
• Re-tests are given to students below the standard
  (80 correct)

13
Utilize Leading Indicators for intensive
instructional intervention

• Proficiency assessments through January are
  utilized to assess student progress towards
  meeting or exceeding the ISAT
• Tutors provide extension activities for students
  who are likely to meet the standards as
  measured by the ISAT
• Classroom teachers provide focused, intensive,
  and explicit instruction for those students not
  meeting the Leading Indicators for success on
  the ISAT

14
Two and one-half hours of balanced literacy
instruction

• Guided reading small group leveled texts,
  strategy instruction, graphic organizers,
  vocabulary
• Guided writing extended response expository,
  narrative, and persuasive essays
• Independent reading conferencing, book shares,
  journaling, goal setting, leveled texts, AR
  testing
• Word study Bear spelling, word walls, making
  words, word sorts, flex grouping
• Centers active engagement on explicit strategy
  instruction

15
Flexible grouping

• Common grade-level pretests are given to form
  flexible groups in the core curriculum based on
  prior knowledge of specific concepts
• Short term groups are formed to target specific
  concept deficits to ensure effective instruction
• Proficiency assessments ensure students have
  mastered targeted skills

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Carl Sandburg AYP Reading Results
First Year With Total 5th and 6th Grade Results
Source Illinois School Report Card
17
Carl Sandburg AYP Mathematic Results
First Year With Total 5th and 6th Grade Results
Source Illinois School Report Card
18
Percent of students meeting or exceeding standards
STATE
2003 73 47 65
2002 68 40 59
2001 78 50 70
2004 77 50 70
White AA All
19
Fifth Grade Extended Response ISAT Results
20
School Based Reforms - Reading
Inclusion and implementation of FLEX with SAT.
Implemented monthly proficiency assessments and a
school-wide electronic data base
Implemented flex grouping based upon data with
during school tutoring
Standardized scope/sequence
Developed Leading Indicators
Implemented Literacy First along with internal
staff development model
Introduced grade-level teams and decision-making
process
Academic Warning
Appeal to ISBE
Spotlight School Award
21
School Based Reforms - Math
Inclusion and implementation of FLEX with SAT.
Standardized scope/sequence
New curriculum
Developed Leading Indicators
Implemented flex grouping based upon data with
during school tutoring
Implemented monthly proficiency assessments and a
school-wide electronic data base
Introduced grade-level teams and decision-making
process
Academic Warning
Spotlight School Award