Explain the activities in which your school will participate to increase your overall rating. Include specific details.

As evidenced in the SES Band Data, which content area(s) will be the focus for improving student achievement and why was this area chosen?

Science: 49% were Level 3 or higher
ELA: 52% were Level 3 or higher
ELA Gains for the Lowest 25%: 38% showed gains
These areas were chosen because they were lower than other schools in our Band.

What specific BEST Practice(s) will be implemented or scaled-up to improve teaching and learning in order to increase performance within the SES Band?

Data will be measured and interpreted at weekly Department Professional Learning Communities.  Teachers within the Learning Community will make curriculum decisions based on the data from common assessments and i-ready results.  Best practices will be shared at the PLC's and implemented with fidelity.
 

Describe in detail how the BEST Practice(s) will be scaled-up.

All students will use i-ready between 2-4 times per week.  This program uses a diagnostic test to put students on an individual learning path in both ELA and math.
Teachers will team teach and switch classes periodically.  This will improve academic success as teachers teach their strongest benchmarks to more students.
In reading classes, students are homogeneously grouped.  There is varied curriculum within leveled classes.   Vocabulary.com is used across the school to improve vocabulary.  Teachers practice reading strategies across the curriculum such as text features, text structure, close reading, predictions, underlining, margin notes, and visualizing.  
In math classes, teachers spent time over the summer looking at the pacing guides and reworked them to focus on standards that have traditionally given students the most trouble.  Math teachers regularly use USA Test Prep to monitor achievement of the Benchmarks.  Teachers give extra tutoring for Algebra and Geometry EOC's both before and after school.  Teachers also use Algebra Nation as a supplement to the textbook.
In Language Arts classes, students complete a monthly writing prompt which alternate between argumentative and informative.  Teachers focus on a different writing standard each month.    
In science classes, students complete multiple hands-on activities and labs to reinforce the standards.  Gizmos , videos, and interactive learning games are also used.  Daily warm ups in 7th and 8th grade reteach the 6th and 7th grade standards on the 8th grade FCAT.

What specific school-level progress monitoring data is collected and how often?

Data is monitored and examined using FAIR testing and i-ready.

How does the school ensure the fidelity of students not progressing towards school and district goals?

Students who are not meeting academic expectations will be recommended for the RtI process.  Teachers will use Tier 1 and Tier 2 strategies to help students achieve academic goals.

How does the school ensure that all classroom instruction is accessible to the full range of learners using Universal Designs for Learning (UDL) for effective instructional design (planning) and delivery (teaching)?

There are 4 ESE Support Facilitators and 2 ELL Support Facilitators who push in to classrooms to ensure that the curriculum is accessible to all.  All teachers are also trained on differentiated instruction in order to meet the needs of the diverse population.  

How does the school ensure Tier 1 Standards-Based classroom instruction is being implemented properly and effectively?

Informal and formal observations are conducted by administrators and department chairs.  

Describe texts used for core, supplemental, and intervention programs at each grade level. How does the school ensure students have access to a balance of literary and informational text in a variety of mediums?

The school puts a high priority on technology in the classroom.  In addition to access to SmartBoard technology in every classroom, 66 out of 71 classrooms have laptop carts with at least 22 computers in each cart.  This technology gives access to informational text for each content area in a variety of media.

Please complete this section based on 2018-2019 end-of-year results.
Instructional Implications: Discuss the success of specific strategies/activities and provide a rationale as to why those academic improvements occurred as a result of those strategies.

The school had success in the area of improvement in ELA scores, raising the percentage of ELA students scoring proficient or higher in the area of integration of knowledge and ideas increased from 47% to 52%.  Although this did not meet the goal of 57%, there was an increase of 5 points.  Exposing students to a wide variety of text as well as using programs such as Newsela greatly impacted the success of students in English Language Arts.