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?

Math will be the area of focus for improving student achievement.  While evaluating a three-year trend we found a decrease in student achievement. This area was selected based on 6th, 7th and 8th grade FSA 2016 to 2018 scores.  Sixth grade math scores went down 14 points, lowest 25th percentile went down 6 points and math achievement went down 4 points.  Seventh grade math achievement, level 3 or higher went down 6 points, learning gains decreased by 2 points and lower 25th percentile decreased by 5 points.  Eighth grade student achievement, level 3 or above decreased by 11 points, learning gains decreased by 7 points and the lowest 25th percentile increased by 1 point.  All points are based on percentage points.

Reading standards will also be focused upon across all curriculums.  While evaluating a three-year trend we found that 6th grade students are staying leveled when discussing level achievements 3 or above.  The seventh-grade learning gains has also stayed roughly within the same percentage and the 25% percentile increased by 1 percentage point.  The eighth-grade students' student achievement, level 3 or above decreased by 6 percentage points, learning gains increased by 5 percentage points and the 25% percentile increased by 15 percentage points.

 

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?

* Teachers will be attending Professional Learning Communities focusing on Curriculum, Assessments, Remediation and Enrichment.  Teachers will also discuss best practices as it pertains to common formative assessment data.
* LA and Math teachers will be trained on the use of Instructional Practice Guides to ensure standards based instruction and increased student engagement in the cognitive lift in learning. Coaches and department leaders will use the IPG 
  during instructional rounds and use them to give feedback to improve instruction. LA teachers will continue to participate in the TNTP Collections Pilot to improve standards-aligned instruction and improved student engagement.
* Teachers will be utilizing RtI strategies to ensure student achievement.
* Teachers will be incorporating Social and Emotional Learning (conscious discipline) as well as Project Based Learning in the classroom.
* Teachers will be attending professional developments.
* Teachers will be implementing learning centers and learning stations for remediation, curriculum, enrichment and differentiating instruction.
* Administrators will be having data chats with teachers.  Teachers will then have data chats with students to increase student achievement.
* All teachers are attending professional development regarding CHAMPS to ensure classroom management strategies are being utilized within the classroom.  This allows for students to have a positive learning environment.  
* The school wide positive initiatives are HERO and PAWS which incorporates a positive learning atmosphere throughout the school.

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

* iReady will be incorporated into math, language arts and reading classes.
* HERO will be utilized to ensure positive behavior throughout the campus to ensure a positive school culture.
* USAtest Prep will be included in both science and social studies.
* Open Up Resources and Illustrative Math will be utilized in the math classes.
* Global Scholars is being incorporated into some of the 7th grade science classrooms (web based world classroom cohort)
* High School courses are incorporated into the master schedule to enhance classes for advanced students.
* Newsela is being utilized throughout the grade levels and curriculums.
* Quizlet is incorporated into classrooms.
* BrainPop has been added school wide.
* Guidance Counselors will be implanting Naviance.
* Scholastic, College and Career words of the week and vocabulary.com are incorporated into classrooms as additional resources.
* Canvas is being utilized within classrooms.
* Common Lit is utilized in Language Arts classes.

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

* iReady - quarterly report sent home to parents (Math, Language Arts and Reading)
* USAtest Prep - data used at PLC meeting to discuss best practices (Science and Social Studies).
* Common Formative Assessments - utilized at PLC meetings to drive instruction.
* Common Lit - utilized in Language Arts classes to drive instruction.
 

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

* Best Practice - RtI for academics and behavior.
* Best Practice - Remediation strategies
* Parent and teacher conferences for academic plans towards student achievement.
* Meeting with guidance for academic and behavioral monitoring.
 

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)?

* Teachers provide differentiated instruction by using learning stations and centers based on best practices and learning standards. 
* Small group learning.
* Audio and technology incorporated into instructional time.
* Incorporating Project Based Learning.
* Providing complex informational and literary text within the classroom.
 

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

Teachers meet during collegiate team time and discuss student data.  Students that are not meeting tier 1 strategies for learning in the classroom are recommended for tier 2 strategies and monitored on RtI.

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?

6th- Newsela, Collections, Scholastic, Common Lit, Keystone, Inside, textbook and workbooks
7th- Newsela, Collections, Scholastic, Common Lit, Keystone, Inside, textbook and workbooks
8th- Newsela, Collections, Scholastic, Common Lit, Keystone, Inside, textbook and workbooks

All materials are either core or supplemental materials infused with informational or literary texts.

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.

With our major focus on mathematics, our Math Learning Gains increased from 38% to 42%, missing our goal by 3 percentage points. Our Math Lowest Quartile increased from 29% to 39%, exceeding our school's goal. The main result and rationale of our growth stems from high performing collaboration within our PLCs, consistent progress monitoring and student incentives utilizing iReady, and our effective Mathematics extended learning opportunites provided to students during March though May. 

Our second primary focus on ELA also made gains as well. Our overall ELA achievement increase from 38% to 42%, missing our goal by 3 percentage points. Our ELA Learning Gains increased from 45% to 50%, reaching our school's goal. The main result and rationale for our growth stems from high perfoming collaboration within our PLCs, consistent progress monitoring and student incentives utilizing iReady, adoption and implementation of NEWSELA, Vocabulary.com, and RACE strategy resources, as well as our cross curricular integration and collaboration between our social studies and ELA departments.