Secondary Literacy Network

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Secondary Literacy Network
Nancy L. Shanklin University of Colorado at
Denver Linda Fiorella Adams 12 Five Star School
District Stevi Quate University of Colorado at
Denver
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SECONDARY LITERACY NETWORK (SLN)

• School District
• Literacy leaders
• Staff developers
• Principals
• Literacy coaches
• Master teachers

• University
• University faculty
• Honorarium instructors

Teachers, School, District needs
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Secondary Literacy NetworkWebsite Address

• http//www.secondaryliteracynetwork.org

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Vision

• To link secondary literacy educators
• To collaborate to build the knowledge and skills
  of teachers

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Vision

• To better meet the literacy needs of all
  adolescents in order to improve student
  performance
• To offer a wide array of activities such as
  network meetings, conferences, a certificate
  program, special projects, study groups,
  coaching, action research, and a website

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Vision

• To conduct needed research in conjunction with
  teachers, schools, districts, the state and
  federal government, and other agencies
• To conduct program evaluation in adolescent
  literacy
• To be strategic around implementation of the
  Colorado Basic Literacy Act (CBLA) in Secondary
  Schools

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Network Meetings

• 4th Tuesday morning of the month from 930 A.M.
  1200 PM
• Use the same central location each month
• All interested literacy educators may attend
• Have developed a listserv to announce meetings,
  post agendas and follow up notes

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Network Meetings

• We currently conduct the meetings the hope is
  eventually to use a rotating chair for each
  meeting
• Time is spent in May and September to set
  directions for the year
• A specific agenda for the next meeting is planned
  at the end of the previous meeting

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Network Meeting Topics 00-01

• School and district needs around secondary
  literacy
• Curriculum for the certificate program
• What schools and districts were doing to get
  ready for CBLA in middle schools
• Working out assessments, formats, and procedures
  for Individual Literacy Plans within school
  districts

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Network Meeting Topics 01-02

• Professional development for CBLA
• Interventions
• Potential positive outcomes of CBLA in middle
  schools

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Network Meeting Topics 02-03

• Coaching models in secondary schools
• Needs of literacy coaches
• Intervention models
• Using assessment data to guide instructional
  planning for students

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Conferences

• Launched the SLN with Spring 02 Conference Cris
  Tovani
• Fall 02 Conference Jeff Wilhelm
• Fall 03 Conference Laura Robb

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Conference Format

• Saturday, 800 AM 100 PM
• Major Speaker
• Two rounds of 10-15 breakout sessions

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Adolescent Literacy Certificate

• Series of 3 courses at the graduate level,
• 3 credits each
• Can be applied to state reading endorsement that
  meets IRA guidelines
• Offered in near-by-schools, assignments geared to
  classroom and district needs, protocols used to
  discuss student work, on-line components

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Adolescent Literacy, Part 1

• Understanding the reading and writing processes
  and modeling for students
• Understanding the strategies of proficient
  adolescent readers and writers
• Integrating research-based strategies into the
  teaching of content

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Linking Assessment and Instruction

• Assessing and interpreting adolescents reading
  and writing difficulties
• Targeting learners strengths and weaknesses to
  guide instruction
• Increasing students abilities to do well on
  standardized tests
• Developing classroom assessment programs
• Implementing Individual Literacy Plans

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Adolescent Literacy, Part 2

• Specific strategies to meet the needs of
  struggling adolescent readers and writers
• Using technology to support adolescent reading
  and writing
• Individual teacher inquiry projects
• Tuning units and reading programs to promote both
  content and literacy growth

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Special Projects

• Improving Writing Across the High School
  Curriculum Boulder, CO
• Improving Writing Across the Middle School
  Curriculum Sheridan, CO

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Accomplishments

• Conference attendance from 150-300
• Network Leaders Meetings are drawing educators
  from across the state
• Participation in focus groups as part of research
  on implementation of CBLA in middle schools
• 4 cohorts through Certificate Program

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Goals for 03-04

• To examine rewrites to the state proficiencies
  for middle and high school readers
• To determine ways to examine the success of
  professional development on student achievement
• To share interventions being used in secondary
  schools
• To determine ways to assess the success of
  interventions on student achievement

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Adolescent Literacy Certificate Program

• Impact on
• Schools and School Districts

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Who Enrolls in the Program?

• Language Arts Teachers
• Reading Teachers
• Content Area Teachers (Science, Social Studies,
  Math, World Language Teachers)
• Special Education Teachers
• ESL Teachers
• Literacy Coaches
• Media Specialists

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Multiple Districts Represented

• Adams County Districts 1, 12, 14, 50
• Aurora Public Schools
• Denver Public Schools
• Douglas County Public Schools
• Englewood Public Schools
• Littleton Public Schools
• St. Vrain Public Schools

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What Impact Does This Program Have on Specific
Teachers?

• Language Arts Teachers become more strategic in
  their teaching of literature
• Content Area Teachers become more strategic when
  assigning written text
• All Teachers become more aware of and more adept
  at matching books to readers

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What Impact Does This Program Have on Specific
Teachers?

• Helps create teacher leaders in schools
• Helps special education teachers to utilize
  strategies that coordinate with other classes

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Why does your district support this program?

• Develop awareness and background on literacy
• If we get staff members going through the
  program, it helps build capacity
• With literacy plans moving into secondary
  schools, timing has been good
• Helps to have prophet from OUTSIDE

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• Value in having classroom teachers in one school
  talking about the class--builds awareness from
  credible sources
• University connection helps- especially with NCLB
  highly qualified requirements
• Goes beyond district staff development classes
• People feel its very helpful/practical

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What about cost? Who pays?

• Teacher/participant
• School participant
• District pays 80, participant pays 20
• Cost IS an issue.It helps if school or district
  is able to pay part of tuition.

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Additional Impacts

• When a team participates, it builds capacity at
  the building level much more quickly-- ripple
  effect
• Forms alliance between special education, ESL,
  and regular content teachers
• Practicality Because work is embedded in actual
  practice, more likely to become normal part of
  curriculum

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Curricular Areas of Impact
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What Makes the BIGGEST Difference?

• Embedding assignments in actual classroom
  practice
• Having a team from the same school attend and
  work on in-common projects

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SPECIAL PROJECTS

• Custom designed projects

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In response to district requests for support

• Designed special projects that are tailored to
  the needs of the districts
• Developed to avoid the one-shot workshop
• Work over time
• Work embedded into the culture of the
  district/school

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The role of NSDC standards for staff development

• Organizes adults into learning communities
• Requires skillful school and district leaders
• Requires support to support learning and
  collaboration
• Uses data
• Deepens educators content knowledge

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Boulder Writing Across the Curriculum

• Learning communities
• Inservices built around collaboration
• Follow up offers for more collaboration
• School and district leaders
• Principals meeting
• Coaches meeting
• Coaching support

• Use of data
• Role of CSAP
• Use of student work
• Content knowledge
• Workshops/inservices throughout the year
• Website filled with resources

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Sheridan Middle School

• Another approach to writing
• Planning with the school and district leaders
• Meeting monthly with teams of teachers
• Topics based on identified needs
• Blend of new knowledge and application of
  strategies
• Focus on student work or teacher assignments
• External Coach
• Coach the coaches

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Tweaking of the Adol. Lit. Certificate Program

• Littleton Schools
• Studying data and developing classroom
  assessments were focal points of previous
  district efforts
• CSAP scores on writing were low
• Therefore, we replaced a writing course with the
  assessment course

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Current Statewide Need

• Meeting the requirements of No Child Left Behind
  highly qualified teacher
• Colorados requirements
• Current endorsement
• 24 hours in content area
• Passing teacher licensure test

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Special Projects Present and Future

• Now
• Versions of on campus courses
• Audience language arts teachers or coaches

• Soon
• Online course(s)
• Modules that address needs of districts (fluency,
  vocabulary, English Language Learners, role of
  the administrator, etc.)
• Hybrid version of campus courses
• A mix of courses and modules