Northeast Elementary

1
Northeast Elementary

• Teaching For Understanding

2
Panel Members

• Jim Cox, superintendent
• Mary Smith, school board member
• Mark Neblung, school board member
• Diane Schumacher, elementary principal
• Jean Hupfer, 5th/6th grade math teacher
• Michelle Halverson, 4th grade teacher

3
Our District

• The Northeast Community School District is
  comprised of five small communities and
  encompasses an area covering 178 square miles.
  The Elementary and Middle/High School are on one
  campus in Goose Lake, Iowa. The District borders
  Clinton, Iowa on the north and west and includes
  a rural population of about 3,000 people.
• The School District has a total enrollment of
  about
• 700 students. The vast majority of students
  come from blue collar and farm family
  backgrounds, with about 15 qualifying for the
  free and reduced lunch program.

4
The Roles of the Boardfor Improving Student
Learning

• 1. Set clear expectations
• 2. Create conditions for success
• 3. Hold the system accountable to the
  expectations
• 4. Build public will
• 5. Learn together as a team

5
1. Set clear expectations

• Get clear about the greatest student learning
  needs-the most important content area to improve
  first
• Believe more is possible and communicate high
  expectations
• Establish a clear and narrow focus of
  improvementclarify improvement goals and
  specific targets
• Focus on student learning and teaching

6
Our mission is to educate students to become
resourceful learners and contributing citizens.

• For our students, we will assist you to improve
  on past performance and to work toward excellence
  in academics, social development and personal
  growth. We will accept all students as valued
  members of our community.
• For our staff, we will create an environment that
  encourages collaboration and shared
  decision-making. We will seek the resources
  necessary for you to be effective.
• For our parents and caregivers, we will nurture a
  relationship based on mutual trust, respect and a
  regard for your contributions to your students
  learning.
• For our community, we will continuously strive
  for more efficient use of the communitys assets
  and resources.

7
Long Range Goals

• CORE ACADEMIC LEARNING
• All students will demonstrate proficiency in
  English language arts, mathematics, science,
  social studies, and technology.
• STRETCH LEARNING
• All students will demonstrate rigorous and
  relevant learning to prepare for real world
  success.
• STUDENT ENGAGEMENT
• All students will experience supportive
  relationships, feel a sense of belonging, and be
  motivated to learn.
• PERSONAL SKILL DEVELOPMENT
• All students will demonstrate positive personal,
  social, service and leadership skills.

8
Elementary Building Goals

• By the end of the year the percentage of students
  achieving proficient and highly proficient
  scores on ITBS in math will increase from
  established baseline data.
• Selected in 2004 based on math data
• Focus for four years

9
Components of Every Student Counts (ESC)

• Iowa's mathematics educators are taking what we
  know from research and putting it into practice
  to improve K-12 student achievement.
• The ESC goals are to
• 1) Improve achievement of K-12 students in
  mathematics and
• 2) Build learning communities engaged in the
  study of mathematics, mathematics instruction,
  and student achievement in mathematics through
  effective implementation of Iowa's Professional
  Development Model.

10
Teaching for Understanding

• Posing Problem-Based Instructional Tasks
• Engaging student in the tasks and providing
  support as they develop their own representations
  and solution strategies
• Promoting discourse among students to share
  their solution strategies and justify their
  reasoning
• Summarizing the mathematics and highlighting
  effective representations and solution strategies
  
• Extending students thinking by challenging them
  to use effective representations and/or solutions
  strategies in new situations
• Listening to students and basing the
  instructional decisions on their understanding

11
Problem Based Instructional Task
How many blocks are needed to build 4 steps, 5
steps, 50 steps? 100 steps? What is a rule to
determine how many blocks are needed for any
number of steps? How did you figure out the
answers? Is there another way to solve the
problem? Be prepared to share.
12
2. Create conditions for success

• Demonstrate commitment to the improvement focus
  through board actions and decision
• Support quality professional development
• Stay the course
• Support connect with districtwide leadership
• Develop and nurture the board/superintendent team
  leadership
• Ensure all parts of the system are aligned around
  the learning needs of students.

13
Professional Development

• The most important element in accelerating
  learning is the improvement of the instructional
  process. That is why our school district, as well
  as other districts, has invested a great deal of
  time and resources in professional development
  and training for our teachers.

14
Professional Development

• Leadership team oversees professional development
• Content team provides professional development
• Professional Learning Communities
• Early Dismissals, All Day Inservices
• Focus of portfolio development for Tier II
  teachers
• Theory, demonstration, observation,
  collaboration, practice, reflection

15
Iowa Professional Development Model

• Theory Attend inservice presentations on Every
  Student Counts
• Demonstration Present a Problem Based
  Instructional Task to the teaching staff during
  inservice invite colleagues to observe Problem
  Based Instructional Tasks in the classroom.
• Observation Make three observations of
  colleagues teaching Problem Based Instructional
  Tasks lessons, one by October 31, January 31, and
  March 31
• Practice Develop and teach Problem Based
  Instructional Tasks
• Collaboration Work with members of my grade
  level team to develop, refine, and evaluate
  Problem Based Instructional Tasks
• Reflection Present professional development
  progress to the entire faculty at the end of the
  year

16
Curriculum Development

• 2004-2005-Implementation of Math Focus Lessons
• 2005-2006-Develop understanding of math through
  problem based instructional tasks
• 2006-2007-Pilot of Standards Based Curriculum
• All second grade teachers piloted Growing With
  Math
• One fourth grade teacher and the fifth grade math
  teacher piloted Every Day Math
• 2007-2008-Implementation
• Selection of Every Day Math for 2007-2008
  school year
• Curriculum Mapping

17
3. Hold the system accountable to the expectations

• Use data extensively
• Determine what you will accept as evidence of
  progress/success
• Monitor progress regularly
• Apply pressure for accountability

18
Teacher Accountability

• Dates of inservice attendance completion of
  inservice activities and assignments
• Lesson presented during inservice
• Three Observation Reports each year
• Implementation Logs of PBITs
• Observation by building principal
• Curriculum mapping

19
Student Accountability

• Iowa Tests of Basic Skills
• February administration
• Grades 1 through 11
• Multiple choice
• New Standards Reference Exams
• March administration
• Grades 4 and 8
• Constructed response
• District curriculum measure
• Administered twice a year
• Grades K-6
• Open response, constructed response

20
(No Transcript)
21
(No Transcript)
22
Future Professional Development

• 2007-2008
• Focus on implementation of new curriculum in math
  and improving instructional strategies for PBITs.
• Initiate a Literacy Leadership Team to plan for
  professional development in reading.
• 2008-2009
• Begin professional development in reading.
• Continue to monitor implementation and progress
  in math.

23
4. Build public will

• Create awareness of the need
• Create urgency around the moral purpose of
  improvement
• Instill hope that its possible to change
• Connect with the community

24
Communicating with the public

• District Website
• District Newsletters
• District Surveys
• Annual Progress Report
• School Improvement Advisory Committee

25
5. Learn together as a board team

• Establish board learning time
• Learn together
• Talk to each other-extensive board conversations
• Develop a willingness and readiness to lead and
  allow others to lead
• Build commitment to the improvement focus through
  shared information and discussion
• Engage in deliberative policy development-lead
  through your policies

26
Lighthouse Project

• Professional development for board members
• Survey of staff, administration and school board
• Data analysis
• Work with administration to improve communication
  with school boardfocus on student achievement
  goals