Vacaville Unified School District

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Vacaville Unified School District

• District Program Improvement

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What is Program Improvement

• A Designation given to a school or school
  district who has not met the federal No Child
  Left Behind Benchmarks

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How we got into Program Improvement

• Did not meet AYP
• AYP Federal Accountability as interpreted by
  California
• Proficient or Advanced
• California has highest standards

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• API
• Growth
• Scale 200-1000
• Similar schools (demographics)
• Growth target 5 of distance to 800
• Schools meet targets each year
• ELA, writing, math, history-social science,
  science
• Subgroups

• AYP
• Status
• Same target for all
• Meet or doesn't meet
• One goal for all
• No growth credit
• ELA/Math
• Graduation rate
• Minimum API score

Based on criterion referenced (STAR) test with
CST CAHSEE
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How did We Get Identified?

• 40 Criteria
• 120 Criteria
• Participation Rate
• Percent Proficient
• English Language Arts

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How Did We Develop the Plan?

• Required to hire and outside entity to help us
  perform a deep needs assessment
• Used the APS, ELSEE,LRE,DAS
• Trained sites in the use of instruments (April)
• Sites met and scored (May)
• Outside or District Team came and validated all
  schools (May or June)

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• Met with group of parents from each site and many
  programs (approx. 60) June
• Outside Team met to review data June
• Outside Team developed the plan (consulted with
  district staff but made their own recommendations
  based on APS)
• Plan was presented to Board June 27
• Was sent to state By July 5

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How Do We Get Out? What happens if we do not? We
must meet benchmarks for two years in a row.
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Where are our students in relation to the
benchmarks?
Score does not meet AYP criteria. ELA needs
to be at least 12
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What are the benchmarks?AYP TargetsEnglish-Lang
uage ArtsVacaville Unified School District
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Didnt we get into this because of Speical
Education scores? Why is the distict concerned
about all students?

• Program Improvement status is the result
  primarily of issues related to student
  achievement for all subgroups.
• The district is concerned about the performance
  of students receiving Special Education services,
  English Language Learners, and Socio-Economically
  Disadvantaged students.
• The district mission is about graduating ALL
  students

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Vacaville Unified School District Program
Improvement

• The district is dedicated to a full-scale
  implementationof policies and programs to
  improve student achievement among those who are
  lowest performing.
• If not now, then when? It will happen sooner or
  later. Focusing on only one group would not move
  us forward as a system
• Other subgroups are not meeting the benchmark
• Meeting the districts mission means All students

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• Student Achievement is stalled. This is a common
  trend all over the state. We want to see test
  scores improve over time in our program.
• We want to ensure that all students have value
  added each year they attend our schools.
• The data does not reflect that now

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• Our plan is trying to look at system wide issues
  that will effect student achievement
• Changing the system will more likely lead to long
  term change that can be sustained

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• What do you mean that student achievement is
  stalled?
• There is not a consistent pattern of increased
  student achievement from the beginning of our
  system to the end.

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Percentage of Students Scoring Proficient or
Advanced on CST ELA
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Vacaville Unified School District
AYP TargetsEnglish-Language Arts
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2004 Results for Selected Subgroups, by Grade,
for CST ELA. Percent of Students Scoring
Proficient or Advanced.
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What are the big issues that the plan addresses?

• There are four overarching issues that must be
  addressed in the development of the LEA Plan
  Addendum
• 1 Overarching need for equity and access to the
  core curriculum for all students
• 2 Overarching need for coherent,
  standards-based systems in all areas

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Overarching Needs

• 3 Overarching need for a data-driven cycle of
  inquiry to inform district and site decisions,
  policies, practices, and instruction
• 4 Overarching need for district funding to be
  aligned with the district goal of improving
  achievement for all students

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• Where did the ideas for the Priority Actions in
  the Addendum come from?

• They are based on a document from the California
  Department of Education called the APS Academic
  Program Survey
• Is there research behind this document?
• Yes, please see attached list
• Other documents from CDE were used, but to a
  lesser extent

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What are the parts of the APS?9 Essential
Components Are.

• Instructional Program
• Student Access to High School Standards-aligned
  Core Courses
• Administrators Instructional Leadership Training
• Teacher Credentials and Professional Development
• Student Achievement Monitoring Systems

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• On-going Instructional Assistance and Support for
  Teachers
• Intervention Programs for Students Below Grade
  Level
• Teacher/Department and Subject Matter
  Collaboration
• Fiscal Support

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Priority Actions in the Addendum

• Purchase the same SBE adopted (K-8) and SBE
  approved (9-12) reading/language arts texts for
  all students.
• Use texts daily in the classroom with fidelity
  for the required number of instructional minutes.

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Priority Actions in the Addendum

• Provide a SBE adopted intervention program for
  reading/language arts and a mathematics
  intervention for all students two or more years
  below grade level and/or at risk of passing the
  CAHSEE.
• Starting at the secondary level. Training took
  place. Classes and training have begun.
  Elementary will follow when training can be
  arranged and we are sure of the program.

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Priority Actions in the Addendum

• Purchase enough of the same SBE adopted texts
  (grades K-8, Algebra in grades 8 and 9) for all
  students in the district.
• Done and delivered
• Use texts daily for the required number of
  minutes.
• Teachers are beginning to do this. Elementary
  schools are working on schedules that provide
  time.

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Priority Actions in the Addendum

• Require the participation of all principals in
  AB75 training in the adopted reading/language
  arts and mathematics core and intervention
  programs taught at their site.
• Tentative schedule exists for Elementary. County
  is working on Secondary

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Priority Actions in the Addendum

• Require the participation of all teachers in
  AB466 training in the adopted reading/language
  arts and mathematics core and intervention
  programs they teach.
• Several sessions have been held. More are
  scheduled

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Priority Actions in the Addendum

• Review publisher pacing guides for the adopted
  language arts and mathematics programs K-12 in
  a district-led collaborative process.
• K-6 is beginning. Secondary starting
• Draft a pacing guide for the Algebra 1 companion
  class.
• Partly done in AB466 training

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Priority Actions in the Addendum

• Provide collaborative meeting time for teachers
  to discuss student progress in English/Language
  arts and mathematics.
• Wednesday afternoons at all sites

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Priority Actions in the Addendum

• Design a district and site plan for systematic
  data collection, analysis, and distribution.
• In process

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Priority Actions in the Addendum

• Identify benchmark assessments and assess
  students every 6-8 weeks using the curriculum
  embedded assessments in the core texts in
  English/language arts and mathematics.
• Curriculum embedded in combination with
  Assessment Master, Writing Assessments, other

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Priority Actions in the Addendum

• Implement a cycle of inquiry andembed the cycle
  in the district calendar.

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Priority Actions in the Addendum

• Continue to promote effectiveparental
  involvement in the schools.

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Priority Actions in the Addendum

• Allocate resources to fundthese priority
  actions.
• Resource allocation may not be just money but
  also time and human resources. The district may
  need to look at organizational structures to
  ensure that barriers do not exist.

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Priority Actions in the Addendum

• In order to plan and monitor the implementation
  of the priority actions outlined in the Addendum
  to the LEA Plan, the district will need to
  prioritize the duties and responsibilities of
  Education Services district personnel.

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How will approach this

• Hope, positive attitude, LOVE Change
• Teamwork and collaboration
• Chance to use our beliefs and parameters
• Practice strategic planning and action
• High level of thinking and problem solving in an
  unpredictable situation