Advisory Council on Instruction (ACI)

MEMORANDUMJune 14, 2014

To: Arlington Public Schools Board Members

Dr. Patrick K. Murphy, Superintendent

Dr. Constance Skelton, Assistant Superintendent for Instruction

From:Patty Petroccione and Rebecca Hunter, Co-Chairs

Advisory Council on Instruction

Subject: ACI Year End Report for 2013 – 2014

On behalf of the Arlington Public Schools Advisory Council on Instruction (ACI), we are pleased to provide you with the 2013 to 2014 Year End Report. We have provided the 2013-2014 Priority Ranking of ACI Recommendations, which was previously presented on January 30, 2014 at the School Board work session with the ACI instructional committees. Since ACI committees make recommendations on a two-year cycle, we are also including the 2012-2013 Priority Ranking in order to provide all fourteen committees’ most recent (favorably received) recommendations, and the results of the ACI ranking exercises for the two year cycle. Due to the change in the reporting calendar (see explanation below), we are pleased to include the Staff Action on ACI 2013-2014 Recommendations, which provides the implementation status of the recommendations and where several are included in the FY15 Budget.

This year the ACI reset the recommending calendar to an October through January schedule with the goal of providing the School Board the committee recommendations by the end of January closer to the annual budget cycle. This improved alignment was endorsed by the ACI, the Assistant Superintendent for Instruction and, informally by members of the School Board. The ACI recognized that this calendar transition added additional pressure on this year’s recommending committees to prepare and present their work in a shortened time frame. All the committees performed well, addressed the challenges admirably and presented quality reports.

During our meetings from October through early April, seven committees reported with recommendations and seven committees provided reports of ongoing and planned study, activities and concerns. Twenty-one (21) recommendations received a majority support vote from the ACI membership to move that recommendation forward. Upon completion of all reports presenting recommendations, ACI members were asked to rank their top ten recommendations from this list of twenty-one that were approved. Scores were tallied to produce an overall score for each recommendation, thus allowing the rank ordering reflected on the ranking documents. This is the identical process that has been used in past years’ ranking of recommendations.

Committees presented recommendations or reports at ten of the ACI meetings. In addition, the ACI offered our members an overview of the new information system (October), two capacity/facilities presentations (October and May), and discussion and review of the FY15 budget (March and May). Positive feedback on the value of those information sessions was received from the ACI members.The ACI 101 presentation in September, and a budget update in March from Noah Simon, the School Board liaison to the ACI, were also greatly appreciated.

ACI Recommendations: Themes and Priorities

We note the following themes that recur across recommendations and subject areas for this year:

Implementation of the Arlington Tiered System of Support (ATSS) has been highlighted as both the highest ranked of all recommendations this year, as well as universally supported among the committees. ACI believes implementation of this quality support has the potential to reach all APS students through consistently applied, proven research-based strategies and interventions.

ACI has prioritized the imperative of improving system-wide communications that better inform all APS families with regard to instructional programs, counseling opportunities and operational initiatives. Specifically, the need for development of district wide guides, clarified policy statements, status reports and more broadly distributed information on all of APS programs, has been a noted recurring recommendation.

Consistent with previous years, ACI continues to support instructional programs that are equitable across schools, consistent in implementation and, where possible, inquiry-based and cross-disciplinary. The ACI encourages the sharing and use of best practices in all schools.

ACI remains keenly interested in improving access to and reporting of comprehensive and detailed student data. There continues to be an emphasis on the need for longitudinal data. This interest is driven by the desire to gain a deeper understanding of student outcomes in order to prepare concrete and targeted recommendations that are responsive to student needs and in line with the strategic plan. ACI recognizes and appreciates APS' continued investment in this area through the implementation of Synergy and will continue to work closely with staff to fully realize the new capabilities.

ACI continues to strongly support teacher professional development including ensuring goals that align with system-wide instructional priorities

ACI Structure and Processes: Changes and Enhancements

Internally, one of the top priorities this year was to continue implementing changes to the ACI structure. The most significant change was to reset the Instructional Committees’ recommending calendar to better align with the School Board’s budget schedule (as explained above). The result is a new structure that provides the School Board with ACI recommendations at the beginning of the annual budget cycle. The new schedule was a success and very effective, as evidenced by Staff Action on ACI 2013-2014 Recommendations (attached hereto), which indicates that many of this year’s recommendations are included in the FY15 Budget or will be considered for further study and/or future implementation.

Based on last year’s recommendation by members to increase collaboration among instructional committees, ACI has continued a series of formal meetings of Instructional Committee Chairs and ACI Vice Chairs. The group met three times during the year and centered their conversations on sharing best practices for managing committees and highlighting issues of exploration. The result has been more collaboration among committees for joint recommendations and for supporting each other in common efforts. For example, committees have begun and will continue to have joint meetings to discuss commonalities across content area.The ACI will continue to encourage and build on this effort next year.

With regard to the budget conversation, we encourage the School Board and Superintendent, at the beginning of the year, to provide the ACI with theinstructionalthemes that are being considered for the upcoming budget. This will facilitate investigation and conversation earlier in the budget cycle, which will allow the committees to provide the School Board with informed recommendations, aligned more with the budget proposals. For example, if the ACI had received notice and data on the technology proposal, a more informed response may have been available toassist the School Board with evaluating the budget proposal.

With regard to community engagement, the ACI is also committed to increase membership and attendance at the ACI meetings. There is a particular interest in encouraging business and civic groups to be more active in ACI proceedings. Through efforts this year, ACI had representatives from several community groups, including Civic Coalition for Minority Affairs, League of Women Voters, NAACP and Northern Virginia Community College.Additionally, including these groups in the ACI supports the proposed Family and Community Engagement Policy 10-9. We seek support of the School Board to be more actively engaged in inviting more business and civic partners to the ACI table.

ACI Operations and Support:

Our ACI Vice-Chairs continued in their vital role as liaisons and active participants in their respective committees. We value and appreciate the important role that they play as a link between ACI leadership and the individual committees. We especially want to thank Ted Black, Judy Hadden, Karla Hagen, Karen Hunt, Tannia Talento and Jennifer Vogel for their hard work this past year.

We could not have accomplished the significant work and research that is reflected in our report without the able and wise assistance of Arlington Public Schools staff. We would like to express our sincere appreciation to Connie Skelton for the time and effort she dedicates to the ACI and as a partner in our efforts to serve the School Board. Her staff, including those who serve as staff liaisons, are invaluable to the work of ACI. We also want to extend a special thank you to Tara Cassidy who continues to play a vital support role for ACI. Tara may be behind the scenes, but without her the ACI would not be able to operate. Without these individuals our work would not be possible.

Finally, on behalf of the ACI, we appreciate the opportunity to participate in the review and development of instructional programs through the work of our committees, collaboration with other Advisory Committees, and School Board work sessions.

Thank you for your support for and consideration of ACI’s work.

Attachments:

2013-2014 ACI Priority Ranking

2012-2013 ACI Priority Ranking

Staff Action on ACI 2013-2014 Recommendations