GeorgiaDepartment of Education
Title I
Schoolwide/School Improvement Plan
GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
APPENDIX F
SCHOOLWIDE/SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PLAN TEMPLATE
SCHOOLWIDE/SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PLAN TEMPLATESchool Name: Southside Elementary / District Name: Richmond County
Principal Name: Mrs. Tonya Bradburn / School Year: 2014-2015
School Mailing Address: 3310 Old Louisville Rd. Augusta, GA 30906
Telephone: (706) 796-4952
District Tile I Director/Coordinator name: Mrs. Audrey Spry
District Title I Director/Coordinator Mailing Address: 864 Broad Street Augusta, GA 30901
Email Address:
Telephone: (706) 826-1134
ESEA WAIVER ACCOUNTABILITY STATUS
(Check all boxes that apply and provide additional information if requested.)
Priority School / Focus School
Title I Alert
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Principal’s Signature: / Date:
Superintendent’s Signature:
Revision Date: 11/19/13 / Revision Date: / Revision Date:
GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Schoolwide/School Improvement Plan (SWP/SIP) Template Instructions
Notes:
- Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) Section 1114 (b) (1) requires a Title I schoolwide program plan to contain the ten components listed on this template as well as related measurable goals and strategies for implementation. The asterisk (*) denotes required components as set forth in section 114 of ESEA.
- While there are eighteen components, all ten required components of a Title I Dchoolwide Program Plan (marked in this template with an asterisk) mustbe addressed. Response starters are provided in this template to guide the planning team/committee in the process of completing the schoolwide section of the plan.
- Complete the schoolwide plan (SWP) and school improvement plan (SIP) checklists. All components/elements marked as not met need additional development.
- Please list your planning committee members on the next page along with signatures of participating team members. This team must include stakeholder involvement (parents of Title I students, community representatives, teachers, administrators, etc.) Note: The planning team must involve parents in the planning process. See section 1114(b) (2) (B) (ii) Plan Development which states: The comprehensive plan shall be developed with the involvement of parents and other members of the community to be served and individuals who will carry out such plan, including teachers, principals, and administrators of programs described in other parts of this title)., and, if appropriate, pupil services personnel, technical assistance providers, school staff, and, if the plan relates to a secondary schools, students from such school.
- Attach the SIP as an addendum to the template. See Georgia Department of Education School Improvement Fieldbook or for guidance and instructions on completing a school improvement plan
Title I Schoolwide/School Improvement Plan
Planning Committee Members:
NAME / POSITION/ROLEMrs. Tonya Bradburn / Principal
Ms. Cathy Craft / Instructional Coach
Ms. Yvette Wilson / Counselor
James Dean / Parent Resource Facilitator
Tara Irwin / Teacher
Alicia Butler / Teacher
Karole Putnam / Teacher
Kim Timmons / Teacher
Sharon Forrest / Teacher
Kristi Wise / Teacher
SIP Components
*1. A comprehensive needs assessment of the entire school, (including taking into accountthe needs of migratory children as defined in Section 1309(2)) that is based on information which includes the achievement of children in relation to the state academic content standards and the state student academic achievement standards described in Section 1111(b)(1).
Response:
- We have developed our schoolwide plan with the participation of individuals who will carry out the comprehensive schoolwide/school improvement program plan. Those persons involved were the members of the Southside Title l Committee. These individuals consisted of administrators, the instructional coach, teachers and parents. Members were given a copy of last year’s plan to review and give input. School-level representatives met to review the data and share ideas to update the plan. All parents were informed of the meeting through our school newsletter, a flyer sent home with students, the schools billboard, and on the school’s website.
- We have used the following instruments, procedures, or processes to obtain this information. Committee members met at the beginning of the year to gather data from a variety of resources: CRCT, School Improvement Plan, Georgia Writing Assessment, attendance reports, discipline information, and parent and teacher surveys. Then, the committee met to brainstorm strategies for developing action plans to create the School Improvement Plan and set goals for the upcoming year. However, generic goals were set for academic achievement in grades 3-5 due to the assessment changes. All goals will reflect goals set for the Ga Milestone. The plan was shared with stakeholders and input was gathered from them for suggestions and revisions.
- We have taken into account the needs of migrant children. In the case that we should have any, these are the procedures we would follow should those students be in attendance.
-Immediately inform the teacher
-The two teachers on staff who act as interpreters would be informed that we need his/her services if another language other than English is listed on the parental forms
-However; at this time, Southside has no migrant students at this time.
- We have reflected on current achievement data that will help the school understand the subjects and skills in which teaching and learning need to be improved. For example, the CRCT data for 2013-2014 was reviewed to determine strengths and weaknesses. A summary of the report is listed below (grades 3-5):
-ELA – 78.31%%
-Math – 63.86%
-Science – 56.73%
-Social Studies – 75.44%
-5th Grade Writing – 69%
We used the data to assist us in developing goals for our School Improvement Plan, as well as ascertaining the needs of our school and the necessary action steps required to increase student achievement in these areas. Although we were successful in reaching goals at the Confidence Interval for Reading, we must continue to make gains in reading for the upcoming year, and make significant gains in order to reach the standards set forth by the Department of Education.
We will focus on improving our Reading, Math, Writing, and Science scores for the upcoming year as addressed in our School Improvement Plan. We must work diligently to provide standards-based and research-based instructional strategies to assist our students in making significant academic gains for the 2014 – 2015 school year.
- We have based our plan on information about all students in the school and identified students and groups of students who are not yet achieving to the State Academic content standards and the State student academic achievement standard including
Students from Major racial and ethnic groups
Students with disabilities
The data from the CRCT has been compiled and distributed to the appropriate grade levels. The administrator and instructional coach will lead the teachers in disaggregating the data from the CRCT as well as other sources to determine areas of deficiencies and strengths in each subject area. These other sources of data are:
-PAR (Periodic Assessment Reviews – 4/year)
-DIBELS (Phonics, Phonemic Awareness, Fluency for Grades K-3)
-Math mClass (Grades K – 3)
-EasyCBM (Math/Reading for Grades 4 -5)
Data from these sources will be analyzed and differentiated instructional plans that allow for both remediation as well as enrichment will be developed accordingly.
- The data has helped us reach conclusions regarding achievement or other related data.
The major need we discovered in our ELA/Reading program was: Reading for Information
The major strength we found in our Math program was: Measurement
The major needs we discovered in our Math program were: Geometry and Numbers and Operations
We also showed a strength in writing in that our 5th grade writing scores decreased from 76% to 69%
The needs we will address are: Students will be exposed to more informational texts including an emphasis on comprehension in both science and social studies classes. This integration of subject matter will show students how learning in all subjects is connected. Teacher will create lessons that focus on reading for information and citing evidence from the text. Teachers in grades K-2 will use Calendar math daily and all grades will incorporate Number Talks to assist with targeting numerous math standards on a daily basis as well as metacognition. An emphasis on daily word problems focusing on problem solving strategies will also be implemented. As well as the daily use of First in Math.EnVision Mathand Destination Math are Tier 2 resources that will be used to target struggling students in math. Voyager Math is a resource to be used with Tier 3 students. Writing will continue to be a focus in all grade levels. Teachers are required to teach the writing process on a daily basis.
The specific academic needs of those students that are to be addressed in the schoolwide program plan will be addressed in daily differentiated lesson plans, during intervention time, and monitored through the use of county assessments as well as weekly common assessments.
The ROOTCAUSE/s that we discovered for each of the needs was as follows: In Reading, it was found that the increase in text complexity and the fact that many students are not proficient in fluency are causes of lower scores. In Math, the causes sited were lack of consistency in implementing small group instruction and intervention on a daily basis. Another cause for both Reading and Math was a seemingly lack of student motivation to do well on tests. The teachers expressed a continued need for additional professional learning in math; especially in the use of the newly adopted enVision math series. They still have a need for assistance in creating high quality math stations. Professional learning in the use of the new enVision intervention programs and the new Benchmark series will also be needed so that teachers can implement the programs with consistency and fidelity.
- The measurable goals/benchmarks we have established this year to address the needs are generic across the board, due to the change of the assessment from CRCT to Ga Milestone:
mClass universal screeners (K-NI, 1st grade-NF, 2nd grade-NF, and 3rd grade- NF) to 70%. At least 70% of the students in grades 3-5 will meet or exceed on the math section of the Ga Milestone test;
- Students will raise achievement in Reading in grades K-2 from making Benchmark on
the DIBELS NEXT universal screeners (K-FSF, 1st grade- WWR, and 2nd grade- ORF) to 70%. At least 70% of the students in grades 3-5 will meet or exceed on the Reading section of the Ga Milestone test;
- A minimum of 70% of the students in grades 3-5 will meet or exceed the Science
section of the Ga Milestone test.
Artifacts/Evidence: Revision with date, committeemembers with signatures, agenda, &minutes
instruments/procedures;analysis of data by subgroup; analysis of parent spring survey and how results are shared
with parents; needs of ELL, migrant, SWD, ED; root causes of needs; specific academic needs; measurable
goals; Certified Staff Survey with narrative of strengths and weaknesses; Title I program evaluation with agenda,
minutes, and participant signatures
*2. Schoolwide reform strategies that are scientifically researched based.
The first type of school-wide reform strategy will focus on classrooms that are standards-based, especially in the area of math instruction. Standards Based Classrooms have been implemented at Southside for a few years now. There needs to be a greater focus on providing high quality differentiated instruction, efficient implementation of personalized learning, more opportunities to engage in problem solving, and design peer observations of math instruction. In the book EDThoughts: What We Know About Mathematics Teaching and Learning (McRel, 2002), Sutton and Krueger state that learner-centered instruction provides more time for student reflection as well as provide a deeper understanding of mathematics. It is the role of the teacher to become a facilitator; one who actively listens, clarifies, and asks probing questions. Another focus in math will be to create “quality”, “engaging” activities for all of the math stations. The principal and instructional coach will continue observing classrooms, reviewing what is evident and what lacking, and giving feedback to teachers.
Professional learning opportunities will also be available as needed. To assist with math, a book study using the book How Children Learn Number Concepts by Kathy Richardson will be used to give teachers a better understanding in learning the critical learning phases of mathematics so that they can develop strategies to use in their lessons. Teachers will also be givenopportunities to observe their peers and provide feedback; as well as attend professional learning sessions for:
Using effective math strategies in the classroom
Using personalized learning
Using technology in the classroom
Using formative assessment learning
Teaching effective writing strategies
A second strategy is the use of data to drive instruction. Teachers meet monthly in data teams to target Tier 2 students who are struggling. These students are progress monitored weekly and teams discuss interventions to help them improve. There are also a variety of other data that is reviewed and discussed such as PAR (Periodic Assessment Reviews), DIBELS, Math mClass (K-3), EasyCBM (4-5), Rocket Math, and REACH intervention. We are now in year two of the implementation of enVision Math Intervention. This is used with the struggling students (EIP students and students in the bottom 10th percentile of the Math mClass and EasyCBM universal screeners). We are continuing with the exemption of grade level EIP classes and are continuing to integrate those students throughout the grade level. The school has been allotted one Augmented EIP teacher who targets 3rd – 5th grade EIP students. Furthermore, the RTI team meets on a regular basis to identify specific, individualized strategies for students who have not met expectations in an effort to improve their academic, speech, language, and/or behavioral performance.
2(a). Provide opportunities for all children to meet the state’s proficient and advanced levels of student academic achievement described in Section 1111(b)(1)(D).
- Response: The ways in which we will address the needs of all children in the school particularly the needs of students furthest away from demonstrating proficiency related to the State’s academic content and student academic achievement standard are . . . (Strategies to be used.)
A school science lab continues to be functional and classes have the opportunity to use it on a weekly basis. Supplies will need to be ordered to outfit and keep up the lab.
Implementing a strong RTI team is essential. This is an initiative that has been mandated by the reauthorization of Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA) in 2004. RTI, when implemented with fidelity, will help raise the skills of underachieving students and will help to correct behavioral issues. In the article, The Why Behind RTI, Buffum, Mattos, and Weber state that a response to intervention flourishes when educators implement the right practices for the right reasons (Educational Leadership, Oct. 2010). RTI requires educators to think of alternative ways to help students learn. By using the team approach, students will have greater opportunities to succeed.
2(b). Use effective methods and instructional strategies that are based on scientifically based research that:
- strengthen the core academic program in the school.
- increase the amount and quality of learning time, such as providing and extended school year and before- or after-school and summer programs and opportunities, and help provide an enriched and accelerated curriculum
- We will increase the amount and quality of learning time by implementing the following plans.
Another plan is to provide Kindergarten through 5th grade students who are struggling with an opportunity to attend After School and 3rd – 5th grade students Saturday School. The team has also decided to implement anAcademic Academy that targets 3rd – 5th grade students. This is funded through Title I and will begin second semester of school year 2014-2015.