- In grades four, over 50% of our students are not at grade level in mathematics; by grades eight and ten, over 70% are not.
- In mathematics the largest gap is mathematics processes. The percent proficient in mathematics proceses is nearly 20% less than the state levels for most grade levels and for all subgroups within those grade levels.
Goals of Session /
- To deepen understanding of how strategies outlined in the MMP Learning Team Continuum and Henry’s “5 Big” Strategies support the work outlined in the MPS DIFI plan
- To identify connections between strategies outlined in the LT Continuum and “5 Big” strategies to the work outlined in your school’s educational plan.
Connecting Big “3” documents /
- Pick one of the three documents to read and highlight.
- Discuss similarities with your colleagues.
- Match elements from three documents to the chart outlining initiatives for 2008-09 work.
Building ideas into Educational Plan / How does all this connect to your school’s educational plan?
- Read Purpose of the Educational Plan highlight important words. Come to consensus about 1 word that highlights the essence of the Ed. Plan.
- Read Ed Plan: Contineous School Improvement highlight important ideas that surfaced. Connect those ideas with elements of the three documents for district improvement.
Questions to consider with Learning Team / In what way does your Ed Plan support ideas presented in the 3 documents? In what way is your Ed Plan aligned (strategies, data collection, and professional development)
In what way will the message be communicated to stakeholders?
How will your leadership drive the work in the Educational Plan?
In grades four, over 50% of our students are not at grade level in mathematics; by grade eight and ten, over 70% are not.
As documented in the MPS District DIFI plan, 2008
In mathematics, the largest gap is mathematics processes. The percent proficient in mathematics processes is nearly 20% less than the state levels for most grade levels and for all subgroups within those grade levels.
As documented in the MPS District DIFI plan, 2008
Session Goals
To deepen understanding of how strategies outlined in the MMP Learning Team Continuum, Henry’s 5 Big Strategies support the work of the MPS District DIFI plan.
To identify connections between strategies outlined in the MMP Learning Team Continuum, Henry’s 5 Big Strategies, and the MPS District DIFI plan as outlined in your school’s Educational Plan.
Today’s Task
Read the three documents and discuss how they are connected.
- Work in groups of 3
- Each person will read 1 document and share information
- Review the other documents while you wait
- Use the “Case for Teachers Using These Strategies” document as a guide for reading/sharing the information
- Feel free to add additional strategies
5 Big Strategies
Strategy 1: Teachers will administer and analyze student work using effective and descriptive feedback.
Strategy 2: Teachers will design and develop student work folders (portfolios) to review and analyze student learning.
Strategy 3: Teachers will administer frequent and “smaller” assessment items that are designed to provide continual feedback.
Strategy 4: Teachers will implement a balance of constructed response items for monitoring achievement
Strategy 5: Teachers will be involved in professional development to improve their mathematics.
Excerpt from MPS District DIFI plan (pg. 10-11)
3. The DIFI team will monitor implementation and gather evidence of impact on student
achievement.
B. The professional development plan directly addresses the academic achievement problems
that caused the district to be identified as DIFI. Mandatory trainings which focus upon
research-based instructional strategies in reading and mathematics have been identified and
scheduled for school staff to attend. The expected outcome will result in increased teacher
proficiency in the delivery of instruction and increased student performance on the WKCECRT.
5. Address the fundamental teaching and learning needs in the district.
A. The fundamental teaching and learning needs in the designated areas cited that contributed to
the identification of the needs improvement status are:
1) Mathematics with the largest gap is mathematics processes. The percent proficient in
mathematics processes is nearly 20% less than the state levels for most grade levels and
for all subgroups within those grade levels.
2) In reading, our district has not achieved mastery in any of the four reading objectives on
the WKCE. This indicates that the delivery of the curriculum has not been grounded in
research-based strategies aligned to the standards influenced by formative assessment.
B. Describe the teaching and learning needs that will be addressed, such as choice of
instructional programs and materials, use of instructional time, improved use of assessments.
1) Instruction in mathematics and reading has not been adequately aligned to the standards
or adjusted based on formative feedback about student learning for all students.
2) There is a fundamental need to provide consistency in teaching and learning across the
district to facilitate alignment of the curriculum. Professional development for
implementation of the curriculum pacing guides will address alignment of instruction,
assessment and the standards. District consistency will facilitate our ability to deliver
effective professional development, and maximize benefits from curriculum resources
to improve learning for the targeted groups.
3) In reading, the use of Marzano’s Academic Vocabulary Six Step Process will address
the targeted objectives on the WKCE-CRT.
4) In mathematics, the use of the constructed response item included on the ThinkLink
Benchmark assessments will be the basis of district professional development focused
on differentiated instruction utilizing formative assessment.
5) These are the research based practices that will be implemented:
a. District Curriculum Pacing Guides for mathematics and reading.
b. Marzano’s Academic Vocabulary Six Step Process across the content areas.
c. Differentiating instruction based on the constructed response on the ThinkLink
Benchmark Assessment for mathematics.
d. Extending the time for instructional blocks for reading and mathematics.
6. Promote effective parent involvement strategies.
A. The identified strategies that will be used to promote effective parent involvement are:
Learning Point Associates 11 Milwaukee District Improvement Plan
1) Every school will be responsible for electing two parents to represent their school on the
District Advisory Council. The meetings are monthly and each representative serves a
two year term.
2) Promote family literacy in every school by holding monthly district-level family literacy
trainings in the evening that focus on mathematics and reading across grade levels.
3) Every school will assign a district level Title I paraprofessional to work with their
parent coordinator, or designee, on parental involvement and educational activities for
parents so they will be able to assist their child(ren) academically.
B. The strategies identified will effectively involve parent(s) in meeting students’ academic
goal(s) through the following:
1) At the meetings, parents will be given pertinent information to share with other parents
and assist them with helping their child(ren) succeed academically.
2) The family literacy trainings will help parents understand the Learning Targets and state
standards as they relates to mathematics and reading.
3) Parents will be provided tools to use and share with other parents in order to build
capacity.
4) The Title I support will help schools focus their efforts on the needs identified in the
Educational Plan under Family Involvement.
C. By providing parents with opportunities to understand the Learning Targets and state
standards in reading and mathematics, parents will be able to understand skills addressed in
the classroom, understand task performance requirements in the classroom, and products
produced in the classroom as they relate to the skills taught. All additional support given to
the school by the district will enhance parental involvement at the school level in all cited
areas.
7. Incorporate extended day and extended school year activities as appropriate.
A. Identify how these activities help students meet the measurable goals set to improve
achievement in the cited area(s).
1) Targeted population for summer school is currently students identified as minimal and
basic based on the WKCE and SPS scores. Curricular decisions will be focused on the
core skills that need remediation. Schools will use formative benchmark data to align
the strategies and materials to address the needed interventions.
2) The reading department will develop, for each subject and grade level, a standard
vocabulary across grade levels with horizontal and vertical alignment (based on the
Marzano’s Six Step Process). This strategy is research-based and will strengthen the
core academic program.
B. Describe the activities to be conducted before or after school, during the summer, or during
an extension of the school year to meet student needs.
1) Inter-sessions held for the year-round school will have an academic focus. Schools will
determine the skills and the intervention strategies needed based on the WKCE and
district benchmark data.
2) Interventions based on the data from the quarterly benchmark assessments should have
a direct impact on the students due to the fact that the skill areas identified as needing
improvement will be addressed in a timely manner.
What did you discover as you analyzed and discussed the different district documents?
Milwaukee Public Schools
District Improvement Plan
Please follow these directions in order to get a copy of the District Improvement Plan:
- Login to MPS Home page
- Type in the search MPS window
3. Click GO
- Select
District Improvement Plan 12-20-07
Ed Plan Part 2:
What does all this have to do with your school’s Educational Plan?
Activity 1
Purposes of the MPS Ed Plan: Read part 1 and 2
Highlight important words/ideas that struck you. With your group select 3 words or phrases that your group aggress captures the essence of the purpose of the Ed Plan.
Chart phrases/words on front chart
Definition/Purpose of a School’s Educational Plan
- Primarily serves as a school improvement tool
- Addresses compliance and reporting requirements for the district
- Provides a way for schools to provide public information about school performance, programs and school improvement strategies
Activity 2
School Improvement: A Continuous Process
Read the bulleted items. Again, highlight important ideas identified in these bullets.
What connections can you make to the ideas outlined in this section of the definition of the Ed Plan to the work identified in the MMP continuum and Henry’s “5 Big” strategies?
(Below is background information as to the connections)
Ed PlanConnections
Thorough study of standardized test items / LT continuumDIFI plan
Align curriculum with state standards / LT Continuum (phase 1 & 2)
DIFI plan
Implement regular, common, aligned classroom CABS / Henry’s 5 Big Strategies
DIFI
LT Continuum
Create school data trail / Henry’s 5 Big Strategies
DIFI plan
Enlist the active participation of all staff seeking out every possible avenue for contributing to the proficiency in reading, math, and science. / LT continuum – content knowledge
DIFI plan – highly qualified teachers
Henry’s 5 Big Strategies – improve content knowledge
Activity 3
Pass Out Sample Ed Plan
Sharing a sample Educational Plan.
Demonstrate connections by pointing out how strategies, data, and professional development should be connected.
Closure:
Questions to Consider for your Learning Team:
- In what way is your Educational Plan connected?
- How will you communicate this to your stakeholders?
- How will you lead your staff on the initiatives established in the Ed Plan?
Excerpt form MPS Educational Plan Workbook (pg. 10 -11)
The Milwaukee Public Schools Educational Plan document:
- Primarily serves as a school improvement tool;
- Addresses compliance and reporting requirements for the district; and
- Provides a way for schools to provide public information about school performance, programs and school improvement strategies.
The Educational Plan process should be ongoing and connected to the work of a school because:
- It encourages reflection on school practice and an orientation toward continuous improvement.
- The discipline of getting plans on paper promotes rigorous improvement planning and provides clarity about school goals.
- Involving stakeholders in the development and ongoing review process results in increased stakeholder commitment to school goals.
- In research into high performing urban schools, the Charles A. Dana Center at TheUniversity of Texas at Austin (1999) found that such schools exhibited both clarity about goals and stakeholder commitment (for summary, see Your own commitment to the Educational Plan process will assist you in creating and sustaining a “high performing urban school”. (Full text of article available at:
The workbook will be updated in response to questions and suggestions from schools. The MPS Educational Plan Contact Information Chart contained in this document includes the names and contact information for district support resources related to the plan and workbook. The Ed Plan templates and workbook will be posted in a folder called “Educational Plans” on the MPS portal in an area that will be available to the public. To find the folder, enter folder name in the portal search window and search the results. This same portal folder will be the place where all MPS Ed Plans will be posted.
Workbook Content
This workbook is designed to provide explanations, examples, resources and tools that will assist in the development of a school educational plan. The workbook opens with parts that provide background information related to the plan. This technical help section is followed by an overview of the entire Ed Plan process, information on things to consider in plan development, and a graphic representation of the process.
The workbook then mirrors the Ed Plan template. In each section, “Stepby Step” procedures are provided in an alphabetic format. The step by steps are summarized instructions for completing each section of the Ed Plan; first briefly, then in detail. They are sometimes accompanied by guiding questions or exercises that school teams can use or adapt to fit their needs.
Finally, the workbook contains appendices that provide additional resources that will support the development of school plans. This workbook is a work in progress. To check for updates or reference materials, search on the words Educational Plans in the MPS Portal. (Templates and resources are public documents. No portal login is needed to get them.)
Additional help with plan development will be provided in ongoing inservices. Educational Plan development workshops will be posted in the Educational Plans folder on the portal.
Developing and Implementing an Effective Educational Plan
- Organize your approach to improving performance. The Needs Assessment is a preliminary step in the Ed Plan process for a reason. Instead of jumping directly to the solution stage (what should we do), focus on analyzing and understanding current conditions and causes of those conditions before considering actions and strategies.
- Focus. Don’t try to do 20 new things at once – more is not better. Trying to do more only has the effect of diluting the effectiveness of the really important things. So forget the other stuff and focus on the few really important things. How do you identify those things? That’s the purpose of the Needs Assessment stage of the Ed Plan.
- The order of events should be:
- Where do I need to be (NCLB defines this)
- Where am I now (Needs Assessment phase)
- What is the most efficient and effective way to get from b. to a.? First, identify a wide range of possible actions and strategies. Then select those most likely to produce the desired outcomes.
School Improvement: A Continuous Process
- Do a thorough study of the standardized test item analysis. Glean as much information as possible from standardized test data regarding your students’ strengths and weaknesses. Include your findings in your Needs Assessment.
- Align curriculum with state standards. This means continual awareness of the relationship between daily instructional content and the standards – which standard am I addressing now?
- Implement regular, common, aligned classroom assessments based on standards (CABs).
- “Regular” – at least weekly
- “Common” – all classrooms within a grade level are using the same assessments at the same time
- “Aligned” – each assessment question is tied to a specific state standard. Document this for each CAB question. In addition to content considerations, give attention to the thinking skill / depth of knowledge level of your assessment questions. Standardized assessments cover the full range of Bloom’s Taxonomy and your classroom assessments need to do the same.
- “Calibrate” the accuracy of your classroom assessment data by comparing with standardized assessment results
- Create a school data trail that reflects learning and instruction:
- Develop a template for recording CABS results by standard
- Identify in writing the standard being measured by each CA question
- Document results of CABS in order to create a data trail of student proficiency by standard over the course of the quarter, semester, and school year
- Use this data as the quantitative basis for your SPS entries
- Document results of instructional practices and learning walks.
- Enlist the active participation of all staff in seeking out every possible avenue for contributing to proficiency in reading, math, and science. Have each person identify areas where he or she is already teaching content related to the reading, math, and science standards, and areas where she or he could enhance their curriculum to address additional standards (without compromising the integrity of the curriculum for their subject area).
Steps to Success: Ed Plan Process Correlated to the Problem Solving Model