Windham Middle School
Millennium Project
Final Evaluation Report
Windham Public Schools
Submitted by Jane Cook
EASTCONN Literacy and Technology Coach and
WMS Millennium Project Grant Coordinator
9/29/11
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION & BACKGROUND 1
Project Context 1
Target Population 2
Technology Leader Team for the Millennium Project Grant 3
Personnel Responsible for Implementation 3
Key Collaborators and Partners 4
PROJECT STRATEGIES 6
Size and Scope of Project Activities 6
Program Strategy 1: Access 6
Access to Computers 6
Access to Software 6
Access to Mini-Labs in Interdisciplinary Teams 9
Access to Peripheral Devices 9
Access to Schedules to Sign Out Technology 9
Access to the WMS Writing and Technology Center 9
Program Strategy 2: Professional Development 9
Summary of Professional Development Activities 10
Data Collection Processes 17
Reflections on the Successes and Challenges of the Project’s Strategies - What Worked, What Didn’t, and Why 17
PROJECT OUTCOMES 18
Project Objectives 18
Objectives for Goal 1 (Technology Integration) 18
Objectives for Goal 2 (Student Technology Literacy) and Goal 3 (Student Achievement) 18
Data Sources and instruments 18
How Data Was Analyzed and Results of the Analyses 19
Limitations of the Data Collection Processes 21
What Does the Data Mean? (explicitly interpret and tie data to one or more of your project’s objectives) 21
Comparison of Actual Outcomes Against Intended Outcomes (were project targets met) 21
Unexpected or Unintended (positive or negative) outcomes. 21
CONCLUSIONS, LESSONS LEARNED & RECOMMENDATIONS 22
Discuss lessons learned that may have applicability and usefulness in a comparable context; 22
Describe any concrete plans to expand or sustain the project beyond the life of the grant; and 22
Propose useable recommendations for the CSDE or other schools or districts considering similar grants or initiatives. 22
APPENDICES 23
Appendix A: Data collection instruments 1
Appendix B: Additional Data Tables 1
Appendix C: Other Project or Evaluation Artifacts 1
Letter of Support from Dr. Tom Deans, UConn Writing Center 1
Letter of Support from Dr. Jason Courtmanche, Connecticut Writing Project 3
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INTRODUCTION & BACKGROUND
Project Context
The Millennium Project was designed to bring students and teachers into a new era by transforming Windham Middle School (WMS) into a model 21st Century school. The main purpose of the Millennium Project was to teach the teachers how to use technology as a tool to support teaching and learning to create 21st Century learners who can use technology effectively and productively to achieve at a high level, think critically, solve problems, communicate, collaborate, and produce products and projects that represent their learning.
Windham Middle School is a high needs school, the only middle school in Windham which serves all students in grades 5, 6, 7, and 8. Windham is one of the “top 15” priority districts which are defined by the Connecticut State Department of Education as those districts with the lowest achieving students in the State of Connecticut. In their 6th year of not meeting Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) under the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation, Windham Middle School is under the state’s microscope and the staff is working hard to implement research-based strategies to enhance student motivation, engagement and performance.
The Millennium Project was shaped after the 90/90/90 research which was conducted by Dr. Douglas Reeves and his colleagues in the Center for Leadership and Learning, internationally recognized authorities on professional development services, cutting-edge research, and innovative solutions for school improvement efforts. The 90/90/90 research studied highly effective schools in which 90% of the students were eligible for free or reduced lunch, 90% of the students were from ethnic minorities and 90% of the students met or achieved high academic standards. The researchers found that: “Techniques used by the 90/90/90 Schools are consistent. These schools are not lurching from one fad to another. While they differ in some respects with regard to implementation, they are consistent with regard to the following areas of emphasis:
1. Writing - students write frequently in a variety of subjects
2. Performance Assessment - the predominant method of assessment is performance assessment.
3. Collaboration - teachers routinely collaborate, using real student work as the focus of their discussion
4. Focus - teachers in these schools do not try to “do it all” but are highly focused on learning”
-Dr. Douglas Reeves, Accountability in Action: A Blueprint for Learning
At the time the Millennium Project proposal was written, WMS was a 71/70/30 school based on their Strategic School Profile data for the 2007-08 school year. No one at WMS was satisfied with having an average of only 30% of the students achieve at or above the Proficient level on the Connecticut Mastery Test, the high stakes test used to report student achievement under the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation.
The Millennium Project was designed to reinforce the basics of the old 3 R’s – Reading, ‘Riting and ‘Rithmetic - while teaching students the new 3 R’s – Rigor, Relevance and Relationships. “The destination for education has to be rigor, relevance and relationships if we want to prepare students for college, work and life in the 21st century. Getting to that destination requires school staff to work collaboratively toward common goals through analyzing data, adopting best practices, taking risks and embracing change.” (Source: Tips for Using Rigor, Relevance and Relationships to Improve Student Achievement, by Raymond J. McNulty and Russell J. Quaglia, American Association of School Administrators, from http://www.education.com/reference/article/Ref_Rigor_Relevance/, retrieved February 8, 2010)
The Millennium Project strove to accomplish these goals in the following ways:
· 90/90/90 Study Focus Area 1 (Writing): Computers as a specials class was transformed into the WMS Writing and Technology Center in which students focused on writing across the curriculum and using technology tools to support their learning in all content areas.
· 90/90/90 Study Focus Areas 2 (Performance Assessment) & 3 (Collaboration): Interdisciplinary Teacher Learning Teams were formed to work collaboratively at each grade level, designing curriculum units with performance-based assessments to determine student mastery of concepts and skills using the nationally recognized curriculum development model known as Understanding by Design (UbD). The School-wide Data Team worked collaboratively to support the Millennium Project with a cross grade level “Big Picture” perspective.
· 90/90/90 Study Focus Areas 1 (Writing) & 3 (Collaboration): The University of Connecticut Writing Center and the Connecticut Writing Project joined as collaborative partners in the WMS Millennium Project (See Appendix C). These collaborative partners provided expertise in writing instruction as well as support from graduate assistants who helped train peer tutors and worked collaboratively with WMS staff and students to ensure the success of the project.
· 90/90/90 Study Focus Areas 2 (Performance Assessment), 3 (Collaboration), 4 (Focus on Learning): Each Teacher Learning Team had five common planning periods per week which were used for collaborative meetings, including two Grade Level Data Team meetings per week. During Grade Level Data Team meetings teachers focused on implementing the district’s Data Driven Decision Making (DDDM)/Data Team model which involves a 5-step process of 1) collecting and charting data, 2) analyzing strengths and obstacles, 3) developing SMART goals, 4) selecting effective instructional strategies to achieve SMART goals, and 5) determining results indicators. During this process, Data Teams developed performance assessments to demonstrate mastery of concepts and skills, develop Common Formative Assessments to gather pre and post-instruction and analyzed student work to determine what students were learning.
· 90/90/90 Study Focus Area 4 (Focus on Learning): All staff and all students participated in the Millennium Project. The focus was on teaching and learning using technology as an embedded tool to support curriculum, instruction and assessment.
Target Population
Windham Middle School is the participating school in the Millennium Project grant. WMS is a large middle school in a small urban city in northeastern Connecticut with three administrators and approximately 85 certified staff, 20 Instructional Assistants and 1,000 students. All WMS teachers and students participated in the Millennium Project grant.
WMS is organized into interdisciplinary teams at all grade levels. At the beginning of the Millennium Project grant, an invitation went out to all staff asking for a representative from each team to become Technology Leaders who would receive training so they could support their colleagues in integrating technology across the curriculum. A total of 18 WMS teachers volunteered to become Technology Leaders, approximately 21% of the teaching staff. Those teachers represented all of the core academic content areas and all grade levels. All grade level interdisciplinary teams were represented at all four grades. In addition, there were representatives from the multi-grade teams – the Companeros Team (the dual language program in grades 5 and 6), the Purple Team (the sheltered instruction program in grades 7 and 8 for English Language Learners and new arrivals to the United States), the Green Team (an alternative program in grades 7 and 8 for students with behavioral issues), as well as the Special Education Team and the Specials Team. The table below shows The Technology Leader Team for the Millennium Project grant with their grade levels and content areas during the 2010-11 school year.
Technology Leader Team for the Millennium Project Grant
Name / Content Area / Grade Level for 2010-11 / Team / E-mail AddressGrades 5-8
Suzanne Krach / All / 5-8 / Special Ed /
Kristine MacDonald / Speech/Language / 5-8 / Special Ed /
Sydney Gilbey / Computers/All / 5-8 / Specials /
Emily Hebert / LA Challenge / 5-6 / Reading/LA /
Janice Nye / Spanish / 5-8 / Specials /
Grade 5
Tom Collins / Social Studies / Grade 5 / Maroon Team /
Cyd Weldon / English/LA / Grade 5 / Blue Team /
Grade 6 Team
Amy York / Math / Grade 6 / Gold Team /
Lisa Jurovaty / English/LA / Grade 6 / Teal Team /
Grade 7 Team
Linda Lemkin / Science / Grade 7 / Teal Team /
Cindy Rollins / Science / Grade 7 / Gold Team /
Grade 8 Team
Joanne Haddad / English/LA / Maroon Team /
Bev Lanier / Science / Grade 8 / Blue Team /
Multi-Grade Teams
Max Echevarria / LA/Social Studies / Grade 5/6 / Companeros
(Dual Language Program) /
Yusomil Bonet / Literacy / Grade 7/8 / Purple Team
(Sheltered Instruction Team ) /
Chris Sheehan / All / Grade 7/8 / Green Team
(Alternative Team) /
Paula Erickson / All / Grade 7/8 / Chrysalis Team /
Rolando Navarro / Grade 7/8 / Sheltered Instruction Team /
Personnel Responsible for Implementation
The personnel responsible for implementing the Millennium Project consisted of the Millennium Project Team which included:
· Project Director: Dr. Ana Maria Olezza, Windham Director of Grants and Bilingual Programs, - The Project Director was responsible for overseeing the grant activities and providing Central Office support to ensure the success of the Millennium grant project.
· Project Co-Coordinator: Jane Cook, EASTCONN Literacy and Technology Coach provided training and on-site coaching support to the WMS Teacher Learning Teams. In addition, she provided demonstration lessons, planned with teachers, and assisted with data collection and analysis. Jane facilitated the development and implementation of the curriculum units, was the primary author of the Tier II Literacy Writing Module, and wrote the two Millennium Project Progress Reports and the Final Evaluation Report.
· Project Co-Coordinator: Sydney Gilbey, Windham Technology Teacher, served as the Coordinator of the WMS Writing and Technology Center. She supervised the University of Connecticut Graduate Interns as they supported both the literacy development of WMS students as well as assisted with the effective integration of technology tools across all content areas. In addition, Sydney worked with her colleagues as a Technology Integration Specialist as they developed and implemented technology tools across the curriculum.
· WMS Teacher Learning Teams: The WMS Teacher Learning Teams consisted of interdisciplinary academic teams that represented grades 5-8. These Teacher Learning Teams were responsible for developing and implementing curriculum units, collecting and analyzing data and student work samples, and revising curriculum as needed based on the data.
Key Collaborators and Partners
Windham Public Schools has an ongoing relationship with EASTCONN, the Regional Educational Service Center that serves the 36 school districts in the northeastern corner of Connecticut. Windham is the largest district in the EASTCONN service area. This partnership has included:
· Windham schools have participated in numerous EASTCONN interdistrict grants for as many years as interdistrict grants have been in existence.
· Several EASTCONN staff members have provided professional development for Windham Public Schools on an ongoing basis.
· One EASTCONN staff member has been serving as the part-time Instructional Consultant/Literacy and Technology Coach at Windham Middle School since the 2005-06 school year.
Five years ago, the Instructional Consultant retired from Windham Middle School and her position was eliminated due to lack of funding. At that time, the Windham Director of Grants and Bilingual Programs met with EASTCONN to determine the best way to fill that enormous gap. The decision was made to provide one EASTCONN staff member to serve as the part-time Instructional Consultant at Windham Middle School. For the past five years Jane Cook has served in that position working as their Literacy and Technology Coach at Windham Middle School.
This partnership has benefitted Windham Public Schools in a variety of ways:
· Jane has written and coordinated three successful literacy and technology grants for WMS which have given staff and students access and expertise in using technology tools that were not available through local funding.
· Jane has provided instructional coaching support through demonstration lessons, assistance with planning, mentoring to beginning teachers, help with action research projects and teaching portfolios, supervision of university graduate interns, facilitation of data teams and the Early Intervention Program (EIP) Team.
· Jane has designed and delivered nearly every professional development session at WMS for the past five years.
· Jane has provided networking opportunities so that Windham staff could participate in grant activities with Bloomfield, Mansfield and Stafford.