Denison Montessori School Improvement Action Plan (2009 2010 changes in blue) Teaching and Learning Goal 1 Goal: (School goal for where you want the school to be in three years. Should be based on measured student outcomes and needs identified in your Performance Analysis.) (SMART Goal) (All students will be successful). Denison will reduce the percentage of unsatisfactory scores on the 3 rd, 4 th, 5 th, 6 th grade Reading CSAP by 50% (from 18 to 9, 0506 sy, for example or 90-95% partially proficient or higher) as measured by the 2010 Reading CSAP scores. Denison s reading scores are our highest scores. We are revising this objective and choosing a writing objective in order to focus on improving our writing scores. Goal: Raise Denison s overall CSAP writing scores to 61% at or above Proficiency by 2010. School-wide scores for grades 3-5 writing are 55% proficient or above as measured by the 2009 CSAP. Denison will continue with a writing objective for 2009-2010: By 2010, CSAP writing scores will be at or above 61% Proficiency. Objective 1: (Must have at least two objectives which can be modified annually.) Objective Met New Objective Revised Objective Free and Reduced student (approximately (60-65 students grades 3 6) growth will be monitored three times a year and instruction will be modified for all students who are not at DPS grade level targets in reading as measured by the reading benchmark assessments. (6 21% of free and reduced students were unsatisfactory on the 2006 CSAP Reading assessment across all grade levels) Denison will increase proficiency on the 3 rd, 4 th, 5 th, 6 th grade Writing CSAP by 5% (overall writing grade 3 5 is 50% proficiency, 6 th is 53 % proficiency) as measured by the 2009 Writing CSAP scores. Denison will close the gaps of FRL and ELL and SPED students by increasing their 2008 2009 writing CSAP scores by 5%. (White proficiency = 61%) Denison s writing scores increased in the following categories: ELL: 11%, SPED: 5%, Hispanic: 8%; on the 2009 Denison CSAP scores. Denison will continue to close the gaps of FRL, ELL, and SPED students by increasing their 2009 2010 writing CSAP scores by 5% for all these subgroups. (Anglo/Asian proficiency = 61%). Strategy 1 to Support Objective 1: (This may be instructional strategies, parental engagement strategies, community building strategies, and so on.) Identified students will receive additional reading instruction/tutoring. Students will learn to write in all genres (narrative, expository, poetry, letters, explanatory paragraphs and essays, etc.) Using the Benchmark, CSAP, or teacher-designed assessment scores, classroom teachers will identify students who are not proficient in writing and develop a writing improvement plan for those students.
Activity (Action Steps) Students reading instruction will be monitored to ensure that they have 60 minutes or more of daily reading instruction and practice School wide age-appropriate rubric (for teachers and students of what proficient writing looks like. Professional development on high quality writing and student self-evaluation and peer evaluation (using exemplars) Development of Montessori writing best practices (conferencing, monitoring, etc.) begin by examining writing at cross level and grade level meetings and sharing of ideas. All students will have writing notebooks and write everyday. Use notebooks for progress monitoring. Instruct in all genres of writing Progress monitoring will occur once a month. Authentic daily writing using the Montessori curriculum in the Montessori classroom. Parent conference to focus on schoolhome collaboration on improving student writing. Person(s) responsible (Lead persons and committee members responsible for implementing strategy.) Leadership Team, classroom teachers, special education teachers, Principal, leadership team, classroom education teachers, Principal, leadership team, classroom education teachers, and Montessori classroom Timeline (Projected timeframe for the implementation and completion of strategy.) 2007 2008 school year 2008 2009 school year Resources and Budget (Materials, grants, funds and other resources targeted to support the strategy. Instructional budget, part-time budget, parent volunteers, student tutors, professional development budget, Network #4 Instructional specialists Instructional budget, part-time budget, parent volunteers, student tutors, professional development budget, Network #4 Instructional specialists 2009 2010 school year Instructional budget, part-time budget, parent volunteers, student tutors, professional development budget, Network #4 Instructional specialists Professional Development in Support of the Strategy Reading instruction and reading intervention professional development Fundations, Wilson Reading training, guided reading, Professional development differentiated as needed Data Team development and professional learning communities established to look at and respond to the data that is collected about student writing progress Montessori writing curriculum Work in data teams and grade levels to analyze student writing collaboratively
Strategy 2 to Support Objective 1: (These may be instructional strategies, parental engagement strategies, community building strategies, and so on.) Reading progress for identified students will be monitored monthly. Students will apply mechanics and conventions to final writing products (frequency of final product to be determined by 10/31/08). Use a school-wide, collaborative approach, which includes ELA, SPED, and specialists (library, art, P.E. Suzuki) to assist targeted students who are not proficient in writing. Activity (Action Steps) Assessment: Running records will be performed monthly to assess reading level of students and monitor progress Person(s) responsible (Lead persons and committee members responsible for implementing strategy.) Classroom teachers, special educators, and Humanities Facilitator. Timeline (Projected timeframe for the implementation and completion of strategy.) 2007 2008 school year Resources and Budget (Materials, grants, funds and other resources targeted to support the strategy. Instructional budget and professional development budget, Network #4 Instructional specialists Professional Development in Support of the Strategy Data Team development and professional learning communities established to look at and respond to the data that is collected about student reading progress School wide age-appropriate rubric (for teachers and students of what proficient writing looks like. Professional development on high quality writing and student self-evaluation and peer evaluation (using exemplars) Development of Montessori writing best practices (conferencing, monitoring, etc.) begin by examining writing at cross level and grade level meetings and sharing of ideas. All students will have writing notebooks and write everyday. Use notebooks for progress monitoring. Instruct in all genres of writing Progress monitoring will occur once a month. Grade Level Principal, classroom educators, and Humanities Facilitator. 2008-2009 school year Instructional budget and professional development budget, Network #4 Instructional specialists Data Team development and professional learning communities established to look at and respond to the data that is collected about student reading progress Teacher directed PDU steacher directed PDU s
CSAP Prep (LE and UE) CSAP prompt writing (Ralph Fletcher materials and DPS sources) Test Taking Skills (LE and UE) Integration of Dialogic Reading (Primary and LE) with Denison parents and classrooms Teachers and specialists will conference on the progress of students on writing ILPs (target students) at three-week intervals. The Writing focus will be based on the interest of the child and their current work. The specialist will keep a log of the conferences. Classroom teachers, special educators, 2009-2010 school year Instructional budget and professional development budget, Network #4 Instructional specialists Data Team development and professional learning communities established to look at and respond to the data that is collected about student reading progress Milestones: (Milestones are checkpoints that measure progress toward the stated objective. They help ensure that you are making interim progress toward meeting your annual objective. Milestones need to be measurable directly related to the objective, specific and clear, achievable and time specific.) Monthly running records and benchmark assessments DRA level Bimonthly Grade level meetings Weekly leadership team meetings Monthly Data Team meetings Parent conferences 2x year Report Cards 3x year Number of students in ILP cohort will be reduced (need data on number of students currently on list) Writing as a School Culture at Denison Agreement on part of all grade levels of excellent/proficient writing (DPS grade level planning guides, state standards, Montessori exemplars, Montessori exit criteria) All students have a writing notebook and write in their notebook everyday Cross curricular writing (all subject areas) Instruct in all genres of writing (fiction, non-fiction, letters etc. Graphic organizers Montessori consultants
Integration of Montessori grammar Teacher sharing of best practices Acknowledging ELL difficulties even of non-bilingual students (vocabulary (nomenclature, picture cards, word families) Cycles of tasks/completion of tasks through the 3 rd period (writing Reflective self assessment of writing Quality versus quantity of work/process over product SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PLAN IS A LIVING BREATHING DOCUMENT AND WE WILL REVISIT THE PLAN OFTEN Fall Writing Samples: Benchmark and Grade level writing samples Mid-year Writing Samples: increase one level on baseline rubric Grade level writing samples Spring Writing Samples: 61% or higher proficiency Benchmark and Grade level writing samples
Teaching and Learning Goal 1 Goal: (School goal for where you want the school to be in three years. Should be based on measured student outcomes and needs identified in your Performance Analysis.) (SMART Goal) (All students will be successful). Denison will reduce the percentage of unsatisfactory scores on the 3 rd, 4 th, 5 th, 6 th grade Reading CSAP by 50% (from 18 to 9, 0506 sy, for example or 95% partially proficient or higher) as measured by the 2010 Reading CSAP scores. Denison s reading scores are our highest scores. We are revising this objective and choosing a writing objective in order to improve our writing scores. Goal: Raise Denison CSAP writing scores at or above Proficiency to 61% by 2010. Denison will have one writing goal this year. (2009 2010) Objective 2: (Must have at least two objectives which can be modified annually.) Objective Met New Objective Revised Objective Reading progress for students with IEPs (approximately 25-30 students) will be monitored and instruction will be modified for all students who are not at DPS grade level targets in reading as measured by the DPS Reading Benchmark Assessments. (2006 0% - 45% of students with IEPs were unsatisfactory on the Reading CSAP across all grade levels) Denison will increase the growth overall in writing by at least 5% as measured by the 2008 2009 CSAP writing assessment. Strategy 1 to Support Objective 2: (This may be instructional strategies, parental engagement strategies, community building strategies, and so on.) Identified students will receive additional reading instruction/tutoring. Students will write in all genres (narrative, expository, poetry, letters, explanatory paragraphs and essays, etc.) Activity (Action Steps) Students reading instruction will be monitored to ensure that they have 60 minutes or more of daily reading instruction and practice (90 minutes of reading if students are third grade or above). Person(s) responsible (Lead persons and committee members responsible for implementing strategy.) Special educators, classroom teacher, leadership team, Humanities facilitator, Timeline (Projected timeframe for the implementation and completion of strategy.) 2007-2008 Resources and Budget (Materials, grants, funds and other resources targeted to support the strategy. Instructional budget, part-time budget, parent volunteers, student tutors, professional development budget, Network #4 Instructional specialists Professional Development in Support of the Strategy Reading instruction and reading intervention professional development Fundations, Wilson Reading training, guided reading, professional development differentiated as needed
School wide age-appropriate rubric (for teachers and students of what proficient writing looks like. Professional development on high quality writing and student self-evaluation and peer evaluation (using exemplars) Development of Montessori writing best practices (conferencing, monitoring, etc.) begin by examining writing at cross level and grade level meetings and sharing of ideas. All students will have writing notebooks and write everyday. Use notebooks for progress monitoring. Instruct in all genres of writing Progress monitoring will occur once a month. Principal, Special educators, classroom teacher, leadership team, Humanities facilitator, 2008 2009 school year Instructional budget, part-time budget, parent volunteers, student tutors, professional development budget, Network #4 Instructional specialists Strategy 2 to Support Objective 2: (These may be instructional strategies, parental engagement strategies, community building strategies, and so on.) Reading progress for identified students will be monitored monthly. Writing professional development, Montessori consultants, Humanities facilitators with teachers (coteaching), peer coaching by mentor teachers Students will apply mechanics and conventions to final writing products (frequency to be determined and added to this document by 10.31.08) Activity (Action Steps) Assessment: Running records will be performed monthly to assess reading level of students and monitor progress. Person(s) responsible (Lead persons and committee members responsible for implementing strategy.) Classroom teachers and Humanities Facilitator, special education teachers. Timeline (Projected timeframe for the implementation and completion of strategy.) 2007-2008 Resources and Budget (Materials, grants, funds and other resources targeted to support the strategy. Instructional budget Professional Development in Support of the Strategy Data Team development School wide age-appropriate rubric (for teachers and students of what proficient writing looks like. Professional development on high quality Principal, classroom teachers and Humanities Facilitator, special education teachers. 2008 2009 school year Instructional budget Data Team development and implementation Teacher led PDU s
writing and student self-evaluation and peer evaluation (using exemplars) Development of Montessori writing best practices (conferencing, monitoring, etc.) begin by examining writing at cross level and grade level meetings and sharing of ideas. All students will have writing notebooks and write everyday. Use notebooks for progress monitoring. Instruct in all genres of writing Progress monitoring will occur once a month. Grade Level CSAP Prep (LE and UE) program CSAP prompt writing (Ralph Fletcher materials and DPS sources) Test Taking Skills (LE and UE) Integration of Dialogic Reading (Primary and LE) Milestones: (Milestones are checkpoints that measure progress toward the stated objective. They help ensure that you are making interim progress toward meeting your annual objective. Milestones need to be measurable directly related to the objective, specific and clear, achievable and time specific. ) Monthly running records and benchmark assessments Student conferencing daily/weekly monitor teacher/student reading goals DRA levels Bi-monthly Grade level meetings Weekly leadership team meetings Monthly Data Team meetings Parent conferences 2x year Report Cards 3x year Writing as a School Culture Agreement on part of all grade levels of excellent/proficient writing (DPS grade level planning guides, state standards, Montessori exemplars, Montessori exit criteria) All students have a writing notebook and write in their notebook everyday Cross curricular writing (all subject areas) Instruct in all genres of writing (fiction, non-fiction, letters etc. Graphic organizers Montessori consultants Integration of Montessori grammar
Teacher sharing of best practices Acknowledging ELL difficulties even of non-bilingual students (vocabulary (nomenclature, picture cards, word families) Cycles of tasks/completion of tasks through the 3 rd period (writing Reflective self assessment of writing Quality versus quantity of work/process over product SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PLAN IS A LIVING BREATHING DOCUMENT AND WE WILL REVISIT THE PLAN OFTEN
Teaching and Learning Goal 2 Goal: (School goal for where you want the school to be in three years. Should be based on measured student outcomes and needs identified in your Performance Analysis.) (SMART Goal) Mathematics proficiency as measured by the CSAP will increase to 75% proficient or above for each grade level by measured by the 2010 Mathematics CSAP scores. Denison overall mathematics proficiency will be at or above 59% as measured by the 2009 CSAP. Denison overall mathematics proficiency will be at or above 60% as measured by the 2010 CSAP. Objective 1: (Must have at least two objectives which can be modified annually.) Objective Met New Objective Revised Objective All students will memorize mathematics facts in lower elementary (grades 1-3). (Minimum competency will be addition facts for first grade, subtraction facts for second grade, multiplication and division facts for third grade). Upper elementary teachers (grade 4 6) will agree to mathematics outcomes for each grade level. Primary students will master an understanding of operations through repeated work with Golden Bead materials and various passages to abstraction with advanced Montessori materials. Lower elementary students will master math facts for addition, subtraction, and multiplication through the use of appropriate materials. Upper elementary students will continue to maintain mastery of the above math facts (+ division) and the following: 4 th gr.-operations w/ whole no. and simple fractions; 5 th gr.-operations w/decimals: 6 th gr.- percent, proportion, probability. Strategy 1 to Support Objective 1: (This may be instructional strategies, parental engagement strategies, community building strategies, and so on.) Professional development on effective teaching practices for students to master mathematics facts. Set specific grade/age level math goals for Montessori classrooms, progress monitor grade level goals; teachers will follow of review and extend (spiraling through the mathematics curriculum) with sufficient repetition each week to build mastery. Professional development using Montessori strategies for the mastery of math facts and computation. Encourage parents to support the use of Everyday Math games at home.
Activity (Action Steps) Monthly Professional Development Sessions on best practices (including Montessori best practices) of mastery of mathematics facts (repetition with variation, etc.) Person(s) responsible (Lead persons and committee members responsible for implementing strategy.) Leadership Team, classroom teachers, special educators, Timeline (Projected timeframe for the implementation and completion of strategy.) August 2007 through February 2008 Resources and Budget (Materials, grants, funds and other resources targeted to support the strategy. Instructional Budget, Instructional facilitators for Network #4 Professional Development in Support of the Strategy Monthly Professional Development using the teacher expertise at Denison, Montessori experts and the Instructional Network resources Rigorous implementation of the Data Team Process Principal, leadership Team, classroom educators, October 2008 May 2009 Instructional Budget, Instructional facilitators for Network #4 Monthly Professional Development using the teacher expertise at Denison, Montessori experts and the Instructional Network resources Teacher will set specific grade/age level math goals and create a record of individual children s progress on learning math facts and operations. Principal, leadership Team, classroom educators, October 2009 May 2010 Instructional Budget, Instructional facilitators for Network #4 Monthly Professional Development using the teacher expertise at Denison, Montessori experts and the Instructional Network resources. Strategy 2 to Support Objective 1: (These may be instructional strategies, parental engagement strategies, community building strategies, and so on.) Students progress toward mastery of the mathematical facts will be monitored by teacher made assessments and Montessori materials and classroom teacher observations Identify specific students who need additional support (gifted and talented, ELL s, at Risk Student population and special education students).
Activity (Action Steps) Teacher made assessment of student progress on mastering the grade level mathematics facts. Students will know the requirements for their grade level. Person(s) responsible (Lead persons and committee members responsible for implementing strategy.) Leadership Team, classroom teachers, special educators, Timeline (Projected timeframe for the implementation and completion of strategy.) August 2007 through February 2008 Resources and Budget (Materials, grants, funds and other resources targeted to support the strategy. Instructional Budget, Instructional facilitators for Network #4 Professional Development in Support of the Strategy Monthly Professional Development using the teacher expertise at Denison, Montessori experts and the Instructional Network resources Rigorous implementation of the Data Team Process Principal, leadership team, classroom educators, October 2008 May 2009 Instructional Budget, Instructional facilitators for Network #4 Monthly Professional Development using the teacher expertise at Denison, Montessori experts and the Instructional Network resources for Data Team development Milestones: (Milestones are checkpoints that measure progress toward the stated objective. They help ensure that you are making interim progress toward meeting your annual objective. Milestones need to be measurable directly related to the objective, specific and clear, achievable and time specific. ) Students will understand the performance requirements for each grade level Students will match or exceed the grade level expectations Grade level agreements of student goals for each semester (beginning and end) Monthly assessments and review of student work to support objectives (end of month) Benchmark assessments of number sense (three times per year) Fall Math Data: Benchmark and Grade level mathematics data Mid-year Math Data: increase one level on baseline rubric Grade level and classroom mathematics data Spring Math Data: 61% or higher proficiency Benchmark and Grade level mathematics data
Teaching and Learning Goal 2 Goal: (School goal for where you want the school to be in three years. Should be based on measured student outcomes and needs identified in your Performance Analysis.) (SMART Goal) Mathematics proficiency as measured by the CSAP will increase to 75% proficient or above for each grade level by measured by the 2010 Mathematics CSAP scores. Denison overall mathematics proficiency will increase 5% from 51% to 56% Denison overall mathematics proficiency will increase 5% from 51% to 56% Objective 2: (Must have at least two objectives which can be modified annually.) Objective Met New Objective Revised Objective Denison students will develop the skills to communicate the reasoning used in solving mathematical problems. This will include words, pictures, diagrams and numbers. Lower elementary students will demonstrate proficiency on the Montessori mathematics exit standards for grade three. Lower elementary students will demonstrate proficiency on the Montessori mathematics exit standards for grade three. Strategy 1 to Support Objective 2: (This may be instructional strategies, parental engagement strategies, community building strategies, and so on.) Teachers will create the expectation that the third period of Montessori lessons is incorporated into student mathematics work both verbally and in written form. This level of the Montessori lesson requires the student to demonstrate mastery (or proficiency) of a mathematics skill Teachers will create the expectation that the third period of Montessori lessons is incorporated into student mathematics work both verbally and in written form. This level of the Montessori lesson requires the student to demonstrate mastery (or proficiency) of a mathematics skill Teachers will create the expectation that the third period of Montessori lessons is incorporated into student mathematics work both verbally and in written form. This level of the Montessori lesson requires the student to demonstrate mastery (or proficiency) of a mathematics skill
Activity (Action Steps) Classroom educators and will incorporate best practices of Montessori lessons (sequential lesson presentations, practice/represent (if necessary)/master and best practices of mathematical questioning (wait time, peer questions to clarify understanding, teacher questions (why does your answer make sense? etc.) Person(s) responsible (Lead persons and committee members responsible for implementing strategy.) Leadership team, classroom teachers, special education teachers, and data team members Timeline (Projected timeframe for the implementation and completion of strategy.) 2007 2008 school year Resources and Budget (Materials, grants, funds and other resources targeted to support the strategy. Instructional budget, professional development budget Professional Development in Support of the Strategy Professional development for teachers on the Montessori three period lesson and the related teaching practices that develop student proficiency on the state standards (use of rubrics, examples of student work that meets the standards, etc.) Lower elementary teachers will follow data team process to monitor student progress Principal, leadership team, classroom education teachers, and data team members October 2008 May 2009 Instructional budget, professional development budget Professional development on the data team process Professional development for teachers on the Montessori three period lesson and the related teaching practices that develop student proficiency on the state standards (use of rubrics, examples of student work that meets the standards, etc.) Lower elementary teachers will follow data team process to monitor student progress Principal, leadership team, classroom education teachers, and data team members October 2009 May 2010 Instructional budget, professional development budget Professional development on the data team process Professional development for teachers on the Montessori three period lesson and the related teaching practices that develop student proficiency on the state standards (use of rubrics, examples of
student work that meets the standards, etc.) Strategy 2 to Support Objective 2: (These may be instructional strategies, parental engagement strategies, community building strategies, and so on.) Students will use mathematics journals and other formats that will encourage daily writing about their mathematical reasoning. Activity (Action Steps) Person(s) responsible (Lead persons and committee members responsible for implementing strategy.) Timeline (Projected timeframe for the implementation and completion of strategy.) Resources and Budget (Materials, grants, funds and other resources targeted to support the strategy. Professional Development in Support of the Strategy Monthly written mathematics assessments using the format of the CSAP and product assessments* analyzed by data team and grade level teams Students will write about their mathematics work. Leadership team, classroom teachers, special education teachers, and data team members Principal, leadership team, classroom education teachers, and data team members 2007 2008 school year October 2008 May 2009 Instructional budget, professional development budget Instructional budget, professional development budget Professional development for teachers on the Montessori three period lesson and the related teaching practices that develop student proficiency on the state standards (use of rubrics, examples of student work that meets the standards, etc.) Professional development on the data team process Professional development for teachers on the Montessori three period lesson and the related teaching practices that develop student proficiency on the state standards (use of rubrics, examples of student work that meets the standards, etc.)
Milestones: (Milestones are checkpoints that measure progress toward the stated objective. They help ensure that you are making interim progress toward meeting your annual objective. Milestones need to be measurable directly related to the objective, specific and clear, achievable and time specific. ) Daily teacher observation and feedback to students Daily student work in math journals/notebook Monthly assessment using the format of the CSAP (Everyday Math end of unit samples) used to assess student s ability to write about their mathematical reasoning. *Product assessment will be: mathematics journals, constructive response items, Montessori student portfolios maintained throughout the year and shared with parents 2x year Montessori Report Card 3x year Student self-assessment and monitoring through daily journals, portfolios Montessori record keeping of Montessori lessons sequence maintained by classroom teacher Montessori standards of progress through the Montessori presentation of materials as described in Montessori albums (teacher made material) DPS/Colorado state mathematics standards benchmark assessments 3x year Montessori recordkeeping Samples of proficient student mathematics work shared at the grade level and data team meetings. Fall Math Data: Benchmark and Grade level work samples Mid-year Math Data: increase one level on baseline rubric Benchmark and Grade level work samples Spring Math Data: 61% or higher proficiency Benchmark and Grade level work samples