07 Ghsd Title I Plan

St. Helen Elementary SchoolTitle I Schoolwide Program

Kathy Rees, St. Helen Principal/District Title I DirectorGayla Mann, MDE, Field Consultant - [email protected]

I) Gerrish-Higgins Title I Services Overview

A) What is Title I?

In the 1960’s, Lyndon Johnson created Title I as part of his ‘War on Poverty’. The goal was to provide supplemental services to schools to ensure that students from poverty could be successful in academic skills, with emphasis on language arts and mathematics. The goal of the program has remained the same. Every ten years Title I is reauthorized and the laws that accompany the money are reviewed and refined. This year, the year of reauthorization, the emphasis in the program will be on assessment, achievement, and plans for student and school improvement. While the program may become more flexible in how services may be delivered to children, the evaluation of program success will be more stringent. However, the goal of the program remains providing money for supplemental services that lead to student academic success.

B) How are participating schools in the Gerrish-Higgins School District chosen?

In Gerrish-Higgins Title I is available in both elementary schools and the middle school. Every year schools are chosen according to the percentage of students who are eligible for free and reduced lunch. This report, generated on October 31st, is used to fund programs for the following school year. The Title I Coordinator, and business office, ranks the schools from the highest percentage of students eligible for free and reduced lunch to the lowest using a comparability formula. Using this ranking, the money received from the federal government is given out to the schools until all the money is used or until the school with the percentage of students eligible for free and reduced lunch is at the county average. However, the district can choose to allot even more dollars to the school-wide building in order to improve services in the building where everyone in the building is technically viewed as eligible. This year the Title I schools are: St. Helen Elementary (School-wide), Roscommon Middle School (School-wide), Roscommon Elementary (School-wide).

C) How are the Title I services delivered?

mailto:[email protected]

There are two kinds of Title I schools, School-wide and Targeted Assistance Schools. School-wides are schools that have 50% or more of the students eligible for free and reduced lunch, or they are schools that have received a waiver to enable them to be a school-wide. For instance, St. Helen Elementary has gone through the yearlong process to become a school-wide building with a current free and reduced lunch eligibility of 66%. In St. Helen, the Title I program is very flexible; the money given may be used to enhance the whole school’s academic program. In schools that fall below 50% or do not have waivers, the Targeted Assistance money is directed to programs that enhance the academics of identified individual students who are struggling academically. These students are chosen based on the matrix score in language arts and mathematics. The school may choose the subject that is the focus of Title I and it may choose the grade levels that will receive the extra support. This is accomplished through the use of a needs assessment. As of last year, both Roscommon Middle School and Roscommon Elementary School have eligibility levels that qualify them for school-wide status. Therefore, during the 2003/04 school year they chose the North Central Accreditation (NCA) Association as their approved service provider and worked with this provider over the 2003-04 school year to also become school-wide buildings. Regardless of which program is in operation in a school, the goal is for all students to reach the county and state academic standard, and for those subgroups generally known to be at higher risk for academic success to reach the same high performance standards. The principal and the School Improvement Team through disaggregation of data, formulation of a school-wide plan, and monitoring of aggregated and disaggregated student success decide upon exactly how this will be accomplished. At Roscommon Elemetary, the principal with the SIT team decided to use team teachers to deliver the services. At St. Helen Elementary and Roscommon Middle School the principals and their SIT team decided to hire additional teachers in order to lower the teacher/student ratio. Each of the three programs use paraprofessionals to provide students with private tutorials or to work with small groups. The Gerrish-Higgins School District Title I approach is to always on all four Core Curricular proficiencies no matter which service delivery method is utilized. Every plan chosen by each of the three schools must be reviewed and approved by the Title I Team, a group of: parents, community members, teachers, paraprofessionals and administrative representatives, who meet frequently to monitor the success of the Title I programs.

In addition to monitoring the instructional gains of Title I services, daily documentation needs to be kept by all Title I staff. Using the log in appendix A, all Title I staff need to maintain daily logs. These logs can be used to record the names of an entire group and describing an activity or with individual students.

II) St. Helen Elementary Schoolwide Plan

Section 1: Schoolwide Program Planning TeamSt. Helen Elementary School’s Schoolwide program is developed with the involvement of the community we serve and the individuals who will carry out the plan. Our existing Building Leadership Team, which consists of teachers, paraprofessionals and the building

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administrator has assumed the planning responsibilities for the Schoolwide program, by also adding parent team members, the Title I Teacher and the Special Education when we

plan our Title I Services. Because of the age level of our student there is no student representation.

A. Name of People Developing The Plan1. Kathy Rees – Building Principal2. Arlene Martin - Second Grade Teacher3. Christina Wintersheimer – Title I Teacher/Coodinator4. Cheri Hutek – Special Education Teacher 5. Jean Christiansen – Kindergarten Teacher 6. Mary Ward – 2 & 3 combination/music teacher7. Michelle Young – Paraprofessional8. Marci Howey – Preschool Teacher/Building PTCO Representative9. Amy Hess – Parent

B. Team Meeting Dates (Past & Future) 1. May 25, 2007

a. Full Building Meeting Regarding Staff Distribution As They Relate to Title I Services. - Summary – Consulted data to determine where the need was reflected in order to direct initial Title I Services. There appears to be a data driven need at second grade in the area of Reading/Writing. Second Grade Math scores indicate less of a need. We then decided that we needed to pair one of our Title I Teachers to the 2nd grade data identified need in the area of Reading/Writing. We decided to pair our other Title I teacher to both Kindergarten (reading and math) and 3rd grade (reading/writing). We decided to utilize Title I paraprofessionals in grades Kindergarten, First and Fourth where the data indicated need but far less need than grades, Second and third. We concluded that through more strategic Tier I interventions at 3rd grade we may be able to again adjust those Title services as early as in the first Trimester. We recognize that the data is indicating that we need to intensify Title I/Special Education services as much as possible at the second grade level in the area of reading and certainly writing. There appears to be far more kids in 2nd grade that are in Tiers II and even in Tier III. Therefore, interventions should be directed more universally at the all students in order to bump as many students that we can into the Universal Tier I level. Some Title I kids will require and benefit form Tier III interventions while other students who may be unsuccessful at Tier III, even with intensive Title I Services, may in fact be referred to Special Education if they do not already qualify for such services.

2. May 31, 2007 a. Title I Leadership Team Meeting Summary – Consulted data in order to

evaluate our Title I Plan (updated/changed/revised). Developed Plan for communicating the Title I Plan.

3. June 8, 2007

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a. Met with Parent Group Regarding Title I Plan – Reviewed data trends and the staff proposal for addressing the needs. Obtained positive feed back from parents regarding Title I services being more intensive at both 2nd and 3rd grade.

4. September 27 , 2007 – Reviewed Title I Plan at Welcome Back to School Night with all parents and staff.

C. Plans for Communicating to the School and Community About the Schoolwide Plan and Planning Process:

1. June 8, 2007 – Met with a Parent Group regarding the Title I Plan 2. June 27, 2007 – Addressed the School Baord and community about the Title I Plan and Planning Process

D. Technical Assistance – Team Members1. Gayla Mann Field Support Services

a. April 26, 2007 = Consolidated Application Workshop b. May 9, 2007 = Gayla Mann corresponding through email that our district

could use Title I Schoolwide funds to purchase the professional development for our teachers in order to focus in on target groups of needy students.

c. May 11, 2007 = Schoolwide Schools Toolkit Workshop2. Shay Anderson – Gerrish-Higgins Business Manager

a. May 7, 2007 – Meeting Regarding the possibility of using Title I funds to purchase NWEA software/professional development.

b. May 10, 2007 – Finance Meeting Regarding Title I possible funding cuts and reexamining how we are currently utilizing Title I funds. This information will be taken back to the Title I/School Improvement Committee to review how funds are being utilized by this grant and to consider any alternatives that would work best for needy students.

3. Joyce Zeneberg – Saginaw Valley Instructor a. May 9, 2007 – Finance Meeting Regarding Title I possible funding cuts and reexamining how we are currently utilizing Title I funds. This information will be taken back to the Title I/School Improvement Committee to review how funds are being utilized by this grant and to consider any alternatives that would work best for needy students.

4. District Finance Task Force (Score)a. March 28, 2007 Reviewed district comprehensive current financial status including all grant monies and brainstormed recommendations to these bugets. b. April 25, 2007 – Reviewed district comprehensive current financial status including all grant monies and compiled all former and new recommendations to these bugets.

5. Gerrish-Higgins School Board Meeting – June 27, 2007

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a. Publicly addressed the School Board regarding Title I Plan for next Year. Kathy Rees Gerrish-Higgins Title I Director, Christina Wintersheimer Title I Coordinator (St. Helen Elementary), Jane Carol (Roscommon Elementary) reviewed the Comprehensive Needs Assessment Process for each of the individual buildings and presented the results of our data to the Board. We reviewed the final Title I Plan recommendations with the School Board and responded to Public comment regarding these recommendations. (Roscommon Elementary) reviewed the Comprehensive Needs Assessment Process for each of the individual buildings and presented the results of our data to the Board. We reviewed the final Title I Plan recommendations with the School Board and responded to Public comment regarding these recommendations.

Section 2: School Profile and Comprehensive Needs Assessment

A. Profile – Key Features of the School and Its Community 1) See attached School and Community Profiles

B. Inclusive Comprehensive Needs Assessment – Including all of the members of the School Community with a Particular Focus on all Educationally Disadvantaged Children.

1) Over the last 3 years Title I Services have been completely restructured. Christina Wintersheimer is now our full time Title I service provider. Special Education services were also greatly restructured to address this sub population. Together, Title I and Special Education services has become a service delivery unit. Personnel distributions from both programs were considered when planning for services to raise achievement levels of both groups of students. The services of both Educationally Disadvantaged and Special Education students were considered first in our planning strategies for the 2007-08 School Year. Title I and Special Education services were planned first and Specials such as Music, PE, Library and Computer Lab were then planned around the service delivery unit services. In summary, more than ever Title I has been brought right up front in our planning efforts as the number one driving force for instructional practices that are student achievement driven.

Monitoring of Disaggregation of Student AchievementA) Disaggregation of student achievement data will be widely driven by the

decision of the St. Helen Elementary Staff to completely restructure the Title I service delivery system. Christina Wintersheimer will now devote all of her time to Title I and Anne Obermeyer will continue to provide services for half of the day. In June 2007, Mrs. Wintersheimer (SHES) worked with Jane

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Carroll (RES), and Building Principal, Kathy Rees on disaggregation and analysis of student achievement data. Mrs. Wintersheimer, Ms. Carroll and Mrs. Rees will compile this data into a Comprehensive Needs Assessment Grid which will be downloaded into NWEA.

1) Information on this grid will be also plotted out onto large chart paper and reviewed with staff the first week of the 2007-08 school year. Discussion will take place as to the implementation of best practice strategies to address the analysis of the Comprehensive Needs Assessment as they relate to the defined disaggregated subgroups. The results of this discussion will also be complied and given to NCA Chairs. The NCA teams will revisit and possibly revise current goals and strategies which will specifically state how Title I services will be utilized as a strategy for improving student achievement in all four core curricular areas: Math, Language Arts, Science and Social Studies, as they relate all sub groups. These revisions will be reviewed by the Steering Committee/Leadership Team at their first Leadership Team Meeting, which will be held in September of 2007 so that the strategies can be implemented at the beginning of the 2007-08 School Year.

Reporting of Disaggregation of Student AchievementA) St. Helen Elementary will prepare and publicly disseminate the

reporting of the disaggregation in our Annual Report in the beginning of 2007-08 school year to all staff, all parents, and all students for the following: 1) Aggregate student achievement at each proficiency level on state

assessments.2) Student achievement at each proficiency level will be disaggregated by

race, ethnicity, gender, disability status, migrant status, English proficiency, and status as economically disadvantaged, provided that these subgroups are more than 30 students in our building per grade level tested.

3) Percentage of students not tested, disaggregated by each group (if statistically sound).

4) Most recent 2-year trend in achievement in each subject area and for each grade level.

B) Results of locally administered student competency tests (QRI, Dibels, MLPP & Everyday Math and/or nationally normed achievement tests (MEAP). This data from these assessments will be collected for students in grades 1-5 as required by section 1280b of the School Code (PA 25).

C) In regards to Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) Data St. Helen Elementary will also report:

1) Aggregate information on other indicators (student attendance) used to determine AYP.

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2) AYP information, including number, names, and percentage of Title I schools identified for school improvement in our district, and how long identified.

3) Comparison between actual achievement of each group (excluding gender and migrant) and state’s annual measurable objectives.4) Comparison of building, district and state achievement data on state

assessments and other indicators of AYP, such as attendance rates.

Section 3: Analyzing Needs & Deriving Schoolwide Program Goals

A. The Comprehensive Needs Assessment identified the following current strengths and weaknesses of the educational program.

1. The Comprehensive Needs Assessment identified for us that our students tend to do better in 3rd grade and then we experience a dip across the board in 4th grade. Reading is a strength in our building, followed by math. However, all grade level are struggling in the area of writing. B. The following priority focus areas (maximum 3) for achieving

the outcomes of the proposed Schoolwide program1. Improving Math Skills 2. Improving Oral Reading Fluency3. Improving Writing Skills

C. Goals of the Schoolwide Program: 1. Students throughout the district will increase the percentage of students at grade

level in math to reach 75% in each classroom.2. Students throughout the district will increase oral reading fluency from the beginning of the year to the end of the year.3. Students throughout the district will increase the percentage of students at

grade level in writing to reach 75% in each classroom.

Section 4: Instructional ProgramA. The following specific changes in the instructional program and procedures were utilized to implement the goals of the Schoolwide program.

1. Title I and Special Education has become a Special Services Delivery System. As a building we lay our the title I Comprehensive Needs Assessment and we identify the students in Tier I , Tier II and Tier III. Tier I involves universal instruction to all students. Tier II is our title I students who are given supplemental support in the areas identified by the needs assessment, as are title III kids but who tend to be the Special

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Education students. Through our MiBLSI Training we intend to develop strategies and intervention kits to be utilized with students who are either Tier II or Tier III.

Section 5: Professional DevelopmentA. Professional Qualifications of the Professional Staff

1. All teachers (Pre-12) within the Gerrish-Higgins School District meet the Federal Standards for Highly Qualified.

B. Schoolwide support for intensive and sustained professional development

Professional development is very key in utilizing the Title I program as a vehicle for change. We recognize that there is not one mold that answers the professional development needs of every educator. It is essential that the professional development plan provides an opportunity for both the needs of the individual and the needs of the district to be met. It is recognized that professional development, to be effective, must be ongoing, and sustained, providing both training and opportunities to apply the new learning. Implementation of learning communities are encouraged at both building and district levels. To this end, the expectation for professional development at Gerrish-Higgins is aligned to the National Staff Development Council’s Standards for Staff Development 2001:Our professional development plan incorporates learning strategies appropriate for the intended goal and is aligned with our district curriculum and instructional practices and our district mission.

We base professional development opportunities on educator’s content knowledge, we provide them with research-based instructional strategies to assist students in meeting rigorous academic standards, and prepare them to use various types of classroom assessments appropriately. We believe that Standards for Teaching and Learning from Michigan Curriculum Frameworks are foundational in professional development (Higher Order Thinking, Substantive Conversation, Deep Knowledge, Real-World Application).

We use disaggregated data from a variety of sources (MEAP, Terra Nova, MLPP, Dibels, Everyday Math, NCA instruments, grade-level and department created assessment data) to determine adult learning priorities, monitor progress, and help sustain continuos improvement.

Context Standards:

1. LEARNING COMMUNITIES will be encouraged as a means to provide ongoing support to adults working to improve student learning.

2. LEADERSHIP to guide continuous instructional improvement is an essential component for improving student learning and will be developed and supported.

3. RESOURCES to support adult learning and collaboration will be sought through a variety of means: grants, in-kind resources, release time when possible, and necessary materials to support adult learning

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Process Standards:4. DATA DRIVEN: Disaggregated data from a variety of sources (MEAP, Terra

Nova, MLPP, Everyday Math, NCA common matrix and context bound instruments, grade-level and department created assessment data) will be utilized to determine adult learning priorities, monitor progress, and help sustain continuous improvement. Professional development is planned with input from the stakeholders.

5. EVALUATION of professional development will be ongoing, utilizing multiple sources of information to guide improvement and determine the impact of professional development on student learning.

6. RESEARCH-BASED decision-making is an expected outcome for all professional development … preparing educators to apply research and best practices to instructional decision-making.

7. DESIGN of professional development incorporates learning strategies appropriate for the intended goal and is aligned with district curriculum and instructional practices and the district mission.

8. LEARNING: Effective professional development applies knowledge about human learning and change, relating directly to the teaching and learning process.

9. COLLABORATION is a process that is modeled and taught so that adult learners can learn how to and apply a collaborative process within their learning communities and within their classrooms. Professional development is aligned with the school improvement plan at both the district and building levels.

Content Standards:

10. EQUITY: Professional development prepares educators to understand and appreciate all students, create safe, orderly and supportive learning environments, and hold high expectations for their academic achievement.

11. QUALITY TEACHING: Professional development depends on educator’s content knowledge, provides them with research-based instructional strategies to assist students in meeting rigorous academic standards, and prepares them to use various types of classroom assessments appropriately. The Standards for Teaching and Learning from Michigan Curriculum Frameworks are foundational in professional development (Higher Order Thinking, Substantive Conversation, Deep Knowledge, Real-World Application).

12. PARENT INVOLVEMENT: Professional development provides educators with knowledge and skills to involve families and other stakeholders appropriately.

Section 6: Parent InvolvementThis section of St. Helen’s Schoolwide Plan is devoted to the parent involvement activities of our school. One of the advantages of the Schoolwide program is the opportunity to use ESEA resources to support activities that our parents value. Our parents

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actively participate in designing, implementing, and evaluating these activities. A. Parents will be involved in all phases of the Schoolwide

program in the following ways:

Parent involvement is a cornerstone of a Title I school. In Gerrish-Higgins the guidance counselor’s function in this capacity in our Title I school. These staff members act as the ‘bridge’ between home and school. There is a Title I orientation held in each school twice a year (fall and spring). There are parent/teacher/student compacts, parent meetings, and special Title I parent outreach programs and services are offered. At St. Helen Elementary, there is a parent involvement plan which represents six aspects of parent involvement.. In June of 2006, a parent group consisting of 6 members revised the Three-Year Plan themselves, as well as the Parent Compact. On the Parent Compact they added a few things in the narrative plus they added a section for Parent to devise a goal that they would work on to support the elements of the Parent Compacts. The Compacts were reviewed and signed at the Fall Parent Teacher Conferences. Copies of the new plans were given to both the teacher and the parents and will be reviewed once again in the spring conferences.

B. The following Parent Education Activities will be offered:1. Title I Family Nights – Language Arts, Math, Behavior Intervention, Brain Gym, Basic Food Groups

C. The quality of Parent Activities will be Monitoring through the following method: 1. Parent Survey2. Informal Conversation

D. Linkages to comprehensive family, health and social services will be established through: 1. School Links Awareness Programs – Asthma, dangers of food allergies, childhood diabetes, community Mental Health Serivices and childhood obesity

Section 7: Accountability

The Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) provides the foundation for our program evaluation. This assessment provides evaluation data for reading and mathematics which is disaggregated by gender, major ethnic or racial groups, limited English proficient status, migrant students, and children with disabilities as compared to other students and by economically

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disadvantaged students as compared to students who are not economically disadvantaged

A. The following procedures for measuring and reporting adequate student progress will be utilized on an annual basis:

Title I schools are carefully monitored by both the Central Office through the work of the aforementioned Title I Team, and the Michigan State Department of Education. The measure of success is the Michigan Education Assessment program (MEAP) that is used to determine Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP). Each year the Title I coordinator receives information from the state about the trend seen in MSPAP performance, be it positive or negative. Schools that show a negative trend based on the Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), are given a warning. Schools that show a negative trend for two years are put in improvement. Parents of these students are allowed to transfer to another school providing there is room. This is called the student transfer option. In addition, the Central Office works with the school to ensure that extra assistance is available. The staff from the state Title I office visits and monitors the school to offer any appropriate assistance. Gerrish-Higgins had an on-site review last year. Once a school is in the second year of a downward trend, it must show a positive trend for two consecutive years in order to be dismissed from school improvement. During this time the central office and, eventually the Michigan State Department of Education, may become active in the school in order to turn around achievement. The plans for improvement vary widely and may include adding specific staff development, removing some site-based decision making, changing key staff, and reviewing curricular programs used. Regardless of the road taken, the goal of improvement is to increase achievement, especially for students who are at-risk for academic success.

In accordance with the legislative mandate to provide documentation that all students in Kindergarten through 8th grade are making continuous progress, the Gerrish-Higgins School District is committed to assuring that all students are making positive continuous growth – academic, social, physical, emotional. There is strong evidence that assessment, especially for early elementary years, must be ongoing, developmental and directly aligned with instruction. Gerrish-Higgins School District will utilize Michigan Literacy Progress Profile (MLPP) for charting continuous progress for all children in literacy development grades Kindergarten through 3. Beginning with the 2003-2004 school year, MLPP for upper grades will be used with students in grades 3 – 6.We will utilize teacher-developed grade level assessments aligned with Everyday Mathematics for charting continuous progress for all students in mathematics in grades K – 6. In addition, teacher-developed assessments aligned with Michigan Content Standards and Benchmarks will be utilized to measure student progress in all content areas K-12.

It is essential that assessment be ongoing, aligned with and connected to instruction. It is not intended that a special “time” be set aside for assessment – but rather be incorporated

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into the day-to-day instruction. It is important that teachers utilize information obtained from students to reflect upon and design further instruction.

LITERACY DEVELOPMENT:The Michigan Literacy Progress Profile (MLPP) is the assessment tool that will be used for charting continuous progress in literacy development for students in pre-school through grade 3. Beginning in the 2003-2004 school year, MLPP for upper grades were used for grade 3-6. At grades 3 & 4, MEAP is administered. At grade 5, oral reading fluency and comprehension will be assessed using leveled texts and writing will be assessed using a grade level determined prompt and scored with the MDE 6-point rubric. It is understood that progress should be charted on a regular basis (2 to 3 times per year) for each student using the MILESTONE tools of the MLPP .The ENABLING tools will be used as needed on a student-by-student basis to “dig deeper”. Each teacher will provide a progress report to the building principal with a copy to the Curriculum Director at least twice per year. Grades 7 and 8 teams will also agree on the assessments that will be utilized for each unit and will report student progress to their building principal, with with a copy to the Curriculum Director at least quarterly. The English Language Arts department will align assessment with content standards and benchmarks for each course and will report student progress to their building principal, with a copy to the Curriculum Director at least quarterly.

MATHEMATICS: Grades K – 6 grade level teams will reach consensus on the format and items from the Everyday Mathematics program to be used by every teacher within the grade level to assess progress at least every 9 to 12 weeks. The target areas will be those objectives that are designated as “Secure” (Proficient) in the Towards a Balanced Assessment for Everyday Mathematics document. Progress for each student will be reported to the building principal with a copy to the Curriculum Director according to the time schedule determined by the grade level team - with a minimum of three reporting periods per year. Grades 7 and 8 teams will also agree on the assessments that will be utilized for each unit and will report student progress to their building principal, with copies going to the Curriculum Director at least quarterly. The mathematics department will align assessment with content standards and benchmarks for each course and will report student progress to their building principal, with copies to the Curriculum Director, at least quarterly.

SCIENCEGrade level and department teams will also agree on the assessments that will be utilized for each unit and will report student progress to their building principal, with copies to the Curriculum Director at least quarterly.

SOCIAL STUDIESGrade level and department teams will also agree on the assessments that will be utilized for each unit and will report student progress to their building principal, with copies to the Curriculum Director at least quarterly.

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SUMMER SCHOOLAt the elementary level, a comprehensive summer school program will be offered, as a minimum to all students who have not demonstrated desired progress over time, with priority given to students in 3rd grade who are most at-risk. The program will be a “Jump Start” program that will take place two weeks before the first day of school. The instructional format used for this summer program will follow a balanced literacy format and will utilize the MLPP tools as the basis for assessment and instruction in literacy. Mathematics development in the summer program will be based on the structure of the Everyday Mathematics program. The instructional design for both literacy development and mathematics development will be based on authentic, real-world learning opportunities that engage students in hands-on, interactive opportunities. Worksheets, workbooks and “skill and drill” paper pencil activities will be avoided and used ONLY if such a structure is the best way in which to promote student learning.

Comprehensive Assessment PlanKindergarten Beginning Middle End

LITERACY

MATH

SCIENCESOC. ST.

Informal MLPP – Oral Language Concepts of Print Comprehension – Storytelling

using Sulzby Letter / Sound ID Writing – score with rubric

Baseline Assessment

Grade-level team developed assessments which are aligned with content standards and benchmarks



Mid-Year Assessment


Formal MLPP –Complete Individual Literacy Profile for each student Oral Language Concepts of Print Comprehension – Storytelling

using Sulzby and retelling rubric

Letter / Sound ID Writing – score with rubric

Late-in-Year-Assessment


1st Grade Beginning Middle End

LITERACY

MATH

Informal MLPP – (Formal for new students.) Oral Language Phonemic Awareness Oral Running Record

DRA Comprehension

StorytellingOral Retelling

Writing Literacy AttitudesEnabling tools as needed:

Hearing and Recording Sounds

Sight Words /Decodable Words

Letter / Sound ID Known Words Concepts of Print

Literacy Attitudes

Units 1 and 2 (Early Nov.)


DRA Comprehension






Literacy Attitudes

Units 3 – 5 (mid Feb)Units 6 – 8 (mid April)

MLPP – Oral Language Phonemic Awareness Oral Running Record

DRA Comprehension






Literacy Attitudes

Units 9 – 12 (by end of year)

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SCIENCESOC. ST.


N/A



2nd Grade Beginning Middle End

LITERACY

MATH

SCIENCESOC. ST.

MLPP – Informal (Formal for new students)

Oral Language Phonemic Awareness Oral Running Record

DRA Comprehension





Letter / Sound ID Known Words Concepts of PrintLiteracy Attitudes

Units 1 -3 (Early Nov.)




DRA Comprehension






Literacy Attitudes

Units 4 – 6 (February)Units 7 – 9 (April)


MLPP – Formal – Complete an Individual Literacy Profile for each student Oral Language Phonemic Awareness Oral Running Record

DRA Comprehension






Literacy Attitudes

Units 10 – 12 (End of Year)


3rd Grade Beginning Middle End

LITERACYMLPP – Informal (Formal for new students)

Oral Language Oral Running Record –using

classroom designated materialsDRA for new students

Comprehension [Storytelling (Sulzby)]Oral Retelling (Scoring Rubric)Written Retelling (Scoring Rubric)

Writing (4-Point Rubric) Literacy AttitudesEnabling tools as needed:

Hearing and Recording

MLPP – Informal (Formal for new students






MLPP – Formal – Complete an Individual Literacy Profile for each student

Oral Language Oral Running Record

DRA (Rigby for DRA levels 30 and higher)

Comprehension [Storytelling (Sulzby)]Oral Retelling (Scoring Rubric)Written Retelling (Scoring Rubric



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MATH

SCIENCESOC. ST.TECH

Sounds Sight Words /Decodable

Words Letter / Sound ID Known Words Concepts of Print Phonemic Awareness

Literacy Attitudes





Literacy Attitudes





Literacy Attitudes



4th Grade Beginning Middle End

LITERACY

MATH

SCIENCESOC. ST.

Oral Running Record Comprehension

Oral RetellingWritten RetellingProfundity Scale

Known Words Writing (6-Point Rubric) Literacy Attitudes









Oral RetellingWritten RetellingProfundity ScaleKnown Words

Writing (6-Point Rubric) Literacy Attitudes




LITERACY

MATH

SCIENCESOC. ST.TECH




Units 1 -3 (First Quarter)





Units 4 – 6 (Second Quarter)Units 7 – 9 (Third Quarter)





Units 10 - 12 (Fourth Quarter)


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Using Technology

Standardized

Accelerated ReaderAccelerated Math (Star Math Assess)Classworks


MEAP ScienceMEAP Social Studies


6th

Beginning Middle End

LITERACY

MATH

SCIENCESOC. ST.TECH.

Using Technology

STANDARDIZED



Known Words Writing (6-Point Rubric)Literacy Attitudes

Units 1- 3 (First Quarter)









TerraNova during MEAP window




Units 8 – 10 (Fourth Quarter)



7th Grade Beginning Middle EndLITERACYMATHSCIENCESOCIAL STUDIESTECHNOLOGY

USING TECHNOLOGY

STANDARDIZED


Accelerated ReaderAccelerated Math (Star Math Assess)ClassworksMOIS



MEAP – ELA




USING TECHNOLOGY

STANDARDIZED


AS APPROPRIATE:Accelerated ReaderAccelerated Math (Star Math Assess)ClassworksMOIS



MEAP: Math, Science, Social Studies



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B. The following methods will be utilized for including teachers in decisions to use assessments that supplement the state assessment system:

1. The building Leadership Team will be untilized to revise the local assessment plan and to obtain staff input in the development of the new assessment plan

C. Results of assessments will be reported to parents and community by:

1. School Newsletter, Principal Letter Home to Parents, local media and website. Section 8: Coordination and Ongoing Program DevelopmentA. The Schoolwide Program will coordinate with other programs and agencies through the following ways:

. 1. Federal, state and local services and programs are effectively coordinated through the district consolidated application process to support our school-wide plan. In fact, Gerrish-Higgins is involved in a number of grants that the Business Manager, Shay Anderson; Superintendent and Director of 31a, Dr.Millie Park Mellgren; and Title I Director, Kathy Rees, have written through the consolidated application process. They have worked very hard to coordinate the following grants.

Title I, Part A/D Title II, Part A Title II, Part D Title V 31a State At-Risk ECE

Kathy Rees is responsible for the Title I and Early Childhood grants. Dr. Park Mellgren, Superintendent, coordinates services for students formally identified to receive at-risk services. Mrs. Anderson coordinates Title II, Parts A & D and Title V. Mrs. Anderson, Dr. Park Mellgren , and Mrs. Rees have coordinated their efforts to efficiently supply materials, professional development activities, teacher stipends, release time and other support to the entire school district. The district professional development request form has been very helpful to coordinate those types of opportunities. On the forms, staff members are first and foremost requested to identify the connection of the professional development activity to NCA/School Improvement Goals. They are also required to obtain the approval of the project director if funding from one of the above grants is

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required.

Mrs. Anderson, Dr. Park Mellgren, and Mrs. Rees adjust the source of the funding, with the purpose of coordinating all of the grants. For example, staff members who request to attend professional development activities need to complete a plan of how they intend to share and use the information themselves, upon their return. Their goal is to make meaningful choices for professional development, which reflects a comprehensive, coordinated approach for educational reform. At the intermediate school district level, Mrs. Mcnitt, Roscommon Elementary Principal is a member of the COOR Intermediate Coordinating Committee for Professional Development (CCCPD). The CCCPD have coordinated grant efforts and have offered extensive training sessions that are ongoing throughout the year.

At the community level, the Title I programs coordinate services with 25 different agencies within the Gerrish-Higgins community to provide services to students in Roscommon. Action plans are written to identify the agency providing the services, action to be taken, target date, agency person responsible, technology needs, and even has a section for review status. Parent involvement will be expanded and enhanced through the efforts of a Parent Involvement Committee. A three-year Parent Involvement Plan, based on the six identified parent involvement standards by Dr. Joyce Epstein will be written. Regularly scheduled parent in-service sessions have been conducted throughout the year. We also provide a parent section within our library. We intend to further expand this parent resource to include a lot more things. We will be offering make-and-take workshops and we will supply all of the materials this spring. Parents, teachers, and students work together at these workshops with teaching aids and games that can be used by parents in their homes with students. These events are intended to provide a warm and inviting place where parents feel welcome and are encouraged to be an active member in their child’s education.

B. The following provisions will be made to facilitate ongoing consultation among the individuals in the planning team (Section 1) concerning the continuing educational progress of all students in the school. 1. Once a month we will have an early release day in the afternoon. We will utilize this time to review the Title I Schoolwide Plan and the Comprehensive Needs Process that is so crticial to the implementation of this plan.

Section 9: Fiscal Information We have found that one of the biggest advantages of the Schoolwide program is the opportunity to combine the funding from separate programs to support whole-school

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reform. Reauthorization permits Schoolwide programs to incorporate funds from state, local, and other federal programs, in addition to Title I. It does not exempt schools from providing appropriate services to the children in the target population in each of these

programs. Therefore, in our district we take full advantage of coordinating several funding sources in order to meet the needs of our students to the fullest extent possible.

The funds associated with those sources are derived from a careful Comparability study of all three of our Title I Buildings, as they relate to the High School needs which is not a Title I Building. Title I funds follow the needs of the students and are distributed according to the most needy buildings. Other sources of grant monies are then considered also in realtion to the student needs of the high School.

A. Title I funds and funds from other sources will be used to implement the Schoolwide program through the following method: 1. Coordination of funds will allow our district to address several needs. Thus, utilizing our funds in a coordinated manner allowing us to provide the maximum extent possible of needed services.

B. See attached Schoolwide budget which includes and summarizes all funding sources.

C. Attached B Above also supports the district and state support the Title I program. Including dollar amounts of local and state funds spent at this school.

Section 10: The names and roles of the reviewers of the schoolwide program plan:

Name Current Role Role in Developing in School or the Schoolwide Plan School Community

Kathy Rees – Building Principal – Pulling the Plan Together Arlene Martin - Second Grade Teacher – Language Development For The Plan Christina Wintersheimer – Title I Teacher/Coodinator - Language Development For The PlanCheri Hutek – Special Education Teacher - Language Development For The Plan Jean Christiansen – Kindergarten Teacher - Language Development For The PlanMary Ward – 2 & 3 combination/music teacher - Language Development For The PlanMichelle Young – Paraprofessional - Language Development For The PlanMarci Howey – Preschool Teacher/Building PTCO Representative - Language Development For The PlanAmy Hess – Parent - Language Development For The Plan

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What is Title I?

In the 1960’s, Lyndon Johnson created Title I as part of his ‘War on Poverty’. The goal was to provide supplemental services to schools to ensure that students from poverty could be successful in academic skills, with emphasis on language arts and mathematics. The goal of the program has remained the same. Every ten years Title I is reauthorized and the laws that accompany the money are reviewed and refined. This year, the year of

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reauthorization, the emphasis in the program will be on assessment, achievement, and plans for student and school improvement. While the program may become more flexible in how services may be delivered to children, the evaluation of program success will be more stringent. However, the goal of the program remains providing money for supplemental services that lead to student academic success.

How are participating schools in the Gerrish-Higgins School District chosen?

In Gerrish-Higgins Title I is available in both elementary schools and the middle school. Every year schools are chosen according to the percentage of students who are eligible for free and reduced lunch. This report, generated on October 31st, is used to fund programs for the following school year. The Title I Coordinator, and business office, ranks the schools from the highest percentage of students eligible for free and reduced lunch to the lowest using a comparability formula. Using this ranking, the money received from the federal government is given out to the schools until all the money is used or until the school with the percentage of students eligible for free and reduced lunch is at the county average. However, the district can choose to allot even more dollars to the school-wide building in order to improve services in the building where everyone in the building is technically viewed as eligible. This year the Title I schools are: St. Helen Elementary (School-wide), Roscommon Middle School (School-wide), Roscommon Elementary (School-wide).

How are the Title I services delivered?

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There are two kinds of Title I schools, School-wide and Targeted Assistance Schools. School-wides are schools that have 50% or more of the students eligible for free and reduced lunch, or they are schools that have received a waiver to enable them to be a school-wide. For instance, St. Helen Elementary has gone through the yearlong process to become a school-wide building with a current free and reduced lunch eligibility of 66%. In St. Helen, the Title I program is very flexible; the money given may be used to enhance the whole school’s academic program. In schools that fall below 50% or do not have waivers, the Targeted Assistance money is directed to programs that enhance the academics of identified individual students who are struggling academically. These students are chosen based on the matrix score in language arts and mathematics. The school may choose the subject that is the focus of Title I and it may choose the grade levels that will receive the extra support. This is accomplished through the use of a needs assessment. As of last year, both Roscommon Middle School and Roscommon Elementary School have eligibility levels that qualify them for school-wide status. Therefore, during the 2003/04 school year they chose the North Central Accreditation (NCA) Association as their approved service provider and worked with this provider over the 2003-04 school year to also become school-wide buildings. Regardless of which program is in operation in a school, the goal is for all students to reach the county and state academic standard, and for those subgroups generally known to be at higher risk for academic success to reach the same high performance standards. The principal and the School Improvement Team through disaggregation of data, formulation of a school-wide plan, and monitoring of aggregated and disaggregated student success decide upon exactly how this will be accomplished. At Roscommon Elemetary, the principal with the SIT team decided to use team teachers to deliver the services. At St. Helen Elementary and Roscommon Middle School the principals and their SIT team decided to hire additional teachers in order to lower the teacher/student ratio. Each of the three programs use paraprofessionals to provide students with private tutorials or to work with small groups. The Gerrish-Higgins School District Title I approach is to always on all four Core Curricular proficiencies no matter which service delivery method is utilized. Every plan chosen by each of the three schools must be reviewed and approved by the Title I Team, a group of: parents, community members, teachers, paraprofessionals and administrative representatives, who meet frequently to monitor the success of the Title I programs.

In addition to monitoring the instructional gains of Title I services, daily documentation needs to be kept by all Title I staff. Using the log in appendix A, all Title I staff need to maintain daily logs. These logs can be used to record the names of an entire group and describing an activity or with individual students.

There is an important service delivery stipulation.

No matter how services are delivered they need to be supplemental in nature and by no means take the place of, or supplant core area instruction. As the definitions would imply, supplement indicates to make an addition to, were as supplant means to take the place of. Title I services must not take the place of instruction, instead services need to compliment or offer additional practice of core area instruction.

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How are Title I students assessed?

In accordance with the legislative mandate to provide documentation that all students in Kindergarten through 8th grade are making continuous progress, the Gerrish-Higgins School District is committed to assuring that all students are making positive continuous growth – academic, social, physical, emotional. There is strong evidence that assessment, especially for early elementary years, must be ongoing, developmental and directly aligned with instruction. Gerrish-Higgins School District will utilize Michigan Literacy Progress Profile (MLPP) for charting continuous progress for all children in literacy development grades Kindergarten through 3. Beginning with the 2003-2004 school year, MLPP for upper grades will be used with students in grades 3 – 6.We will utilize teacher-developed grade level assessments aligned with Everyday Mathematics for charting continuous progress for all students in mathematics in grades K – 6. In addition, teacher-developed assessments aligned with Michigan Content Standards and Benchmarks will be utilized to measure student progress in all content areas K-12.

It is essential that assessment be ongoing, aligned with and connected to instruction. It is not intended that a special “time” be set aside for assessment – but rather be incorporated into the day-to-day instruction. It is important that teachers utilize information obtained from students to reflect upon and design further instruction.

LITERACY DEVELOPMENT:The Michigan Literacy Progress Profile (MLPP) is the assessment tool that will be used for charting continuous progress in literacy development for students in pre-school through grade 3. Beginning in the 2003-2004 school year, MLPP for upper grades were used for grade 3-6. At grades 3 & 4, MEAP is administered. At grade 5, oral reading fluency and comprehension will be assessed using leveled texts and writing will be assessed using a grade level determined prompt and scored with the MDE 6-point rubric. It is understood that progress should be charted on a regular basis (2 to 3 times per year) for each student using the MILESTONE tools of the MLPP .The ENABLING tools will be used as needed on a student-by-student basis to “dig deeper”. Each teacher will provide a progress report to the building principal with a copy to the Curriculum Director at least twice per year. Grades 7 and 8 teams will also agree on the assessments that will be utilized for each unit and will report student progress to their building principal, with with a copy to the Curriculum Director at least quarterly. The English Language Arts department will align assessment with content standards and benchmarks for each course and will report student progress to their building principal, with a copy to the Curriculum Director at least quarterly.

MATHEMATICS: Grades K – 6 grade level teams will reach consensus on the format and items from the Everyday Mathematics program to be used by every teacher within the grade level to assess progress at least every 9 to 12 weeks. The target areas will be those objectives that are designated as “Secure” (Proficient) in the Towards a Balanced Assessment for Everyday Mathematics document. Progress for each student will be reported to the

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building principal with a copy to the Curriculum Director according to the time schedule determined by the grade level team - with a minimum of three reporting periods per year. Grades 7 and 8 teams will also agree on the assessments that will be utilized for each unit and will report student progress to their building principal, with copies going to the Curriculum Director at least quarterly. The mathematics department will align assessment with content standards and benchmarks for each course and will report student progress to their building principal, with copies to the Curriculum Director, at least quarterly.

SCIENCEGrade level and department teams will also agree on the assessments that will be utilized for each unit and will report student progress to their building principal, with copies to the Curriculum Director at least quarterly.

SOCIAL STUDIESGrade level and department teams will also agree on the assessments that will be utilized for each unit and will report student progress to their building principal, with copies to the Curriculum Director at least quarterly.

SUMMER SCHOOLAt the elementary level, a comprehensive summer school program will be offered, as a minimum to all students who have not demonstrated desired progress over time, with priority given to students in 3rd grade who are most at-risk. The program will be a “Jump Start” program that will take place two weeks before the first day of school. The instructional format used for this summer program will follow a balanced literacy format and will utilize the MLPP tools as the basis for assessment and instruction in literacy. Mathematics development in the summer program will be based on the structure of the Everyday Mathematics program. The instructional design for both literacy development and mathematics development will be based on authentic, real-world learning opportunities that engage students in hands-on, interactive opportunities. Worksheets, workbooks and “skill and drill” paper pencil activities will be avoided and used ONLY if such a structure is the best way in which to promote student learning.

Comprehensive Assessment PlanKindergarten Beginning Middle End

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LITERACY

MATH

SCIENCESOC. ST.



Baseline Assessment




Mid-Year Assessment


Formal MLPP –Complete Individual Literacy Profile for each student Oral Language Concepts of Print Comprehension – Storytelling

using Sulzby and retelling rubric

Letter / Sound ID Writing – score with rubric

Late-in-Year-Assessment


1st Grade Beginning Middle End

LITERACY

MATH

SCIENCESOC. ST.


DRA Comprehension






Literacy Attitudes

Units 1 and 2 (Early Nov.)


N/A


DRA Comprehension






Literacy Attitudes

Units 3 – 5 (mid Feb)Units 6 – 8 (mid April)


MLPP – Oral Language Phonemic Awareness Oral Running Record

DRA Comprehension






Literacy Attitudes

Units 9 – 12 (by end of year)


2nd Grade Beginning Middle End

LITERACYMLPP – Informal (Formal for new students)


DRA Comprehension


Writing Literacy Attitudes



DRA Comprehension



MLPP – Formal – Complete an Individual Literacy Profile for each student Oral Language Phonemic Awareness Oral Running Record

DRA Comprehension



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MATH

SCIENCESOC. ST.

Enabling tools as needed: Hearing and Recording


Words Letter / Sound ID Known Words Concepts of PrintLiteracy Attitudes





Words Letter / Sound ID Known Words Concepts of Print

Literacy Attitudes





Words Letter / Sound ID Known Words Concepts of Print

Literacy Attitudes



3rd Grade Beginning Middle End

LITERACY

MATH

SCIENCESOC. ST.TECH








Letter / Sound ID Known Words Concepts of Print Phonemic Awareness

Literacy Attitudes



MLPP – Informal (Formal for new students








Literacy Attitudes



MLPP – Formal – Complete an Individual Literacy Profile for each student

Oral Language Oral Running Record

DRA (Rigby for DRA levels 30 and higher)

Comprehension [Storytelling (Sulzby)]Oral Retelling (Scoring Rubric)Written Retelling (Scoring Rubric





Literacy Attitudes




LITERACY Oral Running Record Comprehension

Oral RetellingWritten Retelling





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MATH

SCIENCESOC. ST.

Profundity Scale Known Words Writing (6-Point Rubric) Literacy Attitudes



Profundity Scale Known Words Writing (6-Point Rubric) Literacy Attitudes



Profundity ScaleKnown Words

Writing (6-Point Rubric) Literacy Attitudes




LITERACY

MATH

SCIENCESOC. ST.TECH

Using Technology

Standardized




Units 1 -3 (First Quarter)









MEAP ScienceMEAP Social Studies




Units 10 - 12 (Fourth Quarter)



6th

Beginning Middle End

LITERACY

MATH

SCIENCE




Units 1- 3 (First Quarter)

Grade-level team developed assessments which are aligned with









Units 8 – 10 (Fourth Quarter)


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SOC. ST.TECH.

Using Technology

STANDARDIZED

content standards and benchmarks




TerraNova during MEAP window




USING TECHNOLOGY

STANDARDIZED





MEAP – ELA




USING TECHNOLOGY

STANDARDIZED





MEAP: Math, Science, Social Studies



How are Title I schools evaluated for success?

Title I schools are carefully monitored by both the Central Office through the work of the aforementioned Title I Team, and the Michigan State Department of Education. The measure of success is the Michigan Education Assessment program (MEAP) that is used to determine Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP). Each year the Title I coordinator receives information from the state about the trend seen in MSPAP performance, be it positive or negative. Schools that show a negative trend based on the Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), are given a warning. Schools that show a negative trend for two years are put in improvement. Parents of these students are allowed to transfer to another school providing there is room. This is called the student transfer option. In addition, the Central Office works with the school to ensure that extra assistance is available. The staff from the state Title I office visits and monitors the school to offer any appropriate assistance. Gerrish-Higgins had an on-site review last year. Once a school is in the second year of a downward trend, it must show a positive trend for two consecutive years in order to be dismissed from school improvement. During this time the central office and, eventually the Michigan State Department of Education, may become active in the school in order to turn around achievement. The plans for improvement vary widely and may include

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adding specific staff development, removing some site-based decision making, changing key staff, and reviewing curricular programs used. Regardless of the road taken, the goal of improvement is to increase achievement, especially for students who are at-risk for academic success.

How are parents involved?

Parent involvement is a cornerstone of a Title I school. In Gerrish-Higgins the guidance counselor’s function in this capacity in our Title I school. These staff members act as the ‘bridge’ between home and school. There is a Title I orientation held in each school twice a year (fall and spring). There are parent/teacher/student compacts (See attachment B), parent meetings, and special Title I parent outreach programs and services are offered. At St. Helen Elementary, there is a parent involvement plan which represents six aspects of parent involvement (See attached C). In June of 2004, a parent group consisting of 6 members revised the Three-Year Plan themselves, as well as the Parent Compact. On the Parent Compact they added a few things in the narrative plus they added a section for Parent to devise a goal that they would work on to support the elements of the Parent Compacts. The previous Compact was signed and returned with the Welcome Back Packets in the beginning of the year. The new Compacts were reviewed and signed at the Fall Parent Teacher Conferences. Copies of the new plans were given to both the teacher and the parents and will be reviewed once again in the spring conferences.

How are agencies involved?

As the motto indicates, “It Take a Whole Village to Raise a Child”. Efforts need to be taken in order to effectively utilize the services available throughout the community. Appendix D contains our entire agency coordination process. The three year Action Plans for each organization will be updated in October of 2006.

What is the importance of professional development?

Professional development is very key in utilizing the Title I program as a vehicle for change. We recognize that there is not one mold that answers the professional development needs of every educator. It is essential that the professional development plan provides an opportunity for both the needs of the individual and the needs of the district to be met. It is recognized that professional development, to be effective, must be ongoing, and sustained, providing both training and opportunities to apply the new learning. Implementation of learning communities are encouraged at both building and district levels. To this end, the expectation for professional development at Gerrish-Higgins is aligned to the National Staff Development Council’s Standards for Staff Development 2001:

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Our professional development plan incorporates learning strategies appropriate for the intended goal and is aligned with our district curriculum and instructional practices and our district mission.

We base professional development opportunities on educator’s content knowledge, we provide them with research-based instructional strategies to assist students in meeting rigorous academic standards, and prepare them to use various types of classroom assessments appropriately. We believe that Standards for Teaching and Learning from Michigan Curriculum Frameworks are foundational in professional development (Higher Order Thinking, Substantive Conversation, Deep Knowledge, Real-World Application).

We use disaggregated data from a variety of sources (MEAP, Terra Nova, MLPP, Dibels, Everyday Math, NCA instruments, grade-level and department created assessment data) to determine adult learning priorities, monitor progress, and help sustain continuous improvement.

Context Standards:

13. LEARNING COMMUNITIES will be encouraged as a means to provide ongoing support to adults working to improve student learning.

14. LEADERSHIP to guide continuous instructional improvement is an essential component for improving student learning and will be developed and supported.

15. RESOURCES to support adult learning and collaboration will be sought through a variety of means: grants, in-kind resources, release time when possible, and necessary materials to support adult learning

Process Standards:16. DATA DRIVEN: Disaggregated data from a variety of sources (MEAP, Terra

Nova, MLPP, Everyday Math, NCA common matrix and context bound instruments, grade-level and department created assessment data) will be utilized to determine adult learning priorities, monitor progress, and help sustain continuous improvement. Professional development is planned with input from the stakeholders.

17. EVALUATION of professional development will be ongoing, utilizing multiple sources of information to guide improvement and determine the impact of professional development on student learning.

18. RESEARCH-BASED decision-making is an expected outcome for all professional development … preparing educators to apply research and best practices to instructional decision-making.

19. DESIGN of professional development incorporates learning strategies appropriate for the intended goal and is aligned with district curriculum and instructional practices and the district mission.

20. LEARNING: Effective professional development applies knowledge about human learning and change, relating directly to the teaching and learning process.

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21. COLLABORATION is a process that is modeled and taught so that adult learners can learn how to and apply a collaborative process within their learning communities and within their classrooms. Professional development is aligned with the school improvement plan at both the district and building levels.

Content Standards:

22. EQUITY: Professional development prepares educators to understand and appreciate all students, create safe, orderly and supportive learning environments, and hold high expectations for their academic achievement.

23. QUALITY TEACHING: Professional development depends on educator’s content knowledge, provides them with research-based instructional strategies to assist students in meeting rigorous academic standards, and prepares them to use various types of classroom assessments appropriately. The Standards for Teaching and Learning from Michigan Curriculum Frameworks are foundational in professional development (Higher Order Thinking, Substantive Conversation, Deep Knowledge, Real-World Application).

24. PARENT INVOLVEMENT: Professional development provides educators with knowledge and skills to involve families and other stakeholders appropriately.

What are the key components of a Title I school?

In summary, regardless of whether a school is School-wide or Targeted Assistance, rural or urban, big or little, the Title I program must have the following components:

1. It must fit into the overall School Improvement Plan.2. It must have as its aim the raising of academic proficiency for all students, but

especially for those who are academically struggling.3. It must have a strong staff development plan with many opportunities for quality,

ongoing staff development.4. It must have a strong parent involvement program, especially one that reaches out

to parents from families that often are not active in the school community.5. It must have a School Improvement Team that is constantly reviewing both

aggregated and disaggregated data to monitor the effectiveness of the Title I program.

6. It must also have a strong community program.

Title I relevant sites

National Association for the Education of Young Children The Title I Monitor Newsletter The National Institute for Literacy The National Research Council www.michigan.gov/mde

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St. Helen Elementary School

2006 / 2007 School Year

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TITLE I SCHOOLWIDE PROGRAM PLANNING

COMPREHENSIVE PLAN

Overview of Requirements

Comprehensive Plan Requirements – Any eligible school that desires to operate a schoolwide program shall first develop (or amend a plan for such a program that was in existence on the day before the date of enactment of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001), in consultation with the local educational agency and its school support team or other technical assistance providers under section 1117, a comprehensive plan for reforming the total instructional program in the school that:

1. Described Components. Describes how the school will implement the required

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2. Describes Resources. Describes how the school will use resources under this part and from other sources to implement those components;

3. Lists Related Programs. Includes a list of State educational agency and local educational agency programs and other Federal programs under subsection (a)(3) that will be consolidated in the schoolwide program; and

4. Describes Parent Support. Describes how the school will provide individual student academic assessment results in a language the parents can understand, including an interpretation of those results, to the parent of a child who participates in the academic assessments required by section 1111(b)(3).

Comprehensive Plan Development – The comprehensive plan shall be:

1. One-Year Development Period and Exceptions. Developed during a one-year period, unless-

The local education agency, after considering the recommendation of the technical assistance providers under section 1117, determines that less time is needed to develop and implement the schoolwide program; or

The school is operating a schoolwide program on the day preceding the date of enactment of the No Child Left Behind Action of 2001, in which case such school may continue to operate such program, but shall develop amendments to its existing plan during the first year of assistance after that date to reflect the provisions of this section; [§ 200.27 … amend its existing plan during the 2002-2003 school year].

2. Planning Team. 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 (including 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 school, students from such school;

3. Plan Duration. In effect for the duration of the school’s participation under this part and reviewed and revised, as necessary, by the school. Section 200.26(c) of the Title I Final Regulation states: A school operating a schoolwide program must-

(1) Annually evaluate the implementation of, and results achieved by, the schoolwide program, using data from the State’s annual assessments and other indicators academic achievement;

(2) Determine whether the schoolwide program has been effective in increasing the achievement of students in meeting the State’s academic standards, particularly for those students who had been furthest from achieving the standards; and

(3) Revise the plan, as necessary, based on the results of the evaluation, to ensure continuous improvement of students in the schoolwide program.

4. Public Availability. Available to the local educational agency, parents, and the public, and the information contained in such plan shall be in an understandable and uniform format and, to the extent practicable, provided in a language that the parents can understand; and

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5. Coordination. If appropriate, developed in coordination with programs under Reading First, Early Reading First, Even Start, Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act of 1998, and the Head Start Act.

Prekindergarten Program – A school that is eligible for a schoolwide program under this section may use funds made available under this part or establish or enhance prekindergarten programs for children below the age of 6, such as Even Start programs or Early Reading First programs.

Individual Requirements Followed By St. Helen Elementary’s

Response To The Requirements

Ten Schoolwide Program Components

1. Comprehensive Needs Assessment A comprehensive needs assessment of the entire school [including taking into account the 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). Title I regulations § 200.26 state: Core elements of a schoolwide program. (a) Comprehensive needs assessment. (1) A school operating a schoolwide program must conduct a comprehensive needs assessment of the entire school that – (i) Is based on academic achievement information about all students in the school, including all groups under § 200.13(b)(7) and migratory children as defined in section 1309(2) of the ESEA, relative to the State’s academic standards under § 200.1 to-(A) Help the school understand the subjects and skills for which teaching and learning need to be improved; and (B) Identify the specific academic needs of students and groups of students who are not yet achieving the State’s academic standards; and (ii) Assesses the needs of the school relative to each of the components of the schoolwide program under § 200.28. (2) The comprehensive needs assessment must be developed with the participation of individuals who will carry out the schoolwide program plan. (3) The school must document how it conducted the needs assessment, the results it obtained, and the conclusions it drew from those results.

St. Helen Elementary Response To #1 See attached Comprehensive Needs Assessment Process.

2. Schoolwide Reform Strategies

A. Inclusion/Performance Enhancement. 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);

St. Helen Elementary Response: See attached Annual Report, Part: IX. Core Curriculum, Section

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A.3 Equitable Access To All.

B. Effective Methods and Instructional Use 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 an extended

school year and before and after school and summer programs and opportunities, and help provide an enriched and accelerated curriculum; and

Include strategies for meeting the educational needs of historically underserved populations;

St. Helen Elementary Response: See St. Helen Elementary Annual Report, Part II Section A.

Additional Changes at St. Helen Elementary A) In response to the State Board decision to move the state assessment testing period from a late January-early February period to early October we have already restructured our teaching staff. The transition took effect during the 2005-06 school year, however as a building we decided not to wait. Our fourth grade team had been participating in on-going MEAP preparation. Therefore, since the test assesses students on material learned in the previous school year and the AYP requirements will continue to increase, our building made the decision to restructure our teaching staff, effective the beginning of the 2004-05 School Year. This new Third Grade Team has greatly complimented the existing strong Second Grade team. The Second Grade Team will prepared the 2004-05 students to be ready for the No Child Left Behind law requirement beginning with the 2005-06 school year to begin testing students in mathematics and English Language Arts (ELA) in grades 3- 8. The 2005-06 group of students were the first group of students that the

2nd grade team had worked with that had attended kindergarten all day, every day for half of a school year. The following year will be the first group who has had all day, every day kindergarten for a full school year.

B) As indicated earlier in this report, Title I Services have been completely restructured. Christina Wintersheimer is now our full time Title I service provider. Special Education services were also greatly restructured to address this sub population. Together, Title I and Special Education services has become a service delivery unit. Personnel distributions from both programs were considered when planning for services to raise achievement levels of both groups of students. The services of both groups were considered first in our planning strategies for the 2006-07 School Year. Title I and Special Education services were planned first and Specials such as Music, PE, Library and Computer Lab were then planned around the service delivery unit services. In summary, more than ever Title I has been brought right up front in our planning efforts as the number one driving force for instructional practices that are student achievement driven.

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C) During the 2005/06 School year Music and PE offerings were very successfully flip-flopped in order to accommodate more Third Grade Instructional time in the morning, for optimum student learning.

Additional Strategies Being ImplementedA) COOR Intermediate School District has assembled an ISD Math Leadership

Team. The purpose of this team is to review our current Everyday Math Program and connect it to the Grade Level Content Expectations. Based on this work our building team created quarterly assessments, which are being utilized to monitor the students’ progress in the Everyday Math Program as that progress relates to the GLECs.

* Program Evaluation. Address how the school will determine if such needs have been met; and are consistent with, and are designed to implement, the State and local improvement plans, if any.

C. Target Population/Low Achieving Services. Include strategies to address the needs

of all children in the school, but particularly the needs of low-achieving children and those at-risk of not meeting the State student academic achievement standards who are members of the target populations of any program that is included in the schoolwide program, which may include:

Counseling, pupil services, and mentoring services. College and career awareness and preparation, such as college and career

guidance, personal finance education, and innovative teaching methods, which may include applied learning and team-teaching strategies; and

The integration of vocational and technical education program; and

St. Helen Elementary Response:

I. Monitoring of Disaggregation of Student Achievement Disaggregation of student achievement data was widely driven by the decision of the St. Helen Elementary Staff to completely restructure the Title I service delivery system. Christina Wintersheimer now devotes all of her time to Title I and Anne Obermeyer has continued to provide services for half of the day. In June 2006, Mrs. Wintersheimer worked with a teacher representative from Roscommon, Jane Carroll, and St. Helen Building Principal, Kathy Rees on disaggregation and analysis of student ahievement data. During this time, this team used Test Whiz to analyze the inputted local and state student achievement data (as outlined in Section II of this Plan). At such time, Mrs. Wintersheimer, Ms. Carroll and Mrs. Rees will compile this data into a Comprehensive Needs Assessment Grid for both St. Helen Elementary and Roscommon Elementary. Information on this grid will be plotted out onto large chart paper and reviewed with staff the first week of the 2006-07 school year. discussion will take place as to the implementation of best practice

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strategies to address the analysis of the Comprehensive Needs Assessment as they relate to the defined disaggregated subgroups. The results of this discussion will also be complied and given to NCA Chairs. The NCA teams will revisit and possibly revise current goals and strategies which will specifically state how Title I services will be utilized as a strategy for improving student achievement in all four core curricular areas: Math, Language Arts, Science and Social Studies, as they relate all sub groups. These revisions will be reviewed by the Steering Committee/Leadership Team at their first Leadership Team Meeting, which will be held in October of 2006 so that the strategies can be implemented at the beginning of the 2005-06 School Year.

II. Reporting of Disaggregation of Student AchievementD) St. Helen Elementary will prepare and publicly disseminate the

reporting of the disaggregation in our Annual Report in the beginning of 2005-06 school year to all staff, all parents, and all students for the following:

5) Aggregate student achievement at each proficiency level on state assessments.

6) Student achievement at each proficiency level will be disaggregated by race, ethnicity, gender, disability status, migrant status, English proficiency, and status as economically disadvantaged, provided that these subgroups are more than 30 students in our building per grade level tested.



9) Results of locally administered student competency tests (Terra Nova, MLPP & Everyday Math and/or nationally normed achievement tests (MEAP). This data from these assessments will be collected for students in grades 1-5 as required by section 1280b of the School Code (PA 25).

5. High Quality Professional Development (See Page 9 of this manual: What is the importance of professional development. Also, see Appendix ___ which charts the professional development activities that have been made available since 1998.

In accordance with section 1119 and subsection (a)(4), high-quality and ongoing professional development for teachers, principals, and paraprofessionals and, if appropriate, pupil services personnel, parents, and other staff to enable all children in the school to meet the State’s student academic achievement standards. In accordance with Title I final regulations § 200.28, align professional development with the State’s academic standards; devote sufficient resources to carry out effectively the professional development activities described in paragraph (b)(2) of this

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section; and, include teachers in professional development activities regarding the use of academic assessments described in § 200.2 to enable them to provide information on, and to improve, the achievement of individual students and the overall instructional program.

6. Attract Highly Qualified Teachers (See the St. Helen Elementary Annual Report, Part X. Teacher Quailfication)

Strategies to attract high quality, highly qualified teacher to high-needs schools.

7. Parent Involvement (See Appendix IV, which contains the St. Helen Elementary Three-Year Parent Involvmnt Plan and the St. Helen Elementary Parent Compact. Both of these documents were revised and up-dated by a group of St. Helene Elementary parents).

Strategies to increase parental involvement in accordance with section 1118, such as family literacy services. [§ 200.28 (1) A schoolwide program must involve parents in the planning, review, and improvement of the schoolwide program plan. (2) A schoolwide program must have a parental involvement policy, consistent with section 1118(b) of the ESEA, that – (i) Includes strategies, such as family literacy services, to increase parental involvement in accordance with sections 1118(c) through (f) and 9101(32) of the ESEA; and (ii) Describes how the school will provide individual student academic assessment results, including an interpretation of those results, to the parents of students who participate in the academic assessments required by § 200.2.]

7. Transition Plans

See Appendix V for assisting preschool children in the transition from early childhood programs, such as Head Start, Even Start, Early Reading First, or a State-run preschool program, to local elementary school programs.

8. Teacher Participation in Assessment Decisions (See Appendix VI which contains the St. Helen Elementary Data Meeting Plan, as well as copies of the Data Action Plans that were written by teachers in every grade level.)

Measure to include teachers in the decisions regarding the use of academic assessments described in section 1111(b)(3) in order to provide information on, and to improve, the achievement of individual students and the overall instructional program.

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9. Timely Additional Assistance

Activities to ensure that students who experience difficulty mastering the proficient or advanced levels of academic achievement standards required by section 1111(b)(1) shall be provided with effective, timely additional assistance, which shall include measures to ensure that students’ difficulties are identified on a timely basis and to provide sufficient information on which to base effective assistance.a) The 2006/2007 Extended Day Program (E.D.) will be offered 2 X a

week for an hour after school on Monday’s and Tuesday’s. There will be an extra hour of planning time for the teachers per week. It will be a center-based program with math, reading, writing and technology. In the first session (November - December) students whose names are highlighted in yellow will be selected from the data charts in the lounge. As opposed to servicing the most needy students this session will focus on assisting students to move up into the advanced levels. Those students have been identified as those students who are the closest to move up into the higher category. Our goal is to move the kids first who with just a little more assistance can move into the higher category. In the second section (January – February) we will offer E.D. to the students who need to be moved into the proficient level. In the third section (March – April) we will offer E.D. to students who need to carry over from the second session.

b) The Extended Day Summer School Program will be offered in the first two weeks in August as a “Jump Start” program. The program will be offered to students who appear in yellow or red on the Comprehensive Needs Assessment in May of 2006. The program offered assistance in Language Arts and Math.

10. Coordination of Services and Programs

Coordination and integration of Federal, State, and local services and programs, including programs supported under this Act, violence prevention programs, nutrition programs, housing programs, Head Start, adult education, vocational and technical education, and job training.

a. Federal, state and local services and programs are effectively coordinated through the district consolidated application process to support our school-wide plan. In fact, Gerrish-Higgins is involved in a number of grants that the Business Manager,Shay Andreson; Superintendent and Director of 31a, Dr.Millie Park Mellgren; and Title I Director, Kathy Rees, have written through the consolidated application process. They have worked very hard to coordinate the following grants.

Title I, Part A/D Title II, Part A Title II, Part D

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Title V 31a State At-Risk ECE

Kathy Rees is responsible for the Title I and Early Childhood grants. Dr. Park Mellgren, Superintendent, coordinates services for students formally identified to receive at-risk services. Mrs. Anderson coordinates Title II, Parts A & D and Title V. Mrs. Anderson, Dr. Park Mellgren , and Mrs. Rees have coordinated their efforts to efficiently supply materials, professional development activities, teacher stipends, release time and other support to the entire school district. The district professional development request form has been very helpful to coordinate those types of opportunities. On the forms, staff members are first and foremost requested to identify the connection of the professional development activity to NCA/School Improvement Goals. They are also required to obtain the approval of the project director if funding from one of the above grants is required.

Mrs. Anderson, Dr. Park Mellgren, and Mrs. Rees adjust the source of the funding, with the purpose of coordinating all of the grants. For example, staff members who request to attend professional development activities need to complete a plan of how they intend to share and use the information themselves, upon their return. Their goal is to make meaningful choices for professional development, which reflects a comprehensive, coordinated approach for educational reform. At the intermediate level, Mrs. Mcnitt, Roscommon Elementary Principal is a member of the COOR Intermediate Coordinating Committee for Professional Development (CCCPD). The CCCPD have coordinated grant efforts and have offered extensive training sessions that are ongoing throughout the year.

At the community level, the Title I programs coordinate services with 25 different agencies within the Gerrish-Higgins community to provide services to students in Roscommon. Action plans are written to identify the agency providing the services, action to be taken, target date, agency person responsible, technology needs, and even has a section for review status. Parent involvement will be expanded and enhanced through the efforts of a Parent Involvement Committee. A three-year Parent Involvement Plan, based on the six identified parent involvement standards by Dr. Joyce Epstein will be written. Regularly scheduled parent in-service sessions have been conducted throughout the year. We also provide a parent section within our library. We intend to further expand this parent resource to include a lot more things. We will be offering make-and-take workshops and we will supply all of the materials this spring. Parents, teachers, and students work together at these workshops with teaching aids and games that can be used by parents in their homes with students. These events are intended to provide a warm and inviting place where parents feel welcome and are encouraged to be an active member in their child’s education.

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COMPREHENSIVE NEEDS ASSESSMENT PROCESS

Comprehensive Needs Assessment

Legislative Reference

Section 1114(b)(1) of the Title I legislation states that a schoolwide program shall include a “comprehensive needs assessment of the entire school (including taking into account the needs of migratory children …) 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 …”

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In addition, sections 1114(b)(1)(B)(iii)(I)(aa)(bb)(cc) reference the schoolwide component that addresses reform strategies and states that reforms “include strategies to address the needs of all children in the school but particularly the needs of low achieving children and those at-risk of not meeting the State student academic achievement standards who are members of the target population of any program that is included in the schoolwide program.”

These programs may include: Counseling Pupil services Mentoring services College and career awareness and preparation Integration of vocational and technical education programs

Section 1114(b)(1)(B)(iii)II requires that reform strategies address how the school will determine if such needs have been met.

Purpose of Comprehensive Needs Assessment

The purpose of a comprehensive needs assessment is as follows:

1. Identifies strengths and weaknesses of a school from many aspects.2. Serves as a starting point for prioritizing areas of concern.3. Focuses efforts for improving student achievement and meeting challenging academic

content standards.4. Drives decision-making with data, not intuition, history or convenience

Comprehensive Needs Assessment Process

1. Define the Focus of the Needs Assessment

Section 200.26 of the Title I Final Regulations requires that the needs of a school be assessed relative to the ten components of the schoolwide program. A comprehensive needs assessment for schoolwide programming must focus on student academic achievement of all students, but goes beyond this data collection to assess the needs of the entire school. “It requires examining many aspects of students’ lives and experiences from the perspective of students, parents, teachers, administrators, and other community members. The team must gather enough data to direct its planning, but not so much data that the group is unable to determine a program focus.” (U.S. Department of Education, An Idea Book on Planning, Vol.1, p.42).

From the data gathering and analysis, the vision for schoolwide reform is clarified and a school profile of these focus areas emerges:

Student achievement Curriculum and instruction Professional development Family and community involvement School context and organization

The design of the needs assessment and the method of gathering and analyzing data are determined by the governing bodies within the school (e.g., school improvement team, principal and total staff, schoolwide technical assistance facilitator and staff). Listed below are the required data to collect, as well as suggested areas and topics for consideration.

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A) Development of the St. Helen Elementary Comprehensive Needs AssessmentIn May 2004, Mrs. Zeneberg created a grid for a Comprehensive Needs Assessment. Mrs. Wintersheimer and Ms. Carroll compiled the data into this Comprehensive Needs Assessment Grid in June of 2004. Information on this grid was then plotted out onto large sheets of paper and was then reviewed with staff the first week of the 2004-05 school year.

1) Discussion took place as to the implementation of best practice strategies to address the analysis of the Comprehensive Needs Assessment as it related all students, including the defined disaggregated subgroups. The results of this discussion was compiled and given to NCA Chairs. The NCA teams revisited and and considered revision current goals and strategies which will specifically state how Title I services will be utilized as a strategy for improving student achievement in all four core curricula areas: Math, Language Arts, Science and Social Studies. These revisions was reviewed by the Steering Committee/Leadership Team at their first Leadership Team Meeting, which was held in September of 2004 so that the strategies could be implemented at the begging of the 2004-05 School Year.

2) In addition to the NCA Committee and Leadership work regarding the Comprehensive Needs Assessment the on-going implementation of this plan on a regular basis will take place once a month during Common Planning Time (CPT).

3) Discussion took place as to the implementation of best practice strategies to address the analysis of the Comprehensive Needs Assessment as it related all students, including the defined disaggregated subgroups. The results of this discussion was compiled and given to NCA Chairs. The NCA teams revisited and and considered revision current goals and strategies which will specifically state how Title I services will be utilized as a strategy for improving student achievement in all four core curricula areas: Math, Language Arts, Science and Social Studies. These revisions was reviewed by the Steering Committee/Leadership Team at their first Leadership Team Meeting, which was held in September of 2004 so that the strategies could be implemented at the begging of the 2004-05 School Year.

4) In addition to the NCA Committee and Leadership work regarding the Comprehensive Needs Assessment the on-going implementation of this plan on a regualr basis will take place once a month during Common Planning Time (CPT).

Plan For Required Academic Achievement Data

1. Achievement data in all core academic areas: Reading/Language Arts, Math, Science, Social Studies (i.e., MEAP test results).

2. Disaggregated MEAP test results of six subgroups: Limited English Proficient, students with disabilities, economically disadvantaged, racial/ethnic, migrant and gender.

3. Adequate Yearly Progress data for all students in all tested subjects, including separate adequate yearly progress data for limited English proficient students, students with disabilities, economically disadvantaged and racial/ethnic groups.

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Monitoring of Disaggregation of Student AchievementB) Disaggregation of student achievement data will be widely driven by the

decision of the St. Helen Elementary Staff to completely restructure the Title I service delivery system. Christina Wintersheimer will now devote all of her time to Title I and Anne Obermeyer will continue to provide services for half of the day. In June 2004, Mrs. Wintersheimer will work with the District Literacy Coordinator, Jane Carroll, and Building Principal, Kathy Rees on disaggregation and analysis of student achievement data. Joyce Zeneberg, District Curriculum Director, by the first week in August of 2004 will have inputted local and state student achievement data (as outlined in Section II of this Plan) into Test Whiz. At such time, Mrs. Wintersheimer, Ms. Carroll and Mrs. Rees will compile this data into a Comprehensive Needs Assessment Grid.

2) Information on this grid will be plotted out onto large chart paper and reviewed with staff the first week of the 2004-05 school year. Discussion will take place as to the implementation of best practice strategies to address the analysis of the Comprehensive Needs Assessment as they relate to the defined disaggregated subgroups. The results of this discussion will also be complied and given to NCA Chairs. The NCA teams will revisit and possibly revise current goals and strategies which will specifically state how Title I services will be utilized as a strategy for improving student achievement in all four core curricular areas: Math, Language Arts, Science and Social Studies, as they relate all sub groups. These revisions will be reviewed by the Steering Committee/Leadership Team at their first Leadership Team Meeting, which will be held in September of 2004 so that the strategies can be implemented at the beginning of the 2004-05 School Year.

Reporting of Disaggregation of Student AchievementE) St. Helen Elementary will prepare and publicly disseminate the reporting of

the disaggregation in our Annual Report in the beginning of 2004-05 school year to all staff, all parents, and all students for the following: 10) Aggregate student achievement at each proficiency level on state

assessments.11) Student achievement at each proficiency level will be disaggregated by

race, ethnicity, gender, disability status, migrant status, English proficiency, and status as economically disadvantaged, provided that these subgroups are more than 30 students in our building per grade level tested.



F) Results of locally administered student competency tests (Terra Nova, MLPP & Everyday Math and/or nationally normed achievement tests (MEAP). This

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data from these assessments will be collected for students in grades 1-5 as required by section 1280b of the School Code (PA 25).

G) In regards to Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) Data St. Helen Elementary will also report:

2) Aggregate information on other indicators (student attendance) used to determine AYP.

5) AYP information, including number, names, and percentage of Title I schools identified for school improvement in our district, and how long identified.

6) Comparison between actual achievement of each group (excluding gender and migrant) and state’s annual measurable objectives.7) Comparison of building, district and state achievement data on state assessments and other indicators of AYP, such as attendance rates.

2. Design the Data Collection Method (See Appendix ___which contain the Data Meetings – Completed Planning Template )

Methods used to collect data depend upon available fiscal and human resources. The governing body for schoolwide planning should determine the appropriate methods for gathering particular information.Suggested Methods (Not Inclusive)

1. Collection of information from records/files.2. Adapt pre-developed, standardized, or locally developed written surveys and/or

questionnaires.3. Focus groups/interviews/phone surveys (community, staff, students, parents, etc.).

3. Collect the Data

1. Collect and verify data.2. Prepare Analyses

a. Total group responses.b. Subgroup responses.c. Synthesize open-ended responses.

3. Enter data into database.In May 2004, Mrs. Zeneberg created a grid for a Comprehensive Needs Assessment. Mrs. Wintersheimer and Ms. Carroll compiled the data into this Comprehensive Needs Assessment Grid in June of 2004. Information on this grid was then plotted out onto large sheets of paper and was then reviewed with staff the first week of the 2004-05 school year.

4. Analyze the Data (See Appendix ___which contains the completed Data Action Forms that were compiled during this data analysis phase.)

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Review why the survey was conducted and focus on what you want to know about student achievement (i.e., what students are doing and, if disaggregated, subgroups are responding in the same or different way). Look for average responses. Look at range of responses. “Data analysis should seek to answer the following types of questions.” (WestED, 1996, p. III-22):

What are the strengths and needs of the current educational program in our school? How does it compare with the past information?

Does the evidence support our assertions about strengths and needs? What more do we need to know? If more information is needed, how will we follow up? What priorities does the information suggest? What did we learn about how needs vary for different groups in our school? From our review of the data, can we state student needs in ways that specify goals,

benchmarks for progress, and outcome expectations in measurable terms?”

Use more than one set of reviewers to examine the data. Finally, write a summary of the analysis finding that includes chart/graphs. (See Attachment B, Tool #4).

5. Develop Recommendations for Improvement (Program/Goal Action Steps) (See Appendix ___which contains the completed Data Action Forms that were compiled during this data analysis phase which indicate the strategies for improvement that were devised by each grade level after identifying areas of concern.)

“When the above suggested activities (or those developed by the planning team) are finished, the comprehensive needs assessment step is complete. The planning team must now be prepared to explore and verify the underlying causes for each identified issue and to select appropriate solutions and goals [and strategies]. The team is ready for the next planning step-prioritizing areas of focus based on the urgency of the issues and problems just identified.” (U.S. Department of Education, An Idea Book on Planning, Vol.1, p.48) (See Attachment C, Tool #5).

The comprehensive needs assessment is one of ten required components that must be addressed in the schoolwide plan.

Resources

1. Attached are Pages 100-104 from the U.S. Department of Education, An Idea Book on Planning, Vol.1. (Attachment B & C) These are Planning Tool documents that provide assistance to schools conducting a comprehensive needs assessment. The entire book is available from the U.S. Department of

Education. For more information, go to www.ed.gov on the Internet.

2. Data Tutorial: A collection of data-driven decision-making tools for educators: http://www.ncrel.org/toolbet.tutor.htm. This tutorial is designed to help educators, with little or no experience, using data systematically to incorporate data into their continuous school improvement process. It also offers some training on how to use and understand data.

3. NCREL, Data Retreat Participant’s Handouts, 2001

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4. Victoria Bernhardt materials: Eye of Education

6 Depot Way WestLarchmont, NY 10538914-833-0551

Data Analysis The School Portfolio The School Portfolio Toolkit Designing and Using Data Bases for School Improvement The Example School Portfolio

5. Wahlstrom, Deborah, Using Data to Improve Student Achievement, Successline SMART Strategies series, Successline, Inc., Virginia Beach, VA, 1999 – www.successlineinc.com



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EVALUATION PLAN

Evaluation

Legislative Reference

Title I Final Regulations

Section 200.26(c) of the Title I Regulation states:(c) Evaluation. A school operating a schoolwide program must –

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(1) Annually evaluate the implementation of, and results achieved by, the schoolwide program, using data from the State’s annual assessment and other indicators academic achievements;

(2) Determine whether the schoolwide program has been effective in increasing the achievement of students in meeting the State’s academic standards, particularly for those students who had been furthest from achieving the standards; and

(3) Review the plan, as necessary, based on the results of the evaluation, to ensure continuous improvement of students in the schoolwide program.

Conduct Ongoing Needs Assessment

After the comprehensive needs assessment is conducted, analyzed, goals and strategies developed and the total schoolwide plan written, it is critical that schoolwide programs are sustained through accountability and continuous improvement. Other factors may enter the school reform process that will require amendments to the schoolwide plan. Such factors include moving to a Comprehensive School Reform Model (CSR) or choosing an accreditation process in addition to state accreditation (e.g., North Central Accreditation). (See next section, “Other Factors to Consider”). Monitoring the progress of school improvement becomes the responsibility of all stakeholders. “Continuous, data-driven accountability involves school teams in the following activities:

Combining information from multiple measurements on all groups of students.

Organizing the data to clarify strengths and weaknesses of students and of the entire school.

Disaggregating information on students to determine whether certain subgroups are experiencing common problems.

Modifying improvements already in place whenever new needs and opportunities are identified.

Keeping alert to the implications for the quality of education supported by all components of the school.

Ensuring that colleagues analyze and modify programs based on continuing assessments and analyses” (U.S. Department of Education, An Idea Book on Planning, Vol.1, p.76).

St. Helen Elementary’s On-going Comprehensive Needs Assessment analysis will be our continuous measurement of success for our Comprehensive School Wide Plan. Data will continuously be obtained and analyzed for both program service delivery efforts, as well as individual student need. Groups will be formed based on this process to address common strengths and weaknesses, as well the needs of individual students. This data will inform instructional efforts and program changes.

Consider Other Factors (In the past St. Helen Elementary received a CSRD grant and the provider was the Coaltion Of Essential Schools.)

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Comprehensive School Reform (CSR)

If a decision is made to further schoolwide planning to a comprehensive school reform model, the following considerations are suggested:

a. Conduct a thorough review of the original schoolwide needs assessment.

b. Does the CSR model align with the schoolwide plan and goals?c. Does the CSR model require a needs assessment to gather

additional data? If so, amend your schoolwide plan to coordinate with the additional required CSR data analysis findings.

Accreditation (St. Helen Elementary has been accredited by the north Central Process as well as Affirmed as by the Coalition of Essential Schools .)

If a decision is made to pursue additional accreditation beyond state accreditation as outlined in Education YES! (e.g., North Central Accreditation), follow the same process as outlined above with Comprehensive School Reform.

NOTE:

Adopting a CSR model or pursuing additional accreditation does not release a school from addressing the required components of the Title I schoolwide plan. The goal is to have one comprehensive school improvement plan that incorporates additional requirements but does not compromise the required components of the Title I schoolwide plan.



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CHECKLIST

SCHOOLWIDE SCHOOL PLAN WORKSHEET

Ten Required SchoolwideProgram Components

Strength Weakness Action Plan-Design, Collect and Analyze Data

Comprehensive Needs Assessment

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Schoolwide Reform Strategies

Highly Qualified Teachers

High Quality Professional Development

Attract Highly Qualified Teachers

SCHOOLWIDE SCHOOL PLAN WORKSHEET

Ten Required SchoolwideProgram Components

Strength Weakness Action Plan-Design, Collect and Analyze Data

Parent Involvement

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Transition Plans

Teacher Participation in Assessment Decisions

Timely Additional Assistance

Coordination of Services

.

Gerrish-Higgins School DistrictTitle I Programs

Kathy Rees, Title I Programs DirectorGayla Mann, MDE, Field Consultant - [email protected]

Section 1: Schoolwide Program Planning TeamA Schoolwide program is developed with the involvement of the community to be served and the individuals who will carry out the plan. An existing building team and /or the schools site advisory group could assume the planning responsibilities for the

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Schoolwide program as long as this team includes representatives from parents, teachers, other staff, pupil services personnel, administrators, and students when appropriate.

E. Name of People Developing The Plan

F. Team Meeting Dates (Past & Future)

G. Technical Assistance Member List

Section 2: School Profile and Comprehensive Needs Assessment

C. Profile – Key Features of the School and Its Community

D. Inclusive Comprehensive Needs Assessment – Including all of the members of the School Community with a Particular Focus on all Educationally Disadvantaged Children.

Section 3: Analyzing Needs & Deriving Schoolwide Program Goals

D. The Comprehensive Needs Assessment identified the following current strengths and weaknesses of the educational program. E. The following priority focus areas (maximum 3) for achieving

the outcomes of the proposed Schoolwide program.C. Goals of the Schoolwide Program:

Section 4: Instructional ProgramB. The following specific changes in the instructional program and procedures were utilized to implement the goals of the Schoolwide program.

Section 5: Professional DevelopmentC. Professional Qualifications of the Professional StaffD. Schoolwide support for intensive and sustained professional

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development

Section 6: Parent InvolvementThis section is devoted to the parent involvement activities of the school. One of the advantages of the Schoolwide program is the opportunity to use ESEA resources to support activities that parents value. In exemplary parent involvement programs, parents actively participate in designing, implementing, and evaluating these activities. E. Parents will be involved in all phases of the Schoolwide

program in the following ways:F. The following Parent Education Activities will be offered:G. The quality of Parent Activities will be Monitoring through the

following method: H. Linkages to comprehensive family, health and social services

will be established through:

Section 7: AccountabilityThe state’s assessment provides the foundation for program evaluation. If the final state assessment is in place, evaluation data for reading and mathematics should be (when Statistically sound) disaggregation by gender, major ethnic or racial groups, limited English proficient status, migrant students, and children with disabilities as compared to other students and by economically disadvantaged students as compared to students who are not economically disadvantagedD. The following procedures for measuring and reporting adequate student progress will be utilized on an annual basis:E. The following methods will be utilized for including teachers in decisions to use assessments that supplement the state assessment system:F. Results of assessments will be reported to parents and community by:

Section 8: Coordination and Ongoing Program Development

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C. The Schoolwide Program will coordinate with other programs and agencies through the following ways:D. The following provisions will be made to facilitate ongoing consultation among the individuals in the planning team (Section 1) concerning the continuing educational progress of all students in the school.

Section 9: Fiscal Information One of the advantages of the Schoolwide program is the opportunity to combine the funding from separate programs to support whole-school reform. Reauthorization permits Schoolwide programs to incorporate funds from state, local, and other federal programs, in addition to Title I. It does not exempt schools from providing appropriate services to the children in the target population in each of these programs. D. Title I funds and funds from other sources will be used to

implement the Schoolwide program through the following method:

E. Below depicts a Schoolwide budget which includes and summarizes all funding sources:

F. Below supports the district and state support for the current and past years’ Title I program. Including dollar amounts of local and state funds spent at that school per students for each year:

Section 10: The names and roles of the reviewers of the schoolwide program plan:

Name Current Role Role in Developing in School or the Schoolwide Plan School Community

Kathy Rees – Building Principal – Pulling the Plan Together

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Arlene Martin - Second Grade Teacher – Language Development For The Plan Christina Wintersheimer – Title I Teacher/Coodinator - Language Development For The PlanCheri Hutek – Special Education Teacher - Language Development For The Plan Jean Christiansen – Kindergarten Teacher - Language Development For The PlanMary Ward – 2 & 3 combination/music teacher - Language Development For The PlanMichelle Young – Paraprofessional - Language Development For The PlanMarci Howey – Preschool Teacher/Building PTCO Representative - Language Development For The PlanAmy Hess – Parent - Language Development For The Plan

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07 Ghsd Title I Plan

Education

helen elementary school

schoolwide plan

schoolwide status

schoolwide buildings

helen elementary schoolwide

following school year

school improvement team

year schools