Literacy Program Plan Sets High Expectations

Kindergarten and first-grade students reading – or listening to – four to six books each day. Elementary students reading 1 million words each year. Precise literacy programs setting high expectations and providing as many instructional coaches as possible working with teachers.

Those images were part of the vision spelled out by Acting Chief Academic Officer Sally Mentor Hay this week in a presentation to the Board of Education. The plan was greeted with enthusiasm.

“Most places around the country haven’t given young children the opportunity to soar,” said Mentor Hay. “When you put programs in place there is no limit to what they can do … We have to establish expectations. This is what our kids need. This is what our kids deserve.”

District staff, she said, is now “in the thick of developing procedures for selecting elementary literacy coaches” with area superintendents. The result, she predicted, will be “significant changes” to the district’s elementary literacy program. The plan will soon be sent to schools for reaction from principals and Collaborative Decision-Making teams.

Mentor Hay said she anticipates a qualifying period for potential coaches that will begin immediately and end March 22, in the same timeframe as the first round of the teacher staffing process.

The qualifying process will be “very thorough,” she said, in order to discover teachers who can demonstrate their ability to improve reading and writing achievement.

“Our expectations are high,” she said. Even though there are many coaches in buildings today, she added, “what we’re expecting is probably more than what is currently happening.”

After qualifying applicants, Mentor Hay said schools would be given a specific date to begin interviewing candidates and making offers. Schools rated low and unsatisfactory by the state accountability reports will be staffed with coaches first.

Mentor Hay said the installation of the new literacy program will likely mean some adjustments for schools, since the funding for it will mean redirecting the use of Title 1 and other federal funds.

“What is getting results with children?” she asked. “What we’ve discovered is that some schools have kind of gone their own way. It’s not that I’m opposed to having schools going their own ways (but) they have to get results for kids. And if they are not getting results for kids, we have to take a look at that.”

Superintendent Jerry Wartgow said he wants the cost for the coaches to be managed “within existing budgets.” Mentor Hay said this might lead to asking hard questions about cherished programs and services in some schools. But she said such questions must be blunt about determining how current efforts have fared in raising achievement.

The “ideal coach,” said Mentor Hay, “would know how to teach reading and writing to students with a wide range of abilities and backgrounds and … be credible to the teacher they were coaching.”

She said the coach would emphasize in-classroom demonstration.
“As a coach, I have to be able to show I can reach these kids,” she said. “Coaches should be able to provide an excellent example of how any component of the literacy program should look. In some coaching models, the coach comes in and offers advice. In the model we have in mind, the coach goes in and shows the teacher how to do it. The coach should naturally, then, step back and then get the teacher to be independent.”

Coaches would also be expected to work with teachers in planning instruction and will lead study group sessions on various components of the literacy program, she said. She added that the district would make a “big investment” in coach training over the summer and after the school year starts.

2002–2003 Calendar Approved

Staff Development, Assessment Days, More Instructional Time Provided

The 2002-2003 school year calendar was approved by the Board of Education this week, with an August 19th start date and three key features:

• Increased district-wide staff development.
  
• An assessment day (August 23) to determine appropriate classroom placement for new students.
  
• A 15-minute increase in the amount of instructional time each school day (a total of 43.5 hours over the course of school year).

“It was a priority to increase the amount of instructional time and we believe this will be helpful in moving us toward our goals,” said Superintendent Jerry Wartgow. “We also wanted to set aside time for professional development. This is a concern that I’ve heard and we’ve accomplished that with this calendar.”

Key dates include ending the first semester December 20 and ending the school year with a half-day for students on May 30.

Two days of staff development for teachers will be scheduled August 15 and 16. Another two days for training will be provided October 21 and 22, making a four-day “weekend” for students in the middle of that month. Also, the Wednesday prior to Thanksgiving will be added to the November break.

Following the winter break, teachers will return for staff development on Monday, January 6 and students will return January 7. Another four-day break for students will be provided in mid-February with a staff development day after the President’s Day holiday weekend. A final day of staff development will be scheduled Friday, April 18.

In all, eight days of professional development will be included in the 191 days that make up the teacher work year.

The Board also approved a 2003-2004 school year calendar that follows the same pattern and a schedule for the 17 elementary schools that use the Continuous Year Calendar.

Key Calendar Dates:

Traditional Calendar, 2002-2003

School start for students: August 19
Assessment day: August 23
Teacher staff development/professional days: August 15, 16; September 27; October 21, 22; January 6; February 18; April 18
Winter break: December 23 – January 6
Spring break: March 24 – 28
School ends: May 30 (half day)

Continuous Year Calendar, 2002-2003

School start for students: July 24
Assessment day: July 29
Teacher staff development/professional days: July 22, 23; September 27, October 21, January 6, April 7, May 23
Fall break: October 7 – October 21
Winter break: December 16 – January 6
Spring break: March 17 – April 7
School ends: June 11 (half day)

Grant Middle School’s Communications Focus Approved

With conditions, Board members approved Grant’s request for additional funding to focus the educational program in an integrated theme of “Communications.” The plan included “one-time and some sustaining district assistance” which Board members wanted to clarify before voting.

Board member Michelle Moss showed concern over sustaining the program financially. “What will happen when this expensive equipment breaks?” asked Moss. “How will the school keep the program going after this year?”

Board members saw the solution in making sure Grant used all of its supplementary funds to meet that need. “I’d like to change the motion to add that carry over funds from the school should be used to support the $69,000 program before hitting central contingency funds,” said Board member Kevin Patterson. “We also need a short and long-term plan for budget viability.”

That $69,000 dollars will be used for equipment, staff development, and infrastructure needs to accommodate the program.

The program philosophy is as follows: Grant Middle School will enhance a currently strong academic program with a school redesign that focuses on communication skills necessary to succeed in life. Communication courses will include journalism, creative and technical writing, speech / drama, music / choir, media technology, and interpersonal communication / conflict management.

“The plans intention is partly to attract students and the Grant community thought this would be a draw,” said Irene Jordan, Area Superintendent.

Grant Principal Elmer Manzanares previously told the Board that Grant’s rationale for the focus is to attract current students interested in communications, to answer parent requests to strengthen the school, to further enhance reading and writing skills, and to build upon recent language arts successes. Grant might also work with elementary feeder schools more closely and foster ties with Thomas Jefferson High School’s Communications Central program.

Board Approves Renewal For Pioneer Charter School

With little discussion, Board members unanimously approved the renewal of Pioneer’s charter status. After Pioneer administrators recommended renewing the charter for a three year period, district staff recommended its renewal with one condition: that on the School Accountability Reports it improve from “unsatisfactory” to at least “low” by the end of the 2002-2003 school year in order to continue operating.

The school has had trouble meeting its academic objectives in the past and endured changes in staff and instability over the years. Still, staff insists significant changes have been made in order to increase student achievement. Those changes include the addition of the Success for All reading program, the hiring of new staff members, and greater oversight of the Extended Day program. Also, DU has committed support through active participation on the charter’s board as well as supplying a staff member four days a week to help manage the school.

Pioneer is in its fifth year of operation and now serves 272 students.

Park Hill Elementary Adds Three Grades

Park Hill Elementary School will add grades six, seven, and eight beginning with the 2002-2003 school year. “We’re thrilled,” said Principal Kathy Adams after the Board of Education’s vote this week. “It was a huge community effort and well supported.”

The plan was developed under a district policy that allows schools to propose redesigns in order to meet the needs of local or neighborhood populations. A variety of grade configurations now exist in the district, including three other ECE-8 schools (Moore, Slavens and Grant Ranch).

District staff’s report on the model included information on a “substantial body of research to support the efficacy of the proposed kindergarten through grade eight model for improving achievement.” However, staff did caution that the model would not offer the same broad range of academic courses or electives such as sports. Still, Park Hill staff members are excited to bring this new opportunity to their community.