Involving Parents in Educational Process or Strategies

Accelerate Framework School Assessment

For gap closing school leaders, accurately assessing a school’s strengths and areas of growth with precision is essential.  A school assessment begins by identifying the key characteristics of gap closing schools, assessing a school against those characteristics, and prioritizing the opportunities for action.  Using the Accelerate Framework as the measuring stick, a leader gathers qualitative and quantitative data to analyze the level of execution. The SWOT process is integral to this analysis as it allows leaders to rapidly identify strengths and opportunities for action. Once the assessment of the school is complete, the leader determines opportunities that would be the highest levers in reaching the characteristics of a gap closing school.

As you complete this assessment, the question you should continually be asking yourself is: ‘How Do You Know?’ You should use observations, data analysis, and Framework aligned rubrics/checklists to help you complete a full picture. You want to ensure that you have collected enough evidence to challenge and confirm your hypotheses.

Evidence to Consider:

· Observations: Observe routines, procedures, meetings using Accelerate Framework rubrics to assess.

Example: Observe and record Leadership Team Meeting, complete Meeting Rubric

· Data Review: Academic and Cultural Data.

Examples: Growth, Interim, State Data, Culture Data, Attendance, etc.

· Surveys: Reviewing and analyzing survey data to gain insight into stakeholder buy-in and potential areas of strength and growth. Examples: School based survey

· Needs Assessments: Research based checklist or rubric to synthesize observations.

Examples: Curriculum Needs Assessment, Data Driven Culture rubric, School Culture Assessment

· Interviews: Conduct interviews with key stakeholders to gain greater depth of understanding. Examples: teachers, leadership team, and site principal

Completing the SWOT:

1. Review your current data and evidence.

2. Complete the SWOT:

· Strengths: Begin with academic outcomes and then use other data points to help illuminate strengths you can build upon. Provide clear evidence or data point to support each strength.

· Weaknesses: Begin with academic outcomes and then use other data points to help illuminate weaknesses that be illuminate root cause of the problem. Provide clear evidence or data point to support each weakness.

· Opportunities: What possibilities exist for leadership to build on the strengths of the school and address the weaknesses or threats? Provide a clear and detailed rationale for each opportunity you suggest.

· Action Plan: Choosing from the opportunities, determine what the Big Rock/s for school improvement should be to guide strategic planning and outline your rationale and vision.

Strengths

Weaknesses

Opportunities

Learners are growing at an improved rater overall. Students showed above average growth, with math outpacing reading. Combined, the students met their growth goals at a rate of 62%, exceeding the national norm of 50%.

Improvements have been made in both reading and math. This is a positive and encouraging trend and indicates that there is a foundation here to build upon for future success. The percentage of students meeting growth goals was 67% in math and 56% in reading, both exceeding the national norm of 50%. All four grades together grew an equivalent of 1.2 years in math, and 1.1 years in reading in one school year. Both subjects were above the national norm.

The 1 st Grade had the strongest math performance with 86% meeting growth goals. The kindergarteners had the strongest performance in reading with 65% meeting growth goals. Clearly, the younger children are benefiting most from this program as they are beginning with a blank slate and are not lacking any fundamental skills or knowledge that might inhibit progress.

In spite of growth, students were still shy of Accelerate’s goal of growing 1.25 years, with reading falling short of Accelerate's goal of 65%. This is especially the case for older grade level students, who appear to be lacking in either fundamental skills/knowledge or in proper pedagogy from teachers, and perhaps both as based on survey reports.

Additionally, while youngest grades did well, grades 2A and 2B fell below the norm in math achievement, and 1A fell below the norm in reading achievement. 3A was the only section that lagged below the norm in both subjects.

The main weaknesses therefore are not in K-1 grade levels but rather in the 2-3 grade levels. This may be a problem of teachers not being able to implement effective reforms, the reforms themselves not being strong enough, or the students lacking in fundamental knowledge upon which scaffolding can be based.

Opportunities exist for growth in grade levels 2-3, and as the younger grades advance it is clear that the proper foundational knowledge will be in place so that scaffolding can commence. This means that improvement should be evident in the coming years for the higher grade levels as well.

However, there is an opportunity to further help current grade levels 2-3 with extra education, and perhaps some after –school or pre-school or summer tutorial/mentoring sessions will be of aid in this regard.

Survey reports indicate that teachers need to implement evidence-based practices for teaching reading as currently there is nothing solid in place.

Other recommendations are to increase use of academic data in administrative decision-making, and to involve parents more educational strategies moving forward.

Whatever option is selected, there is an opportunity to focus on underperforming grade levels and bring them up to the standards.

Priorities

Priority

Rationale

Vision

Big Rock 1

Objective: Implement evidence-based practices (EBP) for teaching reading

Reports from the survey indicate haphazard decision-making regarding teaching decisions. These decisions should not be last minute but rather well thought-out and based on EBP (i.e., scholarly research).

Implementing EBP will help teachers provide the best possible reading pedagogy possible for learners based on where the students are and what needs have to be met.

Action Steps

- begin by familiarizing themselves with the research design and evidence supporting EBP

- consult with their district administrators, as well as other teachers who have been successful in utilizing EBP

- consider their individual context and environment, and consider how the implementation of these practices will look specifically within their classroom setting

-implement continual cycle of assessment and implementation

Priority

Rationale

Vision

Big Rock 2

Objective:

Use academic data more effectively.

Utilizing academic data more effectively in K-3 schools when making administrative and teaching decisions is essential for educators wanting to ensure every student is supported with the necessary resources to reach their fullest potential.

Academic data will help administrators gain a general understanding of student performance across the school while informing individual instruction.

Action Steps (administrators/teachers)

- make sure to collect reliable data that is relevant to the decision they are making.

- analyze the data critically in order to draw meaningful conclusions that will help inform their decisions