Build a Culture of Learning Excellence at ASD
1.1. Foster a growth mindset among students, staff, and parents, emphasizing the value of continuous learning.
1.2. Create a positive and inclusive school climate that values diversity and promotes respect, empathy, and understanding.
1.3. Implement a comprehensive professional development program to enhance the skills and knowledge of educators.
1.4. Establish data-driven processes for monitoring student progress and using assessments to inform instruction.
1.5. Promote a strong sense of community engagement and support through open communication and involvement of parents, community members, and local businesses.
| Strategic Priority One | |
|---|---|
| Why is this important? | In order to (1) achieve gains in student growth and achievement, (2) prepare our graduates for college, the trades, and service (military, Peace Corps, missions, etc.), and (3) meet the competencies of our Profile of a Graduate, staff and students alike must have a shared understanding of learning components (Rigor, Community, Collaboration, 21st Century Skills, etc.) and Best Practices. |
| Action steps related to the priority | All Staff Understand Superintendent Philosophy, Beliefs and Implied Tasks This information sets the tone and expectations for ASD staff, students, and school community. 1. Superintendent’s Philosophy 2. Superintendent’s Intent 3. Implied Tasks Teachers received foundational PD: 1. Professionalism 2. Appropriate Use of Social Media for School Staff 3. Dealing with Change: Who is this new Soop? 4. Lesson Planning 5. Curriculum Mapping 6. Creating a Disciplined Learning Culture via the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People 7. Extrinsic vs Intrinsic Teaching 8. Austin’s Butterfly 9. Thinking Strategies (ILT in Summer 2023, All staff TBD) 10. Leveraging NWEA Reports for Teaching & Learning 11. Best Practices w/Hattie Meta-analysis 12. Best Practices w/Marzano’s High Yield Strategies 13. Eight Traits of Great Schools 14. Never Say Anything a Kid Can Say 15. Mission Statement PD 16. Putting it all Together PD 17. An Effective Learning Environment (2023) 18. Trauma-informed Teaching & Learning (2023) 19. Technology & the Adolescent (2023) Teachers post Transparent Lesson Planning with Best Practices. 1. Alignment notebook 2. Google-based Lesson Planning (for transparency) A Word on Lesson Planning: Organizations, sports teams, vacations, homes and most things in life are built on planning. (1) Planned vacations tend to be less stressful for participants than spontaneous vacations. We know where we’re going, when we’ll get there, and what we’ll do. (2) Athletes develop skills and win games when practices are planned appropriately. (3) No one builds a home by ordering lumber, hiring subcontractors, then telling them all to report to the job site on day one, grab some lumber and start building—on the contrary, there is a house plan with backward design and an end in mind before the job ever begins. The plan is referred to throughout the job. Why would educators be any less prepared than their contemporaries in other professions? There are no peer-reviewed, evidence-based articles on lesson planning that support educators not planning; rather, there are only blogs against the practice. There are many peer-reviewed studies published in respectable journals supporting the need for lesson planning as Best Practice. ASD is committed to Best Practice-based planning. Curricular simplification process to ensure alignment: 1. Create Curriculum Maps (152 days, eliminate redundancies, plug gaps) 2. Align Math Curriculum K-12 (Illustrative Math) 3. Align Science Curriculum 6-12 (Inspire Science: Biology, Chemistry, General) 4. Align ELA Curriculum K-5 and 6-12 a. K-5: Wonders b. 6-12: Common Literature 5. Align Supplemental Curriculum and Assessment Materials a. Zearn Math b. Reading Plus/Mobymax c. Reading Eggs d. Math Seeds e. SIPPS f. DIBELS g. NWEA h. Boardworks i. Edmentum 6. Maintain a supporting Master Schedule with the following components (what is important is in the schedule; if we believe in it, we make time for it): a. Recess (unstructured play, brain break, social learning) b. WIN Clubs (data-driven intervention) c. Pathways (student opportunity and direction) d. Diversified Electives (expanding student opportunity) e. Core in the morning (best learning happens in the morning) f. Utilizing parapros in small group settings 7. Implement a “science of reading” approach to teaching reading a. All staff K-3 meet CDE Licensing requirements (completed 2022/revising 2023) b. New staff coming on board register for training 8. Provide supporting professional development for best practice (See above PD List) 9. Provide communication forums for teaching & learning. a. Professional Learning Community (PLC) i. What do we want our students to learn? 1. Standards-based Curriculum mapping and Lesson Plans ii. How do we know if they learned it? 1. Assessment iii. What do we do when they don’t? 1. WIN Clubs, Reteaches/Workshops iv. What do we do when they do? 1. Increase Rigor, Advanced questions, more challenge b. Roll Call (Monthly: Teacher Teams and Principal, Behavioural Interventions) c. PBiS/MTSS (Monthly/Quarterly: Academic Interventions) d. Instructional Leadership Team (ILT) (Monthly: Academics direction for ASD) e. Happy Hour & Joe w/the Flow (Daily 0730-0800, Bi-weekly) f. MailChimp Newsletter (Audience: Parents and Community) (2023) g. Friday Memo (Audience: School Board and Staff) h. Weekly Email Update (Audience: Staff) i. Social Media (Audience: Parents, Students, BoE, and Community) j. Superintendent’s Advisory Council (Audience: Superintendent) k. Superintendent’s Blog (Audience: Community/Parents) l. Superintendent’s Report (Audience: School Board) 10. Implement school readiness practices. a. TS-Gold b. Rigorous preschool c. Enrollment Policy for kindergarten cutoff date 11. Attain supporting funds targeting growth. a. Illustrative Math Training b. DIBELS training c. Science Teacher d. ELA Teacher e. Elementary Teacher f. MTSS Coordinator 12. Create Diverse Elective Opportunities a. Woodshop b. Industrial Arts c. French d. Music Production e. Video Production f. Website Building g. Band h. PE i. Weight Training Students 1. Students receive a Primary Evaluation from the Superintendent and Principal 2. Students receive a 3-12 Evaluation from the Superintendent and Principal 3. All students maintain a data notebook (Xello platform) 4. Students will Pilot Rocketbooks platform in high school 5. Students respond to and use common language to maintain a safe and productive culture and demonstrate a growth mindset Teachers and Paras: 1. Teachers develop Curriculum Maps (Scope & Sequence, Standards, Objectives) a. 152 day school calendar b. Backwards design to Colorado Academic Standards c. Remove redundancies d. Fill gaps 2. Teacher derive Lesson Plans from their Curriculum Maps a. In their lesson plans, the Best Practice that drives each piece of the lesson must be identified 3. Secondary teachers will use Google Classroom to organize lessons and deliver instruction 4. All teachers, K-12, will use the XELLO platform to replace current Leadership/Data Notebooks 5. Teachers will create “Grade Level Experiences,” linked to standards and service projects, for students to look forward to and 6. Teachers will use on the board-approved curricular materials 7. Teachers will supervise Paraprofessionals, provide them with small group instruction plans, and mentor them in Best Practices 8. Staff will receive a formal observation each year. 9. All staff will hold themselves to the standard of professionalism set by the Superintendent of Schools and keep the Professionalism Continuum in mind in making instructional decisions: a. Professionalism i. Be your interview ii. Skate to where the puck is going, not to where it’s been iii. Prescribe solutions, don’t just describe problems iv. Adhere to norms 1. Maintain a growth mindset 2. Maximize your engagement 3. Produce your best quality work b. Professionalism Continuum  Walkthroughs 1. All staff will receive periodic walkthroughs with timely feedback. 2. Administration will track walkthroughs. 3. Administration will calibrate walkthroughs for inter-rater reliability. Peer-observations 1. Two peer-observations are completed each quarter by all teaching staff. a. Staff will seek to go in pairs or triads in order to enhance post observation discussion b. Staff will use a Peer Observation form and turn in to the Principals ASD will seek out, foster, and maintain partnerships to boost learning opportunity for students 1. Concurrent enrollment: Trinidad State College, Pueblo Community College 2. Pathways Development: Colorado Education Initiative (CEI), SC-BOCES 3. Graduate Profile Development: Generation Schools Network (GSN) 4. Periscope Project a. A shared instructional endeavor between La Veta and ASD school districts to enhance student growth and achievement through aligned PD, and Partner Teacher observations 5. South-Central BOCES a. Provides funding to create student pathways, upgrade facilities, teacher certification training, and supplies & equipment through the Rural Co-Action Grant. b. Provided a reading coach for the 2022 school year 6. Partners in Education (PIE) a. Committee to assist teachers and principles in planning and executing learning opportunities i. Veterans’ Breakfast ii. Schoolwide Talent Show 7. Managing Partner: GSN a. Provides a Data Coach for school turnaround process 8. Friends of Aguilar a. Provides a scholarship to a graduating ASD Senior 9. Veteran Organizations a. Serve as speakers in classrooms and are served by students during our Veterans Breakfast. Organizationally, ASD administration will ensure systems, PD, and supports are in place for staff and students 1. Bridges Model of Change (Illustrated below) a. ASD recognizes organizations and people go through a cycle (akin to a grief cycle) during change. b. In 2022, Superintendent Cowan acknowledge this and talked through the process with staff using the Bridges Change Model c. ASD Administration seeks to truncate the time from “years” to “semesters” and follows the Pilot/Implement/Embed process for change.  2. Mission Statement a. The ASD Mission Statement was updated to demonstrate ASD’s Board of Education and Administration dedication to learning in a safe environment.  3. Completely update and revise a staff handbook outlining Teaching & Learning. 4. Write job descriptions outlining how each position in ASD Supports Teaching & Learning. 5. District Administration will set high and explicit expectations for Teaching & Learning” a. Define Educational Best Practices and provide “look fors” for all teaching staff b. Provide feedback in Walkthroughs and a yearly Formal Observation c. Superintendent Cowan, in collaboration with the ILT, will set up Phased Objectives to ensure implementation of initiatives and goals are met. 6. Create a Kinder Signing Day (everyone signs the pledge to be a Wildcat and gets a jersey) 7. Establish an elementary Open House 8. Implement a Wildcat Time Advisory with: a. Monday Mentoring Day b. Tuesday XELLO/Leadership Notebooks Day c. Wednesday SEL Day d. Thursday Team Day 9. Establish a Teacher Mentoring program for all new teachers (veteran and rookie) 10. Establish a Collaborative Budgeting Process to place educators in charge of their budgets 11. Offer Improvement Plans for educators needing improvement (“Clear is Kind”) |
| Evidence of Implementation | See links in the above narrative. Curricular: a. Aligned Math K-12 for the 2023 school year. i. Researched top curricular programs in 2022. ii. Teachers (ILT) completed Action Research in 2022. iii. ILT presented to the board for adoption in June 2022 iv. Adopted Illustrative Math. v. Dedicated funding for IM training and stipends for four days of training. b. Aligned Science Curriculum 6-12 with Inspire Biology, Chemistry, and MS General Science. i. Hired a science teacher (first time ASD has a science teacher in 8 years). c. Curriculum Maps complete, or being completed. d. Lesson plans posted or being posted. Students: 1. Xello 2. Student-led Conferences |
| Evidence of Impact | In only one year of this “Three-semester Plan”: 1. Increased enrollment from 104 to 119 (even with losses of families) 2. Increased attendance rate from 93.6% to 95.6% (in a month to month comparison of 22/23) 3. ASD NWEA scores increased 4. CMAS scores are the highest in ASD History 5. Aguilar’s DPF and Aguilar Junior/Senior’s SPFs as both OFF the CLOCK for the first time in our modern accountability era (quote from CDE) a. Jr/Sr High moved from Priority Improvement Performance. b. ASD High School accredited “with Distinction” c. AS ES just shy of moving from Turnaround by 1.5 points. Moved form 10 points to 32.5 points in cutoffs. 6. ILT has made huge progress in creating a Strategic Framework, identifying ASD Values, and creating a positive culture through our professional norms. 7. Zero kids ineligible for first time in principal’s memory (4 weeks in a row) 8. Increased communications: a. From 0 comms, to 36 weeks of Friday Memos to the BoE and Staff b. From social media posts announcing snow days or graduation ( few per year) to daily posts, increasing by 152% c. Increased interactions with school media by 133% d. Increased Facebook page visits by 100% e. Increase Facebook reach by 133% f. Now have a presence in the newspapers |