Governor Strickland Outlines His
Long-Awaited Education Reform Plan continued
Submitted By Deb Tully
SDCO Board Member

• The reform plan will be child-centered and will teach to individual student needs.
• The length of the school year will be extended by adding four days every two years until 20 additional days are phased in.
• Within ODE, a Center for Creativity and Innovation will be created to monitor research and results from across the country and across the world to keep Ohio schools and Ohio educators informed of new advances. 
• Standards, curricula and assessments will be revised to incorporate 21st century skills and to potentially reduce the number of indicators at each grade level in the core areas.
• The Ohio Graduation Test will be replaced by multiple performance measures including the ACT, end-of-course exams, service learning projects, and a senior thesis/capstone project.
• Teacher licensure will be changed to include a four-year residency program (which assigns a mentor during this period) prior to a permanent license.
• Lead teachers will mentor new teachers and a career ladder will be established.
• A new program, Teach Ohio, will be the path to licensure for professionals who have the subject knowledge but lack coursework in education methods.
• Administrators will be given the power to dismiss teachers for good cause, the same standard applied to other public employees.
• ODE will conduct fiscal and academic performance audits of all districts.
• Community schoolteachers must meet the same highly qualified definition as other public school teachers.
• ODE will oversee and monitor all community school sponsors.
• All early childhood programs will be under the direction of ODE.
• Districts will be required to report their spending plans before each school year and then account for every dollar at the conclusion of the school year.
• All school districts will receive annual fiscal and operational report cards.
• The plan lowers the local share from 23 to 20 mills.
• Districts will have the option of asking voters to pass a conversion levy, which maintains the existing millage on residential property for a district currently above 20 mills.
• Districts that use a conversion levy, and all districts whose tax structure already allows growth on 20 mills, will see their tax revenues grow with increased property values, helping schools to keep up with inflation.

On Monday, February 2nd, the Governor released his Executive Budget for Fiscal Years 2010 and 2011, which included the education reform plan. The initiatives highlighted above will clearly need much work to ensure that they are rolled out in a thoughtful and strategic manner. All of the details surrounding each one will need to be identified and communicated as effectively as possible. The Governor has promised stakeholder input into the final details much as stakeholders were involved in developing the framework.

In case you missed it, the complete State of the State is available at www.ohiochannel.org.

Return to newsletter

Stimulating the Schools: A Plan for Federal Action continued
By Pedro A. Noguera & Alan M. Blankstein
Pedro A. Noguera is a sociologist and professor of teaching and learning at New York University, in New York City. Alan M. Blankstein is the president and founder of the HOPE Foundation (Harnessing Optimism and Potential through Education), in Bloomington, Ind.

To solve the pressing problems confronting our economy and schools, national leadership by the Obama administration and the teachers' unions will be needed. We have to move the conversation about teacher quality beyond a narrow debate over merit pay and job protection, to one focused more broadly on how to ensure that teachers receive adequate support and training to meet the academic needs of their students, and to ascertain their effectiveness in the classroom.

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan may soon have $5 billion at his discretion that could go a long way toward making research-based strategies available to underperforming schools and students who desperately need help. The bill also provides $200 million in funding for districts that want to reward educators for outstanding performance or for taking on additional responsibilities and leadership roles. A portion of the stimulus focuses on training and recruiting outstanding teachers for classrooms that need them most. Too often, the least-experienced teachers have been sent; why not send the best teachers to schools that are struggling?

There is another $100 million allocated to address teacher shortages and modernize the teaching workforce. This money could be used to provide training for new teachers to help them improve overall student achievement. These funds should be directed toward enhancing professional-development activities for new teachers, strengthening teacher recruitment and training efforts, and improving the preparation of general education teacher-candidates so they could more effectively teach students with disabilities. In addition to these critical efforts, we need extended site-based mentorship during the first two to three years of service to help increase the likelihood of success and retention for these teachers.

We know that America's school systems need more than just money to fix the many problems they face, and that increased funding alone will not produce better results. New approaches to educating children and managing schools and districts are required to bring about the kinds of changes we wish to see. Policies and systems must be in place to promote best practices in teaching, reward high performers, and provide opportunities for feedback and development for those in need of improvement. We also must ensure that like the countries to which we typically compare ourselves, we provide high-quality early-childhood education, health care, and extended learning opportunities to all children in need. The United States will not be a leader in the 21st century if we continue to ignore the basic needs of vast numbers of children.

Finally, while teacher quality is crucial, sustainable school improvement can only be achieved if there is leadership development on a district wide basis. We need a new generation of leaders who possess the skills required to engage in "positive deviance"--employing the tactics essential to achieve success within an otherwise failing or mediocre system.

The views expressed here echo sentiments expressed last week at a high-level forum sponsored by the HOPE Foundation. Participants included two former governors, policymakers, and top education leaders. Although those attending came from different backgrounds with opposing perspectives, and from both sides of the aisle, we were able to put aside political differences to focus on the future of this country's young people. We worked hard to identify what we agreed were the six most important education policy actions facing President Obama and members of Congress today. If we can achieve broad consensus on these important issues, our nation’s policymakers can and must collaborate as well

Strong leadership by President Obama and Secretary Duncan will be needed if we expect to see superior academic outcomes and greater accountability for the dollars to be invested. The federal government must send a clear message to the states that failure is not an option. Our children deserve that, and our future as a nation depends upon it.

Return to newsletter

Master Teacher News continued
By Julia L. Simmerer
Director, Office of Educator Standards, Center for the Teaching Profession,
Ohio Department of Education
 
The program is currently in its first year of implementation.  It provides teachers with the opportunity to reflect upon their practice based on Standards for Ohio Educators.  Support materials have been created and are posted on the ODE website along with the forms, www.ode.state.oh.us, and key word search: Master Teacher.

The program has 5 criteria that the teacher candidate provides up to a 12 page written narrative and 10 pieces of supporting evidence for, which include:  Consistent Leadership, Focused Collaboration, Distinguished teaching--focus on students and environment, Distinguished teaching--focus on content and assessment and continued professional development.  This program provides educators the opportunity to reflect upon their practice to the established Standards for Ohio Educators.  As an educator moves through this self-reflective process they are able to showcase their areas of strengths and student successes through the narrative and evidence submitted.

The portfolio is scored by a local committee to a consistent scoring guide that is standards based.  The local committee is to have a majority of teachers and then eventually the teachers should be designated Master Teachers.

The Educator Standards Board has been collecting Best Practices and general survey information that will be posted on the Master Teacher website.

Return to newsletter

Implementing and Documenting Professional Learning Teams at Pickerington High School Central continued
By Scott Reeves & Janie Sheraw

They then met with over forty staff members, who volunteered to be a part of the pilot program, explaining the process and answering questions.  Teams were randomly assigned with the goal of focusing on one specific problem area per group and developing strategies for addressing it.  Teams discussed methods for documenting evidence both prior to addressing the target area and following.  Benchmarks were developed collaboratively by team members to demonstrate progress in student learning that occurred. 

Formative and anecdotal  assessments helped staff members determine the next steps  toward meeting their goals. Collecting and documenting  evidence of student learning and strategies implemented  allowed to PLT members to assess progress and/or change strategies as needed.  Some of the PLTs were able to accomplish more than others in this respect. At the end of the school year, educators came together to evaluate the effectiveness of their PLTs and suggest improvements for the next school year.

Based on those recommendations, at the beginning of the 2008-2009 school year educators formed eight PLTs formulated on areas of interest and content areas.  Participants were able to immediately identify targeted areas of concern and develop strategies to address the problems. Individually collecting student data and then meeting biweekly to evaluate progress has enabled PLT members to stay focused and collaboratively develop protocols for all to implement.  Comparing results, networking within each team and incorporating SMART (smart, measurable, attainable, results driven and time bound) goals has increased both enthusiasm and documentation affirming that improvement in student learning is occurring. 

Sharing goals, assessing and documenting student understanding and learning and improving teaching practices is allowing educators at Pickerington High School Central to have a positive impact on students, staff and school culture as a whole.

Return to newsletter

Connections to School Improvement Through the Work of PLCs continued
By Shelly Dason

Elementary principal, Gray (n.d.) stated during a principal roundtable discussion, "It is critical to have more people involved than the principal; people that will look at, watch and make decisions in the interest of kids." During the research phase, the elementary's leadership team assessed the building's present levels of performance. Data was assessed from a variety of sources and tools including: (a) Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS), (b) progress monitoring for Response to Intervention (RTI), (c) math short cycle assessments, (d) Study Island data in reading and math, (e) student data folders / Individual Learning Plans (ILPs) goals tracked in reading and math, (f) Ohio Achievement Tests (OAT), (g) Data Driven Decisions for Academic Achievement (D3A2) tool for data, (h) Measure Up tool for subgroup data, and  (i) Value Added tool for individual student data. The data gathered gave the leadership team a baseline for academic improvement.

During this meeting, the term action research was defined. Mills (as cited by Goldys, Kruft, & Subrizi, 2007), defined action research with the following statement:
What is action research? Any systematic inquiry conducted by teacher researchers, principals, school counselors, or stakeholders in the teaching/learning environment to gather information about how their particular schools operate, how they teach, and how well their students learn. Information gathered with goals of gaining insight, developing reflective practice, effecting positive changes in the school environment, and improving student outcomes and lives of those involved. (p. 60)

Calhoun defined action research in the March 2002 edition of Educational Leadership, with the following definition, "Action research is the avenue for creating professional learning communities whose members engage in problem solving and for attaining individual and collective goals" (p. 18). She added to the definition with, "The development of inquiry communities is what distinguishes action research from school improvement approaches whose focus is on initiatives such as a new curriculum or program" (p 20). According to Gordon (2006), as defined in the spring edition of Education Considerations:
Action research allows the school to set its own improvement goals and design its own improvement plan based in identified needs. School improvement and school wide action research merge when administrators and teachers agree upon a focus for school improvement, gather data on the focus area, set database school improvement goals, develop a collaborative action plan for meeting those goals, and gather evaluation data in order to measure progress and revise the action plan. (p. 17)

With a better understanding of action research, the elementary buildng's leadership team was ready to conduct action research by identifying a problem in reading and math that impacted student achievement.  Key questions suggested by McTighe and Emberger were posed to facilitate the discussion: (a) What does the data reveal? (b) What data trends are apparent? (c) Do any anomalies present themselves? (d) Is the data consistent from various sources? (e) Are these the expected targeted results? (f) What action steps should be taken? And, (g) what data reflection questions can be posed? (as cited by Goldys, Kruft, & Subrizi, 2007)
The leadership team decided that the data revealed a disconnect in student learning on language arts extended response answers across the curriculum. The math data showed a lack of understanding and memorization of math facts from simple addition and subtraction in kindergarten to multiplication and division facts in fifth grade. The data trends were evident across the grade levels in both reading and math. The team had a hard time with looking at the data to see anomalies, however they decided this was where the value added piece to the data picture fit in.  The students in the upper quadrant of scores on OAT tests were not necessarily our identified gifted students. With this information, the team realized that the gifted students, even though performing well, were not showing adequately yearly growth expected. After viewing various data sources including D3A2, OATs, Valued Added, Measure Up and in house diagnostics, the team verified the consistency and validity of the collected data. The fourth grade reading and math data did not meet the value added target. The fifth grade reading and math data did not hit the expected achievement goals.  Reflection on the data occurred and new goals were set.

Other conditions for assessment literacy are the expectations of data utilization, analysis, and implementation for improved student learning at both the classroom and building levels. Often we hear about what students should know and be able to do.  This is also true at the teacher and administrator levels.  Teachers and administrators should know or be able to work with data for improved student learning.  As discussed by Marzano, Waters, and McNulty in the book, School Leadership That Works (2005), schools work hard, but not smart in making a difference in student achievement. The leadership team decided to work smarter by doing the right work. The team set a building reading goal and math goal, which are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time bound  (S.M.A.R.T.) for the 2008-2009 school year (see Figure 1). The grade level PLC teams received year-end data, as well as baseline testing with the new school year's group of students. The grade level teams then set one goal in reading and one goal in math.  The classroom teachers looked at the testing data at the beginning of the school year with their particular group of students and set one classroom goal in reading and one goal in math. The teachers also helped individual students set one goal in each subject based on their own level of performance.  The students are tracking their own progress with charts and graphs through data folders known as Individual Learning Plans (ILPs). Teachers will track progress with data through classroom data centers known as dashboards.  Grade level teachers will share progress in PLC meetings for discussions on interventions and strategies. The PLC chairs will then meet monthly with the building leadership team to see if we are on track with building goals.

As the teams set out to work smarter versus harder, they realized that there were many holes and questions in determining what a 4-point extended response looked like at each grade level.  Also in question, was the level of math fact memorization expectation at each grade level.  In other words, the benchmarks needed clarification and refining.  A recent article, from the December 2008 issue of the Educational Leadership magazine is an example of what our leadership team was faced with. Barton and Coley's article amplified the problem of looking at data in isolation or chunks, versus seeing the whole data picture:

It's an old story.  A group of blind people wants to know what an elephants looks like.  One feels the elephant's trunk, another a leg, and another the tail.  The first concludes that the elephant is like a snake, the second like a tree, and the third like a rope.  It's impossible to get an accurate image of the whole elephant by examining only a few of its parts. This story illustrates the problem of getting a fix on student achievement.  Like the elephant, the subject of student achievement is big.  A few pieces of data can give an incomplete picture--or worse, a misleading one. (p. 30)

The leadership team members met and put the isolated chunks of data together in order to examine the holes at each grade level.  The team came to a very important conclusion.  They realized that the holes were learner-centered problems, not that the problems were the learners themselves! (Boudett, City &  Murnane, 2008)  With this in mind, the team focused on the building blocks of learning expectations at each grade level.  The building blocks defined the benchmark expectation in reading/language arts (see Figure 2), and in math (see Figure 3).  The grade level professional learning communities (PLCs), will take the next steps of developing rubrics based on the leadership team findings of benchmark expectations.
During the evaluation phase of the R.I.S.E.R. model, the leadership team will study results over time, evaluate the improvement plan results and reflect on the data gathered from the plan. This step is crucial for overall school continuous improvement. This evaluation phase actually closes the circle of the whole process and begins the research phase at the beginning of the process for a continued plan of action impacting student learning.  Visit http://xserve.pleasant.k12.oh.us/staff/plc/Professioanl_Learning _Communities/PLC.html  to learn more about the PLCs  Action Research Plan for Pleasant Elementary.

Figure 1
GRADE LEVEL SMART GOALS FOR PLEASANT ELEMENTARY 2008-2009

Figure 2
BUILDING BLOCKS CRITERIA FOR A 4 POINT EXTENDED RESPONSE!

KINDERGARTEN
(Q-TIPS)
Q= "CUED" from a picture.
T= Sentence stays on TOPIC and makes sense.
I= INCLUDES a capital letter at the beginning of the sentence.
P= Sentence has PROPER PUNCTUATION.
S= SPACES between words in the sentence.

1st GRADE
(Q-TIPS)
Q= "CUED" from picture retelling cards.
T= Sentences stay on TOPIC and make sense.
I= INCLUDES correct high frequency words and other phonetic attempts.
P= Sentences have capital letters and PUNCTUATION.
S= SIMPLE SENTENCES in list or paragraph form.

2nd GRADE
(Q-TIPS)
Q= Restating the QUESTION in the opening sentence.
T= Sentences stay on TOPIC.
I= Sentences INCLUDE 3 details from the text or picture cues.
P= Sentences have capital letters and PUNCTUATION.
S- Close the written response with a SUMMARY sentences

3rd GRADE
(Q-TIPS)
Q= Restating the QUESTION in the opening sentence.
T= Sentences stay on TOPIC.
I= Sentences INCLUDE 3 details from the text.
P= Sentences have capital letters and PUNCTUATION.
S- Close the written response with a SUMMARY sentence.

4th GRADE
(Q-TIPS)
Q= Restating the QUESTION in the opening sentence.
T= Sentences stay on TOPIC.
I= Sentences INCLUDE 3 details from the text with proper sentence structure.
P= Make a PERSONAL connection and….
S- Close the written response with a SUMMARY sentence.

5th GRADE
(Q-TIPS)
Q= Restating the QUESTION in the opening sentence.
T= Sentences stay on TOPIC.
I= Sentences INCLUDE 3 details from the text with proper sentence structure.
P= Make a PERSONAL connection and...
S- Uses evidence from the text to draw conclusion for a SUMMARY.

Figure 3
THE BUILDING BLOCKS FOR MATH FACTS MASTERY
K-5TH GRADE

KINDERGARTEN
Counting to 100
Simple addition and subtraction facts with manipulative.

1st GRADE
Simple addition and subtraction facts with manipulatives. (First semester)
Simple addition and subtraction facts without manipulatives. (Second semester)

2nd GRADE
Addition facts mastery. (First semester)
Subtraction facts mastery. (Second semester)

3rd GRADE
Addition and subtraction facts mastery. (First semester)
Multiplication facts introduced and tracked. (Second semester)

4th GRADE
Addition and subtraction facts mastery. (Reviewed and tracked first semester)
Multiplication facts mastery (tracked throughout the school year.)
Division facts introduced and tracked. (Second semester)

5th GRADE
Multiplication facts mastery (first semester).
Division facts mastery (second semester).

References
Barton, P. & Coley, R. (2008, December). Measuring the achievement elephant. Educational Leadership,66(4), 30-34.

Boudett, K. P., City, E. A., & Murnane, R. J. (Eds.). (2008). Data wise: A step-by-step guide to using assessment results to improve teaching and learning. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press.

Calhoun, E. (2002, March). Action research for school. Educational Leadership 59(6) 18-24. Retrieved on November 29, 2008 from:  http://www.sailforeducation.org/leadershipacademy /index.cfm?event=login

Goldys, P., Kruft, C., & Subrizi, P. (2007, March/April). Action research: Do it yourself! Principal, 86(4) 60-63: NAESP. Retrieved November 29, 2008   from  http://www.sailforeducation.org/leadershipacademy/index.cfm?event=login

Gordon, S., Stiegelbauer,S. & Diehl, J. (2006, Spring). Year one of school improvement: Examples from nine schools. Educational Considerations, 33(2) 17-29.  Retrieved on November 29, 2008 from: http://www.sailforeducation.org/leadershipac ademy/index.cfm?event=login

Gray, J. (n.d.). Managerial leadership: Principal panel.  Retrieved November 27, 2008, from  http://programs.educationalimpact.com/topics/index.cfm?ses =400975&& videoNum    =1&CFID=33947&CFTOKEN=75319452

Marzano, R.J., Waters, T., & McNulty, B.A. (2005). School leadership that works: From research to results. Alexandria: ASCD.

Return to newsletter

Book Review: Tools for Promoting Active, In-Depth Learning continued
By Jennifer Webb

This book provides a variety of lessons that are designed for students to embrace their understanding of each concept that is introduced. I particularly utilized the Association Organizers and Four Thought Organizers to aid in student comprehension for Accelerated Reader books.

You could almost see in an idiomatic sense "a light bulb going off in their head." Students could really absorb the information that was presented to them and were given the strategies and tools they need to be able to build upon prior knowledge. This book is also well equipped with lessons that fulfill the needs of each child's learning style, whether it's interpersonal, self-expressive, understanding or mastery. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this teaching tool and look forward to building my repertoire of lessons in the future.

Return to newsletter

Teaching & Learning Center

www.k12tlc.net
Great Quality! Great Value!

Subscriptions Are Only $117/school/year or less!

Creative Resources for Your Schools, Teachers, Students, Families and Communities!

• We organize the Internet for you into guides for over 1,000 instructional topics.
• The perfect place to gather background information for new lesson plans and units.
• In-depth resources for multicultural instruction, cultural diversity and minority studies.
• Comprehensive guides for all countries of the world, all 50 states plus D.C. and Puerto Rico
• Extensive resources for scientists, mathematicians, inventors and inventions.
• An exhaustive resource library for authors and illustrators at all levels.
• On-line world almanac for every day of the school year, every state, 10 different subject areas.
• A calendar of world holidays, anniversaries and special events for every school day.
• E-mail lists to keep you current and informed on over 100 different instructional topics.
• Five news articles each day that bring current events into your classroom.
• Daily activities to develop student research skills and enrich their cultural literacy.
• Much, much more!
  

It Only Takes a Minute to Subscribe Online at

http://www.k12tlc.net/join/oh/sdco.htm

GET A FREE DAY PASS
at our Front Page

Return to newsletter