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PLAN:

Pre Study: A study of the buildings current reality


What needs to be improved and what specific outcome(s) need to occur?
ACT scores at Anywhere High School (AHS) are below average compared to other
schools in the state of Iowa. Bringing the scores to a higher level would indicate that
higher level learning is taking place in the school and students would be better prepared
for post-secondary opportunities.

What about our current reality make these outcomes a priority?


The amount of students who arent meeting the college readiness scores in the ACT
suggest that AHS is not graduating students with the skills they need to be on an even
playing field once they leave our building. In addition, the discrepancy in how non-white
students are doing versus their white counterparts makes this a priority. With the AHS
population being 38.23% white, this discrepancy is even more alarming.

Who are the direct customer(s) these improved outcomes will benefit?
This change should benefit all AHS students but there will be a special focus on students
classified as non-white.

Plan: Identify the Gap and Approach


Purpose:
Reading scores at AHS need to improve so our students are ready for and able to succeed
at a post-secondary institution. Currently 21% of students at AHS are currently meeting
the ACT reading college readiness benchmark score of 22. Of which, 48% of students
identified as white are proficient. All other races are below 24% with the lowest race
group, two or more races, at 0% proficient. This gap is concerning both on a school level
as well as a racial level.
Long Range Strategic Plan System Aligned Goal: In three years, 48% of all students
will meet the college readiness benchmark score on the ACT in the reading portion of the
test. This will be done by having more culturally proficient classrooms and adjusting our
curriculum to give students post-secondary skills.

1st Year Building Smart Goal: AHS will teach a more culturally appropriate material
with focus on English and Language Arts classes as well as have specific emphasis on
ACT power skills. Through more appropriate material and more focused teaching
methods, AHS will raise the percentage of all students who met the college readiness
benchmark score in reading from 21% to 30%.
What work has been accomplished already to meet this long-term goal?
Currently work has started by looking at the current curriculum and what skills have been
focused on by teachers. This has included switching novels that are taught in class to
include a more diverse selection of readings. Certain novels that have been written by
African-American and Latino writers have been brought in to meet the diverse
backgrounds of our learners.
What is insufficient with the current status or system?
The ACT Reading scores have declined by 8% in the past 5 years. Last year, was the first
year it was higher than the year before, going from 18% to 21% proficient. In 2011, AHS
had 29% of students proficient in Reading. Compared to the state AHS is 34% behind the
state average.
State the strategies that will be implemented to improve the gap(s):
The three following strategies will be implemented in the classroom and the effectiveness
will be researched during the first year.

Literary Circle Model


Heterogeneous Model
Intentional Questions focused on Power Skills of the ACT.

Outside of the classroom we will rely on PLCs, curriculum development with a focus on
ACT Power Standards, and taking opportunities to collaborate with peers.

Data:
Table 1: Five Year TrendsAverage ACT Scores (composite)
Year

School

State

2011

17.5

22.3

2012

17.0

22.1

2013

16.5

22.1

2014

16.6

22.0

2015

17.0

22.2

Table 2: Five Year TrendsPercent of Students Who Met College Readiness Benchmarks
Year

English
School State

Math
School

State

Reading
School State

Science
School State

Met all four


School State

2011

37

77

17

52

29

62

12

40

31

2012

34

77

15

51

26

62

13

38

30

2013

28

76

13

50

22

54

14

32

2014

31

75

48

18

52

10

47

31

2015

28

75

10

48

21

55

14

48

33

46

Table 3: Percent of Students Who Met ACT College Readiness Benchmark Scores by Race/Ethnicity
Student
Group

English

Mathematics

Reading

Science

Composite

All Students

28

10

21

14

Black/Afric
an
American

18

18

White

56

27

48

40

23

Hispanic/La
tino

26

24

12

Asian

33

17

17

Two or
more Races

50

25

Plan: Identify Measures


for Plan Effectiveness
Measure(s) the team will

Measure(s) the team will use Measure(s) the team will

use to determine if the


strategy was
implemented/completed
Measure

to determine if the strategy


was implemented with
fidelity.
Measure

Reported

Observations
and
Walkthroughs

Monthly

Data Teams
Information

Every
three
weeks

Alignment
with
curriculum
with ACT
Power Skills

Monthly

Reported

Cultural
Proficiency
in classroom
materials

Monthly

PLCs
including
data teams
and CFAs

Every
other day

Professional Monthly
Development
opportunities
focused on
ACT Power
Skills and
Data.

use to determine if the


overall goal was met
(impact).
Measure

Reported

Benchmark
Scores

Every 6
Weeks

CFAs &
Lexile
Scores/Gains
Interim
Exam

Every
nine
weeks

Staff Survey

Every 9
weeks

DO:
Do: 45 Day Action
Plan
Steps- What steps
will team take?

Measure/Indicator- What data


will be collected?

End DatePerson(s)
When will work Responsible
be completed?

Cultural Proficiency Walkthrough Data and


Evidence Pieces

After six weeks


of school

Administrator
and department
chair

PLCs

After nine

Administrator

CFA Scores, Lexile Scores,

Professional
Development

and Gains Interim Exam

weeks of school

Professional development
opportunities will be set up for
the first nine weeks. The staff
survey during the end of the
nine weeks will give the
opportunity for feedback to
adjust the professional
development as needed.

After nine
Administrator
weeks of school and department
chair

STUDY:
Study Process
The Administrator overseeing the English department will analyze the multiple data
points given to them by the staff. The measures of data that will be focused on would be
the CFAs, Lexile Scores and Gains Interim Exam. These data points would be analyzed
and then shared with the building staff. If students scores are growing on these
assessments, it would lead us to believe that the ACT Reading scores will improve. PLCs
would be expected to take their data points and to learn from the members of the PLC. It
is the hope that these discussions can rely on each members skills to help everyone
improve on their These discussions and the results of the first 45 days will lead to the next
45 day action plan. This plan would include improvements involving cultural proficiency,
the PLC process and professional development.

Study: Analysis of data after


implementation
What data gives evidence to progress of
plan effectiveness?

What data gives evidence to lack of


progress of plan effectiveness?

Does the growth of data points point


back to having a more cultural and power
skill proficient curriculum?
If there is growth Lexile Scores and
Gains Interim Exam information suggesting
that we need to change the curriculum at a
younger grade level?

Is PD ineffective?
Is the staff on board with this change in
curriculum, if not will the change last?
Do classroom and district assessments
mirror the skills that are needed to succeed
on the ACT?

ACT:
Act: Revise or
continue with
implementation
based on data
analysis (45 day
action plan #2)
Steps- What steps
will team take?

Measure/Indicator- What data


will be collected?

End DatePerson(s)
When will work Responsible
be completed?

Cultural Proficiency

Walkthrough Data and


evidence pieces. Will
compare to similar schools in
the district.

After 15 weeks
of school

Administrator
and department
chair

PLCs

CFA Scores, Lexile Scores,


and Gains Interim Exam

After 18 weeks
of school

Administrator
and District
Administrator

Professional
Development

Professional development
focused more on the needs of
the system that werent met
after nine weeks.

After 18 weeks
of school

Administrator
and department
chair

Strategic School Improvement Plan


Anywhere Public Schools exists to give students the skills and abilities to be successful at
the next stage of their lives. With this purpose and vision in mind, the ACT is a test that can open
doors to students at different institutions. The ACT can also indicate to school districts how they
are currently fare when preparing their students for post-secondary opportunities. This point is
what I focused on, when creating a system could improve the abilities and opportunities of
Anywhere High School students. Anywhere High School (AHS) has multiple skills that could be
improved upon on the ACT and I focused on their reading scores. Reading is one of the most
transferable skills to the workforce and is imperative to post-secondary success. This plan was
created through the PDSA method and strives to promote the success of all students through
collaboration and cultural proficiency.
Reading scores at AHS need to improve so our students are ready for and able to succeed
at a post-secondary institution. Currently 21% of students at AHS are meeting the ACT Reading
Benchmark score of 22. Of those 21%, 48% of students identified as white or Caucasian. All
other races are below 24% with the lowest race group, two or more races at 0% proficient. Due
to this discrepancy it is obvious that there is an opportunity for improvement. The inconsistency
in how non-white students are doing versus their white counterparts becomes a priority when you
consider AHSs demographics. With the AHS population being 38.23% white, over 61% of our
students have the odds stacked against them to not meet the college benchmark for reading.
Based on the population the school serves it needs to be examined how this trend can change.
The two main areas of emphasis for this improvement plan will focus on cultural proficiency and
ACT power skills.

Cultural proficiency will be focused on first because we believe that this is a small
change that holds a lot of leverage. The current curriculum is geared towards white students and
because of that many of the narratives are written by white writers. We believe this is partially
the reason why 48% of our white students are scoring at or above the college benchmark score
for reading. Secondly, with 61% of our student population racially classified as a minority, we
should provide narratives that relate to those students background. In addition to creating a more
culturally proficiency curriculum, this will also give all of our students a more well-rounded
world view when they graduate.
As for ACT power skills, this change will rely on every teacher in the building to look at
how they conduct instruction in their classroom. It has been researched by the Administration
that teachers are asking questions that are broader than the detailed questions students need to be
able to answer to be successful at a post-secondary institution. Our curriculum needs to be driven
towards a focus on comprehension and literacy devices. This will be a change from our current
practice, which is focused on main idea vs. supporting details in many readings. These changes
may come abruptly but we will examine the ways we are teaching these skills to students in
order to make a greater impact on student achievement. To ease the discomfort of rapid change
we will have checkpoints every nine weeks to see how students are improving in reading, and to
give the opportunity of staff feedback. Both of these feedback points will drive our decisions for
what path we continue to follow.
In our first year implementation of this program, the goal will be to grow the number of
all students who meet the college benchmark in reading on the ACT by 9%. The long range
strategic plan is to have all students achieving at the level that currently white students sit at,
48%. Considering AHSs trends compared to other schools in the state this is an achievable and

manageable goal. Discussions have already began to take place to discuss what types of changes
can be made in instruction to better align our classrooms with ACT power skills. In addition, the
English department has worked to change a few of the novels that are taught in class to
selections that meet our culturally diverse needs. Once this system is put into motion we will rely
on PLCs and professional development to make sure all facets of the system are moving along
towards to projected outcome.
In the classroom, strategies have been devised on how to bring up the reading levels of all
students. Two of the strategies are student led, the literacy circle, and heterogeneous model. The
literacy circle requires students to read aloud to peers based on their comfort level and ability.
Students in this model are grouped by ability. Thus students who are more comfortable reading
aloud dont overwhelm and not give chances to students who may not share the same level of
comfort. The second student led strategy is the heterogeneous model. This model groups students
into groups with multiple levels forcing there to be communication with all types of learners. In
this model, the star students are going to be the mid-level students who will connect ideas shared
by both the lower and higher level students. The last in-class strategy is going to be teacher
directed and it is intentional questions focused on ACT power skills. These questions are going
to ask students to identify literary devices or comprehend the text rather than ask for
generalizations such as the main idea. These classroom strategy changes will be the start to
changing our curriculum and producing more college prepared readers.
We will execute our plan with emphasis on cultural proficiency, work in PLCs and data
teams, and meaningful professional development opportunities. Teachers will receive feedback
mainly through their administrator and department chair. There will be an open line of
communication for teachers as the Administrator over each department will be expected to sit in

on one PLC a week. In addition, the Administrator will be expected to give teachers timely
feedback in regards to cultural proficiency in each teachers classroom. On the staff side of this
system, they will be expected to give meaningful feedback about professional development and
to share their students CFA, Lexile Scores, and Gains Interim exam scores with the
Administration in a timely manner. This relationship should create meaningful data points that
allow us to see how valuable the current system is.
Once all of the data points have been entered, presumably after nine weeks of the school
year. The administration must study the data points to see if the system is effective. The main
evidence that will be looked at is the growth of students in the multiple data points. It need to be
seen how many data points exhibited signs of growth and how many exhibited signs of decay.
Based on those results it would be expected that tough questions are asked that get to the solution
of how to fix these problems. I expect if there are problems they will come from professional
development, trying to do too much too quick, or breakdowns in communication. These data
points will need to be studied and small changes with the highest positive leverage should be
made.
As this system moves along into the act stage, I expect that the changes that need to be
made will be most focused on professional development. Each staff is going to find an area that
they need to spend extra time on to master those skills. In terms of the CFAs I would expect that
they would become more common and maybe compared between schools rather than classrooms
within one school. The hope would be that these assessments could show the growth of AHS
compared to other schools with a similar population. At that point we would get another data
point that could give us our first idea of if this system has some merit. Ultimately this system
builds up to the spring of students junior year as they take the ACT in Anywhere Public

Schools. Obviously, students can take the ACT more times, with their own money but the test
during students junior year is the data that is most important and relevant to our school. That test
speaks volumes about the type of education offered at Anywhere High School compared to that
at other school around the state and nation. I believe that the system that has been presented will
allow Anywhere High School to beam with pride due to the growth they have made in reading
levels. Through collaboration and cultural proficiency AHS can provide students the skills they
need to be successful at the next stage of their lives.

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