Elmhurst Community Unit School District 205 Strengthening

© 2015 THE DISTRICT MANAGEMENT COUNCIL

Elmhurst Community Unit School District 205

Strengthening Middle Schools

in the Spirit of Continuous

Improvement M A R C H 2 2 , 2 0 1 6

FOR D IS CUS S ION

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Today we will share the initial findings, address questions, and gather

feedback.

Agenda

Project Overview

Preliminary Highlights for Discussion

Q& A and Feedback

Closing & Next Steps

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Agenda

Project Overview


Q& A and Feedback


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The District Management Council was founded in 2004 to help address the most pressing

and important challenges facing K-12 leaders.

DMC believes that strengthening the management capacity of school district leaders is

essential for raising student achievement, improving operational efficiency, and

allocating resources more effectively.

The District Management Council (DMC)’s mission is to achieve systemic improvement in public education.

DMC’s Mission

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The goal of DMC’s work in this initial phase was to identify strengths and

high-leverage opportunities specific to Elmhurst middle schools.

Goals of Analysis

1. Understand the current staffing, scheduling, course offerings,

and supports for all students, with and without disabilities.

2. Compare current practices with the best practices.

3. Identify current district strengths to build upon.

4. Identify a short, customized list of opportunities for

improvement.

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DMC and Elmhurst have partnered together for a multi-year project to

strengthen middle schools in the spirit of continuous improvement.

Project Timeline

Gain understanding

Develop initial findings

Share initial findings and

gather feedback

Prioritize opportunities

Create plan for implementation

Implement changes over

multi-year period

• Establish

goals

• Focus groups

• Interviews

• Schedule

analysis

• Data gathering

• Analyze

current

practices

• Compare to

best practices

• Meet with

stakeholders-

including the

Middle School

Task Force

and the

School Board

• Gather

feedback

• District to

conduct

parent survey

• Incorporate

feedback

• District to

determine

which

opportunities

are feasible

and will have

the most

impact

• Develop

roadmap for

changes

• Plan for

challenges

• Multi-year

effort to enact

change

• Ongoing effort

to monitor

progress and

collect

feedback

3 year timeframe

Current

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The analysis was conducted using both quantitative and qualitative data

from data collection, interviews, and classroom visits.

Our Methodology

Data

Collection

Interviews

• District/school administrators

• General education staff

• Special education staff

• Intervention staff

• Related Service providers

• Counselors, social workers, and

psychologists

• Parents

DMC

Analysis Classroom Visits

• General education and

accelerated courses

• General education

intervention courses

• Special education courses

Data Collection

• Student achievement data

• Course enrollment and section data

• Staff schedule sharing via

dmPlanning

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Agenda

Project Overview


Q& A and Feedback


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Elmhurst Community Unit School District 205 has many areas of strength

to build on.

Commendations

District teachers and leaders are committed to rigorous academic standards and

promoting high achievement for students.

1

The district is committed to providing ample opportunities for students to explore

diverse interests beyond core academic content areas.

The district has a Reading Strategies course with clear and consistent criteria across

schools.

At a district level, students are identified for special education services in line with state

and national averages.

2

3

4

Across the three middle schools, students have a fairly consistent educational

experience.

5

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Elmhurst is a high performing district that outperforms the state on

standardized assessments, even given new, rigorous PARCC standards.

Percent of Students “Meeting” or “Exceeding Expectations”

(levels 4 and 5)

2015 PARCC Results: Elmhurst grades 6-8

In 2015, Elmhurst middle schools on PARCC significantly outperformed

the state in all grades in both ELA and Math.

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Comparisons to similar high-performing districts indicate an opportunity

to increase the number of students who achieve at the highest levels.

Percent of Students “Meeting” or “Exceeding Expectations”

(levels 4 and 5)

2015 PARCC: Grade 8 ELA 2015 PARCC: Grade 8 Math

In 2015, Elmhurst middle schools had fewer students passing the

PARCC in ELA than 6 out of 7 high-performing comparison districts.

In 2015, Elmhurst middle schools had fewer students passing the

PARCC in Math than 5 out of 7 high-performing comparison districts.

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Similarly, there is an opportunity for Elmhurst middle schools to address

the achievement gap for the lowest performing students.

Percent of Students “Not Meeting Expectations” (level 1)

2015 PARCC: Grade 8 ELA 2015 PARCC: Grade 8 Math

In 2015, Elmhurst middle schools had more students not

meeting expectations on the PARCC in ELA and Math than 6 out

of 7 high-performing comparison districts.

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Currently, there is also a significant achievement gap between students

with and without IEPs across the middle schools.

Percent of Students Meeting District 205 Trajectory

(Fall 2015 MAP)

IEP and Non-IEP Students

The following opportunities focus on ensuring that all students, with and without IEPs, receive

appropriate high quality instruction in order to reach their highest potential.

The achievement gap

ranges from 23% to

46%.

The achievement gap

increases from grades

6 to 8

This holds true when

analyzed for grade-

level cohorts.

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Consider providing coaches to general education teachers to support continued professional development in lesson planning and differentiated instruction.

Consider refining support services to ensure that all students, regardless of IEP status, access support from staff with content expertise in the relevant subject.

Consider creating an intervention/enrichment block in order to provide dedicated time for struggling students to gain grade-level mastery, as well as opportunities for increased enrichment for students on or above grade-level.

Consider providing more social-emotional support to students by better leveraging the district’s existing resources.

The following 4 key preliminary opportunities were identified for Elmhurst

middle schools to raise achievement for all students.

Key Preliminary Opportunities

1

2

3

4

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1

2

3

4

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Because it is customizable, coaching is a highly effective professional

development tool for teachers.

Source: Joyce & Showers, 2002

Coaching Impact on Teacher Practice

Tra

inin

g O

utc

om

es

0

Demonstration PracticeCoachingPresentation/

LectureTotal

Coaching has a

dramatic impact

on teacher

practice

Addition of training components

5%5%

80% 90%

1

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There is an opportunity to consider expanding the coaching currently

provided to teachers to ensure every teacher has access to a coach.

Expanding Coaching 1

Six reading specialists spend, on average, approximately 20% of their time on coaching-

related activities.

This means the district has the equivalent of 1.2 FTE coaches already supporting core

teachers in the middle schools.

• Best practice states that each coach should work with

no more than 20 teachers

• To provide each core content teacher with a coach,

Elmhurst would need to invest in 3.6 additional FTE of

coaching support

Each teacher is

assigned to one

specific coach

Often occurs in

real time in classroom

with students

1:20 coach to teacher

ratio

Directly tied to core

content

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1

2

3

4

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Deep content knowledge by teachers helps students correct

misconceptions and master needed skills.

Instructional Support for Struggling Students

• Review test questions

and show correct

answer

• Provide homework help

• Quiz in preparation for

future tests

• Associate each

incorrect answer with

underlying concept

• Infer

misunderstandings

from incorrect answers

• Teach prior,

fundamental skills

• Teach material using 2

or 3 different

approaches

C-

Generalist

Support

Content Strong

Supportvs.

2

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Currently, nearly every special education teacher is spending time on

every academic subject.

Instructional Topic by Time

Special Education Resource Teachers

2

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Teacher 10

Teacher 9

Teacher 8

Teacher 7

Teacher 6

Teacher 5

Teacher 4

Teacher 3

Teacher 2

Teacher 1

Reading Math Science Social Studies Writing

83%

Non-Academic

Academic

17%

• It is unlikely that any teacher would be a content-strong expert in multiple academic subjects,

particularly at the middle school level

• The district should consider having each teacher specialize in one of the following:

- One academic content area

- Pedagogy

- Social-emotional support

- Case management

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Similarly, special education educational assistants (EAs) are spending

80% of their time with students focusing on academics, across subjects.

Instructional Topic by Time

Special Education Educational Assistants

Academic topic% time

spent

Social Studies 20%

Science 20%

Reading 18%

Unified Arts 17%

Math 14%

Writing 11%

Total academic instruction 100%

• Special education EAs spent 80% of their time on a variety of academic topics, including core

and Unified Arts courses.

• As students progress in middle school, the district should consider how they can best be

supported to gain independence and learn proactive skills on their path to high school and

college.

2

Analysis based on EAs spending students with mild to moderate needs

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• Behavior support

• Supporting inclusion for students

with severe needs

• A wide range of supports for

students with severe needs

• Lunch duty, recess duty, bus duty,

student escort

Consider revising the role of EAs to focus more fully on health, safety,

behavior, or severe needs.

Role of Educational Assistants

Current Responsibilities

• Reading specialists

• Math interventionists

• Classroom teachers

• Special education teachers with

content expertise

2

• Academic support to struggling

students

Consider Shifting the Academic

Support Role to the Following:

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To expand the reach of content-strong experts, the district may consider

investing in additional reading specialists and other interventionists.

Percent of Time Spent with Students

Reading Specialists

• Most reading specialists currently have dual roles supporting both students and teachers.

• On average, each reading specialist spends 40% of their time working on supporting students.

• However, there is variation between reading specialists in how much time they spend on each

aspect of their multi-faceted role

2

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1

2

3

4

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Districts that have closed the achievement gap have embraced the idea

that “learning should be the constant and time the variable.”

Intervention best practices 3

Principals and teachers in the middle schools shared the concern that students

do not currently have dedicated time during the day to receive extra help

• Extra time allows content-strong teachers to work

with students to pre-teach materials, re-teach the

day’s lesson, address missing foundational skills,

and correct misunderstandings that students may

have acquired even years earlier.

• A minimum of 30 minutes of daily intervention is

needed to support struggling students

• Students should receive support from a content-

strong expert in the relevant subject.

• Intervention should be closely connected to

classroom instruction

Best Practice

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An Intervention/Enrichment period could benefit all students, serving

various student needs.

Use of Intervention/Enrichment Block

I/E BlockStudents who struggle

(with and without IEPs)

Students on or above grade level

Student with IEP goals

Student Need

Intervention

(30 minutes with content expert)

• Reading

• Math

• Other subjects

• As-needed support from core teachers

(i.e. clarifying questions, ad hoc help)

• Enrichment opportunities

• Personalized learning (i.e. MOOCs)

• Working on individual goals with special

education teacher

• In addition to the 30 minutes of

academic intervention if needed

I/E Block Use

3

Students with social-emotional

needs

• Meetings with social workers/guidance

counselors

• In addition to the 30 minutes of

academic intervention if needed

Ac

ad

em

icIE

P/

So

cia

l-E

mo

tio

na

l

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There are several ways the district could create time for an intervention/

enrichment period.

Creating an Intervention/ Enrichment Period

• Consider restructuring the student schedule

- Example 1: Move away from a double block of ELA

Students who struggle in ELA would still receive additional time on this topic via the

intervention/ enrichment block

However, this period would be more dynamic, allowing students to get help in other

subjects if needed

- Example 2: Rotate unified arts and foreign language within 1 period

Nationally, most districts dedicate two periods per day to foreign language, unified arts,

and physical education

Elmhurst currently has three periods each day dedicated to these subjects

• Consider leveraging teachers’ support period

- Some teachers are already using this time to work with students

- However, students are not typically available during this time

- Formalizing this period would allow teachers dedicated time to connect with students

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1

2

3

4

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Maximize the time social–emotional support staff spend with students

through clarification of roles and thoughtful scheduling.

Social-Emotional Supports

Social-emotional supports

Social Workers

Guidance Counselors

Psychologists

• The district invests in many social-

emotional support staff

• To maximize the time these staff are

able to spend directly supporting

students,:

- Work to streamline responsibilities

- Find the appropriate balance

between individual and group

support from student support

specialists.

- Consider ways to streamline

paperwork and evaluations

4

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On average, counselors and social workers spend under two days per

week working directly with students.

Percent of Time Spent with Students 4

Includes both counseling/crisis intervention and teaching classes.

34%

10%

34%

41%

42%

49%

50%

51%

0% 100%

Counselor 4

Counselor 5

Counselor 7

Counselor 3

Counselor 6

Counselor 8

Counselor 2

Counselor 1

The amount of time spent working directly with students varies by practitioner

A number of other important responsibilities comprised their time: paperwork,

meetings, parent communication, and collaborating with colleagues

9%

25%

41%

44%

0% 100%

Social Worker 4

Social Worker 3

Social Worker 2

Social Worker 1

Average: 30%Average: 39%

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By examining current responsibilities, and potentially streamlining

paperwork, time with students could be maximized.

Potential for Additional Counseling Services

Current and Possible Services: Counselors and Social Workers

By setting a target of time directly spent with students for counselors and social

workers, the district could increase total FTE dedicated to counseling by 3.5 FTE

within current staffing.

4

Current Possible

Current counselor FTE 8.0 8.0

% time with students 39% 60%

FTE dedicated to counseling 3.1 4.8Current Possible

Current social worker FTE 4.0 4.0

% time with students 30% 75%

FTE dedicated to counseling 1.2 3.0

Total FTE dedicated to counseling 4.3 7.8 Equivalent FTE

dedicated to

counseling

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On average, psychologists spend 9% of the week serving students and

most of their time dedicated to the due process effort, as in many districts.

Percent of Time Spent with Students

Psychologists

4

Current Possible

Current Psychologist FTE 3.0 3.0

Estimated Total Evaluations Per Year 90 90

Estimated Person Days Per Evaluation 5.5 1.5

Additional Counseling Services Possible -- 2.0 FTE

The district could gain an additional 2.0 FTE in counseling services by striving to

more closely manage due process activities.

• Psychologists play an integral role in

the identification and evaluation of

special education students

• Currently, the due process effort

comprises over 50% of their time

• There may be an opportunity to

streamline this process

1%

2%

25%

0% 100%

Psychologist 2

Psychologist 1

Psychologist 3

Average: 9%

Excludes psychologist intern

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Agenda

Project Overview


Q& A and Feedback


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Agenda

Project Overview


Q& A and Feedback


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Our next steps are to continue to gather feedback and then to shift to

prioritizing the opportunities.

Next Steps

Gain understanding

Develop initial findings

Share initial findings and

gather feedback

Prioritize opportunities

Create plan for implementation

Implement changes over

multi-year period

3 year timeframe

Next Steps

• District to conduct parent survey

• DMC to work with the district to incorporate feedback from all stakeholders and

prioritize opportunities

• District to develop detailed plan for implementation over the next several years

© 2013 THE DISTRICT MANAGEMENT COUNCILwww.dmcouncil.org

If you have any comments or questions about

the contents of this document, please contact

Kelly Murphy at The District Management

Council:

• Tel: (877) DMC-3500

• Email: [email protected]

• Web: dmcouncil.org

• Mail: 133 Federal Street, Boston, MA 02110

The District Management Council

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APPENDIX

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DMC has synthesized many years of education research into the best

practices.

Sources & Citations

General:

• “Seeking Effective Policies and Practices for Students with Special Needs.” Rennie Center for Education Research & Policy. Spring

2009.

• Hattie, John. Visible learning: A synthesis of over 800 meta-analyses relating to achievement. Routledge, 2013.

• “Special Education: A Service, Not a Place.” New Jersey School Boards Association. March 11, 2014.

• Eidelman, Hadas, Grindal, Todd, Hehir, Thomas. “Review of Special Education in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.” Report

commissioned by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. April 2012.

Reading:

• A KIDS COUNT Special Report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation. “Early Warning! Why Reading by the End of Third Grade

Matters.” Annie E. Casey Foundation, 2010.

• Armbruster, Bonnie B., Lehr, Fran, Osborn, Jean. “Put Reading First: The Research Building Blocks for Teaching Children to Read:

Kindergarten Through Grade 3.” National Institute for Literacy: The Partnership for Reading, 2001.

• Hernandez, Donald J. "Double Jeopardy: How Third-Grade Reading Skills and Poverty Influence High School Graduation." Annie E.

Casey Foundation (2011).

• “Improving K-5 Literacy Outcomes.” Hanover Research, January 2015.

• Report of the National Reading Panel. “Teaching Children to Read: An Evidence Based Assessment of the Scientific Research

Literature on Reading and Its Implications for Reading Instruction.” National Reading Panel, 2000.

• Shanahan, Timothy, et al. "Improving Reading Comprehension in Kindergarten through 3rd Grade: IES Practice Guide. NCEE 2010-

4038." What Works Clearinghouse (2010).

• Sweet, Anne P., McGuire, C. Kent, Riley, Richard W. Ten Proven Principles of Teaching Reading. National Education Association,

2000.

• What Works Clearinghouse

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practices (continued).

Sources & Citations

Importance of Standards & General Education:

• Courtade, Ginevra, et al. "Seven reasons to promote standards-based instruction for students with severe disabilities: A reply to

Ayres, Lowrey, Douglas, & Sievers (2011)." Education and Training in Autism and Developmental Disabilities (2012): 3-13.

• Reeves, Douglas B. Making standards work: How to implement standards-based assessments in the classroom, school, and district.

Lead+ Learn Press, 2002.

Targeted Interventions:

• Assisting students struggling with reading: Response to intervention and multi-tier intervention in the primary grades. US Department

of Education, National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences, 2009.

• Denton, C. A.; Fletcher, J. M.; Anthony, J. L. and Francis, D. J. “An Evaluation of Intensive Intervention for Students with Persistent

Reading Difficulties.” Journal of Learning Disabilities, 39, 447‐466, 2006.

• DuFour, Richard, DuFour, Rebecca, Robert Eaker, and Gayle Karhanek. Whatever it takes: How professional learning communities

respond when kids don't learn. Bloomington, IN: National Educational Service, 2004.

• Kelly, Corrie. “Reading Intervention Programs: A Comparative Chart.” Reading Rockets, 2001.

• Stiggins, Rick, and Rick DuFour. "Maximizing the power of formative assessments." Phi Delta Kappan 90.9 (2009): 640-644.

Quality of Teachers:

• Darling-Hammond, Linda. "Teacher quality and student achievement."Education policy analysis archives 8 (2000): 1.

• National Council on Teacher Quality, “Teacher Prep Ratings,” 2014.

• Public Impact’s OpportunityCulture.org website

• Rice, Jennifer King. Teacher Quality: Understanding the Effectiveness of Teacher Attributes. Economic Policy Institute, Washington,

DC, 2003.

• Suh, Thomas-Fore. "The National Council on Teacher Quality: Expanding the Teacher Quality Discussion. ERIC Digest." (2002).

• Walsh, Kate, Deborah Glaser, and Danielle Dunne Wilcox. "What education schools aren't teaching about reading and what

Elementary teachers aren't learning." National Council on Teacher Quality (2006).

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practices (continued).

Sources & Citations

Paraprofessionals:

• “A Study of the Use of Paraprofessionals to Deliver Special Education Services in Vermont Schools”, the University of

Massachusetts Donahue Institute (UMDI), March 2015.

• Broer, Stephen M., Doyle, Mary Beth, Halvorsen, Ann T., Giangreco, Michael F. "Alternatives to overreliance on paraprofessionals in

inclusive schools." Journal of Special Education Leadership 17.2 (2004): 82.

• Causton-Theoharis, Julie N. "The golden rule of providing support in inclusive classrooms: Support others as you would wish to be

supported." Teaching Exceptional Children 42.2 (2009): 36-43.

• Giangreco, Michael F., et al. "Be careful what you wish for…”: Five reasons to be concerned about the assignment of individual

paraprofessionals." Teaching Exceptional Children 37.5 (2005): 28-34.

• Giangreco, Michael F., Sean M. Hurley, and Jesse C. Suter. "Special education personnel utilization and general class placement of

students with disabilities: Ranges and ratios." Journal Information 47.1 (2009).

• Giangreco, Michael F., Carter S. Smith, and Elaine Pinckney. "Addressing the paraprofessional dilemma in an inclusive school:A

program description."Research and Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities 31.3 (2006): 215-229.

• Mittnacht, Marcia. “Technical Assistance Advisory SPED 2014-3: Identifying the Need for Paraprofessional Support.” Massachusetts

Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. February, 26, 2015.

• Suter, Jesse C., and Michael F. Giangreco. "Numbers that count: Exploring special education and paraprofessional service delivery

in inclusion-oriented schools." The Journal of Special Education (2008).

Speech and Language:

• American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. "A workload analysis approach for establishing speech-language caseload

standards in the schools: Technical report." (2002).

• American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. "Admission/discharge criteria in speech-language pathology." (2004).

• Guidelines for the roles and responsibilities of the school-based speech-language pathologist. American Speech-Language-Hearing

Association, 2002.

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A number of school systems have implemented these best practices, which has

resulted in improvements in supports for students requiring additional support.

Best Practice Case Studies

School System Type Enrollment % FRPL % IEP Outcomes

Large School System

(Montgomery, MD)156,455 35% 12%

• 29% reduction in 3rd grade reading

achievement gap

Mid-Sized Urban

School System

(Newport News, VA)

29,553 63% 12%

• 8 percentage point increase in math

proficiency in one year; 14 percentage

point increase over 4 years

• 5 percentage point increase in

reading/ELA in one year; 4

percentage point increase over 3

years

Suburban School

System

(Arlington, MA)

5,208 8% 14%

• Reduced the number of struggling

readers in K-5 by 65%

• Decreased the special education

achievement gap at the secondary

level by 66%

Small Suburban

School System

(Simsbury, CT)

4,516 8% 11%

• Shifted paraprofessionals to fund

reading teachers, instructional

coaches, and behaviorists

• Increased the number of students

ending the year on grade level in

reading by 33%

Source: DMC analysis of state assessment and internal school system data

*Note: Students requiring additional support is defined as students with IEPs for mild-to-moderate disabilities and students who struggle academically, however

do not have an IEP.

Documents

Elmhurst Community Unit School District 205 Strengthening