IRVINGTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Curriculum and Instruction: At a Glance

Summer 2015

Dr. Angelica Allen Assistant Superintendent for

Curriculum & Instruction

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SPECIAL SERVICES

We are opening another Autistic class, grades K – 1, at Thurgood Marshall to support our growing number of students who are in need of this program.

2015 – 2016 Sites Number of Classes Grade Levels Services

Augusta Preschool Academy

3 Classes Structured by Intensity of

Services

Thurgood Marshall 4 Grades K – 1 (2)Grades 2 – 3 (1)Grades 4 – 5 (1)

Union Avenue Middle School

1 Grades 6 – 8

We are restructuring all of our special education programs to provide more targeted student-teacher contact time. This will be achieved through the addition of two new programs: In-Class Resource and In-Class Support.

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SPECIAL SERVICESWe successfully provided professional

development for teachers in areas such as: Inclusive Practices That Work Strategies for Multi-Ability Classrooms Teaching Classroom Routines to Create a Clear,

Predictable, and Consistent Classroom Environment Moving Toward Greater Differentiation

Also provided Child Study Team classroom support, Care Plus Mental Health services, and consultation from inclusion and autistic specialists to assist in supporting students in the Least Restrictive Environment.

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SPECIAL SERVICESThe New Jersey Office of Special Education

Programming (NJOSEP) onsite monitoring regarding the Irvington School District’s implementation of all 46 federal and state special education requirements are 100% compliant. This includes: speech procedures, fiscal

disbursement of federal funds, initial referrals, evaluation procedures, I&RS procedures, reevaluations, determination of eligibility, classification, transition services, programming, LRE statement, IEP components, implementation of IEPs.

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SPECIAL SERVICESSpecial Education Medicaid Initiative

(SEMI) Spring Regional Meeting selected Irvington School District as an example of a “Successful School District” as we exceeded our revenue projections and benchmarks by 146%, achieved 92% Positive Parental Consents and 100% RMIT(Random Moments in Time) resulting in additional revenue for the District.The revenue figures are based on a pro-rated

amount. If we exceed it then we receive additional revenue.

Regarding parental consents to claim services for Medicaid, our protocols were so successful that they are being shared across the State.

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ESL & BILINGUALOur English Language Learner (ELL) student population

has almost doubled in the last four years - 519 in June 2011 to 910 in June 2015. We expect this trend to continue in the coming years.

We are expanding the Spanish and Haitian Creole Bilingual Program to Grade 2 at Chancellor and Florence Avenue.

Inclusion of Pre-K ELL students (approximately 250 in total with a language other than English spoken at home) in district is starting in the 15-16 school year.

All teachers and administrators will receive 15 hours of training on Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP) strategies to learn how best to address the educational needs of ELL students.

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ESL & BILINGUAL TRAINING

ELLEVATION Part I

WIDA - ELD Standards In Action: Differentiation Workshop

Training for all District Pre-K Teachers

ELLEVATION Part II

(6) full day training for the Social Studies

Training for K-1 Bilingual (Spanish and Haitian Creole)

NJTESOL/NJBIL 2015 Spring Conference- Building Bridges for Language Learners –

Best Instructional Practices for ELLs

Co-Teaching and Co-Planning For ESL and General Education Teachers: Communication is the Key – Presentation on Co-Teaching Models

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APPLIED TECHNOLOGY 

The Consumer Bowl team is the 2014 – 2015 Essex County and Northern Regional Champions. They placed second in the state tournament after winning the state tournament for the past three years.

22 students out of 35 (63%) passed the Microsoft Word certification exam. Of the 22 students, 8 also passed the

Microsoft PowerPoint certification exam. They all now hold certifications for those

programs that will make them readily employable upon graduation.

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APPLIED TECHNOLOGYLearning.com was used in all elementary

school libraries and middle school computer classes to teach digital literacy. In grades 6 - 8 computer classes, students took the pre- and post-exams with a goal of surpassing a score of 85.

Union Avenue Middle School had 94% (178 out of 189) of students passed with a score of 85 or higher.

University Middle School had 89% (210 out of 236) of students passed with a score of 85 or higher.

As a district 91% of all students in grades 6 – 8 scored 85 or higher.

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MEDIA SERVICESThere were no reported internal technology outages

during PARCC testing.  Our infrastructure as well as the 1,875 Chromebooks that were purchased this year alone met expectations and allowed our students to have a positive testing experience.

The high school and both middle schools have wireless access points in every classroom. This allows up to 50 devices in each classroom to be used simultaneously.  

Technicians completed 3,384 tickets during this school year. This is an increase of 63% compared to the 2,125 tickets from the previous year.

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MATHEMATICS (K-5)Professional Development

Teachers received high quality professional development on PARCC question types with a set of strategies that assisted them in better preparing students for the PARCC assessments. These sessions had a positive impact on instruction in the classroom. More teachers incorporated problem solving strategies that helped students feel at ease when facing Type II and Type III problems, whether during practice or assessment.Teaching to the Rigor of the CCSS in MathematicsModeling in MathematicsPreparing Students for PARCC’s EOY Mathematics Test

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MATHEMATICS (6 -12)District Formative Assessments and Data

The implementation of the twice a month common formative assessments provided timely, actionable, and meaningful data of students’ progress in the standards. During common planning, teachers have adopted a systematic process for using data in order to bring evidence to bear on the instructional decisions and improve their ability to meet students’ learning needs. The data were collected then analyzed for trends necessary to sustain the momentum of improvement in student achievement.

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MATHEMATICS (6 -12)These trends include:

Improvement in students’ conceptual understanding of standards.

Improvement in students’ ability to use prior understanding of concepts to solve word problems.

Improvement in students’ determination to do better on tests.

Quality professional development learning opportunities were provided by Progressive Math Initiative (PMI) and Standard Solutions to teachers on how to sharpen their pedagogical skills and knowledge so that quality instruction was delivered to promote student engagement in all classrooms.

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MATHEMATICS (6-12)Manipulatives were purchased and distributed to

math teachers in grades 6 – 12 to ensure conceptual understanding of applied mathematical concepts while responders were used to monitor student understanding throughout the instructional period.

Mathematics curriculum guides were updated to ensure consistency in terms of what is to be taught, ensure that mathematical practices are embedded in instruction, and to encourage horizontal articulation of content across all similar math classrooms.

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MATHEMATICS (6 -12)District formative assessments were administered

bi-monthly to ensure that students mastered the standards that were taught and provided appropriate intervention to assist students with additional challenges as needed.

Math teachers embraced the use of data (common formative assessments, cycle tests, classwork, projects, and model curriculum unit assessments) to monitor student progress and inform instruction. Adjustments were made to reach every student in math classroom and move him or her forward.

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ATHLETICSWe have an award-winning Health and Physical

Education program in Irvington. The 2015 Let's Move Active Schools National

Recognition Award winning University Middle School program, which is Let's Move's highest honor.

A nominee for State Physical Education Teacher of the Year from Madison Avenue - Ms. Ostoyic. 

Through our continued work with the New Jersey Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (NJAHPERD), we continue to be among the leaders in the State in this content area.  NJAHPERD Executive Director Jackie Malaska said, “No

district has done more work towards the continuous improvement of their program over the past year than Irvington.”

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ATHLETICSIrvington Athletics led the way yet again in 2014-

2015 with the creation of a program saluting township military veterans this year at our home football games.  It was a resounding success and, after being noticed

by visiting schools, the program was unanimously adopted by the entire Super Essex Conference. 

It will be implemented in all conference schools in the 2015-2016 school year.

The Irvington Blue Knights athletic teams experienced many successes including: An undefeated Super Essex Conference Champion

Girls Volleyball team.A Super Essex Conference Championship Football

team.Many State Tournament qualifying teams.

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Visual & Performing Arts

Active Community Involvement - VAPA Performance Contributions in Community Art and Music Events includes the following:-Visual Arts elementary, middle and high school

students participated in the First Annual Fire Safety Art Competition.One high school student will have his artwork

displayed throughout the Irvington Business Community in the fall of 2015-2016.

Our K-12 students participated in the Library Centennial Competition and Art Display in May -June 2015.

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Visual & Performing Arts

In Music K-12, students performed in December 2014 at the Tree Lighting at Civic Square.

In January 2015 at the MLK Community Event and at the Mayor's First Town Hall State of the Township Community Meeting.

High School Students in the Jazz and Symphonic Band Ranked 2nd Place Overall in the State of NJ when they competed in the "Music in the Parks" Music Competition in June 2015.

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LANGUAGE ARTS (K-5)We offered targeted research-based

workshops beyond the school day for the continued implementation of a balanced literary program. On average, 25-40 teachers are signing up

as participants.

Workshops included: Guided Reading and Understanding Cueing

Systems: meaning (semantic), structural (syntactic), and visual (graphophonic).

The Foundational Skills : Phonemic Awareness.

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LANGUAGE ARTS (K-5)Complete implementation of the McGraw

Hill Reading Wonders program in grades K-5.The Reading Wonders program is in its 2nd

completed year of implementation in grades K-2, and its first completed year in grades 3-5.

It has unified the district with a standards-based (CCSS), including phonics-based, reading program.

End of unit assessment scores average 70%, which is the expectation for 1st and 2nd year implementation. Our goal is to reach and exceed 80%.

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LANGUAGE ARTS (K-5)Completion and implementation of the K-

5 Pacing Guide to support the standards-based curriculum guide improved the delivery of instruction.

Scholastic READ 180- Program Managers (2) on board this year to provide daily in-class coaching and support. Monthly schedules provided continuity of support to teachers with feedback reports to supervisors.

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LANGUAGE ARTS (6-12)Successful first year of implementation for our new

instructional program: HMH’s CollectionsExecuted Professional Development Plan

Included:Implementation PlanningAdministrator TrainingInitial Program OverviewBeyond the Basics SessionsDemonstration LessonsParent UniversityProduct CoachingAdvanced Implementation Workshops

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LANGUAGE ARTS (6-12)  PARCC-Readiness Professional Development

Research Simulation Task workshop – December 16 District In-Service

Demonstration lessons during the school day on December 16.

Literary Analysis Task workshops – February 26 and 27 Demonstration lessons during the school day on February 17. Narrative Writing Task after school workshops in January.

  Curriculum New Pacing Guides Enhanced Curriculum Guides (in-progress) New Writing Portfolios System

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WORLD LANGUAGESSuccessful Implementation of Online World

Languages (WL) program during the 14-15 school year at IHS. Out of the 102 students in the program – 81(79%) completed Level I and 8 (8%) completed Level II. Also, 70 (69%) working on Level II.Languages: Arabic, Mandarin, Italian, Japanese,

French and Spanish.

Updating WL Spanish and French Curriculum for elementary, middle school and high school.

WL teachers received training on the new curriculum and on providing students the opportunity to increase oral literacy during classroom instruction.

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WORLD LANGUAGES TRAINING

Rosetta Stone - Implementation and Development of Reports (Part I and II)

Training by Santillana on the use of new Spanish WL book adoption (Part I and II)

Training by Harcourt on the use of new French WL book adoption (Part I and II)

Promoting Oral Literacy in World Language Classrooms

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SCIENCEStudents and Staff

All science staff in grades 3-12 have been PSI trained.

Clifford Smith, grade 8 science teacher at UAMS, named District Teacher of the Year 3 other science teachers nominated. (2 elementary and

1 high school) 4 high school students placed in the Project Seed

poster competition at Seton Hall University for North Jersey. Danielson Joseph was a first place recipient.

Bethany Powell, grade 8 student at UAMS, received the Freddie & Ada Brown Encouragement Award.

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SCIENCEProgramming

All elementary schools received new science materials. Number of students enrolled in physical science courses

(physics and chemistry) rose 48.5% over last year. AP Biology offered for first time. (15 students enrolled) Students 2 Science field trips had a 20% increase in

participation (primarily due to UMS) and added 8 Virtual labs this year, including an additional elementary school

In 2015-2016 the primary focus will be the work of the NGSS Transition Committee as we make preparations for a system change effective September 2016.

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SOCIAL STUDIESLiteracy Infusion - Extensive reading and writing

tasks and projects were infused to the social studies.

One of the major ways the Social Studies Department supports the ELA department is by entering our scholars in essay contests. Both middle schools participated in the 2014-2015 Law

Day Essay, Poetry and Poster Contest; which was sponsored by the Essex County Superior Court, Newark, New Jersey. Two scholars at Union Avenue Middle School were the

recipients of awards. Students and their parents were invited to a Brunch Ceremony on Wednesday, May 27, 2015, at the Historic Courthouse in Newark.

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SOCIAL STUDIES Technology Infusion - At the onset of the 2014-2015 school year,

two teachers (Brett Cannon and Tameriah Townes) were trained extensively on using Chromebooks in Social Studies for engaging students in digital literacy. As a result, the academics of students improved and disruptions reduced dramatically during instructional periods. The Chromebook training was successfully turn-keyed to the remaining Grade 6-12 staff at the October In-Service. This digital training was well-received by the entire department.

Culturally Responsive Classrooms - All grade 6-12 Social Studies teachers received two full days of training on strategies for addressing ESL/ELL students in the content area of Social Studies. The sole purpose of this training was to provide teachers with a toolbox of strategies and resources for embracing diversity, for becoming culturally sensitive, and for making instruction comprehensible for all learners. (Training will be on-going in the 2015-2016 school year.)

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GUIDANCE

YEAR STUDENTS TAKING

THE SATs

INCREASE IN

STUDENTS

2012-2013 103 -

2013-2014 168 65

2014-2015 207 39

3-YEAR GROWTH

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SAT Enrollment: Due to the efforts of the

High School Guidance Team, the number of Irvington High School students who took the SATs continued to rise, as demonstrated in the table.

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GUIDANCE

YEAR HIB REPORTS

REPORTS SUBSTANTIATE

D

2012-2013 122 28

2013-2014 55 17

2014-2015 23 12

3-YEAR DECREASE

99 16

Harassment, Intimidation & Bullying (HIB) Due to increased

professional development and student programs provided by the Anti-Bullying Specialists, we continue to experience a decrease in HIB Reports filed and case that were substantiated, as demonstrated in the table.

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EARLY CHILDHOODEarly Childhood enrolled Augusta Preschool,

Thurgood Marshall and all Provider sites in GROW NJ KIDS. Grow NJ Kids is New Jersey’s new quality rating and improvement system. It is a system designed to create universal standards of quality for all early care and education programs throughout New Jersey. Mt. Vernon will be joining in the 2015 – 2016

school year.Grove Street will be joining in the 2016 – 2017

school year.

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EARLY CHILDHOODEarly Childhood had its first The Week of the

Young Child celebration April 13 - April 17, 2015.

During the week, students were exposed to various themes including: Music Monday, Grab 5 Tuesday, Working Together Wednesday, Artsy Thursday, and Family Friday.

Also during the week there were events for parents including: A Kindergarten Transition Night where 77 parents of

4 year olds attended. A Parent Recognition Dinner was held where 75

parents received plaques or certificates based on their volunteerism in the program.

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EARLY CHILDHOODEarly Childhood offered volunteer professional

development sessions based on teacher surveys, evaluations, and walkthroughs. The professional development sessions included: Introducing other Writing Form through Shared Writing, Shifting Gears: Academic Rigor for Preschool Mathematics, and  Driven to Distraction ~ Helping the Overactive Child Learn.