Testing Days: Many instructional hours are lost administering individual reading assessments during school hours. Individualized testing is vital to providing a world-ready, tailored instruction to our students. The proposed calendar builds in the necessary assessment time to recover our instructional hours for individual testing only. It also provides the necessary Professional Learning Community (PLC) time. Two weeks instructional time gained: Individual testing per student: 40 min (DIBELS - 10 min, Reading assessment - 3 times per year. Per class of 25: Testing takes 3,000 minutes = 50 hours = 7.3 days Currently, elementary teachers will need to build in 8-10 days of testing for each of the three testing cycles; that equates to 24-30 days of testing during time” throughout the year. “instructional With the proposed changes, 5 days are built in as literacy assessment days through the three testing cycles. We may need to add in 1-2 days in addition to each testing cycle. That equates to 8-10 days of testing; however only 3-5 days throughout the year are during time.” “instructional Quality instruction is diminished when teachers are testing one for 8-10 days while maintaining control over the rest of the class. Quality instruction does occur when teachers are allowed individualized, one-on-one testing opportunities with every student to provide quality, customized instruction. Data Analysis Days: Data Analysis time to evaluate data and plan / organize / implement appropriate instruction for every individual student. Professional Development: Current calendar does not provide teachers with the time or opportunity to maintain professional learning needs; it is left to the individual teacher to pursue training on their own personal/family time. Teachers attend professional development to obtain research-based training to stay current on our students’ present-day, world-ready needs. For example, teachers attend nationally acclaimed trainings in teaching and learning methods for Mathematics, Literacy, and Critical Thinking incorporating Science, Engineering, and the Fine Arts. PLC: Professional Learning Community is a systematic approach where teams of teachers utilize data to collaborate and plan targeted instruction to meet the needs of individual students. This requires time and communication. Middle School Professional Development Days: The middle school level cannot support the late start structure due to supervision, transportation and staffing concerns. However, we do have an internal structure to support periodic Professional Learning Communities. It is a priority for the majority of the Middle School teachers to continue to receive Professional Development Days in order to participate in trainings throughout the year. The content of
Testing Days: Many instructional hours are lost administering individual reading assessments during school hours. Individualized testing is vital to providing a world-ready, tailored instruction to our students. The proposed calendar builds in the necessary assessment time to recover our instructional hours for individual testing only. It also provides the necessary Professional Learning Community (PLC) time. Two weeks instructional time gained: Individual testing per student: 40 min (DIBELS - 10 min, Reading assessment - 3 times per year. Per class of 25: Testing takes 3,000 minutes = 50 hours = 7.3 days Currently, elementary teachers will need to build in 8-10 days of testing for each of the three testing cycles; that equates to 24-30 days of testing during “instructional time” throughout the year. With the proposed changes, 5 days are built in as literacy assessment days through the three testing cycles. We may need to add in 1-2 days in addition to each testing cycle. That equates to 8-10 days of testing; however only 3-5 days throughout the year are during “instructional time.” Quality instruction is diminished when teachers are testing for 8-10 days while maintaining control over the rest of the class. Quality instruction does occur when teachers are allowed individualized, one-on-one testing opportunities with every student to provide quality, customized instruction. Data Analysis Days: Data Analysis time to evaluate data and plan / organize / implement appropriate instruction for every individual student. Professional Development: Current calendar does not provide teachers with the time or opportunity to maintain professional learning needs; it is left to the individual teacher to pursue training on their own personal/family time. Teachers attend professional development to obtain research-based training to stay current on our students’ present-day, world-ready needs. For example, teachers attend nationally acclaimed trainings in teaching and learning methods for Mathematics, Literacy, and Critical Thinking incorporating Science, Engineering, and the Fine Arts. PLC: Professional Learning Community is a systematic approach where teams of teachers utilize data to collaborate and plan targeted instruction to meet the needs of individual students. This requires time and communication. Middle School Professional Development Days: The middle school level cannot support the late start structure due to supervision, transportation and staffing concerns. However, we do have an internal structure to support periodic Professional Learning Communities. It is a priority for the majority of the Middle School teachers to continue to receive Professional Development Days in order to participate in trainings throughout the year. The content of one
innovationschool%20app_ses.docx