English Language Arts Program Update Cambrian School District Dec 2008

Goal of English Language Arts Update Provide program information Review student performance Plan next steps Prepare for Adoption Process

K-8 English Language Arts Program Reading Word Analysis Fluency Systematic Vocabulary Development Reading Comprehension Shift to Informational Text as grades increase Literary Response & Analysis Writing Strategies Applications Written & Oral English Language Conventions Listening & Speaking Applications – Genres

Elementary English Language Arts Program Houghton-Mifflin is the authorized program Explicit whole group skills-based instruction Menu-driven learning centers Language activities integrated across the curriculum Homework help and before school tutoring available

Centers are integrated with Lesson Menu-driven topics/tasks may include the following examples: Parts of speech Phonics review Comprehension builders Differentiation Activities that appeal to different learning modalities

Literacy activities occur throughout the day Writing activities integrated into math to describe thinking and write own problems science to describe observations and do “notebooking” Reading comprehension integrated into social studies Support for English Learners using “push-in” model Accelerated Reader encourages students to read at their personal challenge level. Special Projects and Themes feature poetry and other avenues for teaching reading and writing skills

Price Middle School English Language Arts Program McDougal Littell is the authorized program Program includes novel study, focus on writing, poetry, non-fiction, and The Language of Literature All students receive 2 periods/day Step-Up-To-Writing is integrated across all subject areas and grades English Learners (EL) are placed in a 2 period core supplemented with Social Studies for EL Intervention Reading uses regular assessments to ensure appropriate placement for struggling readers.

ExCEL / RtI / RtI2 IDEA (2004) authorizes RtI to provide early intervention services to struggling students Addresses diverse student needs by providing enrichment, remediation, English Learner support, and on-grade-level instruction Cambrian has adopted the Excellence: A Commitment to Every Learner, or ExCEL model of RtI to target instruction in reading

RtI Tiers of Instruction All Students Core Curriculum Differentiated Instruction Select interventions for Struggling Students Intensive Interventions Sp. Ed. Tier 4 Tier 3 Tier 2 Tier 1 2% 5% 20% 100% The RTI Tier Model Multi-tiered instruction & intervention that provides targeted teaching & learning

ExCEL’s components include Universal Screening for all students Tiered instruction during a portion of the day to provide targeted instruction Placement in the tiers that is flexible and fluid based on ongoing agreed-upon assessments. Staff work as a collaborative team to coordinate tiered instruction at each grade level Strategic use of support staff within the tiers of instruction.

Implementing ExCEL & RtI Bagby (2007) & Fammatre (2008) are currently implementing ExCEL Farnham & Sartorette to be trained in May 2009 Price offers RtI through differentiated programming such as Intervention Reading, ELD Language Arts & Social Studies, and Accelerated Language Arts

How are our students doing? Assessments occur annually with California Standards Tests, and more frequently with district benchmarks, running records, and other informal assessments. The state writing rubric is used on formative writing assessments at the middle school The district writing rubric supports grade-level performance reporting and planning

Summary of Performance Assessment Outperform County and state Incremental growth to 68% proficient Significant growth in Gr 4 Writing (60%) Last year’s significant growth in Gr 7 Writing sustained Special Ed growth in ELA by 6 points to 25% proficient Performance gap persists 1 of 7 Cambrian students are English Learners 1 of 5 are Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Performance declined in ‘Written Strategies’ ‘Reading Comprehension’

Professional Development Step-Up-To-Writing training in August for Beginning & Intermediate level teachers All K-5 teachers K-5 Inservices on “Writing Performance Calibration” and “Using Assessment Data in ELA” in October ExCEL Initial training at Fammatre & Tier II training at Bagby completed Tier I training for Farnham & Sartorette planned for May 2009 English Language Development training planned for January & February

What’s next for English Language Arts? Prepare for future adoption by beginning district-wide discussion on ELA in February 2009 8 programs incorporating English Language Development currently recommended to State Board of Education Establish performance goals for writing applications based on CST’s and district writing tasks. Use benchmark data to: improve performance in writing strategies target interventions for underperforming students Continue to develop how common reading assessments are used to support K & 1 instruction