Marlboro Central School District Marlboro, New York Implementing the Common Core

Panel Participants  Mike Bakatsias – Assistant Superintendent of Personnel and Technology  Robin Hecht – Director of Curriculum and Instruction  Sarah Santora – Teacher/Local Union Representative  John Marallo – Teacher/Local Union Representative

Background Marlboro The Marlboro Central School District is located on the west bank of the Hudson River approximately 60 miles north of New York City. The district is 37.4 square miles and includes most of the Town of Marlboro and a portion of the Town of Plattekill, both located in Ulster County and a portion of the Town of Newburgh in Orange County. Total population within the district is approximately 14,500, of which 59% reside in the Town of Marlboro. The district maintained five school buildings and has 2,055 students enrolled for the current school year ( ). The district is primarily rural residential in nature. Residents are employed locally and throughout the region including New York City. Residents of the district receive their basic municipal services from the towns making up the district. Changes in 2013/2014 We have closed two elementary buildings and lost 65 staff members. We have also been forced to make many program adjustments. This is because of a financial crisis that has been brought on by a power plant within our district filing for bankruptcy.

AFT Site Coordinator  Began 2012/2013 school year  Liason between AFT/NYSUT and the school district for teacher/principal evaluations and student surveys  Facilitator of the in district design team for NYSUT work  Member of Local Administrators Union  Created website to assist with professional development and communication  BOE Presentations – communicate initiatives  Developed a team of teacher leaders for implementation of CCSS and teacher evaluation  Presented at the NYS Social Studies Conference  Held a Math Summit within the district  Presented at the NYS ELA Conference  Presented at the NE and GL TURN Conferences

Our Story….. NYS Teaching Standards As part of Race to the Top Initiative New York State adopted 7 Teaching Standards. Each standard have a set of corresponding elements and indicators. Teachers are evaluated on their effectiveness with relation to all 7 Standards. NYSUT Rubric NYSUT saw this coming and in an effort to stay ahead they created a group of 6 pilot districts. Theses 6 pilot districts worked to create a teacher practice rubric and evaluation system.teacher practice rubric New York State approved rubrics that could be used to evaluate the teaching standards, of which the NYSUT Teacher Practice rubric is one. Over 200 hundred districts in NY use this rubric. Pilot Districts The six pilot districts spent a year creating the rubric against every discipline and content area. It was a collaborative effort of teachers, administrators, researchers … The 2 nd year, piloting of rubric and evaluation system with volunteer teachers / administrators. Then a year implementing the rubric and evaluation system with all ELA teachers /2013 all districts are in full implementation for all teachers and all administrators. The Next Steps NYSUT has started working with the 6 pilot districts again working on the next APPR initiatives. Student Surveys and their role in teacher evaluation. Differentiated Evaluation for those teachers that have been found effective and highly effective. New Teacher Evaluation System focus: Improve Teaching Practice Linking Multiple Measures to Teacher Evaluation Linking Student Growth Measures to Teacher Evaluation Engaging Teachers in Professional Learning

Common Core Timeline: Building Awareness and Understanding 2011/2012 Discussion of Shifts and CCSS for ELA and Math Crosswalk of CCSS and existing NYS standards Redesigned curriculum maps to address new CCSS Evaluated existing resources: red, yellow, green activity Professional development on creating units 2012/2013 Created units Publishers criteria Parent workshop Higher Education 2013/2014 ELA - writing from sources Math - differentiated Professional Development Social Studies – New Common Core Assessments – Data Analysis of Student State Growth Scores Online PD, Two-day Professional development to start the year,and increased collaboration and reflection Video lessons Common share drive CCSS newsletter SLOs all aligned to CCSS Technology upgrades to meet mandates Monitoring and Evaluating Implementation Efforts Implementing the Instructional Shifts that Align with the CCSS Revising Curriculum, Pacing Guides, etc. to Align with the CCSS Revising Formative Assessments to Align with the CCSS Communicating with Students, Parents, Community Members, regarding the CCSS Preparing Technology Infrastructure to Support New Assessments Developing Student Interventions to Ensure All Students achieve the CCSS Reflection/Collaboration Time for Faculty/Staff

Labor /Management Collaboration  APPR Committee (Annual Professional Performance Review)  Teacher Evaluation linked to Teacher Professional Development  Teacher Evaluation linked to Common Core/Student Learning  Design committee  Development of Teacher Practice Rubric  Student Survey  Differentiated Evaluation - Grant  Coaching Training  PAR/Peer Coach/Teacher Leader  Exploring different options in creating this program in Marlboro – NYC Teacher Leader Academy (looking for different funding sources)  Grant with NYSUT and SUNY Albany to research implications  Professional Learning Plans  Data Analysis of student outcomes  Results of APPR  Aligned with CCSS

What Teachers, principals, district leaders, parents and school community are learning  Opportunities for Collaboration: the potential for national collaboration that the standards have brought and the “sharing our classroom expertise."  Focus on 21st-Century Skills: Common Core emphasizes skills, such as writing, that will help students thrive in the 21st century and focus on critical thinking and depth of skills.  Student-Generated Learning: the standards guided the shifting traditional classroom organization: the teacher less as a lecturer and more as a facilitator and coach while students cognitively engaged and critically thinking to complete task-oriented work.

The Teachers Recommend  Discussions, Not Scripts: Successful implementation comes from discussions among teachers, administrators, policymakers, and community members, rather than scripts handed down to teachers. Supported Opportunity for teachers to lead, grow, and reflect on the profession.  Helpful Curricular Tools: Tools used in the mathematics lesson/units have helped to boost rigor and depth in the classroom.  Meaningful Professional Development: To teach the standards well, teachers want effective professional development that relates to classroom practice. Teachers lead PD sessions for their peers.  Appropriate Assessments: The need for assessments that match the standards strongly evident. Multiple-choice standardized tests can't accurately measure the skills Common Core emphasizes.

As you work through the sessions think about answers to these questions  As a practicing teacher, what are your hopes for implementation of the Common Core Standards?  How will your own planning and instruction change?  What adjustments need to be made to resources to support refining the instruction in your/our classrooms?  How do I aim to increase rigor, critical thinking, and communication skills in my/our classrooms?  What kinds of support and professional development will be necessary for transition to the standards to be successful?  What should district and building administrators understand about that transition?  Where are we with informal and formal formative assessments?  How do you think the Common Core Standards will (or will not) help teachers better prepare students for the future?