On The Right Road Moving Forward From a Lowest Achieving School to a High Progress Rewards School Fitzgerald High School Ben Hill County School System

Enrollment numbers have declined steadily in 2009/2010 to 756 in 2012/2013 Demographics 47% White, 44% Black, 7% Hispanic, 1% Asian and 1% other 78.67% Free and reduced lunch 12.5% student’s with disabilities Remedial population is 16.6% percent

– Never made AYP – Needs Improvement Year 7 – Declining Graduation Rate – Declining Enrollment – One of bottom 65 lowest achieving schools in GA for – Test Data below state average – Community suffering effects of recession

What do we do now?

Became State Directed in with a full time School Improvement Specialist day action plans that were data driven Implemented Standards Based Instruction in all classrooms using The Instructional Frameworks Model with Learning Targets Aligned Assessments to the standards using the Depth of Knowledge levels at or above the standards DOK level Became a Title I Targeted Assistance School with Math and English support programs Implemented quarterly benchmark assessments Became a “Race To The Top” School District

Changed from block scheduling to a hybrid six period day Hired new principal, instructional coach and math coach Central office liaison on Leadership Team Instituted common planning for all of the four academic areas and required weekly PLC’s (professional learning communities) Checked lesson plans weekly for implementation of PLC’s and instruction focused around Georgia Performance Standards Academic coaches and administrators completed focus walks to monitor implementation of The Instructional Framework, Learning Targets and other research based instructional strategies

Opening Work Session Closing The Instructional Framework

Explicit teaching standards and elements takes place The learning target for the day’s lesson is shared with students and should be visible at all times. It is very important that you continually refer to the target all throughout the lesson. When you do, the student can make the connection between what he/she is learning and the target. The focus of the lesson is clear. Students should be able to state the target and know exactly what they are learning or should be learning. Student accountability begins here. When someone visits your classroom, he/she should have no question what is being taught. Teacher models skills and strategies – guided practice – for learning target mastery. Students are engaged. Teacher poses questions to assess for understanding and adjusts teaching if necessary. Opening

The work session is the result of instruction (the opening) mirrored back into the student work (work session). Students should have struggle time. The teacher becomes the facilitator, conferencing with students and monitoring progress. Whether working individually, pairs, or in groups, the students should be attempting to master what was taught in the opening. The work session can be skill practice but don’t forget the importance of performance tasks – real world application. The teacher uses formative assessment strategies to assess student understanding of the standards. The work is rigorous and meets the depth of knowledge necessary for mastery of the standard. Work Session

Closing The teacher revisits the target and standard. The students self-assess which allows the teacher to informally assess the students’ understanding. Students should be required to summarize their learning in some way whenever possible. This will continue to engage the students in the learning process, thus, increasing student efficacy. Teacher informally assesses the students’ understanding and clarifies misconceptions.

Are achievement expectations we hold to be important for students Are statements of what we want student to learn and be able to do….”I Can…..” Are the same as content standards, indicators, objectives, etc.  Everything you do in the classroom should be related to the learning targets. Learning Targets……

The purpose of the 5-step protocol is to deepen understanding of the standards and elements (learning targets). The 5-step protocol is ONE strategy for developing a clear understanding of the standards and elements (learning targets) for teachers and students. In order to deeply understand the learning targets, multiple strategies must be implemented. 5-Step Protocol

5-Step Protocol Practice MCC.4.MD.6 Measure angles in whole number degrees using a protractor. Sketch angles of specified measure. 1. Determine and define vocabulary 2.Study the standard and/or element(s) 3.Identify strong and weak work 4.Scaffold understanding of the standard and/or element(s) 5. Develop “I Can….” statements

Implementing The Instructional Framework for Standards Based Classroom Instruction with with Learning Targets Aligning assessments to the standards at the appropriate DOL levels Becoming DATA Driven with all decision making Analyzing Student Data using Thinkgate On-going Professional Learning Targeted Assistance Support Programs Greatest Impact

2010State2011State2012State2013State 9th Literature76%80%87%92%80%83% 86% 11th Literature76%86%84%88% 89%97%91% Biology63%66%70%67%80%72%79%74% Physical Science69%72%85%75%82%76%95%83% US History45%61%54%65%62%68%76%73% Economics59%71%77%73%88%87%85%79% Math 159%64%70%61%67%65%13%29% Math 239%55%52%57%58%57% 59% Coordinate Algebra 27%37% Percentage of Students Meeting and Exceeding on EOCT

EOCT Data

A “High-Progress School” is a Title I school among the 10% of Title I schools in the State that is making the most progress in improving the performance of the “all students” group over three years on the statewide assessments. A school may not be classified as a High- Progress School if there are significant achievement gaps across subgroups that are not closing in the school.

Dr. Gail Stokes Dawn Clements