DATA RETREAT PRINCIPAL’S MID-YEAR

REPORT 2010-11

Vandercook Lake Schools

Townsend Elementary

Principal: Diane McQuillan

Subject Area: Reading &Writing

GOAL

WRITING: All students will be proficient in Writing by 2014.

What group of students is targeted with this goal: All Students

Overview of Townsend’s Writing Program

• Calkins Writing

• E.E.T. (Expanding Expressions Tool)

• Collins Writing

Objective 1

General education teachers in collaboration with teachers of students with disabilities will plan implementation of our research based instructional writing best practices. As a result we will close the gap between general ed. and special ed. students by accelerating MEAP writing scores.

Evidence of Action

• One Gen. Ed. / Sp. Ed. meeting per marking period: Analyze writing assessments and discuss best practices.

• Co-Teaching Efforts: 5th Grade (2) and 3rd Grade (2)

• Calkins Writing Programs

Is It Working?

• Teacher Input• Increased Communication (Monthly

Data Retreat Meetings)• Achievement Gap Analysis (When

MEAP released)

Objective 2

All teachers (regular and special education) K-5 will administer and score a prompted writing sample in September and March to all students K-5. The purpose of this thematic prompt is to measure student growth in writing and to inform teachers so they may make timely instructional decisions.

Evidence of Action

• Common Theme for the Writing Prompts: “CHOICES”

• K-6 = Narrative Prompt (MEAP-like)• September (Pre Assessment) =

Prompt A• March (Post Assessment) = Prompt

A

Evidence of Action (continued)

Theme – ChoiceSeptemberK-2: If you could choose any pet, what would it be and why?3-6: Write about a time you made a choice and it turned out well. or Write about a time you made a choice and it didn’t turn out well.

MarchK-2: If you could choose any pet, what would it be and why?3-6: Write about a time you made a choice and it turned out well. or Write about a time you made a choice and it didn’t turn out well.

Young Fives Sample

Kindergarten Sample

1st Grade Sample

2nd Grade Sample

3rd Grade Sample

4th Grade Sample

5th Grade Sample

Evidence of Action (continued)

• Writing prompts given on Sept. 22-26• Staff trainings on scoring prompts using

the MEAP and 6 Trait Writing Rubric • Writing prompts scored by entire staff• Kindergarten Rubric• Scores will be uploaded to Data Director

Is It Working?

• Creates a building-wide, common initiative

• Increase writing data for this school year.

• Analyzing results uploaded to Data Director in March.

Objective 3

All teachers (regular and special education) K-5 will teach research based methods of writing.

Evidence of Action

• Entire Staff Trained in Calkins Writing• Principal-Initiated Goal for All Teachers• Regular Teacher Work-days to Prepare Lessons

Is It Working?

• Principal Classroom Walkthroughs• Creation of Grade-level Writing Lessons

Additional Initiatives

• Writing Buddies (Grades 1-5)• K-5 Common Planning Times for Data Retreat• ISD Personnel Visits a Classroom 3 times/week

for Additional Writing Support• Grade-level Community Exhibitions Highlighting

Student Writings

What’s Next?

• Evaluation of Writing Prompts, CWCA scores, and MEAP scores – Possible intervention strategies

• Analyzing the prompt results through Data Director

GOAL

READING: All students will be proficient in Reading by 2014.

What group of students is targeted with this goal? All Students

Overview of Townsend’s Reading Program

• Guided Reading

• Reading Recovery

• Running Records

• RTI

• Gates/MacGinitie

• Houghton Mifflin Reading Series

• Literacy room

Objective 1

General education and special education teachers will meet to discuss and implement potential research-based interventions and support systems for at-risk students.

Evidence of Action

• Co-Teaching Efforts: 5th Grade (2) and 3rd Grade (2)

• Co-Teaching Meetings Scheduled Regularly

• General ed./Special ed. meet during the last 45 minutes of common planning on the last Wednesday of month.

Is It Working?

• Increased Communication (Monthly Data Retreat Meetings)

• Increased Awareness of General Education Curriculum by Special Education Teachers

• Awaiting MEAP results for analyzing achievement gaps between general ed. / special ed.

Objective 2

All teachers (regular and special education), K-5

will teach the properties of informational texts.

Evidence of Action

• Stephanie Harvey videos: Strategies For Learning (viewing/implementing and meeting for discussion)

• Teacher survey to organize professional development materials

• All teachers have “Time for Kids”, “National Geographic”, or “Storyworks”

Is It Working?

• Data Retreat meetings: Discussion of implementation strategies by grade level representatives.

• Future MEAP item analysis of informational text

Objective 3

All teachers will closely monitor students’

comprehension and vocabulary to make decisions

to guide instruction.

Evidence of Action

• Running Records• MLPP in grades K-3• Gates/MacGinitie

Is It Working?

• Gates/MacGinitie post-test (May)• Student progression in reading

levels

Additional Initiatives

• K-5 Common Planning Times for Data Retreat• Books of the month (K-5)• Reading month activities

What’s Next?

• Summer Work Sessions with our Reading/Writing Team

• Analyze effectiveness of Gates/MacGinitie tests• Address in-class data assessment and data

colelction