Element+3+School+improvement+and+development

Creating a structure and sense of direction for the development of school improvement and reform.

 Iowa Test of Basic Skills test scores improved from 45th to 49th, some students still score in bottom quartile

District's reform efforts allowed for a core of HRHS teachers to participate in activities *this included, technolgy based industry tours, forums on implementing pilot programs for reform schools. Classrooms have at least 15 computers per, expectation to use daily...ot happening (Training/reform?)

[|h] Co-NECT is a school reform model which aims to improve student’s achievement through the integration of technology into instruction. This model reorganizes a school into multigrade groups of students and teachers. Lessons connect curriculums through interdisciplinary projects. (textbook). The Co-NECT model was designed around five benchmarks. They include: 1. Shared accountability for results: The whole school works together to attain goals. 2. Project-based learning—Teaching for Understanding and Accomplishment: All students are continously involved in projects and activities that ask tough questions, involve the application of knowledge to real-life problems, produce deep contextual understanding, and cause students to produce authentic, high-quality work. Many activities generate and depend on multiple, two-way partnerships with parents, businesses, and other members of the community. 3. Comprehensive Assessment for Continuous Improvement: Assessment is standards-based and uses multiple measures of student achievement. Results are reported in informative, timely, and interactive. Results guide improvement in teaching and learning. 4. Team-Based School Organization: Teachers are organized in small learning communities or clusters with built in time for planning and reflection. Student grouping is designed to keep students and teachers together for more than one year, the grouping is flexible and purposeful. <span style="font-family: 'Times-Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;">5. Sensible Use of Technology: All members of the school are able to access modern technologies. Technology is fully integrated into the curriculum. (Ross)

<span style="font-family: 'Times-Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">The Board felt that this reform model would be effective for Hickory Ridge because of the model’s blend of collaboration and technology. Hickory Ridge is in need of a reform model that will get teachers working together and supporting one another. The Co-NECT model allows for teachers of different academic content areas to collaborate to integrate curriculums and create problem based learning activities that span many content areas. Since Hickory Ridge has supported technology initiatives, it is equipped to handle the technological integration of the Co-NECT program.

** __<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Comprehensive School Reform __ ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"> As the superintendent of the Wingfield School District, recognizing the need for comprehensive school reform has led to many discussions with the School Board members. The School Board decided on two comprehensive school reform models involving high schools: Co-NECT and Talent Development High School. Implementing these will help solve several of the issues going on at Hickory Ridge High and if the Wingfield School Board finds these to be successful, these models will be implemented at other high schools in the district. The district is also reviewing a few other reform models that begin with Pre-K and continue through high school so the transition from grade to grade and school level to school level will provide students with continuity of expectations and hopefully have a very positive impact on student achievement. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"> Co-NECT is a school reform model which aims to improve students’ achievement through the integration of technology into instruction. This model reorganizes a school into multi-grade groups of students and teachers. According to Cunningham and Cordeiro (2009) lessons connect curriculums through interdisciplinary projects. The Co-NECT model was designed around these five benchmarks: <span style="font-family: 'Times-Roman','serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 200%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times-Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">1. Shared accountability for results: The whole school works together to attain goals. <span style="font-family: 'Times-Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">2. Project-based learning - Teaching for Understanding and Accomplishment: <span style="font-family: 'Times-Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">All students are continuously involved in projects and activities that ask tough <span style="font-family: 'Times-Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">questions, involve the application of knowledge to real-life problems, produce <span style="font-family: 'Times-Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">deep contextual understanding, and cause students to produce authentic, high-quality work. Many activities generate and depend on multiple, two-way partnerships with parents, businesses, and other members of the community. <span style="font-family: 'Times-Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">3. Comprehensive Assessment for Continuous Improvement: Assessment is  <span style="font-family: 'Times-Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">standards-based and uses multiple measures of student achievement. Results are reported in informative, timely, and interactive. Results guide improvement in teaching and learning. <span style="font-family: 'Times-Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">4. Team-Based School Organization: Teachers are organized in small learning communities or clusters with built in time for planning and reflection. Student grouping is designed to keep students and teachers together for more than one year and the grouping is flexible and purposeful. <span style="font-family: 'Times-Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">5. Sensible Use of Technology: All members of the school are able to access modern technologies. Technology is fully integrated into the curriculum. (Ross) <span style="font-family: 'Times-Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times-Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">The Board felt that this reform model would be effective for Hickory Ridge because of the model’s blend of collaboration and technology. Hickory Ridge is in need reform that will get teachers working together and supporting one another. The Co-NECT model allows for teachers of different academic content areas to collaborate to integrate curriculums and create problem based learning activities that spans many content areas. Since Hickory Ridge has district-driven and supported technology initiatives, it is equipped to handle the technological integration of the Co-NECT program. Some of the newer staff members are digital natives whereas some of the older staff members are digital immigrants and need help seeing technology as a bridge rather than fence. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"> Another model of school reform that the Board of Education of the Wingfield School District decided to implement at Hickory Ridge High School is the Talent Development High School reform model. This model is directed at schools educating students in 9th through 12th grades. According to Cunningham and Cordeiro (2009) this model is aimed at focusing instruction on students’ academic needs and career interests by dividing large urban high schools into smaller units. The Board of Education members felt that this model would work quite well at the high school which has suffered adversely from a split of its faculty and by dividing the school into smaller units and pairing some of the aging staff members with some of the newer staff members in a smaller environment could not only result in a benefit to the students but also in helping build the respect and collaboration that the administrators are seeking. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"> A report from the United States Department of Education Institute of Education Science indicates that the Talent Development High School reform model calls for schools to reorganize into smaller learning communities including ninth grade academies for first year students and career academies for students in the upper grades - to reduce student isolation and anonymity. Research for Talent Development High School reform indicates some positive results in a case study of 11 schools in the Philadelphia area. By the end of the first year, students earned an average of 5.2 credits and in the comparison schools they earned an average of 4.5 credits. The end of the second year brought even more noticeable results with the Talent High students earning an average of 9.5 as compared to 8.6 and the larges difference being reported in the third year of reform with students earning 13.2 credits as compared to 12.3. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Bringing innovation and risk taking into the educational practices at Hickory Ridge will be part of the process as the staff members embrace the comprehensive reform efforts that are district-driven initiatives. Though some will try to buck the system and stick with what they feel is tried and true, the smaller collaborative groups from the reform models, the mentoring programs, and staff development will ensure adherence to the new protocols that come with reform.