MARATHON, ELMWOOD, and HOPKINS SCHOOLS

SHARED SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PLAN

2024 - 2025

 

 

GOAL #1 - Refine and Grow the Multi-Tiered Systems of Support to Meet Every Student’s Academic and Social-Emotional Needs, Every Day

(Year 2024 - 2025)

 

Theory of Action 

The Theory of Action explains the rationale behind the strategic priorities, i.e. how the strategies will move the district forward.

If we center first on learning foundational skills within a community, gradually introducing more diverse pathways as students mature, and invest in students’ social, emotional, behavioral, and physical wellness, and if we commit to growing programs that help all students access challenging curricula, then we foster students who will learn to take risks, think independently, believe in themselves, persevere, and grow academically.

Actions

Actions are the specific activities to be undertaken in each year to progress the key improvement strategies. 

There may be more than one action for each strategy. Schools will choose to describe actions with different levels of detail.

• Implement the Culturally Responsive Instruction Observation Protocol (CRIOP) to increase culturally responsive practices. 
   

• Maintain Tier I and Tier 2 implementation of Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) to include schoolwide goals/initiatives and individual plans.
   

• Compile and review SEL lessons to create common Tier I instruction, both stand-alone lessons and lessons embedded in core instruction across grade levels.
   

• Develop an assessment framework that identifies students in need of additional support and a process for determining what is needed across the instructional tiers.
   

• Restructure and enhance the Learning Support Team (LST) process with a focus on defining tiered supports that address students’ social, emotional, behavioral, and academic needs.

Measurable Success Criteria

Success criteria are markers of success. They are useful in demonstrating whether the strategies and actions have been successful. Success criteria often reflect observable changes in practice or behavior. To simplify and focus the school’s monitoring of progress, only a limited number of success criteria should be set.

• Through the implementation of CRIOP walkthroughs, culturally responsive practices will be evident and will evolve, especially practices in Pillars 1 and 4,  in classrooms and other learning spaces across every elementary school.
   

• PBIS teams will lead professional development opportunities on the implementation of school-wide expectations and reinforcement systems which include social-emotional learning and equity practices.
   

• All three elementary schools will analyze data from the Pear Holistic Student Assessment survey; continue to administer it twice a year at Hopkins. The data will assist in targeting students’ SEL needs.
   

• Students will complete the  Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) at Elmwood and Hopkins and the data will be analyzed to grow SEL programming.
   

• SEL Lessons will be embedded into Tier 1 instruction.
   

• Assessment framework(s) will be developed, PreK-5.
   

• All faculty and staff have a common understanding of data and data interpretation via Data Team Meetings and PLCs to inform instructional practices 

 

GOAL #2 - Enhance Written Language Curriculum to promote increased writing opportunities and cross-curricular connections

(Year 2024 - 2025)

Theory of action 

The Theory of Action explains the rationale behind the strategic priorities, i.e. how the strategies will move the district forward.

If we continue to support and grow educator practices and provide writing opportunities for students to acquire, develop, and apply broader skills across all curriculum areas, then students will expand their written language skills thereby growing their literacy competencies and understandings, while acquiring content knowledge as well as conveying and actively using it.

 

Actions

Actions are the specific activities to be undertaken in each year to progress the key improvement strategies. There may be more than one action for each strategy. Schools will choose to describe actions with different levels of detail.

• Continue implementation of new writing curriculum and refine units to maximize daily writing instruction to include flexible, small group, and embedded cross-curricular opportunities
   
• Continue to support educators in building instructional capacity across the writing genres and vocabulary development
   
• Continue the revision process for the writing curriculum including updated use of SRSD (Self-Regulated Strategy Development) strategies and graphic organizers to create a standards-based, cohesive K-5 writing curriculum that incorporates the SRSD framework as well as the discrete skills of writing aligned with State Standards 
   
• Identify Cross-curricular connections with Writing Units and reading comprehension lessons such as the incorporation of Children Discovering Justice (CDJ) and writing instruction

Measurable Success Criteria

Success criteria are markers of success. They are useful in demonstrating whether the strategies and actions have been successful. Success criteria often reflect observable changes in practice or behavior. To simplify and focus the school’s monitoring of progress, only a limited number of success criteria should be set.

• ELA Director, CTLs, PLCs, and Administration review writing unit implementation to reflect and revise as needed
   

• PLCs will be provided opportunities and guidance to discuss student work and strengthen data-based decisions around writing instruction and writing opportunities throughout the day
   

• Implement consistent use of the Mathematical Problem Solving Graphic Organizer in grades 3-5, which requires students to write solutions and present arguments to explain their thinking, will be used with consistency to grow students’ facility when solving math problems in writing.
   

• Teachers will collect grade-level writing exemplars to ensure a calibration/inter-rater reliability process to make scoring student work more consistent and better aligned with the standards
   

• Throughout the year, the ELA (English Language Arts) Director will lead CTLs, teachers, and administrators 
  in meetings to continue the revision of the writing curriculum. At times, this will be grade-specific and others vertical to ensure alignment

Click here for our full School Improvement Plan.