Evaluation-of-a-School-Program-Final-Draft

Evaluation of a School-wide Program Edith P Rudd READ 605 Organizing and Implementing Reading Programs Dr Valerie Robnolt November 25, 2018 Evaluation of a School-wide Program Overview Oak Grove - Bellemeade Elementary School is located in the city Southside of Richmond, Virginia in a high economically challenged area The OakGrove-Bellemeade Elementary School serves approximately 675 students in PreK - This school is under Title I and is the largest federally funded program developed to provide additional educational services to help disadvantaged students meet state academic standards reading, math, and science Ninety-nine percent (99%) of these students are low-income students I have been a literacy tutor in this school for the last two years I volunteered last year in a 4th-grade special education class where the entire class was reading far below grade level This year I volunteer in a fourth-grade general education class of twenty-three students Personnel: Reading Specialist Summary: As a reading specialist, Ms Carpenter’s job entails promoting literacy, managing data, new teachers and core instruction In addition, she assists teachers in helping them understand what a student needs as well as organizing and modeling small groups Her goals are usually determined by the principal but are focused on solving specific issues that students may have While tutoring students, Ms Carpenter has found MAPs, PowerSchool and PALS to be the most helpful in identifying the reading needs of the children The results of the PALS assessment are used to assure that the students who barely above receive the necessary daily intervention Along with the other two tests, the results help identify low students who need support and different strategies The reading specialist indicated that if she were able to make any changes to the assessment program, she would emphasize a global approach because the current tests overlap each other She would also modify the PALS assessment to have it be more of a screening mechanism so it can be less subjective and less about teacher evaluation Furthermore, she would adopt the format of MAP to align with the SOLs because of the challenges it would represent The reading specialist also recognizes that these students are faced with obstacles such as trauma and behavior Too many students not know how to read or hold a pencil, so it makes them further behind the average student As a result, a teacher has to fit two years of teaching into one, and there is just not enough time in the day Therefore, it becomes too much of a challenge for the students to overcome As a reading specialist, some of the issues she faces include students not having a foundational literacy when they arrive Trying to balance meeting those needs plus other responsibilities which makes the job difficult She also stated that trying to figure out their needs as well as scheduling can be a hassle b.The literacy program at the school includes the principal, the assistant principal, two reading specialists, an academic interventionist, forty-nine general education teachers and five special education classroom teachers The principal’s role on the literacy team is to ensure that the literacy teamwork works collaboratively to improve reading through K-5 grade levels He also works closely with the team to invest in strong literacy instruction from the time students enter the school through fifth grade Further, the Title I Reading Specialist is Jessica Carpenter She is responsible for promoting literacy, managing data, new teachers and core instruction She also performs professional development through an ongoing program of reading, coaching, working with individual teachers and small groups, workshops to demonstrate literacy strategies and best-practices The reading specialist also assists in the preparation of data for local, state and federal reports She also contributes to the collection of data for providing appropriate intervention Ms Carpenter also participates in faculty committee meetings; chaperoning, counseling and other similar responsibilities that are part of the school’s service in loco parentis; and, exercise discretionary authority over day-to-day teaching functions and performs other related duties as assigned She also has to work with individuals or small groups of students in teachers’ classroom and serve as a coach to teachers in the school Assessment wise, Ms Carpenter helps teachers to prepare students for the SOLs and other evaluations During my interview, she indicated that specific goals are determined by literacy/language arts goals, and Standards of Learning for each grade, as well as graduation requirements for students Students are assessed using the MAP and the SOL as well as running records, chapter, and unit tests, and other forms of assessments deemed necessary by the classroom teachers In addition to MAP testing, students take an assessment at the end of each unit in PowerSchool Test items for this assessment are created by the building reading specialists using an item bank in PowerSchool MAP, SOL, and PowerSchool results are used to drive instructional decisions overall for the school For example, a low average on a topic would increase the teaching of that topic for all students Ms Carpenter doesn’t only work with struggling readers but also coaches teachers and aides to help improve reading instruction throughout the school Also, the academic interventionist utilizes her time in classrooms reinforcing strategies from reading specialists and assisting struggling readers before going through a referral process The special education teachers work with students who have intellectual disabilities, learning disabilities, emotional disabilities, autism spectrum disorders, multiple disabilities, and OHI They also collaborate with the general education teachers to assist them in implementing specific strategies for special education students who may be in general education for a portion of the day Equally important, are forty-nine general education teachers These teachers at Oak Grove- Bellmeade use a variety of instructional strategies to fit the needs of all students, including those students who are in inclusion classes, or participating in RTI Recommendations: i Develop and implement reading strategies that facilitate optimal learning opportunities for struggling readers, in particular ii Foster a culture of collaboration with real-time form sharing and teacher reflection in the area of literacy improvement for disadvantaged students 2.Materials a Neither of these grades has reading textbooks The reading program that this school uses is Benchmark Literacy Instead of a reading textbook, the Benchmark Literacy series uses leveled readers The leveled readers are grouped into 10 units that address a variety of skills and genres This small leveled library is also used for teacher read-aloud, guided reading and student independent reading time These libraries were crafted collaboratively with teachers to support the varied and diverse interests and needs of their students The publishing company of Benchmark Literacy is Benchmark Education Company, LLC Classroom Library: The classroom library is stocked with books from readiness level to about 6th-7th-grade level The library is color coated and organized by genre and level of the text Benchmark Literacy: For guided reading groups, she uses Benchmark Literacy from level E to O (She also can print out handouts online from Benchmark too.) Technology-related Materials: All classes in this school have access to Google chrome books during school hours Also, a large part of the reading instructional materials comes from the district reading program called Benchmark Literacy There are also classroom libraries, leveled books in the Title I Reading Room, and Reading A-Z books Smartboards are used primarily in place of reading textbooks to introduce lessons Laptops are also available for students, and each teacher has one Epic! is an online resource where students can log on and listen to books being read to them b The school does not have reading textbooks The reading program that this school uses is called Benchmark Literacy Instead of a reading textbook, the Benchmark Literacy series uses leveled readers The leveled readers are grouped into 10 units that address a variety of skills and genres The publishing company of Benchmark Literacy is Benchmark Education Company, LLC However, I chose a leveled text from each grade level classroom and performed the Fry Readability level to determine the reading level Reading Materials: Along the Way: 4th grade Average number of syllables per word: 137, the average number of sentences per 100 words: 10.1 Terrapin Races Rabbit- Fry: 2nd grade Average # of syllables per 100 words: 133, Average # of sentences per 100 words: 9.7 Casey Jones- Fry: 3.0 Average # of syllables per 100 words: 145 Average # of sentences per 100 words: 8.3 Recommendations: i My recommendation would be to purchase new classroom libraries; nonfiction leveled books and trade books on various grade levels for independent reading ii Create literacy centers for materials and activities that contain independent practice of the essential components of evidence-based reading instruction —writing, fluency, comprehension, vocabulary, and word work Assessments: a The school uses three major assessments called PALS, SOLs, and MAP for literacy/language arts Both MAP and PALs assessments are done three times a year- fall, winter, and spring b ●The primary purpose of PALS is to identify students who are performing below gradelevel expectations in literacy skills and may need additional reading instruction beyond what is typically provided to developing readers PALS is a valid, reliable, and researchbased assessment tool for early literacy skills PALS 1‐3 is used with children in grades 1, 2, and to identify students at risk of reading difficulties It is designed to measure young children’s knowledge of essential literacy skills and can be used as a diagnostic tool to provide teachers with explicit information to guide their teaching In addition to the PALS assessment, the students are administered the Reading SOL (Standards of Learning) assessment The Standards of Learning (SOL) is a public-school standardized testing program that sets forth learning and achievement expectations for core subjects for grades K-12 in Virginia's Public Schools The SOL is given prior to the end of each school year The PALS 1-3 is a good assessment because it screens and identifies students in need of additional instruction based on their Entry Level task scores It also identifies specific skill deficits in student whose Entry Level scores not meet a benchmark that represents minimum grade‐level criteria The PALS 1-3 is also good because it helps teachers group their students into their guiding reading groups and also shows their growth over time However, the assessment data is insufficient to determine whether students are meeting grade-level expectations and teachers cannot use it as a growth measure for individual students However, PALs give a more accurate result for each student as far as reading level, spelling, and comprehension ●The SOL is a good standardized test because it lets individual teachers know which students need further instruction and monitoring, and how well they are all doing on average in the classroom On the other hand, this test is controversial because students who have learning impairments, special needs, or who are far below reading level are required to take the test That aside, teachers are concerned about the amount of time they spend preparing for the test; the SOL was not intended as a practice test until the test is given There are significant difficulties faced by students at this school in the area of literacy The scores fall far below the state average This suggests that students at this school are likely not performing at grade level Oak Grove-Bellmeade is rated below average in school quality compared to other schools in the state Students here perform below average on state tests, are making below average year-over-year academic improvement, and it has below average results in how well it’s serving disadvantaged students Significant disparities in absenteeism rates exist at this school, which is concerning Overall, the students score may improve within the next couple of years when teachers and the administrators find time to scrutinize the student performance data to plan for higher literacy improvement and examine the amount of time they prepare for and review past SOL assessments and focus more on the literacy/language arts curriculum that has the same SOL Standards c Analysis of Data: Analysis of NWEA (MAP, or the Measure of Academic Progress), is a computerized adaptive test which helps teachers, and administrators improve learning for all students and make informed decisions to promote a child's academic growth Overall, The RIT score is the scaled score that MAP uses to measure the performance of students on the test The RIT range will show three scores The bold score in the middle is the actual score that the student obtained The first and last score in the RIT range are the standard errors of measurement of -3 or +3 This indicates that if the student were retested his score should fall somewhere within this range Additionally, the percentile range shows how the student performed in comparison to other students on a national level The middle score shows the percentile that the student's score ranks compared to others who took the test nationally The first and last numbers reflect the standard error of measurement In addition, the projected RIT is the projected score that the student is expected to make by the end of the school year given his or her beginning score and the weeks of instruction he will receive The projected growth shows how many points the student's initial score is predicted to increase and is reflected in the student's projected RIT Fourteen fourth-grade students participated in the MAP reading assessment during the fall 2018 testing window The Mean RIT score range from 174-202 with a percentile range of 6-26 which means all students scored below the rounded mean of 198 The projected RIT range from 183- 190 with the expected growth range from 5-8 The results of these students’ scores suggest that all fourteen students fell below or were low average in reading comprehension The results also indicate that these students need additional instruction in reading compression I learned that unfortunately, there was no area of strength for any of these students in reading comprehension This group will need continued support in reading comprehension Recommendations: i Collaborate with teachers and provide professional development to support intervention reading programs that make a difference ii Provide support and professional developments to train teachers how to differentiate instruction and pinpoint individual reading difficulties of all students using PALs and MAP Organization of the Reading Program: a The three literacy/language arts blocks at this school are 120 minutes daily All three of these blocks are organized similarly b Description of the literacy/language arts blocks: Fourth-grade literacy/Language Arts Block: The language arts block is a 2-hour block broken down into school mandated components The lesson begins with a read-aloud of a continued book from the previous day for about 10 minutes The next segment is the whole group mini-lesson that lasts approximately 20 minutes During the mini-lesson, a reading comprehension skill is introduced and modeled The mini-lesson also includes the guided practice of the comprehension skill for about 10 minutes After the whole group mini-lesson and guided practice, students participate in stations for 20 minutes each: small group guided reading, independent reading, vocabulary, and technology During small group guided reading, students read leveled readers, and practice targeted reading comprehension skills Vocabulary and writing are also interwoven into the small group guided reading The vocabulary station changed from an independent station to a teacher-led station so that it would be more effective and student-focused Instructional websites are used during the technology station to enhance word study and comprehension Currently, they are using Freckle The students typically use I-Ready, but the division has not renewed its subscription this term During independent reading station, students read a leveled book of their choice The key activities of this block include a read aloud, whole group mini-lessons, guided practice; small group guided reading; independent reading, vocabulary, writing, and technology Third Grade literacy/language arts block: The third-grade reading block is from 9:55-12.20 Within this time the teachers whole group warmup, reading, and a short activity Then she moves her students to stations, seat work, and independent reading while she works with reading groups There are four reading groups in this class- Level E, G, K, and O The teacher always meets with both two lowest groups no matter what- Level E and G per Benchmark She also usually meets with her second highest group and then briefly check in with her highest group With the highest group, they can read independently and work either with their group or on their own Key activities include: • Read Aloud, teaching the students specific strategies and skills- for example, the main idea, the sequence of events, etc.; Word Work- students are given different word study words per level each week Work Stationsusually includes and SOL passage, task cards, writing, independent reading, or other sample passages Guided Reading- There are four guided reading groups, so each day she meets with at least 3, if not all Second Grade literacy/language arts block: The literacy language arts block for second grade includes whole group reading; whole group shared reading, reading stations along with teaching stations, phonics, and writing The literacy block begins with a lesson with whole group reading whereas the teacher does a read aloud The next component includes questions based on the reading strategy/metacognitive strategy that she will focus on all week The whole Group Shared reading consist of digging deeper into those reading/metacognitive strategies for that week During a whole group the mini-lesson, a poster or a big book is used to teach the lesson, and a reading or metacognitive strategy is introduced and modeled After this activity, the students transition to reading stations for one hour with each group transitioning to another station after spending 10-12 minutes at a station The teacher uses a stopwatch so that students will know when it’s time to transition to the next station While the teacher is working with a group at the teaching station, the other groups are participating in the Daily Rotation which includes: A Read to Self-station, a Read to Someone station, a Work on Writing station, a Word Workstation, and a Listen to Reading station For listen to reading, the students choose to either listen to reading on CD or play a reading game on their iPads After stations are over, the class meets as a whole group, and the teacher incorporates 10 minutes of phonics and 15 to 20 minutes of writing The key activities are read-aloud, reading strategy for the week, reading stations, phonics instructions and writing Fourth Grade 120-Minute Literacy Block Schedule Time 9:10- 9:20 9:20-9:30 9:30-9:40 9:40-10:00 Component Read Aloud- a continued book from the previous day Teacher reads a book aloud for whole group to model good reading strategies; expose children to a range of text genres; build background knowledge; explore new vocabulary; engage in inferencing and prediction activities; discuss the role of illustrations, ask questions of different types including “what if…?” questions Whole Group Mini Lesson: Reading comprehension skill is introduced and modeled Guided Practice/Reading Literacy Stations: small group guided reading/guided reading, vocabulary, and technology Independent reading Vocabulary (Word-Sort) and Writing- Small groups Technology 10:00- 10:20 10:20-10:40 10:40-11:00 Second-Grade Schedule with 120-Minute Literacy Block Schedule: Time 12:30-1:45 1:45-1:50 1:50-2:30 2:30-2:45 2:45-3:00 3:00-3:10 Component Whole Group Reading- (Readaloud) and mini-lesson Teacher reads a book aloud for whole group to model good reading strategies; expose children to a range of text genres; build background knowledge; explore new vocabulary; engage in prediction activities; discuss the role of illustrations, ask questions of different types including “what if…?” questions Reading/Metacognitive Strategy (Draw conclusions) Literacy Stations: Students engage in independent work while the teacher works with small groups and reinforces literacy skills such as phonics, reading, spelling Stations: Read to Self-Station, Read to Someone Station, Work on Writing Station, Word Work Station, Listening to Reading Station Phonics Instruction- Introduced high-frequency words Writing-Dinosaur Writing Prompt Clean Up and Dismiss at 3:10 Third Grade Literacy Block Schedule Time 9:55-10:25 10:25-10:35 10:35-10:50/10:55 10:55-11:15 11:20-12:20 11:30-12:00 Component PIE Block- This is their intervention block time, tutors and Title reading comes into the third-grade classrooms and meets with preselected groups to work on various skills and strategies for language arts This is a pretty new intervention and is still being worked out, but basically, the tutors are from an outside company known as “PALs Warm- Up, students are given up to warm-up questions per day to answer independently Read Aloud, I either read the book out loud to the students or play a YouTube video of the book being read It just depends if she is able to get a copy of the book! Mini-Lesson / Activity, this varies from week to week, depending on what strategy and comprehension focus we are working on Guided Reading Groups and Work Stations The reading groups may start earlier, just depending on the PIE block, and if the minilesson goes by quickly The Title reading specialist pushes in and helps with guided reading and/or whole group instruction Title comes in daily to help improve reading levels/ skills c Intervention: Data from district and classroom assessments combined with observations are used to create and plan an intervention for all classes The intervention block for fourth-grade reading is a separate 20-minute block held during the afternoon Monday- Wednesday Tutors provide intervention to targeted students while the reading specialists pull out targeted students and remediate them in small groups During the intervention block for third grade, tutors and Title I reading comes into the third-grade classrooms and 9:55 and meets with preselected groups to work on various skills and strategies for language arts This is a pretty new intervention and is still being worked out, but basically, the tutors are from an outside company known as “PALs Tutors.” Interventions might focus on decoding, fluency, comprehension, or writing skills Recommendations: i ii (d) The literacy block can be improved with more time spent on the shared reading process The literacy block should incorporate more guided reading to allow for targeted practice of a behavior or skill level iii (e) Organize the morning routine as efficiently as possible to preserve the allocated in-school time for literacy instruction iv (f) Provide at least 30 minutes of uninterrupted reading instruction each day in systematic, explicit, scaffolded, and differentiated instruction to help students become active readers., and that this instruction must be across the classroom Professional Development a The primary goal of their professional development program at Oak Grove – Bellemeade Elementary School is to assist in improving student achievement so that at least 80% of their students (for all subgroups) are passing the annual VA SOL test for all subjects and RPS Quarterly Benchmark Assessments They also develop and implement other staff development programs identified by school data, district expectations and staffs’ need to support their vision, mission, and goals, as well as the overall goals of the Richmond City Public School District Further, they school level observations on what they see needed in the building they also embedded development for reading and math They also school-wide professional events based on what teachers feel their needs are The second level of staff developments is that the district offers SD by the calendar This year, they are focusing more on district-wide professional development with literacy as an essential interest They are also focusing on bringing in professors from Virginia Commonwealth University Most recent professional developments: October and November 2018 District and school-based professional developments are held on a routine basis throughout the school year for all instructional staff So far, they have participated in the following reading professional developments: -August 2018-Implementation of reading curriculum in the classroom (district) -September 2018- Administering running records (school based) -October 2018- Implementing small group instruction in reading block (district) -October 2018-Instructional practices and guided reading groups (school based) Virginia Commonwealth University and Oak Grove-Bellmeade Elementary School Dr Robonolt (VCU) and Jessica Carpenter: -October 2018-Using and Analyzing MAP data (school based) -Literacy- October 8(school based) Identifying the three phases of a Guided Reading Lesson and the purpose of each phase (Before, during, and After), understanding how gradual release occurs during the literacy block, and creating a teacher directed a teacher-directed small group plan -November 2018-Analyzing data /instructional practices (school-based) This professional development involved analyzing SOL data across grade levels and instructional practices to improve performance (b) Recommendation: i Quality professional developments should be a top priority to produce positive changes in students’ low reading performance ii Focus only on professional developments that will improve literacy instruction and improve student learning until you see student progress (C) Coaching: During my observation of this teacher, I found that she was well organized in each of her teaching approaches and had all of her teaching materials to carry out her lessons The teacher was well prepared, used instructional routines, had very efficient transitions, and moved through the lesson with ease Further, Carly’s literacy strategies and literacy block activities were aligned with the SOL Standards She also taught critical content such as antonyms and synonyms skills through read aloud, modeling, guided reading, and direct and small group instruction Her introduction of new skills (antonyms and synonyms) and read aloud kept her students engaged and focused through her lesson Also, the teacher prompted student responses throughout the experience and clarified student response errors Despite the number of small groups, she had, it was surprising that she was able to monitor each group or student performance on assigned worked, in addition to scaffolding and circulating around to each table when needed She also incorporated technology into her lessons I did notice that time spent on setting limits on a few unruly behaviors interferes with student learning, and is very time-consuming for the teacher Assessment-wise, the MAP assessment is a new tool to her, and she works hard to interpret the assessment data I suggested that she continues to examine the school system’s curriculum and ask the literacy coach or reading specialist about assessment and analysis to confirm or clarify her interpretation of unfamiliar assessments We also discussed that her running records and other informal assessments give valid and reliable information that she can continue to use to help drive instruction and help guide literacy improvement for all of her students Literacy materials used are the resources derived from the Benchmark Literacy Program However, supplemental materials are used to reinforce skills that require more instruction When I conferenced with the teacher, I commended her for how well she was teaching and managing her classroom, despite this is her first year as an educator We also discussed her well-structured and engaging lessons that were measurable and aligned with the SOLs Most importantly, it was evident that her organization and teaching are consistently in place, and she uses quality teaching materials, though some are bought with her personal money Her resources and her use of technology will continue to assist her students in the making of strong academic gains this year Recommendation: i In terms of coaching, the literacy coach should consistently provide content knowledge and foster collaboration to ensure that all teachers are on the same page in terms of teaching literacy, best practices, school-wide communication, and assessment procedures 6 Communication with Parents and Community: a The school views a collaborative school environment as the key to creating successful teachers and students This supports partnerships with parents and community partners and encourages students to participate in experiences in the community, as well OakGrove Bellmeade believes that collaborative experiences are essential to the academic and social growth of their students Reading night programs are also held by the school to communicate with parents regarding reading strategies to help children Their first reading night was held in October 2018 During reading night, parents chose various sessions conducted by teachers that addressed a variety of topics related to reading The sessions were held in the teachers’ classrooms The topics and activities that teachers used were provided by the reading department Teachers also communicate with parents regarding reading progress through phone calls and scheduled conferences They also contact parents as needed when there is a concern with progress in literacy to discuss the factors affecting achievement Recommendations: i ii The school should focus more on home literacy than classroom literacy because culturally, a large percentage of these economically challenged students are not surrounded by books at home Provide reading materials to parents in the areas of oral language, vocabulary, print awareness, comprehension, and children's values related to reading Share Evaluation with the Administrator b Briefly describe what you shared in your meeting with the administrator and your thoughts and reflections on the experience Send this to Dr Robnolt as an email after your meeting with your administrator