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M8: Summarize the most important point that you learned about the school improvement process.

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M8: Summarize the most important point that you learned about the school improvement process.

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The school improvement process is an ongoing process that, when implemented effectively, continues to seek out ways to improve student achievement. Perhaps more importantly, school improvement is a process that is not limited to struggling schools. Even schools that are experiencing performance levels that exceed targeted goals could benefit from school improvement plans.

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M7: Which statement (yours or one from a classmate) in the L portion of the K-W-L activity do you think is the most important? Copy and paste it onto your Padlet sticker. Then briefly describe why you chose this statement.

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M7: Which statement (yours or one from a classmate) in the L portion of the K-W-L activity do you think is the most important? Copy and paste it onto your Padlet sticker. Then briefly describe why you chose this statement.

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"Mutliple data points are necessary in order to have a better understanding of learning gaps between subgroups of students.  The more data that is available, the more you are able to identify the areas of need.  If you are missing data, it is difficult to pinpoint areas for improvement.  Working as a team, allows mutliple view points that are beneficial in creating SMART goals." - Tabatha Miller
I selected this particular quote due to the emphasis on understanding learning gaps between subgroups of students. This notion will ultimately prove important in my own school improvement plan. While my school is predominantly made up of white affluent students, I cannot afford to ignore minority populations present at my school when developing a plan to improve student achievement. I sort of get the feeling that my school's current plans largely gloss over the presence of minority students and students of lower socio-economic status.

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M6: Describe one idea that you think is important from the chapter that you read for the jigsaw discussions.

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M6: Describe one idea that you think is important from the chapter that you read for the jigsaw discussions.

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School culture can either make or break a school. School improvement relies heavily on a positive school culture. Without the support of faculty and the buy in from students, even the best of improvement plans can fizzle out. School culture is just as important as need to address learning gaps, attendance, graduation rates, etc. Positive school culture provides students with many of the soft skills that aren't tested on any exam but will ultimately prove vital later on in life.

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M5: Would you prefer to use a data carousel or a data dashboard? Why?

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M5: Would you prefer to use a data carousel or a data dashboard? Why?

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I think that both tools have their benefits. I like the use of multiple data sources for the data dashboard which can provide a much wider picture of school performance. At the same time, I rather like the focused nature of the data carousel. This tool's ability to help teachers work together to identify areas of student learning in need of attention can be very beneficial to improvement. Sometimes it just takes another set of eyes to figure it all out. Utilizing the collective experience and expertise of the entire staff is also extremely helpful as well.

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Describe the relationship between professional development and the instructional strategies that are used for student learning.

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Describe the relationship between professional development and the instructional strategies that are used for student learning.

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Providing teachers with effective professional development is key to ensuring that teachers implement instructional strategies that promote student academic growth and success. Professional development opportunities provide teachers with new tools and content knowledge that they can use in the classroom to engage students in the learning process. Without efforts to pursue ongoing professional growth teachers run the risk of avoiding innovative instructional strategies backed by recent research.

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M4: Describe the type of data, other than state assessment results, that you think will be important in the development of a school improvement plan.

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M4: Describe the type of data, other than state assessment results, that you think will be important in the development of a school improvement plan.

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In addition to state assessment data, data on student attendance, graduation rates, frequency of parent contact and reason for contact, ACT/SAT scores, advanced course participation rates, observations of classrooms, and surveys of students, teachers, and parents can be rather key to a successful SIP. Getting the entire picture of a school helps narrow down potential weaknesses, reasons for those weaknesses, and set the stage for addressing those areas of need.

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Nice start!   I especially like your comment about the importance of setting goals that are specific.

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M2: Describe in one sentence the step in the construction of the school improvement plan that you think is most important to the success of the process.

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M2: Describe in one sentence the step in the construction of the school improvement plan that you think is most important to the success of the process.

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I'd argue that gathering relevant data from multiple sources might be the most important step in the School Improvement Plan process because the data guides the rest of the entire process.

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M1: Choose three factors that you think are the most important to the school reform process. Explain why you chose those three.

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M1: Choose three factors that you think are the most important to the school reform process. Explain why you chose those three.

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1) Teacher buy-in is essential to any school reform process. Without full acceptance and implementation at the classroom level, all other efforts to improve student achievement are rendered useless. I've worked at several schools where the lack of teacher buy-in has resulted in days of wasted professional development and stagnating student performance and growth. Too often, teachers take on the mindset that they know what works best in their classroom and are therefore reluctant to accept efforts to change the culture of a school.
2) Clear and detailed goals are also crucial for school improvement efforts. While the over all goal is student achievement improvement, the specifics of that are much more complicated and must be rooted in collected data. Without clearly outlined goals the process becomes nothing more than a well intended attempt at improvement. Stakeholders in the process would ultimately be unclear of their role and expectations.
3) In addition to teacher buy-in and clear and detailed goals, I feel that effective school leadership is key to the success of any school improvement effort. School administration and instructional coaches must adopt the role of an involved member of the improvement process. As experienced and knowledgeable members of the school community, these leaders provide support, training, feedback, and guidance to teachers in the classroom. Ideally, they work to ensure that teachers buy into the improvement process. School leaders also work to guide the school through the improvement process. Unfortunately, many administrators that I've worked with tended to focus solely on student behavior issues and merely go through the motions when it comes to providing feedback and guidance in the classroom.