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Data Management & Assessment (Andre Dickerson, 4th grade Teacher)

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Data Management & Assessment (Andre Dickerson, 4th grade Teacher)

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When students, parents, and educators have the right information to make decisions, students excel. Successful educational programs ensure this happens by answering three questions;

1.  Where are we in terms of reaching our goals?

2.  Where are our students in regards to being college and career ready?

3.  What actions need to be taken to get there from where we are today?

Carefully crafted common assessments and the procurement of data from these assessments satisfies these three questions by not only improving the students’ ability to learn and retain information but also present new challenges and goals for them to conquer. The teachers also win by getting the chance to improve upon their practice as an individual teacher and as a team of teachers.

Educators at Douglass Academy found that common assessments are more efficient, equitable, and effective in monitoring and improving student learning. Each week we collaborate with each other in professional learning committees (PLCs) to develop and discuss the information gleaned from our common unit assessments. Every nine weeks, we converse over the district’s common benchmark assessments. We use this knowledge to support any ideas or changes needed to be made. For example, we have discovered during our PLCs that simple correct and incorrect answers aren’t enough. Rubrics are being created so that each answer on common assessments can be scored on a scale that includes categories such as; does not understand the concept, slight misconception, and mastered. Information like this informs us on how well the student is actually grasping the content being taught. Teachers then form small groups, and interventions are offered to close any educational gaps we may have.

Once assessed, the information is uploaded to a Google spreadsheet in which the entire school has access to. We use the data to better understand and celebrate how much our students have grown throughout the school year as well as discover if there are any missed educational opportunities by comparing multiple data points. Data points include all of the assessments taken, the objectives being taught, how often a certain TEK is asked, and information on how well a student is mastering the content. We use the information to confer with administration, students, and parents in efforts of forming a plan of action that all parties can understand, execute, and be held accountable for. Using this system has enabled us as a staff to streamline our data for a common goal – the improvement of our students and their families.

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Assessment (Emily Daugherty, 1st grade Teacher)

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Assessment (Emily Daugherty, 1st grade Teacher)

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"When I went to the No Excuses University Institute in Dallas last Summer, I was excited to realize that we had already implemented many of the 6 Exceptional Systems on our campus. We’ve used this year to expand on our previous work, and build the NEU systems in a way that is sustainable for future school years. Specifically, we’ve put a strong focus on ASSESSMENT and the opportunities we give students to show how they’ve mastered skills. We’ve been able to work together in grade level teams to create Common Formative Assessments that help us reflect on our teaching, and how to direct our instruction for the remainder of a unit. We’ve also expanded our understanding of the word assessment to go beyond just a paper and pencil test. Teachers are using exit tickets, quick checks, turn and talks, think-pair-shares, rubrics, as well as digital assessments like Kahoot, Quizziz, Quizlet, Today’s Meet, and so many more than I can name.

Our understanding of these Exceptional Systems has really allowed us to move in a direction that is student focused and promotes a growth mindset. We realize that our assessments should be for learning, rather than of learning. I believe our school is made stronger by this fact."

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Collaboration (Arielle Rodriguez, 3rd grade Teacher)

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Collaboration (Arielle Rodriguez, 3rd grade Teacher)

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"At Douglass Academy collaboration is not just an idea but a state of mind. While we encourage our students to do their best and engender a healthy competitive spirt, we recognize that what they can achieve when they learn to work together will likely far surpass individual efforts. We model this collaboration by committing to be inclusive and supportive of our teammates, administration, and the community.

At Douglass Academy, we collaborate weekly for PLCs and grade level meetings. Here, we see it crucial to include the community around us. For this reason, we collaborate with many different organizations that promote arts in order to create programs that allow children who normally would not be able to participate, view themselves on stage. We have also collaborated with the San Antonio Fire Department, The DoSeum, and The Majestic Theater. Our collaboration has led to student experiences that have allowed them to grow academically, socially and more importantly have led to them feeling empowered."

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Interventions (Michele Bailey, Special Education - GEC/Dyslexia Teacher)

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Interventions (Michele Bailey, Special Education - GEC/Dyslexia Teacher)

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"At Douglass Academy, we use a system called the Multi-Tiered System of Support or MTSS. In this system, students are assigned one of three levels referred to as Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3. Each tier reflects students’ level of need as it pertains to academic, social and emotional skills. Every student starts in Tier 1. That means that all students receive whole and small group instruction based on TEKS (State of Texas standards). Teachers are expected to use our campus wide commitments such as using SOAR in common areas, CHAMPS in their classroom, and continuous pep-rally participation.

When Tier 1 interventions are not sufficient, meaning that students are not growing academically, socially, or emotionally and despite the aforementioned interventions such as providing small group instruction, the MTSS committee meets together to develop a plan for these students to begin seeing success. In this case, they would be moved to the category Tier 2. Tier 2 means that students begin receiving added layers of intervention including more frequent individual or small group instruction, more frequent or daily progress monitoring (this might look like data from an exit ticket from their small group), and researched based interventions (such as using words their way, a research based phonics instruction guide). Teachers craft attainable goals for students to work on for the next 4-6 weeks. Progress is reviewed at the MTSS committee meeting at the end of these 4-6 weeks to determine whether a student is making adequate progress or not.

When the MTSS committee meets, they look at how well students are progressing on their goals and if, despite using multiple strategies and interventions (these should be demonstrated through student work), the student is unable to be successful. At this point, the committee can decide to move a student through the Tier 3*. This means that students are receiving pull out services through our campus implementation specialist, one on one instruction is used frequently, small group is done daily, and progress monitoring is done on a continuous basis (at least once a day). The committee meets and progress is measured every 4-6 weeks.

Attached to our application, we have outlined an abundance of resources that we use for each Tiered level. Tier 1 interventions are probably the easiest to see. Teachers don’t necessarily have to change much of what they already do because these are strategies for all students. When it comes to Tier 2 and Tier 3 interventions, teachers can typically be seen reaching out to the campus Implementation Specialist for strategies and the campus Special Education teacher. These interventions are observable through student work so when it comes time to analyze the data, the committee is able to pull from student work directly. Every 4-6 weeks the MTSS committee meets and discusses where the student is at, whether they are progressing on their goals, what new strategies to try next and when the next meeting will be.

MTSS has helped improve Douglass by ensuring that students are receiving targeted, intentional, and regular interventions to help them see success. Therefore, if students do not see success in a certain time frame, it allows the committee to make student-centered, informed, and unbiased professional opinions about what to do next. Because of this, students who truly need extra support through Dyslexia services or Special Education services can be referred based on evidence and students who start to struggle are caught early on and given an

accelerated instruction plan before it’s too late to catch them up. This means that teachers are continuously finding the interventions that work for each individual student by being action-oriented. "

* Moving students for Tier 2 to Tier 3 does not often happen within 4-6 weeks. Typically, moving from Tier 2 to Tier 3 takes at least 6 months to ensure that the student is getting enough exposure to the interventions.

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Culture of Universal Achievement (Abigail Mendoza, 2nd grade Master Teacher)

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Culture of Universal Achievement (Abigail Mendoza, 2nd grade Master Teacher)

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"As the first person to graduate from college in my family, I completely and wholly believe in having a Culture of Universal Achievement. Our students know they CAN and WILL succeed with hard work and dedication. They know college is a very real option for them. We say it every day to ourselves and each other. After implementing the fact that college is achievable, not only with students but parents as well, I began to hear parent conversations take a turn. In conferences and informal meetings parents now remind their child that their goal is to go to college! Students are excited about college and with every class representing a university, AND visiting a university, they truly believe college can happen for them. They know, regardless of their situation, college is attainable. I often hear my students saying they can’t wait to go to The University of Texas at Austin. Next year they will get to experience a new university in their next teachers class. They are full of questions about college. Our plan is to help students AND parents understand that anyone and everyone can go to college. Our parents trust us, and have joined in on our No Excuses initiative. Having a Culture of Universal Achievement is very powerful. Just the exposure to college has inspired them, they truly believe in themselves. When you walk on campus, you see it, hear it, and believe it. We will go to college!"

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Standards Alignment (Vicki Rockwell, Kindergarten Teacher & Viola Gonzales, PK Teacher)

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Standards Alignment (Vicki Rockwell, Kindergarten Teacher & Viola Gonzales, PK Teacher)

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"Horizontal instructional pull outs benefit collaboration amongst grade levels immensely. We discuss what TEKS were taught successfully for the next grade level and what TEKS students came into that particular grade level that they could have known better. We talk about what individual student’s strengths are and where there are areas of growth needed. We also look at TEKS to examine how they are extended for the following grade level so we understand and keep in mind, what that TEK will look like next year. Knowing what a particular TEK looks like in the next grade level prepares grade level teachers on which direction to take when planning as a grade level.

Vertical Instructional pullouts are critical for collaborations and growth of students. Teachers examine formative assessments and discuss what TEK the students mastered, what TEK they know, but have not mastered and what TEK needs to be taught in small groups or whole group setting. Teachers can compare data and share how they taught a particular TEK that was highly successful, teachers can also discuss how to reteach a TEK. Teachers can decide what formative assessment they will use to measure growth with a TEK students struggled with and also how to assess the next objective.

With that being said, standards alignment has helped our campus grow by not just aligning TEKS but also by aligning our teaching strategies which has helped our students achieve higher growth rates across the campus. Teachers work together to ensure what is being taught is helping the next grade level and we’re finally seeing the results in action with our students and families!"