https://padlet.com/taylor719/a4o1n6ex5h9x en-us 2017-01-16 01:48:16 UTC 2026-03-16 22:39:30 UTC hello@padlet.com taylor719 https://padlet.com/taylor719/a4o1n6ex5h9x/wish/147275895 1) Most importantly, I believe educators must plan for the future when considering reform.  As Dalin and Jacobs point out, education in the 21st century is rapidly changing.  School reform must not only keep up with this evolution, but try to stay one step ahead of it.
2) While students must be at the center of the picture, school reform must involve all stakeholders.  District leaders, school administrators, teachers, students, and community members should all be involved in the growth process if we hope to see the most significant improvement.  Collaboration is key.
3) Data collection is a necessary evil. However, it must be meaningful data collection. We often waste time collecting data that will not effect change or that is improperly utilized.  Furthermore, we should not sacrifice student creativity, teachable moments, collaborative efforts, critical thinking opportunities, or technology integration for the sake of standardizing data.]]> 2017-01-16 01:51:06 UTC https://padlet.com/taylor719/a4o1n6ex5h9x/wish/147275895 taylor719 https://padlet.com/taylor719/a4o1n6ex5h9x/wish/147910773 Managing and Monitoring the plan is the most important step, as it avoids complacency, ensuring focus and re-evaluation of purpose and goals if necessary. ]]> 2017-01-18 18:38:01 UTC https://padlet.com/taylor719/a4o1n6ex5h9x/wish/147910773 taylor719 https://padlet.com/taylor719/a4o1n6ex5h9x/wish/149489275 The purpose of professional development is to have a positive impact on a teachers practice in order to improve student learning. Professional development will help teachers to learn and incorporate new instructional strategies that will aid in student mastery of skills and content. However, if proven methods of professional development are not offered to teachers, student learning and achievement may suffer.]]> 2017-01-26 00:21:45 UTC https://padlet.com/taylor719/a4o1n6ex5h9x/wish/149489275 taylor719 https://padlet.com/taylor719/a4o1n6ex5h9x/wish/151331123 Compiling various forms of data is crucial to a school improvement plan.  Therefore, in addition to state testing data, schools should look to data collection by content area.  This would be teacher driven data collected from formative and summative assessments.  Additionally, school culture data, including things such as enrollment figures, graduation rates, and survey data would also be important.]]> 2017-02-03 01:10:59 UTC https://padlet.com/taylor719/a4o1n6ex5h9x/wish/151331123 taylor719 https://padlet.com/taylor719/a4o1n6ex5h9x/wish/152327431 While I like the concept of a data carousel within the context of my department, I feel that a data dashboard would be far more useful in a school improvement planas it would integrate a much more diverse range of information into its data analysis. This would provide a more comprehensive approach to student achievement.  However, I like the level of teacher involvement used in carousels and think they are good for pinpointing specific goals and plans within a department. ]]> 2017-02-07 23:20:03 UTC https://padlet.com/taylor719/a4o1n6ex5h9x/wish/152327431 taylor719 https://padlet.com/taylor719/a4o1n6ex5h9x/wish/154074794 Chapter 10 focuses on the importance of improving attendance. One idea that stood out as significant is that poor attendance is a community issue, as it correlates with increased delinquency. Students must be present and engaged in school if they hope to succeed. Therefore, examining attendance rates, exploring the causes for poor attendance, and finding solutions to increase attendance, will not only have a positive impact on test scores and school culture, but it will improve the community as well. ]]> 2017-02-15 16:48:13 UTC https://padlet.com/taylor719/a4o1n6ex5h9x/wish/154074794 taylor719 https://padlet.com/taylor719/a4o1n6ex5h9x/wish/155760220 Multiple data points are necessary in order to have a better understanding of learning gaps between subgroups of students.   While I chose this statement from Tabatha Miller, it is a sentiment echoed by several of my colleagues, and, as a result, I chose this as the most important statement presented in the KWL chart.  I think the single biggest take away someone should know about developing an effective school improvement plan is that multiple sources of data will result in the most complete understanding of what issues a school is facing and how to best go about reforming them. Test scores are singular in nature and do not help to explain the why or how students got there. By triangulating data, a school improvement team can understand the full scope of what their goal(s) need to be.   ]]> 2017-02-23 14:43:21 UTC https://padlet.com/taylor719/a4o1n6ex5h9x/wish/155760220 taylor719 https://padlet.com/taylor719/a4o1n6ex5h9x/wish/156371727 The most important point I came away with from this course regarding school improvement planning is how essential the collection and analysis of multiple sources of data is. I work in a school that often speculates about the issues we face, but does not explore or support those issues with concrete data, leaving us unable to progress. We allow the success of our AP program to overshadow some of the serious issues we need to address with our non-proficient students. Therefore, not only having data, but having that data be accessible for teachers and all other members of a school improvement team is extremely important if we hope to develop SMART goals that will target the proper areas for student growth and achievement. ]]> 2017-02-27 12:15:01 UTC https://padlet.com/taylor719/a4o1n6ex5h9x/wish/156371727