School Improvement Plan

Overview

The first thing I did to learn more about my schools improvement plan was talk

directly with my CE about it. She informed me that North Ridges SIP is created a little

differently than it is at other schools. Most schools have a SIP team that meets to

determine the needs of the school and then make a plan to try and meet those needs. It

is then the job of the staff at the school to follow the plan in order to make the school a

better place to learn. The main difference at North Ridge is that every teacher is a part

of developing the SIP. This means that every month, there is a SIP meeting where all

teachers are required to attend. At the meetings, it is the teachers jobs to identify the

problem areas in the school, talk about the solutions that could be implemented, and

then come up with the SIP goals. The core SIP team (a group of staff members who

have volunteer to be on the SIP team) then creates the goals and action steps and

brings them to the entire staff to review, vote on, and implement.

Once I knew how the SIP was created, I asked if I could participate in a SIP

meeting. I went to two SIP meetings throughout the duration of my time at North Ridge

Elementary. At the meetings, I was able to participate in identifying the core problems

the school was facing as well as reviewing the goals written up by the SIP team. It was

a great experience and I was glad to be a part of it.

Aside from the creation of the SIP, I also asked my CE to explain to me the

meaning of the current SIP put into place. The SIP has a main goal for the school.

Under the goal, there are three key processes laid out to ensure that the goal is met,
and under each key process is a series of action steps to take in order to meet the

requirements of the key process. Not only do the teachers at the school collaborate to

ensure the best SIP is created, but there are stakeholders such as the PTA and PBIS

team that evaluate the SIP goal, key processes, and action steps.

Main Goal of the School

The schools main goal in their SIP plan is that by June 2018, 70% of North

Ridge ES students will show proficiency in core standards as measured by multiple

state, local, and school assessments. All students will show growth equivalent to one

academic year from BOY to EOY benchmarks and all subgroups will meet or exceed

their AMO (annual measurable objective) targets. This means that North Ridge

teachers wanted to ensure that their students were meeting the proficiency levels on the

core standards as well as showing growth. After talking with my CE, she informed me

that the school struggled last year with students showing proficiency on core standards.

Once they determined this goal, they set out to come up with key processes to help

meet the goal.

The Key Processes and Their Action Steps

Key process one states that NRE teachers will create environments where

students believe that they can be successful. In order to successfully complete this

process, there were many action steps that followed: 1. Staff will participate in Growth

Mindset PD during opening staff workdays. 2. Students will participate in the creation of

a Mindset Motto (Students in each class will create and vote on a class motto within the

first 3 weeks of school; Class mottos will be posted for school viewing; School will vote
on mottos; School motto will be announced) 3. Staff will participate in poverty PD 4.

Alternate Learning in the Fast Lane PD will be offered 5. Guidance and support staff will

create a video archive of student responses to the following question, What are you

working on? 6. At Februarys staff meeting we will have a celebration highlighting

success stories connected to falls PD. 7. Staff will share Spotlights on Growth Mindset

during each staff meeting.

Key process two state NRE teachers will understand their curriculum at a deep

level and how it aligns with the grade level above and below in order to meet the needs

of all students through meaningful instruction. In order to meet this key process, there

were action steps written for it as well: 1. PLTs will participate in quarterly Vertical

ELA/Math team curriculum discussions. (Meet about Q1 during BOY workdays) 2. PLTs

will increase depth of knowledge and application of standards through use of unpacking

documents, CMAPP, and other online resources. 3. IRT will train staff on elements of

backward design and use of templates during PLTs 4. PLTs will backward design an

ELA and/or Math unit for each quarter during the 2016-2017 school year.

The third key process states that NRE teachers will increase their knowledge

and application of research-based instructional strategies in order for all students to

show growth. The action steps for this process are as follows: 1. MTSS/Leadership

Team will determine effective teaching strategies to use as staff focus. 2.

PLTs/Teachers will receive training on effective teaching strategy chosen by

MTSS/Leadership team. 3. PLTs will participate in monthly data discussions to measure

student growth and determine effectiveness of instructional strategies. 4. Teachers will

participate in walkthroughs to observe teaching strategies. 5. PLTs will create and

evaluate unit and lesson plans for use of effective teaching strategies.

How I Affected the SIP

The SIP that was put into place at North Ridge had a major emphasis on PLT

training. After speaking with my CE, she told me that the staff felt as though the

students were struggling to meet the core standards because the teachers were not

familiar with the standards or the information that the grade level above and below them

go over. This was what caused the SIP to be heavily focused on training in PLTs for the

teachers. As a student teacher, I felt as though it was my responsibility to participate in

the training given during the PLTs and learn how to implement the training.

Throughout my time as a student teacher, there were many things brought up

during PLTs. We had training on backwards design, progress monitoring, and even data

and how to interpret it. As a student teacher, I was able to participate in the training and

even give some input with what I have learned at Gardner-Webb. When it came to

backwards design, I was able to give my input as to what I learned in Dr. Clarks class. I

even got to present to the entire staff on what backwards design is like and how most

college students are learning how to do it. I got to implement progress monitoring with

fluency folders throughout my student teaching experience. They were something that I

would get students who needed a little extra help complete three times a week. As a

student teacher, I was able to give input as well as take the information given and apply

it.