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Lawrence Public School District
Lawrence, KS
School Type: Public
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School Setting: Urban
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Level: K-12
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School Design: Traditional
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Content Presented By:
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National Awards Program for Model Professional Development
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Results
The district's best linkage to student achievement progress comes from the state quality performance accreditation process and the reports that are written for the state board of education. To utilize resources most wisely, the district has cycled schools into the process with a few schools starting each year, beginning in 1991. So far seven schools have gone through the first cycle and have been recommended for full accreditation to the state board of education, three in 1995 and four in 1996. During the four year cycle, all seven schools showed student achievement gains for
one or more of their targets. As stated in Prairie Park's report last year, "...improvement gains were made on three separate measures. ...Collaboration and curriculum redesign were employed to improve mastery of mathematical principles and complex thinking skills. Further, the school's improvement plan focused on staff development and was coordinated with staff in-service, time management, and student performance." From Quail Run's report, another school accredited in 1995, "School leaders and staff collaboratively and systematically align staff development plans with the mission, academic focus and outcomes established by the school and district. Continuous school improvement processes and products and emerging student performance data are used in a manner that impact classroom practice." From Cordley's report, "The visiting team concludes that given the comprehensive view of the data collected and analyzed and the strategies implemented to date, student improvement is happening at Cordley. The team also recognizes the staffs' efforts to link assessment with learning and instruction." Woodlawn School's report included the following, "The improvement in writing is commendable and is a reflection of the level of staff development and the high implementation rate of strategies by the teachers." We look for continuation of full accreditation in 1997 as five more schools complete the first four-year cycle.
The Lawrence district assembles a district profile each year for the district improvement team and the Board of Education to be shared with the public at large. Student achievement highlights from the 1996 profile indicate the following:
- CTBS ? Reading is an identified area of strength at all 4 grade levels where the test is given (4,6,9, and 11). The trend has been strong over the past four years. Nearly 75 percent of the students scored in the top half of the national distribution.
- CTBS ? Language/Total Battery - 64 percent or more scored in the top half of the national distribution.
- CTBS ? Math Over 66 percent of the students scored in the top half of the national distribution.
- CTBS ? Total battery - All grade levels scored above an NCE score of 62 (72nd percentile). Over 70 percent scored in the top half.
- CTBS ? there are no identified areas of weakness at any grade level.
- On the Beginning Reading Inventory given at the start of grade 1 - The percentage of students showing mastery of concepts of print increased. In 1995 it was 91.9 percent. Phonemic awareness mastery increased ten percentage points from the 1993 to 59.2 percent.
- Kansas Reading ? The average percent correct in expository reading decreased for grade 3, increased for grade 7 and stayed the same for grade 10. This is an area we have targeted because we are not happy with our results.
- Kansas Writing ? Writing scores increase at grades 6 and 9 and showed increases in all but two traits at the high school level. In the area of "voice" the district average at all 3 levels is at the state standard of excellence.
- Kansas Math ? The average percent correct on all three subparts (problem solving, reasoning, and communication) as well as for the standardized "power score" showed increases from 1995 to 1996. 1995-96 was the second year to give our local assessments in reading and math and there have been minor changes as we improve them each year so it is not possible yet to make year to year comparisons.
Site Visit Documentation
Lawrence Public School District's success was recorded based on a site visit conducted by the National Awards Program for Model Professional Development in 1996:
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Evidence |
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Evidence of desired student outcomes. There are ways for the school/district to show that p.d. activities lead to desired teacher and student outcomes.
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Students are the direct beneficiaries of professional development experiences. There has been district-wide focus on math and writing instruction, and these efforts are reflected in improved test scores. Instructional strategies to increase participation were observed along with graphic organizers in grades as low as kindergarten. Samples of Grade 4-6 portfolios indicated individual improvement in writing, and are in alignment with the district-created writing goals. All junior high and high school students in the district use weekly planners (calendars) to improve organizational skills.
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There is evidence that the p.d. content has direct application for teaching.
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There is strong evidence of direct applicability for teaching as demonstrated by teachers' development of individual action plans, demonstration videos with follow-up coaching, and overall emphasis on increased student participation.
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Other Outcomes
The district conducts end-of-year evaluations of our various district-wide efforts such as instructional skills to determine impact on teacher behavior and attitude. The following types of benefits are reported for participants of Instructional Skills classes:
- Opportunity to form professional relationships across the district
- Support and feedback to principals and new staff, before tenured
- Assist in setting expectations for continuous growth
- Learn about resources and support staff they will use throughout employment
- Provide a common awareness of what district's view is of effective teaching
The following types of benefits are reported for participants of Building Level Instructional Skills groups:
- Peer coaching gets staff into each other's classes
- Choice of topic leads to tailor-made staff development for the building
- Repeated, non-threatening opportunities to practice and process are provided
- Principals have opportunity to build collegiality and model lifelong learning with staff ? sends a mesage they are valued
Benefits for participants of either Instructional Skills or building-level groups:
- Provide connections/support for QPA and continuous improvement goals
- Foster increased range of teaching options when dealing with problems
- Allow time for collaborative planning across grade levels
- Bring teacher knowledge to a conscious level
- Help prepare teachers to deal with diverse student needs in classroom
- Break down isolation of teachers
Year-end building summaries also provide an array of impact information. Schools often report progress with student achievement data as well as increased levels of implementation for their staff in successfully using new strategies identified in their school improvement plans. Additionally, staff are more focused on the target areas and discussing student progress on a regular basis. Schools also report reduced incidents of students being sent to the office and increased attendance rates as evidence of moving toward their school improvement outcomes.
Although the district realizes that the above successes may be attributed to a combination of factors, it believes professional development has been a heavy contributor.
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