Anna Yates Elementary School

Literacy Plan 2004-2005

Vision:

Anna Yates is committed to providing a balanced literacy program that employs differentiated, standards-based instruction in language arts to result in high achievement within grade level material for all students, such that they are prepared for success in middle school.

Current Literacy Practices:

• All but 3 of our currently active teachers have either completed training in Open Court Reading or OCR (15 teachers K-5) or are receiving training in Prentice Hall Reading (3 teachers in 6^th). The remaining 3 teachers have committed to OCR training this summer.
• All of the K-5 teachers use OCR materials for their daily reading programs and the 6^th grade teachers use Prentice Hall for their daily reading program. All students have student anthologies and all teachers have teacher editions and required support materials.
• Teachers are engaged in weekly grade level team meetings to review student work and data on student progress, plan appropriate instruction and receive ongong training to build their capacity to differentiate instruction.
• All teachers have identified students needing strategic intervention in reading and writing and they are providing some differentiated support to these students.
• A variety of materials and strategies are used for intervention and generally the intervention occurs less than 3 times per week. Further training on the selection of effective strategies for intervention and greater consistency in the frequency and approaches used for intervention are needed.
• Teachers, working in multiple-grade level teams (K-1), (2-3), (4-6), share data and progress on the school's site plan goals (see attached).
• Teachers report they are seeing progress in these "targeted" students, though not at the level which their goals intend.

Data on Student Performance:

• Approximately 40% of our students (95 children) in grades 2-5 scored Below or Far Below Basic on the California Standards test in 2003.
• These 95 students (now in grades 3-6) were identified for diagnostic testing in September of 2003 using Houghton Mifflin's Leveled Passages. Results are available for 36 of these students. Of those tested:

- 8 (22%) tested at grade level or above

-10 (28%) tested at six months to a year below grade level

-10 (28%) tested at 1.5-2 years below grade level

-8 (22%) tested at 2.5 to 3 years below grade level

• In addition, 20 students in second grade were identified as below grade level (.5 to 1 year behind) in October, using a combination of assessments (OCR, Houghton Mifflin and Johnson spelling).
• Kindergarten and First grade teachers also identified a total of 30 students of concern, due to performance not keeping pace with development toward the standards at the first grading period (and using a combination of CORE phonics, OCR and Johnson spelling assessments).

• Interesting questions are raised by the results of this testing.

- Perhaps as many as many as 45 to 50 of our students who under- performed on the CST could have needs that can manageably have their needs addressed within classroom practices. How can students reading at grade level improve their test performance? How can differentiation address the need for accelerated learning for students whose performance is up to a year delayed?

-How can we meet the needs for greater intervention for a portion ( 45-50 ) of our students?

• Follow-up diagnostic assessment in reading is planned for all grades in February.
• In January, all students were assessed in writing using a uniform prompt by grade level and scoring student work with a standards based rubric. The results of these assessments are still being compiled and summarized.
• Teachers are currently planning instruction based on their review of these student papers. This assessment will be repeated in May
• Ongoing, systematic assessment, for the purpose of guiding instruction is not yet a school wide practice. Teacher practices vary widely, and most teachers are not routinely reflecting, summarizing and planning instruction and intervention based on their assessments. These practices need to be developed.

Objectives and Indicators for 2004-05

• Instructional minutes for language arts and pacing schedule of unit completion.

The school leadership will establish a school wide pacing schedule for unit completion by grade level, and clear directives for compliance with state standards for instructional minutes within literacy, utilizing state adopted language arts curriculum. Indicators will include:

-written statement of school policies regarding instructional minutes and pacing

-schedule for submission of unit assessments

-teacher daily schedules

• School-wide systematic assessment of student performance and teacher practices

To facilitate the work of differentiating instruction, the school will establish a schedule for ongoing standards’ based performance assessments, as well as, periodic and strategically selected diagnostic assessment. This schedule will include:

-dates for completion of student data composites

-schedule of collection of teacher plans for strategic intervention based on

assessments

-schedule for reviewing teacher performance (related to actions taken)

• Differentiated instruction in reading and writing

Teachers will provide appropriate and sufficient guided instruction for students at their differentiated, instructional levels in reading and writing, so that all students may maximize their growth in reading and writing. The suggested practices would include:

-individual or small group reading intervention for struggling students at least 3

days per week for at least 20 min per day.

-written plans for reading intervention for struggling students

-written plans for differentiation for those students whose performance exceeds

the standard class work

• Independent practice in reading and writing

Within the school day, students will be provided with sufficient time and appropriate levels of text to practice reading and responding independently to reading selections (or to engage in independent literacy practice, grades K-1). The suggested practice would include;

-One hour of independent reading and responding per day by the end of 2^nd

grade, through 6^th grade

-30 minutes per day for K through mid 2^nd grade

-written plans for independent reading by all teachers

• Intensive Intervention

A committee will be established for 2004-2005 to investigate and design a full implementation plan of intensive intervention for students with significant delays in literacy in grades 4-6. (The definition of “significant” will be determined by this committee. It is recommended that this intervention would include students reading 2 or more years below grade level.)

Action Plan

Resources	When	By Whom	Costs	Funding Source
OCR Reading, consumable materials replacement	Order Spring 2004	Literacy coach
Additonal tools, support and time for Diagnostic Assessment in reading and writing -all students K-6 -Houghton Mifflin, Johnson Spelling, Rubric based Writing	Order tools in Spring 2004 Sub time in September Assessments given and results compiled by Sept 30, Jan15, April 30	Literacy coach	Materials: Additional reading diagnostic prompts-$500 Time: Subs-20 days=$2,500
Independent and guided reading materials	Order books in Spring 2004	Literacy coach	Materials: Supplemental OCR materials= $2,000 Classroom libraries= $4,000 Guided reading book sets= $4,000 Student response logs= $400
Grade level meetings	Weekly beginning in September	Literacy Coach	Release time costs= $17,000 (Instructional assistant) $10,000 (Sports for Kids) (Library Tech) (Science Teacher)
Loop team meetings	Once/month Sept-May	Literacy coach, math coach and principal	No additional costs
Within classroom coaching and co-teaching	Weekly (16 hrs) beginning in September	Literacy coach	50% of Literacy coach salary
CFG	Once/month Sept-May	Literacy coach, and school leaders	No additional costs
Teacher support materials: Professional loaning library of literacy resources and Individual teacher resource manuals	Order in Spring 2004	Literacy coach	Professional Loaning library=$500 Individual teacher manuarls=$600
Volunteer Tutoring Program	Organize in Spring 2004 for Fall 2004 implementation	EEF and school based volunteer coordinator	Reading materials for volunteer reading room= $1,.000
Tutoring intervention- Extended school day (3 day/week, 1 hour/day, 7-8 classrooms)		7-8 Classroom teachers	Teacher time= $20,000
Reading intervention for special needs and resource students -Reading Revolution	Order in Spring 2004	Special Needs Coordinator