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Presented to BOE Curriculum Committee by Santosha Oliver, Ph.D., Assistant Superintendent

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March 29, 2021

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Implementing High School Academic Intervention Courses

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Strategic Operating Plan

• We are committed to setting high expectations for all students.

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• We value collaboration.

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• We are committed to family and community partnerships.

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Theory of Action

If Windsor Public Schools partners with students and families to build positive relationships and align organizational systems to address students’ academic and social-emotional needs through an equity lens, then student performance will continuously improve and be sustained over time.

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High Quality Instruction & Acceleration

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Learning Loss & Recovery

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Proposal: To develop Tier 2 and Tier 3 academic courses to address learning loss and recovery due to the pandemic.

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•Gather baseline information to develop a prioritized implementation plan for academic, i.e., math and literacy interventions. • Gather progress‐monitoring information for continuous improvement of academic interventions. • Evaluate the implementation of academic interventions.

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Grade 8 Math Grade 8 Reading

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Why MTSS?

Purpose

• Learning loss & recovery
• Prevent poor learning outcomes in high school
• Dropout prevention

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Outcomes

• Prepared for high school success (and beyond)
• Increased proficiency in literacy and math skills
• Increased credits/proficiency on state exams
• Increased graduation rates

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Proposed Intervention Courses

Proposed intervention courses may be offered to students who demonstrate a basic understanding of core content material, but need targeted intervention beyond that which occurs in core instruction.

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The primary goal is to provide strategic or intensive instruction and intervention aligned to the grade level content.

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Student Selection

Identify and support struggling students with timely academic interventions.

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• Develop and implement plan for timely identification of students who are at risk of failing to meet grade-level academic expectations.
• Below state-designated cut points on CT summative assessments in: Grade 8 English Language Arts & Math
• PSAT
• Course failure(s)
• Diagnostic testing, if available
• Results on local formative assessments
• Attendance

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Early Warning Indicators

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Assessment Selection & Data Use

Select valid and reliable standardized literacy assessments to determine the need for intervention in the domains of vocabulary and comprehension, as well as students’ ability to interpret text and derive meaning (phonics and decoding multisyllabic words).

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Select valid and reliable standardized math assessments to determine the need for intervention in the domains of conceptual knowledge, procedural knowledge, and procedural flexibility.

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• Universal, diagnostic and formative assessments are used to monitor student response to intervention.

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• Data are used by teachers and students to set goals, adjust instructional practices, and guide the selection of curriculum materials in order to enhance student‐centered learning, improve student motivation, and increase student engagement.

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Content and Instruction

Design curriculum plan for instruction and interventions that reflect instructional practices that have been empirically shown to support gains in student achievement.

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• Semester course up to 15 students per section (.5 credits)

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• Taken in addition to the core Grade 9 or Grade 10 math or English class (in place of elective)

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• ELA instruction focuses on writing, comprehension strategies, vocabulary and research, while math instruction focuses on foundational knowledge of prerequisite skills and academic language required to access the CT Core Standards.

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Instructional Time

The school schedule has allocated sufficient and consistent instructional time to facilitate academic interventions and meet students’ instructional needs

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• A schedule is created and implemented to ensure that struggling students receive academic interventions in a timely manner.

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• The school has established a schedule that maximizes instructional time for academic interventions through various formats such as standalone courses, integration of intervention strategies in content area courses, and out‐of‐ school time.

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• The school has established a schedule that delivers academic interventions with the appropriate frequency, consistency, and duration to meet students’ instructional needs (.5 credits).

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Interventionist Selection

Develop and implement a plan to hire the best possible individuals to deliver academic interventions for struggling students.

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• Hire high school faculty and staff who will deliver academic interventions to students in small groups. The individuals delivering interventions should be able to teach academic literacy or math skills in an engaging manner to students during classroom intervention or content area instruction.

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• A plan is developed and implemented to identify cross‐age tutors who can deliver academic interventions to students daily or nearly daily in small groups in our existing academic labs.

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Professional Development

Develop and implement a plan to provide professional development and ongoing support to high school faculty and staff delivering academic interventions and strategy instruction for educators delivering initial instruction.

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• Provide professional development for individuals delivering academic interventions and academic intervention strategies for educators delivering initial instruction.

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• Conduct ongoing observations of and provide feedback and support to individuals delivering academic interventions.

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Communication

Develop and implement a plan to facilitate effective communication and collaboration among administrators, instructional coaches, classroom teachers, intervention teachers, parents, and school counselors to ensure that each student’s instructional needs are met.

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• A plan is developed and implemented for communication and collaboration that will ensure successful startup of academic interventions.

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• A plan is developed that enables teachers, those delivering interventions, and parents to collaborate regularly regarding students’ growth in targeted skill areas.

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Planning Next Steps

• Board of Education approval to proceed

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• Develop curriculum

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• Revise Program of Studies

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• Hire interventionists (covid relief funds)

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References

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• Adolescent Literacy Interventions https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED490970.pdf
• Self Study Guide for Implementing High School Interventions

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