Educational Leadership Portfolio
		ISLLC Standard 1: A school administrator is an educational leader who promotes the success of all students by facilitating the development, articulation, implementation, and stewardship of a vision of learning that is shared and supported by the school community. Title: Plan for raising student achievement Key Questions: 1) How does the administration develop a plan to involve all stakeholders in raising student achievement? 2) How well does the administration convey its message to raise student achievement to all stakeholders? 3) How does the administration demonstrate achievement of its plan to raise student achievement? Description of situation   As the principal of a predominantly African-American middle school (AAMS), P has made it her goal to develop a process that will focus on all levels of achievement. This goal setting is done to focus students and teachers on classroom achievement, as well as increased CRCT and Writing test scores. The plan involves individual teachers, content area groups, grade-level teams, and students in the articulation of goals. Individual teachers complete a goal setting sheet within the first 2 weeks of schools that includes projections for increases in CRCT scores of their current students. These goals are to be reviewed at the annual review after CRCT scores are received by the principal. Each content area also develops a plan using SMART goals. There are 3 teams per grade level and each team develops a plan. Finally, every student assembles a portfolio that includes exemplars of their best work and goal setting pages. These goals are developed during the Student Advisory period held after the first 6 weeks of the 1st semester and reviewed during the first 6 weeks of the 2nd semester. Each student graphs his/her CRCT scores from the previous year and writes goals for this years projected goals. For example, if a student achieved a score of 840(meets), the projected goal might be to exceed the standard with a score of 850. Benchmark scores are also tracked to determine academic strengths and weaknesses. In addition to the 2 semester advisory periods, advisory is held just prior to CRCT administration as a way to re-visit goals. The portfolios are available to parents during “Love Your School Night”, which is an evening to celebrate student work .   To highlight student performance, award assemblies are held each semester. In addition, "Prep Rallies" are held just prior to the 8th grade writing test and the CRCT. These rallies are competitions between teams and, in the case of the CRCT, between grade levels. Once the CRCT scores are received by the principal, an assembly is held to acknowledge the grade level with the highest scores in each content area.    Team Plan Student Advisory   Outcomes 1) The principal developed a plan for every member of the learning community. Each member and group is required to articulate a plan for raising student achievement that is data based. In addition, the plans are such that they are interdependent. Individuals are members of groups, so their individual goals are affected by the plans of the groups. 2) The principal presents the plan at preplanning by showing last year's CRCT data and the data sheets used to develop the plans. Grade level "town hall" meetings are held at the beginning of each semester to address academic and behavior expectations. Student advisory is explained at the fall semester meeting. 3) Upon receipt of CRCT scores, an assembly is held to announce scores. A multimedia display is used to present a visual of last year's data, state data, county data, and AAMS data. Explanation of the data is given in terms that can be understood by the students. Unfortunately, there is no review of the teacher's goal setting data. Although the plan stipulates to this being a requirement at the annual review, all reviews are completed prior to administration of the CRCT. Most teachers feel this is an exercise in futility because there is no review. The true measure of success can been seen in the data. AAMS had the highest percentage of students pass the 8th grade writing test. For the previous 3 years, it has also obtained the highest CRCT scores.   Evaluation of standard Knowledge : 6/6 Dispositions: 7/7 Performance: 15/15   Most evaluators would rate this administrator as Accomplished, however, there are several reasons for evaluating this administrator only as Proficient. The methods used for raising student achievement were not developed with input from the school community. All members are included in the develoment of plans, but not in the initial development of the strategy. Furthermore, these plans have become standard operating procedure each year. Development of the plans is seen as a chore that must be done, rather than a tool to guide instruction. Most teachers merely copy last years plan and change the teachers' names. Once the plans are submitted to the principal, they are not looked at again. The only exception is for the special education department. The 8th grade writing test is a strong focus for the 1st semester with this group of students. Last year, only 33% of the special education students passed the writing test. This was due, in a large part, to changes in the test that eliminated the narrative as an acceptable writing genre. This year 70% of the students passed the test. My recommendations are: Hold 6 week teacher advisory sessions to review benchmark data Hold 12 week student advisory sessions to ensure that the task is seen as integral to success, not just a one shot deal. Review the teacher's goals at the end of the year and develop strategies to adress those areas that did not meet the goals