Westf?lnster Where Education is Personal Management Pathway Plan April 14, 2017 Westminster Public Schools Management Pathway Plan Table of Contents I. Need for Management Partner 3 II. Mission and Vision 8 III. District Systems 14 IV. Academic Systems 19 GOAL 1: Ensure consistent and deeper implementation of our Competency Based System (CBS) with regard to all instructional aspects 19 GOAL 2: Attract, retain and develop effective CBS educators and leaders 26 GOAL 3: Foster a strong culture of academic success, including postsecondary, workforce readiness for students and parents 29 GOAL 4: Strengthen and Expand Early Childhood Education 33 V. Culture of Performance 36 VI. Talent Management 43 VII. Selection of Partner 50 VIII. Performance Contract/MOU 55 Page - 2 Westminster Public Schools Management Pathway Plan I. Need for Management Partner Once considered a typical suburban school district, economic and demographic shifts within the larger metropolitan area have changed the face of Westminster Public Schools (WPS) in a relatively short time to resemble that of an archetypical urban district. The District now serves a diverse group of approximately 10,000 students in 19 schools, including an Early Childhood Center, 11 elementary schools, three middle schools, one comprehensive high school, one alternative high school, one K-8 STEM Innovation school (Colorado STEM Academy), one K-6 school (Westminster Academy for International Studies which is currently seeking Innovation Status) one online program (Westminster Virtual Academy) and a highly structured, therapeutic Day Treatment Program (Instructional Services Center). The district employs about 1,070 personnel including 650 licensed teachers and administrators and 420 educational support professionals. Of the licensed teachers, 70 percent have advanced degrees with an average of 1115 years of teaching. Students are characterized by significant socioeconomic challenges, a high rate of mobility, and generational language barriers. The majority of students are Hispanic (77 percent), most qualify for free or reduced lunch (81 percent), and just under half (46 percent) are English learners. About one fourth (22.2 percent) of WPS’s students’ move in or out of the District during a given school year from August through May. In 2009, WPS took the bold step of reinventing itself as a Competency Based System of pK12 education to best meet the needs of its changing and highly mobile student population where the majority of students are First Generation College bound. The most notable differences from traditional schooling is the grouping of students by their performance levels rather than their age and embracing new technology to better utilize personalized academic data. Essentially, there are five central concepts at the core of competency based learning: Students advance when they master the content and skills, not because they squeaked by with a C or a D grade; Transparency about where students stand data wise empowers them and enables educators to better tailor instruction to their individual needs; Assessment is a continual part of the learning cycle, not a final judgment at a time when a student has no hope of changing the outcome; Teachers offer timely support, often daily, on any part of the required material; and students must be able to demonstrate that they can transfer their knowledge to new contexts, applying skills to challenges they have never seen before. Creating systemic structures and practices to implement these core concepts enables WPS to truly build education around each student’s needs, with time becoming the variable and learning the constant. In the CBS, students are individually engaged in 21st century skills, working at their own developmental performance levels in each content area and advancing only when they have demonstrated proficiency or mastery. While Westminster Public Schools has pioneered the use of CBS, states and schools across the country are realizing its value. The following graphic (see Figure 1) captures the components of the CBS educational model that we call the Westminster Learning Model. Page - 3 Westminster Public Schools Management Pathway Plan Figure 1: Westminster Learning Model In conjunction with WPS’ implementation of a CBS, the State of Colorado initiated a new accountability model per SB09-163. In 2010, 13 of the District’s 18 schools were rated at Turnaround or Priority Improvement status. Over the next five years, all of these schools improved, with just two left on Priority Improvement status in 2016. During the same time period, the District has seen its overall accreditation score rise nearly 16 points (when the one year DPF’s are used), from Turnaround to the upper tier of Priority Improvement. In 2016, the remaining two schools advanced to an improvement rating. (see Figure 2) Page - 4 Westminster Public Schools Management Pathway Plan Figure 2: Accreditation Ratings from 2010 through 2016 However, despite the significant growth and improvement in results obtained during the TCAP era, a negative shift in results was observed in some schools when the new PARCC was administered. In 2016, eight schools moved back onto year one of the accountability clock. Consequently, the District entered Year 6 Priority Improvement. Westminster Public Schools has experienced substantial growth in academic achievement and desires to do so again. These results and aspirations were evidenced by the State Review Panel in spring 2015 who found the District “has a strong leadership team in place” that “combined with the present infrastructure, has garnered strong School Board and Community support.” Critically, the Review Panel emphasized “[t]he district has shown a number of positive early indicators of change,” and “[e]vidence from both the document review and site visit showed that the new structures in place are effectively improving schools.” Their findings also reported that “the district demonstrated the capacity to benefit from the use of external partners such as CDE, Evans Newton for title schools, CDE’s Language and Equity Department and Marzano Labs”. However, the State Review Panel’s first recommendation was “How is district leadership addressing their identified challenges of consistency of instructional practices (especially reading at the middle school level) and unifying instructional approaches (especially at the high school math levels) across the district? In response to this recommendation and other insights, in spring 2016 and during the pause year of the “Accountability Clock” WPS invited AdvancED, an international accreditation agency, to complete a thorough review and evaluation of the District and each of its school’s progress and to determine next steps for improving the entire system. After its comprehensive analysis of the District’s practices, which included more than 500 interviews and visits to 215 classrooms, AdvancED fully accredited WPS for the next five years. Overall, the AdvancED team was impressed with the high degree of dedication and commitment among all stakeholders involved with the system. The vision of the system was clear and clearly documented, and Page - 5 Westminster Public Schools Management Pathway Plan appeared to be shared among stakeholders. The culture of the community, built by the community's history within the larger urban environment, the loyalty of system alumni, and the intent to succeed, was palpable. The AdvancED team recommended that WPS use the findings from their review to guide continuous improvement. They identified three areas that must be addressed by WPS within the continuous improvement process. They are: 1. Broaden and deepen stakeholder engagement to ensure that the voice of all stakeholders is equitably represented in implementation of the system’s purpose and direction. 2. Design and implement a process to continually verify that all instructional staff and leaders are implementing CBS with fidelity. 3. Implement professional learning and evaluation programs to guarantee that all instructional staff and leaders have deep knowledge of and skills to implement CBS effectively. WPS recognizes the validity of the independent reviews that were conducted by the State Review Panel and AdvancED and the need to implement improvement strategies for accelerating academic growth and increasing overall achievement. The District is fully committed to the academic needs of all of its students and has a moral imperative to continue its far reaching innovative and authentic Competency Based System (CBS) as desired by the community with the outcomes of improving learning and the District’s accreditation rating. The District annually reviews and updates the District Unified Improvement Plan (UIP) based on the performance challenges identified from the most recent analysis of sets of local and state data. WPS has identified the following Priority Performance Challenges and Root Causes as part of the District’s Continuous Improvement process: Priority Performance Challenge 1 Improving achievement scores across all content areas and all levels (Math, English Language Arts, and Science) on the PARCC and DIBELS Next for primary grades. Priority Performance Challenge 2 Maintaining a systemic positive growth trajectory for students that supports a model for acceleration to achieve postsecondary success. Priority Performance Challenge 3 Continuing to improve Post-Secondary Workforce Readiness as demonstrated by SAT scores and improved graduation rates. Priority Performance Challenge 4 Continuing to improve progress in moving students from Limited English Proficient to Fluent English Proficient. The District showed steady improvement for several years that resulted in moving all schools that were originally designated as Turnaround or Priority Improvement off of the accountability clock. However, as explained above, eight schools returned to the accountability clock in 2016 after the PARCC assessment was implemented. These schools are not markedly different than the remaining schools in Westminster Public Schools. Unlike several larger surrounding school districts, the student demographics among all district schools are very similar. The District is Page - 6 Westminster Public Schools Management Pathway Plan unsure as to why its consistent growth suddenly ceased with the change of the assessment. Accordingly, the root causes of the District’s challenges are not entirely clear. Indeed, one of the tasks of the District’s Management Partner AdvancED will be to help diagnose the reasons for the sudden shift in improvement trends. However, based on prior feedback from AdvancED and the information in the District UIPs, the District believes the following previously identified “root causes” may be contributing factors. Root Cause 1 Inconsistent quality, fidelity, intensity, and implementation of ● learner-centered instructional model and data practices ● research-based instructional strategies for English Learners. Root Cause 2 Accountability - Lack of systemic accountability and advocacy across all schools to ensure deep implementation of District Expectations and Agreements to support a Competency Based Model. Root Cause 3 Postsecondary Culture Building - Lack of available resources and structure - A need to make system-wide shift to engage postsecondary readiness into every aspect of student preparation for graduation WPS believes that with AdvancED’s management assistance in monitoring and providing feedback on the school and classroom implementation of the CBS, Westminster Public Schools can accelerate student achievement and student performance on state testing. AdvancED has over one hundred years of experience in educational accountability and accreditation and can provide the District with a critical third-party analysis of the root causes of the District’s challenges with student achievement. Additionally, to ensure that the District adequately address these issues, AdvancED will monitor the implementation and understanding of the CBS. AdvancED will provide meaningful feedback and direction to support improved understanding and consistent implementation of the CBS in all classrooms across the District to assure greater student success as measured by PARCC. It is also envisioned that AdvancED will assist in monitoring the level of school and classroom implementation of Professional Development provided by Marzano Research with particular emphasis on CBS Proficiency Scales, Tier I Vocabulary and Marzano’s Compendium of Instructional Strategies (The Art and Science of Teaching). Page - 7 Westminster Public Schools Management Pathway Plan II. Mission and Vision In the fall of 2015, Westminster Public Schools adopted a five year Strategic Plan called “Vision 2020” that makes looking to the future a top priority. The Vision 2020 Strategic Plan has identified five areas of concentration that represents the collective vision of all stakeholders and permeates all aspects of the District’s work as displayed in the following graphic. Westminster Public Schools collective five-year strategic plan vision is embodied in the five statements that follow: Westminster Public Schools’ Identity articulates the Mission, Values and Vision that are shared by the District and community, enabling it to demonstrate outstanding quality that transcends the boundaries of the classroom walls and is personified in our staff and students. Westminster Public Schools is an educational leader whose priority is to seek high academic standards, support innovative instructional programs and practices, increase academic achievement, and develop our students’ learning skills. Westminster Public Schools supports the personal, social, financial literacy, career exploration and development of our students in order to ensure each is professionally prepared. Westminster Public Schools provides functional and safe infrastructure and facilities, which make a significant contribution to a positive student and workplace experience. Westminster Public Schools is an employer of choice committed to fostering an environment of education innovation through a workplace that attracts, sustains, and inspires great people, working for a great purpose, while promoting diversity, equity, civility, and respect. Westminster Public Schools is working towards greater student achievement both in terms of growth and overall status at all school levels, in all tested contents and in the PWR indicators. Based on the findings of the State Review Panel, AdvancED and internal measures the District has identified the following four goals that over a period of five years will raise student outcomes as measured on the Performance Frameworks: GOAL 1: Ensure consistent and deeper implementation of our Competency Based System (CBS) with regard to all instructional aspects GOAL 2: Attract, retain and develop effective CBS educators and leaders GOAL 3: Foster a strong culture of academic success, including post-secondary, workforce Page - 8 Westminster Public Schools Management Pathway Plan readiness for students and parents GOAL 4: Strengthen and expand early childhood education Goals one and two pertain to all schools within the District with more urgency for the schools categorized as underperforming. Goals three and four target a systemic approach at each end of the educational pipeline. It should also be noted that we expect individual schools to achieve improvement at a faster pace than that of the District given the differences in “n” size as well as the cut points for each accreditation category. To achieve the academic oriented goals, we have outlined the following Performance Targets in our Management Pathway Plan Proposal: ● Increase the graduation rate at Westminster High School to 85 percent or above (Meets Expectations on SPF) and improve Hidden Lake High School (Alternative Education Campus) best of completion rate to greater than or equal to 90 percent or above (Exceeds Expectations on AEC SPF) ● Reduce Westminster High School dropout rate from 5.9 percent to at or below 2 percent (Meets Expectations on SPF) and reduce Hidden Lake High School (Alternative Education Campus) dropout rate from 13.6 percent to 4.6 percent (Greater than or equal to the 60th percentile of AECs to Meet Expectation) ● Demonstrate consistent growth in Mathematics and English Language Arts with a minimum PARCC MGP of 50 at the elementary and middle school levels ● Demonstrate improvements in achievement in Mathematics and English Language Arts by increasing the percentage of students scoring at “meets” or “exceeds” on PARCC by 5 percent per year at the elementary and middle school levels ● Ensure students are meeting early literacy benchmarks by increasing the percentage of students scoring at or above benchmark on DIBELS by 10 percent per year and reducing the number of K-2 students identified as Significant Reading Deficient (SRD) by 10 percent per year ● Close growth and achievement gaps with students qualifying for Free and Reduced lunch by attaining a minimum MGP of 50 by 2018 ● Each student who is behind their expected Performance Level for any content area must make at least one and a half years’ growth for that content area. WPS has several existing systems that it will use to monitor these systemic goals. Most notably, all students in elementary, middle and high schools will track their progress using a “Competency Tracker” as part of their individual Data Notebook and/or ICAP that shows if Page - 9 Westminster Public Schools Management Pathway Plan they are “on track” toward graduation and a career of their choosing. The data used to populate the tracker will be pulled from Empower which will add an additional layer of accountability for instructional staff to maintain an accurate picture of student progress in the system. The 2017-2018 “CBS Zone Learning Walks” will include a review of student data notebooks. The implementation of data notebooks will also be a component of the school level 3-week data cycles as a check for implementation and maintenance. Figure 4 shows a sample “Competency Tracker” for an elementary student which has a similar look and feel to the middle and high school versions. Additionally, Data Notebooks inclusive of ICAPs at the secondary level will be expanded over the 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 school years to all district schools. With the “Competency Tracker” as the guiding document for all goal setting, each student will have an individual learning trajectory outlined to accelerate progress.The “Competency Tracker” will also provide parents with an easy to understand and valuable tool to monitor their child’s progress. The WPS Instructional Progression documents will serve as a resource in outlining the typical progression through levels. Furthermore, teacher activity in Empower, including logins, data entry and level movements, will be reported to the district Board of Education quarterly with a goal of 80 percent of teachers entering data on a weekly basis. School level Empower Learning Facilitators will be used in conjunction with principals to monitor teacher activity and provide support and training where needed. An Empower Playlist will be released to provide on demand support for teachers needing an additional dose of training on the system. Page - 10 Westminster Public Schools Management Pathway Plan Figure 4: Sample Elementary “Competency Tracker” Traditional grade levels do not exist in WPS’s personalized learning environment. Because students achieve performance levels in multiple content areas at varying paces, a specific student at any given time will be working at a different level for each content area. Although WPS groups students by performance levels, the District has assessed students for the state assessment based on their age. WPS believes that it would be a more accurate measure of student growth and achievement to assess students based on the performance level each student is pursuing in each content area at any point Page - 11 Westminster Public Schools Management Pathway Plan during the school year. Better recognizing where a student is in their learning would maximize WPS’s differentiation by content area and flexibility by time. The following table summarizes the four Major Improvement Strategies (MIS), Key Actions and Implementation Benchmarks. Table 1: Summary of Major Improvement Strategies, Key Actions and Implementation Benchmarks MIS Key Actions Implementation Benchmarks 1. Ensure consistent and deeper implementation of our Competency Based System (CBS) with regard to all instructional aspects 1a. Improve overall consistency of CBS classroom practices through classroom learning walks involving teacher leaders, principals and district leadership. 1b. Implement protocols for the Habits of a Personalized Learner in all K-12 classrooms. 1c. Focus on the processes of the Interventionist Framework to address the needs of CLD learners, students with disabilities and other struggling learners. 1d. Expand the use of the district’s Learning Management System, Empower 2.0, to support instructional planning (principals, teachers, students and parents). 1e. Improve teacher capacity around instructional design through the implementation of proficiency scales, learning progressions, and success criteria tied to unit planning. 1f. Capitalize on the cooperative learning strategies implemented by Scott Carpenter Middle School (Kagan Structures) to improve student engagement across all classrooms. 1g. Strategic focus on use of data at the building level to guide UIP development and yearlong focus (short cycle monitoring). 1a/1c/1e/lf. Analysis of CBS Zone Learning Walk data to determine gaps in implementation and future professional development needs. 1b. Habits tracking sheets kept in student data notebooks and/or ICAPs. 1d/1e. Monitor Playlist development and sharing in Empower for alignment to the Unit Design/PBL components. 1d. Teacher activity in Empower, including logins, data entry and level movements, will be reported to the district Board of Education quarterly with a goal of 80% of teachers entering data on a weekly basis (support and monitoring done by Facilitators and Principals). 1d. All schools will hold an Empower parent training in the Fall and Spring. 1e. Teacher teams will develop and submit Unit Plans for at least one content level Learning Progression. 1f. Unit Plan/PBLs analyzed for alignment to the PIES (Kagan) principles. 1g. School UIPs will include formative and summative data to drive school based instructional practice. Schools will produce a one-page UIP Strategic Focus Plan. 2. Attract, retain and develop effective CBS educators and leaders 2a. Implement teacher and principal mentor program to ensure effective performance in a CBS. 2b. Implement an Aspiring Leadership Program to serve as leadership pipeline for the district. 2c. Provide rigorous training opportunities on CBS instructional design through an expanded learning symposium model. 2e. Marzano Research professional development consulting partner. 2f. Expand recruitment efforts to job fairs across the country to increase the diversity of 2a/2e. Teacher (Standard 1-3) and Principal (Standard 1-4) evaluations reflect a proficient or above rating based on data and observations. 2b. Maintain/improve shared leadership at the building and district level as measured by retention. 2a/2c/2e. Improved % of observed learner centered classroom indicators in CBS Zone Learning Walks. 2f. Increase teacher diversity by 10% and increase the number of CLD endorsed Page - 12 Westminster Public Schools Management Pathway Plan teaching staff. teachers by 15%. 3. Foster a strong culture of academic success, including postsecondary, workforce readiness for students and parents 3a. Expand and sustain counselor efforts with academic performance and career planning protocol using student data. 3b. Implement program designed to break the cycle of poverty and create a college mindset by expanding AVID for students. 3c. Implement a program expansion of the PASS Parent Institute. 3d. Utilize the Competency Tracker to determine progress toward on-time high school graduation beginning at the elementary level. 3e. Increase community partnerships and student certificate achievement in CTE. 3a. Increase college credit opportunities annually. 3a/3d. ICAP completion by 80% of all secondary students. 3b. 40 Teachers complete AVID Summer Institute Training. 3c. PASS program completion - 100 participants per school. 3a-e. Increase Matriculation rate to 42%. 3a-e. Increase FAFSA completion rate to 45%. 3d. Data Notebook review at CBS Zone Learning Walks and at 3-week data cycles as a check for implementation and maintenance based on a set of quality criteria. 4. Strengthen and expand early childhood education 4a. Adjust staffing ratios at the K-1 level to provide a strategic focus on early literacy. 4b. Provide intensive professional development on K-1 reading pedagogy. 2d/4c. Expand early childhood education to infant/toddler programming as part of the Cradle to Career pipeline. 4d. Full-day preschool expansion (Pay for Success pilot). 4a/4b. Increase in early reading scores (K1) as measured by the% of students meeting annual growth metrics on DIBELS. 4c/4d. Improved Kindergarten transitions and enrollment. 4c/4d. 80% of kindergarteners will meet literacy and social/emotional Widely Held Expectations at the end of the kindergarten year as measured by TS GOLD KEA Survey. 4d. Outcome measures from PFS preschool study as measured by PPVT/ESIR results (PFS). Page - 13 Westminster Public Schools Management Pathway Plan III. District Systems Westminster Public Schools has had much success in the past by partnering with organizations and consultants as part of Colorado’s school turnaround effort. Six schools were identified to receive SIG (School Improvement Grants) funds beginning in 2010 and with that assistance and a relentless focus on instruction all six schools were able to exit from the Accountability Clock during the period of SIG funding. The primary partner selected during that time was ENI (Evans Newton Inc.) based on their proven past experience as well as their willingness to ensure their methodology and improvement practices worked in a Competency Based System. Given that the body of school turnaround research, literature and practices has increased considerably since 2010, Westminster Public Schools elected to partner with AdvancED in 2016 to seek an independent and comprehensive review of the entire District with a goal of independent accreditation. AdvancEd was eager to partner with WPS believing that more and more educators are looking for management partners who understand the complexities and benefits of a Competency Based System. The progress WPS experienced since the inception of CBS has not been by accident and has been measured annually by the district. WPS has measured the depth of CBS implementation at each school through the biannual administration of a CBS rubric (see Figure 5) specifically designed to measure each component of the model. Each school self-reported their progress (see Figure 6) on the rubric and the District designed professional development opportunities in response to the needs that were identified. Figure 5: This is a single page from the specifically designed CBS Rubric Page - 14 Westminster Public Schools Management Pathway Plan Figure 6: Sample of a school’s annual growth using the CBS rubric Additionally, as a result of the learning from these biannual evaluations, WPS realized the need for much more intentional clarity and transparency in the standards. Toward this end, WPS created and developed Proficiency Scales and Learning Progressions/Trajectories for all content areas and provided the needed professional development to launch these new tools in the classroom. More specific information defining what Proficiency Scales and Learning Progressions/Trajectories are can be found in Section IV Academic Systems. To measure the deployment of these new tools and practices for increasing consistency and depth of CBS implementation, in 2017, the District instituted Learning Walks (Walkthroughs) whereby all district leadership conduct school and classroom visits, collecting data specific to the implementation of CBS elements. These data are aggregated monthly and reviewed collectively as an entire leadership team to determine status and next steps for implementation. Figure 7 shows a snapshot of the results of a Learning Walk in first semester. Page - 15 Westminster Public Schools Management Pathway Plan Figure 7: Snapshot of CBS Learning Walk results for first semester WPS has analyzed these results with the University of Colorado for the purpose of Continuous Improvement using short cycle monitoring practices. The evaluation consisted of statistically analyzing the Value Perceptions of the participants of the Learning Walk process as collected via survey. Also, the data collected during the classroom observations were psychometrically measured to note any statistical significance for informing next steps. The District acknowledges that similar to students, schools can be in different places with their “learning.” These differences may be heightened by changes both within and out of the District’s control. In addition to numerous changes to standards and assessments over several years, the District as mentioned previously has implemented innovative strategies and resources as part of Page - 16 Westminster Public Schools Management Pathway Plan the process of refining its use of the Competency Based System. AdvancED has identified inconsistent implementation of key practices and processes as a primary focus for the District moving forward. To help identify, quantify and resolve these inconsistencies, the following actions were taken: 1. In 2015, the Superintendent convened a Teacher Leader Cabinet where each school is represented by a teacher representative who can speak directly to the issues encountered at their school, including concerns regarding the implementation of the CBS. 2. In 2015, all instructional staff completed professional development on the next generation Empower Learning Management System used to track student mastery of competencies to address communication issues among staff, students, and parents. 3. In 2016, AdvancED was invited to visit and evaluate every school as part of the review of the entire District. AdvancED specifically evaluated the implementation and understanding of the CBS by District employees, students and parents and provided the District with feedback on their analysis. 4. In 2017, the implementation of Learning Walks was initiated to monitor system deployment of practices. Additionally, new teacher mentoring and an aspiring leadership academy were developed to support new teachers working in a competency based educational model and to grow our own administrators. Last year, when the state’s accountability system resumed with PARCC as the metric, eight schools in WPS were deemed to be underperforming. Capitalizing on its burgeoning relationship and growing knowledge of the CBS, AdvancED will help diagnose the reasons for the sudden shift in improvement trends and assist in diagnosing whether additional training or greater compliance would be of more benefit in reversing these trends. Moving forward, AdvancED will use the continuous improvement approach to work with Westminster Public Schools to: ● Clearly define the current reality as perceived by stakeholders, especially in regard to underperforming schools and the system-wide implementation of CBS. ● Analyze the successful “turnaround” practices that were implemented and sustained at Mesa Elementary School, Sherrelwood Elementary School, and Scott Carpenter Middle School. ● Conduct an in-depth analysis of each school that is now labeled as underperforming. ● Identify specific goals and priorities for underperforming schools, help them to build an action plan to achieve the goals, and monitor the schools’ progress toward achieving improvement goals. ● Assist the district with quality assurance practices and measures, especially related to consistent CBS implementation. ● Evaluate current processes, practices, and conditions and offer suggestions, training, and follow-up evaluation that can embed a culture of continuous improvement in the district and its schools. Page - 17 Westminster Public Schools Management Pathway Plan ● Assist in the development, implementation, and evaluation of early childhood and the Quality Rating & Improvement System (QRIS) requirements. AdvancED’s recent work with the District, their track record and expertise will be essential not only in further diagnosing why eight schools were reclassified as underperforming per the latest generation of the School Performance frameworks but also in helping create sustainable practices to remove inconsistencies of CBS implementation across the District. The presence of a management partner will increase accountability at all levels of the system. Page - 18 Westminster Public Schools Management Pathway Plan IV. Academic Systems To achieve the Performance Targets and goals described in Sections II and III, the following Key Actions will be implemented: GOAL 1: Ensure consistent and deeper implementation of our Competency Based System (CBS) with regard to all instructional aspects Key Action 1a. Improve overall consistency of CBS classroom practices through classroom learning walks involving teacher leaders, principals and district leadership. Beginning in the 2016 school year, district and school level leadership began participating in a Learning Walk (Walkthrough) protocol. The participants are classroom teachers, building administrators, district administrators, and district support staff. These participants have been organized into three different teams, each with about 20 people. Each week, one team visits a school for a day or half day of principal presentations, classroom observations, and collaborative discussions. Their findings are shared through a Google feedback tool which allows all participants to view trends, strengths, and areas of improvement. Once a month, all teams come together to debrief the visits. The schedule ensures that all schools are visited over the course of a single semester. These Learning Walks were designed to meet a few identified needs. The initial purpose was to ensure consistency across the district. The implementation of our Competency Based System has always been stronger in some classrooms than others. These Learning Walks and the data that is collected helps pinpoint what is working well, what is being implemented consistently across the district, and what needs to be focused on as we move forward. The second purpose of these Learning Walks is to bring people together to learn from each other. Observing what is working and being accomplished across the district can help people open up, support each other, and help create a collaborative culture across the district. Key Action 1b. Implement protocols for the Habits of a Personalized Learner in all K-12 classrooms. Research tells us the importance of the relationship between the development of personal-social skills and other attributes and skills, like school attitudes, behavior and academic performance. Our Habits for a Successful Personalized Learner! will be an important part of our ability to leverage achievement outcomes for students at Westminster Public Schools, since it not only teaches them personal-social skills that are crucial on the day after graduation, but support our ability to improve students’ ability to become agents and owners of their own learning by becoming Self Managers, Effective Participators, Team Workers, Reflective Learners and Future Minded Learners in a Competency Based System. (See page - 29) Key Action 1c. Focus on the processes of the Interventionist Framework to address the needs of CLD learners, students with disabilities and other struggling learners. Page - 19 Westminster Public Schools Management Pathway Plan The Interventionist Framework, originally developed by Westminster Public School leaders in 2009, is now regarded as a “promising practice” at both the state and national levels (e.g., National Center for Learning Disabilities). The time is ripe to begin the Interventionist Framework 2.0, which will guide future practices in the following manner: ● Instruction: All academic work will be better aligned with instruction conducted in the general classroom, using research-based reading practices from the National Reading Council and explicit instructional practices (i.e., Dr. Anita Archer). ● Scheduling: Students will no longer be pulled out of their core reading or math programs within the general classroom. Further, pull-out services will not be determined by an individual professional, but collaboratively with other team members to optimize services conducted. ● Identification: The identification process for students considered for learning disability services in reading will be held to a higher bar of eligibility so that students are kept among content reading teachers as much as possible, particularly at the primary level. ● Professional Development: Paraprofessionals will undergo a Special Education Paraprofessional Academy (SEPA), which will improve their practices while working with Students With Disabilities (SWD) and other struggling learners. Also, licensed staff will receive PD emphasizing key instruction practices, while de-emphasizing compliance-oriented content. ● Staffing: WPS is committed to begin hiring licensed Literacy and Math Interventionists as well as work with any current qualified staff to provide the content instruction for our SWD and other struggling learners for growth and achievement outcomes. Through attrition, these additional positions will be made possible by reducing and restructuring the roles of its paraprofessionals. Key Action 1d. Expand the use of the District’s Learning Management System, Empower 2.0, to support instructional planning (released in fall 2015). In order to support quality teaching and learning in our Competency Based System, Westminster Public Schools understands the importance of technology to support quality instruction and data driven practices at all levels to improve student learning and achievement. When implemented mindfully, and with fidelity, teachers are able to incorporate successful teaching practices with an innovative Learning Management System (Empower) that provides real time information about student progress as well as access to education tools that have only recently become available. Fidelity of using Empower will be monitored weekly by principals to ensure teachers are entering data regarding student progress and informing parents in a timely manner. Additionally, principals will work with teachers and their school supervisor to monitor the quality of the data entered as well as using the tool for creating instructional groupings. At the Learning Walk site visits, principals will be asked to show and report teacher weekly data entry in Empower as well as sharing quality examples of data that reflects student progress. Principals will explain why these examples represent quality in their context. All principals will report teacher activity in Empower, including logins, data entry and level movements, to the district for short cycle analysis and reporting to the Board of Education on a quarterly basis. Page - 20 Westminster Public Schools Management Pathway Plan The District's decision to invest in one-to-one technology for students is allowing teachers to provide more blended learning opportunities. Once teachers become more proficient in using technology instructionally they will be able to move into the augmentation, modification, and redefinition portions of the SAMR (Substitution, Augmentation, Modification and Redefinition) model of integrating technology in education, they are able to help students interact with content and their learning in deeper and more meaningful ways. The latest generation of our Learning Management System (Empower) was released in the spring of 2015 with a new Playlist tool which provides a new mechanism for personalizing pathways for learners. Instructional Playlists will be developed in Empower following the four Stages of the District Unit Design template for each Content Level based on the Instructional Progressions developed by the Proficiency Scale Task Force. The Playlists will serve as both instructional guides for teachers as well as a mechanism for students to self-pace through competencies. A Playlist will include instructional strategies, activities, assessments, and resources both custom developed and curated from a variety of open educational resources. Successful completion of a Playlist would result in a student demonstrating proficiency of all required competencies within a Performance Level. Additionally, as teachers develop instructional Playlists they will be able to share their work with teachers across the District. To enable this to occur on a systemic level the District will incentivize teachers to share their work openly as well as assuring PLC practices are supported at a deeper level in all schools. While progress in teacher sharing of Playlists has been made, teachers are still hesitant in sharing their work with colleagues given the newness of the tool. However, this type of professional sharing will help decrease the workload for teachers and encourage a collaborative, cooperative teaching community. Key Action 1e. Improve teacher capacity around instructional design through the implementation of proficiency scales, learning progressions, and success criteria tied to unit planning. Proficiency Scales A Proficiency Scale is a tool that displays a collection of related learning goals from the simple to more complex. It creates a continuum that articulates levels of knowledge and skills around a specific topic. Proficiency Scales ensure alignment of curriculum, instruction, assessment and feedback while serving as a framework for high-quality classroom assessment. Scales are developed with an increasing level of rigor from score 0.0 to a 4.0 with 3.0 being the required level of proficiency to progress. Content Areas and Standards Proficiency Scales were developed in 2015 for Performance Levels Pre-K to 12 in Math, Literacy, Science, Social Studies, Physical Education, Health, Performing Arts, Visual Arts, World Language, Technology, Habits of Personalized Learners, STEM and Career and Technical Education. After in-depth training, teacher teams created proficiency scales and learning progressions for each content area based on the corresponding Common Core State Standards (Math and ELA), Next Generation Science Standards (Science), Colorado Academic Standards (Social Studies, Physical Education, Health, Performing Arts, Visual Arts, World Language) and Page - 21 Westminster Public Schools Management Pathway Plan program standards (Technology, Habits of Personalized Learners, STEM and Career and Technical Education). Development Process Westminster Public Schools embarked on a project in the fall of 2015 to develop Proficiency Scales based on the work of Dr. Robert Marzano. Proficiency Scales are a tool that help teachers define proficiency, “deconstruct” the standards, and develop an instructional plan that meets the cognitive complexity required by the standards. Proficiency Scale Task Forces were initially organized for the content areas of Math and Literacy with four grade level spans (PK-2, 3-5, 6-8 and 9-12). Teachers received training on the what, why and how of proficiency scales from Marzano Research and Webb’s Depth of Knowledge from the Center for Transforming Learning and Teaching (CTLT) to support their work. The makeup of task force teams was intentional to ensure horizontal as well as vertical alignment. The teams worked together to prioritize the Common Core State Standards into instructional themes and determined an instructional progression. Over the course of the 2015 school year, the remaining content areas began the same process to develop scales. Figure 8: Example Proficiency Scale. Instructional Progressions/Trajectories The Proficiency Scale development process included the development of a variety of progression/trajectory documents to support instructional planning and student goal setting. The first progression is embedded in each Proficiency Scale. The skills within each scale were placed in the order in which instruction should be provided from simple to complex. The recommended progression is denoted by the step number next to each standard or subskill. Once the Proficiency Scales for a Performance Level were complete, the teams then developed Instructional Page - 22 Westminster Public Schools Management Pathway Plan Progressions by designating the order in which each Proficiency Scale within a Performance Level should be taught. The first draft of the Instructional Progressions were based on the instructional expertise of the teacher teams then verified through a variety of different research based sources such as Engage NY, University of Arizona, and the Colorado Department of Education Model Units. The final progression the teams developed provided a PK-12 vertical sequence within content area domains. The vertical progression supports gap filling for our students that are below grade level as well as acceleration for higher performing students. After the first few months of implementation, a need arose to create an additional progression document to support mutli-level planning. Theme based progressions look at a specified number of Performance Levels, for instance level 2 through 4, which allow a teacher to quickly identify the nuances from level to level within the same theme. Figure 9: Sample Performance Level Instructional Progression/Trajectories Depth of Knowledge Professional Development The expectations of what constitutes demonstration of proficiency vary widely from one classroom to the next in education. However, to address this challenge, as stated above, the Proficiency Scale Task Force designated the Depth of Knowledge for each standard on the scale based on the work of Norman Webb as well as the Cognitive Process based on Bloom’s Taxonomy. To ensure all Page - 23 Westminster Public Schools Management Pathway Plan district instructional staff would be able to utilize that component of the Proficiency Scales, the district rolled out professional development over the 2015-2016 school year and the fall of 2016. Every instructional staff member has completed Depth of Knowledge Training 101 provided by the Center for Learning and Transformation at UCD. Instructional Module Professional Development Once the Proficiency Scales were created, all instructional staff received training to guide effective implementation. All teachers in the district were trained on the elements of proficiency scales, learning progressions, success criteria and unit planning. The development of Learning Progressions for each content level alongside the class level data available in the Empower Learning Management System allows teachers to strategically determine the starting point for instruction. This process of determining the progression lays the groundwork for all future unit planning. This content now provides a consistent foundation for instructional planning for Westminster Public Schools. The trainings have been organized into four modules which outline the district instructional focus aligned with our Evidence Based Competency Driven Classroom model. Instructional Module One: Definition, Purpose and Benefits of Proficiency Scales The first module is designed to help teachers understand the importance of ensuring that instruction and assessments meet the level of rigor required by the standard. Teachers also learn the purpose and benefits of the proficiency scale components. Instructional Module Two: Learning Progressions The second module is designed to help teachers in a competency based system have a solid understanding of the requirements of the performance level above and below the level they are providing direct instruction in. Teacher teams developed three different progressions. The first progression is embedded in each Proficiency Scale. The skills within each scale were placed in the order in which instruction should be provided. The teams then developed Instructional Progressions by designating the order in which each Proficiency Scale within a Performance Level should be taught. The final progression guide provides a Vertical Progression for each content domain across the PK-12 system. This progression will support gap filling and acceleration of content. Instructional Module Three: Success Criteria The third module is essential in a Competency Based System to build student agency. Success criteria will help students understand “what success looks like” for each standard. Success criteria will be used by students to determine if their work has all the necessary evidence for a specific standard. Teachers will also post exemplars so students can compare their work to determine the degree of quality and readiness for submission. These practices allow students to progress at their own pace due to the transparency of what proficient evidence requires. Teachers have a better understanding of Common Core State Standards due to “deconstructing the standards” and developing success criteria during unit development. Page - 24 Westminster Public Schools Management Pathway Plan Instructional Module Four: Unit Planning The last module introduces the WPS Unit Design template that is utilized by all district teachers. The development of unit plans has increased our conversations and training on effective instruction. Teachers are discussing, creating and determining “the best way to teach the content” and how to address the content at higher levels of rigor. Teachers and administrators are collecting formative and summative classroom data during data cycles and adjusting their instructional strategies and methods to personalize learning for each student. Teachers and Interventionist are analyzing class data and working together to accelerate or remediate learning. The unit plan has given us a consistent format and language that ensures all components of effective instruction are purposefully planned. The WPS Proficiency Scales and Unit Plan Design create common expectations and instructional language for the entire district. All instructional staff received training on the required four Modules as of December 2016. Online modules have been developed to be used by new teachers as well as any staff who would like to review the content beginning in the Fall of 2017. All training resources including Module PowerPoints and supporting article are available to staff via Google. With the conclusion of the first round of professional develop, principals will develop an Instructional Module Management Action Plan (MAP) to ensure each school effectively implements the module content to make a positive impact on student achievement and growth throughout the 2017-2018 school year. Learning this content and fully implementing module content requires practice, support, modeling and additional professional development which will be outlined in the MAPs. The district will provide an instructional coordinator to support implementation at the school level as well as additional Deliberate Practice Days to provide time for teachers to collaboratively develop Unit Plans. Key Action 1f. Capitalize on the student engagement strategies implemented by Scott Carpenter Middle School (Kagan Structures) to improve student engagement across all classrooms. In April 2017, WPS District Leadership will invite administrators and select teacher leaders to “Discover Kagan” workshop designed to unleash the power of student engagement so that the stage can be set for a staggered 5 full day Discover Kagan training thread for the 2017-2018 school year. (Day one would occur at the Fall CBS Symposium). The research practices provided by Kagan were, according to Scott Carpenter Middle teachers and leaders, instrumental in leveraging student engagement, resulting in the best gains in any Middle School in the district last year. When the additional training days are approved, a series of Kagan trainings will be scheduled for an ongoing and aggressive schedule to training and develop all teachers to implement and transfer into results- better student engagement through Kagan practices K-12 in Westminster Public Schools. Key Action 1g. Strategic focus on use of data at the building level to guide UIP development and yearlong focus. Data driven instruction is essential for the improvement of learning and teaching. In order to Page - 25 Westminster Public Schools Management Pathway Plan assure we are effectively analyzing both formative and summative data to guide instruction, the WPS District Leadership Team will support and train school leaders in a consistent and systemic process. All district leadership will partake in a PARCC data driven dialogue process in July 2017 with The Center for Transforming Learning and Teaching. The focus of the day will be to analyze external and internal assessment data to determine the instructional strengths and needs at the individual building level as well as districtwide. Specific attention will be placed on the PARCC Performance Level Descriptors, Frameworks and the March 2017 Scantron Performance Series Correlation Study. After the Data Dig with district leadership, principals will be required to spend a minimum of a half day with their teachers to replicate the Data Driven Dialogue Process to analyze school level data during fall 2017 preservice days. At the conclusion of the Data Driven Dialogues, principals will use the notable trends and root causes to determine the Major Improvement Strategies for the School Unified Improvement Plan. To ensure schools have a consistent focus on the Major Improvement Strategies throughout the school year, administrators will develop a one-page document to communicate their school goals. The one-page document, titled UIP Strategic Focus Plan will include the school's goals or Major Improvement Strategies, Key Actions, Implementation Benchmarks and Outcomes for the 2017-2018 school year. This document will serve as guide during all district and school level meetings. School initiatives and observations tools must be aligned with the contents of the UIP Strategic Focus Plan. The UIP Strategic Focus Plan will be monitored during school and district data conversations. During the regularly scheduled data cycle meetings the superintendent and school supervisors will review the benchmark goals to assess if schools and the district are on track to meet their desired outcomes and make adjustments to the key action steps, if appropriate. Teachers will be fully versed in the contents of the plan which will directly connect to all classroom observations and 3-week data cycles. GOAL 2: Attract, retain and develop effective CBS educators and leaders Key Action 2a. Implement teacher and principal mentor program to ensure effective performance in a CBS. The New Teacher Induction program will now include a mentoring program designed to better support beginning teachers in our competency based system. With the help of school leaders, mentors will be identified prior to the New Teacher Induction/Orientation the first week in August. These high quality mentors must have the following attributes: ● ● ● ● ● ● Demonstrated proficiency in increasing student achievement in their own classrooms. Possess a vast knowledge of curriculum and instruction. Interact with others in a professional and courteous manner. Concur with the goals of the mentoring program. Comprehend and describe what effective performance in a CBS system looks like. Be competent in process performance such as Empower and the utilization of proficiency scales. ● Demonstrate an effective student centered classroom. Page - 26 Westminster Public Schools Management Pathway Plan ● Engage in self-reflection and continuous improvement in their roles as mentors. During the orientation, mentors will meet their mentee’s at an organized event. Shortly thereafter, a training will be provided solely for the mentors where the following objectives will be reviewed: ● Building effective relationships ● Providing new teacher supports (Physical, Emotional, Instructional and Institutional) ● Process management for the program including forms, logs and expectations The Westminster Public Schools mentor program will be carefully reviewed throughout the year by school leaders, mentors, and new teachers through surveys and measurable outcomes of the salient qualities stated above. Mentors must attend 3 out of 4 meetings, and come prepared to “unpack” the contents of our ongoing book-study. The minimum hours of mentoring for the year is 20. In addition to these hours, ten hours of ERO credit for completion of the book study on Mentoring New Teachers by Hal Portner will be granted once the TIP is completed. (Teacher Inquiry Process) in April and May. Successful Mentors will receive 30 hours of Professional Development, and a WPS Mentor Certificate, along with a stipend from the office of Professional Development. Key Action 2b. Implement an Aspiring Leadership Program to serve as leadership pipeline for the district. Internal leadership pipeline also known as Aspiring Leadership Program for the 2016-2017 school year is a series of comprehensive monthly workshops that focuses on instructional, organizational, and transformational leadership. During workshops, aspiring leaders become learners in a customized leadership development program designed to ensure the district has high caliber leaders that are centered in a Competency Based model. Key Action 2c. Provide rigorous training opportunities on CBS instructional design through an expand learning symposium model. Refine Symposium Model to provide deeper and more rigorous training opportunities for fall 2017. This model that has been very effective prior to students arriving at the start of each year will be extended for multiple “symposiums” throughout the school year to provide a sustained and consistent model of professional development designed to “transfer into results” of improved student learning and engagement. Key Action 2d: Expand early childhood education to infant/toddler programming as part of the Cradle to Career pipeline. In the fall of 2017, WPS will open the WPS Early Learning Center at the Perl Mack Community Center. This program will provide infant/toddler care, including child care options for staff which will help incentivize the retention of staff interested in starting a family while continuing to work in the district. This program will also allow WPS to begin investing in high quality early childhood education at the infant/toddler level while bringing new students into the District. There Page - 27 Westminster Public Schools Management Pathway Plan is a substantial lack of infant and toddler care throughout the Westminster area. Key Action 2e. Marzano Research professional development consulting partner Westminster Public Schools is partnering with Marzano Academies and working directly with Dr. Robert Marzano to create a Marzano Academy within Westminster Public Schools that will open for the 2018-19 school year. The Academy model is based on the Marzano High Reliability Schools (HRS) framework. Currently, planning is in the initial stages and a complete Management Action Plan will be developed over the course of the 2017-18 school year. The Marzano Academy will include the following elements: ● Competency-based education ● A personalized, focused curriculum involving the critical concepts in mathematics, science, and the English language arts ● Direct instruction in cognitive and meta-cognitive skills ● Personalized projects each year for each student ● A high engagement emphasis ● A focus on student inspiration and self-agency ● High reliability management As part of the Marzano Academy, the following activities and services will be conducted by Marzano Academies and all the protocols and procedures may be used by the entire district. ● Individual Professional Development Plans Each teacher at the Academy will receive feedback on their instructional strengths and weaknesses. Each teacher will engage in a personal improvement project regarding their pedagogical skills and will receive jobembedded professional development. ● Whole-School Professional Development Marzano Academies will conduct 20-–30 virtual and on-site professional development workshops. All workshops will be videorecorded, edited, and archived in a professional development video library that can be used by all schools and teachers in the district. ● Individual Growth and Development Plans for Students Each year, every student will have a personalized growth and development plan that will be facilitated, managed, and monitored by Marzano Academies. ● Continuous Monitoring of Overall Student Growth in Key Subject Areas and the Validity and Efficacy of the Proficiency Scales Marzano Academies will use short, interim assessments geared toward state and national assessments to continuously monitor how well the school as a whole is progressing. Marzano Academies will also continuously monitor the relationship between students’ scores on proficiency scales and their performance on state and local assessments. ● High-Reliability Monitoring of Continuous Improvement Marzano Academies will continuously collect data regarding leading and lagging indicators for school culture, student efficacy and motivation, parental involvement and satisfaction, and teacher Page - 28 Westminster Public Schools Management Pathway Plan involvement and satisfaction. To the extent feasible, much of these protocols and procedures may be available to be utilized by the entire district. Furthermore, as part of the “ramp up” of the Marzano Academy for the 201819 school year, all the remaining schools in the District will have access to and benefit from the professional development opportunities and resources that will be provided in the following areas: ● Proficiency Scales with continually updated assessment items, instructional resources, and independent student activities ● Marzano Tier I Vocabulary program which contains 420 self-instructional downloadable folios that can be reproduced for individual students or the entire class. These address the 2,800 Tier I vocabulary terms that are essential background knowledge for all students. ● Marzano Compendium of Instructional Strategies that contain 43 short booklets demonstrating categories of research-based instructional strategies accompanied by 43 videos explaining their use. In all, there are over 300 specific strategies exemplified in the series, which is updated every year. ● Library of Effective Instructional Practices demonstrating examples of effective use of instructional strategies GOAL 3: Foster a strong culture of academic success, including postsecondary, workforce readiness for students and parents Key Action 3a. Expand and sustain counselor efforts with academic performance and career planning protocol using student data Creating a Postsecondary Culture District-wide In 2014, WPS began developing a strategy to improve postsecondary readiness for all students. To be successful, the PWR effort needed to create systemic change within the district to promote a college going culture where a future plan orientation and attention to the development of personal/social competencies promotes higher educational attainment and provides services to support student professional development. At the core of this work was the need to: ● Standardize counselor training and alignment with ASCA standards to fortify and unite the tools, tactics, supports, accountability and services across middle and high school to help students find and achieve their postsecondary goals. The work will culminate in a Counselor Handbook for Middle and High School that will include district Best Practices. ● Implement, monitor and support district-appropriate, original, level-specific ICAP curriculum based on ASCA standards and tied to individual student achievement toward industry demonstrations of proficiency. ● Create a formal data review process for counselors tied to best practice interventions to help struggling students – especially those deficient in math and language arts. Continue to develop school and system-wide tracking and increasing student academic performance and attendance, while decreasing truancy and remediation. Page - 29 Westminster Public Schools Management Pathway Plan ● Design and produce the marketing materials to help students and families track education pathways to college and career success. ● Support the newly created Future Center as a PWR resource to the entire district. ● Increase the breadth of partner participation through industry-appropriate pathways of instruction and enhanced counselor knowledge of industry skills needed and opportunities available in order to create more meaningful counseling to students. ● Increase the Career and Technical course offerings for students as well as the postsecondary credits earned and professional certificates obtained. ● Design a student data tracking tool that will enable students, families, counselors and educators to provide targeted assistance toward their personal goals. ● Solicit and incorporate mental health, parent outreach, social/emotional, and cultural sensitivity resources into the work. ● Expand the number of ways students earn college credit while in high school. ● Engage families in support of the development of their students. ● Integrate support services available (Migrant Education, homeless youth, CLD, etc.) into student coaching and guiding. Future Career Guided Course Selection Beginning this year, WPS counselors and Westminster HS administration are asking students in levels 8 – 11 to not simply select new courses for the upcoming year but instead to map the entire high school sequence of courses as they serve to prepare each student for his/her personal career goal. ● Students complete the selection in two parts: Planning and Recording ● All plans start with career goals ● All plans are dependent on the level students are performing in core courses; students who are behind level are asked to map their “catch up” years prior to graduation ● Electives are tied to pathway programs of the district that align with personal career goals ● College entrance requirements (exceeding district graduation requirements) are planned as early as 8th grade for student course selection ● Concurrent Enrollment, internships, apprenticeships and professional certificates are all mapped starting in 8th grade ● Counselors sign off on each plan before it is submitted ● Course selection data will be put into Alpine and IC. It will be used to monitor student interest, anticipated course enrollment, and career goals for all high school students. Knowing this data will help course scheduling, cohort grouping, internship and apprenticeship creation and ties to industry-specific opportunities and support to all students. ICAP access and record keeping All student ICAP’s will be stored in Alpine Achievement. It will capture the course selections of all high school students in addition to other essential career planning, personal exploration deliverables. The availability of this student-goal information to all staff will enable every Page - 30 Westminster Public Schools Management Pathway Plan educator and counselor to act in support of the personal professional goals of each student. Counselor Handbook (in progress) will be available for all counselors that provides Standard Operating Procedures (SOP’s) and best practices. Marketing Future Planning to K-12: Expanding communication and outreach to parents to help with post-secondary planning. School posters and flyers were created for every school in the district. Internship and Apprenticeship creation (in progress) Westminster Public Schools has been striving to build the infrastructure and connections to create vibrant internship and apprenticeship opportunities for students to enter the workforce directly from high school. Consequently, WPS has submitted a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to CDE for participation in the Career Success Pilot Program, formally applied for the CareerWise apprenticeship program while simultaneously creating an internship program for the 2017-2018 academic year. Additionally, WPS is aligning each CTE program with an industry certificate and currently CompTIA, ServeSafe, CNA and the Irrigation tech certificates programs are offered for students. Key Action 3b. Implement program designed to break the cycle of poverty and create a college mindset by expanding AVID (Advancing Via Individual Determination) for students. Add AVID programming and provide summer institute training to make all Middle Schools and one Elementary School (Adding one per year) so they embrace the AVID Growth Mindset that has shown to help break the cycle of poverty and improve a college going culture. Summer institute trainings with national AVID trainers will be embraced by over 30 key teacher leaders and administrators, with ongoing AVID site visits and ongoing AVID boost trainings throughout the year. Key Action 3c. Implement a program expansion of the PASS Parent Institute. The curriculum developed by the Parent Institute for Quality Education (PIQE) and adapted for WPS will bring a proven, results-oriented program of parent engagement aligned with improving college readiness where trained parents teach parents. The goal of PASS is to inform our parents about how: ● ● ● ● ● ● CBS operates and supports a child’s education Student performance is tracked and reported in Empower Advocating for student support is appropriate Using resources from the school and district will better prepare students for college Staying engaged and supportive as a parent leads to their child's success Creating a learning environment at home continues to foster a strong preparation for postgraduation Page - 31 Westminster Public Schools Management Pathway Plan Current parents have been recruited to be PASS facilitators who deliver content as well as recruiters of more parents to the program. They will help develop the community proficiency around district work to enhance the learning of all students. The PASS program will be launched at a single middle school in spring 2017 with a goal of graduating 100 - 150 parents through a 9week program. The courses will be taught in both English and Spanish and all materials will be available in both languages. During the fall of 2016, facilitator and recruiter training, curriculum adapting and schedule planning took place in preparation for the roll out. The PASS gets parents involved in understanding the classes students need to take in order to meet the graduation and college entrance requirements. A strength of PIQE/PASS is learning how to effectively engage school staff in support of their students. It is anticipated that graduates of this program will register as future facilitators and recruiters and will become actively engaged in the District Accountability Committee and/or PTA’s for their school. Through the instructional empowerment of parents, PIQE has a proven impact on student success. They have seen a 40 percent increase in high school graduation rates of students whose parents attended the program and a 20 percent increase in these same students attending college. The curriculum is designed specifically to support low-income, ethnically-diverse parents of K-12 school children. Pending the success of the launch school by the completion of this first cohort, the PASS program will be delivered at Westminster HS and an additional middle school in 2017-2018. Key Action 3d. Utilize the Competency Tracker to determine progress toward on-time high school graduation beginning at the elementary level. Per Westminster Public Schools new graduation requirements policy, all students in elementary, middle and high school will track their progress toward the graduation requirements by using a Competency Tracker as the baseline of their Data Notebook to determine their “on track” status. Information describing the high school graduation requirements will be made available to all students and families registering for school beginning in August of each school year. Principals, teachers, and instructional staff at elementary, middle and high school levels will clearly communicate during enrollment, Parent Teacher Conferences and through progress reports the status of each student relative to being “on track” for graduation. Key Action 3e. Increase community partnerships and student certificate achievement in CTE A successful Career and Technical Education requires active participation by employers. In fall 2016, WPS brought 80 employers together for its fall CTE Business Advisory meeting. The upcoming spring Business Advisory meeting will ask these employers to help draft five-year program plans with aligned professional certificates and/or degrees that would signal workforce readiness. Additionally, the district is hosting a Hiring Fair to attract primary employers able to hire high school graduates. Moreover, the District is a founding member of the Adams County Education Consortium and participates in their employer/career exploration events for middle and high school students. The district is also working to create a P-tech pathway for Cyber Security and has secured Front Page - 32 Westminster Public Schools Management Pathway Plan Range Community College and Regis University in the partnership. The City of Westminster, IBM and the Colorado Technology Association are helping identify and secure industry partners. Complementing the P-tech effort, the District is the first in the nation to receive support from the White House in the implementation of CS for All (Computer Science for All) as a pathway from elementary through high school. They continue to make connections for us to help intelligently and appropriately transition our CS instruction to better prepare all graduates as well as design a specific pathway for students with CS as a future career goal. GOAL 4: Strengthen and Expand Early Childhood Education The Majority of students arrive at Westminster Public Schools preschool programs significantly behind typical age group peers from more affluent districts. These students generally meet only 3040 percent of Widely Held Expectations (as measured by TS GOLD color bands). In addition, on average only 30 percent of our kindergarten students meet their annual on-target reading expectations during the DIBELS entry benchmark testing window. The district’s investment in full day kindergarten for all students has shown growth in results from the beginning of the school year (BOY) to the middle of the school year (MOY) on an annual basis with an average of 65-70 percent of students meeting proficiency on kindergarten at MOY. However, WPS has demonstrated a consistent annual pattern of students “backsliding” from 70 percent on grade level at the end of kindergarten to 40 percent on grade level by the beginning of their first grade. While this is a national trend based on DIBELS data, the problem is exacerbated in WPS where a larger proportion of students’ slide “backwards” at the beginning of “first grade” in comparison to state and national trends. To resolve this issue, WPS has been strengthening preschool and K-2 programming and the following opportunities are currently in place: Colorado Preschool Program (CPP) WPS provides half day preschool for at-risk students as a part of our Colorado Preschool Program (CPP) partnership with the State of Colorado. The CPP program is in place in 20 classrooms district-wide and provides half day programming for 3 and 4-year-old students. The program runs Monday-Thursday, four days per week, 3 hours per day. The preschool programming is focused on personal/social development, early literacy skills, and overall preparation for elementary school (school readiness). In addition, any preschool student with an IEP is served in our half-day programs. The majority of the CPP classrooms are placed at the Early Childhood Center as well as seven other classrooms in elementary schools throughout the district. Along with WPS classrooms, the district currently contracts for CPP services with three local community providers. Full Day Preschool Pilot In the fall of 2016, WPS began a full-day preschool pilot program. This program provides free full day preschool programming for 4-year-old students in seven locations throughout the district. This program is funded through philanthropic grant funds as well as a partnership with the local county CCAP program. A third party assessment partner (University of Colorado) is analyzing pre and post assessment data to determine overall effectiveness of the full day preschool initiative. This Page - 33 Westminster Public Schools Management Pathway Plan program is set up in a “Pay For Success style funding” format to look at impact of local full day preschool programs on long term educational outcomes for students. Note: at this time, initial data on this program is extremely promising with full day students demonstrating an average of 20 percent or more gains over their half day cohort (based on MOY data in TS GOLD). Full day Kindergarten Westminster Public Schools has funded full day Kindergarten for the past decade as part of a commitment by the Board of Education to invest in early childhood education. All kindergarten students throughout WPS attend kindergarten full day. Funding for this program comes from a blend of local funding as well as ECARE slots for at-risk students. Beginning with the next school year (2017-18) the following opportunities will be provided in Early Education. Key Action 4a: Adjust staffing ratios at the K-1 level to provide a strategic focus on early literacy. WPS will lower class sizes in all kindergarten classrooms, as well as classrooms where students who are first grade eligible but are not achieving at expected level (CBS Level 00), to 23 students per 1 teacher. Current numbers exceed the staffing ratio of 26.5 students per teacher. In addition, each student in kindergarten will be scored on the Teaching Strategies GOLD Kindergarten Entry Assessment twice a year (fall and spring). Students who are not “school ready” at the end of kindergarten (based on a preponderance of evidence) will remain being instructed in kindergarten content the subsequent school year until the expected level is attained. These students will receive additional intervention supports and will be accelerated to their appropriate “first grade” level classroom when a body of data indicates student readiness. This transition could occur at any point throughout the school year as a part of our CBS system. Key Action 4b: Provide intensive professional development on K-1 reading pedagogy. WPS will provide targeted and intentional professional development to Kindergarten teachers (Level 00) on early literacy pedagogy focusing on appropriate early literacy instruction and intervention. This will involve monthly mandatory professional development for all kindergarten staff with a focus on research-based instructional practices and interventions for young readers. The purpose of this professional development is to offset the annual lower reading scores, “backsliding”, at the beginning of first grade by providing intentional instruction in the spring of the kindergarten year to move students towards proficiency on early first grade measures. Key Action 4c: Expand early childhood education to infant/toddler programming as part of the Cradle to Career pipeline. In the fall of 2017, WPS will open the WPS Early Learning Center at the Perl Mack Community Center. This program will provide infant/toddler care, including child care options for staff which will help incentivize the retention of staff interested in starting a family while continuing to work in the district. This program will also allow WPS to begin investing in high quality early Page - 34 Westminster Public Schools Management Pathway Plan childhood education at the infant/toddler level while bringing new students into the District. There is a substantial lack of infant and toddler care throughout the Westminster area. Key Action 4d: Full-day preschool expansion (Pay for Success pilot). WPS will continue to expand preschool services including: ● An expansion of two new full day preschool sites (Metz and Harris Park elementary schools). This will occur through the absorption of CPP slots as a part of a change in contract with Adams County Head Start. In addition, one half day classroom will also be added at Mesa Elementary. ● Provide enhanced professional development on early literacy strategies district-wide for preschool staff to assist in preparing students to be on grade level at the kindergarten level. Role of AdvancED: AdvancED will also be our accountability partner throughout these early childhood system adjustments by: ● Monitoring early reading scores to ensure that professional development initiatives are deployed in classrooms and helping students reach projected implementation benchmarks (K-1 DIBELS scores). ● Conducting accreditation visits at all WPS preschool programs to ensure quality alignment with the State of Colorado’s Quality Improvement Rating System (QRIS). Programs in WPS who received AdvancED accreditation during the 2016-2017 school year received a Level 4 (out of 5) QRIS rating with the State of Colorado. ● Any new preschool programs added during the 2017-18 and subsequent school years will work directly with AdvancED for accreditation within 6 months of inception. Page - 35 Westminster Public Schools Management Pathway Plan V. Culture of Performance Given Westminster Public Schools experience of implementing an authentic Competency Based System as well as several School Improvement Grants (SIG) that required deep changes in beliefs and practices, it is safe to say that a complete understanding of leading second order change is absolutely necessary and to do this well one has to create and sustain a culture of performance at all levels including with students. Beginning in the 2017-18 school year the District will be using the Competency Tracker described in Section II to establish and increase awareness and understanding among all students and parents regarding expectations for being “on track” to graduate. For elementary and middle aged students being “on track” demonstrating competency in all targets for the appropriate levels in all core content areas. At the secondary level in addition to the Competency Tracker, all students will have a functional ICAP that is reviewed and updated on a regular basis. Furthermore, the provision of Empower training at all schools for parents will be mandatory so that they can check the progress of their child in real time. WPS has created several advisory groups, cabinets and committees where District expectations for student success are reinforced beginning with the Board of Education, which annually adopts a Resolution that pledges their support and full commitment for continuing to implement a Competency Based System. Secondly, the Superintendent of Schools at the beginning of each school year (with the exception of the “pause” year) publicly displays each school's Performance Framework category and that of the District at the Ranum Rally as part of her opening remarks for the new school year in front of all employees. At the beginning of each calendar year, the Superintendent of Schools also publicly gives a “State of the District” address outlining expectations, successes and challenges. Furthermore, to enhance transparency, communication, accountability and leadership at all levels, the Superintendent of Schools has created several “Cabinets” that allow stakeholders to have voice and choice in the development and roll out of the Competency Based System as well as share concerns about system implementation. The following cabinets meet on a regular basis: Superintendent Student Leadership Cabinet (SSLC) Dr. Swanson regularly meets with elected student leaders from our high schools to gather student perspectives on the challenges and opportunities faced by students moving toward graduation and life beyond high school. The meetings are open ended allowing students to speak honestly about everything from school lunch menus to school culture and climate to scholarships and internships opportunities. Parent Leadership Cabinet (PLC) The Superintendent’s Parent Leadership Cabinet is a group of parent leaders who directly share their views with the Superintendent around system-wide policies and events affecting schools. Members are parents who are nominated by their school principals and reflect the diversity of our community. The Cabinet meets quarterly with the Superintendent and key Page - 36 Westminster Public Schools Management Pathway Plan Westminster Public Schools staff. Superintendent Support Cabinet (SSC) Dr. Swanson created the Superintendent Support Cabinet in the fall of 2014 to gather more input from Educational Support Professionals (ESP). The cabinet is advisory in nature and is designed to enhance “Big Picture” communication dealing with High Stakes and Systemic topics regarding Westminster Public Schools. The monthly meetings encourage a robust and honest discussion of the issues facing the District. Administrative Cabinet (ADCAB) The Administrative Cabinet is comprised of Directors and representative principals from across the District bringing varying leadership perspectives to the Superintendent’s office. The cabinet generally meets twice a month to address a wide range of topics including, but not limited to, academics, student safety, personnel, budget issues and other strategic goal areas. Teacher Leadership Cabinet (TLC) The Teacher Leadership Cabinet brings together teachers to discuss issues of mutual interest and concern. In creating the TLC, Dr. Swanson sought the input of teachers with very diverse perspectives. With that in mind, the cabinet consists of teachers from a variety of content areas and with varying length of service in WPS. Every school has a representative on the cabinet. Principals’ Advisory Cabinet (PAC) The purpose of the Principals’ Advisory Cabinet is to solicit professional expertise and collaborate in an advisory capacity regarding the school district and moving it to the next level of excellence. Westminster Children’s Initiative (WCI) The WCI meets quarterly. The members consist of community and school district partners who work together to help the youth in our community succeed beyond the hours they are present in our schools. A typical school day for our students is approximately seven hours, depending on the age of the child. School children spend a larger portion of their day away from the safe and caring learning environment that our schools provide. As civic minded community members, it is up to all of us to support and enhance healthy lifestyles, positive choices, quality of life, safe neighborhoods and sustainable communities for the next generation. In addition to the aforementioned Superintendent’s Cabinets, WPS has also created other avenues and structures for engaging stakeholders in the conversations for improving Westminster Public Schools. Several examples follow: Westminster Education Association (WEA) In partnership with the WEA, the District as part of its negotiated agreement created an Instructional Advisory Committee (IAC) that make recommendations to the Superintendent concerning systemic issues that are instructional in nature and impact the student achievement Page - 37 Westminster Public Schools Management Pathway Plan subsequent to actively engaging in a solution-focused collaborative process. Community Communication To keep parents and the community informed about District planning, progress, changes and accomplishments the District established new routines such as Board on the Road, developed a mobile “news app”, reconfigured and overhauled the District website as well as implemented a new newsletter called “What’s Up WPS” that was strategically released with the new District name, colors, logo and tagline. Board of Education meetings are now live streamed allowing the community greater understanding of issues and the decision making process. Habits for a Successful Personalized Learner In order for students to become successful in our Competency Based System, they must have student agency (i.e. take ownership for their own learning). These Habits (“soft skills”), embedded within content instruction, will be refined with consistent language throughout students’ school career in order to become true personalized learners in our system. In doing so, it also enables them to learn and apply these skills for life in general, whether at home, at work or in the community. These skills will be addressed authentically and purposefully within regular instructional practices, rather than in isolation. Finally, these Habits must be modeled by teachers, thus enhancing overall school climate and culture. (See page - 13) As mentioned in Section II - Mission and Vision and more specifically in Goal 3, WPS has already taken steps to promote a college bound culture among students by creating the support structures for Postsecondary and Workforce Readiness as exemplified by the following: Future Center The Future Center “motivates, inspires and prepares students and families for post-secondary success, by providing the tools, knowledge and resources needed for transition into postsecondary institutions and beyond”. To ensure that all families of the district take advantage of the Future Center, level specific flyers (elementary, middle, high) have been printed in English and Spanish and are available at every school. Additionally, full color banners marketing the Future Center, its website, dual language phone line and email address are being mounted in every school. The Future Center staff attend Parent - Teacher conferences, Back to School events, the District Showcase and the Center has hosted DACC and Board members to walk them through all of the resources available. A Future Center link from the District home page offers quick access to career and college resources as well as level specific support for our students and families. An active calendar of events markets campus tours, higher education partner days in the district, scholarship deadlines and other supports for our students and families. Concurrent Enrollment The District actively supports and is annually expanding its concurrent enrollment opportunities both in-district and out-of-district. Agreement partners include: Front Range Community College, Community College of Denver, Emily Griffith Technical College, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs and Metropolitan State University. Project Lead the Way (PLTW) Page - 38 Westminster Public Schools Management Pathway Plan offers the most robust sequence of courses earning students up to 12 credits by the end of their senior year. All other courses taken by our students vary by their personal career goals; the District supports CTE and general education classes starting sophomore year. Significant growth in enrollment is anticipated for 2017-2018 due to a college marketing effort for students in performance levels 8 - 11 that was tied to a course selection process that aligned with personal career goals of each student. It is our goal to also increase the number of students who are ASCENT eligible and are able to complete a certificate or degree by the end of their 5th year of high school. Career Technical Education (CTE) CTE in the District is being reframed as a college/certificate program where all pathways will offer professional certification and/or transcripted college credit. Aligned with CDE’s Career Success Pilot Program, the pathways are being designed to help students demonstrate the necessary academic and workforce readiness skills for employment earning a household living wage. CTE instructors are providing math intervention to all students and routinely engaging students in local, regional and national demonstrations of competency. Industry partners are cocreating the five-year plan for each pathway in order to guarantee relevance of instruction in each program. ICAP Developed and storage in ALPINE All district counselors, teachers and staff are required to keep the future goal of each student top of mind when offering remediation support, advancement opportunities, internship and job shadow connections relative to where the student is performing currently toward his/her future goal. Finding a repository that capitalized on a system already used by the district was made possible with a custom WPS ICAP tab in Alpine Achievement. Alpine Achievement already contains state, national and local testing data for each student. The opportunity to align that data with student ICAP activity responses from levels 6 through 12 allows district staff to view student goals as they align with actual demonstrated academic proficiency. Starting the 20172018 academic year, student ICAPs will be stored in Alpine Achievement. It will capture the course selections of all high school students in addition to other essential career planning, personal exploration deliverables. The availability of this student-goal information to all staff will enable every educator and counselor to act in support of the personal professional goals of each student. Creation of Internship and Apprenticeship Opportunities The Swiss Apprenticeship model that Colorado is starting to implement depends on students spending legitimate work hours in their chosen profession while completing high school/college requirements for their career. This model depends on a district’s ability to schedule “out of building” time for students that is hands-on in work and complementary in formative instruction, The District will be enrolling students in an internship program for 2017-2018 that will be an early model for the employer and school model of co-instruction of students that gives them experience in their craft, an opportunity to build professional relationships and skills, and provides alternative, applied instruction in core content areas as well as workplace competencies. The District has formally applied for the CareerWise apprenticeship program, submitted its Page - 39 Westminster Public Schools Management Pathway Plan MOU to CDE for participation in the Career Success Pilot Program, is aligning each CTE program with an industry certificate and/or college credit for courses successfully completed. The District also recognizes the need to expand upon efforts and increase culture of achievement amid younger students and parents prior to reaching high school. To accomplish this, the District will implement a process to track a student's progress toward graduation in elementary school and in middle school by using a Competency Tracker to determine “on track” status. Information describing the high school graduation requirements will be made available to all students and families registering for school beginning in August of each school year. Principals, teachers, and instructional staff at elementary, middle and high school levels will clearly communicate during enrollment, Parent Teacher Conferences and through progress reports the status of each student relative to being “on track” for graduation. (See Appendix for a model of the “Competency Tracker”) This will also require each school to work with students and parents to ensure students understand CBS learning targets and whether on track to graduate as required by the newly adopted District graduation requirements policy. Elementary and middle schools will also: ● Emphasize the importance of achieving targets ● Assist in student and parent buy-in to CBS and to the importance of academics from the very beginning to creates ownership and empower students on their educational journey ● Increase awareness for students and parents of student academic strengths and weaknesses ● Increase parent and student involvement in student’s education ● Emphasize importance of graduation and postsecondary readiness ● Increase chances of graduation on time The partnership with AdvancED will help determine if these practices will be effective over time by monitoring and evaluating student and parent understanding of CBS and achievement measures and subsequently providing feedback to the District regarding student and parent understanding. Stakeholder Engagement When WPS outlined an approach to the work of postsecondary readiness of our students, we soon discovered it necessitated simplifying access, integrating and coordinating efforts that involved families every step of the way in student postsecondary readiness. Actual student and family interaction since then is helping refine that work through 2018. We suspected, and have since then validated, that only a select few students in the district knew of or participated in programs steering them to college before or after high school graduation. Uncertainty about college affordability kept parents from encouraging higher academic planning with their children. Lack of knowledge about how to support students academically resulted in parental disengagement at secondary level, just when students were being given course selection and engagement decision making. Students enrolling in postsecondary courses often lacked the connection between these courses and the multiple levels of proficiency (certificate, associate’s degree, bachelor’s degree, etc.) needed for their chosen profession so their college coursework Page - 40 Westminster Public Schools Management Pathway Plan stopped at graduation. To improve parent engagement in postsecondary planning, WPS staff tested a number of strategies, such as English language courses, computer courses and topical nights for parents. A FAFSA night for district families generated higher participation than any prior year or other event. Knowing the importance of parent engagement in successful completion of college, we secured a “best practice” parent postsecondary engagement program, Parent Institute for Quality Education (PIQE) to deepen advocacy capacity and increase involvement by parents. A culture of integrated support for student preparedness is leading to coordinated work across silos, organizations and academic levels. The Future Center access to students and families continues to provide “end of line” views of student preparation and ways we can “fix the system” to catch more students before it is too late. For too many of our students, they simply had not given sufficient thought to what they were going to do after graduation, until they graduated. “It’s Your Future, Aim Higher” is the mantra of this work. Our goal is to ensure that all students and families know how to request and ultimately receive assistance early enough in their child’s academic career to guarantee a bright future after graduation. The district currently hosts Title parent informational nights as well as Showcase events for families to better appreciate the resources the district provides and offers parent input through the District Accountability Committee. The Community Resource Specialists who perform parent outreach for some of our schools, create programs to help parents learn English, provide specific feedback to the leaders of the schools their children attend and engage in campus tours of local colleges. These opportunities, though worthwhile and valuable to those who participate, do not engage the vast majority of our parents in the school process. Parent teacher nights see diminished parent participation as students enter secondary education. Parent comfort around education in general is not high. School is complicated. Parents need to know the truth about the status of their children and need to appropriately advocate for and support them in their academic proficiency. As a predominantly first generation college district, engagement with parents needs to be grounded in creating a college-going culture for all students, regardless of the family background or situation. The District recognizes the need to increase parent/community engagement and understanding at all times in a sustainable manner as students and parents move through the system. Previous efforts while well intentioned have not been sustainable and as mentioned in earlier in this document under Goal 3, WPS is currently launching a Parent Academy for Student Success (PASS) that has a proven 30-year track record in California with similar student and parent demographics. This new parent empowerment model actually teaches select parents to be facilitators and recruiters for other parents. Additionally, parent “homework” includes prep for Parent Teacher conferences, making appointments with counselors, participating on district committees is discussed and their input is recommended. This program: ● Elicits true parent engagement ● Enlists parents to lead and facilitate instruction and recruit other parents Page - 41 Westminster Public Schools Management Pathway Plan ● Trains parents and inspire them to “give back” to the communities and district thus creating a layer of parent leadership around “truths” about the district rather than misperceptions ● Creates a large impact in a relatively short period of time and develops a well-informed and engaged parent community for WPS. AdvancED will monitor and evaluate parent buy-in as parent of its stakeholder feedback processes to evaluate parent understanding of PASS in terms of increasing understanding of CBS, Empower, graduation requirements, etc. Page - 42 Westminster Public Schools Management Pathway Plan VI. Talent Management Westminster Public Schools is committed to attracting, developing, and retaining an effective workforce that supports and enhances student achievement. While many factors influence the hiring process, we maintain an intense focus on hiring a diverse and culturally proficient staff that aligns with the demographics of the students we serve. While we recruit year round, we also practice targeted recruiting in order to attract staff who are ethnically and linguistically diverse. We attend several job recruiting fairs throughout the year, including the Society of Hispanic Human Resource Professional Diversity Job Fairs. We partner with local universities and universities nationwide to enhance our ability to attract candidates who are endorsed in Cultural and Linguistic Diversity. For hard to fill areas, we offer signing bonuses and compensation packages that may include covering relocation costs. We offer one of the most competitive starting teaching salaries in the Denver Metro area. Principals also have the ability, with district guidance, to tailor their recruiting and hiring practices in order to support the hiring of candidates of color, candidates with particular skill sets (hard to fill areas), and candidates who would directly support an innovation plan. Further, we use behavior-based screening and interviewing tools to assist in talent acquisition and to ensure that we identify and bring in highly qualified candidates. District Human Resources is committed to staffing at any time of the year in order to fulfill the needs of schools. Hiring managers have the flexibility to use both licensed and Educational Support Staff (ESP) in order to support school plan goals—to place staff as necessary and make ongoing changes in order to respond to changing student needs and to raise student achievement. Professional Development Westminster Public Schools believes that sustained school principal leadership really matters when implementing an innovative approach to learning such as a competency based system model especially in a high needs setting. To that end, the District has created its own leadership pipeline for aspiring administrators. The Aspiring Leadership Program for the 2016-2017 school year is a series of comprehensive monthly workshops that focuses on instructional, organizational, and transformational leadership. During workshops, aspiring leaders become learners in a customized leadership development program designed to ensure the district has high caliber leaders that are centered in a Competency Based model. The District also strives to provide professional development to all of its teachers through complementary district and school level opportunities on designated calendar professional development days, after school and in online venues. The content of the Professional Development for 2016-17 was prioritized based on need by the teacher leader cabinet and independently by principals. The District also relies on building classroom knowledge and skills though a Trainer of Trainers model for common support systems throughout the District such as Empower, Assessment & Data, Technology and Culturally Linguistically Diverse Education (CLDE). Newly hired teachers have an additional five days prior to the beginning of the school year to orient themselves to teaching in a Competency Based System. The following describes the agreed upon focus for the current school year: Page - 43 Westminster Public Schools Management Pathway Plan ● Principal Induction. Principals new to the district must complete a principal induction program. The training has evolved to align specifically with those “mission critical” leadership practices necessary for aspiring principals and principals to be able to perform successfully. ● New Teacher Induction/New Teacher Orientation. In an effort to make the new teacher orientation during the five-day intensive program for all teachers new to the district prior to the start of the school year, and the induction program that provides ongoing trainings, the district will adopt a task force consisting of internal and external stakeholders to review the New Teacher Induction/Orientation, and to re-set all components to improve on-boarding and training of new teachers over time. ● Customer Service for Excellence. Although this initiative began in 2015-16, a continuous effort to leverage key learnings and continuous improvement is in play. This year’s “secret shopper” targeted specific customer service for excellence protocols in order to follow the Plan, Do, Check and Adjust (PDCA) model for continuous quality improvement. Principals and Division Leaders will continue to receive detailed results of these “secret shops” for improved phone, email and person to person interactions across the district, including GoAnimate Boost trainings regarding standardized Customer Service for excellence protocols and procedures. ● Alpine Training. Westminster Public Schools has offered several professional development opportunities for all staff members to learn the nuts and bolts of the Alpine Achievement System. The trainings included an overview of the product along with exploring data, turning the data into meaning, and creating and taking action. In fall 2016, the district offered several training opportunities for employees to gain knowledge about how to create plans in Alpine. To continue the support and professional development opportunities for staff to become efficient users, the schools identified key leaders to act as their building Data and Assessment Facilitator. The facilitators attend monthly after-school meetings to share feedback, receive updates regarding the system, and help brainstorm future development needs. In addition to the monthly meetings, the facilitators provide training opportunities to staff within their building. Alpine has created several guides and videos that help support users to navigate through the system. The guides and videos are also great training tools. ● Empower Training. Each year, schools identify one or more teachers to act as their building’s Empower Facilitator. These Facilitators meet monthly to share feedback, receive updates regarding the software, and help brainstorm future development needs. In their buildings, they act as Empower trainers and the initial support for Empower. To assist with this, the district provides numerous user guides and videos. All of the training resources that have been created by Empower Learning (the company that created Empower), have been made available for all employees in the district. ● Proficiency Scales, Modules 1-4. This year was the first year that principals were required to co-create a management action plan (MAP) with their supervisor that mapped out key dates and actions that would ensure all school leaders and teachers will have completed and implemented all phases of Proficiency Scale Modules. They include: 1) Definition and Purpose, 2) Learning Progressions, 3) Success Criteria, and 4) Unit Planning, ● Suicide Prevention and Intervention. After seeing a statewide and national surge in teen Page - 44 Westminster Public Schools Management Pathway Plan ● ● ● ● ● suicides, the district will be more intentional in utilizing the Yellow Ribbon Program to A) increase leadership and mental health trainings as an ongoing principal and counseling induction process, to train school leaders and mental health professionals how to help teach, train and empower teachers, parents and students to make healthy GoAnimate. Boost trainings as needed- new this year, the office of Professional Development recognized the need to re-invigorate trainings to keep a more intensive focus sustained over time. To that end, GoAnimate training has been adopted as a means to increase sustainability and improve quality, fidelity, intensity and consistency for all mission critical training programs, such as customer service, unique selling points, CBS articulation, and proficiency scale modules. Individual Career and Academic Plan Training and Implementation. This third iteration of the District secondary ICAP engages all of the district counselors in direct instruction of students in levels 6 - 10 of their personal ICAP. For levels 11 and 12, and for sessions between counselor visits, we are providing activities to teachers to complete with their students. Students record and capture their personal information and all of that data will soon be available in the WPS ICAP within Alpine. Ensuring that future student planning conversations will be based on the information that student has self-reported on his/her ICAP will require some professional development for all staff. Currently, we are creating the repository and are populating it with information obtained through counseling led lessons. Counselor Professional Development. Since 2014, all district counselors began the practice of regular monthly meetings in order to align their work, share best practices and help in designing transitional supports and programs to improve student performance. In 2015-2016 we hired Counseling Counts to provide 12 hours of PD to create baseline proficiency across the entire team. The result of the work has led to shifts in the percent of time counselors spend in crisis management vs. proactive services to students. Additionally, some counselors who lacked strong core skills continue to receive one-onone coaching to improve their craft. All counselors participate in the annual Colorado School Counselor Association conference and counselors funded through the Colorado School Counselor Association Grant attend twice yearly training. Next Generation Learning. WPS was named in a Next Generation Learning Grant with Colorado Education Initiative, Colorado Department of Education, D11 School District and Thompson School District. As a member district, we are obligated to send teams to quarterly training sessions supporting increased personalized instruction. This grant also necessitates site visits to WHS and Ranum MS and provides opportunities for district and school staff to visit other Next Gen model schools. Colorado Opportunity Scholarship Initiative training to assist districts and school in postsecondary readiness of students requires annual training of the district grant facilitator. This training will continue to provide tools, resources and links to peers across Colorado who are also grant recipients. Shared best practices and common tracking of grant results are aspects of this training that will continue through summer 2018. Despite the aforementioned efforts, to ensure that the CBS is consistently and correctly implemented the District recognizes the need to provide additional ongoing training to teachers. Page - 45 Westminster Public Schools Management Pathway Plan AdvancED determined that although teachers could “talk the talk” they did not all fully buy into or understand the CBS. They also indicated CBS is not being faithfully implemented at all levels. To this end the District initiated a Learning Walk Protocol as described above in Key Action 1a whereby the deployment of competency based learner centered practices are observed (or not) with the consequent action of developing further professional development as needed for continuous improvement. The District’s efforts to support the professional development needs of teachers will be greatly enhanced through the partnership with Marzano Academies and going forward, the District will provide intensified competency based training to teachers via the Playlists in Empower in the: ● Areas identified through the Learning Walks as well as those identified and yet to be identified by AdvancED in future work ● Use of Empower, focusing on the areas identified by AdvancED as needing such support and such training will ensure understanding of reasons for using CBS, goals of CBS, importance and benefits of faithful implementation, importance and benefits of data tracking The District will implement additional professional development strategies designed to support teachers in the implementation of CBS and the following are pending: ● Playlists. Expand Playlists for differentiated professional development opportunities within Empower (PD Corner) to better meet real time professional development needs of teachers and across the district and include alignment to State Teacher and Leader evaluations. Playlists provide an electronic platform to develop and receive anytime anywhere professional development. ● Symposium Model. Refine Symposium Model which is a conference style format to provide deeper and more rigorous training opportunities for fall 2017. This model that has been very effective prior to students arriving at the start of each year will be extended for multiple “symposiums” throughout the school year to provide a sustained and consistent model of professional development designed to “transfer into results” of improved student learning and engagement. ● AVID. Add the Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) programming and provide summer institute training to make all Middle Schools and one Elementary School (Adding one per year) so they may embrace the AVID Growth Mindset that has shown to help break the cycle of poverty and improve a college going culture. Summer institute trainings with national AVID trainers will be embraced by over 30 key teacher leaders and administrators, with ongoing AVID site visits and ongoing AVID boost trainings throughout the year. ● Project Based Learning. Continue to provide Project Based Learning (PBL) trainings for teachers throughout the summer months with the Buck Institute, with continued Buck Institute school visits to progress monitor fidelity of PBL implementation designed to engage and improve relevance and student learning. ● Project Lead The Way. Expand Project Lead The Way (PLTW) trainings and programming to strengthen the transition from middle to high (Expanding STEM programming). Page - 46 Westminster Public Schools Management Pathway Plan ● Kagan. Scheduled in April 2017 “Discover Kagan” for administrators and select teacher leaders, is an awareness overview session to help participants understand how to unleash the power of student engagement so we can set the stage for a staggered 5 full day Discover Kagan training thread for the 2017-2018 school year. (Day one on Symposium). The research practices provided by Kagan were, according to Scott Carpenter Middle teachers and leaders, instrumental in leveraging student engagement, resulting in the best gains in any Middle School in the district last year. When the additional training days are approved, a series of Kagan trainings will be scheduled for an ongoing and aggressive schedule to training and develop all teachers to implement and transfer into results- better student engagement through Kagan practices K-12 in Westminster Public Schools. ● Culturally Linguistically Diverse (CLD). Train all CLD specialists in the newly selected CLD curriculum (under review for approval by the Board of Education, Spring, 2017). This adoption will allow the entire district to train, develop, implement and progress monitor with a consistent data set to improve CLD learning and instruction. ● History Alive. Expand History Alive to include all Middle Schools with adoption/training/implementation for fall 2017. This Social Studies curriculum subscription was a key component of Scott Carpenter’s turnaround efforts over the past two years. ● Social Studies Resource Adoption. Select new Social Studies curriculum for High School Philosophy/Sociology/AP History, including eBook subscriptions. ● ICAP. Going forward, all staff will have access to and will be asked to refer to student ICAP plans within Alpine as we engage in conversations around level achievement, course selection, access to college credit options, internships and apprenticeships on the path to their professional career. This is a departure from the various, disconnected conversations taking place currently. Responsibility for capturing the content of the student conversation and the progress made toward that student personal goal will enable everyone to fully support student growth. ● Counseling Professional Development. We will continue to attend the Colorado School Counselor Association Conference annually and for one additional year grant funded counselors will participate in the Counselor Corps Grant training. Counseling Counts will provide on-site PD to the entire team in 2017-2018. Nearly all of the counselors plan to attend the American School Counselor Association conference July 2017. Westminster Public Schools recognizes that, due to the large number of EL students it serves, it is important to provide ongoing training to all teachers on the implementation of CLD strategies in the classroom. The District currently requires all staff to complete a 30-hour course regarding the use of strategies designed to assist EL students and it will increase and refine its training requirements for all teachers to ensure that teachers are able to provide meaningful and effective assistance to EL students especially during the implementation of the new CLD curriculum in the 2017-18 school year, once approved. Evaluation and Retention Westminster Public Schools’ philosophy of evaluation and retention of employees closely mirrors the words of Carol Ann Tomlinson. No educator ever quits growing and we all have the capacity to continue to improve. It is our mission to ensure that we treat employees with respect and to Page - 47 Westminster Public Schools Management Pathway Plan provide a foundation that has excellence at its core. To do so, we provide systems for assessing performance and for retaining our best and our brightest that are fair, provide growth-oriented feedback, and that promote ever increasing student achievement. Westminster Public Schools uses Colorado’s State Model Evaluation System. It provides a highly structured set of standards that describe best practices for effective licensed educators. Within this system, 50 percent of an educator’s evaluation is based on student achievement data. The District’s Instructional Advisory Committee (IAC) sets annual parameters for what data is included in the 50 percent. District leadership would work through the IAC to develop a “Measures of Student Learning” formula that would reflect and be tailored to the innovation plan and student achievement goals. This group is composed of educators who are progressive and have been willing to question the status quo. They are aware that our overall level of educator effectiveness should be better aligned with our student achievement results. 2016-17 is the second year we have used MSLs and we have already amended our system to include several measures that are representative of all levels of performance. We anticipate that our 2017-18 MSL formula will be adjust to reflect continued emphasis on how our students are performing on local and state assessments. So teachers can focus on the job of educating children, we support and retain teachers by offering one of the best salary and benefits packages in the Denver metro area. The district offers a mentoring program for all educators new to the district. In addition, new educators are contracted for five additional days for pre-service training and orientation. We offer an Employee Assistance Program to all employees. The District also recognizes that more professional development is needed for principals to provide meaningful and effective feedback to teachers as part of the evaluation process especially regarding the implementation of expected competency based practices. It is anticipated that AdvancED will assist in monitoring and evaluating the provision of training to administrators on evaluative feedback. Educator retention was an issue for Westminster Public Schools in 2015-16. Traditionally, the district as a whole experiences a turnover rate of 10-15 percent. In 2015-16, it was 26 percent. Our one turnaround school, Fairview Elementary, experienced a 44 percent turnover rate. Our seven priority improvement schools had a 26 percent average turnover rate. In order to explain the higher turnover rate, we looked to the survey data that we gather every year from exiting licensed employees. The results did not provide a conclusive reason for the unusually high rate. In fact, a majority of respondents provided positive comments about professional growth opportunities, realistic job expectations, teamwork, and positive work environment. The district also recognized that we hired some people who did not meet the qualifications for our competency based model, thus potentially contributing to the higher turnover rate. To address retention, we provide stipends and bonuses for staff who work in hard-to-fill areas. We provide all newly licensed staff with mentoring and extensive professional development on our CBS model. We ensure that our existing staff remain satisfied with WPS as their professional home by offering highly competitive salaries and one of the top benefits packages in the Denver metro area. We provide leadership academies and several venues that enable Page - 48 Westminster Public Schools Management Pathway Plan educators to communicate with us, to participate in decision making, and to help shape the direction of the district. Last, as we continue to grow our CBS model and recognize how it meets students’ instructional needs, we keep all staff trained in its delivery through ongoing, intensive professional development. We have worked to improve how we identify new hire candidates who are high quality and who possess attributes that will ensure success in our CBS system. We practice targeted recruiting by attending job fairs where we can meet individuals who are skilled in and committed to working in an urban setting. We have a goal to hire more qualified teachers of color as well as teachers who are CLD endorsed. We use the Gallup perceiver tool to help us screen for quality candidates. We provide extensive training for principals in behavioral based interviewing to ensure that new hires will be a good fit for our learning model. Additionally, for the 2017-18 school year, WPS will be opening an Early Childhood Center (ELC) that will provide childcare for employees and assist in attracting and retaining staff. Page - 49 Westminster Public Schools Management Pathway Plan VII. Selection of Partner Westminster Public Schools began working with AdvancED in fall of 2015 after conducting a thorough review of their work. The District was keenly interested in working with an organization that: ● Could accurately validate and corroborate the processes, progress and results of a Competency Based System as well as provide next steps for Continuous Improvement; ● Had a proven track record either nationally or internationally in working with diverse student populations; ● Would allow a WPS representative(s) to participate as a team member in a full review process of another school district; and ● Provided a cost effective solution. AdvancED is a nationally recognized accreditation agency which accredits numerous public and private school districts and schools including all public schools in Kentucky and Wyoming. They also accredit various Colorado schools including, the Archdiocese of Denver Catholic Schools, Valor Christian High School, The Liberty School, and Cherry Creek High Schools. The District reviewed accounts from several of these schools and school districts to validate their experience of working with AdvancED. Additionally, the WPS Chief Education Officer requested to be trained and participate in a school district review so that the process could be validated and vetted first hand. Once work began in late fall of 2015, in preparation for the External Review process, the District staff developed a strong relationship with AdvancED and their accreditation review process. Their findings corroborated those of the State Review Panel from the prior year. Even though AdvancED had competency based experts on their team they invested substantial time learning about our CBS and has gained an extensive working knowledge of the District’s system that no other management partner can efficiently leverage. Consequently, they are now uniquely situated to support the District in its major improvement strategies to increase student performance. AdvancED Description and Background AdvancED, a not-for-profit agency, has capacity to provide a proven, cost effective, and sustainable solution for Colorado districts and schools. AdvancED helps schools and district focus on processes, practices, and conditions that cause improvement in student performance and organizational effectiveness. AdvancED leverages its expertise, knowledge and capacity to meet education organizations where they are and empower them to successfully navigate an improvement journey designed specifically to achieve their desired destination. The knowledge we have acquired through our work in education has helped us develop research-based processes, tools, and services that are comprehensive yet flexible enough to meet the unique needs of each institution without sacrificing quality. In 2011, AdvancED conducted an extensive review of relevant research and best practices, along with analysis of process and outcomes data collected from the AdvancED Improvement Network of over 30,000 education institutions, resulting in the development of new AdvancED Standards Page - 50 Westminster Public Schools Management Pathway Plan for Quality and action and outcomes based Performance Evaluation Protocol. The implementation of AdvancED’s Standards and evaluation protocol was well received by educators and policymakers alike. This response, accompanied by the increasing demand for cost-effective and sustainable systems to turnaround low performing schools, led to the development and implementation of the AdvancED Diagnostic Review and Leadership Assessment protocols in 2012. In 2013, AdvancED further enhanced its Continuous Improvement and Diagnostic Review processes by introducing the Effective Learning Environments Observation Tool™ (eleot™). eleot is a learner-centric, formative classroom observation tool that measures the effectiveness of learning environments. The tool provides quantifiable data that focuses on students and informs improvement efforts to create the most optimal environments for student achievement. AdvancED’s internal commitment to continuous improvement propelled the organization to further enhance service offerings through the development of the next generation of Performance Standards, School/System Quality Factors (SQF), and a revitalized Continuous Improvement System (CIS) in the fall of 2016. These Standards, SQFs and the CIS are based on the latest research and best practices, and will help drive the global education community toward high quality learner-centered education. The comprehensive services described in this response for Westminster Public Schools merges Diagnostic Review results with focused professional development and a proven continuous improvement process to create an aligned, data-based and results oriented accountability and support system. This is not a “silver bullet” solution, but a systematic and systemic approach to uncovering and addressing root causes for underperformance while building local capacity to achieve and sustain improvements. AdvancED’s Diagnostic Review and Improvement framework can be implemented “out-of-the-box” or customized to meet specific state requirements – without sacrificing the quality and validity of the process. Our standardized processes and protocols for data collection and analysis ensure the reliability and validity of results, while considering local context and the differentiated needs of each school/district. Having tailored numerous solutions like those described herein, AdvancED has the expertise and track record to carry out this work in partnership with CDE. Related Experience AdvancED and its predecessor agencies have focused on continuous improvement since 1895. Today, AdvancED leverages this experience and expertise to develop and deliver high-quality, affordable yet rigorous products, tools and services to more than 30,000 schools and districts around the world. AdvancED conducts thousands of onsite evaluations of Pre-K-12 schools and districts every year, and provides the guidance, support, professional learning, and accountability needed to help schools and districts ensure that all learners realize their full potential. The AdvancED services described herein have been implemented in over ninety (90) underperforming schools/districts across the nation over the past four years. Through various state and system partnerships, AdvancED has implemented Diagnostic Reviews, Leadership Assessments, and Continuous Improvement solutions as critical interventions and supports for some of the nation’s lowest performing schools. Page - 51 Westminster Public Schools Management Pathway Plan Kentucky, for example, has received national recognition for its support and accountability system for low performing schools, which is framed by AdvancED’s Performance Standards, Diagnostic Reviews, Leadership Assessments, and Continuous Improvement Process. Through the partnership with the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE), AdvancED provides support to Kentucky schools, districts and the state education agency. Although a direct correlation between improved student outcomes and specific interventions is difficult to make given the large number of variables at play in education systems, the impact of AdvancED’s services are evidenced by consistent and documented improvements in stakeholder engagement, school climate/culture, organizational effectiveness, and student performance. In February, 2015, KDE publicly released student achievement results showing the positive gains being made by their lowest performing schools, all of which have been using the AdvancED Standards, processes, tools, supports and interventions outlined in this response to guide their improvement efforts. Since that time, Kentucky has continued to report significant gains. As reported by Jim Larson in an article highlighting the collaborative school turnaround approach used in Kentucky, “Over the last five years, KDE has seen an impressive reduction in the number of schools earning priority status – 11 schools have exited priority status this year alone.” The article goes on to describe the approach used by Kentucky, which includes AdvancED Diagnostic Reviews, Leadership Assessments, and a continuous improvement approach that is based on AdvancED Standards and Improvement Framework. AdvancED in Westminster Public Schools In April 2016, an AdvancED External Review Team of 22 professional educators conducted a System External Review for Westminster Public schools. The External Review Team (Team) was comprised of practicing educators and education consultants, several of whom were very knowledgeable of standards-based instruction and assessment. This expertise was critical to the success of the Review because the team understood the concepts and methodology involved in ensuring successful Competency Based System (CBS.) The superintendent requested that all schools be visited during this review. As a result, this team was significantly larger than what AdvancED typically requires for a system of this size. Because several of the schools included early learning classrooms, the Lead Evaluator assigned either three or four team members to those buildings as opposed to the traditional two-person "mini-team," in an effort to meet the requirements for early learning certification. Additionally, AdvancED's Early Childhood Director visited the early childhood center during the Lead Evaluator's introductory on-site visit to the District and subsequently all preschool sites were fully accredited with the AdvancED Early Childhood Education process. Over 500 stakeholders were interviewed by members of the External Review Team to gain their perspectives on topics relevant to the institution's effectiveness and student performance. The feedback gained through the interviews was combined with other pieces of evidence and data to support the findings of the External Review. Documentation provided by WPS and its schools, along with the Accreditation Reports from each school and the District were carefully reviewed by the External Review Team. After the site visits thee External Review Team held extensive Page - 52 Westminster Public Schools Management Pathway Plan deliberations and identified Powerful Practices, Opportunities for Improvement, and Improvement Priorities. Themes from the findings were presented in a public meeting of the Board of Education. The AdvancED External Review Report is appended to this document. It may be of interest that most of the findings of the AdvancED External Review Team validated earlier findings by CDE staff during a visit to the district approximately one year earlier. Based on the findings from the review, the External Review Team identified several Opportunities for Improvement and Powerful Practices along with the following three broad Improvement Priorities: ● Design and implement a process to continually verify that all instructional staff and leaders are implementing CBS with fidelity. ● Implement professional learning and evaluation programs to guarantee that all instructional staff and leaders have deep knowledge of and skills to implement CBS effectively. ● Broaden and deepen stakeholder engagement to ensure that the voice of all stakeholders is equitably represented in implementation of the system’s purpose and direction. At the request of the district leadership, and because of the commitment of both AdvancED and the district and the working relationship already established, AdvancED has agreed to enter into a partnership with the district to address the priorities identified by the External Review Team. Methodology AdvancED understands that every school or district is complex and unique and believes that piecemeal reforms never work. WPS agrees with AdvancED that improvement efforts cannot succeed unless they are guided by an understanding of the subtle ways in which the system’s many parts fit together. Engaging in the practice of analyzing the most relevant data available allows teachers and schools to identify patterns of need, develop meaningful instructional strategies, create and implement school improvement plans, assess effectiveness and reflect on results. AdvancED has a comprehensive process in place that provides these components. Training and Professional Development School, district and state leadership teams will be trained on the AdvancED Performance Standards, SQFs, and Framework for Continuous System Improvement. Teams will receive extensive training on the standards, diagnostics, and tools, as well as the formalized, disciplined process for taking on the complexity of data-driven improvement. Through this training, teams will be empowered to collect and analyze data on student performance, stakeholder feedback, and organizational effectiveness, engage in meaningful conversations, and simulate data-based goal setting and planning system-wide. Teams will discuss both school and district level expectations and system-wide review and accountability processes. They will also be trained on the use of the AdvancED eProve Platform as a tool to streamline, guide, document, and manage the continuous improvement process. Schools also will have access to user guides, offline resources, and training videos and webinars. Page - 53 Westminster Public Schools Management Pathway Plan Timeline AdvancED is well qualified and prepared to begin implementation of the described services in a timely manner. We have the capacity and expertise necessary to train school and district staff, conduct Diagnostic Reviews and facilitate the development and implementation of quality, databased School Improvement Plans. Focused professional development, technical assistance, coaching, monitoring, and capacity building will begin at the request of the school/district and continue throughout the term of the service agreement. The estimated length of time needed to accomplish the desired outcomes, assuming the school/district chooses to implement the comprehensive solution, is between twelve (12) and thirty-six (36) months, depending upon the progress made by and desires of the district. AdvancED will work with the school/district to further define and/or amend the timeline as needed. Organizational and Project Implementation AdvancED will work in collaboration with Westminster Public Schools to conduct an initial needs analysis, then schedule and implement complete or partial reviews for underperforming schools as necessary. Review teams will be selected by the AdvancED Office and assigned to each school. Teams may consist of an out-of-state Lead Evaluator and team members from within the state of Colorado. The number of team members will be determined by the size of the school. Once the reviews have been conducted, the needs of the school and Improvement Priorities will be established and a consultant(s) will be assigned to the school. There may be more than one consultant assigned based on the needs of the school. Consultants will work with schools to work toward their goals and Improvement Priorities. A project manager will maintain continuous dialogue with the school and district to monitor the progress of the project, thereby, guaranteeing maximum achievement and success. Page - 54 Westminster Public Schools Management Pathway Plan VIII. Performance Contract/MOU Contract AdvancED routinely works with individual schools, districts, and state education agencies. For the purpose of this proposal, AdvancED expects to enter into a standard, simple contractual agreement with Westminster Public Schools. AdvancED expects the district to be transparent, open, and honest in its working relationship, and AdvancED will reciprocate. The district and AdvancED have agreed to work together to provide required information to CDE upon request. AdvancED and Westminster Public Schools ask for consideration from CDE regarding implementation timelines, recognizing that quality improvement takes time, and sometimes timelines must be altered, within reason, to achieve optimum results. We also request that, in general, CDE remain open-minded to the interpretation of regulations especially as applied to the district's commitment to competency-based learning where flexibility is needed for altering traditional schooling practices in instruction and assessment . From a business standpoint, AdvancED typically asks for a simple contract with terms and conditions, schedule for payments, and agreement of the local board along with the state education agency, if required. AdvancED will provide a scope of work that details the activities that will be performed. AdvancED and the district ask that consideration be given should either party desire to dissolve this particular contract for this identified purpose, whereby the district and AdvancED can continue the strong relationship that is already established for implementing the five year accreditation review process already underway independent of this contract. Outcomes Estimated Length of Partnership AdvancED is well qualified and prepared to begin implementation of the described services in a timely manner. We have the capacity and expertise necessary to train school and district staff, conduct Diagnostic Reviews and facilitate the development and implementation of quality, databased School Improvement Plans. Focused professional development, technical assistance, coaching, monitoring, and capacity building would begin at the request of the school/district and continue throughout the term of the service agreement. The estimated length of time needed to accomplish the desired outcomes is between twelve (12) and thirty-six (36) months. AdvancED will work with the district to further define and/or amend the schedule as needed. While most components outlined in the scope of work can be completed in the timeframe specific, both the district and AdvancED agree to adjust the timeline in the interest of the best possible working relationship between the entities. Timelines Because of the relationship already established, the initial forging of the partnership between Page - 55 Westminster Public Schools Management Pathway Plan Westminster Public Schools and AdvancED can be accomplished before the end of the current fiscal year. During this time, representatives of both entities can review and refine the scope of work and define the resources each entity can and should provide for a successful partnership. Upon completion of the scope of work desired by CDE and the district, AdvancED hopes to continue as a partner with the district through accreditation, STEM certification, and other forms of recognition. If requested, AdvancED can continue to provide services similar to those outlined in this proposal at the request of the district. Costs Costs of individual initiatives included in the partnership are outlined in the preliminary scope of work, listed below. AdvancED typically invoices partners two or four times per year, as negotiated in the contract, for the corresponding percentage of the annual budget. Payments, unless otherwise outlined in the contract, are due within thirty (30) days of the date of the invoice. Costs below are estimated maximum costs. Should the district and AdvancED mutually agree that particular items within the scope of work are finished early or are not needed because of changes in circumstances, both parties agree to work collaboratively to amend the contract and payment terms and amounts. Preliminary Scope of Work for Westminster Public Schools Continuous Improvement Proposal - DRAFT Costs will be determined pending approval of the Management Pathway Plan by the State Board of Education AdvancED proposes that the following activities will be conducted by AdvancED staff and contractors on behalf of and in cooperation with Westminster Public Schools over a period of 36 months, beginning on or around July 1, 2017. Reports on progress of these activities will be provided to stakeholders as requested. Travel-related expenses are not included in the costs for the activities listed below, but will be invoiced to the district. Estimates for these expenses can be provided upon request. Stakeholder Engagement Item/Activity Details Conduct Surveys Customize and deploy AdvancED surveys to collect baseline data concerning parent and other stakeholder understanding and commitment to CBS. Timeline Year 1 Page - 56 Westminster Public Schools Management Pathway Plan Analyze Survey In conjunction with district personnel, analyze and report Results finding from surveys concern stakeholder engagement and commitment to CBS. Advise the district on the design and implementation of strategies to improve stakeholder engagement and commitment. Year 1 Conduct Follow-Up Surveys Deploy customized AdvancED surveys to collect follow-up data concerning parent and other stakeholder understanding and commitment to CBS. Years 2 & 3 Analyze Follow-Up Results Analyze results of follow-up surveys and report on the degree of change in stakeholder understanding of and commitment to CBS. Years 2 & 3 Evaluation and Monitoring of Implementation of Professional Development Item/Activity Details Timeline Design In collaboration with other service providers (Marzano et Evaluation Plan al), AdvancED will design an evaluation plan to determine the degree and quality of implementation of selected professional development strategies. Year 1 Implement Conduct evaluations as necessary to collect data related to Evaluation Plan the degree and quality of implementation of selected professional development strategies. Years 2 & 3 Report Results Report the findings and analysis of results of data collected related to the degree and quality of implementation of selected professional development strategies. Year 3 Analysis and Replication of Successful "Turnaround" Practices in the District Item/Activity Details Analysis of Practices Analyze the successful strategies implemented and sustained at Mesa Elementary School, Sherrelwood Elementary School Scott Carpenter Middle School Timeline Year 1 Page - 57 Westminster Public Schools Management Pathway Plan Deployment Plan Collaborate with the district to build and implement a deployment plan based on successful strategies in schools that offer "best fit" environments. Years 2 & 3 Analysis of Results Analyze results of strategies in underperforming schools to determine relative degrees of success. Year 3 Improvement in Underperforming Schools Item/Activity Details Initial Assessment Review current student performance results, conduct initial interviews and observations to diagnose factors leading to poor performance. Year 1 Diagnostic Reviews In up to eight (8) selected schools, perform comprehensive Diagnostic Reviews (including Leadership Assessments). Actual cost of each school's review will be based on student enrollment. Cost listed here assumes all 8 schools with engage in a full diagnostic review. Year 1 Focused Reviews In selected schools, perform focused reviews on specific aspects related to underperformance (e.g. leadership, instruction, use of resources). Costs of reviews vary based on content of the review and in some cases, student enrollment. Year 1 Action Planning Work with each school to develop an action plan that includes activities, as well as short and long term implementation measures, and short and long term student performance measures. Year 1 Monitoring of Perform ad hoc and annual on-site and remote monitoring Implementation activities related to the implementation and formative results of the implementation of action plans. Advise schools and district of suggested adjustments to plans. Analysis of Results Provide a report of overall quality of implementation and student performance results as measures of success of action plans. Timeline Year 2 & 3 Year 3 Page - 58 Westminster Public Schools Management Pathway Plan Quality Assurance Practices, Measures for Competency-Based Implementation Item/Activity Details Learning Walks Analyze data from Learning Walks to provide baseline measure for CBS implementation. Timeline Year 1 eleot Sweeps Conduct eleot sweeps in schools identified as in need of improvement of consistency and quality of CBS implementation. Years 1, 2 & 3 Analysis, Planning, Reporting Analyze data from eleot sweeps and assist the district in designing an action plan to reduce variability and increase overall quality of CBS implementation. Upon implementation of the plans, monitor and report on implementation and observed results. Year 2 & 3 Use of Empower Conduct needs assessment through survey, interview, and observations to identify needs concerning use of Empower. Assist in development of training that will ensure faithful implementation of data tracking. Year 1 Culture of Continuous Quality Improvement Item/Activity Details Evaluate Current Reality Using surveys and observations to collect relevant data, determine the "current reality" of culture related to high expectations and continuous improvement in all WPS schools and district office. Year 1 Action Plan for Improvement Using results from analysis of collected data, work in collaboration with district staff to select strategies and design action plans that will result in improvement in measures of a culture related to high expectations and continuous improvement. Year 1 Monitoring of Perform ad hoc and annual on-site and remote monitoring Implementation activities related to the implementation and formative results of the implementation of action plans. Advise the district of suggested adjustments. Timeline Years 2 & 3 Page - 59 Westminster Public Schools Management Pathway Plan Analysis of Results Provide a report of overall quality of implementation and results of reported changes in culture as measures of success of action plans. Year 3 Early Childhood and QRIS Requirements Item/Activity Details Existing PreSchool Programs Conduct review at all WPS preschool programs to ensure quality alignment with the State of Colorado’s Quality Improvement Rating System (QRIS). New PreSchool Programs Evaluate new preschool programs for accreditation within 6 months of beginning of operation. Early Learning Reading Assessment Monitor early reading scores to ensure that professional development initiatives are deployed in classrooms and helping students reach projected implementation benchmarks. Timeline Year 1 Years 1, 2, & 3 as needed Year 2 & 3 Page - 60