Great Things Going On
Last week our staff did a great job of opening our schools for the 2013-14 school year. All students in grades PK-5 began regular school sessions at Haskin Elementary. Students in grades 6-12 who are required to come for extra support through Jump Start began attending classes as well.
2013 Colorado State Assessment results were officially released this past Wednesday and Center Schools has many reasons to be extremely pleased with the continued academic growth of its students. The following sections break down the results we received at each school level.
2013 Colorado State Assessment results were officially released this past Wednesday and Center Schools has many reasons to be extremely pleased with the continued academic growth of its students. The following sections break down the results we received at each school level.
Haskin Elementary
Many of you might recall in the fall of 2010 Haskin Elementary was accredited with "Turnaround" status because of low student growth and low overall achievement. Though this was unfortunate news, the reality is it meant Haskin was finally able to receive much of the funding needed to create significant academic change in a school with such challenging demographics (greater than 90% poverty, greater than 50% English Language Learner population).
Upon embarking on its transformation process the first thing the leaders of Haskin Elementary did was identify the root causes of continued below average student growth. After an expedited diagnostic review it was determined the lack of a well aligned curriculum to guide teachers in instruction in core subject areas, the lack of comprehensive way to teach reading and to intervene with students performing below benchmark, and the lack of leadership capacity to guide effective classroom instruction and implement staff development efforts invested in by the district were the key problems.
Upon identifying these root causes, the Haskin staff embarked on a plan to purchase a guaranteed and viable curriculum linked to effective instructional resources, to train a leadership team to support implementation of curriculum through effective instruction, and to implement a comprehensive reading instruction and intervention process. The partners chosen to support this work were Focal Point for curriculum and instructional leadership development, and Lindamood-Bell for additional leadership development, reading instruction, and reading intervention.
Led by Center Schools director of instruction Lori Cooper, Haskin Elementary principal Kathy Kulp, Haskin Elementary instructional coach Sarah Vance, and Haskin Elementary literacy program site coordinator Melissa Garcia, the results of this three-year transformation effort have been nothing short of phenomenal.
Upon embarking on its transformation process the first thing the leaders of Haskin Elementary did was identify the root causes of continued below average student growth. After an expedited diagnostic review it was determined the lack of a well aligned curriculum to guide teachers in instruction in core subject areas, the lack of comprehensive way to teach reading and to intervene with students performing below benchmark, and the lack of leadership capacity to guide effective classroom instruction and implement staff development efforts invested in by the district were the key problems.
Upon identifying these root causes, the Haskin staff embarked on a plan to purchase a guaranteed and viable curriculum linked to effective instructional resources, to train a leadership team to support implementation of curriculum through effective instruction, and to implement a comprehensive reading instruction and intervention process. The partners chosen to support this work were Focal Point for curriculum and instructional leadership development, and Lindamood-Bell for additional leadership development, reading instruction, and reading intervention.
Led by Center Schools director of instruction Lori Cooper, Haskin Elementary principal Kathy Kulp, Haskin Elementary instructional coach Sarah Vance, and Haskin Elementary literacy program site coordinator Melissa Garcia, the results of this three-year transformation effort have been nothing short of phenomenal.
Attached are a series of snapshots that show the incredible growth in reading, writing, and math performance experienced by Haskin students during the past several years. In viewing them you can see third grade readers have improved from a low performance of 28% proficient in 2010 to consistently achieving over 60% proficiency, even beating the state average performance in 2012. Fourth grade readers have improved from a low of 18% in 2011 to 75%, above state average performance, in 2013! Meanwhile, third grade writers are making significant increases in performance, up from a low of 14% in 2010 to over 30% this year while fourth grade writers have improved from a low of 12% in 2011 to 41% proficiency this year! Finally, Haskin Elementary School third grade math performance has increased from only 31% proficiency in 2010 to 76% proficiency, above state average performance, in 2013, while fourth grade math performance has increased from 26% proficiency in 2010 to 75% proficiency this year!
Though Center Schools realizes it needs to continue to push toward greater improvement, the end result of this three-year transformation of Haskin Elementary School has been an increase in annual growth that was once mired in the 30th percentile in all tested subjects to greater than 50th percentile, and even as high as 65th percentile when it comes to math, growth in all tested areas (see chart above). This means Haskin Elementary students are now showing progress in academics at a greater rate than the average student in Colorado!
Skoglund Middle School
Skoglund Middle School is already rated Performance, the highest single school rating CDE offers in Colorado. However, finally for the third consecutive year Skoglund was able to keep all growth percentiles above 50%, meaning the school will likely earn a Colorado Department of Education Center of Excellence Award! I have attached a chart right here that offers a multiple year view of this progress at Skoglund.
When delving into Skoglund's TCAP results the clear story that emerges is how our middle school is closing learning gaps. One chart I have included shows how our students, on average, are growing at a rate greater than 7 of every 10 Coloradans. What is even more amazing is that our English Language Learners and our Special Education students are growing above the 70th percentile as well!
Other TCAP results of note at Skoglund include a 10 point gain in 6th grade reading cohort proficiency, 65th percentile growth in the 7th grade reading cohort, a 14 point gain in the 7th grade writing proficiency cohort and the highest ever grade level performance at 7th grade, 70th percentile growth in the 8th grade writing cohort, 70th percentile growth in middle school math cohorts with our highest 7th grade performance ever, a 13 point gain in 7th grade math, and a 24 point gain in 8th grade science (our highest performance ever in that subject at that grade level-see chart).
When delving into Skoglund's TCAP results the clear story that emerges is how our middle school is closing learning gaps. One chart I have included shows how our students, on average, are growing at a rate greater than 7 of every 10 Coloradans. What is even more amazing is that our English Language Learners and our Special Education students are growing above the 70th percentile as well!
Other TCAP results of note at Skoglund include a 10 point gain in 6th grade reading cohort proficiency, 65th percentile growth in the 7th grade reading cohort, a 14 point gain in the 7th grade writing proficiency cohort and the highest ever grade level performance at 7th grade, 70th percentile growth in the 8th grade writing cohort, 70th percentile growth in middle school math cohorts with our highest 7th grade performance ever, a 13 point gain in 7th grade math, and a 24 point gain in 8th grade science (our highest performance ever in that subject at that grade level-see chart).
Center High School
This year's Center High School TCAP results of note include a 4 point increase in the 9th grade reading cohort, a 14 point cohort gain and our highest performance ever in 10th grade reading (see chart), 69th percentile growth in 9th grade writing, 65th percentile growth in 9th grade math, and our highest performance ever in 10th grade math. Additionally, just like growth gaps are being closed at Skoglund Middle School, Center High School is showing tremendous growth in one of its greatest at risk populations, English Language Learners. To illustrate this I have attached snapshots that show CHS ELL students growing above the 75th percentile in both reading and writing.
Center High School, winner of four consecutive Colorado Department of Education Centers of Educational Excellence Awards, is likely to receive a fifth one as it has now sustained eight straight years of greater than 50th percentile growth in all tested areas!
Center High School, winner of four consecutive Colorado Department of Education Centers of Educational Excellence Awards, is likely to receive a fifth one as it has now sustained eight straight years of greater than 50th percentile growth in all tested areas!
Summary of Results
It just can’t be disputed that Center Schools has an incredibly challenging demographic to educate. In fact our overall poverty rate ranks the Center Consolidated School District as THE most challenging student population in Colorado (at just around 90% free or reduced lunch). Add to that a 50% population of English Language Learners and you would not be blamed for concluding that our students might be doomed to failure. However, as can be seen in these results our kids are making incredible growth. I would like to further illustrate this to you by inviting you to spend some time on the Colorado Department of Education SchoolView website. You can get to this website at www.schoolview.org
For years people have been talking about the importance of closing learning gaps between high growing/high performing student groups and those that have been traditionally left behind. At the schoolview website you can see evidence of this actually happening right here in Center because if you load in all the school districts in the San Luis Valley and sort the data by student category you will see that our migrant students in Center are actually exhibiting the greatest amount of reading growth per year, followed by Center’s English Language Learners, Females, Economically Disadvantaged, and “All” Center students. If you then sort the data by school district you will see that the average Center student is growing faster than students in all 14 Valley school districts. Finally, if you then sort the data by ethnicity you will see that Center Schools Hispanic students are outgrowing all other ethnic groups of students in the Valley in every tested subject area!
For years people have been talking about the importance of closing learning gaps between high growing/high performing student groups and those that have been traditionally left behind. At the schoolview website you can see evidence of this actually happening right here in Center because if you load in all the school districts in the San Luis Valley and sort the data by student category you will see that our migrant students in Center are actually exhibiting the greatest amount of reading growth per year, followed by Center’s English Language Learners, Females, Economically Disadvantaged, and “All” Center students. If you then sort the data by school district you will see that the average Center student is growing faster than students in all 14 Valley school districts. Finally, if you then sort the data by ethnicity you will see that Center Schools Hispanic students are outgrowing all other ethnic groups of students in the Valley in every tested subject area!
As can be imagined, it is extremely rewarding to see how far we have come academically in the past few years. Because of our recent gains many people will be asking us what we think our secret formula has been. I have some quick and simple responses I can share with you to begin with. Certainly our transformation plan and partners have been the catalyst. That could not have happened without the extra dollars that were invested in our district. I also believe we have gathered some of the best people in education to work in Center, and have empowered them to do their jobs, and they have worked hard to bring about change. Finally, do any of you think the effect a brand new school has on kids could be part of the equation? At any rate Center Schools will be working in the next few weeks to do its best to communicate these successes and to share with everyone the choices it made to accomplish them. We will do this in hopes of offering anyone who wants to learn from our mistakes and our successes, what to do so for the benefit of their kids.
Big Things We Are Working On
The biggest thing we are working on in the district right now is actually part of a full San Luis Valley effort to develop common quarterly assessments in each subject area at each grade level to monitor student learning and growth in mastering Colorado Sample Curriculum standards. This is a gigantic undertaking but the work we are all doing will pay off by helping each teacher to know exactly what our kids should be able to know and do at certain periods of time within the school year.
The Past Week
This past week we experienced a wonderful first day of school. On Tuesday I attended SLV Superintendent Advisory Council, Saguache County Commissioner, District Accountability and Board of Education meetings. On Wednesday I trekked to Del Norte to sit in on a regional visit by Governor Hickenlooper. Thursday and Friday were spent with most San Luis valley teachers at Sangre De Cristo Schools working on the creation of our common quarterly assessments.
The Coming Week
I am looking forward to spending a lot of time in classrooms this week. I’ll also be attending training on digital emergency radio use on Wednesday, as well as a session for teacher on the use of iPads for instruction.
On Thursday afternoon I will travel to Denver to attend the annual Boettcher Teacher Program kickoff at the Governor’s Mansion. I will not return to Center until the end of the day Friday, as that event will run late into the evening.
On Thursday afternoon I will travel to Denver to attend the annual Boettcher Teacher Program kickoff at the Governor’s Mansion. I will not return to Center until the end of the day Friday, as that event will run late into the evening.
Our Core Beliefs
In Center Schools we believe our purpose is to increase academic achievement for ALL students, that with our support ALL children can achieve at high levels and be successful in life, that quality planning, instruction, and assessments lead to high achievement for ALL students, and that EVERYONE must be committed to excellence in ALL they do EVERY day.
I hope in reading these you will note the theme in these core beliefs come from a standpoint that we believe WE control our outcomes, they don’t just happen to us. We believe a child is not doomed to a poor academic experience because of who their parents are, how rich their family may be, or the language they have been exposed to in the past. We know it is the things that WE do that make a difference in these outcomes.
Thanks for listening once again!
George
I hope in reading these you will note the theme in these core beliefs come from a standpoint that we believe WE control our outcomes, they don’t just happen to us. We believe a child is not doomed to a poor academic experience because of who their parents are, how rich their family may be, or the language they have been exposed to in the past. We know it is the things that WE do that make a difference in these outcomes.
Thanks for listening once again!
George