KDE Program Review Report for
Schools
Jessie M Clark Middle School
Fayette County
Cecil Combs, Principal
3341 Clays Mill Rd
Lexington, KY 40503
Document Generated On June 3, 2016
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction
1
Program Review: Arts and Humanities
Introduction
3
Curriculum and Instruction: Student Access
4
Curriculum and Instruction: Aligned and Rigorous Curriculum
8
Curriculum and Instruction: Instructional Strategies
28
Curriculum and Instruction: Student Performance
41
Formative and Summative Assessment: Assessments
58
Formative and Summative Assessment: Expectations for Student Learning
63
Formative and Summative Assessment: Assessment for Learning
70
Professional Learning: Opportunity
73
Professional Learning: Participation
82
Administrative/Leadership Support and Monitoring: Policies and Monitoring
90
Administrative/Leadership Support and Monitoring: Principal Leadership
99
Report Summary
103
Program Review: Practical Living/Career Studies
Introduction
105
Curriculum and Instruction: Health Education
106
Curriculum and Instruction: Physical Education
113
Curriculum and Instruction: Consumerism
119
Curriculum and Instruction: Career Education
128
Curriculum and Instruction: ILP
140
Formative and Summative Assessment: Assessments
145
Formative and Summative Assessment: Expectations for Student Learning
150
Professional Learning: Opportunities
152
Professional Learning: Participation
161
Administrative/Leadership Support and Monitoring: Policies and Monitoring
170
Administrative/Leadership Support and Monitoring: Principal Leadership
176
Report Summary
179
Program Review: Writing
Introduction
181
Curriculum and Instruction: Student Access
182
Curriculum and Instruction: Aligned and Rigorous Curriculum
194
Curriculum and Instruction: Instructional Strategies
211
Curriculum and Instruction: Student Performance
229
Formative and Summative Assessment: Assessments
240
Formative and Summative Assessment: Expectations for Student Learning
251
Professional Learning: Opportunity
261
Professional Learning: Participation
271
Administrative/Leadership Support and Monitoring: Policies and Monitoring
279
Administrative/Leadership Support and Monitoring: Principal Leadership
284
Report Summary
290
Program Review: Next Step Diagnostic
Introduction
292
In-Depth Review
293
Arts and Humanities Program Review
294
Practical Living/Career Studies Program Review
296
Writing Program Review
298
K-3 Program Review
302
Global Competency/World Languages Program Review
303
Program Review: Global Competency/World Language
Introduction
308
Curriculum and Instruction: Student Access
309
Curriculum and Instruction: Aligned and Rigorous Curriculum
312
Curriculum and Instruction: Instructional Strategies
314
Curriculum and Instruction: Student Performance
316
Formative and Summative Assessment: Variety of Assessment
318
Formative and Summative Assessment: Expectations for Student Learning
321
Formative and Summative Assessment: Assessment Of/For Learning
324
Professional Learning: Opportunity
326
Professional Learning: Participation
333
School Leadership: Policies and Monitoring
339
School Leadership: Principal Leadership
345
Report Summary
347
KDE Program Review Report for Schools
Jessie M Clark Middle School
Introduction
The submission of this report is required by the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) as part of Unbridled Learning:
College/Career Readiness for All accountability system. Document each of your school's required Program Reviews under the
"Diagnostic" tab and then add each completed component to this document for submission. Each of the required Program
Review components is listed below. Work with your district and Site Based Decision Making Council (SBDM) to obtain
feedback and approval prior to clicking the submit button. Once submitted, this report will be made available to your district for
review and approval.
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KDE Program Review Report for Schools
Jessie M Clark Middle School
Program Review: Arts and Humanities
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KDE Program Review Report for Schools
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Introduction
This report contains Program Review results for Arts and Humanities. This program review is required as part of Kentucky's new assessment
and accountability model. A Program Review is a systematic method of analyzing components of an instructional program, including
instructional practices, aligned and enacted curriculum, student works samples, formative and summative assessments, professional
development and support services, and administrative support and monitoring. (KRS 158.6453(l)(i)) Diagnostic tools to capture and report
the results from these program reviews are contained in the AdvancED's Adaptive System of School Improvement Support Tools (ASSIST).
ASSIST allows schools and institutions to gain better understanding of past successes and opportunities, and confidently build a solid,
research-based improvement plan for the future.
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KDE Program Review Report for Schools
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Curriculum and Instruction: Student Access
All students should have equitable access to high quality curriculum and instruction.
Overall Rating: 2.0
a)
b)
Statement or Question
To what extent does the school provide access
for all students through intentionally scheduling
time within the instructional day for a balanced
program of creating, performing and responding
to the arts in each of the four arts disciplines?
Response
Access is provided for all students through
intentionally scheduling time within the
instructional day for a balanced program of the
artistic processes of creating, performing and
responding to the arts in each of the four arts
disciplines (dance, drama, music, visual arts).
Rating
Proficient
Statement or Question
To what extent does the school ensure that the
arts curriculum provides discipline-based
instruction and protected time in each arts
discipline as outlined in the Kentucky Academic
Standards?
Response
Rating
The arts curriculum provides discipline-based
Proficient
instruction and protected time in each arts
discipline containing its own body of knowledge,
skills, and ways of thinking as outlined in the
Kentucky Academic Standards. •Elementary: All
students have regularly scheduled disciplinebased arts instruction providing for exploration
of each of the four art forms outlined in the
KAS. •Middle School: All students have access
to regularly- scheduled discipline-based, arts
courses in each of the four art forms which
provide a firm grounding in basic creating,
performing and responding to the arts. Students
wishing to begin a specialization in an art
form(s) are provided regularly scheduled
classes. •High School: Year-long (or equivalent)
Discipline-based arts instruction through
multiple, specialized arts courses in each art
form is available for any student wishing to
specialize in an art form(s) as noted in students’
Individual Learning Plans. Students wishing not
to specialize have access to the History and
Appreciation of Visual and Performing Arts
course or another arts course to meet the Arts
and Humanities graduation requirement.
Evidence is identified to support the school's analysis for each of the demonstrators. Program review evidence may be specific for
an area (Writing, Arts & Humanities, Practical Living/Career Studies, K-3, and Global Competency/World Languages) or may be
common across other reviews. Review teams will likely find they need to search out additional evidence during the program review
process in order to make judgments or to support judgments.
Characteristic A
Music
The student population is provided access to music classes through the dedicated courses of band, chorus, orchestra, arts and humanities,
and guitar. The entire music curriculum is covered in these classes throughout the school year. All students are given the opportunity to
participate in Solo and Ensemble Festival, Jazz Band, Honor Bands/Orchestra and like-instrument sectionals outside of the scheduled
instructional day.
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Visual Arts
Students are provided the opportunity to participate in a 9-week course of Exploratory Art during the Instructional Day. Students are provided
a balanced program of creating, responding, connecting and presenting within the Visual Arts area. We have a Studio 201 News bulletin
board in the room which displays community opportunities from LASC, contest opportunities as well as Art Club news. Art club is offered
during the spring semester after school, twice a month. The LASC, contests and Art Club opportunities are ways students can develop their
own talents in the areas of creating, responding, connecting and presenting beyond the regular classroom and instructional day.
Drama
The student population is provided access to drama through the dedicated 9-week courses of Performing Arts. Over the school year all items
from the drama curriculum are addressed through this electives. Students are also given the opportunity to participate in a yearlong Drama
Club to explore further their interests in the dramatic arts.
Dance
The student population is provided access to dance through the dedicated 9-week course of the performing arts over the school year.
Students are introduced to the purposes and elements of dance. As part of the dance curriculum, students are taught a group dance and
given the opportunity to practice and participate in an extracurricular performance of the dance at a school function. Students work
collaboratively in groups to interpret choreographed line dances by using written descriptions provided.
Visual Art, Performing Arts, and Guitar instruct multiple classes each term. For example, by the end of one school calendar year, 20 different
classes of students have rotated through Visual Art. All students, including ELL, Special Ed., and Gifted and Talented are exposed to the
curriculum. Students' IEP's with accommodations and Gifted and Talented service plans are provided to the A&H teachers. To fully meet
student needs, para-educators are assigned to classes for student support within the A&H classes.
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Characteristic B
The arts curriculum is aligned with the Kentucky Core Academic Standards before the year begins as teachers outline their course in a longrange plan linking each week with specific parts of the standards. All students are regularly scheduled in arts courses that are grounded in
creating, performing, and responding to the arts. Nine-week classes are scheduled in Visual Art and Performing Arts and an opportunity for
7th and 8th grade students to participate in an eighteen-week class is scheduled for Guitar. Specialization is offered to students in Band,
Chorus, and Orchestra.
Music
All students have access to regularly scheduled discipline-based, music courses such as Band, Chorus, Orchestra, and Guitar. Each of these
classes provides opportunities for students to create, respond to, and perform music as outlined in the KCAS. Students are able to specialize
in Band, Chorus, and Orchestra as each of these year-long classes is offered with the expectation students will continue their education in
that specific performing art creating more difficult classes with each consecutive year.
Visual Arts
The Visual Arts curriculum provides discipline-based instruction according to NCAS and KCAS during the 9-week Exploratory Art elective.
Each Unit offers experiences and opportunities in a variety of media, which contains its own body of knowledge, skills and ways of thinking.
Example: Drawing unit practices contour, gesture and value shading. Painting Unit practices color theory and composition. Students also
have opportunities in Printmaking, Sculpture and Art History Research. Each unit provides a firm grounding in the use of each media as well
as creating, connecting, responding and presenting artworks. Students wishing to begin a specialization in an art form are offered regularly
scheduled classes once in 8th grade. These classes include a Drawing/Painting class and a Ceramics class. This aligns with High School Art
classes because HS students are offered semester long art classes which focus on drawing/painting or ceramics.
Drama
All students have access to regularly scheduled discipline-based drama courses through the 9-week Performing Arts elective. In each 9week cycle, students will create, perform, and respond to their own presentations and those teacher selected professional excerpts
presented through different forms of media (video and online selections) as outlined in the KCAS.
Dance
All students have access to regularly scheduled discipline-based dance courses through the 9-week Performing Arts elective. In each 9-week
cycle, students will glean a basic understanding of creating, performing, and responding to dance as outlined in the KCAS.
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More broadly, music, visual arts, drama, and dance are utilized in core content classes as an alternate form of providing instruction through
the process, content, and product. These art forms are a natural resource, complementing and enriching the study of core subjects usually
through class projects. Integration of field trips centered on the arts throughout the year is a standard procedure for our core content classes
(i.e. attending a Dracula play and responding to it and watching the Nutcracker Ballet and responding to it). Social Studies classes integrate
History Alive lessons with experiential activities for all students and learning styles, many of which utilize the arts.
The rationale explains how the identified evidence supports the school's reported level of program implementation for the
demonstrator.
Jessie Clark Middle School provides all students access to courses covering the KCAS for music, visual art, drama, and dance. Through
intentional scheduling of arts classes, students have a balanced program of creating, performing and responding to the arts. Students may
specialize in Band, Chorus or Orchestra. Students who do not choose to specialize are included in nine-week Arts elective classes which
focus on creating, performing, and responding to one or more of the arts. All students, including ELL, Special Education, and Gifted and
Talented students are exposed to the Arts curriculum. Core content classes support the arts through class projects and arts-based field trips.
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Curriculum and Instruction: Aligned and Rigorous Curriculum
An aligned and rigorous curriculum provides access to Kentucky Academic Standards (KAS) for all students as defined by state standards.
Overall Rating: 2.2
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
Statement or Question
To what extent does the school ensure that the
arts curriculum encompasses creating,
performing and responding and is fully aligned
with the Kentucky Academic Standards?
Response
The arts curriculum encompasses the artistic
processes of creating, performing and
responding and is fully aligned with the
Kentucky Academic Standards.
Rating
Proficient
Statement or Question
To what extent does the school ensure that the
arts curriculum provides for the development of
arts literacy in all four arts discipline and also
utilizes the Kentucky Academic Standards for
English/Language Arts?
Response
The arts curriculum provides for the
development of arts literacy in all four arts
discipline and also utilizes the Kentucky
Academic Standards for English/Language
Arts.
Rating
Proficient
Statement or Question
To what extent does the school ensure that the
arts curriculum provides opportunities for
integration as natural cross-curricular
connections are made between the arts and
other content areas?
Response
The school curriculum provides intentional and
meaningful integration of the arts and other
content areas with natural cross-curricular
connections.
Rating
Distinguished
Statement or Question
To what extent does the school ensure that the
arts curriculum includes the study of
representative and exemplary works of dance,
music, theatre and visual arts from a variety of
artists, cultural traditions and historical periods?
Response
Rating
The arts curriculum includes the study of
Proficient
representative and exemplary works of dance,
music, theater and visual arts from a variety of
artists, cultural traditions and historical periods.
Statement or Question
To what extent does the school ensure that the
arts curriculum is revised using multiple
indicators such as student formative and
summative assessments, arts organization
performance assessments from sanctioned
events, or other student needs?
Response
Rating
The school arts curriculum is revised using
Proficient
multiple indicators such as student formative
and summative assessments, arts organization
performance assessments from sanctioned
events, or other student needs.
Evidence is identified to support the school's analysis for each of the demonstrators. Program review evidence may be specific for
an area (Writing, Arts & Humanities,Practical Living/Career Studies, K-3, and Global Competency/World Languages) or may be
common across other reviews. Review teams will likely find they need to search out additional evidence during the program review
process in order to make judgments or to support judgments.
Characteristic A
Creating, performing, and responding to the arts are planned before students ever enter the classroom. Teachers align their yearlong plans
with the Kentucky Core Academic Standards while creating their long-range plan for the year. As students create, they use content
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vocabulary and show an understanding of skills. Students are offered many opportunities to perform within and outside the classroom. As
students reflect on their work and the work of others, they will set goals for future performances and products.
Music:
Music students regularly create in the classroom through various instructional strategies. All music students create music through sight
reading. Beginning Band and Chorus students use their names as a means to understanding rhythm, grouping into same rhythm groups
using their name, culminating with writing the rhythm for their group. The jazz band regularly improvises as they learn techniques of this
genre. Chorus students demonstrate rhythmic segments through rhythmic dictation. They create movement to accompany vocal canons.
Chorus students also create a new rhythm for a familiar nursery rhyme after notating the poem as it would be spoken. Orchestra students
improvise within exercises by adding neighboring and passing tones, changing bowings, or trying new rhythms.
Performing is the core of our music classes. Students have a wide range of opportunities that allow them to perform outside of the regular
school day in addition to our daily rehearsals. Band, Chorus, and Orchestra regularly perform for the community with most classes giving at
least four concerts per year. Through performances, students are introduced to a variety of music from multiple styles, genres, cultures, and
time periods. All performing groups participate in adjudicated performance events such as KMEA Assessment and KMEA Solo and
Ensemble. The Chorus also participates in KMEA All State Choir. Music students have the opportunity to audition for Fayette County Honors
programs in Band and Orchestra. The 6th grade orchestra attends 6th Grade String Day. In the classroom, students also perform. These
performances include ensembles of concert music, individual performances of segments of music, and small group activities created by
students then performed for their peers.
Responding to the arts is a natural extension of music. Students always have opinions about events they have encountered. Teachers help
shape the student's ability to critique performances through content appropriate vocabulary, guided classroom discussions, and daily
rehearsals. At times students reflect on both their own performance and the performance of their peers. While situations can be created for
peer critiques, Solo and Ensemble provides the perfect event for peer review. Teachers may create their own evaluation sheet or use the
state adjudication form for peer review. Students may also evaluate others without a form, responding verbally or through writing. Students
regularly discuss the possible purpose or reason behind a composition they are studying.
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Visual Arts:
Art students are taught and assessed on their knowledge, application, and interpretation of the "Elements of Art" (color, line, space, form,
texture, value) and the "Principles of Design" (balance, emphasis, contrast, pattern, unity and variety) as outlined in the KCAS. During the
creative process, each student is challenged to research, develop their ideas, practice techniques, apply decision-making skills, and problem
solve as they work to develop their project with varied media. Some specific projects are gesture drawings, paintings from various cultures,
PowerPoint presentations based on various famous artists, 3-dimensional wire sculptures with some suspended and some on a flat surface,
ceramics, and masks. Student work is often presented/displayed in the halls of our school and also in the classroom. Some student work is
displayed at the North Lime Coffee and Donuts, student work is submitted for the Calendar Art competition which will then be displayed in the
Department of Transportation in Frankfort, KY. "Famous Artists and Works" are compared through class discussions as well as written
exams. Students are prompted to discuss how the elements and principles are applied in famous works of art, compare and contrast art
styles, media usage, and purpose. Then students create art in the style of a certain artist and then are videoed discussing and explaining
their unique art and intent. Multicultural and historical documentation through the arts is observed/assessed. Cultures studied include Greek,
Roman, Egyptian, Native American, Early American, and Japanese.
The visual arts curriculum encompasses creating, responding, connecting and presenting and is fully aligned with KCAS and NCAS Anchor
Standards and Learning Outcomes. Arts teachers are currently collaborating on a West Africa Unit for Quarter 4 including visual arts, dance
and drama, and chorus.
Drama:
Performing Arts students are taught and assessed on their knowledge of purposes and the literacy elements (exposition, rising action,
climax, falling action, resolution, character development), performance elements (diction, projection, empathy), technical elements (costume,
lighting, special effects, set design, sound, makeup) and purposes (entertainment, self-expression, conveying the human experience) of
drama as outlined in the KCAS. Students in this 9-week elective apply their knowledge of current ELA standards for literacy by evaluating the
literary elements of drama to identify the specific parts of a story/play/cinematic feature. Students are also given various short scripts/plays to
work in small, collaborative groups to interpret the meaning the story and the motivation of the character they are representing and perform
before the other classmates.
In a problem-solving activity, social studies students perform and judge nine mock court cases from Babylon to understand the ways in which
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the Code of Hammurabi reflects the values of Babylonian society. Students are introduced to the content and the expectations of the activity,
including modeling the dramatic performance elements upon which they will be critiqued: acting, speaking, and movement (non-verbal
expressions). Exemplars of past performances are shown to students to discuss the creation of props, costumes, and technical elements to
produce a better performance. Student groups read court cases, assign roles within their groups to recreate the court case that they have
been presented. Students create props and costumes from simple materials in the room. Groups are given time to practice performing.
Props and costumes are encouraged to aide in setting the mood of their individual performances but are a required part of the performance.
Rubrics are created based on not only content portrayed but also their performance elements. This impacts instruction by allowing students
to recreate history, which enables them to learn content in a fun and expressive way. Students are given time to respond to others'
performances by deciding which Babylonian values and laws are portrayed in the skit.
Dance:
Performing Arts students are taught and assessed on their knowledge, application, and interpretation of the elements (time, space, force)
and purposes (ceremonial, recreational, artistic) of dance.
Students in the Performing Arts 9-week elective class apply their knowledge of the elements of dance by analyzing a performance using the
correct vocabulary. Students also learn a group social dance and are given the opportunity to participate in school dances by dancing with
other students who have also learned this dance. They also are able to use this opportunity to teach other students who have not be able to
participate in this class. Students are also given a written choreographed line dance and, in small groups, interpret what the choreographer
was trying to represent through this dance. This activity is done without the use of music to have students concentrate on the element of
Time in dance.
Spanish students learned (perform) two different types of dances, Merengue and salsa, during a presentation from a UK professor. Students
had to describe the influence of the three cultures (African, Indigenous, and Spanish) on the Merengue and reflect on their feelings while
dancing and their ability to perform the dance.
Characteristic B
The curriculum develops basic arts literacy skills in all four arts disciplines through our arts classes. The school utilizes the Common Core
Standards for English Language Arts as outlined in our school writing policy. Arts teachers, specifically, address the following Common Core
ELA standards: engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on
grade-level topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly (ELA-Literacy.SL.6-8.1, a-d), write
informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the effective
selection, organization, and analysis of content (ELA Literacy W.6-8.2, a-f), and proper language or conventions of standard English (ELA
Literacy L.6-8.1, a-e, and ELA LIteracy.L.6-8.2, a-b).
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Music:
In music, students learn content vocabulary that students use in a relevant and rigorous fashion during classroom discussions and when
critiquing performances through writing.
Orchestra students write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information through the selection,
organization, and analysis of relevant content. They use precise language supported by appropriate music vocabulary to inform about or
explain the topic. Students sometimes respond to the arts by recording in their writing journals the beginning of a language simile (e.g. scales
are to music as _____________ is to _______________). The students fill in the blanks and then explain why these cross-curricular skills or
concepts are related using music and grade appropriate language. At the beginning of the year, all orchestra and chorus students write a
musical goals paper using proper conventions and grammar outlining attainable and realistic goals for the upcoming school year.
All music students let their art speak for them through public performances at concerts.
6th grade Language Arts students use the elements of music (rhythm, tempo, melody, harmony, form, timbre, dynamics) as they study poetry
(limericks, narrative poems, haiku, ballad, free verse, concrete). Music is used to enhance writing in the 6th grade LA classes when students
listen to a piece of music without words. Students write a brief story of what they think is happening in this piece from beginning to end.
Another example of music in 6th grade language arts is the use of "Black Eyed Susie" by Ricky Skaggs while reading Coffin Quilt by Ann
Rinaldi, and choral singing of "Fifteen Men on a Dead Man's Chest" with Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson. In 7th grade, music is
used with "Superstitions" by Stevie Wonder during our legends and superstitions unit. Other music includes "Where I'm From" by Diggable
Planets for a poetry unit and background music selections to evoke a particular mood in creating book trailer movies. In 8th grade, language
arts students use Story Songs. Students found narrative elements in music. One example would be "Last Kiss" by Pearl Jam to analyze
setting, figurative language, dialogue, and other specific narrative elements.
Students in Spanish class, listen to the following Hispanic music while working on projects: Tejano and other traditional music of Mexico,
Flamenco (Spain), and tango and salsa (South America). Each night their homework is to research the music of the day. Their specific
prompt is: What are the basic characteristics of Tejano/Flamenco/tango/salsa and other traditional Mexican/Spanish/South American music?
What instruments are typically used in the music? What is the "feel" or rhythm? For this type of music, name at least one famous
artist/group of the past and one currently. Then the students will have to compare and contrast the three different types of music and give
their own opinion and perspective of each.
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During the "Global Warming" unit, 8th grade Science students read, listened, and analyzed songs from various music styles (such as hip
hop, country, and contemporary) to engage students and connect them to issues concerning their environment. For selected songs, music
videos were also brought in to help students identify performance elements such as nonverbal expression conveying the artist's viewpoints.
After watching the videos, students explained how the performance elements contributed to the artist's message. Students responded to the
lyrics of the music through class discussions led by small group presentations.
Visual Arts:
The visual arts curriculum provides for the development of arts literacy and utilizes the Common Core Standards for E/LA. At the end of each
Quarter, students create a summative artwork which is a distinctive literacy piece in itself as well as a written artist statement which utilizes
the Common Core Standards for E/LA. For each class, we decide on a social, cultural, political, or historical issue to use as a theme and
students create an artwork that communicates their mood, message or idea regarding the theme. Students write/communicate to learn
through weekly activities which are derived from NCAS Anchor Standards and Essential Questions. Students write/communicate to
demonstrate learning in a summative writing activity which is conducted through a student-choice activity. The anchor standard/learning
outcome is the same for all students; however, differentiation of product is offered. 8th grade students and 6th grade students are also given
the opportunity for an On Demand Writing which focuses on informing/explaining/arguing/persuading or narrating. This is formatively
assessed using the Scoring Rubric for Kentucky On-Demand Writing.
All 6th grade social studies students viewed a variety of print and audio/visual media resources to research Hinduism and Buddhism and
then completed a chart to compare and contrast the two religions during the East and Southeast Asia unit of study. The resource used was
the video series Understanding World Religions (Schlessinger Media). Actors from Kentucky Shakespeare performed an educational
program titled "Living History: We the People."for all 8th grade students through their social studies class. After the performance, there was
a question/answer session for students.
All 6th grade social studies students participated in the viewing of a "gallery walk" of primary source documents. Students read about and
watched a clip of Pearl Harbor, the motivation for the attack, America's response to it, and the fear and suspicion that led up to the creation of
the Japanese internment camps. Students had to interpret the significance of the documents by answering accompanying critical thinking
questions and reflecting on the experience. Library of Congress Japanese Internment Camps resources were used.
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8th grade Language Arts students were given a summative assessment on symbolism, in which they chose an object to symbolize their life,
drew and colored it, and explained how the object symbolized their life. Students also incorporate use the visual arts when studying an
author's use of style; primarily, when trying to understand the use of imagery and mood created by authors, such as, Edgar Allen Poe.
Students will select key words or elements used by the author to create imagery and use these elements to create visual representations of
the images through pictures or drawings. Students will make connections to an author's word choice to the colors they choose to illustrate the
mood of the scene. Students are also given pieces of poetry, and asked to draw a scene from the poem depicting the imagery and mood
provided by the poet. Finally, students have weekly vocabulary activities where they draw visual representations for each word to help with
comprehension. Another strategy being used in the eighth grade to aid in reading comprehension is ACTIVE. Students actively engage in the
information they are reading by asking questions, making connections to their lives, use pieces of text for support, illustrate and describe an
important scene, identify important vocabulary and explain/summarize the piece.
Photographs are also used in Language Arts classes as visual representations to help students comprehend the information they are
researching when studying the Holocaust and role of propaganda. As they research different aspects of the Holocaust, students view the
photographs and discuss their reactions to what they are viewing. They then record their reactions, through journal prompts provided by the
teacher. Examples include photos of synagogues being burned during Kristallnacht or Jewish passengers aboard the Voyage of the St. Louis
as it is attempting to land on US soil. By viewing and responding to the photos, students are able to make personal connections to the
information being researched and teachers are able to spark student interest. To better understand the role or propaganda in the Holocaust,
students view illustrations from different time periods in which anti-Semitism is displayed. They work in small groups to identify the
propaganda techniques and anti-Semitism in each illustration, taken from photos, newspapers, advertisements, etc.
7th grade Science classes use artistic representation of vocabulary words to give a visual example of the word. Students are encouraged to
draw their own representation. For those students who may need help, we scaffold drawings to give those students the opportunity to
visualize the words. Students are also given the opportunity to use visual representation of designs for STEM Projects. Specifically, in the
Thermal Energy Lab, the Reverse Engineering of a Pen Lab, and the Electromagnet Lab. Students are asked to represent their designs
visually as well as label parts and functions. Allowing them to visually represent their designs aids them in understanding engineering
standards.
Drama:
Performing Arts classes respond to a variety of dramatic performances using content specific vocabulary to construct these responses. At
the end of the 9-week class, students write a review of a musical that has been viewed in class by applying their new knowledge of the
elements of drama.
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8th Grade Social Studies Collegial planning document evidences common, rigorous lesson plans aligned to standards in order to provide for
the development of arts literacy (drama, visual arts) within the study of American History from Pre-Columbian Times to Reconstruction.
Lesson Plans include opportunities for cross-curricular connections.
In Language Arts, students read play forms of novels such as "A Christmas Carol" and "The Diary of Anne Frank" and discuss elements of
drama to aid in comprehension of figurative language and literary elements. While reading these plays, students often develop skits to
perform understanding of the particular content being studied at the time. They may write a skit from a different viewpoint or select a scene
that reveals the theme or one which shows how a character's choices propel the action of the play. By presenting a dramatic presentation of
the skit, students are able to enhance their understanding of the concepts being taught.
7th grade language arts students connect the arts through writing as they create monologues during their unit on superstitions. The actors
from the Actor's Theatre in Louisville come to Jessie Clark to help students create monster monologues.
Dance:
7th grade students enter the Arts and Humanities class with no previous experience. Upon completion of the 9-week course, they will have a
basic understanding of the elements of dance through writing that they are able to identify them in a professional performance. Students
often respond through writing after watching professional performances in class. Students expand their dance vocabulary and cover the
differences between ballet, modern dance, folk dancing, and ethnic dancing. Students watch a teacher-selected video on the history of
dance. Students then write about the differences between modern dance and classical ballet using the appropriate vocabulary demonstrating
literacy in the subject.
As a culminating project completing the Kentucky River Unit during which sixth grade science students learned about how abiotic factors
effect the Kentucky River ecosystem, students view short video clips of multiple styles of dancing, including Appalachian dance and River
Dance®. Students will then identify elements of dance, including space, force, and time. Students then create an interpretive dance about
the Kentucky River, with the aim being to communicate emotions and feelings. Finally, students create a written reflection on their
incorporation on the elements of dance and how they expressed and communicated emotions and feelings of the river.
After learning about salsa and Merengue and performing it, Spanish students had to include elements of dance in their description of the
dances while writing postcards about the experience, the history, and the cultures of the dances.
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Characteristic C
The Arts are integrated into the core subjects as teacher use best practices in teaching their various subjects. This is a natural connection as
teachers enable students to fully explore the curriculum. In Social Studies, students use various art forms, paintings and cartoons to enhance
their understanding of the cultures studied. Math students create cartoons and raps to explain mathematical properties and explain algebraic
expressions. In Language Arts, field trips expose students to a variety of arts through plays and ballet. Often a study of novels culminates
with students expressing their views through artwork.
Music:
All 6th grade Social Studies students listen to compositions by composers and bands from the regions we study. For example, when we
study Russia, students listen to "The Nutcracker Suite" by Peter Tchaikovsky.
Using a Tic-tac-toe differentiated activity, 6th grade social studies students will demonstrate knowledge of Europe by independently
researching a European country and presenting a product to share their research. Students had a choice of nine activities, such as: making a
T-shirt, designing a travel brochure, postcard, workbook pages, travel log, watch a video on scarcity w/questions, draw a Venn diagram
comparing Eastern Europe with Western Europe, research a composer or artist and share several of his/her compositions with the class,
make a flip book of European artists' paintings or sculptures. Assessment: scoring rubric and peer evaluations.
8th grade Social Studies students experience period music pieces such as "Yankee Doodle Dandy" by Richard Schuckburg, "American
Taxation" by Peter St. John, "Free America" by Joseph Warren, as well as others.
Math students have a choice of product: visual, musical, drama/skit, to demonstrate a memory aid for a math concept. Example, rules of
exponents and their products. Students learn songs for math concepts to the tune of common songs such as such as order of operations
"Take Me Out to the Ball Game," or Integer operations to "Row, Row, Row Your Boat." Then students create their own songs to common
tunes to learn algorithms such as the Quadratic formula, or to classify information such as types of functions.
6th grade students are given a "menu" to answer various real-world questions about algebraic expressions. One of the "side dishes" is to
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create a poem or rap song to explain the steps on how to solve algebraic expressions. Students were encouraged to use rhyme and
measure when creating their poems and raps. Students were then given the chance to perform their creations in front of the classroom.
After reading a novel over the summer, 7th grade Language Arts students used Movie Maker to create a book trailer to promote the novel.
They had to integrate music and select images and/or photos to create mood and enhance the video.
In 7th grade Life Skills classes students study advertising techniques and analyze elements that make ads appealing and effective including
music (sets the tone), use of color (attention getting), use of photoediting and filters, and dramatic performance. Students use this
knowledge to create a storyboard for a PSA.
Students enrolled in Business Education and Life Skills classes in all grade levels are provided with opportunities to explore careers in the
Arts. Many students select careers in music, film, fashion design, and graphic design as their top career interests.
7th grade Science students use a variety of handmade instruments to study the movement of sound waves in the Sound Stations Lab.
Students are asked to play drums, handmade guitars, and use tuning forks to study the differences in sound, pitch, frequency and tone.
Visual Arts:
As students in Japanese classes learn how to write in Japanese, they make a wall hanging which displays their writing skills. When
completed students have a unique art product which is displayed.
Social Studies teachers regularly integrate art into their classrooms as a process of identifying and analyzing cultures of humans which they
study. Primary and secondary sources are analyzed to help students understand how history and cultures have developed by studying the
music and artwork of societies. Dance and drama are examined when appropriate with content. Using the technique of Visual Discovery, all
6th grade students regularly examine photographs of "Children of the World" to compare cultures.
Early Humans artwork is analyzed as the communication of early man and to gain an understanding of man's progression through his art.
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Students watched a virtual tour of Lascaux Caves and analyzed the cave paintings, in order to replicate the design of the paintings and
explain how the art related to the prehistoric environment. African, Chinese, Indian, Roman, Greek and European Middle Ages cultures are
studied with a lens on artwork and music as a means of communication throughout history in 7th grade. Students examined ancient Egyptian
hieroglyphs to better understand ancient Egyptian daily life.
American History up to the reconstruction is studied through many primary and secondary sources including artwork, music, recreational
dance and drama to enable students to capture the culture of early Americans and the diverse group that defines America. Political cartoons
are analyzed for meaning and historical perspective.
In Social Studies, 6th grade students read about Russian art and viewed a power point about Faberge Eggs. On paper, students were then
given the opportunity to create their own egg to convey a theme of their choice. The art forms that we examined are Matryoshka, Faberge
Eggs, architectural art of Saint Basil's Cathedral, and the performing art of "The Nutcracker Suite" by Peter Tchaikovsky.
All 6th grade social studies teachers implemented a collaborative learning center activity from Geography Alive. Mapping Challenge #5 was
completed with multiple, different units of study: U.S. and Canada, Latin America, Europe, North Africa and Southwest Asia, and Africa.
Students examined a photograph for clues as to the location of the place based on their observations of the physical features, vegetation
types, population density, economic activity, and climate type represented in the photograph. Students then read a variety of maps in the
learning centers to determine the absolute location of the place.
All 7th grade social studies students participate in learning about Ancient Indian religions, specifically Hinduism. Students create Mandalas
that allow students to use art to help students understand various aspects of this religion, such as Dharma, Karma, Brahman, and Samsara.
All 8th grade social studies students respond to historical and present-day print media to enhance student understanding. For example, the
analysis of "Boston Massacre" painting by Paul Revere, Ben Franklin's "Join or Die" political cartoon, "The Spirit of '76 by Archibald M.
Willard, "An Overseer Doing His Duty" by Henry Latrobe, "The Trial of George Jacobs August 5, 1692" by T. H. Matteson, "Pilgrims Going to
Church" by G. H. Boughton, Incan ceremonial artifacts, "Mississippian Warrior" by the Spiro Mound Builders and other various historical
images.
All 8th grade social studies students viewed a model product and a clear defined scoring guide prior to creating visual
representations/drawings/posters of the Columbian Exchange, Triangular Trade, & Columbus: Hero or Villain Advertisement. Social Studies
students use visual arts to better understand the culture and history of ancient civilizations.
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6th grade Social Studies students were given the opportunity to create tourism presentations for countries of Europe. Students were
evaluated based on a rubric and shown models of possible interpretations for their work. Students were allowed to present their tourism
research in the forms of: brochures, T-shirts, artwork, flipbooks, and PowerPoint presentations.
6th grade math students created a cartoon to help explain how the distributive property works in Algebra. Students had to create a five-block
storyboard with characters having a conversation demonstrating the distributive property.
All sixth grade science students draw pictures for "Draw Day Friday" to demonstrate their learning each week on the bellringer.
All sixth grade students drew and labeled commonly used science lab equipment in their composition notebooks. It is important for students
to know what the equipment looks like before we discuss its proper uses. This activity impacts students because knowing about and
visualizing lab equipment will help to keep them safe in the science lab.
Science students were asked to draw a scientist. Many students picture scientists as men with white hair and lab coats. After students drew
the picture of the scientist, the teacher led a discussion about how many scientists had "typical" characteristics. Teacher then asked students
questions like: Who drew a female? Who drew a scientist outdoors? Who has the most original picture? What are other types of clothing a
scientist might wear to work? Etc. This impacts students because they begin to see themselves as scientists and problem solvers and take
science personally.
Science students drew and labeled 3 types of heat transfer (convection, conduction & radiation) in order to contrast them. Visualizing the
types of heat transfer in real life scenarios impacts students because they can relate the science content to their prior knowledge and
experience.
The 6th grade language arts teachers hosted a presentation by Kentucky Author and artist, Karen Leet. Ms. Leet's presentation included the
examination of and discussion of symbolism in Native American artifacts and quilts design. Students created their own quilt blocks,
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describing their use of symbolism. The quilt squares were 'pieced' together to create a larger quilt which were displayed in the hall. This
connected to the Kentucky Heritage unit when students were reading Leet's novel, Sarah's Courage, along with The Coffin Quilt by Ann
Rinaldi.
At the culmination of a novel, language arts students had the opportunity to create projects in which they depicted their novels in through
their own artwork (i.e. through the use of collages, scrapbooks, children's story books, etc.). These projects are also used for the summer
reading project and other novel units throughout the year.
In PLCS elective classes students have many opportunities to integrate and connect arts and humanities content to real world situations
students encounter regularly. For example, in Business Education classes students incorporate elements of design (color, spacing, visual
appeal) as they complete classroom projects that include designing business logos, cards, invitations, and letterhead.
In 8th grade Life Skills class students select and design a sewing project using basic sewing construction and design principles.
In 6th grade Life Skills class students participate in weekly visual vocabulary exercises where students create a picture that illustrates the
meaning of a vocabulary term. Students develop and demonstrate the ability to think visually and connect literacy skills and content from
Arts and Humanities and Life Skills classes.
Students enrolled in the 3rd quarter Life Skills classes are participating in a poster content for KY Saves Week. The contest helps students
integrate what they know and learn about saving money (PLCS content) and practice working on and developing their artistic design skills.
Students who choose to enter their posters will be subject to a panel evaluation.
In Technology Education classes, students participate in a variety of career related modules that incorporate Arts and Humanities concepts
including the Digital Design module, which incorporates color and design elements. Students also design and decorate cars and rockets that
are raced as part of a culminating classroom activity. Students apply color theory and use the design and function of the car and rocket to
inspire their artistic expression. Modules also include opportunities for students to complete technical drawings when designing module
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products. Exposing students to elements of technical drawing and design allow them to make connections to Arts and Humanities
curriculum, artistic expression, and the use of design in the workplace.
Visual Art: The school curriculum provides opportunities for integration as natural cross-curricular connections are made between the arts
and other content areas. One example of this is our Cafe Exhibit space. We have an exhibit space in our cafeteria where art students create
and present artworks from our 8th grade Drawing and Painting class. This exhibit is intentional in displaying content from other disciplines.
Each year, we will present an exhibit featuring a different core-content area. This year, we collaborated with science to display Natural
Disasters and Newton's Laws of physics. 6th grade social studies students learn about the United States, Maps, Models, how places change
over time due to technology, human activities, altered physical features, human needs and settlement, perspectives influence human needs
and compare/contrast those living in the Americas. Students also learn about Europe and Self-Portraits, Russia and supply and demand, the
Middle East and geometric patterns and abstract design, Africa and cubism and Adinkra clothe, Asia and calligraphy, pottery, sumi-e and
ukiyo-e, and Australie, Oceania and Antarctica with aboriginal design artworks. 6th grade art students create artworks regarding these topics;
such as recycled artworks and the "found object" (Chihuly chandelier, working on a found object artwork for library), Rainforest animals and
endangered species using flourescent paint and creating a "blacklight exhibit". Featured Artists include Dale Chihuly, Andy Goldsworthy nature artist, and Joel Sartore. Students learn about Self-portraits especially from Europe (Van Gogh, M. C. Escher, Rembrant, Matisse) We
look at the history of the "Selfie". For Russia, we make miniature Artist Trading Cards based on "demand" or interests of the students (lots of
animals and sports). For the Middle East, we look at abstract geometric designs and patterns, henna designs on hands and zentangles and
arabesque designs. For Africa, we look at the influence of African masks, cuubism, Picasse as well as Adinkra designs on clothe. For Asia,
students learn about printmaking, Ukiyo-e concepts, We look at Katshushiki Hokusai and the Great Wave. For Australia, Oceania and
Antarctica, we learn about aborignal culture and create paintings in their style. 7th grade social studies students learn about Mesopotamia,
Egypt, Israel, India, China, Greece, Rome, Islam, Christianity and Middle Ages. 7th grade art students learn about early mesopotamia clay
(half human, half animal features), Egyptian Proportion and Wall paintings, arabesque designs, abstract geometric designs, as well as henna
and zentangle designs, Chinese pottery and ceramics, Greek concepts are demonstrated in sculptures and storytelling on vases. 8th grade
social studies students learn about the First Americans, Exploration, Colonization, Elections, Revolutionary War, Formations of American
Government, Expansion - Manifest Destiny, and the Civil War. 8th grade art students learn about Native American Culture with a Spirit
Animal quiz and scratch off paper for an artwork, landscape painting with Exploration and Expansion,
Spanish students discuss the famous Spanish artists Joan Miró, Diego Velázquez, and Salvador Dalí and the recurring themes, court,
abstract, dream-like, open to various interpretations, color schemes, etc. featured in the works. Also mentioned are the Caves of Altamira
(Cantabria,Spain) which have prehistoric paintings mainly of bison.
Drama:
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8th grade social studies students created their own scripts and performed mini-dramas to their classes, including using props, costumes,
backdrops and narration. The students were given information from their social studies books in which they were instructed to create a
performance that reenacts that portion of history. This occurred during the following units of study: Explorations, Native Americans, and
Colonial America. Creative performances are being planned to be part of a Literacy night in March.
Social Studies students study dramas/plays of ancient Greece, Rome, and into the middle Ages. For example during the unit on
Mesopotamia, students act and perform a play based on Hammurabi and his code of laws. During the ancient Greece unit, students read
and perform Alexander the Great: Dream to the Winds. During the ancient Rome unit, students read and perform a play about Julius
Caesar's murder. Before each play, teachers review projection, diction, blocking, tone, motivation, and empathy, and relevant or authentic
costumes.
American History up to the reconstruction is studied through many primary and secondary sources including artwork, music, recreational
dance and drama to enable students to capture the culture of early Americans and the diverse group that defines America. Actors are
brought in to portray historical characters to better enable students' understanding of the culture of the time period.
Classes regularly utilize student creation of art within different cultures and periods of history to enable them the perspective of the mediums
of which the people used to create artwork. History Alive is utilized throughout all social studies classes so that students can experience
various aspects of history. Many of the lessons include interpretations of primary and secondary sources. Many lessons integrate
historically relevant content that the students use to create skits. The creation of the skit reveals student understanding of the content. This is
solidified with the performers and audience as the skits are performed in class through a dramatic presentation. Students are exposed to
representing concepts learned by creating a song, rap, or poem, or with representing the concept or vocabulary through visual
representations. Student produced Colonial dramas: written, produced, and performed entirely by students. All 8th grade students participate
in the creation and performance of historical skits and plays--such as Exploration Talk Show, Pontiac's Rebellion and John Peter Zenger
Trial.
6th grade math resource students were randomly assigned an integer printed on an index card. They were instructed to use non-verbal
communication including pantomime to order themselves from least to greatest/ greatest to least.
Field trips on theatre also enrich 7th Grade Language Arts students. Students experience the arts through the play "Dracula" which they saw
at the Actor's Theatre in Louisville. Before going to see the play, students were able to participate in various activities. In 6th grade, students
attended the "Dia De Los Muertos" ballet celebrating the Day of the Dead.
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Dance:
Orchestra students watch a ballet company, learn the fundamentals, and transfer the style while learning about Tchaikovsky's The
Nutcracker Suite.
In Lego/Robotics, Pre-Engineering courses students work to design and program robots to complete specific tasks. Students participate in a
culminating activity where robots are programmed to respond to music or dance. Students are able to visually connect the concepts of
rhythm, bass, melody, and pace to the movements of the robots.
In Physical education classes students are introduced to dance concepts such as spacing, beat, rhythm as they participate in popular line
dances such as the Cha Cha Slide, The Electric Slide, and The Wobble.
Characteristic D
Exemplary works from various cultures and traditions will allow students to experience theatre, dance, music and visual arts from a new
perspective. Arts and Humanities encompasses a number of genres from Shakespeare to the modern composer, Cage. Exemplary works
are used in the other Arts classes as applicable to topics being studied.
Music:
In the Arts and Humanities class, students are exposed to a wide variety of music works including Various Gregorian Chants, Bach: Matthaus
Passion, Mozart: Die Zauberflote, Brahms: Symphony #4, Beethoven: Symphony #9, Wagner: Lohengrin, Corea: Spain, Armstrong: Basin
Street Blues, Horne: Stormy Weather, and Cage: Suite for prepared piano.
Band, Chorus, and Orchestra students regularly listen to examples of exemplary performances of pieces they are currently studying and
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others that are in the same genre and era from music publishers' websites and other professional recordings.
Band and Orchestra students are presented with exemplary models each week during sectionals, where guest artists/teachers come in and
provide instrument specific instruction during the school day and model the exact way the excerpt should be performed.
Visual Arts:
A variety of artists, cultural traditions and historical periods are represented throughout the arts curriculum including representative and
exemplary works of visual arts. Cultural traditions and historical periods are influenced by cross-curricular natural connections as well as
artists and cultures represented in the art room reflected by the diversity and funds of knowledge of our students.
Japanese Characters: Writing with bamboo brushes and India ink on rice paper demonstrates another form of art used as communication.
Drama
In the Arts and Humanities class, students are exposed to a wide variety of drama works including MacBeth by William Shakespeare,
Frankenstein by Mary Shelly, and Various Native American and African Stories.
Dance
In the Arts and Humanities class, students are exposed to a wide variety of dance works including The Firebird by Stravinsky, The Rite of
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Spring by Stravinsky, The Nutcracker by Tchaikovsky, and various Native American, early Americans, African, Central American, and Asian
traditional dances. The Firebird and The Rite of Spring recordings are performed by the Ballet Russe, for whom the works were originally
written and choreographed; the KET ToolKit is used for the African Dance unit; Shakespeare for Kids is used for Renaissance theater
(MacBeth); and the KET ToolKit is used for representative works for theater.
Characteristic E
While the Arts curriculum is based on the Kentucky Core Academic Standards, it is constantly being revised as students are assessed.
Formative and summative assessments have a direct impact on the methods used to teach the content. Students use appropriate vocabulary
to express their knowledge during class discussions and in Extended Response Questions. Formative assessments occur daily through
performance classes. Music students attend Kentucky Music Educators Assessments specializing in their performance area to get a broader
view of their musical abilities. These assessments include All State, Solo and Ensemble and Performance Assessment.
Music
The curriculum in chorus is revised and influenced by both student and teacher reflections after listening to recordings of rehearsal in class.
The class will discuss issues and how to address them. The teacher takes into account weaknesses and strengths, retooling the upcoming
activities, rehearsal focus, and warm-ups used to address issues from the recording.
The band, chorus, and orchestra curricula are influenced daily by student performance in rehearsal. After formative assessments such as
hearing students stand-by-stand or teacher observation, weaknesses are noticed and determine which etudes from the method book will be
used in following classes. On-the-spot rote instruction will be used as needed to isolate ensemble, technical, and musical issues.
In both band and orchestra, teachers use informed decision making from previous rehearsals to select the rehearsal selections for small
ensemble rehearsals with guest clinicians. In these sectionals, qualified guest teachers address problem spots specific to instrument and
part.
After performing in a weekly playing test, orchestra students receive individualized comments to help them focus on specific strengths and
weaknesses in the remaining rehearsals of the week. The teacher will work with students individually during bellringer assignments to
address posture, technical, and musical challenges.
In a pre-assessment concert, guest clinicians are asked to give comments as though it were the orchestra Music Performance Assessment.
These comments are read in class and markings are added to the conductor's score and students' stand parts as reminders to the teacher
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and students during rehearsal and the upcoming performance.
All music classes attend the district performance assessment and then listen to the comments provided by the three adjudicators and the
read the score sheets. The recommendations and suggestions are then transferred to the pieces for the upcoming spring concerts.
Visual Arts
The school visual arts curriculum is revised using multiple indicators such as student formative and summative assessments, arts
organization performance assessments from sanctioned events (gallery hop, end of Quarter exhibits, community exhibits/displays), or other
student needs (IEP, 504, GAP, G/T, ESL) by the visual art teacher. Curriculum is reflected upon and revised based on data-driven specific
needs. Revised curriculum is implemented yearly.
Drama
Arts and Humanities students view a PowerPoint on the individual elements of drama, watch a video of a simplistic drama which
demonstrates each of the elements, and then are given question and answer periods to clarify any problems they may have with vocabulary.
When students write their plays as a group, self-evaluation, dry run through, and class critique result changes before the final performance.
Dance
Based on Arts and Humanities teacher observation and experience, each dance learned is broken down into individual steps instead of
learning all at the same time in order to help students as much as possible. Students are remediated on the spot through teacher observation
and guidance. Vocabulary is broken down into its simplest terms, students view a PowerPoint which lists and describes vocabulary, watch
video demonstrations so they can see how the elements are intertwined and performed. Space would be the main term then pathways then
focus then asymmetrical/symmetrical choreography are demonstrated to the students.
Spanish teachers were involved in modeling to help students feel more comfortable performing the dance steps. Every student was dancing
through teacher involvement and the teacher collaborated, through peer tutoring/instruction. Students were observed performing the salsa at
a school dance after the school lesson. If possible, more time with the guest practicing the dance steps would be beneficial.
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The rationale explains how the identified evidence supports the school's reported level of program implementation for the
demonstrator.
The curriculum is aligned to the Kentucky Core Academic Standards for all students. The needs of all students are met through differentiated
teaching methods. The Arts curriculum is integrated through all content areas. Students are exposed to exemplary works of art through live
and recorded performances. The curriculum requires students participate fully in creating, performing, and responding to the arts. The Arts
and Humanities programs offer a wide array of creating, performing and responding activities in all art areas. Performance classes create
music each day through rehearsals. These rehearsals lead to growth through performances. After performances, students respond to their
performance through verbal and written reflections. These performance groups also use analytical skills in evaluating the performance of
themselves and others. Visual Art classes create daily in class. Students reflect on the work of peers and themselves through writing and
class discussions. The core content classes enhance the arts classes by integrating intentional and meaningful projects which require
students to create, perform and respond to the arts through arts materials.
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Curriculum and Instruction: Instructional Strategies
Teachers implement instructional strategies that provide quality experiences, a variety of activities, and access for all students.
Overall Rating: 2.0
a)
b)
c)
d)
Statement or Question
To what extent do teachers systematically
incorporate all three components of arts study:
creating, performing and responding into the
arts?
Response
Teachers systematically incorporate all three
artistic processes of arts study: creating,
performing and responding to the arts.
Rating
Proficient
Statement or Question
To what extent do teachers provide models of
exemplary artistic performances and products
to enhance students' understanding of an arts
discipline and to develop their
performance/production skills?
Response
Teachers provide models of exemplary artistic
performances and products to enhance
students' understanding of an arts discipline
and to develop their performance/production
skills.
Rating
Proficient
Statement or Question
To what extent do arts teachers provide for the
development of artistic theory, skills, and
techniques through the development of student
performances or products that are relevant and
developmentally appropriate for students?
Response
Rating
Arts teachers provide for the development of
Proficient
artistic theory, skills, and techniques through
the development of student performances or
products that are relevant and developmentally
appropriate for students.
Statement or Question
To what extent is the arts curriculum enhanced
and strengthened through collaboration with
guest artists, complementing discipline based
arts instruction during the regular school day?
Response
The arts curriculum is enhanced and
strengthened through collaboration with guest
artists, complementing discipline based arts
instruction during the regular school day.
Rating
Proficient
Evidence is identified to support the school's analysis for each of the demonstrators. Program review evidence may be specific for
an area (Writing, Arts & Humanities,Practical Living/Career Studies, K-3, and Global Competency/World Languages) or may be
common across other reviews. Review teams will likely find they need to search out additional evidence during the program review
process in order to make judgments or to support judgments.
Characteristic A
The three components of arts study: creating, performing, and responding, are incorporated into classroom activities throughout the school.
Students in the Arts & Humanities classes create dramas, dances, and instruments which are used in class performances. Students then
evaluate themselves as performers through self-reflection, along with evaluating other performers. The Art classes continually create works
of art based on the creativity of the student and the materials being used. As artists, self-reflection is necessary to experience growth.
Students regularly critique their own work along with the work of others. Music students regularly practice the process of creating through
notation and rhythm exercises. Performance is the culmination of weeks of rehearsals. The performance reveals all elements of music and
adequately shows the level of musicianship developed. After a performance, students reflect both verbally in class discussions and written
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assessments.
Music
In Arts and Humanities, students create a "recycled" instrument. Students then work in groups to create "chance" music (aleatoric music),
which is then performed in class. Pieces are then evaluated in class and through self-reflection response.
Creating, performing and responding are naturally linked together in performance classes. After students create a unique
product/performance, these are performed for the class and the class responds through class evaluative discussions or written responses.
Solo and Ensemble, an event for Band, Chorus and Orchestra, is an example of this process. Students prepare an ensemble piece in and
outside of class, perform it for the class, evaluate the performance, and are given feedback from classmates and the teacher on the
performance. This process continues when the piece is played for the adjudicator and a rating is given. This same process is seen in Band,
Chorus and Orchestra in every performance they have.
Music students regularly practice the process of creating through notation and rhythm exercises.
Students sightread music. They are creating through the written music, performing as they sight read the notes, responding as they analyze
how well the sound was produced and how accurately they produced the sound.
Using aural skills, music students respond to and/or notate a rhythmic phrase demonstrated by teacher or students.
Chorus students will end the year with a composition project. The project will be differentiated, challenging the advanced students while
ensuring the success of students who have fewer musical experiences.
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Visual Arts
Units are designed to systematically incorporate all four components of visual arts study: creating, connecting, responding and presenting.
Students are engaged in high-level creative activities and problem solving in the arts. Tiered assignments in each unit give students of
various levels the opportunity to be challenged. Students apply analytical skills at a high level while responding to the arts. Anchor 8 4square. High level activities of creating and presenting are formed around rigor for college and career readiness as well as Bloom's higherorder thinking processes. Differentiation and tiered assignments are included to provide a challenge for all students. High school benchmarks
for Visual Art students are integrated into the curriculum for enrichment opportunities.
English Language Learners regularly represent new vocabulary by creating a symbolic visual representation. Evidence - Blue ELL Personal
Reference Folders
All 8th grade Language Arts students have composition notebooks in which they respond to writing prompts. They use artwork to help
visualize scenes and respond to how authors create imagery.
8th grade social studies students created a replica of a primary source scrapbook documenting The Revolutionary War. Their varied
products contained original artwork and a collage of symbolic items. A presentation of finished products will be set up and a gallery walk will
be held. After the walk students will respond to the collection by reflecting in writing upon their impressions of effective representations
versus ineffective representations of the event.
Drama
When Arts and Humanities students are studying drama, they watch representative stories from varying genres and create a story in one of
the following styles: African, Appalachian, or Native American. These stories are then performed in class. Students evaluate their own
performance as well as their classmates'.
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Chorus students work in small groups to create mini-dramas portraying a poem, specifically 'Twas the Night Before Christmas. These are
performed for the class, students then respond to the performances.
6th grade math students initiate and produce their own high quality and inclusive creative projects by assigning themselves an integer,
attaching the number to their shirt, and then using non-verbal communication to arrange themselves from least to greatest.
Science students create a plan to use to "Show what you know" about Waves. Students choose a Role, Audience, Format, and Topic to tell
about Waves. Students present their work in front of the class and in the halls of the school. The product must have content vocabulary and
take the audience through at least 2 types of waves. All students received instruction on presentation speaker and audience etiquette, as well
as acting instruction when necessary. Products include but are not limited to the following: comic strips, rap songs, talk show scripts, poetry,
stop motion video, children's books, love letters, and video diary. This impacts students because it allows them to be assessed on their terms
in a format they choose for their comfort and learning style. Students gain confidence and do better at these types of performance
assessments than other formal standard assessments. They also remember the content better because they are proud of the product.
Dance
In Arts and Humanities, students work in small groups to create a dance. Students perform these in class. The dances are then evaluated by
their classmates and through self reflection.
Chorus students work in small groups to create movement to a vocal canon or round. These are performed for the class, students respond to
the performances.
Characteristic B
Students experience exemplary performances and products as applicable with units of study. Music classes use printed media which
instructs students on correct posture, instrument placement, embouchure, and vowel formation.
The Language Arts classes take field trips to experience live theatre and ballet. These programs enrich the student and give them
experiences which help them develop their own performance and production skills.
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Music
Music teachers provide exemplary models of posture, instrument placement, embouchure and vowel formation from printed media. These
examples provided in method books and posters around the room, directly affect student learning by providing reminders of proper technique
during rehearsal and at-home practice.
Band and Orchestra students are provided exemplary models every week when specialists on each instrument are brought in to work with
the sections of the class on specific excerpts. Students' learning and understanding of their instrument and performance is directly influenced
by the guest teachers' proper posture, characteristic sound, and stylistic performance through observation and call and response teaching
methods.
Music students are urged to attend exemplary performances outside of school at the feeder high school, other local public school concerts,
and local college and university concerts.
Visual Arts
The Visual Art teacher provides exemplary models of products/artworks. The visual arts teacher performs the assignment with the students
to demo and model each next step. Pictures are taken at each step for students to use as a review or if they are absent. Videos and links
used in class are also provided for reference.
In 8th grade Life Skills class, students are provided with demonstrations and exemplary models during the foods labs and sewing units. The
teacher demonstrates cooking techniques and presentation of food products to enhance student understanding of performance and
evaluation standards. During the sewing unit the teacher demonstrates hand-sewing skills and provides exemplars of average and below
average performance.
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Drama
All 8th grade Social Studies students participate in the creation and performance of historical skits and plays--such as Exploration Talk Show,
Pontiac's Rebellion and John Peter Zenger Trial.
6th grade Language Arts students respond to elements of drama (exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution), suspense,
theme, setting, and language choice to create point of view based on short stories and novel units of Westing Game, Treasure Island, and
Wrinkle in Time. The same is done in 7th grade with Dracula, A Christmas Carol, and Outsiders. In 8th students use Flowers for Algernon,
The Diary of Anne Frank, and Tell-Tale Heart.
7th grade Language Arts reads an adapted story of Bram Stoker's "Dracula" in class and then compares it to the performance at the theatre.
6th grade Language Arts students view performances of "Dia De Los Muertos" ballet.
7th grade Language Arts students are shown elements of theatre and then attend two plays at Actors Theatre of Louisville.
Dance
Orchestra students watch a ballet company, learn the fundamentals, and transfer the style while learning about Tchaikovsky's The
Nutcracker Suite. This informs their learning by reinforcing the ¾ time signature, understanding the strong-weak-weak feel of the dance, and
the style of the piece.
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Chorus students watch exemplary models of choreography which will affect student performance in the concert where choreography will be
performed.
Characteristic C
The Arts curriculum continuously provides for the development of artistic theory, skills and techniques through instructional strategies
specialized for each given area: warm-ups, fingering exercises, and theory skills. These elements are necessary to have a quality finished
product. These skills are always demonstrated by the teacher giving students a professional example to emulate. As students learn these
techniques they transfer them to the performance/product. As students progress, the exercises gradually increase in difficulty.
Music
Music teachers provide both technical and musical techniques of increasing difficulty by using grade level appropriate music to develop
greater technical ability. Sources that aid the development of skills and techniques are method books, teacher selected repertoire,
worksheets, playing tests, rote exercises, scales, and adding foreign languages to choir. Skills and techniques developed include, but are not
limited to: finger patterns, shifting, vibrato, articulations, advanced bowings, prolonged breath support, more complex rhythms and
harmonies, longer pieces, understanding more key signatures, time signature, and markings.
Music students attend area concerts, high school concerts, honors ensemble concerts, and 8th Grade Band Night where they are exposed to
high quality student performances that are relevant and developmentally appropriate. After viewing the other ensembles perform, the next
day in class discussion is based on the performance to help students develop their theory, skills, and techniques. For example, after 8th
Grade Band Night, the students discussed the high school band's performance of Sleigh Ride, focusing on the questions: Did you like the
concert? Were there any pieces you recognized? What instrument families were used? Were there any unfamiliar sounds (percussion)? After
the basic discussion, students reflected on the complexity of the rhythms and quality of tone, balance, and dynamic contrast with the aim of
developing these skills in their own playing.
Music students are exposed to advanced middle school and high school level video clips and studio recordings of current literature by the
same ensemble and varying arrangements for different ensembles and timbres. For example, when the band was studying Linden Lee the
students had dedicated listening time to the arrangement they were playing, an arrangement for orchestra, and an arrangement for voice.
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The class then discussed the differences in the variations and timbres and how to incorporate different elements from the recordings into
their own performance including shaping of line, phrasing, articulation, and style.
During our Waves Unit, 7th grade Science students read about characteristics and processes involved in the Waves. As a part of this
experience, students were asked to complete a RAFT project on the Waves. This allowed students to choose the Role, Audience, Format,
and Type of activity with which they wanted to proceed to demonstrate their knowledge of Waves. Students used the arts to create their own
representation of the processes that create waves. Students then presented or performed their project based on the format they chose.
Students were also recruited to play roles in the productions. Classmates were able to respond to their performances by pointing out content
they covered as well as aspects of the arts they liked. In developing and introducing this activity, students were shown past student examples
of exemplary, high quality work. This was accompanied by a rubric for expectations that addressed both science and arts content.
Student examples included:
Creative writing - Children's books, diary entries, ABC non fiction books, comic books, poems, and love letters.
Music - original raps, original songs, and a stop motion video set to music all depicting waves.
Art - student generated and designed comic books, poster project, and children's illustrated books.
Drama - teleplays, breaking news stories, talk show interviews, and monologues about what it is like to be a wave in the ocean or sound, etc.
These were completed by first writing out a script complete with stage direction as well as dialogue between characters.
Visual Arts
The Visual Art teacher provides opportunities for students to develop artistic theory, skills and techniques throughout the quarter as they are
relevant to the specific media Unit being studied. For example, students learn about color theory as a pre-activity to their painting unit.
Students learn about sculptural processes before a sculpture or clay unit. Students learn different drawing techniques before their drawing
unit. Each skill is also accompanied by specific elements and principles that are associated with the medium. Students also learn about a
specific featured artist and master artworks. Unit artworks intentionally use the skills, theories and techniques practiced.
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Math classes provided the development of fundamental artistic skills and techniques through student scale drawings. Students produced
scale drawings to demonstrate understanding of scale, proportion, and measurement. Small groups were given a cartoon picture and a
scale factor. They reproduced the picture to the given scale using grids and proportional reasoning to guide them.
6th grade language arts listen to Native American Folk Music as they read Ta-Na-E-Ka. They learn the steps to a single Native American
ceremonial dance during class with partners. Students design visual art posters representing the passing of time and coming of age through
Native American Interpretation with attention to color and symbolism. This lesson impacts student learning in that it encourages students to
use visual arts to communicate personal emotions associated with a specific topic.
6th grade language arts students create personal pirate flags using color and symbolism with color to hang in the classroom across the
ceiling tiles. They learn pirate terminology and vocabulary while using it to sing pirate songs and act out pirate skits/dramas with researchedbased pirate information. Students write and act out their own dramas complete with cast of characters, plot, props (or puppets). This lesson
impacts student learning in that it allows students to create art projects linked to symbolism discussed in the classroom. Students also gain
knowledge of research skills and documentation of sources for research.
Drama
6th grade Arts and Humanities watches a variety of American styles of storytelling (Appalachian, African American, Native) then the student
chooses which style they would like to use when their creating their story which lasts under 3 minutes when presented to the class. Students
practice their technical aspects of performance: projection, diction, and motivation in a dry run-though in front of the class where students are
provided class critique and required to complete a self-reflection before the final performance. This is relevant and developmentally
appropriate for a 9-week 6th grade elective class because storytelling is a simplistic, fun activity that incorporates all of the elements of
drama, yet is attainable for the students on their level.
During the study of early colonial America, 8th grade social studies students created and performed original dramas to portray aspects of
colonial culture, economics, geography, social hierarchies, and politics. Students responded by critiquing and evaluating props, set design,
costumes, and historical accuracy of the script.
8th grade social studies students read a play called the Trial of John Peter Zenger to enrich our study of the origins of Freedom of the Press
in this country. Students were given the script, which contained few details about stage setup. The teacher had the students read the script
and work collaboratively to adapt the classroom to an appropriate stage set-up to enhance plot, facilitate movement from one scene to
another, and create meaningful setting for audience. The drama careers of set/prop design, producer, actor, and prompter were discussed.
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Also discussed was how stage directions guide actors and move plot along, the term "before rise", and the term "intonation" and modeled
examples and how when used effectively it adds meaning to dialogue. Students acted out play with basic props.
Dance
7th grade Arts and Humanities students create a dance in modern styles according to their physical capabilities after being guided through an
African dance with teacher support in this 9-week class. Students select music, plan the choreography using appropriate choreographic
forms (ABA form), incorporate props, and rehearse the dance before performing for the class. Non-locomotor and easy locomotor
movements are used to give students a successful experience without having them attempt movements that are physically beyond their
capabilities or maturation.
Characteristic D
The arts curriculum is strengthened through the collaboration with area high school teachers. Each day the high school band teacher assists
with the eighth grade band students. The band also has a percussion specialist who works with the percussion session. Twice weekly the
high school orchestra teacher assists with the eighth grade orchestra. The orchestra also has university professors come critique the
orchestra, seeking input for a better performance.
Music
Band has instrumental specialists in constantly with the following schedule: flute specialist every other week; clarinet specialist working in1st,
2nd, and 3rd hours; trumpet specialist and percussion specialist working with sections in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd hours; trombone specialist in
weekly. Other instrumental specialists come in occasionally on a less regimented schedule. The instrumental specialists that are present on
a regular basis were based off of student need. The schedule of specialists is informed yearly by student performance and teacher
modifications. A high school teacher comes every day to work with the 8th grade band.
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Every Tuesday and Thursday the high school orchestra teacher comes to work with 8th Grade.
The chorus brings in a professional accompanist for at least 2 rehearsals before the concert and then performs with the accompanist at the
concert.
Sixth grade social studies students participate in a global exchange program through the international Book Project, based here in Lexington.
Sogo Drums, a Kentucky based, Ghanaian drums trio enhances the students' participation in this global exchange with a performance,
presentation, discussion about African music in general and more specifically West African music. The Drummers explain the different types
of drums they play, on what occasions certain music is played, students participate in chanting (singing) a Ghanaian song. Also, during the
presentation, students learned about tempo, and how Ghanaians perceive dancing as becoming one with the 'spirit.' The students were able
to participate in some of the rhythmic movement inherent in the African culture. This has enhanced students' learning by providing a vivid
demonstration of how important music is in a culture very different from our own; in addition, students see how music, though different
depending on the part of the world, is a universal language.
Visual Arts
Through an initiative to enrich our student's knowledge of careers called Operation Preparation, guests are brought in to speak with the
students. Students rotate through various stations dedicated to careers such as fashion designer, video game developer, and artist, among
others such as police officer, doctor, athletic trainer, nurse, psychologist, lawyer, and veterinarian.
Drama
During the Civil War unit, all 8th grade social studies students experience a live, historical monologue performed by a guest artist from the
Kentucky Humanities Council Chautauqua Program portraying significant figures in Kentucky Civil War history. Kentucky Humanities Council
performers: "Henry Clay", "Rev. Newton Bush", and "Private Williams Greathouse" are the characters 8th grade will experience. Students
were afforded the opportunity to inquire about the historical character and the actor's performance strategies. Some students are invited to
participate in role-playing with the actors.
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During our "Superstitions and Legends", 7th grade Language Arts students read the novel, Dracula. As a part of this experience, we invite
make-up/lighting/sound artists from Actor's Theater of Louisville to come to Jessie Clark and do workshops with their kids. The artists show
the kids the differences in stage make-up, the significance of lighting, and the importance of sound in the theatrical production of Dracula at
Actor's. They also perform a monologue from the production itself and the kids then create their own monologue using a character from the
novel/play. The kids perform their monologue for the class using the guidelines they have been given in their instruction by the artists. All
seventh grade attends a performance of Dracula at Actor's Theatre, witnessing the skills they have been taught by the visiting artists. After
the performance, the kids reflect and respond to the play based on the elements of lighting, characters, costumes, make-up and conflict.
Overall, this is a complete theatre experience for the students in that it educates them in the elements of literature and theatre.
KY Humanities Council - All 8th grade students attend a performance by an actor from the KY Chautauqua Speakers Bureau where they
experience a living history monologue performed as Private William Greathouse from the War of 1812, the Reverend Newton Bush, a union
soldier and escaped slave, or Henry Clay, KY Statesman. Students responded by participating in an interactive question and answer session
about the actor's craft, the creation of the scripts from primary sources, and critiquing the performance for historical accuracy and regional
relevance.
The 6th grade team brought in a commercial actor and music therapist to speak to the students about his and her careers on Power Day, a
day created to allow special presentations from community members less disruptive to the regular schedule.
Actors from Kentucky Shakespeare performed "Living History: We the People," a program that focuses on history of the United States and
our rights and responsibilities as a democratic society. This program supports and extends the 8th grade curriculum for Social Studies and
all 8th grade students participated. At the conclusion of the performance, students were given an opportunity to ask specific questions about
education and career paths for acting, as well as questions about preparing the performance.
Dance
Through an initiative to enrich our student's knowledge of careers called Operation Preparation, guests are brought in to speak with the
students. Students rotate through various stations dedicated to careers such as musician, actor, and dancer, among others such as pro
athlete/coach, teacher, security analyst, crisis counselor, armed services, and business/sports management.
During The African Connection unit, all 6th grade Social Studies students were provided exemplary works of African-connected musical
styles and instruments (jazz, banjo), dance forms (Charleston, rumba), folklore (Anansi, Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters, & Brer Rabbit), songs
( the South African song, "The Lion Sleeps Tonight") and African-inspired visual arts (Picasso, Miro, & Modigliani paintings). Students
examined the African influence in these art forms. Their understanding of their own connection to African culture was enhanced and
strengthened.
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The rationale explains how the identified evidence supports the school's reported level of program implementation for the
demonstrator.
To develop students' understanding of the arts, teachers intentionally plan activities where students create, perform and respond to the arts.
Teachers teach and demonstrate techniques to enable students to develop their unique technique. The Band and Orchestra have regular
visits from guest artists which enriches their curriculum.
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Curriculum and Instruction: Student Performance
All students have access to an aligned and rigorous curriculum, where instructional strategies are of high quality and inclusive, resulting in
student performance at a consistently high level.
Overall Rating: 2.0
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
Statement or Question
To what extent are students actively engaged in
creating, performing and responding to the
arts?
Response
Students are actively engaged in three artistic
processes of creating, performing and
responding in the arts.
Rating
Proficient
Statement or Question
To what extent do students identify a purpose
and generate original and varied art works or
performances that are highly expressive with
teacher guidance?
Response
Students identify a purpose and generate
original and varied art works or performances
that are highly expressive with teacher
guidance.
Rating
Proficient
Statement or Question
To what extent do students, with teacher
guidance, routinely use creative, evaluative,
analytical and problem solving skills in
developing and/or reflecting in their artistic
performances and products?
Response
Students, with teacher guidance, routinely use
creative, evaluative, analytical and problem
solving skills in developing and/or reflecting in
their artistic performances and products.
Rating
Proficient
Statement or Question
To what extent do students use written and
verbal communication to objectively reflect on
exemplary exhibits and live or technologically
provided performances as classroom
assignments?
Response
Rating
Students use written and verbal communication Proficient
to objectively reflect on exemplary exhibits and
live or technologically provided performances
as classroom assignments.
Statement or Question
To what extent do students demonstrate the
ability to become self-sufficient in creating
performances and/or products after teacher
guidance?
Response
Students demonstrate the ability to become
self-sufficient in creating performances and/or
products after teacher guidance.
Statement or Question
To what extent are students supported and
encouraged to participate in grade level
appropriate juried events, exhibitions, contests
and performances outside the school
environment {at the middle and high school
levels}?
Response
Rating
Students are supported and encouraged to
Proficient
participate in grade level appropriate juried
events, exhibitions, contests and performances
outside the school.
Rating
Proficient
Evidence is identified to support the school's analysis for each of the demonstrators. Program review evidence may be specific for
an area (Writing, Arts & Humanities,Practical Living/Career Studies, K-3, and Global Competency/World Languages) or may be
common across other reviews. Review teams will likely find they need to search out additional evidence during the program review
process in order to make judgments or to support judgments.
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Characteristic A
Students are actively engaged in creating, performing and responding to the arts. Creation in the arts occurs regularly in Art. This is the basis
of this class. Students are given materials and parameters and then they create. Students in Arts and Humanities create through drama,
dance, and music. In music, students create through Call and Response activities. Performing is experienced as music students share their
songs through a performance setting. Polished performances occur at least quarterly. Rehearsal performances occur daily. Performing in Art
and Arts and Humanities occurs at the end of each product. That product can be a piece of artwork or the culmination of a dance or drama.
Students are also expected to create, perform and respond to art through core content classes. In Social Studies, all 7th grade students are
engaged in actively creating an Ancient Greek project. Students choose an area of interest: three-dimensional visual art, technology, or a
performing art. In Science, all 6th grade students created plays, movies, and posters to portray a "desert" project in conjunction with the Heat
unit. Other Arts projects in Science include waves and ecosystems projects.
Music
Arts & Humanities students create arts products in music and perform them in class. Arts products are then evaluated though peer review as
well as reflection and self-evaluation.
Music students perform daily and respond to music through self-evaluation during rehearsals and live recordings.
Music students create the model for Call and Response activities each day.
Music students are engaged in higher order thinking though questions and provide responses both verbally and musically.
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Visual Arts
Students are actively engaged in creating, presenting, responding and connecting to the arts. Students are challenged at high levels through
tiered assignments for relevant activities that include collaboration, developing ideas, formulating narratives, demonstrating persistence and
willingness to try new ideas, explanation, designing new products, reflecting, applying relevant criteria to their artworks, compare and
contrast activities, identify and interpret artworks and analyzing information.
All 7th grade Social Studies students are engaged in actively creating Ancient Greek projects by allowing them the freedom to choose their
interests. Students will then perform their products for the class followed by responding to questions from the audience about their products.
Product choice includes 3-dimensional visual arts products, student created performances, or technology created product.
Spanish students create piggy bank piñatas to save money for the STAMP test at the end of the year. The historical aspects of piñatas and
their cultural significance is discussed during the creation phase.
Drama
Arts & Humanities students create arts products in drama and perform them in class. Arts products are then evaluated though peer review as
well as reflection and self-evaluation.
All 8th grade Social Studies students participate in the creation and performance of historical skits and plays--such as Exploration Talk Show,
Pontiac's Rebellion and John Peter Zenger Trial.
All sixth grade Science students were given the opportunity to create a "dessert" project to align with the heat unit. Students created and
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performed plays, movies, and posters.
In 8th grade Language Arts students are comparing the story, Flowers for Algernon, in different dramatic mediums. Students are analyzing
the choices of directors to see how they affect the mood and tone of the story and plot lines.
6th grade Language Arts students read Treasure Island and compare it to the video version to see how the director's choice affects the
mood, tone and plot line of the story.
RTI Reading students read Scope magazine play versions of movies and novels and also play versions of mixed up fairy tales and respond
to how inflection impacts understanding.
Dance
Arts & Humanities students create arts products dance and perform them in class. Arts products are then evaluated though peer review as
well as reflection and self-evaluation.
During our ratio review, 6th grade math students will learn about the concrete representation of beats and time exploring the performing art
forms of tap dance and musical composition. As part of the experience we will invite students from JCMS dance team, students who dance
competively with outside organizations and students who play a musical instruments. The lesson will start by introducing half notes, quarter
notes, eighth notes, and sixteenth notes in musical composition. Students will then be able to create their own measures of music and have
other peers in their class, or volunteers from the music department come in and play the students measures. The teacher will bring in or
borrow a metronome to show how time and measures are always consistent and how beats and measures are parts of a whole (the definition
of a fraction). Students will then be able to see and hear a concrete and physical example of rhythm and musical notes through tap dance.
Students will be exposed to a video on introductory tap dance video or an introductory tap class by a community volunteer. Students will then
be able to understand the relationship between musical notations and tap performing arts and how it directly relates to fractions and ratios in
their math classes.
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Characteristic B
Music students share performances each quarter as they perform their selections for the community during concerts. In Social Studies
classes, students analyze political cartoons and artwork to identify the artist's purpose, perspective, and use of propaganda. Student groups
then create political cartoons designed to communicate a specific message. Peer review is used to evaluate the products. Social Studies
classes regularly utilize the creation of songs, raps, rhythm, movement and visual representations for vocabulary and concept acquisition and
refinement. Science and Language Arts classes use visual art and drama.
Music
Band, Chorus, and Orchestra students identify the underlying purpose of the pieces (ceremonial, recreational, or artistic expression) and the
purpose of the performance before presenting highly expressive concerts in a variety of genres quarterly for the public
7th grade Language Arts students compare music to poetry to help students understand the elements of ballad poems. Specifically they
compare "Annabelle Lee" to "Became".
Visual Art
Visual Art students identify a purpose (mood/message/idea) and generate multiple ideas for an artwork (thumbnail sketches). With Teacher
guidance and scaffolding, students produce highly expressive and varied artworks for select Units and/or their summative Arts literacy piece.
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Students in practical living elective classes complete projects that identify a specific purpose and encourage students to express artistic
abilities while maintaining focused on a narrow objective (creating a logo, creating a storyboard for a PSA, creating an advertisement,
designing a rocket, entering a poster contest). The specific purpose and products created are largely teacher selected and designed with
content standards in mind to simulate real world, work related tasks. Naturally, this specific purpose and the resulting products can lack the
variety of free form artistic expression. However, students in PLCS elective classes do have opportunities to create original artwork and
explore artistic ideas. Teachers need to explore ways of incorporating more opportunities for students to express themselves creatively and
offer a wider variety of products across the specific classes. Additional time to plan and coordinate the types of artistic activities and
performances offered across the PLCS content areas would be a logical next step.
All 8th grade Social Studies students analyze political cartoons and artwork to identify artist's purpose, perspective, and use of propaganda.
Student groups then create political cartoons designed to communicate a specific message. Peer review is used to evaluate the products.
All sixth grade Science students created original drawings called "create a plant" with the purpose of demonstrating their understanding of
hypothetical adaptations of their plant in an assigned biome.
8th grade Language Arts students analyze imagery used by authors and create visuals of the images. They may create a scene from a poem
or story using the figurative language provided by the author. Students will then share their products describing which examples of figurative
language they chose to create the scene.
After reading Treasure Island, 6th grade students create their own Jolly Roger illustration and they are displayed/presented in the classroom.
All of the items on the Jolly Roger are symbolic of their personality and they have to explain how they visual items are reflections on their
personality.
Drama
In the Arts and Humanities storytelling unit, one of the purposes of storytelling is the sharing of the human experience as well as stressing
ecology in Native American storytelling. Students understand that storytelling serves a definite purpose, in that all stories relate to human
experience, entertainment, and environment (Native American) & aspects of freedom (African American). Students then create a story in the
style of a certain culture, which in turn determines the purpose from which they create their original product.
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Dance
Social Studies classes regularly utilize the creation of songs, raps, rhythm, movement and visual representations for the purpose of
bolstering vocabulary and concept acquisition and refinement.
Arts and Humanities students are taught a harvest dance from Ghana which is based on the growth cycle of plants. The portion of the dance
that symbolizes the growing of the plants is an improvisatory dance. Students, knowing that the purpose of the harvest dance is a
demonstration of the growth cycle for food production, improvise movement to represent the growth. The second portion of the dance unit for
Arts and Humanities students, begins with identifying the purpose of their student-created dance as recreational, ceremonial, or artistic
before going through the creation process of selecting music, creating choreography, rehearsing, and performing.
Spanish students learned the purposes behind different aspects of salsa and Merengue such as the rhythm, beat, and tempo reflect the
African culture whereas the upper body carriage reflects the Spanish culture. Students were explained these purposes before performing the
dances in the clinic run by a UK professor.
Characteristic C
Music
Teachers guide students through the process of evaluating their own artistic performances. Each day evaluation of the musical product is
analyzed in preparation for the concert or performance. Growth is achieved over time as skills are developed. Students reflect on their
performance both verbally and through writing. Student formative assessments, which are playing tests performed in front of the class,
provide the student with opportunities to find areas for growth in their playing through self-reflection and through teacher guidance provided
verbally and on the rubric. Students refine skills and techniques during rehearsal by noting their weaknesses directly on the music for more
efficient home practice. Students are guided through practice strategies (problem solving skills) such as chunking, practicing the finger
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patterns in the correct position, isolating problem spots, and using a metronome. Music students evaluate harmonic and technical demand to
problem solve for performance discrepancies. With teacher guidance, students analyze their timbre, tone, style, and technique to meet the
expected outcome.
Visual Arts
Art students participate in a peer mid-critique using a TAG format, then refine their artworks based on suggestions. Students also participate
in a self evaluation and reflection when finished with their artwork. Students write goals for their next artwork, "take my time", "don't rush",
"use more color". At the end of the Quarter, students reflect on their goals and make a goal for next year. Students are asked the question
"What if..." during formative assessment sweeps to develop creative problem-solving. Students also perform Anchor 8 4 squares on each
others work to practice description, analysis, interpretation and judgement as well as to provide feedback for others.
In the unit, "The Great Fossil Find Lab," Science students receive an envelope of paper fossil bones and a scenario in which they are the
paleontologists. Their job on the dig site is to discover fossils. The circumstances of the dig (time, weather, etc.) allow them to only find a few
specimens from their envelope. After each day (5-7 minutes) of the dig, students pull out the specified number of fossils, infer about what the
animal looked like by sketching the fossils in the form of an animal, and make notes about why they made the inferences. Their animal is
incomplete, so like real scientists, they must consult with other scientists in the classrooms on similar digs, and consult reference books of
animal skeletons. This impacts student learning because by drawing for each "day" they model and experience how real scientists' ideas can
evolve as they continue to gather information, work with colleagues, consult colleagues in other locations, and research.
All 8th grade Science students created bottle ecosystems during our ecology unit. Students were given organisms to keep alive, and were
responsible for making sure biogeochemical cycles took place within their bottles. This activity engaged all students in higher order thinking,
creativity, and problem-solving skills. This project included internet research, design, and team building, as students were given
opportunities to learn from one another. It culminated with an authentic student product.
Drama
6th grade Language Arts students engage in active problem solving skills to solve mini murder mysteries in small groups. Students also
compose mini murder mysteries in small groups ending with falling action. The resolutions of the mysteries are then acted out by a
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secondary group in front of the class.
Arts and Humanities students use creative, evaluative, analytical, and problem solving skills both in rehearsal and during a run-through for
their classmates of their skit. During the run-though student groups receive feedback from their teacher and peers which must be applied
before the final performance. By having a run-through, aspects of the student performance requiring refinement and finesse are identified
and addressed within the group.
Dance
Arts and Humanities students use creative, evaluative, analytical, and problem solving skills both in rehearsal and during a run-through for
their classmates of their dance. During the run-though student groups receive feedback from their teacher and peers which must be applied
before the final performance. By having a run-through, aspects of the student performance requiring refinement and finesse are identified
and addressed within the group.
Characteristic D
After students are exposed to exemplary live or televised performances, students reflect through both written and verbal communication.
Music
Music students listen to exemplary examples of currently studied literature and discuss musical aspects of the performance (timbre, tone,
rhythm, melody, harmony, form, pitch, phrasing, blend) and discuss ways to incorporate both technical and musical elements from the
recorded performance into the ensemble's next performance.
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Orchestra students create written reflections for their classmates after the Solo and Ensemble recital is performed for the class. Students
prepare a small ensemble piece for Solo and Ensemble and perform for the class before the actual event takes place. During the recital,
classmates provide objective reflections on the performance, specifically "2 glows and 1 grow," or 2 aspects of the performance that were
strong and one aspect of the performance that could be addressed. Students are taught how to give helpful and attainable feedback.
Band, Chorus, and Orchestra students reflect through written and verbal communication after viewing a previously recorded performance of
their own in class at the most recent concert. Students are provided official state scoring sheets that help to ensure grading and reflections
are objective.
Visual Arts
Art students compare and contrast viewing and experiencing collections and exhibitions in different venues. Students write reflections in
small group and then discuss as a whole class. (VA:Pr6.1.7) Students complete a WebQuest which includes the Google Art Project. Students
write reflections and then share with the class.
Drama
All 6th grade Social Studies students using Geography Alive completed a unit on Mount Everest to answer the essential question, "How can
people both experience and protect the world's special places?" Students learned about the physical characteristics of Mount Everest and
the reason people are working to protect it. In an experiential exercise, teams of students assumed the role of climbers on Mount Everest,
discovering some of the challenges presented by the physical features as they "ascended" the mountain. After discussing their experiences,
students read about the challenges faced by real climbers and the impact of the expeditions. Students recorded their discoveries in
illustrated journal entries that commemorated their experiences. Activities included assuming the role of the Sherpa by packing their teams'
backpacks, pantomiming climbing over ice crevasses, marking trails with trash left behind, and reaching the summit. Students also create a
visual memento to leave behind at the summit of Mount Everest as they roleplay ascending to the mountain's peak.
During the Civil War unit, all 8th grade Social Studies students experienced a live, historical monologue performed by a guest artist from the
Kentucky Humanities Council Chautauqua Program portraying significant figures in Kentucky Civil War history. Students were afforded the
opportunity to inquire about the historical character and the actor's performance strategies. Some students are invited to participate in roleplaying with the actors. After performances students discuss and create a written reflection of the performance.
After viewing a technological presentation in class, Language Arts students are expected to write and/or discuss their objective opinions
about how the presentation compares to literary and/or informative texts that have been covered in class (as a bellringer at the beginning of
class or an exit slip at the end of class).
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Dance
Exemplary dance performances are reviewed by students in the Arts and Humanities classes through class discussions and written
reflections. Performances shown by the Ballet Russe include Rite of Spring The Firebird, and The Nutcracker. Other styles that are
introduced and compared are tango, tarantella, Indian, and salsa.
After learning about and performing the salsa and Merengue, Spanish students wrote as if they had visited the country of origin and
pretended they went to a discotheque or party and learned about the importance of dance in Hispanic culture. On the postcards students had
to describe the dance and their thoughts on their performance.
Characteristic E
With teacher guidance, students are capable of being self-sufficient in creating performances and products. This is evident in many
examples. Students in the Arts and Humanities classes compose "chance" music. This performance occurs in small groups with students
using recycled instruments. Other student created performances include choreographing a dance to the student's choice of music or students
writing a folktale based on the style of African, Native American, or Appalachian folktales.
Music
Music students prepare pieces for Solo and Ensemble demonstrating self-sufficiency, culminating in a small ensemble performance for the
class and for adjudicators at sanctioned events. This exercise exhibits self-sufficiency because all small ensembles (duet, trios, or quartets)
all have different music within the same class. Students are required to run rehearsal within their groups with small increments of guided
instruction from the teacher as the teacher floats to address each ensemble. Students must use analytical and evaluative skills during
rehearsal while being respectful and objective when addressing issues in the rehearsal. Many music students prepare for auditions on their
own for Honors Orchestra/Band, CKYO, SCAPA, and high school exhibiting self-sufficiency.
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Arts and Humanities students compose "Chance" music in groups using recycled instruments. The recycled instrument project is given and
students must problem solve on how to create such an instrument. Each instrument is very unique and individualized exhibiting the selfsufficiency of the project.
Visual Arts
Art students' choice, freedom, and decision-making in creating their work are evidence of their self-sufficiency. Students are empowered in
their decisions and choices as multiple products are presented for them to complete their assignments. Students are presented with multiple
different mediums through teacher modeling, after which students are encouraged to be self-sufficient in applying techniques. Teacher
guidance, suggestions, and alternatives are provided to each individual student throughout the creative process from start to finish. Specific
criteria and grading standards are provided to guide student performance in completing the task, but require that students develop original
ideas and create original works of art. Creative, analytical, and problem-solving skills were used in developing student artworks. Students are
often given a choice of artist, media or concept to build an artwork from. The Visual Arts teacher demonstrates in a sketchbook, but does not
"do the artwork for them". Many student-initiated ideas are implemented in the classroom; including sketch ideas, starters and themes for
Units.
During the 8th grade sewing unit in Life Skills class, students are provided with instruction in sewing and basic construction techniques to
guide their performance in completing a hand-sewing project.
All Life Skills students are creating a poster for the KY Saves Week poster contest. Specific criteria and grading standards are provided to
guide student performance in completing the task, but require that students develop original ideas and create original works of art.
Math students created an icosahedron using written directions and provided materials. Creative, analytical, and problem-solving skills were
used in developing three-dimensional products.
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Drama
Arts and Humanities students write a folktale based on the style of African folktales, Native American Folktales or Appalachian folk tales.
Students demonstrate the ability to become self-sufficient in creating products after teacher guidance in all PLCS elective classes. Students
are provided with project guidelines, performance expectations and standards, and in some cases models or exemplars of products to guide
them in completing the project. In 8th grade Business Education classes students create a commercial for a product during their Junior
Achievement lessons. Students are provided with project criteria and teacher guidance is available but students are wholly in charge of
selecting the product and creating the commercial.
In 8th grade Life Skills classes, students are provided with demonstrations and recipes for food prepared in foods lab. Students work
cooperatively, in small groups, to complete the performance task under teacher guidance and supervision.
In 8th grade Language Arts classes, students read the play, "The Diary of Anne Frank" they then created a performance where they worked
in small groups to act out different scenes from the play. After creating a rubric in class, students worked in small groups to produce their
scene. They had to create visual aids that helped to reflect the mood and tone of the scene they were performing.
Dance
In the 3-week dance unit, Arts and Humanities create and perform two different dances. Although they are both dance-based lessons, they
are not truly sequential because they are different subjects - one being taught overtly with embedded improvisation while the other is studentchoice music and choreography. Many students do, however, bring in outside influences from other dance instruction both from schoolaffiliated groups, outside dance instruction, and music video choreography showing the ability to transfer information and the seeds of selfsufficiency.
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Characteristic F
Students are supported by teachers as they prepare for juried events, contests and performances which occur outside the school
environment. All three music areas are active in the Kentucky Music Educators Association. This association offers several events in which
the student's performance is rated by an adjudicator. The entire Band, Chorus and Orchestra perform at the Concert Assessment each year.
Solo and Ensemble is another opportunity in which students may perform in a small ensemble. The small ensemble ensures each student
grows as a musician as the small group requires each student to take responsibility for their part. Chorus students participate in All State.
Students audition to be a part of this group. Select students from the Band and Orchestra attend Fayette County Honors Programs. All 6th
grade Orchestra students participate in String Day. Students also participate in the Central Kentucky Youth Orchestra and summer music
camps.
Music
All Band, Chorus, and Orchestra students are encouraged to participate in KMEA Solo and Ensemble hosted outside of the school day. In
order to properly support the students, class time is given and after school rehearsals are scheduled to help students prepare pieces.
All Chorus students are encouraged to audition for KMEA All-State Chorus, an event that requires after school rehearsals, a trip to the music
conference, and a performance.
Band and Orchestra students are supported and encouraged to audition for the Fayette County Honors Band/Orchestra. This requires after
school sectionals and rehearsal and a concert on a Saturday.
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Orchestra students are encouraged to audition for the Central Kentucky Youth Orchestra and are given instruction on the audition material
during the school day. CKYO rehearses weekly after school.
Visual Arts
Visual Art students are supported and encouraged to participate in grade level appropriate events, exhibitions and contests outside of the
school. Ten of our students were nominated for Junior Achievers. Visual art contests are communicated and displayed for student interest.
Students are encouraged to participate, even making artworks in class for such contests.
The Lego-Robotics team competes in local, regional, and state competitions. Students complete programming performance tasks and give
illustrated presentations that explain their work and suggest solutions to real world problems.
In Life Skills class, all students will create a poster for the KY Saves Week poster contest (Jan. 31). All students will be encouraged to submit
their entries for the statewide competition.
All students were encouraged to enter in the PTA Reflections Contest by creating an original work of art.
All students are encouraged to join the Craft Club which meets every other week after school.
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Drama
7th grade language arts students attend a play performance in Louisville of "Dracula". It was a culminating activity for a play and a novel that
they have read in class.
Dance
All 7th and 8th grade students have participated in World-Fit program where students log fitness miles and activities. Schools across the
state compete to log the most miles or points. Students are encouraged to accumulate more miles outside of the school day through exercise
and dance.
All students are encouraged to audition for the JCMS Dance Team. This group has after school rehearsals and performs at after school
events and games.
All students are encouraged to audition for the JCMS Cheerleading Team. This group competes at district meets in addition to after school
and weekend commitments.
The rationale explains how the identified evidence supports the school's reported level of program implementation for the
demonstrator.
Our students perform at a high level as a result of the rigorous curriculum and high quality of instructional strategies given in the classroom.
Students are taught how to create, perform and respond to music through experiences of live performances of their own and exemplary
performances of others.
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Formative and Summative Assessment: Assessments
Teachers should use multiple assessment processes to inform, guide, develop and revise instructional strategies and curriculum to enhance
to student learning and achievement.
Overall Rating: 2.0
a)
b)
Statement or Question
To what extent do teachers utilize formative and
summative arts assessments for individual
students and performing groups that are clearly
aligned with the components of the Kentucky
Academic Standards; and authentically
measure a specific concept, understanding
and/or skill and lead to student growth?
Response
Rating
Formative and summative arts assessments for Proficient
individual students and performing groups are
clearly aligned with the components of the
Kentucky Academic Standards and
authentically measure a specific concept,
understanding and/or skill and lead to student
growth.
Statement or Question
To what extent do teachers guide students to
use developmentally or grade level appropriate
peer review and critique to evaluate each
other's work?
Response
Rating
Teachers guide students to use
Proficient
developmentally or grade level appropriate peer
review and critique to evaluate each other's
work.
Evidence is identified to support the school's analysis for each of the demonstrators. Program review evidence may be specific for
an area (Writing, Arts & Humanities,Practical Living/Career Studies, K-3, and Global Competency/World Languages) or may be
common across other reviews. Review teams will likely find they need to search out additional evidence during the program review
process in order to make judgments or to support judgments.
Characteristic A
Data and arts assessment are essential in our Programs. Not only is it important for program evaluations and accountability, but also for
teacher and student reflection and pride. Teachers use multiple assessments to enhance students' learning. All assessments are aligned with
the Kentucky Core Academic Standards. Student growth results from these assessments that measure grade level specific concepts or skills.
Assessments vary according to the desired outcome. Traditional assessment occurs through written responses using extended response
questions. These questions allow students to show the depth of their knowledge. Multiple choice questions are used to reinforce KPREP
testing methods. These methods are often used in Art and Arts and Humanities classes. All arts classes are guided by the teacher's
assessment of their products. As the students are creating, the teacher is modeling and molding the student as they demonstrate their
knowledge through student projects. Core Curriculum, standards, terminology, interdisciplinary connections and collaboration with colleagues
enrich our Arts and Humanities program.
Visual Arts
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Formative assessments are used in the Art classroom to inform instruction regarding artistic skill and technique as well as FCPS Enduring
Skills within the NCAS themes: Creating, Presenting, Responding, and Connecting. Students begin each day with a Starter/Bell Ringer on
an Essential Question that comes directly from NCAS and the FCPS Enduring Skills activities and build student knowledge about the various
areas: Creating, Responding, Connecting and Presenting. The Essential Questions are written on the board as well as displayed on
laminated posters. Students write down the essential question and then discuss and answer together during a whole class discussion. This
allows the teacher to address misconceptions, guide student answers, and support student understanding. Students have the opportunity to
recall prior knowledge and demonstrate their understanding in an activity of their choice. Certain days throughout the curriculum are
dedicated to each grade level participating in a Tic-Tac-Toe activity. The Tic-Tac-Toe activity sheet is divided into a grid where different
Multiple Intelligence activities are listed. Flexible Grouping is used to divide students into groups based on KPREP scores, G/T identification,
and IEP/504 accommodations. These small groups work together and select an activity from the Tic-Tac-Toe sheet to demonstrate their
understanding of the FCPS Enduring Skill. Students are given the opportunity to present at the end of class. This activity allows student and
teacher feedback, flexible grouping, student choice, small group peer/social development, multiple intelligence application, and a way for the
teacher to formatively assess how students are understanding a particular FCPS Enduring Skill. Students are also formatively assessed
based on artistic skill and technique specifically as it applies to elements of art and principles of design. The curriculum is organized in such
a manner that units are divided into a specific media and then a series of elements and principles to study. For example, the painting unit
includes color, unity, and contrast while the drawing unit includes line, texture, value, and movement. Before students plan and begin
sketching for their final artwork in the unit, we study the elements and principles and participate in exercises where students are building and
extending their artistic practice. Flexible grouping and tiered assignments are scheduled during this time to challenge and support student
growth appropriately. Scaffolding is provided and demonstrated through exemplar models, modeling, teacher practice and demonstration,
sketchbook demonstrations, and anecdotal notes. Students are given summative assessments in the forms of a mid-term and final covering
FCPS Enduring Skills, Elements of Art, and Principles of Design. These written tests are a combination of multiple-choice, fill in the blank,
and short answer. Students also create a summative Arts Literacy Piece and an Artist Statement for their end of the Quarter Art Exhibit.
Summative art pieces are authentically assessed based on student-generated rubrics that are created at the beginning of this section of the
unit.
Students are able to effectively give appropriate, meaningful feedback in order to facilitate improvements and the process of working as long
as it is quick and effective. Two methods used in the Art classroom are TAG and Plus-Plus-Delta. TAG feedback is given on a sticky note:
Tell the artist something you like; Ask the artist a question; and Give them some feedback on areas to improve. A Plus, Plus, Delta is
explained as two positives and one difference to make. For a summative arts piece, students work a little bit longer on this artwork which
allows some time for a verbal "mid-crit". When students are about half-way through with their artworks, an instructional day is scheduled to
divide into groups of four, provide verbal criticism, and have one student per group act as a recorder. The documentation is reviewed for
teacher records and provided to the student. The 8th grade advanced art classes conduct on the spot verbal peer reviews and critiques.
Whenever a student asks, "Is this good?" the teacher holds the artwork up and backs away a few steps. This allows the student-artist to see
their work from a different perspective and also allows the teacher to ask a peer, "What do you think? What's working? If this were yours,
what would you do?" This encourages a verbal TAG or Plus-Plus-Delta while holding their work. After this practice has been conducted a
few times, students begin to independently conduct verbal TAGs at their table.
Music
In Band, Chorus, and Orchestra, student assessment is monitored more often through performance standards. Formative assessments occur
daily in rehearsals. Teachers use knowledge gleaned to revise the developed instructional plan by selecting certain etudes from method
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books, choosing different warm-up rote exercises, or reinforcing previous instruction which enhances student learning. Through this daily
process, students are able to achieve higher musical standards and individual growth occurs. As every phrase is shaped daily through
rehearsals, students learn on the spot, constantly modifying their abilities. These processes eventually lead to a refined performance of
concert repertoire that function as the summative assessment. All levels of formative assessment are aligned with the components of the
Kentucky Core Academic Standards. These assessments lead to an authentic measurement of specific concepts, techniques, or skills which,
in turn, lead to the growth of individual students.
Drama and Dance
In the 9-week Speech and Drama class, formative and summative assessments are aligned with the Kentucky Core standards in the areas of
Drama and Dance. All assessments are used to measure growth toward the standards. Students are assessed traditionally with Multiple
Choice, short answer, and extended response questions, as well as through rubrics, self-evaluation, and teacher observations in
performances. The assessments allow for multiple modes of expression and learning styles. Students may be assessed by performing
dances or creating their own dramatic performance based on standards and performing within groups in front of the class.
Characteristic B
Another form of assessment is student directed. Students evaluate the work of their peers through verbal and written means. Students are
guided by teachers to use appropriate vocabulary when critiquing their peers' work. As students have more experiences in their art area, they
grow in the skill of their craft. This growth allows students to also grow in their critiques as they share valuable insights from a deeper
perspective. Peer reviews occur during some class activities and after concerts. In orchestra, peers have given meaningful written feedback
to individual students after small ensemble performances for the class. Students have enjoyed reading what their peers have written. The
reviews in all classes during classroom activities provide meaningful feedback which strengthens future performances. Since learning an art
form is a discipline, it takes time to develop. Often students fail to see the big picture. It is helpful when assessments show them the next
steps to improving their art. A great way to help students see their growth is to review previous concerts. This assists students in gauging the
progress they have made. Seeing how they have progressed will influence the future goals they set.
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Visual Arts
See Characteristic A Evidence
Music
In the performing arts, students regularly evaluate their concerts. These ensemble summative assessments occur at least quarterly in the
form of a community/public performance. Most performances are recorded. These recordings are reviewed by the students. Time is given for
reflection, both verbal and written. As students reflect on their current achievements, they can hear the improvement they have achieved
through the discipline of rehearsal. This knowledge can lead to student growth as students realize the importance of dedicated work. This
application is easily transferred to other subject areas. This highlights one of the important characteristics of the performing arts by using an
area of interest to motivate students to develop a work ethic which they can transfer to life goals.
Drama and Dance
In the Speech and Drama classes students evaluate the work of their peers as well as self-evaluate, both orally and written. Students are
provided with rubrics by the teacher as examples of standard driven critiques. Dance and drama performances are critiqued in the written
form and in the performance form. Examples of dance forms studied include Ballet, Modern, Medieval and Jazz. Students critique dramatic
performances according to Kentucky Core Standards utilizing self-evaluations and peer evaluations.
The rationale explains how the identified evidence supports the school's reported level of program implementation for the
demonstrator.
Teachers use multiple assessments to enhance student learning. All assessments are aligned with the Kentucky Core Academic Standards.
Daily formative assessments are aligned with Kentucky Core Academic Standards and authentically measure specific elements of music
leading to student understanding and/or skill sets which demonstrates student growth. Through class work and presentations, students
evaluate the work of their peers. This evaluation may be verbal or written. Summative assessments are given at the end of units in Art and
Arts and Humanities. Ensemble summative assessments are given at least quarterly in the form of a community/public performance.
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Formative and Summative Assessment: Expectations for Student Learning
Teachers communicate consistently high expectations and use common standards for student learning in Arts & Humanities.
Overall Rating: 2.33
a)
b)
c)
Statement or Question
To what extent do teachers utilize
exemplar/models to encourage students to
demonstrate characteristics of rigorous work in
the appropriate art form in most instructional
lessons/units?
Response
Exemplars/models are used with every
instructional lesson/unit (e.g. historical
masterpieces, current works, performances by
exemplary artists, or exemplary student work).
Rating
Distinguished
Statement or Question
To what extent do teachers share clearly
defined rubrics or scoring guides with students
before creating, performing, or responding
assignments or other assessments; and
students have the opportunity to provide input
into the scoring guide?
Response
Rating
Teachers share clearly defined rubrics or
Proficient
scoring guides with students before creating,
performing/presenting/producing, responding or
connecting assignments or assessments
appropriate to the age and grade level and
students have the opportunity to provide input
into the scoring guide.
Statement or Question
To what extent do teachers develop rigorous
student learning and academic growth through
student learning objectives and refined SMART
(specific, measurable, appropriate, realistic and
time bound) goals that are rigorous, attainable
and reflect acceptable growth during the course
or school year?
Response
Rating
Teachers develop rigorous student learning and Proficient
academic growth through student learning
objectives and refined SMART (specific,
measurable, appropriate, realistic and time
bound) goals that are rigorous, attainable and
reflect acceptable growth during the course or
school year.
Evidence is identified to support the school's analysis for each of the demonstrators. Program review evidence may be specific for
an area (Writing, Arts & Humanities,Practical Living/Career Studies, K-3, and Global Competency/World Languages) or may be
common across other reviews. Review teams will likely find they need to search out additional evidence during the program review
process in order to make judgments or to support judgments.
Characteristic A
Teachers exhibit consistently high expectations for students. The Kentucky Core Academic Standards are the basis of instructional
strategies. Teachers are the primary models for students. Daily, teachers model exemplary techniques, reinforcing and encouraging students
to develop their skill. Recordings of professional models cover a wide range of experiences in which students would not be exposed to in a
regular school setting. Videos and recordings from the KET Arts Toolkit as well as teacher selected YouTube excerpts are used in some
classrooms to demonstrate characteristics of rigorous work.
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Music
Performance groups participate regularly in specialty workshops. Through these workshops, students have the opportunity to work with
professionals who are specialists in their area. Workshops in which our students have participated this year include University of Kentucky
Woodwind Day, 6th Grade String Day, Fayette County Honors Orchestra, Fayette County Honors Band, KMEA District Honors Choir, KMEA
All State Choir and the Lafayette Choir Invitational. The Woodwind Day highlighted professional musicians who interacted with students in
small groups. The day ended with students playing in a concert. The KMEA District Honors Choir presents director-selected chorus students
in a day of rehearsals ending with a concert. KMEA All State Choir offered a similar experience to a select group of singers. The All State
choir is an auditioned choir where the students are selected throughout the state of Kentucky for participation. Nationally known conductors
are hired to work with these gifted students. The Lafayette Invitational provides choir students an opportunity to see and hear an exemplar
model, Lafayette Choir, as well as perform with other students from around the district. All these performing opportunities allow students to
focus on their area of interest with instruction from a new perspective. These activities also culminated with a performance in which students
participated.
Teachers from within the district who regularly engage in instruction with our students complement the work already occurring in our building.
The Lafayette High School band director works with the 8th grade band students a on a daily basis. In addition to the county employees,
band has instrumental specialists in constantly with the following schedule: flute specialist every other week; clarinet specialist working in1st,
2nd, and 3rd hours; trumpet specialist and percussion specialist working with sections in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd hours; trombone specialist in
weekly. Other instrumental specialists come in occasionally on a less regimented schedule. The instrumental specialists that are present on
a regular basis were based off of student need. The schedule of specialists is informed yearly by student performance and teacher
modifications. The students' performance is directly affected by this time with professional musicians, increasing their performance acumen
and specifically improving their ability to discern pitch and characteristic tone.
Teachers from within the district who regularly engage in instruction with our students complement the work already occurring in our building.
The Lafayette High School orchestra directors work with the 8th grade orchestra students thrice weekly. Fayette County Orchestra teachers
provide the leadership and models for the 6th Grade String Day. This challenging day allows orchestra students to focus on their instrument
for an entire day. Students have the opportunity to play with a large, multi-school orchestra which is a new experience for most of these
students. It offers them the chance to see how they have grown since they begin playing in elementary school and allows them to see the
exciting side of playing in a large orchestra. This day also ended in a concert in which students performed. Students are able to see others
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their own age and learn from their example, encouraging the students to practice more and have better focus on their instrument.
Accompanists are often in the music classroom for a variety of reasons. Solo and Ensemble offers individuals or ensembles the opportunity
to work one-on-one with a professional accompanist, gleaning from the accompanist's performance musical aspects about their individual
piece. Occasionally an accompanist or percussionist plays with the orchestra adding new life to a piece and often motivating students to
practice more by the presence, professionalism, and musicianship of another musician in the classroom. The chorus is accompanied by a
professional accompanist for every chorus concert and for a couple of rehearsals before hand. By having a professional accompanist
perform the accompaniment, the vocalists imitate the style of the pianist and must articulate their words more clearly to sing over the piano.
Audio recordings are used from the J W Pepper website and other music distributor websites to expose students to professional recordings
of current music literature every 9-weeks in order to reinforce in the students proper dynamics, articulation, and style in an effort to include
these concepts into their own playing. Students will also watch other ensembles at KMEA Performance Assessment. These are exemplary
models because many of these groups are featured at KMEA and the American String Teachers Association National Conference. By having
student exemplars, especially in the live setting, students can gauge the intensity of their own playing and recalibrate what they feel is
rigorous work to a higher standard.
Visual Art
Exemplar Models are used to encourage students to demonstrate characteristics of rigorous work within each instructional Unit. Whether it is
an exemplar model from a Famous Artist, art movement, and/or culture, students have something to look at, refer to, and compare with their
work. Examples include historical and current masterpieces such as Picasso, Vincent van Gogh, Claude Monet, Ted Harrison, Claes
Oldenburg, Mesopotamia pottery, M.C. Escher, Georgia O'Keefe, and Kehinde Wiley, just to name a few. A variety of examples that reflect
the funds of knowledge in the class are included: Male, Female, Caucasian, African-American, European, Native American, Asian, etc.
Examples of exemplar student work are shown either from photographs or saved examples. This is important because it helps students set
realistic goals, challenges most students, and sets the bar high for competitive students.
A Craftsmanship Rubric is displayed in the classroom for students to refer to when they are asking "Is this good?" The teacher asks if the
student has checked the rubric and suggests a better question would be "How can I improve my artwork?" The Craftsmanship Rubric shows
four different media and the application of a level 1-4. It is important that students understand the task and the teacher's expectations of their
work. At the beginning of each artwork or activity completed in the art room, students refer to the Lightbulb 4-level rubric and then give input
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on how this relates to the task. Students answer the question, "What does a 4 look like?" Key words from the students' responses are written
down, categorized, and inserted into a student-made rubric which is shared with the class. Another activity is to take student responses and
place into a Wordle, an online "word cloud" generator. The more times a student response appears, the larger the word appears, reminding
students to be aware of and pay attention to those characteristics. Once the Wordles are created, they are displayed while students work and
referred back to when students ask questions. A teacher-created rubric with level examples is sometimes used when grading and giving
feedback to students.
After reviewing the elements of art and principles of design, many students have trouble describing those elements and principles and then
analyzing what the artist is communicating. This is an FCPS Enduring Skill: Analyzing Art: Identify, Describe and Analyze the use of elements
and principles in an artwork. In order to analyze works of art properly, students need to be able to "read" a piece of art like text and gather
relevant information. The Student Growth Goal below address this need.
For the current school year Quarter 1, all of my ___ grade students will make measurable progress in the enduring skill Analyzing Works of
Art. All students will move up at least 1 level overall and ___% of students will achieve at the 3 or higher level in the Idea Development
criteria on the FCPS 6-12 Analyzing Works of Art Rubric.
Students participate in a pre-assessment at the beginning of the Quarter, a mid-assessment for mid-term and then a final assessment on
their Quarter final. Each assessment informs the teacher's instruction regarding how to build and extend student knowledge in identifying,
describing, and analyzing (IDA). This is done through exemplar models that are introduced at the beginning of the unit as well as additional
Artist Introductions and IDA of their artwork. Students typically practice the IDA's twice a week, provide peer feedback, and/or teacher
feedback that is timely (same day) and efficient (4-level rubric).
Dance and Drama
Exemplary forms of Dance and Drama are shown to students in each unit to drive instruction and provide students with a rich appreciation of
the components of quality performances through various digital resources such as KET Dance Toolkit, KET Drama Toolkit, and teacher
selected streaming videos. Rigorous student-produced examples of plays and dances are shown as well prior to performances so students
readjust expectations and quality of work.
Characteristic B
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Prior to creating, performing or responding to art, students help create a clearly defined rubric for assignments. These rubrics are age and
grade level appropriate. Since students were part of the decision making process of the rubrics, they have ownership and a clear
understanding of expectations. Students have reviewed the rubric and made suggestions for clarifying elements and suggestions of
improvements which could be made. Students are given rubrics to guide the creation of arts products which are aligned with Kentucky Core
Academic Standards. To familiarize students with state sanctioned forms, students in the performing arts classes use this form to complete
critiques prior to the large group assessments; helping students become familiar with the format will help them as they prepare for group
assessment.
Music
Individual performance assessments using a defined rubric on a specific, grade level appropriate musical excerpt/concept provides each
band and orchestra student with feedback. As students reflect on feedback and apply needed techniques, individual growth occurs. Rubrics
are also used to evaluate concerts, post-performance. Students watch their performance and evaluate their individual performance and that
of the entire ensemble. In orchestra, the rubric has been revised by the students during a bellringer assignment to assess the assessment
tool. Students added additional elements of music, like dynamics, that were not previously covered by the sections of tone, rhythm,
intonation, and posture. The grading scale is a 5-point Likert scale with descriptive words indicating the consistency of the element of
performance ranging from always to never. A checklist of posture points is included in the bottom portion of the rubric accompanied by a
section available to write comments to the student.
In Chorus, rubrics are used to evaluate concerts, pre and post-performance concerts as well as the solo and ensemble event. Students listen
to the choir's class audio recordings and watch their concert performances and evaluate their individual performance and that of the entire
ensemble. The performance rubric that is used for post-concert assessment is based off of the district form used at the yearly choral
performance assessment. Choral students use rubrics quarterly to assess their own sight singing.
Visual Arts
See Characteristic A
Drama and Dance
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In the 9-week Speech and Drama classes, the students are provided with clearly defined rubrics prior to creating, performing or responding
to lead the students in the creation of exemplary products based upon standards. Students also create scoring guides in rubric form during
the creation process to inform the performance. During the study of the performance element in drama, students discuss as a class
appropriate elements to be on the rubric such as narration, dialogue, style, and purpose. Students then have the opportunity to score their
own work, as well as other students within the class. Teacher feedback is provided to all groups after the run through performance to ensure
a quality final performance is delivered.
In Spanish and ESL, rubrics are used for oral assessments in the target language.
Characteristic C
All Jessie Clark Middle School staff were trained on how to write SMART goals as part of the TPGES training at the beginning of school.
Many A&H staff attended a SMART goals PD last year and implemented strategies for incorporating SMART goals into individual planning.
The SMART Goals worksheet was provided to the Arts and Humanities department at a department meeting and was discussed. SMART
goals can be found in the teachers' plan books. Rubrics and pre/post tests will guide measurement.
Teachers provide opportunities for rigorous student learning to occur throughout the year through their long range plans for the class. Long
range plans are outlined for each performance level specifically targeting SMART goals for student growth. Some SMART goals are listed
below.
During this school year, all students will improve their rhythm and pitch recognition and performance by one or more levels on the
performance rubric and 10% or more on the written assessment.
During this 9-week Art class, all students will improve their understanding and intentional use of style by assessing student knowledge initially
through an entry-slip and quick write and students will improve their knowledge by being able to identify 3 different artwork styles. AH-S-6-1
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The rationale explains how the identified evidence supports the school's reported level of program implementation for the
demonstrator.
Teachers have high expectations for their students and incorporate models from many different media to educate students on expectations.
Rubrics have been incorporated into the repertoire of assessment across all disciplines within the arts and humanities team and reflect
student input. Specialty workshops such as University of Kentucky Woodwind Day, 6th Grade String Day, KMEA All State for choir, and
Fayette County Honors Band, Choir, and Orchestra challenge students to achieve high standards. After attending two SMART goals
trainings, the staff, as a whole is much more comfortable writing SMART goals and having SMART goals inform their teaching. A year-long
SMART goal is written for each different class a teacher teaches.
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Formative and Summative Assessment: Assessment for Learning
Multiple assessments are used to inform, guide, develop and revise instructional strategies and curriculum to enhance student learning and
achievement.
Overall Rating: 2.0
a)
b)
Statement or Question
To what extent do teachers regularly provide
students with authentic, meaningful and
documented feedback from a variety of sources
on their performances/products so students
may strengthen their future
performance/products?
Response
Rating
Teachers regularly provide students with
Proficient
authentic, meaningful and documented
feedback from a variety of sources (e.g., staff
members, arts adjudicators, peers, etc.) on their
performances/products so students may
strengthen their future performance/products.
Statement or Question
To what extent do students regularly reflect on,
critique and evaluate the artistic products and
performances of others and themselves as is
grade level and age appropriate?
Response
Rating
Students regularly reflect on, critique and
Proficient
evaluate the artistic products and performances
of others and themselves as is grade level and
age appropriate.
Evidence is identified to support the school's analysis for each of the demonstrators. Program review evidence may be specific for
an area (Writing, Arts & Humanities,Practical Living/Career Studies, K-3, and Global Competency/World Languages) or may be
common across other reviews. Review teams will likely find they need to search out additional evidence during the program review
process in order to make judgments or to support judgments.
Characteristic A
Music
Teachers and guest teachers regularly provide students with authentic, meaningful feedback daily in class and also in the comments section
of the playing test rubric. Students are prompted to read the comments in their folders following the test day to review said habits in their
playing, which is often accompanied by specific practice strategies. Sectionals occur bi-weekly, if not more often, in band and orchestra. In
this small group setting, instruction is provided by a specialist with immediate and specific feedback for that instrument. The students write in
their music with appropriate notation the specific items that need improvement so they may strengthen their future rehearsals and
performances and use their practice time efficiently.
Comments are provided to students from guest educators who attended the orchestra Pre-Festival concert in preparation for KMEA Concert
Assessment. These comments are both recorded and written and are reviewed the day after the concert in anticipation of attending KMEA.
Comments are discussed and addressed in rehearsal and home practice prompting the re-teaching and refining of skills. Assessment forms
from adjudicators at KMEA Concert Assessment provide students feedback from an outside audience. This feedback gives students the
opportunity to modify and grow in their art form, which strengthens their future performances. Students who participate in Solo and Ensemble
receive written feedback from the adjudicator specific to the student and his/her needs. Otherwise, all students receive peer feedback during
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a Solo and Ensemble recital that occurs during the class before the actual event.
Visual Arts
Teacher, staff members, and peers regularly provide students with authentic, meaningful, and documented feedback on their products and
presentations that strengthen future products and presentations. Students regularly participate in peer reviews in a TAG or Plus-Plus-Delta
(see Standard 2.1) and provide suggestions on how to reach a 4 on a 4-level rubric. Teacher feedback is provided with a TAG or Plus-PlusDelta strategy, for consistency. Formative teacher feedback includes conversations and sketchbook examples. Summative teacher feedback
is in the TAG or Plus-Plus-Delta format based on the established rubric. Students reflect on their artworks and products throughout the
course of the Quarter. This self-assessment and reflection is incorporated in the pre-assessment, mid-term, and the final. Students regularly
critique each other's work and evaluate the work of Exemplar Models, Historic Artworks, and Artists. Students are encouraged to
appropriately use art vocabulary during TAG and Plus-Plus-Delta strategies. Students use the Art Focus: Art Criticism template when
evaluating exemplar models. This provides students the opportunity to use the art vocabulary within the appropriate context. If students
have been unsuccessful, they make recommendations for lesson or activity improvement based on relevance and engagement.
Drama and Dance
In the 9-week Speech and Drama classes, the students are provided with clearly defined rubrics prior to creating, performing, or responding
to lead the students in the creation of exemplary products based upon standards. Teacher and class comments are provided after a dry run
from each group on their dance or skit. These comments are made to improve the upcoming final performance and give guidance for the
rehearsals before the final performance. Teacher comments on rubrics are returned to students in order to strengthen future performances.
Students then have the opportunity to score their own work, as well as other students within the class.
Characteristic B
Students regularly evaluate themselves and their peers. In all arts classes, students create performances and products which are critiqued by
the student, the peers, and the teacher through both verbal and written means.
Music
All concert performances are recorded and watched in class for review and reflection purposes. Performances of same-age and/or ability
level are observed at district assessments and area concert programs. Student reflection leads to development and revisions of instructional
strategies and curriculum. Band students turn in a weekly written reflection on home practice. This practice guides students to self-evaluate
and think critically about how to improve. Students purposefully use the language of the arts in classroom discussions with regard to specific
performance vocabulary. During peer review in some performing classes, peers give written comments to each other, which provide
meaningful feedback that strengthens future individual performances. Students are coached to provide "2 glows and 1 grow" to encourage
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and reinforce the good habits they hear and see from their peers and to recommend ways to improve one aspect of the performance.
Students are provided with the evaluation forms used at district assessments to assess their own performances. The performing arts classes
rely on the professional musicians who interact with students at workshops and in the classroom to provide exemplary models of music.
Teacher selected recorded performances are also used through the internet, often through YouTube or Vevo. All of these professional
resources are evaluated and critiqued by students through guided discussion, think-pair-share, and written reflection. Orchestra students
reflect on the rubric-based testing process in their writing folders.
Visual Art
See Characteristic A
Drama and Dance
In the Speech and Drama 9-week course, students regularly reflect on exemplary models of drama and dance performances using think-pairshare, peer review, and rubrics to evaluate past and present peer performances as well as performances of professionals including MacBeth
by William Shakespeare, Frankenstein by Mary Shelly, Various Native American and African Stories, The Firebird by Stravinsky, The Rite of
Spring by Stravinsky, The Nutcracker by Tchaikovsky, and various Native American, early Americans, African, Central American, and Asian
traditional dances. The KET Dance and Drama Toolkits are the basis of performance/product models for the Arts and Humanities classes.
The rationale explains how the identified evidence supports the school's reported level of program implementation for the
demonstrator.
Teachers use multiple assessments to revise instructional strategies and curriculum to enhance student learning and achievement. Teachers
regularly provide students with authentic, meaningful feedback in class through formative assessment which students document in the music.
Teachers model skills to enhance student growth. Other assessments are written. Students also receive feedback from adjudicators and
peers. When students work with professional musicians in workshop settings or sectionals, they also receive feedback on their craft. These
reviews lead the student to modify their craft which in turn strengthens their future performances/products. Ultimately, the student's personal
review of their skill is the determining factor and motivation for change.
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Professional Learning: Opportunity
Professional learning opportunities are planned with teacher learning needs in mind and in response to data available about teacher practice
and student learning.
Overall Rating: 2.5
a)
b)
c)
d)
Statement or Question
To what extent do teachers develop, implement
and assess relevant and purposeful
professional growth plans (PGPs) in response
to the teacher self-reflection about current
practice and student learning?
Response
Ongoing assessment of the implementation of
the PGP results in necessary adjustments that
result in increased teacher effectiveness and
student learning.
Rating
Distinguished
Statement or Question
To what extent does the school support
teachers' pursuit of professional learning
opportunities focused on research/evidence
based best practices and based on teacher
Professional Growth Plans, school and student
data?
Response
Rating
Professional learning opportunities incorporate Proficient
the Standards for Professional Learning, focus
on research/evidence based practices are
planned, implemented and evaluated based on
teacher Professional Growth Plans (PGPs) and
school and student data.
Statement or Question
To what extent does the school ensure that job
embedded professional learning opportunities
(teacher learning that is grounded in day-to-day
teaching practice and is designed to enhance
teachers' content-specific instructional practices
with the intent of improving student learning; is
school or classroom based and integrated in
the workday) are available?
Response
The school offers job embedded professional
learning opportunities that are integrated in the
work day to all teachers.
Statement or Question
To what extent does the school provide
opportunities and allocate time for teachers to
collaborate and exchange ideas?
Response
Rating
The school provides a variety of opportunities
Distinguished
and allocates time for teachers to collaborate
and exchange ideas, especially during the
school day, in professional learning
communities and through professional learning
opportunities.
Rating
Proficient
Evidence is identified to support the school's analysis for each of the demonstrators. Program review evidence may be specific for
an area (Writing, Arts & Humanities,Practical Living/Career Studies, K-3, and Global Competency/World Languages) or may be
common across other reviews. Review teams will likely find they need to search out additional evidence during the program review
process in order to make judgments or to support judgments.
14-15 Student Voice Survey Results - Characteristic A
15-16 CSIP - Characteristic A
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15-16 JCMS PD Tracker - Characteristics A, B
15-16 PD Plan - Characteristics A, B
15-16 Staff PGPs (by Component) - Characteristics A, B
15-16 Staff PGPs - Characteristics A, B
15-16 Student Voice Survey Results - Characteristic A
15-16 Ropes & Mental Health PDs - Characteristic B
Arts Integration Folder - Characteristics B, D
GCWL Integration Folder - Characteristics B, D
PLCS Integration Folder - Characteristics B, D
Writing Integration Folder - Characteristics B, D
15-16 JCMS Collegial Planning Schedule - Characteristics C, D
6th Grade Level Data Disaggregation Meeting - Characteristic C
7th Grade Level Data Disaggregation Meeting - Characteristic C
8th Grade Level Data Disaggregation Meeting - Characteristic C
Data Disaggregation Cut scores - Characteristic C
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CIITS Data Disaggregation directions - Characteristic C
Data Disaggregation 15-16 - Characteristic C
Data Disaggregation Reflections 15-16 - Characteristic C
Data Disaggregation Triangle Inverted - Characteristic C
Culturegrams - Characteristic C
RTI Meetings - Characteristic C
SS PD - Characteristic C
Tech Snack - Characteristic C
JCMS Collegial Plan Template - Characteristic D
JCMS Daily Schedule - Characteristic D
JCMS Team Day Schedule - Characteristic D
Team days-Power Days - Characteristic D
The rationale explains how the identified evidence supports the school's reported level of program implementation for the
demonstrator.
Characteristic A
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The school modifies and adjusts the Comprehensive School Improvement Plan (CSIP) several times each year based upon data from
multiple sources including KPREP, projected completion dates, implementation status, and adjustments based upon new knowledge,
professional development or resources available. The schools Professional Development Plan is based upon the most current CSIP to
provide guidance to the staff when creating the school-wide professional development plan. The CSIP is provided and used to guide
individual teachers in the development of their own Professional Growth Plan. Teachers are required to correlate the CSIP with their
professional development for intentional creation of authentic professional experiences that will create growth for them professionally and in
their classroom environment. The school requires a certain amount of hours each year for teachers to gain professional growth within their
content area. Principals review professional growth plans and provide guidance to individuals, based upon formal and informal observations.
Goal number 5 on the CSIP is increased proficiency in the Program Reviews. This has impacted our school this year by creating a shared
atmosphere of learning about the integration of arts and humanities, practical living, consumer sciences, writing, and global competency
across all disciplines.
The PD plan is linked to the CSIP and supports quality instruction in all disciplines. A committee is established by the administration, which
consists of all department heads. This committee uses an informal needs assessment to gather feedback from teachers regarding
professional development needs for the next year. The committee meets and develops a school-wide plan. 18 hours of the 24 hour PD plan
were strategically planned as school-wide PD activities that reflect feedback from the informal needs assessment of teachers and the
school's CSIP. 6 hours were planned at Asbury University's Challenge & Ropes Course. The expected impact was to develop greater
leadership, communication, trust, and initiative for the teachers and teams in our building. 4 hours of training were planned for the
continuous implementation of the Teacher Professional Growth and Effectiveness System (TPGES). The expected impact was to have
every student taught by an effective teacher. 2 hours of PD were planned to allow teachers to receive training on the Administrative Code
and Inclusions. The expected impact was that all teachers would follow the required regulations. 3 hours of PD were planned to provide
teachers with Mental Health training, as the number of students with mental health needs continues to increase at our school. The expected
impact was that teachers would have enhanced knowledge of de-escalation techniques and strategies for teaching students with mental
health issues. 3 hours of PD were planned to provide teachers with effective strategies to integrate arts and humanities, practical living,
consumer sciences, writing, and global competency across all content areas. The expected impact was to ensure that all teachers continue
to integrate arts and humanities, practical living, consumer sciences, writing, and global competency into their core academic class
curriculum. The remaining 6 hours of the required 24 hour PD plan allow teachers to participate in departmentalized professional
development in identified areas of growth related to improved instruction. All activities are to be tied to the teacher's individual professional
growth plan and/or results from their Student Voice Survey. The expected impact of individualized PD is to provide teachers with 21st
Century techniques and teaching strategies that can be implemented across the curriculum in all content areas for enhance instruction and
learning.
Teachers participate in PD activities that address their individual professional needs. Many teachers also attend professional organization
meetings and conferences specific to their content areas.
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Characteristic B
Teachers at our school are encouraged to grow in their profession and are given a multitude of professional development opportunities to
support this growth. One way this occurs in our building is professional development is planned with the understanding that all teachers are
at different levels of understanding. With this in mind, PD opportunities are differentiated so that our teachers at various levels, various
disciplines can attain a supported level of instruction that will be most beneficial for them in the instructional delivery of their students. Along
with differentiating our professional development at the instructor level, we place an emphasis of instructional delivery being within every
student's grasp. Differentiation is a common language shared amongst the teachers in our building. Past professional developments and
resources are reviewed annually. New teachers are provided with a binder of helpful resources and beliefs of our school. Resources are
provided on the W drive and a live-binder is linked on the teacher resource page.
Teachers collaborate with their departments to complete a program analysis of their curriculum and provide documentation for the program
review. Departments discuss the strengths and weaknesses of their current programs and curriculum, which provide teachers with the
opportunity to target areas of weakness when developing professional growth plans and selecting professional development activities.
In addition, all teachers complete a self-reflection for TPGES. They use this reflection to identify areas of weakness or "focus areas" to aid in
the creation of their Professional Growth Plans. In addition, teachers also identified areas of weakness or "focus areas" from the analysis of
their 2014-15 Student Voice Survey results to aid in the development of their PGPs. Teachers select PD activities based on individual needs
through the use of their self-reflection, PGP, administrator feedback, and the school's CSIP. Teachers participate in 6 hours or more of
individual and/or job-imbedded PD in identified areas of growth aligned to their PGPs. Teachers provide documentation and evidence of jobembedded activities to the school's PD chairperson. Individual PGPs and professional development documentation are available for
individual teachers and school administrators.
Job-embedded PD opportunities are available to all teachers including Arts teachers (See PD Guidelines). Arts teachers participate in 6
hours or more of individual and/or job-embedded PD in identified areas of growth related to their Individual Growth Plans. Fayette County
Middle School Visual Arts teachers meet to share and discuss such items as: assessments, entry slips, exit slips, differentiated instruction,
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gifted-talented programs, special needs, arts committees, materials/vendors/budget, Program Review, documentation, student work
samples, community exhibits, contests, technology, and CIITS information. This has been extremely helpful in running our Visual Arts
program at our school. Orchestra teachers meet monthly to collaborate on planning district events and planning future professional
development opportunities. During job-embedded PD, orchestra teachers work with high school teachers to coordinate festival concerts,
festival performance, and sectionals. Jessie Clark has taken the initiative to create job-embedded PD two times per month for the PLCS, Arts
and Humanities, and Global Competency teachers during the school day. During these 1-hour and 3-hour blocks, teachers are able to share
about recently attended PDs and have time to coalesce ideas brought back from the PDs. Reflection time and sharing is also present at
monthly department meetings.
Characteristic C
Teachers at our school are encouraged to grow in their profession and are offered job-embedded professional development opportunities to
support this growth. Job-embedded PD opportunities are available to all teachers (See PD Guidelines). All teachers participated in jobembedded professional development to analyze KPREP results. Teachers analyzed scores, then looked at the make-up of their classrooms
to intentionally identify the strengths and/or weaknesses of their students. This intentionality led to discussions of barriers to education,
identification of GAP students, and evidence-based instructional strategies that are successful with GAP and low growth students. High-yield
instructional strategies were revisited and encouraged to be embedded across disciplines.
Job-embedded PD opportunities are available to all teachers including Arts teachers (See PD Guidelines). Arts teachers participate in 6
hours or more of individual and/or job-embedded PD in identified areas of growth related to their Individual Growth Plans. Arts teachers find
and attend the PD trainings that focus on research-based best practices that support their professional growth plans and the needs of their
students. Examples include: The University of Kentucky professional development programs in the Visual Arts, Texas Bandmasters
Association Conference; KMEA Professional Development In-Service Conference; and District Band and Orchestra Meetings.
Fayette County Middle School Visual Arts teachers meet to share and discuss such items as: assessments, entry slips, exit slips,
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differentiated instruction, gifted-talented programs, special needs, arts committees, materials/vendors/budget, Program Review,
documentation, student work samples, community exhibits, contests, technology, and CIITS information. This has been extremely helpful in
running our Visual Arts program at our school. Orchestra teachers meet monthly to collaborate on planning district events and planning
future professional development opportunities. During job-embedded PD, orchestra teachers work with high school teachers to coordinate
festival concerts, festival performance, and sectionals. Jessie Clark has taken the initiative to create job-embedded PD two times per month
for the PLCS, Arts and Humanities, and Global Competency teachers during the school day. During these 1-hour and 3-hour blocks,
teachers are able to share about recently attended PDs and have time to coalesce ideas brought back from the PDs. Reflection time and
sharing is also present at monthly department meetings.
The Administration used data received from the analysis of previous Program Reviews and feedback from teachers to begin investigating
effective instructional strategies of arts integration that could be incorporated across all disciplines within the school. Through this feedback,
administration has also started offering professional development opportunities to promote arts integration. This has increased Arts
Integration across all content areas within the school.
Our school has had a subscription to Grade-cam the past three years. Grade-cam is a way in which teachers can get instant results and
data analysis of formative assessments, which allows them to make necessary adjustments to instructional delivery in an efficient manner.
Bell-ringers, exit slips, and other modes of formative assessments can be observed throughout the building, as teachers base their
instruction and instructional delivery upon multiple points of data.
In addition, Core content teachers collaborate weekly (by grade level and content area) and EXEL teachers collaborate twice a month, to
reflect on recent instructional practices, plan future instruction, create common assessments, analyze student data, and share strategies that
have been obtained from PDs.
Characteristic D
The administration has taken steps to encourage and facilitate collaboration between EXEL and academic core teachers. EXEL and Core
teachers collaborate and exchange ideas regarding curriculum, special programs and school wide events, and student achievement. EXEL
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and academic core teachers discuss curriculum standards and share ideas for cross-curricular connections. Our PD Plan includes two
trainings that are mandatory for all teachers and hosted by Arts & Humanities, Practical Living, Consumer Sciences, Writing, and Global
Competency teachers. The trainings are used to develop strategies for incorporating exploratory/elective content into core academic class
curriculum. Core academic teachers worked with exploratory/elective teachers to identify areas where content standards overlap and
developed ideas for lessons that integrate Arts & Humanities, Practical Living, Consumer Sciences, Writing, and Global Competency content
into core academic areas.
After attending a two-day workshop focused on writing strategies, the language arts department chairperson will provide a professional
development training for the faculty regarding writing across the curriculum. The presentation will focus on the following topics: policy, timing,
rubrics, structure, and examples. All teachers will be reminded of the school-wide writing policy and the types of pieces that are expected
from all students in all classes throughout the year. Rubric categories will be discussed and an emphasis will be given to "Audience and
Purpose" and "Idea Development" because those categories provide the most opportunity for teachers to teach and assess their content
through writing. An outline and discussion of the basic structure of an informative or argumentative piece of writing will be included in the
presentation, followed by focused examples of "The 3.8 Paragraph" method. These types of paragraphs can be used in all content areas for
short-answer and extended-response practice; but furthermore, content-specific writing practices can incorporate "The 3.8 Paragraph"
method. For instance, in math, Formative Assessment for Learning (FAL) responses require students to explain their thought process when
analyzing and answering questions. Students in science and social studies write lengthier essays for the Literacy Design Collaborative (LDC)
which can incorporate "The 3.8 Paragraph" method into the body paragraphs of the essay. On-Demand Writing (ODW) occurs during
language arts and all other elective classes, in which idea development through "The 3.8 Paragraph" is necessary. Overall, these types of
paragraphs are beneficial in providing a consistent format that will allow all teachers to assist students in writing across the curriculum.
To enable cross-discipline exchange of ideas and increase literacy instruction within all classrooms, faculty meetings are used to share
instructional strategies that focus on the integration of Arts & Humanities, Practical Living, Consumer Sciences, Writing, and Global
Competency into core academic areas. The administration has modified the school schedule to allow for more intentional planning to take
place within and among all teachers in the building as well as integrate more 21st century skill activities to take place. Power days and Team
days have been created twice monthly to fulfill many different ideals. These days are utilized to encourage students to increase and monitor
their work habits. The days also allow for cross-discipline exchange between and amongst EXEL teachers, the rewarding of positive student
behavior, integration of motivational speakers, Operation Preparation, and College and Career Readiness preparation for our students.
Department chairs are expected to attend District wide department meetings to allow for vertical and horizontal alignment of ideas and
sharing. It is expected that department chairs bring back information from the district level and share with their department and entire school.
We also have teachers attending specific trainings in best practices, who then collaborate and share these strategies with our staff.
Teachers meet with members of their department at least once a month. During this time, they exchange ideas about collaboration, literacy
and writing practices. Discussions take place on how to incorporate these strategies into the curriculum.
Another example of collaboration between EXEL and academic core teachers is the creation of cross disciplinary committees with
representatives from all content areas and grade levels. Teachers and administration collaborate on these committees in many ways, for
example: the Staff & Student Recognition committee plans ways to recognize students for academic, athletic, and other personal
achievements (Team day/Power Day); the Budget and Technology committees work to identify needs and allocate resources fairly
throughout the school and its programs; the Health & Wellness committee works to create a schedule to involve all teachers in World Fit and
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emphasize physical activity throughout the school; the Equity committee collaborates to plan school wide activities that expose students to
the issues and challenges of people with special needs; and the PBIS committee meets to ensure that positive behavioral interventions and
supports are used throughout the school.
Many members of the school staff work together to arrange for guest speakers from the community. Additionally, the administration, 8th
grade core teachers, the YSC coordinator, and PLCS teachers collaborated to implement the Operation Preparation event for 8th grade
students. Guest speakers from the community provide career guidance to all eighth grade students.
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Professional Learning: Participation
Teachers participate in Arts-specific professional learning designed to meet their needs. Arts teachers participate in professional
development focused on 21st Century Skills.
Overall Rating: 2.5
Statement or Question
To what extent do teachers participate and
implement content-specific professional
learning based on school, student and teacher
data?
Response
Rating
Implementation of content-specific professional Proficient
learning based on school, student and teacher
data results in change in current practice and
supports appropriate instruction.
Statement or Question
To what extent do teachers participate in
professional learning communities addressing
issues related to instructional practices, data
analysis and increased student learning?
Response
Rating
Teachers are members and leaders within their Distinguished
professional learning organizations, actively
participate to address issues related to
instructional practices, data analysis and
improving student achievement, and as a result
contribute to school and community life.
c)
Statement or Question
To what extent are teachers participating
members of professional organizations?
Response
Rating
Teachers are members and leaders within their Distinguished
professional learning organizations, actively
participate in them and as a result contribute to
school and community life.
d)
Statement or Question
To what extent do teachers have contact and
collaborate with community, business and
postsecondary partners?
Response
Teachers have contact and collaborate with
external partners (community, business and
postsecondary) through advisory committees,
work exchange programs and/or community
groups.
a)
b)
Rating
Proficient
Evidence is identified to support the school's analysis for each of the demonstrators. Program review evidence may be specific for
an area (Writing, Arts & Humanities,Practical Living/Career Studies, K-3, and Global Competency/World Languages) or may be
common across other reviews. Review teams will likely find they need to search out additional evidence during the program review
process in order to make judgments or to support judgments.
14-15 Student Voice Survey Results - Characteristic A
15-16 JCMS PD Tracker - Characteristics A, B
15-16 PD Plan - Characteristics A, B
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15-16 Staff PGPs (by Component) - Characteristics A, B
15-16 Staff PGPs - Characteristics A, B
15-16 Student Voice Survey Results - Characteristic A
15-16 JCMS Collegial Planning Schedule - Characteristics B
JCMS Collegial Plan Template - Characteristic B
RTI Meetings - Characteristic B
Arts Integration Folder - Characteristic B
GCWL Integration Folder - Characteristic B
PLCS Integration Folder - Characteristic B
Writing Integration Folder - Characteristic B
15-16 JCMS Committees - Characteristic C
15-16 JCMS Department Chairs - Characteristic C
15-16 JCMS Leadership - Characteristic C
Google Classroom PD - Characteristic C
Google PD - Characteristic C
JCMS Google Classroom Training - Characteristic C
Moorhead & Aurelius - Characteristic C
Tighe1- Characteristic C
Tighe2 - Characteristic C
Carin's Crew Student info sheet 15-16 - Characteristic D
Beta Club 1 - Characteristic D
Beta Club 2 - Characteristic D
Beta Club 3- Characteristic D
Beta Club 4 - Characteristic D
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Beta Club 5 - Characteristic D
Beta Club 6 - Characteristic D
Beta Club 7 - Characteristic D
The rationale explains how the identified evidence supports the school's reported level of program implementation for the
demonstrator.
Characteristic A
The administration encourages all teachers to attend cross-curricular Professional Development activities to address areas of need identified
in Program Review analysis, as well through teachers' self-reflections/PGPs/results of Student Voice Surveys/other PGES evaluation data.
The expected impact is that all teachers will implement 21st century techniques and teaching strategies to improve instruction and enhance
learning for all students. PD is chosen not only through availability, but also specified skill acquisition. While completing data triangles on
current students, teachers' attention was focused on the learning needs of the students and therefore the skill needs of the teacher.
Teachers participate in content-specific PD, as well as PD activities that address technology, student achievement, and teacher
effectiveness, as evidenced by the PD plan and their individual PD certificates.
Characteristic B
Teachers actively participate in professional learning communities (in our school, district, and beyond) that allow them to actively address
issues related to instructional practices, data analysis, and increased student learning.
At the school level, all teachers are part of a functioning PLC that meets during the school day. Core teachers meet with their grade level
department colleagues one a week. The EXEL department (A&H, PLCS, and Global Competency departments) functions as a PLC with
dedicated monthly meetings during the school day. We now have additional quarterly meetings, called Power Days. During these three-hour
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blocks of time, the EXEL PLCs meet in an in-service/planning type setting. Part of the time is led by the instructional coach, who guides the
departments in data analysis and high quality instructional strategies. The remainder of the time is dedicated for the teachers to implement
the discussed strategies into their instructional planning. Many faculty meetings focus on instructional strategies; therefore, teachers are
asked to sit by department so they may actively discuss content, student needs, and strategies to bridge the gap.
All teachers analyze student data and determine areas of strengths and weaknesses for the students they teach. From this analysis,
teachers are able to select PD trainings that are specific to their needs. Teachers then apply the research-based instructional practices they
receive from content-specific trainings (offered by recognized experts and district leaders), to develop and utilize 21st century skills to
enhance classroom instruction and learning. All teachers are also trained on the most effective, research-based, 21st Century skills for
integration of Arts & Humanities, Practical Living, Consumer Sciences, Writing, and Global Competency into core academic curriculum.
Arts teachers actively participate in and attend professional learning communities when they participate in Texas Bandmasters Association
Conference; KMEA Professional Development In-Service Conference; District Art, Band, and Orchestra Meetings; American String Teachers
Association National Conference; Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic; and the Conn-Selmer Institute. These meetings address
issues related to instructional practices and improving student achievement.
Teachers at our school also participate in collegial and cross-discipline communities, where they discuss adjustments to instructional
practices and utilize data from Compass, CERT, and K-prep to guide them on improving instructional delivery to meet the needs of students
within their classes. Teachers work together across disciplines to provide a systemic procedure of utilizing similar graphic organizers and
instructional delivery methods to enable a generalization of skills across contents, vertically and horizontally.
After attending a two-day workshop focused on writing strategies, the language arts department chairperson will provide a professional
development training for the faculty regarding writing across the curriculum. The presentation will focus on the following topics: policy, timing,
rubrics, structure, and examples. All teachers will be reminded of the school-wide writing policy and the types of pieces that are expected
from all students in all classes throughout the year. Rubric categories will be discussed and an emphasis will be given to "Audience and
Purpose" and "Idea Development" because those categories provide the most opportunity for teachers to teach and assess their content
through writing. An outline and discussion of the basic structure of an informative or argumentative piece of writing will be included in the
presentation, followed by focused examples of "The 3.8 Paragraph" method. These types of paragraphs can be used in all content areas for
short-answer and extended-response practice; but furthermore, content-specific writing practices can incorporate "The 3.8 Paragraph"
method. For instance, in math, Formative Assessment for Learning (FAL) responses require students to explain their thought process when
analyzing and answering questions. Students in science and social studies write lengthier essays for the Literacy Design Collaborative (LDC)
which can incorporate "The 3.8 Paragraph" method into the body paragraphs of the essay. On-Demand Writing (ODW) occurs during
language arts and all other elective classes, in which idea development through "The 3.8 Paragraph" is necessary. Overall, these types of
paragraphs are beneficial in providing a consistent format that will allow all teachers to assist students in writing across the curriculum.
RTI Grade level PLCs include all core content teachers, instructional coach, counseling staff, and an administrator. Together, this PLC
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discusses data on individual students to make decisions based on current data and teacher recommendations on initial placement,
continuing placement, and/or withdrawal (with supports) of individual students for the RTI programs (reading and math) for the second
semester and for the first semester of the following school year. These meetings are based upon progress monitoring data collected on
current students in the RTI program, as well as historical assessment data that shows insufficient skills in the areas of reading and/or math.
RTI teachers communicate to core teachers throughout the year about instructional strategies that show success with individual students
within their RTI classrooms.
Many members of the school staff work together to arrange for guest speakers from the community. Additionally, the administration, 8th
grade core teachers, the YSC coordinator, and PLCS teachers collaborated to implement the Operation Preparation event for 8th grade
students. A variety of guest speakers from the community provide career guidance to 8th grade students on an annual basis.
Characteristic C
There are multiple opportunities for teachers to become leaders within our school. Our school follows the middle school "team" approach,
which consists of 3 - 7 core teachers that teach a group of students at a specific grade level. Each team has a one teacher that belongs to
our school's Leadership team. The Leadership team meets at least two times each month to discuss the current status of the school and
determine next steps for continuous school improvement. Each team leader is obligated to disseminate the information from the Leadership
meeting to all members of their team, as well as to complete any necessary tasks.
The Arts and Humanities teachers find many opportunities to be leaders within the school and beyond. Not only do they join the professional
organizations associated with their respective fields, they also hold leadership roles. Examples include: Central Kentucky Concert Band Board Member (Librarian), Horn Professor at Asbury University, KMEA District 7 Jazz Chair, chair of the JCMS Equity and Diversity
committee, leader of after school jazz program, adjudicator for county and state honor festival auditions, judge for Fayette County Middle
School Honors Orchestra, coach for Fayette County Middle School Honors Orchestra sectionals, co-chair of Beta Club, Program Review
leader, Co-sponsor of JCMS Craft Club, Arts and Humanities Department Chair, a leader with Literary Magazine/Art Club combination, and
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District and Community Leader in Fayette County Summer Art Workshop 2015.
Department chairs meet at the district level each month and bring back that information to communicate and lead their departments
pertaining to curriculum, analysis of assessment data, and instructional strategies for the classroom. They are also part of the curriculum and
instruction committee that meets monthly to discuss ideals, resources, and materials across discipline levels to aide in the dissemination of
information and lead our school with district initiatives.
We have two teachers that spearheaded the use of paperless classrooms, which allowed all of their students to receive old laptops that were
no longer used at the district-level. Through the use of these laptops, these teachers have been able to use Google Classroom to instruct
their students, which has led to a variety of project-based learning opportunities. One of these teachers is one of six classroom teachers
from FCPS that was selected to attend the International Society for Technology in Education's (ISTE) Premier Education Technology
Conference in Denver, CO this summer. In addition, this teacher has been selected to serve as our district's technology teacher
representative, which will generate a set of Chromebook laptops for her classroom. We have teachers that have presented Professional
Development opportunities on the district-level. We also have two teachers that presented their project, "Two Middle School Teachers'
Experiences in Adapting and Implementing an Integrated Mathematics-Science Curriculum" at 'The real REAL Curriculum National Science
Conference' in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Characteristic D
Jessie Clark Middle School's goal is to have teachers to contact and collaborate with external partners (community, business, and
postsecondary) that are able to support our school motto 'Value Self, Value Others, Value Learning: Every Student, Every Day'. Arts
teachers collaborate within our school community and with the Lexington community. Our performing groups collaborated with other
musicians in the Lafayette Area Band Concert; Lafayette Choir Invitational; and the Lafayette Area Orchestra Concert. The Orchestra teacher
collaborated with fellow orchestra teachers as a concert assistant and planned a pre-festival concert which brought music teachers and
professors from the community to adjudicate our school orchestra program. Many university students are brought to our school to work with
our Arts teachers. The band also has regularly scheduled professional musicians from the community come in every week to work with
students and has had college professors in to work with the students as well. A monthly school-wide pull-out day called a Power Day has all
teachers reach out into the community to bring in guest speakers for different grade levels. We have a work exchange program set up with
the University of Kentucky. University Students mentor Jessie Clark students on a weekly basis and assist them in various areas including
writing development. Another example of utilizing our community, business and post-secondary partners, as advisors is with our Equity
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Committee. Students were surveyed last year after an Autism awareness week event, and results showed students would like more
information on learning about students with disabilities. This year the awareness campaign focused on disabilities. A planned activity
included simulating experiences for students with a wide variety of disabilities including fine-motor skills which interfere with the physical
activity of writing along with reading simulation of dyslexia. Parents are included in all of our committees, and their knowledge and
perspective is valued. They were able to contact many partners in the community to create an Amazing Abilities Race.
Jessie Clark Middle School is a Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) school. The PBIS philosophy supports the promotion of
teaching expectations, providing intervention(s) when an expectation is not met, re-teaching behavior, and rewarding/celebrating successes.
PBIS addresses the school-wide system as a whole, and is a part of the Multi-Tiered Support Systems (MTSS, RTI). Thus, we have built in
times to celebrate successes twice a month. The second Friday of the month is a "Team Day", so activities are individual to the teams.
Team Days include an hour at the end of the day for 'team time'. Each quarter, the fourth Friday of the month is a "Power Day", which has a
school-wide focus. Power Days span over three class periods, alternating between mornings and afternoons. All students are allowed to
attend the "Power" segment of the Power Day, which is an hour of time that is dedicated to presentations by community partners. We have
been fortunate to have teachers to coordinate amazing speakers and philanthropic events for our students.
-Devine Carama presented "The Power of Words" to our students, in which he uses poetry and hip-hop to focus on how the
words we use have power, so it is up to us to choose whether we use that power in a good way or a bad way.
-Kelly Gunning is a community psychologist and co-director of the Lexington branch of National Alliance on Mental Illness
(NAMI) and Director of Advocacy and Public Policy. She had a group to present on personal empowerment and health,
integrating mental health, physical health, substance abuse, peer pressure and anti-bullying through a choreographed
performance using acceptable, positive, and popular songs. One presenter talked about her struggle with bi-polar disorder
and how it impacted her friendships; another presenter shared his personal battle with addiction and gangs; while another
presenter aimed to empower the students.
-For Operation Preparation, health services professionals presented to almost 80 of our 8th grade students, as their Individual
Learning Plans indicated that they plan to focus on a career in health services. The health services professionals that
presented to these students included physicians, physical therapists, mental health therapists, nurses, and veterinarians.
-Every year, Jessie Clark Middle School participates hosts a Relay for Life. On November 6, 2015, we had our 6th Annual
"Carin's Crew Relay for Life". The purpose of the relay is to use philanthropy to honor Carin Brown Addams and her battle
with breast cancer. Carin is a nurse and mother to her young son, but she is also the daughter of a former Science teacher at
Jessie Clark (Cheryl Brown). Through our six annual events, JCMS has raised over $20,000 that has been donated to a variety
of charities. We also collaborated with Kona Ice, who sold their sweet treats during the relay. Kona Ice joined in our efforts
by donating a portion of their sales to our cause. This year, our Eagle Elite students selected the Visually Impaired Preschool
(located on Burt Road in Lexington, KY) as the recipient of all proceeds from Carin's Crew.
-20 8th grade students will be taking a field trip to Locust Trace school. These students were selected because their Individual
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Learning Plans indicated potential career interests in equine studies, agricultural studies, zoology, veterinary studies, and/or
animal training.
-ILP Parent Night was March 22. Ten parents came to learn about the results of their child's Individual Learning Plan.
-Multiple teachers promote a philanthropic mindset for our students. Students participate in a variety of service projects
throughout the community each year, due to contact and collaboration that sponsors make with members of the community.
Our BETA Club sponsored a Toy Drive in November/December and delivered the items to the Catholic Action Center in
December. Our Eagle ELITE sponsored a Food Drive in the fall. All food that was collected was donated to God's Pantry in
Lexington. Students participate in Math-a-Thon and proceeds go to St. Jude's Hospital.
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Administrative/Leadership Support and Monitoring: Policies and Monitoring
School leadership establishes and monitors implementation of policies, provides adequate resources, facilities, space and instructional time
to support highly effective arts and humanities instructional programs.
Overall Rating: 2.29
Statement or Question
To what extent does the school
councils/leadership implement policies to
ensure that disciplined based arts instruction is
a part of the school curriculum and arts
concepts are taught throughout the school and
across the curriculum?
Response
Rating
School councils/leadership implement policies Proficient
to ensure that disciplined based arts instruction
is a part of the school curriculum and arts
concepts are taught throughout the school and
across the curriculum.
Statement or Question
To what extent does school leadership ensure
that protected time is allocated in the schedule
so that all students can receive instruction in
the Arts disciplines?
Response
Rating
Time allocated extends beyond usual
Distinguished
implementation, demonstrating a strong school
commitment to the needs of students in the
arts.
c)
Statement or Question
To what extent does school leadership ensure
that arts teachers are invited to participate in
planning the annual school budget?
Response
Arts teachers are invited to participate in
planning the annual school budget.
Rating
Proficient
d)
Statement or Question
To what extent does school leadership ensure
that arts teachers are assigned manageable
class loads based on course and facilities?
Response
Arts teachers are assigned manageable class
loads based on course and facilities.
Rating
Proficient
e)
Statement or Question
To what extent does school leadership ensure
that arts teachers receive planning and travel
time that is equitable with other content areas?
Response
Arts teachers receive equitable planning time
and participate in cross-curricular planning.
Rating
Distinguished
Statement or Question
To what extent does the principal and Arts
teacher leaders collaborate to allocate equitable
time, appropriate facilities and resources to
implement the arts programs?
Response
The principal and Arts teacher leaders
collaborate to allocate equitable time,
appropriate facilities and resources to
implement the arts programs.
Rating
Proficient
Statement or Question
To what extent does school leadership ensure
that decisions related to arts program staffing
are based on student need and interests?
Response
Decisions related to arts program staffing are
based on student need and interests.
Rating
Proficient
a)
b)
f)
g)
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Evidence is identified to support the school's analysis for each of the demonstrators. Program review evidence may be specific for
an area (Writing, Arts & Humanities,Practical Living/Career Studies, K-3, and Global Competency/World Languages) or may be
common across other reviews. Review teams will likely find they need to search out additional evidence during the program review
process in order to make judgments or to support judgments.
A
3.8 Paragraph standard schoolwide
AH evidence writing worksheet
AH content guides
Arts integration binder on JCMS SharePoint site
Collegial lesson plan
Curriculum and instruction committee minutes
FAQ lesson plan
Math collegial lesson plan
Program review policy
B
Schedules for the following
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Band 1
Band 2
Band 3
Chorus general music
Orchestra guitar
Speech drama
Visual arts
C
15 16 content budget proposal
2015 committee members
D
Schedules of the following
Band 1
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Band 2
Band 3
Chorus general music
Elective schedule example
Orchestra/ guitar
Regular ed example
Speech drama dance
Visual arts classes
E
2015.Daily schedule
Team Day power days
F
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2015 committee
Program review policy
G
15-16 daily schedule
Art interest inventory to determine class offerings
Chorus general music
Needs assessment
Orchestra guitar
Speech drama dance
Team days power days
visual arts
The rationale explains how the identified evidence supports the school's reported level of program implementation for the
demonstrator.
A
SBDM Policy 1.1 specifies that A&H Instruction shall follow Kentucky Core Content and Fayette County Guidelines which are based on state
and national standards. This is also supported in our School Vision, Mission statement, and Belief statement. ( JCMS prepares every student
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for life-long learning ina safe and welcoming environment.) Administration rewrote the policy to reflect current practices deemed worthy of
A&H instruction, based on Program Review. The policy went before the SBDM on March 10, 2014.
Leadership ensures that A&H instruction is integrated within all disciplines of the school. A&H integration is a common discussion in faculty
meetings. A&H integration ideas are shared at faculty meetings, department meetings, and committee meetings. The Curriculum and
Instruction committee discusses the integration of A&H content into lessons at the monthly meetings. The C&I Committee is comprised of all
department chairs, an RTI teacher, and our curriculum coach. Leadership also created a web-based binder of resources for cross-content
resources including A&H Integration lessons and websites including the vocabulary needed for true integration within other disciplines.
Leadership provided the binder to A&H teachers during a job-embedded professional development. Leadership also brought the binder
through grade level meetings so that the school community would benefit from the resources. Leadership participates in Arts integration
activities (i.e. judging dramatic simulations of historical concepts and judging visual art contests). In an effort to communicate and support Art
Integration within the school, the visual art teacher has weekly posts and shares information regarding how Art Integration can be practiced
as well as examples for school-wide implementation. This weekly information will be submitted through FCPS Blog site, school W drive and
posted within the Art Annex of the school. Leadership encourages teachers to participate in A&H professional development opportunities.
The teachers' lesson plan document has a space for teachers to intentionally integrate A&H instruction into and throughout their content.
Administration has a set goal for teachers to intentionally place at least one new lesson that integrates A&H instruction into every unit they
plan. The program review is a process in which all teachers participate. The C&I committee has created a process where each program
review is previewed with their department to enable all teachers to be fully vested in the understanding of what they are responsible in each
program review area so they may implement the PR's with fidelity as well as provide the evidence. Each department chair is responsible for
combining the evidence (by grade level) that is occurring and encouraging the next steps to continue implementing the Program reviews into
their classroom environment.
Characteristic B
Protected time is placed into the school's daily schedule to include various forms of A&H instruction at all grade levels. A&H curriculum is
offered to all students in the school. All four Art forms are represented in the school. Students are offered two elective classes every nine
weeks. Classes include coursework that is intended for exposure and/or proficiency. For example, students were able to take 9-week Arts
and Humanities classes in the first semester, participate in year-long music instruction (Band, Orchestra, or Chorus), and/or participate in
Visual art. Dance and Drama curriculum was covered in the A&H classes that were offered at all three grade levels during the first semester.
Once every week, Jazz Band is offered as an extracurricular activity. Many of our students qualify for All-State Chorus; use extracurricular
time to prepare for the Kentucky Music Educators' Association (KMEA) assessment; and some students participate in Lafayette High
School's Band and/or Color Guard programs. Visual Arts offers an Advanced Drawing and Painting Class and an Advanced Ceramics class
for 8th grade students.
Leadership has shown they are committed to the music program, by allocating additional funds to purchase a .4 teacher for the purpose of
increasing the options for students in their elective classes. Our school's orchestra teacher was able to allocate a donor that purchased
guitars for the school. Beginning in the 2014-15 school year, students were able to sign up for a semester of Guitar class.
Evidence is the master school schedule, which allows for two elective class periods for each student. Year-long music classes (band, chorus,
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and orchestra) are available by student choice. Nine-week electives in Art, Speech and Drama, and A&H are available at all grade levels.
Guitar is a semester elective.
Characteristic C
All teachers are invited to belong to the Budget committee. Selection is based upon teacher's choice of prioritized desires for committees.
One A&H teacher serves on the Budget Committee, which allows active A&H participation and input towards the planning of the school
budget. The A&H representative receives input from all A&H teachers for consideration of budgetary items. All A&H teachers are aware of
the process they need to follow to request additional materials and/or resources that may enhance their curriculum. The A&H representative
participates in the process for allocation of monies to all departments and teams. Monies assigned to A&H teachers are comparable to the
amount departments and teams are allocated.
The school has just finished renovating the building. A&H teachers had input in the design of the new annex (The Arts Annex) and input on
the selection of equipment and technology that would become part of their individual classrooms.
Characteristic D
A&H teachers are assigned equitable class loads to all other teachers in the building. Band, Chorus, and Orchestra class loads are dictated
by the number of students who elect those classes. Of these larger classes, Band and Orchestra bring in outside specialists to break groups
into smaller, more manageable groups for intense instruction. For example, at times we have three band instructors in the building, along
with several student teachers and University students. Visual Art, Arts &Humanities, and Guitar classes have equitable numbers compared
to core class sizes and students have the opportunity to take these courses. Facilities for A&H classes are also equitable to other
coursework in the school. The Band room can comfortably hold 80 students. An ensemble room can be utilized for small group instruction
while the whole group is performing. In addition to the classroom, additional room is provided in the Arts hallway for small-group and
specialized work. The renovation included separate rooms for Orchestra and Chorus, along with equitable facilities for Band and Art.
Characteristic E
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Core Content teachers receive 106 minutes of planning per day. A&H teachers receive 114 minutes of planning per day. The difference in
these times is the Core Content teachers receive two 53-minute planning periods. The 53 minutes includes a 5-minute passing period that
most Core Content teachers supervise 2 times per day. One of the planning periods for core teachers is available for 504, IEP, grade-level
meetings, parent conferences, and collegial planning time. The Arts teachers receive one 53-minute planning period while the other 61
minutes are broken into four 14-minute and one 5-minute planning period between Arts classes. The planning periods includes a 5-minute
passing period that each elective teacher supervises at an assigned location 5 times per day. Core teachers are also held accountable to
attend hall duty at the beginning of both of their planning periods. Elective teachers do not attend 504, IEP, grade-level meetings, nor do they
participate in parent conferences. Elective classes are 53 minutes in length, while Core classes are 67 minutes. Core Teachers teach 4
classes, while elective teachers teach 5 classes. This enables our students to have more course offerings in which they can have some
choice.
Characteristic F
The principal collaborates with A&H teachers throughout the school year. A&H teachers are represented on all of the school committees, so
the department has a voice with the principal and leadership within the building. The school has just finished being renovated. A&H
teachers have had input in the design of the new annex (The Arts Annex) and input on the selection of equipment and technology that would
become part of their individual classrooms. The renovation includes separate rooms for Orchestra and Chorus, along with equitable facilities
for Band, Art, and Humanities. A&H teachers had a voice in the design of the renovations. The principal and renovation design team support
A&H teachers' recommendations. The principal deferred to the A&H teachers' expertise and needs in the design of the new Arts Annex. The
principal recognizes the importance of the integration of A&H and has created a new policy to bring through SBDM, to support A&H
instruction throughout the building.
One A&H teacher is a member of school's Leadership team.
A&H teachers may speak with the principal at any time regarding the implementation of A&H programs, equitable time, and appropriate
facilities & resources.
Characteristic G
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Student surveys are regularly collected by the Youth Service Center Coordinator. Students' interests and needs are addressed within these
surveys, and are also identified in students' ILPs. Students' interests and needs derived from these sources drive the school leadership to
intentionally plan for many programs that are brought into the school. Program staffing is intentionally considered when staffing allocations
are provided. The results of a survey and the offering of a guitar club (in 2012-13) showed a high desire for a guitar class to be offered.
Administration responded with the creation of a General Music class 2013-14 to allow time for allocation of funding for guitars. The Music
teacher was successful in attaining a gifted amount of money for the purchase of guitars for this to occur. Guitar classes have been offered
to students during the 2014-16 school year.
The Visual Art teacher regularly conducts student surveys in order to incorporate student interests within planned curriculum as well as offer
advanced skill and technique within student preferred media. Students within the Spring 2015 "semester" have voiced an interest in clay,
drawing and painting as well as technology, student interest-centered projects and contests for grant and scholarship opportunities. 2015-16
school year: classes were created for advanced Visual Arts instruction based upon the survey.
Inclusion of a speech and drama class to include drama and dance in our curriculum was created for the 2015-16 school year along with the
creation of a basic music class integrated into the Arts offerings second semester based upon survey data.
The SBDM council establishes policies for the allocation of staff based on school recommendations and the needs of students.
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Administrative/Leadership Support and Monitoring: Principal Leadership
Principals are the primary leaders of all arts and humanities program efforts and support teacher leadership through shared leadership
strategies and actions.
Overall Rating: 2.0
Statement or Question
To what extent does the principal enlist Arts
teacher leaders to collaborate, evaluate and
reflect on the impact of the arts instructional
practices on overall student achievement in the
school?
Response
The principal enlists Arts teacher leaders to
collaborate, evaluate and reflect on the impact
of the arts instructional practices on overall
student achievement in the school.
b)
Statement or Question
To what extent does the principal initiate and
participate in professional learning regarding
the school's arts programs?
Response
Rating
The principal initiates and participates in
Proficient
professional learning regarding the school’s arts
programs.
c)
Statement or Question
To what extent does the principal provide
frequent communication with parents and
community about arts programs?
Response
The principal frequently provides
communication with parents and community
about arts programs.
a)
Rating
Proficient
Rating
Proficient
Evidence is identified to support the school's analysis for each of the demonstrators. Program review evidence may be specific for
an area (Writing, Arts & Humanities,Practical Living/Career Studies, K-3, and Global Competency/World Languages) or may be
common across other reviews. Review teams will likely find they need to search out additional evidence during the program review
process in order to make judgments or to support judgments.
A
Art integration of social studies
A&H content guides
CI meeting notes
KY academic standards
PR Plan 15-16
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Required faculty meetings
Team days power days
Data meetings
B
PD Plan
Blog/communication
Combs - 15-16 PD Tracker (confirms the principal's participation in professional learning re: the school's arts programs.)
C
marquee
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The rationale explains how the identified evidence supports the school's reported level of program implementation for the
demonstrator.
A
The principal has created time in the school schedule to include time for the A&H teachers to have a common planning time twice a month.
An abbreviated schedule allows for an hour at the end of the day for elective teachers to come together to have discussions. There is also a
three-hour block of time that occurs 4 times a year. During these times elective teachers work on data analysis and receive support for cross
content integration. The impact of creating time for collegial partnerships between A&H teachers and core-content teachers is evidenced in
lesson plans that show more intentionality of incorporating elements of Art, Music, Drama, and Dance. Core teachers are beginning to speak
the A&H vocabulary within their classrooms and A&H teachers are able to incorporate the core content within their classrooms as well. An
example of this is the 7th grade incorporating more drama elements into the Greek Unit, instead of simply talking about the historical aspect
of drama. Also, the Visual Art teacher incorporates the history of ancient Greece, while analyzing Ancient Greek artwork. When teachers
are speaking the same language across disciplines, students are experiencing a richer environment, which allow them to draw
generalizations
Characteristic B
The principal provides the opportunity for professional development to include 6 hours of content specific professional development. In
addition to those hours, the principal has placed three hours of required PD in the school-wide PD plan to facilitate the integration of all
Program Reviews throughout all classes. The emphasis is to provide as many examples of true integration and possible ways for each
program review to be part of everyone's core content in an intentional, efficient way.
Principal not only ensures that the PD plan includes A&H integration is part of the PD plan each year, he also participates in the planning and
supports the A&H leaders by participating in the professional developments that have been created. The principal has an accountability
factor built in by requiring personnel to integrate an A&H into each unit that is designed. The lesson plan document has a place to record this
integration.
Characteristic C
The administration regularly promotes A&H programs at JCMS by using the following resources:
-Announcements, promotions and celebration of A&H events are included as part of the schools regular morning news program.
-The school's web site includes regular articles concerning the A&H programs at JCMS, including, but not limited to, student successes,
events, and student performances. The school web site receives approximately 5,000 page views per week with the average visitor
spending almost three minutes per visit.
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JCMS has a Twitter page that includes parents tweeting accomplishments of their children as well as internal tweets from the teachers and
administration.
-Several of the Arts teachers are providing an Arts related booth at Literacy Night 2016
-Messenger in Infinite Campus is utilized by the principal and all staff for communication to parents.
-The administration, along with the entire staff at JCMS, use personal contact as an additional means of communicating information
concerning A&H with parents and the community.
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Report Summary
Scores By Section
Section Score
1
2
Curriculum and Instruction: Student Access
3
4
2
Curriculum and Instruction: Aligned and
Rigorous Curriculum
2.2
Curriculum and Instruction: Instructional
Strategies
2
Curriculum and Instruction: Student
Performance
2
Formative and Summative Assessment:
Assessments
2
Formative and Summative Assessment:
Expectations for Student Learning
2.33
Formative and Summative Assessment:
Assessment for Learning
2
Professional Learning: Opportunity
2.5
Professional Learning: Participation
2.5
Administrative/Leadership Support and
Monitoring: Policies and Monitoring
2.29
Administrative/Leadership Support and
Monitoring: Principal Leadership
2
Sections
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Program Review: Practical Living/Career Studies
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Introduction
This report contains Program Review results for Practical Living/Career Studies. This program review is required as part of Kentucky's new
assessment and accountability model. A Program Review is a systematic method of analyzing components of an instructional program,
including instructional practices, aligned and enacted curriculum, student works samples, formative and summative assessments,
professional development and support services, and administrative support and monitoring. (KRS 158.6453(l)(i)) Diagnostic tools to capture
and report the results from these program reviews are contained in the AdvancED's Adaptive System of School Improvement Support Tools
(ASSIST). ASSIST allows schools and institutions to gain better understanding of past successes and opportunities, and confidently build a
solid, research-based improvement plan for the future.
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Curriculum and Instruction: Health Education
Students have equitable access to high quality, rigorous health education curriculum.
Overall Rating: 2.4
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
Statement or Question
To what extent does the school ensure the
health education curriculum is sequential and
aligned with the Kentucky Academic Standards
for PL/CS?
Response
Rating
The K-12 health education curriculum utilizes
Distinguished
CDC's Health Education Curriculum Analysis
Tool (HECAT) to develop a K-12 (district and/or
school) scope and sequence as part of a
comprehensive health education program that
is aligned to the KAS for Practical Living.
Statement or Question
To what extent does the school ensure regular
opportunities are provided for all students
become health literate by practicing the skills
embedded in the National Health Education
Standards?
Response
Health education curriculum regularly provides
opportunities for all students to become health
literate by demonstrating mastery of the skills
embedded in the National Health Education
Standards (NHES) that establish, promote and
support health-enhancing behaviors for
students in all grade levels.
Statement or Question
To what extent does the school ensure the
health education curriculum provides learning
strategies and activities that ensure students
receive instruction in all health education
content areas?
Response
Rating
The health education curriculum provides
Proficient
learning strategies and activities that ensure
students receive instruction in all health
education content areas (e.g. family life and
human sexuality, alcohol and other drugs,
tobacco, nutrition, mental and emotional health,
injury and violence prevention, diseases and
disorders, physical activity, personal/consumer
health, community/environmental health).
Statement or Question
To what extent does the school ensure a
Coordinated School Health Committee is used
as a support and resource for collaboration and
integration of health education instruction
throughout the school environment?
Response
Rating
A Coordinated School Health Committee
Proficient
representative of the majority of components of
the Whole School, Whole Community, and
Whole Child model is used as a support and
resource for collaboration and integration of
health education instruction throughout the
school.
Statement or Question
To what extent does the school ensure the
health education curriculum is integrated and
includes frequent opportunities for crossdisciplinary connections to meet the health and
safety needs of all students?
Response
Rating
School ensures the health education curriculum Proficient
is integrated and includes frequent
opportunities for cross-disciplinary connections
to meet the health and safety needs of all
students.
Rating
Distinguished
Evidence is identified to support the school's analysis for each of the demonstrators. Program review evidence may be specific for
an area (Writing, Arts & Humanities, Practical Living/Career Studies, K-3, and Global Competency/World Languages) or may be
common across other reviews. Review teams will likely find they need to search out additional evidence during the program review
process in order to make judgments or to support judgments.
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Characteristic A
The health teacher utilized parts of the HECAT to determine that Health Smart from ETR.org is the best health education curriculum for
JCMS. The 6-8 scope and sequence is part of the comprehensive health education program and is aligned to KCAS for practical living. The
scope and sequence for each level is included below;
6th grade - Health and Wellness, self-assessment, analyzing influences, decision making, goal setting, self-esteem, self-concept, stress
management. How body systems are interrelated; reproductive, endocrine, skeletal, muscular, nervous, circulatory, respiratory. The effect
of behavior choices on the body systems. Nutrition- nutrients, fiber, food groups, dietary guidelines, choose my plate, components of fitness,
FITT principle. Diseases - communicable and non-communicable. Safety and first aid, accident chain, outdoor safety, fire, gun, safety,
protecting the environment.
7th grade -Health and Wellness, character, role models, self-management, responsibility, decision making, goal setting, good
communication, peer pressure, abstinence, refusal skills. Body systems, effect of alcohol, tobacco, other drugs, rest, diet, exercise have on
the skeletal, circulatory, respiratory and nervous system, FITT plan, components of fitness, physical activity. Nutrition, nutrients, nutrition
facts, sugar, diabetes, product comparison, dietary guidelines, choose my plate, eating disorders, digestive system. Disease Prevention,
immune system, communicable diseases, non-communicable diseases, tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, heart disease, cancer, asthma, allergies,
chronic diseases. Safety and first aid, accident prevention, emergency preparedness, bleeding, burns, first aid, CPR, AED.
8th Grade -Self-actualization, goal setting, stress management, decision making, good communication skills. Healthy and fit, choose my
plate, dietary guidelines, calories, pedometers, nutrients, nutrition facts, menu plan, fitness plan, components of fitness, FITT, eating
disorders. First aid and safety, American Red Cross, emergency action steps, unconscious and conscious victim, shock, heart attack,
sudden illness, bleeding, burns, sprains, broken bones, CPR, AED. Truth about drugs, learning from other's mistakes, history, culture, effect
on user, family, friends and society. Decision making, marijuana, alcohol, ecstasy, cocaine, crack cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, LSD,
prescription drugs, inhalants, pain killers. Sources include:
etr.org; choosemyplate.gov; cdc.gov; drugfreeworld.org; discoveryeducation.com; redcross.org; cancer.org; heart.org; billnye.com
Math - 6th grade math students used the Nutrition Facts Labels to learn about inequalities to determine which cereals provided the least and
most of ; dietary fiber, carbohydrates and protein. Also in math the students were introduced to formulas by calculating their maximum heart
rate. They then made predictions based on age (3-year-old to a 96-year-old). Verified by 6th grade teachers 12/10/13
In 7th grade math, students are able to determine unit rates of nutritional facts.
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Characteristic B
The health education curriculum provides opportunities for all students to become health literate by demonstrating mastery of the skills
embedded in NHES that establish, promote and support health-enhancing behaviors. Examples include using good decision making skills
and communication skills when selecting nutritious breakfast and lunch and purchasing foods/snacks at athletic events. Choosing to use
good hygiene before, during, and after school (washing hands-disease prevention before breakfast, lunch, etc). Choosing to participate in
after school athletics and before and after school programs like Girls On The Run, REAL, archery or soccer. This number does not include
the many students who choose to participate in conditioning, wrestling ,or play for the high school teams, or participate in dance, ice skating,
martial arts, Zumba, ice hockey etc, in the community. 60% or JCMS receive health education. JCMS students also voluntarily participate in
programs to raise resources and money for various community needs such as the Humane Society, God's Pantry, coat collection as well as
care packages for those in the armed forces.
Math: 6th grade, 7th grade, 8th grade:
1.Students move from desk to desk as they work problems. (Around the World)
2. Students do a line up activity where they match the answer to the problem.
3. Students use nonverbal communication to physically arrange peers in content specific order. (i.e. ordering decimals, integers, rational
numbers)
4.Students undertake scavenger hunts throughout the entire building as a means to differentiate learning.
5.Students rotate through stations on a timed basis to complete various content activities.
Language Arts - 7th grade focuses on the harsh effects of teenage smoking and drinking when studying the novel, The Outsiders.
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Characteristic C
The health education curriculum provides learning strategies and activities that ensure students receive annual instruction in all health
education content areas. 6th, 7th and 8th grade students receive 9-weeks of health instruction a year. The content and strategies become
more in depth as the student progresses through 8th grade. For example, 6th grade students receive basic instruction on identifying body
systems. 7th and 8th grade students receive more in depth instruction on how lifestyle behaviors and choices affect the interrelated body
systems.
Strategies and activities include: self assessments, pre and post tests, post program surveys, fitness plans, meal plans, body systems
projects, disease research projects, problem solving, goal setting CPR practice, etc.
Language Arts- 8th grade students study: the mental health issues connected with those who are mentally challenged when studying
"Flowers for Algernon", effects of poverty and living in the projects when studying I Beat the Odds, and foster care when reading They Cage
the Animals at Night and The Lost Boy.
6th, 7th, & 8th grade students learn and discuss the effects of bullying, cyberbullying, sexting, & various internet safety issues on a
teenager's mental health
Characteristic D
There is an active School Health and Wellness Committee. The Committee meets 6-8 times a year and reports to the Administration and the
SBDM Council. The committee reviews the current SBDM Health and Wellness Policy and ensures all stakeholders have access to the
policy (policy was emailed to staff in September). The committee reviews the collected data to guide collaboration and integration of health
education instruction throughout the school. The focus continues to be on integrating health education instruction and providing physical
activity opportunities throughout the school environment. The goal of the School Wellness Council, with support from the Healthy Schools
Program/ Alliance for a Healthier Generation and Let's Move in Schools, is to create a healthy school environment. The staff has been
surveyed in the past to gage their needs in creating a healthy school environment. A health initiative is included in the CSIP. There is a
SBDM Health and Wellness Policy (Policy 6.4) The Policy promotes the opportunity for and reinforcement of healthful eating and physical
activity.
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Characteristic E
The health education curriculum is integrated throughout the school. All teachers receive yearly professional development on integrating
PLCS across all content areas. All teachers receive strategies and resources throughout the year on how to integrate health across all
content areas.
Examples include:
In the World Language classes, health and safety content (i.e.; nutrition, sports, physical fitness, hygiene, social/cultural norms) is embedded
within class discussions and course curriculum.
Students at all grade levels and in all core classes participate in activities on a variety of weekly topics. The Word Generation articles include
topics relating to teen smoking an s asthma, health education, selling junk food in schools, steroids and other drug use, stem cell research,
assisted suicide, intelligent design and genetic testing, modifying food, vegetarianism and trans fats, and organ recipients.
The Guidance Counselors, Youth Services Coordinator and Social Workers also provide suicide information, assistance and resources and
classroom presentations to all students. The Youth Services Coordinator provides ongoing referrals to community mental and physical
health providers to ensure the overall health of JCSM students and families. The Youth Services Coordinator also provides support to
parents through Parent Education Nights with topics like Straight Talk for Parents about Drugs, Targeting our Youth and Beyond the Birds
and Bees.
All 6th grade students receive Teens Against Tobacco Use (TATU) presentations to raise awareness about the dangers of tobacco use and
to promote the health and safety of all students.
Language Arts - 6th grade guest speakers on: Effects of smoking tobacco and marijuana, Facing and Overcoming Health Challenges and
disabilities
6th grade students regularly work in groups to promote healthy emotional development by learning cooperation skills and decision making.
6th grade students in Language Arts classes regularly read, analyze, interpret and compare informational topics concerning health issues
relevant to adolescence.
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6th grade students participate in service learning projects which promote empathy and emotional health.
6th grade student are regularly exposed to informational text relevant to the health issues affecting adolescents in Scholastic Scope
Magazine articles, Articles of the Week and Service Learning Projects.
6th grade math students used the Nutrition Facts Labels to learn about inequalities to determine which cereals provided the least and most of
; dietary fiber, carbohydrates and protein. Also in math the students were introduced to formulas by calculating their maximum heart rate.
They then made predictions based on age (3-year-old to a 96-year-old).
6th grade social studies classes studied the effects dirty water has on the health and well-being of various regions in Africa.
Internet safety which includes cyber-bullying, sexting, digital citizenship and personal relationships on the internet is taught through the 6th,
7th and 8th grade social studies classes each December.
7th grade Language Arts classes read The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. Throughout the novel, classes discuss the negative effects of alcohol
and tobacco use. These discussions include mental and physical issues, as well as social consequences with family, friends and community
situations.
8th grade Language Arts students study the mental health issues connected with those who are mentally challenged when studying:
"Flowers for Algernon, " effects of poverty and living in projects when studying I beat the Odds, and foster care when reading They Cage the
Animals at Night, and The Lost Boy. .
In the special education classes, coping skills, anger management, goal setting, decision making and positive work habits are taught.
The Library Media Center at JCMS provides a variety of print material, audio and video materials for students and staff. The resources
available cover curriculum areas for physical education, health, nutrition, consumerism and practical living. To locate these materials, access
the online catalog from any school computer by clicking on library search.
Students in art classes learn about health, anatomy and exercise when making a 3-D self illustration project.
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The rationale explains how the identified evidence supports the school's reported level of program implementation for the
demonstrator.
The health education curriculum provides opportunities for all students to become health literate. Health Smart from ETR.org is the chosen
health education curriculum. It cam highly recommended from colleagues in our Professional Learning Community. It also scored well with
HECAT. The health education teacher also attended a workshop at KAHPERD on the Health Smart curriculum. The 6-8 scope and
sequence is part of the comprehensive health education program and is aligned to KCAS for practical living (see characteristic A for the
scope and sequence).
The health education curriculum provides opportunities for all students to become health literate. Health education is one of the eight
electives that is planned in the master schedule and school calendar. Most students rotate through these electives. And, all students have
equitable access to the comprehensive health education curriculum which is integrated into many content areas. For example students in all
grade level core classes participate weekly in activities using Word Generation articles. Topics include teen smoking and asthma, health
education, selling junk food in schools, steroids and other drug use, stem cell research, assisted suicide, intelligent design and genetic
testing, modifying food, vegetarianism and trans fats, and organ recipients. The school counselors also provide a 5-week Student Success
Skills Program to all 6th graders in September/October. A couple of follow up sessions occur in February. The topics include strategies for
success for improving one's mental/emotional, social and physical health.
A Coordinated School Health Committee called the Health and Wellness Committee meets 6-8 times a year and reports to the Administration
and the SBDM Council. The Committee analyzes physical activity data and health integration data at each meeting. The Committee helps
encourage integrating the health and physical education curriculum into core classes and that cross-disciplinary connections are available.
For example, a Committee member emails all teachers integration tips that incorporate health and physical education strategies into the
classrooms. The Committee also helps plan the annual professional development for teachers regarding integration of health and physical
education. The Health and Wellness Committee is also sponsoring a mental health power day for 6th and 7th graders. A parent/community
member is providing this valuable workshop.
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Curriculum and Instruction: Physical Education
All students have equitable access to high quality, rigorous physical education curriculum.
Overall Rating: 2.0
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
Statement or Question
To what extent does the school ensure the
physical education curriculum is sequential and
aligned to the Kentucky Academic Standards
for PLCS?
Response
Rating
A comprehensive physical education curriculum Proficient
is sequential and aligned to the Kentucky
Academic Standards for practical living;
adequate instructional time is regularly planned
within the school calendar.
Statement or Question
To what extent does the school ensure regular
opportunities are provided for all students to
become physically literate individuals who have
the psychomotor, cognitive, and affective skills
to adopt a physically active lifestyle as defined
by the National Association for Sport and
Physical Education (NASPE) National Physical
Education Standards?
Response
Rating
Physical education curriculum regularly
Proficient
provides opportunities for all students to
become physically literate individuals who have
the psychomotor, cognitive, and affective skills
to adopt a physically active lifestyle as defined
by the National Association for Sport and
Physical Education (NASPE) National Physical
Education Standards.
Statement or Question
To what extent does the school ensure the
physical education curriculum frequently
provides differentiated learning strategies and
activities that ensure all students develop
competency and confidence in motor skills that
fosters the necessary knowledge for life-long
physical activity?
Response
Rating
The physical education curriculum frequently
Proficient
provides differentiated learning strategies and
activities that ensure all students develop
competency and confidence in motor skills that
fosters the necessary knowledge for life-long
physical activity.
Statement or Question
To what extent does the school ensure a
Coordinated School Health Committee is used
as a support and resource for collaboration and
integration of health education instruction
throughout the school environment?
Response
Rating
A Coordinated School Health committee,
Proficient
representative of the majority of components of
the Whole School, Whole Community, Whole
Child model, utilizes a Comprehensive School
Physical Activity Program (CSPAP) to increase
the quality of the physical education instruction
as well as increase physical activity
opportunities throughout the school
environment.
Statement or Question
To what extent does the school ensure the
physical education curriculum is integrated and
includes regular opportunities for crossdisciplinary connections to meet the physical
activity needs of all students?
Response
Rating
School ensures the health education curriculum Proficient
is integrated and includes frequent
opportunities for cross-disciplinary connections
to meet the health and safety needs of all
students.
Evidence is identified to support the school's analysis for each of the demonstrators. Program review evidence may be specific for
an area (Writing, Arts & Humanities, Practical Living/Career Studies, K-3, and Global Competency/World Languages) or may be
common across other reviews. Review teams will likely find they need to search out additional evidence during the program review
process in order to make judgments or to support judgments.
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Characteristic A
The physical education teacher utilized the PECAT to develop a 6-8 curriculum that aligns with KCAS for practical living. The Physical
Education compared three different curriculum. Spark, Achieve PE, and Dynamic Physical Education. She is waiting for OPEN Physical
Education Curriculum for Middle School to be complete. The most commonly used curriculum is Dynamic Physical Education however,
resources and lesson plans are also pulled from PE Central and other resources.
Characteristic B
The physical education curriculum provides opportunities for students to become confident and competent in their skills. All 5 NASPE
Standards are included in each lesson. The four part lesson includes an introduction and bell ringer, a fitness component, an activity and/or
game and an evaluation. Examples of opportunities provided for students to become physically literate include; jump and jog, juggling,
archery, parachute fitness, wave drill, jog and toss, badminton, Frisbee 21, skating, soccer, etc. Students are exposed to a variety of
activities in a short 9 weeks. Feedback from students indicate that "I like the different things we do." " I look forward to gym because you
don't only make it help us work our bodies, but have fun!" (Cameron A. ) " I like that we get to learn to skate and shoot archery." "And, I
haven't fell once while skating and I'm really proud of myself." ( Kassidy E.) "I am thankful for you in helping us in ways we can stay active/fit
so we can stay healthy." ( Devota I.) " I just wanted to tell you that you have taught me how to play a lot of different things." "I wouldn't know
how to do a lot of sports if you didn't teach me. " " I love all of the activities." (Taryn A.) 7th grade students completed a self-assessment
which showed the majority (83%) replying favorably and/or showing growth in their areas of participation, positive interactions, respect and
group or team cooperation. 6th and 8th grade physical education students completed an On Demand Writing piece. All chose to write a
letter to a board of education to argue why physical education classes should not be eliminated in schools. A few examples given included
the following: "PE class is fun. " "I need to move." "I feel better when I get to move." "I want to play with my friends." " I am so stressed out
and moving helps me feel better." " It makes me feel good."
Characteristic C
Activities are differentiated and modified to challenge or increase opportunities for success for students. For example, novice skaters learn to
skate through a progression of steps on gymnastic mats. More skilled skaters skate through obstacles forward, backward, turning and
spinning and even dancing on skates. In archery some students (and adults) help other students steady the bow and pull on the bow strings.
Other students become so successful they can shoot well with each hand, and want to join the archery club. All students have the
opportunity to shoot at balloons for a different challenge. When juggling, some students are challenged by using scarves while other may
use plastic bowling pins and juggle facing a partner, with a partner, using tennis balls, cascading and column juggling, etc. In volleyball
students can use a variety of balls (beach, trainer or regulation). Rules are modified for individual success. In all activities the equipment,
rules, number of players/partners can be modified or adapted to meet individual needs. We frequently play with rubber chickens, and bean
bags instead of hard footballs or basketballs.
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Characteristic D
There is a School Wellness Council called the Health and Wellness Committee. Members include teachers, counselors and parents. The
goal of the Health and Wellness Committee with support from the Healthy Schools Program/ Alliance for a Healthier Generation is to create a
healthy school environment. The staff has been surveyed in the past to gage their needs in creating a healthy school environment. A health
initiative is included in the CSIP. There is a SBDM Health and Wellness Policy (Policy 6.4). The Policy promotes the opportunity for and
reinforcement of healthful eating and physical activity.
The committee continues to find novel ways to integrate health, wellness, safety, and physical activity into the school culture and across all
curriculum areas and grade levels. The gym is available for students and staff to walk before, during and after lunch. Last year JCMS
offered a school-wide daily walking program from after spring to the last day of school. Staff is currently discussing the schedule for this.
Administration and SBDM recently approved an intramural program open to all students. Play begins February 29th and will continue until
school is out. Participants use the skills learned in physical education class coupled with the confidence they gained to want to play. SBDM
also approved an archery club. Students requested this club after many learned to shoot in physical education class. This club will begin
meeting in early March. A PD on integrating health and physical activity is provided each spring to teachers. Wellness and movement break
information has also been distributed to staff. The Health and Wellness Committee continues to provide this support.
Characteristic E
Integration of the physical education curriculum is more regular beginning the month of January. Classroom teachers bring their students to
the gym to walk before or after lunch.
Students are taught how to skate in physical education class then transfer the skills to the local
skating rink with their core classes on both a fall and a spring field trip. Team Day activities allow students to play recreational type games
and activities they learned in physical education class. Brain break activities like gonoodle.com are shared with staff and utilized with
students through all content areas. All teachers receive yearly professional development on integrating PLCS across all content. All
teachers also receive strategies and resources throughout the year to help meet the physical activity needs of all students.
All language arts classes incorporate "brain break" activities during instructional time that allows for movement within the classroom.
Additionally, there are some specific content lessons that incorporate physical activity. For instance, when teaching the concept of verbs in
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writing, students are asked to model the action of a verb. Discussion and modeling continue as students are shown and practice movements
for more specific verbs (i.e., What does it look lie to run versus jog versus sprint?).
6th grade language arts classes read Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson. Throughout the novel, classes participate in "black spot"
activities which involve physical activity. The concept of the "black spot" in the novel symbolizes hardship or death. Students who are
unfortunate enough to draw the "black spot" as they enter the room each day must overcome a challenge in order to survive (win a prize).
These challenges include a simulated walking of the plan, a pirate hook ring toss, pinning the parrot on the pirate, and other various physical
and mental activities.
6th grade social studies classes build in movement breaks as part of culture. And, students look at death rates, for other countries, health
care, diets and foods consumed all over the world.
The RTI reading teacher incorporates 3-4 minute student choice brain break activities daily. She uses gonoodle.com to record minutes/level
up on avatar.
The resource math teacher uses Kagan movement strategies.
The Arts and Humanities class incorporates dance as part of the instructional content.
The school counselors provide a 5-week Student Success Skills Program to all 6th graders in September/October. Follow-up sessions
occur in February. Topics include strategies for success for mental/emotional, social and physical health.
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7th grade science classes offer cross disciplinary connections when teaching about the tectonic plate boundaries. Students dance and sing
to use body movement memory to help understand content. Students also play Rock Cycle Roulette by travelling through the life of a rock in
the rock cycle. This is done on the track outside to enable students to exercise while understanding the rock cycle. This impacts the
kinesthetic learners because they have experienced the rock cycle as a character in it.
The rationale explains how the identified evidence supports the school's reported level of program implementation for the
demonstrator.
Demonstrator 2: Physical Education: Proficient
The physical education teacher utilized the PECAT to develop a 6-8 curriculum that aligns with KCAS for practical living. The physical
education teacher compared three different curriculum (SPARK, Achieve PE, and Dynamic Physical Education.) The most commonly used
curriculum is Dynamic Physical Education however, resources and lesson plans are also pulled from PE Central and other resources.
Students at JCMS have access to a high quality, rigorous physical education curriculum. Physical education is one of the eight electives that
is planned in the master schedule and school calendar. Most students rotate through these electives. The physical education curriculum is
aligned to the KCAS with activities differentiated for all learners. An example how an activity may de differentiated for all learners follows.
For example students begin the 9-week class learning to juggle. Juggling is a great brain warm-up that forces students to cross the midlines
of their bodies. All students begin with one scarf to juggle. Some students continue with scarves using one, two or three. Some students
juggle yarn balls, tennis balls, plastic bowling pins. Some students juggle next to and then across from a partner. The physical education
teacher uses the Dynamic Physical Education Curriculum to provide students instruction on how to develop as physically literate people who
feel competent and confident in their skills and want to be physically active for a lifetime. The Health and Wellness Committee reviewed the
results from the PECAT Curricula Comparison Scorecard Grades 6-8. The Committee supported the physical education teacher's choice to
use The Dynamic Physical Education Curriculum. All three curriculum (SPARK, Achieve PE and Dynamic Physical Education) scored high.
The Dynamic Physical Education Curriculum was the most cost effective without compromising the goal of creating physically literate,
competent and confident students.
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A Coordinated School Health Committee called the Health and Wellness Committee meets 6-8 times a year. The Committee analyzes
physical activity and health integration data at each meeting. The Committee makes suggestions to SBDM and Administration on how to
increase physical activity opportunities for students and staff (for example begin an intramural program). The Committee reviewed the
physical education teachers recommendation and the results of the PECAT Curricula Comparison Scorecard Grades 6-8. The Committee
agreed on use of The Dynamic Physical Education Curriculum. The Committee also helps to encourage integration of the health and physical
education curriculum across core classes and that cross-disciplinary connections are available. For example, a Committee member emails
to all teachers integration tips that incorporate health and physical education strategies into the classrooms. The Committee helps plan the
annual professional development for teachers regarding integration of health and physical education. The Health and Wellness Committee is
also sponsoring a mental health power day for 6th and 7th graders. A parent/community member is providing this valuable workshop.
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Curriculum and Instruction: Consumerism
All students have equitable access to high quality, rigorous consumerism education curriculum.
Overall Rating: 2.0
a)
b)
c)
Statement or Question
To what extent does the school ensure the
consumerism curriculum is rigorous, aligned to
state and national standards, and meets the
needs of diverse learners and includes the
integration of 21st Century Skills and
Knowledge?
Response
Rating
Consumerism curriculum is rigorous, aligned to Proficient
state and national standards, and meets the
needs of diverse learners and includes the
integration of 21st Century Skills and
Knowledge.
Statement or Question
To what extent does the school ensure students
develop real world skills related to consumerism
including problem-solving, goal setting, critical
thinking, decision making, and analyzing
information?
Response
Students develop real world skills related to
consumerism including problem-solving, goal
setting, critical thinking, decision making, and
analyzing information.
Rating
Proficient
Statement or Question
To what extent does the school ensure the
consumerism curriculum is connected to
business and industry and local business and
industry partners are utilized as resources (i.e.,
guest speakers, judges, etc.)?
Response
Consumerism curriculum is connected to
business and industry and local business and
industry partners are utilized as resources (i.e.
guest speakers, judges, etc.).
Rating
Proficient
Statement or Question
Response
To what extent does the school ensure students Students routinely engage in grade level
routinely engage in grade level appropriate
appropriate financial decision making.
financial decision making?
Rating
Proficient
Statement or Question
To what extent does the school ensure students
apply academic skills such as math and reading
to solve real world problems related to
consumerism?
Response
Students apply academic skills such as math
and reading to solve real world problems
related to consumerism.
Rating
Proficient
f)
Statement or Question
To what extent does the school ensure
information about consumerism is routinely
integrated into the total school curriculum?
Response
Information about consumerism is routinely
integrated into the total school curriculum.
Rating
Proficient
g)
Statement or Question
To what extent does the school ensure
technology is integrated into the delivery of the
consumerism curriculum?
Response
Rating
Technology is integrated into the delivery of the Proficient
consumerism curriculum.
d)
e)
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Evidence is identified to support the school's analysis for each of the demonstrators. Program review evidence may be specific for
an area (Writing, Arts & Humanities, Practical Living/Career Studies, K-3, and Global Competency/World Languages) or may be
common across other reviews. Review teams will likely find they need to search out additional evidence during the program review
process in order to make judgments or to support judgments.
Characteristic A
Consumerism curriculum at Jessie Clark is rigorous, aligned to state and national standards, and designed to meet the needs of diverse
learners including students with special needs and ELL students. Teacher's complete standards based weekly lesson plans that are aligned
to state and national standards and documented on the lesson planning document. Special Education teachers provide teachers with
information and accommodations for students with IEP and 504 plans. These plans include specific modification and teaching strategies that
address student needs. Teachers differentiate activities in the classroom to meet the needs and interests of all students. Consumer
curriculum is integrated into the Business Education and Life Skills courses. In Business Education classes, 7th grade students develop
marketing plans and logos for businesses they have envisioned. Consumer skills and decision -making strategies are developed and utilized
during the Junior Achievement program "It's my Business" conducted through the Business Education course in 7th grade.
Students in this
course are encouraged to design businesses that fill a need in the community, knowing the customer, and developing a product that meets
the customer's needs. 8th grade students in business education classes learn self-promotion strategies, critical thinking, and organizational
skills as they learn the importance of having a résumé for self-promotion. In Life Skills classes students are exposed to information about
consumer rights and responsibilities, consumer protection agencies, comparison shopping techniques, and advertising and marketing
strategies that are often employed to motivate consumer spending. Students are able to identify and discuss a variety of marketing
techniques and strategies used and employed in the real world and can identify ways these techniques and strategies impact consumer
behavior. Students also use math skills to solve real world problems related to calculating sales totals, tax, and calculating % discounts.
Both Business Education and Life Skills classes utilize technology and incorporate 21st century skills to locate, access and evaluate online
sources and information.
Examples of students work and lesson plans are available.
Characteristic B
Students develop and practice real world skills in Business Education and Life Skills classes at JCMS. In 6th and 7th grade Life Skills
classes students study goal setting and decision making. Students learn how to develop long term and short term goals and strategies that
will help them realize these goals. Students practice setting their own personal educational, career, and financial short -term and long-term
goals.
Evidence of these activities can be found in student work samples and in the goals section of the student ILP. Students in 6th and
7th grade Life Skills classes also study the steps in the decision making process and learn to apply these steps to real world situations.
Students learn to identify decisions they need to make, search for alternative solutions, evaluate these alternatives, and make decisions
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based on these evaluations. Students demonstrate decision making and critical thinking skills as they apply these steps to consumer issues
(what to buy, how much to spend, etc.), financial decisions (making budgeting decisions, making decisions about spending and saving), and
career selection (which jobs match my interests and meet my lifestyle needs). Evidence includes students work samples and the online ILP.
Language Arts - 8th grade students learn real world skills by setting goals for projects and assignments & creating timelines. 6th, 7th, and
8th grade students create and compose essays involving critical thinking, problem solving and analyzing information related to literature.
--Financial Planning Workshops
8th Grade Students receive Financial Planning Courses through community providers (4H, Commonwealth Credit Union) dealing with
Budgeting and Financial Goal Setting.
5 week course February - March
Characteristic C
Students at Jessie Clark are exposed to a variety of local business and industry partners through numerous programs and classes. Guest
speakers are incorporated in Business Education classes which utilize JA programs. JA program volunteers are local business leaders who
teach real world skills in the 8th grade "It's My Business"(Business Education 8th grade) and 7th grade "Financial Literacy" programs (7th
grade Business Education). These JA volunteers share their own personal experiences and advice for students in addition to teaching
curriculum aligned to Core Content and The Program of Studies. Evidence is student work samples as well as JA records.
Students in the STLP program have taken field trips to KET for a behind the scenes look at TV production.
Students involved in BETA club have volunteered at the Christmas store at the Catholic Action Center.
Student Council members have visited God's Pantry to learn more about the services provided to needy families and to volunteer organizing
food.
---Financial Planning Workshops
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8th Grade Students receive Financial Planning Courses through community providers (4H, Commonwealth Credit Union) dealing with
Budgeting and Financial Goal Setting.
5 week course February - March
--Employment Workshops - 8th grade students are taught the basics of employment preparation, application and interviewing in an afterschool program. Community partners such as Chick-Fil-A, local law firms and H/R Depts. and Parks and Recreation serve as both mock and
real interviewers.
March 2013
--SYEP - Summer Youth Employment Program. 8th grade students meeting income requirements are referred to the program in order to gain
summer employment, and needed work skills.
March 2013
--Vocational Field-Trips
Groups of students based on ILP choices will be taken to local businesses and organizations to see the practice of their potential career
choices. In years past, students have attended Locust Trace Agricultural School to see veterinary jobs in practice.
March 2013
Characteristic D
Business Education and Life Skills classes offer students a variety of experiences to engage in financial decision making. In Business
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Education 7th grade students are exposed to real world financial decisions through the JA program "Financial Literacy". In this program
students select a career, calculate taxes on earnings, set up a balanced budget, learn saving strategies that can help meet financial goals.
Students in this program also learn what stocks are and investment strategies that can help them make decisions about what stocks to add
to their simulated portfolio. Additionally, students participate in a simulation and discussion regarding creditworthiness. 8th grade students
enrolled in Business Education also make financial decisions about entrepreneurship in the JA program "It's My Business". In this class
students are engaged in developing a business plan that focuses on filling a need in the marketplace, knowing your customer, and
developing your product. Evidence = student work samples, lesson plans, JA office.
In Life Skills classes' students are exposed to a variety of financial decisions. 8th grade students learn the principles and process of
budgeting and apply these skills to creating a simple budget based on a real world situation (shopping for a special occasion). Students in
7th grade also learn to use comparison shopping skills and strategies that can enhance their ability to make wise financial decisions.
In 6th grade Life Skills students make financial decisions including setting SMART financial goals that meet personal needs and wants. In
7th and 8th grade the students learn the importance of evaluating financial institutions, creating a balanced budget based on a real world
scenario, using credit wisely, calculating tax and discounts, developing savings strategies and plans, and evaluating products on price,
quality and features.
In 8th grade Life Skills students practice financial decision while participating in a budgeting simulation. Students are given a scenario and
must make financial decisions based on the information given with the goal of creating a balanced budget. Additionally, students learn
strategies to make financial decisions about banking, saving money, and good uses of credit.
Evidence = lesson plans and student work samples.
--Financial Planning Workshops
8th Grade Students receive Financial Planning Courses through community providers (4H, Commonwealth Credit Union) dealing with
Budgeting and Financial Goal Setting.
5 week course February - March
Characteristic E
Jessie Clark students enrolled in Business Education and Life Skills routinely use core academic skills like reading, writing, and math to solve
real world problems. In 7th grade Business Education students complete the JA program Financial Literacy which incorporates reading and
financial vocabulary as well as real world math skills such as adding, subtracting, multiplying, dividing, and calculating percentages.
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Students write checks, balance a check register, calculate savings and taxes, and determine gross and net pay. Students are exposed to a
variety of reading materials that address consumer issues including textbooks, articles, and online information in all business education and
life skills classes. Samples of these materials and student work are available in these classrooms.
The school's Youth Service Center also provides lessons to 8th graders on financial planning prior to their involvement in the Reality Store
simulation. Students learn concepts about saving and budgeting that help them make financial decisions during the simulation. These
decisions include deciding on a career, selecting housing and transportation, childcare, insurance, and budgeting for household needs and
wants. Students get to experience a "day in the life" of an adult and learn to cope with the types of financial decisions adults make daily.
7th grade Life Skills classes students use consumer math skills to:
Determine savings goals, calculate sales tax, adding and subtracting to create a balanced budget, writing checks, deposit slips, and keeping
the balance in checking and savings accounts, determining discounts, and calculating tips.
8th grade Life Skills students use math skills to:
Develop savings plans, calculate a variety of taxes including sales and income taxes, adding and subtracting to create a balanced budget,
writing checks, deposit slips, and keeping the balance in checking and savings accounts, determining discounts, calculating tips, calculating
% of income, measuring ingredients for cooking.
Samples of student work are available.
Our school library has a set of non-fiction books relating to consumerism (budgeting, taxes, savings), which are used in sixth grade language
arts classes to teach the content of text features.
Seventh grade language arts classes participate in consumerism activities by advertising KBA nominated books. Students select one of the
nominated books to read for their summer projects. When school begins, the students create a movie trailer advertisement for their book.
These advertisements are shared with their class and with the school through the morning news program.
Our student-led literary magazine club publishes and sells quarterly editions of The Feather. Students fundraise to cover the printing costs
by selling "shout-out" space in the magazine as well as selling the magazine editions.
Seventh grade language arts classes research a philanthropy of their choice and persuade classmates to make donations. Each year, the
overall student-chosen philanthropy receives donations from our school in December.
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Characteristic F
Math
Students were provided with opportunities to learn about problem solving and critical thinking regarding money management, savings, and
investments. Calendar math provides activities which vary monthly covering calculating deposits and interest as well as making more
effective use of currency.
Fitted Hat Problem- 7th grade students worked the Fitted Hat Problem. This problem requires students to gather classroom data of hat sizes
to make an informed consumer decision on what would be the best strategy for ordering hats for the whole class. Students start by picking
an "average" boy and girl to measure their heads. The class then measured everyone's head. Discussion included what would be the best
method for choosing one size to order and if that were even possible. Human error, and what part it might play, was also talked about
M & M data. 7th grade students gathered and analyzed data regarding the number of M & M candies in a pack. Once data was gathered,
students displayed it on a bar graph. Classes looked at trends in all of the gathered data, including most/least common color. Students then
formed a theory as to whether the Mars company put specific amounts of each color in each bag. Students were then shown actual
marketing information from Mars about the distribution of colors Pre-2004 and Post-2004, concluding with an email response to a consumer
inquiry.
Students participated in authentic, real world activities using local restaurant menus. Within small groups they choose menu items and
calculated bill totals, sales tax, and gratuity while working within a budget.
In Advanced Algebra (7th & 8th grades), students completed a Formative Assessment Lesson (FAL) on interpreting a situation, where they
were asked to compare the rates of two apparel printing companies. Given the information, students were to determine which company was
appropriate to select, to order their baseball jerseys. Given variables are represented mathematically. Then, students selected appropriate
mathematical methods to use to solve a system of equations, using the varying constraints. Students then interpreted and evaluated the
data generated and identify the break-even point of two businesses and communicate their reasoning clearly.
In 8th grade Math, students integrated the theory of "Profit vs. Loss" while studying systems of equations. Students were able to determine
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price setting and anticipate sales necessary, in order to create a profit.
Social Studies
6th grade students participated in the Junior Achievement Global Marketplace program in which business professions from the community
taught students about business and economics. Students are provided with interactive materials from Junior Achievement that are used on a
weekly basis to integrate consumerism topics.
---Financial Planning Workshops
8th Grade Students receive Financial Planning Courses through community providers (4H, Commonwealth Credit Union) dealing with
Budgeting and Financial Goal Setting.
5 week course February - March
--Employment Workshops - 8th grade students are taught the basics of employment preparation, application and interviewing in an afterschool program. Community partners such as Chick-Fil-A, local law firms and H/R Depts. and Parks and Recreation serve as both mock and
real interviewers.
Throughout all social studies units economy is studies at each grade level. From ancient world history with the beginning of societies to the
reconstruction period in the 8th grade. Economics in different countries is studied throughout the 6th grade year.
--SYEP - Summer Youth Employment Program. 8th grade students meeting income requirements are referred to the program in order to gain
summer employment, and needed work skills
ELA
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Our school library has a set of non-fiction books relating to consumerism (budgeting, taxes, savings), which are used in sixth grade language
arts classes to teach the content of text features.
Special Education and ELL students are integrated into all science, social studies, math and ELA classes. They receive the same
information as all other students in the building with the content differentiated for their ability level.
Characteristic G
Technology is incorporated into consumer curriculum regularly. Students use online information to help them locate relevant information on
products and services (consumer protection agency websites, product comparisons and ratings, comparison shopping techniques). Students
use technology to locate and present consumer information including word documents, power point presentations, and videos.
In the Business Education classes students regularly use technology to locate and present information including EXCEL, WORD, Publisher
and PowerPoint.
The rationale explains how the identified evidence supports the school's reported level of program implementation for the
demonstrator.
Consumer Education meets the needs of students at Jessie Clark and is infused throughout the curriculum. Planning documents align
classroom lessons and units to state and national standards. Activities are differentiated and teachers are provided with IEP and 504
information in order to make learning consumer concepts accessible to all students. Technology is infused throughout the consumerism
curriculum and students have regular access to technology resources.
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Curriculum and Instruction: Career Education
Students have equitable access to high quality, rigorous career education curriculum.
Overall Rating: 2.29
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
Statement or Question
To what extent does the school ensure the
career education is rigorous, aligned to state
and national standards, and meets the needs of
diverse learners and includes the integration of
21st Century Skills and Knowledge?
Response
Rating
Career education is rigorous, aligned to state
Proficient
and national standards, and meets the needs of
diverse learners and includes the integration of
21st Century Skills and Knowledge.
Statement or Question
To what extent does the school ensure students
develop and practice real world skills related to
careers including problem solving, goal setting,
critical thinking, decision making, and analyzing
information?
Response
Students develop and practice real world skills
related to careers including problem solving,
goal setting, critical thinking, decision making,
and analyzing information.
Rating
Proficient
Statement or Question
Response
To what extent does the school ensure career Not Applicable - Elementary & Middle
education curriculum is designed to meet the
needs of business and industry, which includes
the employment needs of the local workforce,
as well as job outlook and/or sector strategy
data. At the high school level, business and
industry partners serve on advisory committees
for career education programs?
Rating
N/A
Statement or Question
To what extent does the school ensure students
routinely engage in grade level appropriate,
career-related problem solving within the
classroom?
Response
Students routinely engage in grade level
appropriate, career-related problem solving
within the classroom.
Rating
Proficient
Statement or Question
To what extent does the school ensure students
apply academic skills such as math and reading
to solve real world problems related to career
education?
Response
Students apply academic skills such as math
and reading to solve real world problems
related to career education.
Rating
Proficient
Statement or Question
Response
Rating
To what extent does the school ensure
Information about careers is routinely integrated Proficient
information about careers is routinely integrated into the total school curriculum.
into the total school curriculum?
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g)
h)
Statement or Question
To what extent does the school ensure
technology is integrated into the delivery of the
career education curriculum?
Response
Rating
A variety of technology tools are integrated into Distinguished
the delivery of the career education curriculum
and are routinely used by students and
teachers to demonstrate media literacy.
Statement or Question
To what extent does the school ensure students
are encouraged to develop and practice career
and leadership skills through service learning
projects, extracurricular and co-curricular
activities?
Response
All students develop and practice career and
leadership skills through school wide service
learning projects, extra/co-curricular
organizations, and/or student organization
activities. Recognition is provided to students
for their efforts and accomplishments.
Rating
Distinguished
Evidence is identified to support the school's analysis for each of the demonstrators. Program review evidence may be specific for
an area (Writing, Arts & Humanities, Practical Living/Career Studies, K-3, and Global Competency/World Languages) or may be
common across other reviews. Review teams will likely find they need to search out additional evidence during the program review
process in order to make judgments or to support judgments.
Characteristic A
Career education at Jessie Clark is rigorous and aligned to the KCAS in addition to a variety of state and national standards for Business
Education, Family Consumer Sciences, financial literacy, Technology Education, etc. Staff completes a weekly lesson planning document
that aligns lessons/units with state and national standards and designed to meet the needs of diverse learners including those with special
needs and ELL students. Teachers are provided with IEP, 504, and GSSP information and use these documents to plan and implement
appropriate strategies and activities for all students based on accommodations and modifications. Career education curriculum incorporates
21st century skills and knowledge by promoting college and career readiness across curriculum areas and helps students connect what they
know and learn with future educational and career goals.
In Pre-Engineering/Lego Robotics students use technology, math, and science to build and program robots in order to solve real world
problems in a simulated environment. Students in this lass use critical thinking skills to identify and solve complex problems. Students
connect these skills to STEM careers (engineering, robotics, computer programming, etc.).
Computer Technology and Business Education classes address skills such as basic keyboarding and typing that are necessary to develop
for education and career success. Students in these classes also learn to use a variety of software applications (WORD, PowerPoint,
EXCEL, Publisher, etc.) and apply these applications to solving and presenting solutions to real world problems. Students use many of these
skills as they create business plans, write resumes, develop logos, and create business brochures.
In Technology Education classes students select from a variety of modules that use career related skills. The modules simulate activities
and skills that students will need to know and apply for college and career success. Students select the modules that they are most
interested in learning more about and complete the online or hands-on activities. These modules include designing and building robots or
cars, working to complete ILP activities, using physics, forensic science, energy, power and mechanics, transportation, construction,
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engineering, manufacturing, and communications technology.
In Business Education and Life Skills classes students complete their online ILP's and learn how to navigate websites using different
navigation methods, take an online learning styles inventory to pinpoint ways the students learns best, search for and evaluate information on
the internet that can be used to solve real world problems. Examples would include finding out more about careers, colleges, interviewing,
applying to colleges, and getting and keeping a job.
Evidence - lesson plans, students work samples, student ILP
Characteristic B
Students at Jessie Clark have opportunities to develop and practice real world career skills that involve problem solving, goal setting, critical
thinking, decision making, and analyzing information.
Classes like Pre-Engineering/Lego Robotics and Technology Education involve students in solving real world problems, applying critical
thinking skills, and analyzing information related to careers. For example in pre-engineering class students have to figure out how to create a
program to make a robot complete a task. If the task is not completed students must analyze what went wrong and identify the problems so
they can be fixed and the robots work can be completed.
In Technology Education classes students work as part of a team to complete career simulation models. Students select modules of interest
and work together to solve a variety of problems that workers face in the real world which can include planning a design and taking the
design through the manufacturing process. Other simulations like the forensic science module involve analyzing information such as
fingerprints, following procedures for measuring and collecting evidence, and critical thinking skills as students put all the data collected
together to solve a crime.
In 7th Business Education classes students apply problems solving, critical thinking, and decision making skills as they complete a
entrepreneurial project and business plan. Students learn the principles of being an entrepreneur and create marketing plans for the
company they have created. Students create PowerPoint presentations to share their business and marketing plans with others. In 8th
grade students participate in the JA program "It's my Business" and learn to make decisions and think critically about the type of business
they would like to own, analyze markets to produce products and services that fill a need, make decisions about how they would attract and
retain customers.
In Life Skills and Business Education students at all 3 grade levels are engaged in working on the ILP's. Students must identify needs, wants
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and interests and analyze this information to make well-thought out career and education decisions and plans. Students record career and
educational goals in the online ILP. As part of the ILP activities students take an interest inventory, skills inventory, and a learning styles
assessment and analyze this information to make critical decisions about future educational and career plans that meet personal needs.
Students read and analyze school and career profiles and make decisions about careers and schools they may want to pursue in the future.
In Life Skills class 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students learn and apply the steps in the career exploration process including self analysis,
gathering and analyzing information, and making career and educational choices based on wants, needs, and personal goals. Students also
apply these steps when updating or completing the ILP activities each year. The ILP provides students with an opportunity to gather and
analyze college and career information and to make choices and plans based on the information learned.
--Financial Planning Workshops
8th Grade Students receive Financial Planning Courses through community providers (4H, Commonwealth Credit Union) dealing with
Budgeting and Financial Goal Setting.
5 week course February - March
Language Arts - 8th grade students learn real world skills by setting goals for projects and assignments & creating timelines. 6th, 7th, and 8th
grade students create and compose essays involving critical thinking, problem solving and analyzing information related to literature.
Characteristic C
In 7th and 8th grade Business Education students participate in Junior Achievement programs. Community business member volunteer to
teach classes on financial literacy and business principles exposing students to local employment opportunities.
--Financial Planning Workshops
8th Grade Students receive Financial Planning Courses through community providers (4H, Commonwealth Credit Union) dealing with
Budgeting and Financial Goal Setting.
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5 week course February - March
--Employment Workshops - 8th grade students are taught the basics of employment preparation, application and interviewing in an afterschool program. Community partners such as Chick-Fil-A, local law firms and H/R Depts. and Parks and Recreation serve as both mock and
real interviewers.
--SYEP - Summer Youth Employment Program. 8th grade students meeting income requirements are referred to the program in order to gain
summer employment, and needed work skills
--Vocational Field-Trips
Groups of students based on ILP choices will be taken to local businesses and organizations to see the practice of their potential career
choices. In years past, students have attended Locust Trace Agricultural School to see veterinary jobs in practice.
Characteristic D
All students update their ILP annually in Business Education, Life Skills, and Technology Education classes. Students explore career
interests, education and training options, explore career clusters, and set career and life goals. Students consider values and goals when
identifying and evaluating career clusters and interests. Students gather information on careers and education and training options and
make decisions about realistic career opportunities by saving it to the ILP.
In Business Education classes 8th grade students participate in the JA program "it's My Business" and learn principles of entrepreneurship.
Students make decisions about business opportunities they are interested in, consider products and services that fill needs in the community,
and develop marketing plans to promote the business. Students learn business writing forms and conventions by creating résumés, cover
letters, and other business correspondence. Students develop abilities to identify and address problems common to small businesses.
In Technology Education classes student computer modules present students with a variety of tasks and problems that promote college and
career readiness. Modules address different core tasks necessary to be successful in a variety of careers and industries. Students
demonstrate the ability to solve specific problems in areas such as physics, transportation, design, manufacturing, and communications that
they will encounter in college and career fields. Students, working in pairs, also develop teamwork skills and learn to solve communication
and interpersonal problems to achieve common goals.
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Pre-Engineering/Robotics courses offer students the opportunity to develop and apply technology skills through computer programming and
building Lego robots to solve real world problems. Students develop skills creating programs that direct robots to specific tasks and
problems. Students use critical thinking and problem solving skills to identify programming issues and complete the robots task. Students,
working in pairs, develop teamwork skills and learn to solve communication and interpersonal problems to achieve common goals.
In Life Skills classes students learn and apply career exploration skills. Students identify careers of interest, identify factors that impact
career choice including values, goals, and education/training opportunities, and conduct research to gather more information. Students learn
to identify positive and negative work habits, and the transferrable skills necessary for career success. Students develop the ability to make
decisions about work and careers including selecting job opportunities, identifying factors to consider when choosing jobs and careers, how
to prepare for job interviews, and how to locate reliable and accurate job information. Students demonstrate abilities to deal with common
work issues in simulated situations, analyze the situation, and to apply decision making and problem solving skills to effectively deal with
these situations.
Characteristic E
In 7th grade Business Education students participate in the JA Financial Literacy program. Students apply math and reading skills as they
learn about personal finances. Students calculate taxes (working with percentages), create a balanced budget (working with percentages,
addition, subtraction), purchase stocks for a simulated portfolio (addition, multiplication), calculate stock gains and losses (addition,
subtraction), keep track of account balance in a checkbook register (addition, subtraction), and set personal financial goals and create a
savings plan for realizing the goal (division, multiplication). During these lesson students are provided with a workbook created by JA that
includes information on careers, taxes, banking services, and credit. Students apply the information in the book to work through the
problems and tasks presented.
Life Skills curriculum requires students to use and apply core academic skills such as reading and math at all grade levels. Students are
engaged in reading and writing activities on a regular basis. Students at all grade levels are engaged in reading materials including websites,
textbook, articles, and PowerPoint presentations. All students complete vocabulary activities. 7th and 8th grade students apply math to
calculate sales tax (percentages), discounts (percentages), total cost (addition), and to complete simple budgeting activities (addition,
subtraction). In the 8th grade classes students apply math skills to calculate paycheck taxes, percent of income, take home pay, gross pay,
write deposit slips, keep financial records such as calculating a running budget, measuring skills used for cooking. Students also apply skills
such as reading and following step by step instructions.
Pre-Engineering students at all grade levels apply math and reading skills to complete assigned tasks. Students are engaged in applying
math skills on a daily basis as they complete their bellringers.
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Technology Education students at all levels apply math, science, and reading skills as they complete their self-selected computer modules.
The modules cover a variety of topics including forensics, physics, construction, engineering, power & mechanics, and energy and require
that students apply core academic skills such as measuring, physics, circuitry, basic math, and scientific process and problem solving.
Students read a variety of materials including step by step instructions, textbooks, and supplemental materials and websites.
Math - Teachers in all three grade levels use real-world word problems to educate students in applying math and reading skills to solving
problems. Word problems are implemented into instruction 2-3 days a week with teachers spending ample class time discussing how to
solve the problems. If word problems based upon careers we will discuss how math is used in those careers.
In Advanced Algebra (7th & 8th grades), students were required to locate an article that contained numerical information (i.e. from a
newspaper, magazine, article, etc.). Students take that information and write questions that are raised from the article, yet were not
answered. Then, students are required to research the unanswered questions, in order to determine how to find the answers.
In Geometry (8th grade), students will be required to research and present information on how math is relevant in a career of their choice.
Language Arts - 8th grade students take notes, discuss, & analyze the career choice of Michael Oher when reading I Beat the Odds.
Characteristic F
The library media center at JCMS provides a variety of print materials, audio and video materials for students and staff. The resources
available cover curriculum areas for PE, Health and Nutrition, Consumerism, Careers and Practical Living. To locate these materials, access
the online catalog from any school computer by clicking on library search.
Language Arts
Sixth grade LA students develop leadership skills through a service learning project in conjunction with the Books as Bridges program (a pen
pal outreach through the International Book Project).
6th grade language arts classes were visited by local author Karen Leet during a unit on Kentucky heritage. Leet's historical fiction novel,
Sarah's courage, is read in all sixth grade classes and the unit connects through symbolism with another novel used during the unit. Leet
spoke to all students about symbolism and the writing process. She discussed her career as a writer and share with students some of the
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responsibilities and experiences of the writing profession.
8th grade students focus on a career paper for LDC.
Science
All sixth grade students were educated on various types of engineers and how they help people to give meaning to their learning of
convection, conduction and radiation through designing of a model penguin house to save the penguin from heat induced death. This also
aided students in recognizing how their interests (e.g. their interest in helping sick people or the environment) could be helpful in thinking of
future careers. (w: Penguin Power Point)
All sixth grade students were educated on a real world problem (the increased death rate of the Humboldt Penguin due to temperature
increases) and how engineers can help the penguins. Students then brainstormed how they could solve the problem. Students were then
lead to thinking about designing a penguin house and engaged in laboratory background research on effectiveness of materials, then used
this information to determine which materials they would use based their results from the research and budget information
All sixth grade students were educated on a real world problem (the increased death rate of the Humboldt Penguin due to temperature
increases) and how engineers can help the penguins. Students then brainstormed how they could solve the problem. Students were then
lead to thinking about designing a penguin house and engaged in laboratory background research on effectiveness of materials, then used
this information to determine which materials they would use based their results from the research and budget information
PLCS/VA - November 30: The Great Fossil Find Lab - Seventh grade students receive an envelope of paper fossil bones and a scenario in
which they are the paleontologists. Their job on the dig site is to discover fossils. The circumstances of the dig (time, weather, etc.) allow
them to only find a few specimens from their envelope. After each day (5-7 minutes) of the dig, students pull out the specified number of
fossils, infer about what the animal looked like by sketching the fossils in the form of an animal, and make notes about why they made the
inferences. Their animal is incomplete, so like real scientists, they must consult with other scientists in the classrooms on similar digs, and
consult reference books of animal skeletons. This impacts student learning because by drawing for each "day" they model and experience
how real scientists' ideas can evolve as they continue to gather information, work with colleagues, consult colleagues in other locations, and
research. Teacher lesson plans and student science notebooks
VA - August 20: Draw a Scientist - Seventh grade students were asked to draw a scientist. Many students picture scientists as men with
white hair and lab coats. After students drew the picture of the scientist, the teacher led a discussion about how many scientists had "typical"
characteristics. Teacher then asked students questions like: Who drew a female? Who drew a scientist outdoors? Who has the most original
picture? What are other types of clothing a scientist might wear to work? Etc. This impacts students because they begin to see themselves
as scientists problem solvers and take science personally
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Social Studies
All Social Studies students work in collaborative groups on a regular basis to develop and practice: problem solving, critical thinking, decision
making, and analyzing information with their peers. This helps to develop real world skills related to career readiness. Examples such as
Literacy Design Collaborative, Hammurabi Babylonian Court, Expert Panels, and Country Presentations, Land use conflict in the Rain forest,
Think, Pair Share, and many other non- descript student learning community activities.
All 8th grade students encounter information about theatrical occupations through attending an interactive performance by an actor from the
Kentucky Chautauqua program sponsored by the Kentucky Humanities Council. Materials and resources can be found at the Kentucky
Humanities Inc.
All students are introduced to a variety of Social Studies careers such as: attorneys, judges, textbook writer, archaeologist, cartographer,
historian, anthropologist, editors, geologist, geographers, documentary producers, Media Specialist, museum curator, art historian, political
scientists, and politician.
All interested students develop and practice career and leadership skills through letter writing to student council advisors to gage their
interests in becoming student representatives for Eagle Elite. Students also participate in community relationship building skills and
community outreach programs.
Characteristic G
All students at Jessie Clark are enrolled in elective classes that integrate technology in the career curriculum. All students use the
interactive, online ILP to create education and career plans. Students in Business Education, Career Development, Technology Education,
and Pre-Engineering/Robotics electives use computer technology on a daily basis. Career Development classes instruct 6th grade students
in keyboarding and using Word programs to create documents. In Business Education classes students apply a variety of software tools on
a weekly basis including PowerPoint, Excel, Publisher, and Word. Students in Pre-Engineering/Robotics are involved in creating and
troubleshooting computer programs. Students use the Lego Robotics equipment to design a robot that will complete specific tasks once the
students created program is activated. In Technology Education classes students work on computers daily to complete assigned module
tasks. The modules are guided computer tutorials that inform and instruct students in completing real world tasks related to specific careers.
Students in Life Skills classes use and apply technology on a regular basis. Students use remote response systems to answer questions,
and use computers to participate in online simulations, locate information, and create learning products including Word Clouds, PowerPoint
presentations, Prezi's, videos, and Word documents. All teachers are learning to incorporate BYOD technology into the classroom
environment regularly.
Characteristic H
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Students from all grade levels at Jessie Clark are offered a variety of opportunities to develop and practice career and leadership skills.
Students from all grade levels at Jessie Clark are involved in Beta Club and Student Council which involve students in community service
activities. This year students in these clubs participated in collecting items and working at the Catholic Action Center Holiday Market and in
touring and stocking shelves at God's Pantry The school STLP program and Lego Robotics clubs and teams provide students from all grade
levels with opportunities to solve real world problems with technology and opportunities to compete for recognition and prizes. Jessie Clark
also has a Green Club whose primary purpose is to promote wise use of energy and resources in the school community. Students from all
grade levels perform energy evaluations and surveys, support the school recycling program, and are working to create a natural rain garden
on school property.
Finally, 7th grade Business Education students have the opportunity to participate in an online stock market game, "How the Market Works".
Students develop understanding and knowledge of investments and investment strategies while trading stocks and competing against other
students during a 6 week time frame. Winners are declared each 9 weeks.
Within in Math class, projects will be completed by small groups. Within each group different jobs are assigned. Each group will have a
leader who is responsible for keeping the group on task. Leaders are also responsible for reporting to the teacher about the progress of the
group. This has been applied in a "Buy Back" decimal project in 6th grade math as well as in the "Survey Project" in the statistics unit in the
6th grade. Leaders of the group are rewarded bonus points based upon group productivity. Student Council -members participate in the
God' Pantry food drive where individuals are responsible for making announcements on the news, talking with their homeroom classes about
the service project, as well as manning the bins on collection days.
The rationale explains how the identified evidence supports the school's reported level of program implementation for the
demonstrator.
Characteristic A
Consumerism curriculum is rigorous, aligned to state and national standards, and meets the needs of diverse learners and includes
integration of 21st Century Skills. Because of this we rated Proficient for Characteristic A. All PLCS teachers complete weekly lesson plans
that are always aligned to state and national standards. The state curriculum for Life Skills and Business Education classes are also aligned
to 21st Century Skills. When in PLCS courses, students are able to apply 21st Century Skills and knowledge on an almost daily basis.
Characteristic B
Students are able to develop real world skills including problem solving, goal setting, critical thinking, decision making, and analyzing
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information through Business, Life Skills and Technology Education classes. Therefore, we are rating Proficient for Characteristic B.
Students in Business and Life Skills classes develop and practice real world skills such as goal setting. They learn about long term and short
term goals and the importance of each. They apply this information by actually setting goals for themselves to accomplish throughout the
class. Students in Life Skills also learn about the decision making process and how to positively solve problems or conflicts when faced with
such. All PLCS classes involve critical, higher order thinking as well as analyzing various topics.
Characteristic C
Students are exposed to a variety of business partners that teachers use as resources. We achieved a Proficient rating for Characteristic C
based on this information. PLCS teachers utilize business partners in a variety of different ways. In Business Education classes students
are exposed to Junior Achievement Programs where speakers come in and present various consumerism related topics to the students. In
Life Skills classes, many outside resources are used to teach consumerism, such as online programs through Chase Bank that allow
students to practice and apply their skills. Students in STLP programs are exposed to many outside business partners such as a close
working relationship with KET.
Characteristic D
Evidence submitted for this characteristic shows a Proficient rating. Throughout PLCS courses, students are able to engage in various grade
level appropriate financial decision making. In Life Skills, students are routinely engaged in topics such as budgeting, checking accounts,
credit cards, taxes, income vs expenses, SMART goals and decision making, and comparison shopping. In Business classes, students are
routinely engaged in topics such as taxes on wages earned, balancing a budget, credit reports and credit history, business planning and
stocks.
Characteristic E
Students apply academic skills to solve real world problems in areas related to consumerism, resulting in a Proficient rating for this
characteristic. PLCS teachers routinely apply core academic skills such as math and reading in a variety of ways to solve real world
problems. Business students participate in the Junior Achievement Program which focuses on financial vocabulary as well as real world
math skills like adding, subtracting, multiplying, dividing and calculating percentages. Students in Life Skills classes routinely engage in real
world math skills while reading recipes, calculating net vs gross pay, calculating taxes, determining a budget and balancing a checkbook.
Life Skills classes incorporate reading in ways such as relevant articles, current events, and online information as well. The Youth Service
Center at JMS also hosts "Operation Preparation" for all 8th grade students where they learn concepts related to real world consumerism
math based on a career choice from their ILP.
Characteristic F
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Information about consumerism is routinely integrated into the total school curriculum. This earns JCMS a Proficient for this characteristic.
JCMS teachers work diligently with PLCS teachers to create collaborative units of study dealing with consumerism. The evidence with this
characteristic supports this rating with lessons samples from various core academic classes. This ensures that all students at JCMS are
engaging in consumerism and are applying these to a real world setting throughout their school days.
Characteristic G
JCMS integrates technology in many ways when delivering consumerism curriculum, therefore, we rank at a Proficient score for
Characteristic G. Whether it be a power point to deliver content, online research, videos, or use of computers. Students at JCMS are using
technology to deliver the consumerism curriculum. There are also many occasions where students are using technology and demonstrating
that they are media literate.
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Curriculum and Instruction: ILP
Schools containing grades 6-12 implement the ILP as an effective tool for career planning and continue using the tool to track a student’s
progress throughout their secondary school experience.
Overall Rating: 1.75
Statement or Question
To what extent does the school ensure ILP
development for all students begins in 6th
grade and continues throughout middle and
high school, with input from students, teachers,
and parents? Is a process is in place to ensure
that parents have received access information
for the ILP?
Response
Rating
ILP development for all students begins in 6th Distinguished
grade and continues throughout middle and
high school, with input from students, teachers,
and parents. Parents receive access
information for the ILP, while school and
community trainings are also provided for
teachers and parents regarding the integration
of the ILP tool.
Statement or Question
To what extent does the school ensure students
and teachers use formative and summative
assessment data, including benchmark
performance from K-PREP and EPAS, to
construct, revise, and update the ILP?
Response
Students and teachers use summative
assessment data to construct and update the
ILP.
Rating
Needs
Improvement
c)
Statement or Question
To what extent does the school ensure an
advising program is in place and includes
components of the ILP?
Response
An advising program is in place and includes
components of the ILP.
Rating
Proficient
d)
Statement or Question
To what extent does the school ensure a
formalized plan is in place to monitor the
completion of the ILP?
Response
Monitoring of ILP completion is informal and
irregular.
Rating
Needs
Improvement
a)
b)
e)
Statement or Question
Response
To what extent does the school ensure at the
Not Applicable - Elementary & Middle
high school level, all students select and note in
their ILP at least 4 courses related to their
career major and one of the state's 14 Career
Clusters?
Rating
N/A
Evidence is identified to support the school's analysis for each of the demonstrators. Program review evidence may be specific for
an area (Writing, Arts & Humanities, Practical Living/Career Studies, K-3, and Global Competency/World Languages) or may be
common across other reviews. Review teams will likely find they need to search out additional evidence during the program review
process in order to make judgments or to support judgments.
Characteristic A
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All students at Jessie Clark have the opportunity to update their ILP each year in 6th, 7th, and 8th grade. The school consistently achieves
100% completion of the required ILP activities for each student in each grade level. Business Education, Life Skills, and Technology
Education teachers provide help, guidance, and counseling to students in the classroom about using the ILP and planning their education
and career goals. Students are also encouraged to use the ILP regularly throughout the school year to keep track of educational and career
progress and to discuss this information and share this tool with parents. For the last 4 years JCMS has hosted a parent ILP night where
interested parents can come and learn about the ILP, log in and see both the parent and student access points, and ask questions about how
the tool is used for tracking education and career goals. IAKSS presents the information to parents and the Business Education, Life Skills,
Technology Education and Youth Service Center work together to host and promote the event. The staff at JCMS is aware of the ILP tool
and how it is used to track students' educational and career goals. All staff support the implementation of the ILP and encourage it's use
among students. Special education staff work with special needs students to complete the ILP and completion of ILP activities are regularly
discussed in Arc meetings with parents. Special education staff and parents make decisions about what parts of the ILP special needs
students complete.
Evidence - Parent sign in sheets are available in the YSC from the parent ILP events. Student ILP's show updated goals and completion
progress for the year.
Characteristic B
No testing data is currently available in the ILP therefore it is difficult for students to use testing data when updating their ILP's.
Students do use the results of the EXPLORE testing career inventory to narrow down career choices saved to the ILP. The school
counselors reviewed student EXPLORE score results as well as career interest inventory and World of Work maps as an awareness activity
in preparation for selecting high school electives, and as additional information to be considered on students' ILPs.
Characteristic C
Students enrolled in Business Education, Life Skills, and Technology Education classes get advising on completing the required elements in
the ILP. Students are also encouraged and advised to explore other areas of the ILP as time permits and to regularly update the information
in their ILP. Due to the number of students and scheduling at the school most students only get a chance to work with the ILP once during
the year in their elective classes. Students who are scheduled for 2 year long electives complete their ILP in shortened seminars that focus
on completion rather than advising. A smaller portion of students do have opportunities to visit the ILP more than once during the year and
they are exposed to a greater variety of experiences related to the ILP including more in depth career and college research. All students
have access to the school counselors who can also provide counseling on creating education and career goals, however students must seek
this type of advising on their own. Special needs students work with special educations teachers to plan education and career goals.
Special needs students receive advising from special education teachers. ILP completion is discussed with parents at ARC meetings.
Counseling office:
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-We reviewed student EXPLORE score results as well as career interest inventory and World of Work maps as an awareness activity in
preparation for selecting high school electives, and as additional information to be considered on students' ILPs.
-A business teacher from Lafayette spoke with all 8th graders about the variety of Business class electives, and how they relate to various
career paths.
-The Lafayette counselors spoke to all 8th graders about selecting both core and elective classes which would lead them to college
readiness, or career readiness and employability.
Characteristic D
A formalized plan is in place to monitor ILP completion.
Technology, business ed and family and consumer science teacher will go through science classes at 6th grade and 8th grade and social
studies classes in the 7th grade to ensure all students complete the ILP. 6th grade will be scheduled during 1st nine weeks to review ILP
with the students and provide inventory data to teachers. 7th and 8th ILP completion prior to end of first semester to provide inventory data
to teachers.
Calendar dates
Complete/incomplete added to SharePoint evidence site: Link provided
Characteristic E
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High school directed question. This demonstrator applies to high schools and selecting career majors. Middle schools do not have career
majors, however, students are encouraged to save at least 3 careers of interest to their ILP during 6th, 7th, and 8th grades.
The rationale explains how the identified evidence supports the school's reported level of program implementation for the
demonstrator.
Characteristic A
At Jessie Clark Middle School all students 6th through 8the grades complete their ILP to 100% each school year. The ILP process at JCMS
is improving each year and as a result we rated Distinguished for Characteristic A. During the 2015-2016 school year, the Business teacher,
Life Skills teacher and Technology Education teacher joined forces along with administration to begin a new process of implementing the ILP
for students. These three teachers worked with each grade for several days on understanding and completing their ILP. Students are
encouraged to utilize the information they receive from the their ILP throughout the school year to keep track of the educational process as
well as exploring career choices. Parents are also made aware of the ILP process through a parent night hosted by the Counseling Office
and Youth Service Center. All staff at JCMS is aware of this ILP process and uses some of the information students receive from the ILP in
their classes.
Characteristic B
Students and teachers currently do not have access to KPREP or EPAS data to utilize in reviewing the ILP. Therefore, we rated Needs
Improvement for Characteristic B. Students use their EXPLORE scores to help in identifying career choices saved in their ILP. School
Counselors also review EXPLORE scores in the preparation of selecting high school electives. The Business teacher, Life Skills teacher and
Technology Education teacher use various formative and summative assessment data when working with all of the students on the revisions
of their ILP each year.
Characteristic C
We have a set advising program in place that includes components of the ILP. Therefore, we rated Proficient for Characteristic C. The
Business teacher, Life Skills teacher and the Technology Education teacher each have a group of 6th, 7th and 8th grade students that they
are responsible for completion of students' ILPs. This plan has been approved by the administration. A list of students as well as their
assigned teachers can be found with the Life Skills teacher.
Characteristic D
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The Business teacher, Life Skills teacher and Technology Education teacher follow a formalized plan to monitor the completion of the ILP.
Therefore, we rated Proficient for Characteristic D. These teachers work with their specific group of students to make sure they are working
towards completion of the ILP each year they are in middle school. An account list of advisors, student's advisor assignments, passwords
and access type combine to provide evidence for this characteristic.
Characteristic E
This characteristic is not required for middle schools.
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Formative and Summative Assessment: Assessments
Multiple formative and summative assessments are used to inform, guide, develop and revise instructional strategies and curriculum to
enhance student learning and achievement.
Overall Rating: 2.0
a)
b)
c)
d)
Statement or Question
To what extent are Kentucky Academic
Standards, 21st Century Skills and Knowledge,
and other applicable content standards used in
the development of formative and summative
assessments related to PLCS?
Response
Rating
Kentucky Academic Standards, 21st Century
Proficient
Skills and Knowledge, and other applicable
content standards are used in the development
of formative and summative assessments
related to PLCS.
Statement or Question
To what extent are traditional PLCS
assessment measures responsive to a variety
of learning styles and abilities?
Response
Traditional PLCS assessment measures are
responsive to a variety of learning styles and
abilities.
Rating
Proficient
Statement or Question
To what extent do PLCS teachers use data
from formative and summative assessments,
student ILPs, and other sources to guide
instruction, develop intervention plans, and
improve instructional practices?
Response
PLCS teachers use data from formative and
summative assessments, student ILPs, and
other sources to guide instruction, develop
intervention plans, and improve instructional
practices.
Rating
Proficient/Meets
Expectat
Statement or Question
To what extent do PLCS assessments support
individual growth of all PLCS students?
Response
Rating
PLCS assessments support individual growth of Proficient
all PLCS students.
Evidence is identified to support the school's analysis for each of the demonstrators. Program review evidence may be specific for
an area (Writing, Arts & Humanities, Practical Living/Career Studies, K-3, and Global Competency/World Languages) or may be
common across other reviews. Review teams will likely find they need to search out additional evidence during the program review
process in order to make judgments or to support judgments.
Characteristic A
PLCS teachers utilize the KCAS when planning for instructional topics and units. Teachers incorporate 21st century skills such as locating
and evaluating information, applying and teaching technology skills, critical thinking, decision making, and problem solving skills regularly to
develop formative and summative assessments. For example in health class students apply critical thinking and decision making skills as
they make healthy choices to fill a 9" plate following Dietary guidelines. In Life Skills and business education classes' students apply 21st
century skills like critical thinking, analyzing information, and using an online database to research and make decisions about education and
career goals as they update their ILP's.
In Technology Education classes students demonstrate decision making, critical thinking and
problem solving skills when preparing projects for culminating competitive activities which occur at the end of each grading period in
Technology Education classes. The projects are used to evaluate function of the design/construction of the projects. Towers have a stress
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test to judge strength of structure and efficiency of design. Rockets are launched to evaluate construction technique. CO2 cars are raced to
judge speed, rule adherence, design efficiency, and construction. In Pre-Engineering/Lego Robotics classes students use technology to
demonstrate knowledge and apply 21st century skills as they complete mini programming challenges that require problem solving skills,
critical thinking, and decision making skills. All PLCS teachers upload weekly lesson plans into the CIITS database. . Teachers utilize
technology to create formative and summative assessments (Word programs, test maker programs), Classroom Performance Systems,
SMART board, Socrative website, Edmodo, online educational games (Gen-I financial literacy simulation, Vault financial literacy instruction),
online stock market game simulation and other hardware and software technologies to develop and administer formative and summative
assessments.
Evidence: teacher documents, student work products, CIITS database, other online databases, teacher records.
Characteristic B
PLCS teachers are provided with IEP and 504 information to promote application of teaching strategies and modifications that meet the
needs of special education students. Modifications are made to assignments and assessments to address individual abilities and to meet the
needs of all students. A variety of traditional assessments are employed regularly including: bellringers, exit slips, short answer and
extended response questions. Multiple choice tests and quizzes are also utilized in PLCS subject areas to formally assess students. All
PLCS teachers are being trained to use and have created standards based tests using the CIITS database. Teachers will employ this new
technology to increase understanding of student's performance, identify individual student's needs, and to analyze teaching and learning in
the classroom.
In Health Education and Business Education classes students are formatively assessed with daily bellringers, discussions, and regular use of
exit slips. Summative assessments include pop quizzes and tests consisting of multiple choices, short answer and extended response
questions.
Life skills courses make use of a variety of assessments geared to different learning styles and student abilities. Students are formatively
assessed daily with the use of bellringers and the use of weekly short answer questions. Summative assessments include: multiple choice
tests and quizzes, short answer questions, extended response questions and culminating projects. Both formative and summative
assessments are modified to meet individual student needs and abilities. Projects are differentiated to allow students to select the media
used to present their ideas and understandings. In Life Skills classes students' complete hands on projects such as foods labs and sewing
projects. Student groups select foods labs that meet their needs and interests and select sewing projects that are of interest and appropriate
ability level. Modifications are provided to meet individual student needs and include awareness of dietary restrictions in foods labs and less
complex sewing activities.
In Pre-Engineering/Robotics classes assessments include daily bellringers, discussion, observation of student work, and use of questioning
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strategies. These formative assessments allow the teacher to provide immediate feedback to students and provide insight to what the
student knows and is able to do. Students also write in engineering journals and complete exit slips regularly. Summative assessments
require hand-on programming and performance tasks as students' complete mini programming challenges. Unit tests and quizzes, a real
world research project and class presentation, and a professional writing activity are also used to summatively assess students in the
classroom.
Technology Education classes infuse technology into assessment regularly. Students complete 3 computerized modules each 9 weeks.
Each module incorporates both pre and post-tests that offer student's immediate feedback. Writing is incorporated as a form of assessment
in each module. Student's also complete daily bellringers, and turn a journal at the end of each module that contains written work and
records of performance on the computerized tasks. Culminating competitive activities occur at the end of each grading period in Technology
Education classes to evaluate function of the design/construction of the projects. Towers have a stress test to judge strength of structure and
efficiency of design. Rockets are launched to evaluate construction technique. CO2 cars are raced to judge speed, rule adherence, design
efficiency, and construction. School records are kept and displayed in a hall of fame list for each grade level and school wide. Worksheets
are completed as students complete experiments/computer activities in Technology Education classes and are turned in with their portfolios
to assess student performance on the completion of these activities.
Characteristic C
PLCS teachers use formative and summative assessment data to individualize instruction and support growth for all students by modifying
and differentiating the classroom curriculum to meet the needs of each student. IEP and 504 information is provided by special education
teachers to meet student needs. Assignments and tests are modified to motivate and support students with special needs. Hands on and
oral assessment as well as the use of classroom aides can also be utilized when indicated in the IEP or 504 plan. PLCS teachers regularly
analyze student performance using formative and summative data and offer additional opportunities to students who are not meeting learning
expectations. Students are provided with multiple opportunities to meet learning expectations and are allowed to redo assignments, turn
assignments in late, complete a modified project, and to retake tests. The regular use and analysis of formative assessments like bellringers,
exit slips and short answer questions allow PLCS teachers to re-teach concepts and differentiate activities to meet individual students' needs.
ILP data is utilized by staff and students to create an education and career plan that meets individual student needs, interests and abilities.
In Business Education, Technology Education, and Life Skills classes students receive personalized instruction and guidance when
reviewing and updating the ILP. Students are provided with strategies and data that assist each student in developing education and career
goals that meet their personal goals. Students complete interest inventories, a learning style survey, and receive guidance from the
counseling office regarding EXPLORE test results and use this data to identify career interests and create goal and plans for their future.
Students are motivated to explore and create ILP goals that challenge and support individual growth. All students update their ILP's annually
and have an opportunity to review and revise plans to meet changing interests, needs, and goals. ARC meetings determine which sections,
if any, special needs students will complete. These decisions are made by the ARC committee and are based on individual student abilities
and needs.
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In Technology Education classes all module tests/questions are administered through the computer which reads the questions to the student
by way of headphones (closed captioning for hearing impaired). They can have the tests administered by paper or verbally from the teacher
if needed.
Characteristic D
PLCS assessments support growth for all students enrolled in PLCS classes. IEP and 504 information is provided by special education
teachers to assess student growth with special needs students. Assignments and tests are modified to motivate and support students with
special needs. Hands on and oral assessment as well as the use of classroom aides can also be utilized when indicated in the IEP or 504
plan. PLCS teachers regularly analyze student performance using formative and summative data and offer additional opportunities to
students who are not meeting learning expectations. Students are provided with multiple opportunities to meet learning expectations and are
allowed to redo assignments, turn assignments in late, complete a modified project, and to retake tests. The regular use and analysis of
formative assessments like bellringers, exit slips and short answer questions allow PLCS teachers to re-teach concepts and differentiate
activities to meet individual students' needs. Additionally, student assessment data is shared with students after completion and parents can
review scores on Infinite Campus.
ILP data is utilized by staff and students to create an education and career plan that meets individual student needs, interests and abilities.
In Business Education, Technology Education, and Life Skills classes students receive personalized instruction and guidance when
reviewing and updating the ILP. Students are provided with strategies and data that assist each student in developing education and career
goals that meet their personal goals. Students complete interest inventories, a learning style survey, and receive guidance from the
counseling office regarding EXPLORE test results and use this data to identify career interests and create goal and plans for their future.
Students are motivated to explore and create ILP goals that challenge and support individual growth. All students update their ILP's annually
and have an opportunity to review and revise plans to meet changing interests, needs, and goals. ARC meetings determine which sections,
if any, special needs students will complete. These decisions are made by the ARC committee and are based on individual student abilities
and needs.
The rationale explains how the identified evidence supports the school's reported level of program implementation for the
demonstrator.
PLCS teachers incorporate technology, 21st Century Skills, and content area standards to create formative and summative assessments
related to each content area.
Formative assessments such as thumbs up/down, bell ringers, exit slips, quizzes and self-evaluations help
determine instructional areas of strengths and weaknesses for individual students. Summative assessments are developed based on results
of the above and observations. Resources such as Socrative website, Edmodo, Gen-1 financial literacy simulation, vault financial literacy
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instruction, online stock market game simulation, and PE Central and PE / health education blogs help generate both formative and
summative assessments. Assessment measures are responsive to a variety of learning styles and abilities. Students complete interest
inventories and a learning style survey. Students are evaluated in the first few days of class by use of self-assessments, pre-assessments
and bell-ringers. Information from LEP, G/T, 504 and special education students is also gathered. Modifications/accommodations are then
incorporated into instruction. Some students have shortened assignments, some lengthened. Some students are given fewer choices to
select an answer from. Some are verbally provided scenarios instead of in writing. Some are given greater challenges. All students update
and create ILP goals within the first 11 weeks of school. This data is utilized by staff and students to create an education and career plan
that meets individual students needs, interest and abilities.
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Formative and Summative Assessment: Expectations for Student Learning
Teachers should have common and high standards for student learning in the content area.
Overall Rating: 2.0
a)
Statement or Question
To what extent do PLCS teachers develop
scoring guides, models and rubrics, and apply
these to assess student performance?
Response
Rating
PLCS teachers develop scoring guides, models Proficient
and rubrics, and apply these to assess student
performance.
b)
Statement or Question
To what extent do PLCS teachers provide
consistent and timely feedback to students and
parents on student's performance?
Response
PLCS teachers provide consistent and timely
feedback to students and parents on student's
performance.
Rating
Proficient
Evidence is identified to support the school's analysis for each of the demonstrators. Program review evidence may be specific for
an area (Writing, Arts & Humanities, Practical Living/Career Studies, K-3, and Global Competency/World Languages) or may be
common across other reviews. Review teams will likely find they need to search out additional evidence during the program review
process in order to make judgments or to support judgments.
Characteristic A
PLCS teachers develop scoring guides, models, and rubrics to assess student performance. In Business Education, Technology Education,
and Life Skills classes students are provided with minimum requirements for updating their ILP's annually. The ILP provides an electronic
checklist of activities required for completion and teachers supplement this with handouts, written checklists, and specific criteria for
completing each task.
In Health classes students receive and complete models and rubrics on expectations, Me cards, fitness and meal plans, nutrition function,
Choose My Plate, body systems project, character/role models group activity, risk factors group activity, first aid and safety mock CPR, Imessage practice for good communication skills as well as rubrics for assessments.
In Business Education and Life Skills classes students are provided scoring guides and rubrics which clarify performance criteria used for
grading projects.
Pre-Engineering/Robotics students complete mini-programming challenges where performance is assessed using a scoring guide. A rubric
is applied to assess students' research on a topic and the oral presentations they conduct for the class.
In Technology Education classes pretests are completed at the start of each module and completed on the computer with immediate
feedback given. Rubrics are posted for the assessments in the modules. The actual assessment questions are displayed on the computer
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at the start of the activity for a preview of what is being assessed and then again at the end when completion of the sheet actually takes
place.
Characteristic B
PLCS teachers provided consistent and timely feedback to students and parents regarding student's performance by returning graded work
quickly and regularly, updating grades in IC weekly (at a minimum), mid-term and quarter report cards, comments added for behavior and
performance on grade reports, communicating with parents via IC, emails, phone calls and parent contacts. The health teacher uses the
Remind account to send important information regarding upcoming tests and exciting information about health class. He also gives students
progress reports every other Friday for parents to view, sign and return. He also communicates via phone and email with various parents
regarding student success and behavior.
In Technology Education classes each student portfolio has recording areas for student grades, teacher marks and comments for behavior
and student recordkeeping. Grades are recorded for questions on the lab computer system for instant feedback and all grades for a module
are transferred to Infinite Campus at the end of each module and recorded by the teacher in their portfolio at that time.
The rationale explains how the identified evidence supports the school's reported level of program implementation for the
demonstrator.
PLCS teachers use rubrics and soring guides to assess student performance on assignments and projects. For example in Technology
Education classes pretests are completed at the start of each module and completed on the computer with immediate feedback provided.
Rubrics are posted for the assessments in all of the modules. Students and parents are provided with timely and up to date information on
student performance, grades and behavior. Grades are updated for most PLCS classes in Infinite Campus at least weekly if not daily. Some
PLCS teachers provide correspondence through Remind, text and email messages and provide weekly progress reports.
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Professional Learning: Opportunities
Professional development opportunities are planned with teacher learning needs in mind and in response to data available about teacher
practice and student learning.
Overall Rating: 2.75
a)
b)
c)
d)
Statement or Question
To what extent do teachers develop, implement
and assess relevant and purposeful
professional growth plans (PGPs) in response
to the teacher self-reflection about current
practice and student learning?
Response
Ongoing assessment of the implementation of
the PGP results in necessary adjustments that
result in increased teacher effectiveness and
student learning.
Rating
Distinguished
Statement or Question
To what extent does the school support
teachers' pursuit of professional learning
opportunities focused on research/evidence
based best practices and based on teacher
Professional Growth Plans, school and student
data?
Response
Rating
Professional learning supports individual
Distinguished
learning focus (PGP), fosters team
collaboration for school improvement and
benefits from alignment and coordination with
school, district, regional, and state improvement
goals for more systemic professional learning
experiences.
Statement or Question
To what extent does the school ensure that job
embedded professional learning opportunities
(teacher learning that is grounded in day-to-day
teaching practice and is designed to enhance
teachers' content-specific instructional practices
with the intent of improving student learning; is
school or classroom based and integrated in
the workday) are available?
Response
The school offers job embedded professional
learning opportunities that are integrated in the
work day to all teachers.
Rating
Proficient
Statement or Question
Response
Rating
To what extent does the school allocate time for The school provides a variety of opportunities
Distinguished
teachers to collaborate and exchange ideas?
and allocates time for teachers to collaborate
and exchange ideas, especially during the
school day, in professional learning
communities and through professional learning
opportunities.
Evidence is identified to support the school's analysis for each of the demonstrators. Program review evidence may be specific for
an area (Writing, Arts & Humanities, Practical Living/Career Studies, K-3, and Global Competency/World Languages) or may be
common across other reviews. Review teams will likely find they need to search out additional evidence during the program review
process in order to make judgments or to support judgments.
14-15 Student Voice Survey Results - Characteristic A
15-16 CSIP - Characteristic A
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15-16 JCMS PD Tracker - Characteristics A, B
15-16 PD Plan - Characteristics A, B
15-16 Staff PGPs (by Component) - Characteristics A, B
15-16 Staff PGPs - Characteristics A, B
15-16 Student Voice Survey Results - Characteristic A
15-16 Ropes & Mental Health PDs - Characteristic B
Arts Integration Folder - Characteristics B, D
GCWL Integration Folder - Characteristics B, D
PLCS Integration Folder - Characteristics B, D
Writing Integration Folder - Characteristics B, D
15-16 JCMS Collegial Planning Schedule - Characteristics C, D
6th Grade Level Data Disaggregation Meeting - Characteristic C
7th Grade Level Data Disaggregation Meeting - Characteristic C
8th Grade Level Data Disaggregation Meeting - Characteristic C
Data Disaggregation Cut scores - Characteristic C
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CIITS Data Disaggregation directions - Characteristic C
Data Disaggregation 15-16 - Characteristic C
Data Disaggregation Reflections 15-16 - Characteristic C
Data Disaggregation Triangle Inverted - Characteristic C
Culturegrams - Characteristic C
RTI Meetings - Characteristic C
SS PD - Characteristic C
Tech Snack - Characteristic C
JCMS Collegial Plan Template - Characteristic D
JCMS Daily Schedule - Characteristic D
JCMS Team Day Schedule - Characteristic D
Team days-Power Days - Characteristic D
The rationale explains how the identified evidence supports the school's reported level of program implementation for the
demonstrator.
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Characteristic A
The school modifies and adjusts the Comprehensive School Improvement Plan (CSIP) several times each year based upon data from
multiple sources including KPREP, projected completion dates, implementation status, and adjustments based upon new knowledge,
professional development or resources available. The schools Professional Development Plan is based upon the most current CSIP to
provide guidance to the staff when creating the school-wide professional development plan. The CSIP is provided and used to guide
individual teachers in the development of their own Professional Growth Plan. Teachers are required to correlate the CSIP with their
professional development for intentional creation of authentic professional experiences that will create growth for them professionally and in
their classroom environment. The school requires a certain amount of hours each year for teachers to gain professional growth within their
content area. Principals review professional growth plans and provide guidance to individuals, based upon formal and informal observations.
Goal number 5 on the CSIP is increased proficiency in the Program Reviews. This has impacted our school this year by creating a shared
atmosphere of learning about the integration of arts and humanities, practical living, consumer sciences, writing, and global competency
across all disciplines.
The PD plan is linked to the CSIP and supports quality instruction in all disciplines. A committee is established by the administration, which
consists of all department heads. This committee uses an informal needs assessment to gather feedback from teachers regarding
professional development needs for the next year. The committee meets and develops a school-wide plan. 18 hours of the 24 hour PD plan
were strategically planned as school-wide PD activities that reflect feedback from the informal needs assessment of teachers and the
school's CSIP. 6 hours were planned at Asbury University's Challenge & Ropes Course. The expected impact was to develop greater
leadership, communication, trust, and initiative for the teachers and teams in our building. 4 hours of training were planned for the
continuous implementation of the Teacher Professional Growth and Effectiveness System (TPGES). The expected impact was to have
every student taught by an effective teacher. 2 hours of PD were planned to allow teachers to receive training on the Administrative Code
and Inclusions. The expected impact was that all teachers would follow the required regulations. 3 hours of PD were planned to provide
teachers with Mental Health training, as the number of students with mental health needs continues to increase at our school. The expected
impact was that teachers would have enhanced knowledge of de-escalation techniques and strategies for teaching students with mental
health issues. 3 hours of PD were planned to provide teachers with effective strategies to integrate arts and humanities, practical living,
consumer sciences, writing, and global competency across all content areas. The expected impact was to ensure that all teachers continue
to integrate arts and humanities, practical living, consumer sciences, writing, and global competency into their core academic class
curriculum. The remaining 6 hours of the required 24 hour PD plan allow teachers to participate in departmentalized professional
development in identified areas of growth related to improved instruction. All activities are to be tied to the teacher's individual professional
growth plan and/or results from their Student Voice Survey. The expected impact of individualized PD is to provide teachers with 21st
Century techniques and teaching strategies that can be implemented across the curriculum in all content areas for enhance instruction and
learning.
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Teachers participate in PD activities that address their individual professional needs. Many teachers also attend professional organization
meetings and conferences specific to their content areas.
Characteristic B
Teachers at our school are encouraged to grow in their profession and are given a multitude of professional development opportunities to
support this growth. One way this occurs in our building is professional development is planned with the understanding that all teachers are
at different levels of understanding. With this in mind, PD opportunities are differentiated so that our teachers at various levels, various
disciplines can attain a supported level of instruction that will be most beneficial for them in the instructional delivery of their students. Along
with differentiating our professional development at the instructor level, we place an emphasis of instructional delivery being within every
student's grasp. Differentiation is a common language shared amongst the teachers in our building. Past professional developments and
resources are reviewed annually. New teachers are provided with a binder of helpful resources and beliefs of our school. Resources are
provided on the W drive and a live-binder is linked on the teacher resource page.
Teachers collaborate with their departments to complete a program analysis of their curriculum and provide documentation for the program
review. Departments discuss the strengths and weaknesses of their current programs and curriculum, which provide teachers with the
opportunity to target areas of weakness when developing professional growth plans and selecting professional development activities.
In addition, all teachers complete a self-reflection for TPGES. They use this reflection to identify areas of weakness or "focus areas" to aid in
the creation of their Professional Growth Plans. In addition, teachers also identified areas of weakness or "focus areas" from the analysis of
their 2014-15 Student Voice Survey results to aid in the development of their PGPs. Teachers select PD activities based on individual needs
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through the use of their self-reflection, PGP, administrator feedback, and the school's CSIP. Teachers participate in 6 hours or more of
individual and/or job-imbedded PD in identified areas of growth aligned to their PGPs. Teachers provide documentation and evidence of jobembedded activities to the school's PD chairperson. Individual PGPs and professional development documentation are available for
individual teachers and school administrators.
PLCS teachers participated in completing Program Review documentation and program analysis. Departmental discussion of curriculum and
program strengths and weaknesses have allowed teachers to target areas of weakness as they develop their PGPs and when selecting
professional development activities.
Characteristic C
Teachers at our school are encouraged to grow in their profession and are offered job-embedded professional development opportunities to
support this growth. Job-embedded PD opportunities are available to all teachers (See PD Guidelines). All teachers participated in jobembedded professional development to analyze KPREP results. Teachers analyzed scores, then looked at the make-up of their classrooms
to intentionally identify the strengths and/or weaknesses of their students. This intentionality led to discussions of barriers to education,
identification of GAP students, and evidence-based instructional strategies that are successful with GAP and low growth students. High-yield
instructional strategies were revisited and encouraged to be embedded across disciplines.
PLCS teachers find and attend the PD trainings that support their professional growth plans and the needs of their students. Additionally,
PLCS teachers attended a variety of cross-curricular PDs offered by the district to address needs identified through Program Review
analysis. PLCS teachers complete a self-reflection for TPGES and used this reflection to identify areas of weakness or "focus areas" to aid
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in the creation of their PGPs. In addition, PLCS teachers also identified areas of weakness or "focus areas" from the analysis of their 201415 Student Voice Survey results to aid in the development of their PGPs. In the fall of 2015, PLCS teachers participated in a student data
analysis activity utilizing MAP scores, gap data, and growth statistics available in CIITS to identify student strengths and weaknesses. This
activity trained teachers to analyze student data and explore professional interventions that can enhance teaching and learning for specific
students and groups of students. Teachers are able to apply research based instructional practices received from content specific trainings
(offered by recognized experts and district leaders), to develop and utilize 21st century skills that will enhance classroom instruction and
learning.
Examples include: Family/consumer Science District updates and District Career and Technology updates hosted and organized by CTE
office, The Innovations for Learning Conference sponsored by Fayette County, JA Consumerism, FCPS Business updates, Robotics
competition instruction, CPR/AED and First Aid, PAWS institute, Wellness Wednesday, Innovative Health Education, Dynamic Physical
Education parts I-V, and Program Review.
Our school has had a subscription to Grade-cam the past three years. Grade-cam is a way in which teachers can get instant results and
data analysis of formative assessments, which allows them to make necessary adjustments to instructional delivery in an efficient manner.
Bell-ringers, exit slips, and other modes of formative assessments can be observed throughout the building, as teachers base their
instruction and instructional delivery upon multiple points of data.
In addition, Core content teachers collaborate weekly (by grade level and content area) and EXEL teachers collaborate twice a month, to
reflect on recent instructional practices, plan future instruction, create common assessments, analyze student data, and share strategies that
have been obtained from PDs.
Characteristic D
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The administration has taken steps to encourage and facilitate collaboration between EXEL and academic core teachers. EXEL and Core
teachers collaborate and exchange ideas regarding curriculum, special programs and school wide events, and student achievement. EXEL
and academic core teachers discuss curriculum standards and share ideas for cross-curricular connections. Our PD Plan includes two
trainings that are mandatory for all teachers and hosted by Arts & Humanities, Practical Living, Consumer Sciences, Writing, and Global
Competency teachers. The trainings are used to develop strategies for incorporating exploratory/elective content into core academic class
curriculum. Core academic teachers worked with exploratory/elective teachers to identify areas where content standards overlap and
developed ideas for lessons that integrate Arts & Humanities, Practical Living, Consumer Sciences, Writing, and Global Competency content
into core academic areas.
After attending a two-day workshop focused on writing strategies, the language arts department chairperson will provide a professional
development training for the faculty regarding writing across the curriculum. The presentation will focus on the following topics: policy, timing,
rubrics, structure, and examples. All teachers will be reminded of the school-wide writing policy and the types of pieces that are expected
from all students in all classes throughout the year. Rubric categories will be discussed and an emphasis will be given to "Audience and
Purpose" and "Idea Development" because those categories provide the most opportunity for teachers to teach and assess their content
through writing. An outline and discussion of the basic structure of an informative or argumentative piece of writing will be included in the
presentation, followed by focused examples of "The 3.8 Paragraph" method. These types of paragraphs can be used in all content areas for
short-answer and extended-response practice; but furthermore, content-specific writing practices can incorporate "The 3.8 Paragraph"
method. For instance, in math, Formative Assessment for Learning (FAL) responses require students to explain their thought process when
analyzing and answering questions. Students in science and social studies write lengthier essays for the Literacy Design Collaborative (LDC)
which can incorporate "The 3.8 Paragraph" method into the body paragraphs of the essay. On-Demand Writing (ODW) occurs during
language arts and all other elective classes, in which idea development through "The 3.8 Paragraph" is necessary. Overall, these types of
paragraphs are beneficial in providing a consistent format that will allow all teachers to assist students in writing across the curriculum.
To enable cross-discipline exchange of ideas and increase literacy instruction within all classrooms, faculty meetings are used to share
instructional strategies that focus on the integration of Arts & Humanities, Practical Living, Consumer Sciences, Writing, and Global
Competency into core academic areas. The administration has modified the school schedule to allow for more intentional planning to take
place within and among all teachers in the building as well as integrate more 21st century skill activities to take place. Power days and Team
days have been created twice monthly to fulfill many different ideals. These days are utilized to encourage students to increase and monitor
their work habits. The days also allow for cross-discipline exchange between and amongst EXEL teachers, the rewarding of positive student
behavior, integration of motivational speakers, Operation Preparation, and College and Career Readiness preparation for our students.
Department chairs are expected to attend District wide department meetings to allow for vertical and horizontal alignment of ideas and
sharing. It is expected that department chairs bring back information from the district level and share with their department and entire school.
We also have teachers attending specific trainings in best practices, who then collaborate and share these strategies with our staff.
Teachers meet with members of their department at least once a month. During this time, they exchange ideas about collaboration, literacy
and writing practices. Discussions take place on how to incorporate these strategies into the curriculum.
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Another example of collaboration between EXEL and academic core teachers is the creation of cross disciplinary committees with
representatives from all content areas and grade levels. Teachers and administration collaborate on these committees in many ways, for
example: the Staff & Student Recognition committee plans ways to recognize students for academic, athletic, and other personal
achievements (Team day/Power Day); the Budget and Technology committees work to identify needs and allocate resources fairly
throughout the school and its programs; the Health & Wellness committee works to create a schedule to involve all teachers in World Fit and
emphasize physical activity throughout the school; the Equity committee collaborates to plan school wide activities that expose students to
the issues and challenges of people with special needs; and the PBIS committee meets to ensure that positive behavioral interventions and
supports are used throughout the school.
Many members of the school staff work together to arrange for guest speakers from the community. Additionally, the administration, 8th
grade core teachers, the YSC coordinator, and PLCS teachers collaborated to implement the Operation Preparation event for 8th grade
students. Guest speakers from the community provide career guidance to all eighth grade students.
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Professional Learning: Participation
Teachers participate in program-specific professional learning designed to meet their needs. PLCS teachers participate in professional
development focused on 21st Century Skills.
Overall Rating: 2.0
Statement or Question
To what extent do teachers participate and
implement content-specific professional
learning based on school, student and teacher
data?
Response
Rating
Implementation of content-specific professional Proficient
learning based on school, student and teacher
data results in change in current practice and
supports appropriate instruction.
Statement or Question
To what extent do teachers participate in
professional learning communities addressing
issues related to instructional practices, data
analysis and increased student learning?
Response
Rating
Teachers are members of professional learning Proficient
communities within the school/district and
participate actively to address issues related to
instructional practices, data analysis and
increased student learning.
c)
Statement or Question
To what extent are teachers participating
members of professional organizations?
Response
Rating
Teachers are members and leaders within their Distinguished
professional learning organizations, actively
participate in them and as a result contribute to
school and community life.
d)
Statement or Question
To what extent do teachers have contact and
collaborate with community, business and
postsecondary partners?
Response
Teachers have contact and collaborate with
external partners (community, business and
postsecondary) through advisory committees,
work exchange programs and/or community
groups.
Rating
Proficient
Statement or Question
To what extent do teachers (beyond PLCS)
receive and implement professional learning to
enhance the integration of the PLCS content
into school curricula?
Response
Some teachers in the school receive
professional learning opportunities to enhance
the integration of PLCS concepts (physical
education, health, consumerism and careers).
Rating
Needs
Improvement
a)
b)
e)
Evidence is identified to support the school's analysis for each of the demonstrators. Program review evidence may be specific for
an area (Writing, Arts & Humanities, Practical Living/Career Studies, K-3, and Global Competency/World Languages) or may be
common across other reviews. Review teams will likely find they need to search out additional evidence during the program review
process in order to make judgments or to support judgments.
14-15 Student Voice Survey Results - Characteristic A
15-16 JCMS PD Tracker - Characteristics A, B
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15-16 PD Plan - Characteristics A, B
15-16 Staff PGPs (by Component) - Characteristics A, B
15-16 Staff PGPs - Characteristics A, B
15-16 Student Voice Survey Results - Characteristic A
15-16 JCMS Collegial Planning Schedule - Characteristics B
JCMS Collegial Plan Template - Characteristic B
RTI Meetings - Characteristic B
Arts Integration Folder - Characteristic B
GCWL Integration Folder - Characteristic B
PLCS Integration Folder - Characteristic B
Writing Integration Folder - Characteristic B
15-16 JCMS Committees - Characteristic C
15-16 JCMS Department Chairs - Characteristic C
15-16 JCMS Leadership - Characteristic C
Google Classroom PD - Characteristic C
Google PD - Characteristic C
JCMS Google Classroom Training - Characteristic C
Moorhead & Aurelius - Characteristic C
Tighe1- Characteristic C
Tighe2 - Characteristic C
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Carin's Crew Student info sheet 15-16 - Characteristic D
Beta Club 1 - Characteristic D
Beta Club 2 - Characteristic D
Beta Club 3- Characteristic D
Beta Club 4 - Characteristic D
Beta Club 5 - Characteristic D
Beta Club 6 - Characteristic D
Beta Club 7 - Characteristic D
The rationale explains how the identified evidence supports the school's reported level of program implementation for the
demonstrator.
Characteristic A
The administration encourages all teachers to attend cross-curricular Professional Development activities to address areas of need identified
in Program Review analysis, as well through teachers' self-reflections/PGPs/results of Student Voice Surveys/other PGES evaluation data.
The expected impact is that all teachers will implement 21st century techniques and teaching strategies to improve instruction and enhance
learning for all students. PD is chosen not only through availability, but also specified skill acquisition. While completing data triangles on
current students, teachers' attention was focused on the learning needs of the students and therefore the skill needs of the teacher.
PLCS and all other teachers participate in content-specific PD, as well as PD activities that address technology, student achievement, and
teacher effectiveness, as evidenced by the PD plan and their individual PD certificates. PLCS staff input is considered when creating the
departmental PD plan to support quality instruction in all PLCS disciplines.During the 2015-16 school year, in addition to the required courses
of the school PD plan, PLCS staff have attended content-specific professional learning opportunities such as Family and Community
Engagement (1), Google Classroom Training (1), FCPS Physical Education PD (1), 2015 Statewide Career & Technical Education Summer
Program (1), Agents of Change: Making Healthy Schools the New Norm (2), and CPR/AED/First Aid training (1).
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Characteristic B
PLCS teachers actively participate in professional learning communities (in our school, district, and beyond) that allow them to actively
address issues related to instructional practices, data analysis, and increased student learning. They participate in the District sponsored
PLCS meetings including Career and Technology Updates and FCS teachers training hosted by James Hardin; professional conferences
such as the IFL conference hosted by Fayette County; and meetings of professional organizations such as KATFACS. During the 2015-16
school year, in addition to the required courses of the school PD plan, PLCS staff have attended content-specific professional learning
opportunities such as Family and Community Engagement (1), Google Classroom Training (1), FCPS Physical Education PD (1), 2015
Statewide Career & Technical Education Summer Program (1), Agents of Change: Making Healthy Schools the New Norm (2), and
CPR/AED/First Aid training (1).
At the school level, all teachers are part of a functioning PLC that meets during the school day. Core teachers meet with their grade level
department colleagues one a week. The EXEL department (A&H, PLCS, and Global Competency departments) functions as a PLC with
dedicated meetings during the school day, twice a month. During this time, the PLCs meet in an in-service/planning type setting. Part of the
time is led by the instructional coach, who guides the departments in data analysis and high quality instructional strategies. The remainder of
the time is dedicated for the teachers to implement the discussed strategies into their instructional planning. Many faculty meetings focus on
instructional strategies; therefore, teachers are asked to sit by department so they may actively discuss content, student needs, and
strategies to bridge the gap.
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All teachers analyze student data and determine areas of strengths and weaknesses for the students they teach. From this analysis,
teachers are able to select PD trainings that are specific to their needs. Teachers then apply the research-based instructional practices they
receive from content-specific trainings (offered by recognized experts and district leaders), to develop and utilize 21st century skills to
enhance classroom instruction and learning. All teachers are also trained on the most effective, research-based, 21st Century skills for
integration of Arts & Humanities, Practical Living, Consumer Sciences, Writing, and Global Competency into core academic curriculum.
Teachers at our school also participate in collegial and cross-discipline communities, where they discuss adjustments to instructional
practices and utilize data from Compass, CERT, and K-prep to guide them on improving instructional delivery to meet the needs of students
within their classes. Teachers work together across disciplines to provide a systemic procedure of utilizing similar graphic organizers and
instructional delivery methods to enable a generalization of skills across contents, vertically and horizontally.
After attending a two-day workshop focused on writing strategies, the language arts department chairperson will provide a professional
development training for the faculty regarding writing across the curriculum. The presentation will focus on the following topics: policy, timing,
rubrics, structure, and examples. All teachers will be reminded of the school-wide writing policy and the types of pieces that are expected
from all students in all classes throughout the year. Rubric categories will be discussed and an emphasis will be given to "Audience and
Purpose" and "Idea Development" because those categories provide the most opportunity for teachers to teach and assess their content
through writing. An outline and discussion of the basic structure of an informative or argumentative piece of writing will be included in the
presentation, followed by focused examples of "The 3.8 Paragraph" method. These types of paragraphs can be used in all content areas for
short-answer and extended-response practice; but furthermore, content-specific writing practices can incorporate "The 3.8 Paragraph"
method. For instance, in math, Formative Assessment for Learning (FAL) responses require students to explain their thought process when
analyzing and answering questions. Students in science and social studies write lengthier essays for the Literacy Design Collaborative (LDC)
which can incorporate "The 3.8 Paragraph" method into the body paragraphs of the essay. On-Demand Writing (ODW) occurs during
language arts and all other elective classes, in which idea development through "The 3.8 Paragraph" is necessary. Overall, these types of
paragraphs are beneficial in providing a consistent format that will allow all teachers to assist students in writing across the curriculum.
RTI Grade level PLCs include all core content teachers, instructional coach, counseling staff, and an administrator. Together, this PLC
discusses data on individual students to make decisions based on current data and teacher recommendations on initial placement,
continuing placement, and/or withdrawal (with supports) of individual students for the RTI programs (reading and math) for the second
semester and for the first semester of the following school year. These meetings are based upon progress monitoring data collected on
current students in the RTI program, as well as historical assessment data that shows insufficient skills in the areas of reading and/or math.
RTI teachers communicate to core teachers throughout the year about instructional strategies that show success with individual students
within their RTI classrooms.
Many members of the school staff work together to arrange for guest speakers from the community. Additionally, the administration, 8th
grade core teachers, the YSC coordinator, and PLCS teachers collaborated to implement the Operation Preparation event for 8th grade
students. A variety of guest speakers from the community provide career guidance to 8th grade students on an annual basis.
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Characteristic C
There are multiple opportunities for teachers to become leaders within our school. Our school follows the middle school "team" approach,
which consists of 3 - 7 core teachers that teach a group of students at a specific grade level. Each team has a one teacher that belongs to
our school's Leadership team. The Leadership team meets at least two times each month to discuss the current status of the school and
determine next steps for continuous school improvement. Each team leader is obligated to disseminate the information from the Leadership
meeting to all members of their team, as well as to complete any necessary tasks.
PLCS teachers are leaders at Jessie Clark. One is on the school's leadership team and is the PLCS team leader. The Business Education
teacher is an SBDM Committee Member (5th year-in-a-row) and he is also one of 8 teachers in the State selected to align the middle school
business curriculum with KASC. Two PLCS staff members are PLCS Program Review Co-Chairs and members of the Professional
Development ad hoc committee. One PLCS teacher is the Health and Wellness Committee Chair. Additionally, the Power Days committee
and Health and Wellness committee have at least 1 member from the PLCS team. One PLCS teacher has also been trained in instructional
design by The Learning Design Collaborative. Several PLCS teachers are coaches of basketball, football, track, and Robotics. 3 PLCS
teachers are members of KEA the teacher union.
Department chairs meet at the district level each month and bring back that information to communicate and lead their departments
pertaining to curriculum, analysis of assessment data, and instructional strategies for the classroom. They are also part of the curriculum and
instruction committee that meets monthly to discuss ideals, resources, and materials across discipline levels to aide in the dissemination of
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information and lead our school with district initiatives.
We have two teachers that spearheaded the use of paperless classrooms, which allowed all of their students to receive old laptops that were
no longer used at the district-level. Through the use of these laptops, these teachers have been able to use Google Classroom to instruct
their students, which has led to a variety of project-based learning opportunities. One of these teachers is one of six classroom teachers
from FCPS that was selected to attend the International Society for Technology in Education's (ISTE) Premier Education Technology
Conference in Denver, CO this summer. In addition, this teacher has been selected to serve as our district's technology teacher
representative, which will generate a set of Chromebook laptops for her classroom. We have teachers that have presented Professional
Development opportunities on the district-level. We also have two teachers that presented their project, "Two Middle School Teachers'
Experiences in Adapting and Implementing an Integrated Mathematics-Science Curriculum" at 'The real REAL Curriculum National Science
Conference' in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Characteristic D
Jessie Clark Middle School's goal is to have teachers to contact and collaborate with external partners (community, business, and
postsecondary) that are able to support our school motto 'Value Self, Value Others, Value Learning: Every Student, Every Day'. PLCS
teachers specifically collaborate with community, business and post-secondary partners. PLCS teachers and the Family Youth Services
Coordinator collaborate with the community and the administration to coordinate an Operation Preparation event that brings multiple
community volunteers to speak with 8th grade students about education and career options. PLCS teachers continue to work with Junior
Achievement partners as well. Representatives from KEMI teach a 6-lesson series on Financial Literacy to 7th graders, while BB&T partners
with Junior Achievement for a 6-lesson series on 'Its My Business'. Additionally, the Physical Education teacher collaborates with the
Salvidas Training agency and SkateTime Indy to incorporate instructional opportunities for students that are not provided as part of the
regular curriculum (first aid & CPR training, roller skating).
Jessie Clark Middle School is a Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) school. The PBIS philosophy supports the promotion of
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teaching expectations, providing intervention(s) when an expectation is not met, re-teaching behavior, and rewarding/celebrating successes.
PBIS addresses the school-wide system as a whole, and is a part of the Multi-Tiered Support Systems (MTSS, RTI). Thus, we have built in
times to celebrate successes twice a month. The second Friday of the month is a "Team Day", so activities are individual to the teams.
Team Days include an hour at the end of the day for 'team time'. Each quarter, the fourth Friday of the month is a "Power Day", which has a
school-wide focus. Power Days span over three class periods, alternating between mornings and afternoons. All students are allowed to
attend the "Power" segment of the Power Day, which is an hour of time that is dedicated to presentations by community partners. We have
been fortunate to have teachers to coordinate amazing speakers and philanthropic events for our students.
-Devine Carama presented "The Power of Words" to our students, in which he uses poetry and hip-hop to focus on how the
words we use have power, so it is up to us to choose whether we use that power in a good way or a bad way.
-Kelly Gunning is a community psychologist and co-director of the Lexington branch of National Alliance on Mental Illness
(NAMI) and Director of Advocacy and Public Policy. She had a group to present on personal empowerment and health,
integrating mental health, physical health, substance abuse, peer pressure and anti-bullying through a choreographed
performance using acceptable, positive, and popular songs. One presenter talked about her struggle with bi-polar disorder
and how it impacted her friendships; another presenter shared his personal battle with addiction and gangs; while another
presenter aimed to empower the students.
-For Operation Preparation, health services professionals presented to almost 80 of our 8th grade students, as their Individual
Learning Plans indicated that they plan to focus on a career in health services. The health services professionals that
presented to these students included physicians, physical therapists, mental health therapists, nurses, and veterinarians.
-Every year, Jessie Clark Middle School participates hosts a Relay for Life. On November 6, 2015, we had our 6th Annual
"Carin's Crew Relay for Life". The purpose of the relay is to use philanthropy to honor Carin Brown Addams and her battle
with breast cancer. Carin is a nurse and mother to her young son, but she is also the daughter of a former Science teacher at
Jessie Clark (Cheryl Brown). Through our six annual events, JCMS has raised over $20,000 that has been donated to a variety
of charities. We also collaborated with Kona Ice, who sold their sweet treats during the relay. Kona Ice joined in our efforts
by donating a portion of their sales to our cause. This year, our Eagle Elite students selected the Visually Impaired Preschool
(located on Burt Road in Lexington, KY) as the recipient of all proceeds from Carin's Crew.
-20 8th grade students will be taking a field trip to Locust Trace school. These students were selected because their Individual
Learning Plans indicated potential career interests in equine studies, agricultural studies, zoology, veterinary studies, and/or
animal training.
-ILP Parent Night was March 22. Ten parents came to learn about the results of their child's Individual Learning Plan.
- Multiple teachers promote a philanthropic mindset for our students. Students participate in a variety of service projects
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throughout the community each year, due to contact and collaboration that sponsors make with members of the community.
Our BETA Club sponsored a Toy Drive in November/December and delivered the items to the Catholic Action Center in
December. Our Eagle ELITE sponsored a Food Drive in the fall. All food that was collected was donated to God's Pantry in
Lexington. Students participate in Math-a-Thon and proceeds go to St. Jude's Hospital.
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Administrative/Leadership Support and Monitoring: Policies and Monitoring
School leadership establishes and monitors implementation of policies, provides adequate resources, facilities, space and instructional time
to support highly effective PLCS instructional programs.
Overall Rating: 2.11
Statement or Question
To what extent does the school
councils/leadership ensure that PLCS concepts
are taught throughout the school and across the
curriculum?
Response
Rating
School Council/Leadership establish policies to Needs
ensure that PLCS concepts are taught
Improvement
throughout the school and across the
curriculum.
Statement or Question
To what extent does school leadership ensure
that protected time is allocated in the schedule
so that all students can receive all PLCS
disciplines and instruction?
Response
Protected time is allocated in the schedule so
that all students can receive instruction in all
PLCS disciplines and instruction.
Rating
Proficient
c)
Statement or Question
To what extent does school leadership ensure
that all departments are invited to participate in
planning the annual school budget?
Response
PLCS teachers actively participate in and
provide input in planning the annual school
budget to ensure adequate and quality
materials, equipment, space and technology
are available to offer the curriculum.
Rating
Distinguished
d)
Statement or Question
To what extent does school leadership ensure
that PLCS teachers are assigned manageable
class loads based on course and facilities?
Response
PLCS teachers are assigned equitable class
loads based on course and facilities as
compared to other teachers in the building.
Rating
Distinguished
e)
Statement or Question
Response
To what extent does school leadership ensure PLCS teachers receive planning time that is
that PLCS teachers receive planning and travel equitable with other content areas.
time that is equitable with other content areas?
Rating
Proficient
Statement or Question
To what extent do the principal and program
teacher leaders collaborate to allocate equitable
time, appropriate facilities and resources to
implement the PLCS programs?
Rating
Proficient
a)
b)
f)
g)
Response
The principal enlists program area teacher
leaders to collaborate, evaluate and reflect on
the impact of the PLCS instructional practices
on overall student achievement in the school.
Statement or Question
Response
Rating
To what extent does school leadership ensure Decisions related to PLCS program staffing are Proficient
that decisions related to PLCS program staffing based on student need.
is based on student need and interests?
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h)
i)
Statement or Question
To what extent does school leadership ensure
that Committees (Coordinated School Health
committees, CTE program advisory
committees) meet a minimum of twice per
school year to ensure quality PLCS
programming policies?
Response
Advisory Committees (Coordinated School
Health committees, CTE program advisory
committees) meet at least quarterly throughout
the school year to ensure quality PLCS
programming policies.
Rating
Distinguished
Statement or Question
To what extent does school leadership ensure
that the school is implementing the district-level
wellness policy via a school-level wellness
policy that is reviewed annually; and goals for
school wellness are included in the CSIP?
Response
Rating
A school-level wellness policy is developed, but Needs
no assessment for implementation is utilized for Improvement
annual review.
Evidence is identified to support the school's analysis for each of the demonstrators. Program review evidence may be specific for
an area (Writing, Arts & Humanities, Practical Living/Career Studies, K-3, and Global Competency/World Languages) or may be
common across other reviews. Review teams will likely find they need to search out additional evidence during the program review
process in order to make judgments or to support judgments.
Characteristic A
School leadership created a policy to ensure that PLCS, Arts & Humanities, and writing concepts are taught throughout the school and
across the curriculum. In March 2015, the Curriculum & Instruction committee discussed the most effective and efficient process for ensuring
the accountability of PLCS implementation throughout the school and across the curriculum because PLCS was slotted as the program
review that was in the cycle of in-depth. Fall 2015 district leadership commanded that all program reviews would go through the process of
review, feedback and changes.
Characteristic B
Protected time is allocated in the school schedule for PLCS exploratory classes. PLCS exploratory classes are available for all students and
all students can receive instruction in all PLCS disciplines. Some students elect year- long World Language and Performance Music classes
which may limit their opportunities for PLCS elective classes. However, PLCS classes are still offered and available to these students. An
extension of time (beyond usual implementation) is allocated, to demonstrate a strong school commitment to the PLCS and needs of
students. Extracurricular activities include a Lego Robotics Club, Student Technology Leadership Program (STLP), and the Stock Market
Challenge. In 2014 and Spring of 2015, our students participated at the state-level in the Stock Market Challenge.
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Characteristic C
Teachers are provided with the opportunity to select a preference for committees they will be interested in serving on. School leadership
constructs each committee based on these preferences and a desire to have representations from all content areas and grade levels. A
number of teachers across content areas and departments, are on the budget committee. One PLCS teacher also serves on our school's
Site-Based Decision Making (SBDM) council. All of these teachers provide input in planning the annual school budget to ensure adequate
and quality materials, equipment, space, and technology are available to offer the curriculum.
Characteristic D
All teachers are assigned equitable class loads based on course and facilities available. PLCS teachers have similar case loads when
compared to Core Content area teachers. SBDM policy 3.5, Student Assignment, outlines criteria for assigning students to classes and
programs.
Characteristic E
PLCS teachers receive planning time that is equitable with other content areas. Core Content area teachers receive two planning periods
per day (one personal and the other team planning time) while PLCS teachers receive one designated planning period per day with breaks
between classes that, added together, equal the same amount of time as a second planning period. In an effort to equalize planning time,
the administration, has created a schedule that allows the Exploratory department to meet for 3 hours once per month. During these
meetings, PLCS teachers and other exploratory staff have an opportunity to share ideas, analyze student data, and participate in cross
curricular planning.
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Another example of cross curricular planning between PLCS and academic core teachers is the creation of cross disciplinary committees
with representatives from all content areas and grade levels. Elective teachers, academic core teachers, and administration discuss,
collaborate, and make decisions on a variety of committees to improve teaching and learning at Jessie Clark. Many members of the school
staff work together to arrange guest speakers from the community for the Power Day activities each month. Additionally, the administration,
8th grade core teachers, the YSC coordinator, and PLCS teachers collaborated to implement the Operation Preparation event for 8th grade
students on March 13, 2015.
Characteristic F
School leadership and all programs' teacher leaders collaborate to allocate time and resources to implement the PLCS programs. School
leadership and PLCS teachers collaborate on a variety of school committees (Technology, Curriculum and Instruction, Health and Wellness
Committee, Power team, Leadership committees, etc.) to make decisions regarding the allocation of time and resources for the school and
specific programs. PLCS teachers are able to provide input on when their planning time occurs in the master schedule. Additionally, one
PLCS staff member is on the SBDM council and has an opportunity to represent the interests of the staff and specifically the PLCS
programs. School leadership and the budget committee work together with the bookkeeper and PLCS staff to allocate school budgets for
specific program areas. PLCS teachers and school administration work together if special budgetary needs arise on a case by case basis.
The PTSA provides funds for all PLCS teachers to purchase classroom materials and supplies up to $50.
Characteristic G
Staffing allocations, based on enrollment projections from the District, provide general guidelines for school staffing structures and are
currently being examined and revised due to budgetary constraints. The SBDM council, which has PLCS membership, examines these
staffing recommendations and considers school and student needs when calculating staffing allocations for the next year. The SBDM
manual contains no policies specific to the staffing of PLCS programs. SBDM policy 3.5, Staff Time, outlines how the principal shall assign
staff based on staff members' indicating preferences and enrollment numbers. PLCS program offerings have been relatively consistent for a
number of years (+/- 1 staff member).
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Characteristic H
A coordinated School Health & Wellness Committee was established and started meeting in January 2014. The committee meets on the first
Tuesday of each month and is composed of two PLCS teachers, one A/H teacher, one guidance counselor, one administrator, and one
parent. The committee is working to update the SBDM school wellness policy (May 2008), to ensure that it is in alignment with the District
wellness policy. The committee has been instrumental in providing healthy snacks as menu options at extracurricular events. The
committee will help to coordinate guest speakers for all 3 grade levels for the April Power Day, as the theme is "Health & Wellness". The
committee has also proposed a schedule for the World Fit Walk program to ensure school wide participation.
The Business Education, Life Skills, and Technology education teachers and the Youth Service Center coordinator work informally as a CTE
program advisory committee. The group meets to plan and discuss implementation of the ILP, analyze ILP data, coordinate the ILP parent
night, and to plan Operation Preparation events that promote college and career readiness for 8th grade students.
Characteristic I
There is a SBDM school wellness policy that was adopted May 8, 2006 and revised 2014. The school is implementing the district-level
wellness policy and is providing annual feedback to the district regarding its progress, per the 2012 Health Schools Program and the PLCS
Program Review crosswalk.
JCMS has an active School Health & Wellness Committee, comprised of parents, teachers, a guidance
counselor, and an administrator (See Standard 1, Demonstrator 1. Health Education, d).
The rationale explains how the identified evidence supports the school's reported level of program implementation for the
demonstrator.
The school has policies in place to address scheduling students in classes, equitable class loads, and the school wellness policy. JCMS
attempts to create equitable planning time for all teachers and allow teacher input when forming school level committees. There is a general
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lack of school generated policies related to PLCS programs and instruction. There are numerous areas where PLCS programs are not given
equitable consideration when compared to core -content areas ( i.e. no advisory committees, inequitable division of time and resources, no
current PLCS staffing policies). Policies should establish the adequate time, resources, space and instructional time that is needed to assure
the PLCS instructional programs are highly effective.
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Administrative/Leadership Support and Monitoring: Principal Leadership
Principals are the primary leaders of all PL/CS program efforts and support teacher leadership through shared leadership strategies and
actions.
Overall Rating: 2.0
Statement or Question
To what extent does the principal enlist
program area teacher leaders to collaborate,
evaluate and reflect on the impact of PLCS
instructional practices on overall student
achievement in the school?
Response
Rating
The principal enlists program area teacher
Proficient
leaders to collaborate, evaluate and reflect on
the impact of the PLCS, instructional practices
on overall student achievement in the school.
b)
Statement or Question
To what extent does the principal initiate and
participate in professional learning regarding
the school's PLCS programs?
Response
The principal initiates and participates in
professional learning regarding the school's
PLCS programs.
Rating
Proficient
c)
Statement or Question
To what extent does the principal provide
frequent communication with parents and
community about PLCS programs?
Response
The principal frequently provides
communication with parents and community
about PLCS programs.
Rating
Proficient
a)
Evidence is identified to support the school's analysis for each of the demonstrators. Program review evidence may be specific for
an area (Writing, Arts & Humanities, Practical Living/Career Studies, K-3, and Global Competency/World Languages) or may be
common across other reviews. Review teams will likely find they need to search out additional evidence during the program review
process in order to make judgments or to support judgments.
haracteristic A
The principal selects department chairs (teacher-leaders) from all content areas and a guidance counselor to comprise the school's
Curriculum & Instruction Committee. This committee meets on the third Tuesday of every month to collaborate, evaluate, and reflect on the
instructional practices being implemented for PLCS, A&H, and Writing, and their impact on overall student achievement in the school. The
committee also focuses on developing and monitoring the use of effective instructional strategies, including formative & summative
assessments, analysis of data, differentiation, lesson planning, and revising our school's current writing policy. The goal of the committee is
to ensure positive impact on student achievement.
Characteristic B
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The principal informally participates in professional learning regarding the school's PLCS programs. The principal initiated and participated in
a professional learning activity in which PLCS, writing and A&H teachers collaborated with core-content. During this professional learning
time, they exchanged ideas regarding curriculum, special programs and school wide events, and student achievement. PLCS and academic
core teachers discussed standards and shared ideas for cross curricular connections. The principal has also requested that all staff members
participate in a minimum of one PD activity designed to address the implementation of PLCS (and A&H) content into core-content instruction.
This year's PD is taking place in April. Evidence will be placed on SharePoint to support this after the PD takes place
Characteristic C
School leadership communicates with parents and the community in a variety of ways. For example the principal communicates through the
PTSA Newsletter, announcements on the school webpage, updates on our construction/renovation process, post messages on Infinite
Campus parent portal, posts messages on bulletin boards in the school, sends important messages to teachers using Waveside, and
maintains a school school Twitter account. Using the Infinite Campus parent portal and other social media, the principal promotes the
school's annual Open House, ILP night for parents, STEM night, Literacy night and the start to the World Fit Walk program.
The rationale explains how the identified evidence supports the school's reported level of program implementation for the
demonstrator
The principal supports department chairs and other teacher-leaders in their efforts to improve PLCS instruction through the use of effective
strategies. The PLCS program would benefit from a greater focus on shared leadership strategies and actions.
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Report Summary
Scores By Section
Section Score
1
2
3
Curriculum and Instruction: Health Education
4
2.4
Curriculum and Instruction: Physical
Education
2
Curriculum and Instruction: Consumerism
2
Curriculum and Instruction: Career Education
2.29
Curriculum and Instruction: ILP
1.75
Formative and Summative Assessment:
Assessments
2
Formative and Summative Assessment:
Expectations for Student Learning
2
Professional Learning: Opportunities
2.75
Professional Learning: Participation
2
Administrative/Leadership Support and
Monitoring: Policies and Monitoring
2.11
Administrative/Leadership Support and
Monitoring: Principal Leadership
2
Sections
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Program Review: Writing
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Introduction
This report contains Program Review results for Writing. This program review is required as part of Kentucky's new assessment and
accountability model. A Program Review is a systematic method of analyzing components of an instructional program, including instructional
practices, aligned and enacted curriculum, student works samples, formative and summative assessments, professional development and
support services, and administrative support and monitoring. (KRS 158.6453(l)(i))
Diagnostic tools to capture and report the results from these program reviews are contained in the AdvancED's Adaptive System of School
Improvement Support Tools (ASSIST). ASSIST allows schools and institutions to gain better understanding of past successes and
opportunities, and confidently build a solid, research-based improvement plan for the future.
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Curriculum and Instruction: Student Access
All students have equitable access to high quality curriculum and instruction. Full implementation of a writing curriculum encompasses
reading, speaking and listening opportunities.
Overall Rating: 2.0
a)
b)
c)
Statement or Question
To what extent do students participate in
intentionally planned literacy learning
opportunities to explore ideas and design
products across content areas?
Response
Students participate in intentionally planned
literacy learning opportunities to explore ideas
and design products across content areas.
Rating
Proficient
Statement or Question
To what extent do students have access and
use equipment and materials designed to meet
their individual needs as determined by data
(e.g., formative assessments)?
Response
Students have access and use equipment and
materials designed to meet their individual
needs as determined by data (e.g., formative
assessments).
Rating
Proficient
Statement or Question
To what extent do teachers instruct the complex
processes, concepts and principles of literacy
using differentiated strategies that make
instruction accessible to all students?
Response
Teachers instruct the complex processes,
concepts and principles of literacy using
differentiated strategies that make instruction
accessible to all students.
Rating
Proficient
Evidence is identified to support the school's analysis for each of the demonstrators. Program review evidence may be specific for
an area (Writing, Arts & Humanities, Practical Living/Career Studies, K-3, and Global Competency/World Languages) or may be
common across other reviews. Review teams will likely find they need to search out additional evidence during the program review
process in order to make judgments or to support judgments.
Dem 1 Characteristic a
All students at our school participate in intentionally planned literacy learning opportunities across content areas. They have access to high
quality comprehensive instruction, and engage in daily reading through the use of bell ringers and exit slips in all classes, and each student
has a reading book of choice with them at all times. We also have a school wide sustained silent reading program which is implemented on a
weekly basis providing students with a specific time to read for enjoyment each week.
At each level grade students are also participating in the article of the week instruction. This instruction uses an article which is short and full
of content level vocabulary, as well as topics that are current in the news or classroom. There are distinct questions and strategies for
vocabulary that accompany each passage to enhance comprehension, impacting student learning of the content. These articles are also
leveled for reading ability when needed. Evidence can be found in teacher lesson plan books and files.
Similar to the article of the week instruction, teachers at all grade levels and all core content areas are also using the Word Generation
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vocabulary program which focuses on five vocabulary words each week that revolve around a common topic. A weekly passage is read and
the vocabulary words are introduced by the language arts teachers on Monday. On Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday the teachers in
math, science, and social studies guide students through lessons specific to their content areas (i.e. debating, graphing) that use the same
topic and focus vocabulary words. On Friday, instruction returns to the language arts classroom where students write their overall response
to the topic's essential question using the information from the content areas and the focus vocabulary words.
In language arts classes, students are also engaged in research assignments that use leveled resources for assigned and student-choice
topics. In 6th grade, students research the Titanic during the first semester and pirates during the second semester. For the Titanic
research, in which students are randomly assigned an actual person who was aboard the ship on the evening it sank, students create a
biography brochure. Students research a pirate, which is assigned based on ability, in order to write an informational essay and create a
visual presentation. In 7th grade, students researched various legends topics of their own choice. Additionally, 6th and 7th grade students in
some language arts classes are given the opportunity to complete independent research projects. A step-by-step packet is provided to assist
students through the inquiry process.
Students are also provided with the opportunity through Independent Reading Projects to design products across the content areas to show
mastery of the core content being taught. Projects are often differentiated and driven by student choice. They may be in the example of
posters, power points, movie maker video product, writing a newspaper article or editorials, creating a brochure, timeline, skits, speeches,
poems, songs, etc… Projects can be found displayed throughout the building in hallways, bulletin boards, and student communication
folders. A specific example would be in 7th grade LA, students researched a chosen legend to create either an informative essay or a movie
maker video product. The impact on student learning is that by providing students with choices in the products they develop it helps
generate student interest and builds on 21 century skills they will need in the future.
All students 6th, 7th and 8th grade have participated in the LDC writing program in science and social studies classes. Students are engaged
in researching tiered level articles, websites and books of choice over various topics. In science and social studies, students research various
climate types and their effect on adaptation of people in different regions of the world, and explored the ancient Greek city-states. In the 8th
grade students wrote informative papers using a variety of informative sources cited in a novel to write an article informing the audience on
the truth of an incident that took place in the novel. The impact on student learning through the participation of our school in the LDC program
has been significant in the area of writing. It has allowed students to receive ongoing quality literary and writing instruction in their content
classes.
All social studies students engage in reading, speaking, listening, and writing activities throughout the year. Teachers regularly utilize lexiled
readings for students to use for research. Students are provided the opportunity to choose product(s) based upon their learning style and
choice of modality. Students are provided with multiple intelligence inventories at the beginning of the year to empower them in embracing
their strengths in learning and allowing student ownership of learning. This impacts student learning by allowing students to realize their
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individual strengths and empowers them to utilize these strengths in learning. This is evidenced in the following activities: 6th grade social
studies students, have the opportunity to engage in individual research and design their own product based on interest for Europe and Africa
Units of Study. Projects are then presented to peers as part of the overall score. Through Literacy Design Collaborative, 6th grade social
studies students participate in an intentionally planned unit to research and create an informational essay comparing and contrasting the
three monotheistic religions.
7th Grade Social Studies students engage in reading, speaking, and listening opportunities which includes
customized plans and instruction that matches their learning needs. For example students create a "Fakebook" for various Egyptian
Pharaohs, in which they read and research lexiled articles in response to inquiry based questions. Students report their findings through
written and oral presentations to the class. The classmates listen to the information and record details on a guided note page. 8th Grade
students regularly participate as a presenter and as an audience member. Effective strategies for public speaking and critical listening are
taught prior to presentations. Peer editing/critiquing strategies are taught. Examples: presentation of colonial post card and/or colonial
brochure. All 8th grade students regularly practice locating supporting details in an informative text in support of personalized products.
Example: colonial post card and/or colonial brochure projects.
PLCS: Business Education, Health Education, Life Skills, and Technology education classes at all 3 grade levels participate in intentionally
planned literacy activities including bell ringers, exit slips, and reflective writing activities on a regular basis. Bell ringers that have students
writing to learn and to demonstrate learning are used daily in all classes. Additionally, the school writing plan states that all Exploratory
teachers will administer 1 On Demand writing prompt in 6th and 8th grade classes a minimum of one time per semester. These entries will
be included in the student communication portfolio. Students in Life Skills and Technology education classes complete a reflective writing
activity where students analyze and summarize their experience updating the ILP. In technology education classes students demonstrate
record keeping activities and write daily learning objectives for each module. 7th Grade business education students prepare business
documents including résumés, cover letters, marketing plans, and business letters. 6th Grade life skills students participate in writing to learn
activities such as vocabulary practice and guided note taking. Short answer questions are used weekly as formative assessments, and on
tests in all 3 grades. Students complete a variety of projects in 7th and 8th grade classes allowing students to select the product produced to
demonstrate learning. Learning products include career and college PowerPoint presentations, commercials, videos, Prezi's, Word Clouds,
and posters. Evidence can be found in lesson plans, student work products, ILP
All math students are regularly exposed to word problems with an emphasis on real-world application. These problems are found in text
books, internet resources and Formative Assessment Lessons and focus on content aligned to the curriculum. Strategic Education Research
Partnership (SERP) Vocabulary units are used weekly by 6th, 7th and 8th grade teachers to emphasize academic vocabulary and make
connections across content areas.
Science classes participate in intentional literacy learning opportunities as evidenced: 6th Grade students have access to many texts through
many assignments. Students use texts from a variety of sources, for example the Kentucky Department of Environmental Protection, to write
their LDCs. Students have access to high quality writing projects such as the LDC, in which students complete a full writing project complete
with planning activities, rough draft, review and final copy. Teachers use a variety of sources for students to learn through listening.
Students are using listening skills in the weather unit. Students are presenting climate data, and the rest of the class is listening to see if that
climate matches their preferred climate to live in. Students also take verbal quizzes relating to weather maps. Students viewed and took
notes the video "Moon Hoax" for the astronomy unit.
7th Grade students have access to a variety of texts including, leveled textbooks, articles from various sources including Science Scope,
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Readworks.com, and higher texts from other periodicals. Higher leveled texts are differentiated and supported with vocabulary activities,
teacher guided questions for comprehension, and other scaffolding. Students used thermal images of real homes to make inferences and
then built homes for an investigation. During and after the investigation, students used scientific data, qualitative and quantitative, to draw
conclusions and support answers to analysis and explanation questions. Students used differentiated probes from Paige Keeley's Formative
Assessment book, and in groups solved a problem and presented their agreed upon solution. Students Design their own instruction.
Students used available materials to design an investigation, carry out investigation, and present conclusions. So students planned and
wrote procedures, supplies, data, and outcomes and then presented information to the class.
8th Grade Science students have access to various opportunities in reading and writing. An LDC on coal mining or agricultural practices
offered students the opportunity to research various sources and write a formal letter to a government official. Students also practiced
language usage when writing their LDC formal letter. The rubric followed specified correct usage of language when writing their letters.
Learning how to research and write the LDC involved carefully following instruction, incorporating their listening skills. All 8th grade students
also were required to write a letter to the Lorax. Students were offered the same opportunities as the LDC. Webquests also incorporate
reading and writing skills, as well as language usage and listening skills (instructions).
Visual Arts: (Anchor Standard Creating 1.2.678) Students generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work through investigations,
planning and making. Students formulate artistic investigations, develop criteria for an identified goal and work collaboratively using a
relevant mood, message, idea. Students read about selected themes and conduct research for their own artworks, students write plans for
their own artworks that convey a relevant mood, message, idea. Students view artworks that build knowledge on relevant themes and view
videos that provide information about the artist. (Anchor Standard Creating 2.1.678) Students organize and develop artistic ideas and work
through investigations and opportunities to work with new media and materials. On Fun Fridays, students demonstrate openness to trying
new ideas, materials, methods and approaches in making art. Students demonstrate persistence in developing their skills with various
materials, methods and approaches and demonstrate a willingness to experiment, innovate and take risks. Exemplar models are provided
for viewing and processes are demonstrated via art instructor or video. (Anchor Standard Creating 2.3.678) Students organize, investigate
and develop artistic ideas and work. Students read about a relevant problem or issue and design or redesign objects, places and systems to
meet the identified needs of diverse users. (relevant issue) Students apply visual organization strategies to design and produce a work of
art. (word maps) Students select, organize and design images and words to make a visually clear and compelling presentation. (glogster)
(Anchor Standard Responding 8.1.678) Students interpret intent and meaning in artistic work through description, analysis, interpretation and
judgement with a focus on an artist, artwork or art movement. Students interpret art by analyzing art-making approaches, characteristics of
form and structure, relevant contextual information, subject matter, and use of media to convey mood, message, idea. (4-aquare)
Chorus students listen to portions of recorded versions of performance music from J.W. Pepper and YouTube of Carol of the Bells and listen
to differences between the professional recordings and student performance. Orchestra and Guitar students explore ideas in reading and
listening through the use of the Music Alive! Magazine which features articles on a range of subjects from genres to careers to artists. A CD
is included with listening examples tied to the article and lesson plans provide higher level thinking questions.
Dem 1 Characteristic b
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As a school we look at summative and formative test results to ensure that students have access to equipment and materials designed to
meet their individual needs. Teachers use bell ringers and exit slips to formatively check for individual student learning and make
accommodations in instruction for individual students as needed. As a staff we meet to discuss summative test results, breaking into
departments to focus on the data to make recommendations on decisions for equipment and materials needed to ensure student progress in
each subject area, directly impacting student learning.
Examples of materials which were purchased by our school as a result of the summative data, directly impacting student learning would be
the Compass Learning program to be used in the area of math, reading and writing, tiered novel sets to use in language arts classes, and
portable computer labs and laptops to be used for research and writing projects. We also have a school subscription with Grade-cam for
formative assessment data that is quick and easy to use.
Students also have access to technology equipment throughout the building. We have three computer labs teachers can reserve, and mobile
computer labs that can be brought into the classroom impacting the accessibility of student research and writing.
K-PREP and FAST scores are used by content teachers to help locate tiered articles and novels to meet the needs of individual students.
Some examples of how scores are used are the Article of the Week instruction taking place in 7th grade, tiered novels being used in all
language arts classes, the use of tiered articles in content classes, and the placement of students into 18 week RTI reading classes who
need individualized or small group instruction. Students in RTI classes are able to use reading materials based on their individual reading
levels to develop journal assignments. They are also provided with strategies such as graphic organizers and folders to help them organize
their writing. Student learning is impacted by receiving instruction at their individual reading level, along with strategies to help them organize
their information and put their ideas in writing.
The use of Compass learning program in the areas of reading and writing instruction allows for individualized instruction, allowing students to
work at their own pace based upon their needs. This has impacted student learning by providing students with individualized instruction in
their areas of weakness in the areas of reading and writing, allowing them to perform at a higher level.
Another specific example of the use of scores is in the 8th grade where all students were given the opportunity to read tiered/leveled novels
based upon their FAST score, revolving around the theme of physical/mental disabilities. This impacted student learning by allowing all
students to gain information at their independent reading levels. Graphic organizers and journal assignments were provided to aid with
comprehension. Students then used the ACTIVE writing strategy, a strategy designed to allow students to make individual connections and
responses to the novel, to show comprehension. Seventh grade students with low FAST scores are given the opportunity to conduct
research using the Kentucky Virtual Library feature of listening to the article read aloud online. Seeing the words on the screen while hearing
the words read to them electronically can help with processing during research. In 6th and 7th grade, students use technological tools and
public speaking skills to share their research results with peers. Students in 6th grade also may use technology during the independent
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reading projects and/or inquiry projects to conduct research and create literary presentations. Students are able to work at their own pace to
meet their own individual needs Furthermore, students in RTI classes are able to use reading materials based on their individual reading
levels to develop journal assignments. They also use the Reading Plus computer program for tiered reading assignments and some of the
students are using the writing assignment of Reading Plus to get feedback on their writing. They are also provided with strategies such as
graphic organizers and folders to help them organize their writing.
Student learning is impacted by receiving instruction at their individual reading level, along with strategies to help them organize their
information and put their ideas in writing.
Social Studies teachers utilize multiple points of data to drive instruction in the classroom to facilitate the learning process of all students.
MAP reading scores, formative and summative assessments, Student growth goals, IEP's, and 504 Plans are some data used to differentiate
materials for individual needs. This data analysis enables teachers to modify access to technology provided for specific students, provide
leveled texts, and modify rubrics. This impacts students learning by providing an environment of inclusiveness and provides a system of
supports for students to feel success. 6th grade social studies students, have the opportunity to engage in individual research and design
their own product based on interest (movie maker, power point, smart notebook, publisher, t-shirt, travel brochure, diary, music sample,
writing rap songs, 3D model, dance, art work,) for Europe projects. Projects are then presented to peers. 6th grade social studies students
research the LDC topic through the use of leveled articles. Students are encouraged to choose their graphic organizers. 7th Grade Social
Studies students strategically plan for and use a variety of equipment/technological tools and materials designed to meet and enhance their
individual needs. For example during the Ancient Greece unit, students select a topic on an aspect of ancient Greece. Students must plan
how and what technology they will use to design their products (internet, movie maker, PowerPoint, SMART Notebook, Microsoft Publisher).
In addition the Literacy Design Collaborative (LDC) allows students to utilize technology in their self-guided research about Spartan and
Athenian Life. 8th grade MAP reading scores are utilized for leveling the text selections for students as they do their research to enable
understanding of the content.
PLCS: Students have access to a variety of equipment and materials including computers, calculators, remote response devices and other
assistive technology when needed. Teachers are being trained to use the CIITS database to prepare formative and summative assessments
and analyze test and student data. Teachers regularly use technology in the classroom including: Grade-Cam, Edmodo, tablets, mobile
labs. Business Education, Pre-Engineering/Robotics and Technology Education have classroom sets of computers and employ the use of
technology on a daily basis.Special Education teachers provide Business Education, Health Education, Life Skills, Physical Education and
Technology Education teachers with IEP and 504 plans for students with special needs and learning accommodations. Teachers in these
classes provide accommodations and apply learning strategies to meet the needs of identified students, including technology to adapt the
materials. Evidence can be found in teacher records, samples of modified assignments, student work samples.
All general education math students are required to participate in Math Compass Learning computer activities and lessons a minimum of one
time per week. This software teaches concepts through auditory and visual presentation that is individualized based on student
abilityStudents also have access to this software outside of the school building where they have internet access. 6th grade teachers use
Versa-tiles and specifically choose lessons to fit their academic levels based on KPREP and FAST data. In 8th grade, word banks are given
to students for ERQs to help in the assimilation of content vocabulary.
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Science classes use data to drive their curriculum. For example, all sixth grade teachers use FAST and KPREP data through CIITS to design
grouping based on scores.. Students read and write and use data to explore a virtual labs through the Gizmo's and Learning Blade on
computers. Depending on the students' needs, different technology and resources are available to their use. Students are provided with a
variety of resources and students choose articles that fit their reading level as well as articles that provide them with the information they
need for their individual assignment. Some sixth grade students are working on Plato Learning. During the astronomy unit, students were
directed towards certain experiments to explore a claim from the "moon hoax" video and made movies with MovieMaker.
7th Grade: After data disaggregation based upon scores from and KPREP, MAP Reading, and MAP Math, and Stanford 10, teachers group
students according to the activity. Sometimes groups are by Math scores, sometimes by reading scores, sometimes groups with similar
scores, and sometimes mixed ability groups. Students have access to research tools such as online search engines, Edutopia, Kentucky
virtual library, through use of laptops and iPads. Students read and write and use data to explore a virtual lab through the Explore Learning
website on computers or the Gizmo App on iPads. Students used iPads to take qualitative data i.e. thermal images for a lab. Students use
temperature probes and Vernier handheld computers to take temperature readings for labs. Students use personal devices as calculators,
research tools, and data gathering tools.
All 8th grade teachers use MAP and KPREP data to design groups as well as activities. Students have access to the use of laptops, news
articles as well as hands-on activities based on their individual and class needs. Depending on the students' needs, different technology and
resources are available to their use. Students are provided with a variety of resources and students choose articles that fit their reading level
as well as articles that provide them with the information they need for their individual assignment. Most students are one-to-one with
laptops. This allows for individualized assistance while students are completing their assignments.
World Language teachers incorporate research and writing across the curriculum through culturally relevant topics. 6th grade Spanish
elective students self-select a topic of interest related to The Spanish speaking world. Students use a variety of differentiated strategies to
assist them in their research and note taking. Students design a product using various types of technology (Power Point, Prezi, Publisher,
Movie Maker, etc.) to present their project. During the
presentations, audience members reflect and give a peer review of the presentation (including oral and written portions). All orchestra
students have dedicated writing folders stored in the classroom. These folders incorporate mini dry erase boards for full class engagement in
addition to lined paper, staff paper, and testing rubrics.
Demonstrator 1 characteristic c
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Teachers in our building are using differentiated instructional strategies to make instruction accessible to all students. Each teacher in our
building has been provided with a writing binder which includes strategies for differentiation of product, instruction and content. There are
graphic organizers to help with the writing process and suggestions for differentiation within the content areas. Our instructional coach has
also placed resources for differentiation on the W drive for each teacher to access at our school. In addition, each department received three
hours of training in the area of differentiation, by our instructional coach, within the past 4 school years, for professional development. New
teachers who are placed at JCMS are provided with a notebook which includes information on differentiation, lesson plan templates, guides
to all resources on JCMS resource website and our expectations of writing, reading, speaking, and listening within all content areas, along
with the standards that must be covered within their content area. The impact this has on student learning is that teachers have the
resources available to them to differentiate instruction for all students in our school. Review of differentiation strategies and instructional
resources is reviewed at the beginning of each school year.
There are a variety of specific examples of how differentiated instruction is taking place in our school. Differentiated novel based units of
study are used in each grade level in all language arts classes based upon students K-PREP and FAST scores. Students are provided with
inferential and creative prompts geared toward the novel they are reading and demonstrate knowledge of the reading material in their writing
journals. They are also provided with differentiated graphic organizers to help with organization and comprehension of instruction. Small
group and individual instruction is provided, and students work in literature groups to provide opportunities for discussion and exploration of
the reading. A specific example would be in 8th grade, students completed two separate units, which had differentiated novels in which the
journal activities and final products were also differentiated and allowed for student choice.
Another example would be in 6th and 7th grade where students complete independent reading projects with multiple outcomes. They are
given differentiated activities to complete by choice, and they use grade level or above student choices and rubric input for grading of these
projects. Also, on several assignments, the 7th grade students have a mosaic focus, which means they are given multiple skills to choose
from (ie: summary, theme) and students work independently to present their multiple skill to groups. This is done with informational and
literary writing. An example in 7th grade would be the mosaic activity in The Highwayman. Students go through reading and listening
versions of the poem using Poetry Alive! The students use a graphic organizing activity to get specific analysis of the poem using a skill
based on their level. They are given a skill to analyze and give examples of during the poem. The students write their results to share with a
differentiated group of students. The students then vote on who has written the best analysis of their skill. This is done again with the Civil
Rights Movement unit and events/people of the movement. They use informational writing skills for this activity.
In sixth grade language arts, students participate in an interdisciplinary differentiated unit focusing on time travel. In addition to the
informational reading and writing (including research), students are simultaneously reading a tiered science fiction novels. These include
When You Reach Me, A Wrinkle in Time, The Dark is Rising, and The High King. Additionally, differentiation occurs in sixth grade language
arts classes in a variety of other formats including the use of "Good Reader" strategies, independent reading projects, and an inquiry project.
In each instance, students can have personalized learning in literacy as they choose a goal strategy, their own novel and project options, and
inquiry question.
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In the specific area of writing, students are provided with various graphic organizers and outline formats in all content classes and are used in
collaboration with the LDC pieces in science and social studies. These can be found in each teacher writing folder. An example of one such
outline provides students with examples of leads, support and conclusions on the back. As students' progress in their ability to organize their
writing, modified formats of the outline are given providing less support. Eventually, students are able to produce their own method of
outlining and organizing their information. The impact on student learning is that students are able to use graphic organizers to organize their
ideas at the level of support that they need.
A literary magazine allows students to personalize literacy activities by determining what type of writing they will contribute to the magazine.
Teachers facilitate during meetings and assist students with editing and revising as needed.
Social Studies Teachers regularly use the following practices to ensure that all students are provided the same opportunity to access the
core content within their desired area of learning. Modeling, scaffolding, chunking of long term assignments, individual student choice of
product, individual student choice of materials and text, self-monitoring within the group. This is evidenced in 8th grade by student selfselected products, materials, and roles within the group during colonial post card/brochure projects. 6th grade social studies students have
the opportunity to choose projects and topics within each unit of study based on individual learning styles and levels. During LDC all 6th
grade social studies students will participate in mini-lessons on the writing process and works citation which are embedded in instruction.
Articles are leveled by reading MAP scores. 7th grade Social Studies students use differentiated strategies to self- direct their learning
through the Greek projects. The Greek projects allow students to use differentiated strategies such as self- paced learning to research a topic
of their interest with regards to Grecian culture. Students also have the opportunity to pick lexile leveled literacy sources via the library,
internet, and primary source documents.
PLCS: Business Education, Health Education, Life Skills, and Technology education classes at all 3 grade levels participate in intentionally
planned literacy activities including bell ringers, exit slips, and reflective writing activities on a regular basis. Bell ringers that have students
writing to learn and to demonstrate learning are used daily in all classes. At least once per semester Exploratory teachers will administer an
On Demand writing prompt to 6th and 8th grade classes. These writing samples will be included in the student communication folder.
Students in Life Skills and Technology education classes complete a reflective writing activity where students analyze and summarize their
experience updating the ILP. Students read a variety of informational texts in the PLCS Exploratory classes including WebPages, textbooks,
non-fiction books, articles, and pamphlets representing the wide variety of rich resources available to meet student needs. Students are also
directly instructed in learning content specific vocabulary in each of the PLCS Exploratory classes - in Life Skills class students in 6th grade
classes complete visual vocabulary activities. The PLCS Exploratory classes at Jessie Clark address all learning styles, regularly utilize a
variety of instructional techniques (demonstration, modeling, small group, inquiry, technology), and address digital literacy, financial literacy,
and health literacy to enhance student access to and analysis of information. In Life Skills classes assignments and tests are modified as
needed for students with special needs and accommodations. Projects assigned during the 9 week quarter allow students to differentiate the
learning products produced to demonstrate learning. Students can choose a variety of multimedia presentations including videos,
PowerPoint presentations, Prezi's, word documents, and posters. Students participate in daily writing activities and read a variety of
materials on a regular basis. In technology education classes students produce a variety of products based on the module rotation that is
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individualized to meet student interests and needs. Students self-select the modules are interested in and work with a partner to complete
assigned technology and hand-on tasks. Students read and follow step by step instructions for completing tasks. In Business education
classes students are instructed in the forms and conventions of business writing. Students write résumés, cover letters, business letters and
marketing plans. Students develop marketing plans that include invitations to special events and creating company letterheads and logos.
Special Education teachers provide Business Education, Health Education, Life Skills, Physical Education and Technology Education
teachers with IEP and 504 plans for students with special needs and learning accommodations. Teachers in these classes provide
accommodations and apply learning strategies to meet the needs of identified students. Teachers have access to and have been trained to
use the CIITS database to collect and analyze student data including MAP scores in reading and math and growth data to measure student
achievement. Evidence can be found in lesson plans, student work samples, ILP.
In math, teachers differentiate based on the need level of the student. In 6th grade, different reading/writing strategies are used for different
levels of learners. This is especially utilized with ERQ's and word problems. In 7th and 8th grade, graphic organizers are provided to meet
the needs of all students. Students are given different graphic organizers on a tiered need level to support their writing process.
Science teachers differentiate so that all students have access to complex concepts. All 6th grade teachers have used data from FAST and
KPREP scores to identify student needs. Students were given differentiated articles about the Kentucky River Ecosystem, based on their
reading level to complete a writing piece on how abiotic factors affect the Kentucky River ecosystems. During the rock cycle unit, students
were exposed to a variety of learning strategies. Students used an on-line webquest, read about the rock cycle and how it affects the world
around them, participated in a simulation of the rock cycle outside, and modeled the rock cycle with chocolate chips. Students completed an
individual model of the rock cycle at the end of the unit. This model was differentiated based on students' abilities. Students were given an
opportunity to select the type of project they wished to complete. All students were challenged to create a model at the level they are
performing at. Higher students were challenged to think outside the "box" and pushed to create more abstract work, including poems and
stories about rocks that experienced the rock cycle. Lower students were encouraged to complete work at their level as well, although many
of them chose to complete more concrete work. During the astronomy unit, lab sheets were differentiated by class.
7th Grade: After data disaggregation based upon scores from and KPREP, MAP Reading, and MAP Math, and Stanford 10, teachers group
students according to the activity. Sometimes groups are by Math scores, sometimes by reading scores, sometimes groups with similar
scores, and sometimes mixed ability groups. Students have access to research tools such as online search engines, Edutopia, Kentucky
Virtual Library, through use of laptops and iPads. Students read and write and use data to explore a virtual lab through the Explore Learning
website on computers or the Gizmo App on iPads. Students used iPads to take qualitative data i.e. thermal images for a lab. Students use
temperature probes and Vernier handheld computers to take temperature readings for labs. Students use personal devices as calculators,
research tools, and data gathering tools. Students also choose their own article of the week based on preference and reading ability.
Teachers offer a variety of tiered readings to students for practice and within writing projects such as the LDC.
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All 8th grade students will have access to the Britannica Digital learning database which is a part of the Kentucky Virtual Library System. This
program allows students to read similar articles with the same content at varying reading levels. This program also includes a text to speech
feature that can make accommodations for students who excel in the classroom when provided reading accommodations. There is also a
translating feature in this program which provides whole article translations for 30+ different languages. These articles are used as a
recommended research resource.
Visual Arts: Instruction is accessible to all students through differentiated strategies that instruct the complex processes, concepts and
principles of literacy to develop a deeper understanding of the concepts and content with the visual art unit. Tiered assignments are used for
differentiation as well as models, examples and sentence stems. Art Planning Sheets are differentiated based on scaffolding need, artist
statement flow charts are differentiated based on scaffolding needs and Anchor 8 4-squares are differentiated based on scaffolding need.
Band students receive critiques on their weekly practice log reflections including comments such as "Vary sentence structure" and "Please
write in complete sentences."
The rationale Explains how the identified evidence supports the school's reported level of program implementation for the
demonstrator.
The Writing policy and writing plan went through adjustments 2014-15. Along with these changes came support for teachers in the area of
literacy. Teachers in our school have received intensive training in the area of differentiating reading and writing instruction to ensure that all
students have access to high quality curriculum instruction. Along with the professional development training teachers received in this area,
they have writing binders with specific strategies they can use in their content areas. These binders have been reviewed this year and
additional training was required for teachers to understand the requirements of the writing policy and plan. All teachers in this school
understand the role they play in literacy instruction and each year teachers increase their knowledge and add to their literacy instruction
within their class.
Additionally, teachers have access to current research strategies posted on the JCMS SharePoint site by our instructional coach that can be
used for literacy and writing instruction. The result of this training can be seen in the access that students have to graphic organizers,
differentiated reading materials and differentiated teaching strategies being used in the classroom; as well as, the products being produced
by students. As a result, student learning has been positively impacted through the intentional planning of literacy learning opportunities
across the content areas and using equipment and materials to meet individual student needs.
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Teachers have been trained in Kagan Strategies and Visible learning strategies to increase teacher effectiveness.
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Curriculum and Instruction: Aligned and Rigorous Curriculum
An aligned and rigorous curriculum provides access to a common academic core for all students as defined by state standards.
Overall Rating: 2.2
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
Statement or Question
To what extent does the school ensure that the
language arts curriculum is aligned vertically
and horizontally to the Kentucky Academic
Standards for Language Arts?
Response
Rating
Curriculum is aligned vertically and horizontally Proficient
to the Kentucky Academic Standards for
Language Arts.
Statement or Question
To what extent does the curriculum integrate
the strands of literacy (reading, writing,
speaking, listening and language use) across
content areas to explicitly instruct and develop
communication skills?
Response
Rating
Curriculum integrates the strands of literacy
Proficient
(reading, writing, speaking, listening, and
language use) across content areas to explicitly
instruct and develop communication skills.
Statement or Question
To what extent does the school's curriculum
ensure opportunities for students to apply
technology effectively as a tool to research,
organize, evaluate and communicate
information?
Response
The school’s curriculum provides opportunities
for students to use technology as a tool to
access, manage, integrate and create
information.
Statement or Question
To what extent do communication portfolios
demonstrate student interests and the
integration of writing and communication skills
across the content areas and over time?
Response
Rating
Communications portfolio demonstrates student Proficient
interests and the integration of writing and
communication skills across the content areas
and over time.
Statement or Question
To what extent does the curriculum provide
opportunities for students to practice 21st
century critical thinking, collaboration, creativity,
problem-solving and communication skills and
to connect these to real world experiences?
Response
Curriculum provides opportunities for students
to practice 21st century critical thinking,
collaboration, creativity, problem- solving and
communication skills and to connect these to
real world experiences.
Rating
Distinguished
Rating
Proficient
Evidence is identified to support the school's analysis for each of the demonstrators. Program review evidence may be specific for
an area (Writing, Arts & Humanities, Practical Living/Career Studies, K-3, and Global Competency/World Languages) or may be
common across other reviews. Review teams will likely find they need to search out additional evidence during the program review
process in order to make judgments or to support judgments.
Dem 2 char a
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Curriculum is aligned vertically and horizontally to the Kentucky Core Academic Standards for Language Arts at our school. As part of our
school writing plan, all teachers who have a yearlong class complete a writing piece, using the writing process, to put in students
communication folders. Additionally, all teachers - core and elective - are responsible for practicing on-demand writing with students. The
core standards for language arts are used at the different grade levels to complete these pieces.
The language arts department has vertically aligned the curriculum to address the core academic standards. This alignment is reflected in
collegial lesson plans and the common assessments and products produced at each grade level. The impact on student learning is that
students are able to build upon skills they have mastered, while providing opportunities for revisiting those skills which require multiple
exposures.
The horizontal alignment of the Language Arts Core Academic standards is reflected in the curriculum through the pieces being completed in
the content classes and in the reading selections being used by content teachers at each grade level. An example would be the focus of
teaching argument writing to 8th grade students in content classes, while focusing on informative writing in 6th grade classes, with 7th grade
transitioning from informative to argumentative writing as the year progresses. By horizontally aligning our content, our school has impacted
student learning by providing them with multiple opportunities to master a concept. For example, 7th grade uses common transitions and
writing structures across contents so the
students will become familiar with the language and the construction of multiple types of writing
that include on-demand, extended response, informational, narrative and argument.
In Social Studies classes Curriculum is aligned vertically and horizontally to the Kentucky Core Academic Standards and monitored to ensure
effective implementation with a focus on 21st Century Skills taught in the context of social studies with interdisciplinary themes through
teaching ELA standards which are aligned to Social Studies curriculum. New C3 Standards have been discussed and disaggregated monthly
during PLC's and continued weekly through weekly, grade-level PLC's. For example, students cite specific textual evidence to support
analysis of primary and secondary sources through Article of the Week activities, extended response prompts, guided reading activities.
Each grade level integrates an LDC into their discipline, informative and/or argumentative. In addition students determine the meaning of
content words and phrases as they are used in a text, including vocabulary through vocabulary raps, three charts, and interactive notebooks.
Academic vocabulary is integrated through the social studies classes by using the Serpmedia program that has been adopted by the school
to ensure 21st century skills refinement. ELA Student growth goals were chosen by all levels to show growth of students within the social
studies content area. Student learning is impacted by intentional planning, reflection, adjustment and refinement. Current evidence-based
instructional strategies are disseminated throughout monthly PLC's including integration of the Arts discipline with a focus on drama content.
PLCS - In 6th grade Computer Technology, 7th grade Business Marketing, and 8th grade Career Exploration classes, the curriculum is
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aligned vertically and horizontally to the Kentucky Core Academic Standards for Language Arts. WHST.6-8.8 Gather relevant information
from multiple print and digital sources, using search terms effectively; Examples include: 8th grade PowerPoint presentation for dream
career in Career Exploration. 7th grade informative brochure on new company that they created for Business Marketing. Life Skills RST.6.8.1 Students are involved in reading content related text on a daily basis and locating specific information in the text to answer
questions and solve real world problems. For example 8th grade students locate information and diagrams in the text to complete activities
such as writing checks, deposit and withdrawal slips, and classifying budgetary expenses. In all grade levels students cite specific examples
from the text in their writing (bell ringers, exit slips, short answer questions) and in class discussions. RST6.8.2 In Life Skills classes' students
develop and demonstrate the ability to identify central ideas and conclusions from the variety of materials they see and hear. Students
demonstrate understanding of these ideas in weekly writing activities that include bell ringers, exit slips, short answer and extended response
questions. 6th grade students are able to explain and identify why the decision making process is important and situations where it is useful
to employ, 7th grade students complete chapter reading review questions that require them to locate and summarize the important
information in the chapter, 8th grade students are able to explain what savings is, why it is important, and describe saving strategies.
RST6.8.3 6th and 7th grade students develop understanding of the decision making process through reading the textbook and other
supplemental readings and videos and apply these steps to real world problems and situations. 6th grade students apply the multistep
process precisely as they work through each step to answer a given situation. In 7th grade students completed a decision making project
where each student identified a problem and used the steps in the decision making process to solve it. In 8th grade students complete food
labs that require them to follow step by step cooking instructions and apply the steps in the budgeting process to solve real world problems.
All students follow step by step process to complete the required activities in their online ILP. RST6.8.4 Students in all Life Skills classes are
explicitly taught content specific vocabulary terms. Students in 6th grade keep a vocabulary journal for each unit of study and use assigned
readings to locate vocabulary terms and definitions, 7th grade students locate new content vocabulary terms and locate contextual definitions
in assigned texts to answer questions, and 8th grade students are exposed to vocabulary activities related to the assigned textbooks and
content specific vocabulary bell ringers. RST6.8.5 Students at all grade levels are explicitly introduced to the textbook and its features at
each grade level. Students demonstrate knowledge of how to locate the table of contents, what different headings in each text signify and
how that connects information, and how to locate the chapter review activities. 6th grade students follow a guided outline activity sheet to
locate important information in the textbook using headings and other text features. 7th grade students complete reading review questions
using chapter headings to locate information and answer questions. 8th grade students use diagrams in the textbook to guide them in
completing activities such as writing checks, deposit and withdrawal slips. RST 6.8.7 8th grade students learn content area information from
videos, use models and diagrams, and integrate information from reading from the textbook and supplemental materials to learn skills such
as setting up a budget, writing checks, deposit and withdrawal slips, and how to use a savings passbook and checkbook register. 7th grade
students watch videos that discus advertising techniques and offer tips and suggestions for analyzing advertising with information in the
textbook and the www.PBSkids.org/dontbuyit website to develop new understanding of the purpose of advertising and how it effects
shopping behavior. In 6th grade classes students watch a video and take notes on the process and importance of creating a career plan. To
reinforce the lesson students outline a chapter in the textbook (guided outline activity) and then integrate what they've learned into creating a
career and education plan of their own (online ILP).
All math classes have had an emphasis on integrating writing into their content and being aware of reading abilities and strategies to support
all students. In 6th grade, given a specific format, students write poems about exponent use and rules. All students, through the use of
Formative Assessment Lessons (FAL's), are encouraged to apply learned skills to real life problems. Working in small groups with peers,
students communicate mathematical findings both orally and in writing. Questioning within the FAL's are open ended and prompt higher
level thinking. All students are taught a process to adequately answer ERQ's, using show and tell. With this process, students have to
communicate their steps in writing, using math vocabulary, to explain methods and solutions.
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Science teachers incorporate the ELA standards for Science and Technical reading and writing throughout their discipline. All sixth grade
students write an informative article on "How abiotic factors affect the Kentucky River Ecosystem" ( LDC ). Incorporated into the LDC are
language arts mini-lessons: such as reading articles then completing a worksheet that 6th grade science teachers created called "Nuggets of
Information". The activity helps the students summarize and organize the information from the readings (with drawing pictures), plus helps
them organize title, author and a significant quote to use for their report. All sixth grade students are participating in SERP on weeks with five
instructional days. SERP, is completed in science on Wednesday, when students analyze data to help them enhance their written argument
in LA.
All seventh grade students participate in the Literacy Design Collaborative. They write an informational piece on energy transfer within a
roller coaster as well as an argumentative piece on genetic modification. Students also use Frayer models each week when completing their
bellringers for vocabulary. Students also have an article of the week that focuses on NGSS as well as ELA components, especially when the
articles are pulled from ReadWorks.org.
All eighth grade students write an informative piece on how agriculture or coal mining has an impact on the environment. During the writing
process of the LDC, students cite specific text to support analysis of science texts. Using the Google Classroom platform our students
regularly work collaboratively on writing pieces and assignments using Google Docs. Using this application they are able to work
simultaneously on the same document.
Visual Arts: The curriculum develops basic arts literacy skills in all four arts disciplines through our arts classes. The school utilizes the
Common Core Standards for English Language Arts as outlined in our school writing policy. Arts teachers, specifically, address the following
Common Core ELA standards: engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with
diverse partners on grade-level topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly (ELA-Literacy.SL.6-8.1, ad), write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the
effective selection, organization, and analysis of content (ELA Literacy W.6-8.2, a-f), and proper language or conventions of standard English
(ELA Literacy L.6-8.1, a-e, and ELA LIteracy.L.6-8.2, a-b). (ELA-Literacy.SL.6-8.1, a-d), (Anchor Standard Creating 1.1.6) Students combine
concepts collaboratively to generate innovative ideas for creating art. (Cr 1.2.8) Students collaboratively shape an artistic investigation of an
aspect of present-day life using a contemporary practice of art and design. (Pr 5.1.8) Students collaboratively prepare and present selected
theme-based artwork for display, and formulate exhibition narratives for the viewer. (ELA Literacy W.6-8.2, a-f), (Cr. 2.2.6) Explain
environmental implications of conservation, care, and clean-up of art materials, tools, and equipment. (Pr 6.1.678) Students share how they
convey meaning through the presentation of artistic work through assessment, explanation and evidence of how venues reflect history and
values, experiencing and viewing various collections and exhibitions and analyzing why and how an exhibition or collection may influence
ideas, beliefs and experiences. (Anchor Standard Presenting 7.1.678) Students perceive and analyze artistic work through the identification
and interpretation of art that reveal how people live around the world and what they value, how the display and location influence the
experience of the artwork and explain how a person's aesthetic choices are influenced by culture and impacts how it is conveyed. (Re 9.1.8)
Students create a convincing and logical argument to support an evaluation of art. (ELA Literacy L.6-8.1, a-e, and ELA LIteracy.L.6-8.2, a-b).
(Anchor Standard Cr 2.2.78) Students demonstrate an awareness of and ethical responsibility to oneself and others when posting and
sharing images as well as ethics, fair use and copyright.
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Orchestra students write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information through the selection,
organization, and analysis of relevant content. They use precise language supported by appropriate music vocabulary to inform about or
explain the topic. Students sometimes respond to the arts by recording in their writing journals the beginning of a language simile (e.g. scales
are to music as _____________ is to _______________). The students fill in the blanks and then explain why these cross-curricular skills or
concepts are related using music and grade appropriate language. At the beginning of the year, all orchestra and chorus students write a
musical goals paper using proper conventions and grammar outlining attainable and realistic goals for the upcoming school year.
Dem 2 characteristic b
Our schools participation in the Learning Design Collaborative allows for multiple opportunities for teachers to integrate the strands of literacy
across content areas to explicitly instruct and develop communication skills in students. The writing process and appropriate presentation
skills are taught in language arts classes at all grade levels, and those literacy strands are used in all other core and elective classes
throughout the year.
Another specific example of this integration of literacy strands is in 8th grade where students wrote argument pieces. Students wrote
argument pieces using articles and passages from which they pulled information to support their claims. They practiced this skill in Language
Arts, social studies and science classes. Instruction on writing a thesis statement and an outline was given in all three classes. Students
were then given the opportunity to work in groups and discuss their supports with peers. Upon completion of the first draft, students used the
writing process, in which they worked in groups to complete peer editing. Teachers also provided feedback to students both orally and in
written format throughout the writing process. Once final drafts were completed, peer conferences and student\teacher conferences took
place, providing students opportunities to reflect upon their strengths and weaknesses. Teachers then used this information to plan further
instruction. A weakness was found in the area of counter arguments and instruction continued in that area in Language Arts classes. The
impact on students by integrating instruction into the content classes is that it allows students uniform instruction in the area of writing with
multiple opportunities to practice and strengthen their writing skills.
7th grade also uses create a position to argue the best theatre elements used (stage, costumes, lighting, acting, sound effects, etc.) in the
Actor's Theatre production of Dracula. We do this as an extension to our unit of study on superstitions and legends.
Once again, the impact on student learning is providing students multiple opportunities to practice reading, writing, speaking and listening
skills in order to become proficient in communication skills. While this happens within the classrooms, it also occurs through the school
literary magazine and literacy night event. Students participate by contributing all writing and art design to the school magazine, and
students participate by assisting in or operating various booths related to literacy skills. For instance, students from the school magazine
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operate a booth to showcase the publication and invite more students to participate and eighth grade students assist in a booth to perform
social studies skits. Each activity allows students to apply communication skills to meaningful work across content areas.
All social studies classes work within all strands of literacy to apply communication skills through their department. Teachers use the ELA
standards in their unit development to ensure literacy skills are integrated on a regular basis. For example, 6th grade social studies students
practice reading, writing, listening, and language usage skills in the social studies classrooms through the use of bell ringers, exit slips,
graphic organizers, use of note taking, summarizing, ERQs, On Demand, LDCs, research, project based learning, think-pair-share,
vocabulary strategies. 6th grade social studies students participate in role play activities from a Geography Alive! Land use in the Amazon
Rain Forest activity, where students are using reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills. Through collaborative work, students were
assigned an interest group, read about said interest, designed an advertisement, and then presented their advertisement to the class.7th
grade Social Studies curriculum integrates the strands of literacy (reading, writing, speaking, listening, listening, and language use) to apply
communication skills to meaningful work in their content areas. Students are taught research strategies in Language Arts classes; such a
citing sources and writing a bibliography, practicing on KYVL with the librarian, and then researching information on Ancient Greece to gain
information on a topic of their interest to write a speech and present to their peers. After listening to each speaker, students provide peer
feedback. 7th grade teaches the structure of an argument, such as, constructing a position and how to counter argue. For example, students
are granted opportunities in reading, writing, listening, and language usage in research based project presentations such as, Hammurabi
Court skit, Pharaoh Facebook projects, Judaism Scroll project, and Ancient Greece Project. Through these presentations students are able
to develop and apply communication skills needed for the 21st Century. 8th grade students regularly read, write, listen and speak within the
Social Studies classroom. Examples: Reading from a variety of texts and articles (Creating America, History of Us, History Alive, Teacher
selected articles, student selected articles); writing for multiple purposes (writing to demonstrate learning, i.e. ERQ, 5 paragraph essay, short
answers, colonial letter, colonial brochure/postcard, LDC; writing to learn, i.e.: note-taking, summarizing, Venn diagrams); listening/speaking,
i.e.: weekly vocabulary debate, content debate, class discussions/ argument.
PLCS Business Education/Computer Technology - Bell ringers are used at the beginning of classes, then students share their answers. Exit
slips are used on a regular basis to get a quick assessment of my student's performance levels. 8th grade Career Exploration students
create a cover letter and resume, in 7th grade Business Marketing students create 4 business letters associated with their new company they
developed. Life Skills - In Life Skills class's students read a variety of materials (textbook, articles, websites, recipes, step by step
instructions), write regularly throughout the week (short answer questions, bell ringers and exit slips), participate in class discussions where
students ask questions and share insights, apply active listening skills (explicit instruction) and develop awareness of body language.
Students practice communication skills through weekly class discussions, writing assignments, and projects. Students are provided with
feedback about their writing and explicit instruction for developing literacy skills such as reading comprehension strategies, concept
organizers, and locating specific information in a text. 6th grade students focus on vocabulary development in areas such as goals setting,
decision making, careers, consumerism, and financial literacy. 7th grade students review vocabulary words and definitions and work to apply
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the terms in written communication and class discussions. 8th grade students focus on learning financial literacy vocabulary. PreEngineering/Robotics - Questioning students as they work their programs, Class Discussion on topics, Exit Slips, Write in their Engineering
Journals. Technology Education - In Technology Education classes students complete written short answer assessments and quizzes as bell
ringers and exit slips to check for student understanding of concepts/information covered in class. Students complete 3 written assessment
sheets covering content in that class on 3 of their 7 days of activities in a module. They work cooperatively with their partner to complete
both the activity and the assessment sheet after completing the activity. Rubrics are posted for the assessments in the modules. The actual
assessment questions are displayed on the computer at the start of the activity for a preview of what is being assessed and then again at the
end when completion of the sheet actually takes place. Daily learning goals are posted on the computer for each lesson and students are
required to copy these goals on a journal sheet kept in their portfolio. The journal sheet is graded at the end of each module when portfolios
are collected. The portfolio is an integral part of the assessment process because it contains records and any papers turned in for assessing.
Accuracy in record keeping is stressed and part of the class grade. Students have a variety of bell ringer questions that they complete with
their partner. These questions link technology with careers, math, and science. Four questions are done in each module that involves
assessing the ability to research answers from books in each module library. Four questions assess student ability to interpret data
contained in a chart/graph for the question. Four questions assess student ability to complete mathematical calculations to answer a
question. Questions are graded as completed on the computer.
Science teachers incorporate the ELA standards for science and technical studies into their planning process to intentionally plan for
integration of the standards throughout their units. 6th Grade: Students apply communication skills when they complete a variety of projects,
for example presentations to their classmates detailing their findings in (weather unit, rock cycle, astronomy unit and matter unit) The
projects require that students use information they have read and to which they have listened to create their projects. All projects have a
written component.
7th Grade - Students develop their communication skills when working in groups on labs and projects. One example is the Wave lab,
students used verbal and non-verbal communication skills to analyze wave movement in a digital signal and an analog signal. Students had
to communicate their code in a wave and the receiving student communicated by raising their hand. Students then had to discuss the
differences they observed in the two types of wave transmission.
8th Grade Science: Students have various opportunities to develop their communication skills. Students write a letter to the Once-ler--from
the Lorax--discussing human impact on the environment and alternatives to success without environmental destruction. These letters are
presented to the class. The project require that students listen, write, follow proper language usage and speak in front of the class. Students
also have the opportunity to present findings to the class from research and magazine design on a specific natural disasters. This project
involves reading, writing, designing, listening, proper usage of language and communication skills.
Instrumental music teachers select appropriately leveled method books that introduce vocabulary and musical symbols at a pace that
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coincides with our curriculum. We then encourage students to use those vocabulary words when students listen to individuals or small
groups. The band uses the Tradition of Excellence method book that teaches accents while students are focused on an excerpt for AllCounty band that focuses on accents. Students also practice understanding the meaning of an accent through accenting words. As stated in
the arts curricula, students communicate through art presentations and musical performances. These presentations and performances are
developed through in-class discussions between students and teacher as well as student and student. Teachers intentionally use content
based vocabulary when describing work to refine (e.g. "Go back to measure 14 and emphasize and exaggerate the crescendo to measure
16") and have students use the same vocabulary when planning to efficiently communicate during their summative presentations (in visual
art class). Music students are constantly challenged in the classroom to learn not only notation (music reading) but also multiple different
terms and symbols in Italian, as this is the language in which most musical terms are written.
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Throughout the school year, students receive multiple opportunities to apply technology effectively as a tool to research, organize, evaluate
and communicate information in the content areas. These opportunities occurred through the use of computers provided by the school, as
well as, allowing students to use their own devices to research and create projects to share with their classmates. Students were able to use
their own laptops, iPhones, iPod Touch, iPad, Kindle Fire, and similar technology across the grade levels to conduct research and create
presentations in the form of Prezi, power points, movie maker, and essays.
As 8th graders students are provided with a variety of opportunities to utilize technology to research information and present their work.
Students researched websites on the Holocaust while gathering information for an informative paper in Language Arts classes. They
researched archives from the Holocaust Memorial Museum and used their own devices to scan QR codes to assist with research, organize
their information, and write their final paper. By allowing students to use their own devices to complete the research required for these
projects teachers where able to significantly impact student learning due to increased participation and interest level among the students.
7th grade students use technology for a variety of purposes on a variety of projects to research, cite, and present information. One example
of this would be their Kentucky Bluegrass Award projects. They use Windows Live Movie Maker to create book videos from their chosen
summer reading books to create a project to present to the class. Students also use computer applications and programs, such as, edmodo
to communicate with their teacher and with each other on certain projects. Students also have a cumulative writing folder that used to store
their writing to learn, writing to demonstrate learning and writing to publish learning. For example, in 7th grade it houses their narrative
poems, their Dracula theatre critique, on demand writing, example of open response and their informational writing for legends.
The independent reading projects in sixth and seventh grade language arts classes provide opportunities for students to utilize technology for
producing movie book trailers or to assist in the creation of other project options such as newspapers, timelines, and book talk presentations.
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Research with technology may also be conducted during an inquiry project and during the writing process with informational and
argumentative pieces. Additionally, some sixth grade teachers across the content areas use technology, such as Edmodo, as a classroom
tool for posting assignments, downloading class documents, having online class discussions, and conducting electronic assessments. The
use of a Voki also occurred during the discussion of expectations and procedures at the beginning of the school year.
All social studies classes allow students to use technology for research. Teachers also allow student choice in presentation mode to allow for
individual learning style and interest level. For example, 6th grade social studies students use technology to research, organize, evaluate,
and communicate. Examples are during their Europe Tic Tac Toe projects and researching compelling questions during units. In 7th grade
Social Studies curriculum provide opportunities for students to use technology as a tool to access, manage, integrate and create information
through researching, organizing, evaluating, and communicating new ideas and knowledge learned in the classroom. For example in Greek
research projects students use various forms of technology (SMART Notebooks, Movie Maker, internet for research, Publisher, Power Point
Presentations) to demonstrate learning outcomes. 8th grade students regularly utilize technology to research, organize, evaluate and
communicate. Examples: colonial brochure/postcard, Colonial Letter, and Christopher Columbus Wanted/Hero Poster. All 8th grade
students receive instruction and practice in analyzing the creditability of sources.
PLCS: Business Education -. All business classes use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and present the
relationships between information and ideas clearly and efficiently. We use the ILP as a research tool for career choices, goal setting, and
post-secondary opportunities. Students are introduced to the 14 Career Clusters in the computer program. They have numerous
opportunities for in depth exploration of one or more clusters during their ILP activities. Students explore the following activities using
technology to locate information: Exploring careers beginning in the 6th grade, Finding careers that match their skills and interests, Creating
education plans, Establishing personal goals and revisiting these as they progress through school, Creating, maintaining and changing
resumes, Tracking and reflecting on their community services experiences, work experiences, career-planning activities, and extra-curricular
and organization activities, Exploring colleges and postsecondary opportunities that match their career, postsecondary and life goals,
Collecting personal information like assessment results, advising activities demographic information and educational history, Each student
must be at 100% completion before the end of the school year. There is a comprehension plan in place to ensure that every student at
JCMS has completed their ILP every year. Health - 6th and 7th grade students in health class conduct short research projects on
communicable and non-communicable diseases. The information is gathered from at least 3 websites to learn about different diseases, their
causes, prevention, and treatment. Life Skills - Instruction in all 3 grades integrates technology and asks students to apply technology skills
as often as possible. Students participate in BYOD activities that have students apply technology skills (using online classroom software like
Edmodo, downloading software, using QR codes, reading information on websites) and allow students to submit work electronically via
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email. Students in all grades use Grade Cam answer sheets and website to submit answers to multiple choice quizzes and tests, complete
online ILP activities including interest inventories, and college and career research activities, and submit learning products including videos,
powerpoint presentations, word clouds, and PREZIs to communicate learning for project based summative assessments. Students in all
grades use the online ILP to research, organize, evaluate and analyze information that guides development of education and career goals.
Students complete a written reflection of their experience completing and updating ILP information each year and save these entries to an
electronic journal in their online ILP. Pre-Engineering Robotics - Students are asked to write a professional piece for their writing folders.
Students research and perform an oral presentation to the class based off of a rubric
Technology Education - In Technology Education classes students have a variety of bell ringer questions that they complete with their
partner. These questions link technology with careers, math, and science. Four questions are done in each module that involves assessing
the ability to research answers from books in each module library. Four questions assess student ability to interpret data contained in a
chart/graph for the question. Four questions assess student ability to complete mathematical calculations to answer a question. Questions
are graded as completed on the computer
In math at all grade levels, we encourage students to use Khan Academy and other outside resources to research and communicate math
topics we are learning and talking about in class. Interactive activities are used to introduce, enhance and enrich math content.
Science teachers provide opportunities for students to use technology for research to communicate, evaluate, and organize information. For
instance in 6th grade students will be viewing a PowerPoint in our Geology unit. The PowerPoint has slides on various geologic features
found on Earth. Students will be then choose which feature they would like to research. Students will be put in groups based on which
feature they choose and as a group will research, organize then integrate the information they research into a mini-poster and an activity
they create to communicate the information to the rest of the class. Students created PowerPoints in matter unit, movies in astronomy unit,
and weather driving research question in the weather unit.
7th Grade: Students have access to research tools such as online search engines, edutopia, Kentucky virtual library, through use of laptops
and iPads. Students read and write and use data to explore a virtual lab through the Explore Learning website on computers or the Gizmo
App on iPads. Students used iPads to take qualitative data i.e. thermal images for a lab. Students use temperature probes and Vernier
handheld computers to take temperature readings for labs. Students use personal devices as calculators, research tools, and data gathering
tools.
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8th grade: All eighth grade students have completed their LDC project. This project involved students doing both group and individual
research on how either coal or agriculture affects the environment. During this project students were required to complete a prewriting activity
before researching at least five credible sources. Students were taught in class how to look for clues to determine a credible source. All 8th
grade students were then required to look through their research and find common themes in their facts. From those facts students were then
required to write a five paragraph persuasive letter to a government official of their choice. Two thirds of the eighth grade is now one-to-one
with personal computers. We support a 100% paperless classroom and require them to use technology as a tool to access, manage,
integrate and create information using the Google Classroom platform.
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During the three years students spend at our school, a communication portfolio is kept for each student which demonstrates student interests
and the integration of writing and communication skills across the content areas. As part of our school program, students produce at least
two finished pieces to be used in the communication portfolio for each 18 week course. By integrating writing and communication skills into
the curriculum students are able to continually practice the use of writing and speaking skills in all classes. The use of a communication
portfolio directly impacts student learning by allowing students and teachers to recognize areas of individual student growth; as well as,
identifying those areas of weakness in which students still need continued instruction.
In Language Arts classes, all students participate in each of the steps of the writing process to complete final products of personal narratives,
research for argument and informative pieces, and personal reflection essays. The form of final products are varied based upon assignment
and student interest; they may be in the form of written essays, power point presentations, Prezi, films, brochures, poems, and videos.
Allowing for a variety of final projects which involve the use of technology and critical thinking skills, students are receiving practice in the use
of 21st century thinking skills.
All students were provided with the opportunity to prepare an essay for a district unity contest in honor of the Martin Luther King holiday. This
experience allowed students to consider issues relating to social studies content while practicing communication skills in writing from
language arts. Their audience went beyond the classroom to community leaders and scholars.
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Social studies teachers provide multiple opportunities of varied writing examples and encourage students to place them into the
communication folders. Examples of these include: In 6th grade social studies students are given an opportunity to select components from
the Europe Tic Tac Toe project based on interest. Each of these components integrates writing and communication skills. LDC informational
piece is edited through the writing process and students are provided the opportunity to place into their communication folder. 7th grade
Social Studies students have the opportunity to demonstrate novel, new worthwhile ideas while elaborating and refining ideas to
communicate on a local and global level through Article of the Week articles, which students provide written responses to connect current
archaeological discoveries with classroom curriculum. Students are encouraged to place informative and/or argumentative LDC pieces into
their communication folder. 8th grade social studies students are provided the opportunity to demonstrate personal interest when designing
literacy-based projects. Examples: informative/argumentative writing along with postcards, letters, prezis, articles, posters, poems, journal
entry, diary, songs, raps and other student generated modes.
PLCS: All business classes use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and present the relationships between
information and ideas clearly and efficiently. We use the ILP as a research tool for career choices, goal setting, and post-secondary
opportunities. Students are introduced to the 14 Career Clusters in the computer program. They have numerous opportunities for in depth
exploration of one or more clusters during their ILP activities. Students explore the following activities using technology to locate information:
Exploring careers beginning in the 6th grade, Finding careers that match their skills and interests, Creating education plans, Establishing
personal goals and revisiting these as they progress through school, Creating, maintaining and changing resumes, Tracking and reflecting on
their community services experiences, work experiences, career-planning activities, and extra-curricular and organization activities, Exploring
colleges and postsecondary opportunities that match their career, postsecondary and life goals, Collecting personal information like
assessment results, advising activities demographic information and educational history, Each student must be at 100% completion before
the end of the school year. There is a comprehension plan in place to ensure that every student at JCMS has completed their ILP every
year. Students complete a written reflection of their experience completing and updating ILP information each year and save these entries to
an electronic journal in their online ILP. Life Skills - Instruction in all 3 grades integrates technology and asks students to apply technology
skills as often as possible. Students participate in BYOD activities that have students apply technology skills (downloading software, using
QR codes, reading information on websites) and allow students to submit work electronically via email. Students in all grades use Grade
Cam to submit answers to multiple choice quizzes and tests, complete online ILP activities including interest inventories, and college and
career research activities, and submit learning products including videos, powerpoint presentations, word clouds, and PREZIs to
communicate learning for project based summative assessments. Students in all grades use the online ILP to research, organize, evaluate
and analyze information that guides development of education and career goals. Students complete a written reflection of their experience
completing and updating ILP information each year and save these entries to an electronic journal in their online ILP. Health - 6th and 7th
grade students in health class conduct short research projects on communicable and non-communicable diseases. The information is
gathered from at least 3 websites to learn about different diseases, their causes, prevention, and treatment. Writings are contributed to the
communication folders.
In Math classes teachers incorporate FAL's to encourage critical thinking and communication skills in the math classes. Post assessments on
two different FALs are used as evidence of writing in all Math classes. Samples are placed in student communication folders each semester.
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Science teachers provide multiple opportunities for students to place communication samples into their communication folders.
7th Grade - students are given ample opportunity to express themselves via written expression. Daily, students complete bell-ringers to
communicate their ideas. Students also express their ideas in their written answers to a variety of lab questions. Students have also
completed a student choice bingo chart on waves that allows them to pick how they communicate the information they know about waves.
Students could choose from something as plain as vocabulary, or they could draft a poem or short story.
8th Grade: Students write an LDC piece, including a writer's notebook. They also write a couple of letters to the principal explaining various
concepts. Furthermore, students write a letter to the Once-ler in response to Human Impact on the environment. Students work on a variety
of other projects throughout the year that involve writing, to include presentations. They do have the opportunity to select a project that they
are most interested in doing during their genetics unit, ecosystem unit and natural hazards unit.
Band students complete weekly practice logs which include reflections on their personal playing (practice time) struggles, focus, and
strengths. Orchestra, chorus, and guitar students are given the opportunity at the beginning of the course to write about their favorite genre of
music, to list songs they would like to learn in class, and to tell about themselves and their own history and hopes.
The repeated exposure to the writing process throughout the content classes continues to provide students with opportunities to refine their
writing skills. By using a communication portfolio to place these pieces, students are also able to reflect upon their progress and make
decisions on areas of improvement. Students may also choose to use pieces from their communication portfolios to contribute to the school
literary magazine.
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Through the use of such initiatives such as the Learning Collaborative Design project in our curriculum students are provided opportunities
to practice 21st century critical thinking skills, collaboration, creativity, problem solving and communication skills, while making connections
to real world experiences. After being presented a question or topic to research, students regularly have to problem solve in order to work
together effectively and accept various perspectives among their peers. Students are asked to express their understanding of the content
and produce products which show connections they have made to real world experiences taken from the news, movies, books, magazines,
and in some cases travel.
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In eighth grade students use critical thinking skills to analyze information they have researched on the Holocaust, working collaboratively to
problem solve for ideas to prevent such an occurrence from happening again. They then follow the writing process to communicate their
ideas in an informative paper. By providing students the opportunity to work collaboratively and make connections between their units of
study to the world around them, students are able to practice problem solving and communication skills, thus better preparing them in the use
of 21st century critical thinking skills.
During our philanthropy unit, the 7th grade language arts students collaboratively research several charities while identifying the most
concerning problems in our local community. Our students, using this information, choose a charity that they want to "adopt". They use
various techniques to motivate fellow students into contributing to this local charity to go with the unit essential question, "How Can We
Help?"
Lastly, the sixth and seventh grade inquiry project provides students with the opportunity to connect a personal interest or need with a
researchable question. Students apply critical thinking and problem solving skills in order to determine answers and present their findings to
the class.
All social studies classes practice group work with problem-solving approach to enable critical thinking skills opportunities for students. All
social studies teacher provide a day of academic vocabulary instruction through the Serpmedia program. The social studies academic
vocabulary lessons include debate with real -world problems. Students are taught the debate process through modeling and showing
exemplars. 6th grade social studies students participate in Junior Achievement classes. Junior Achievement requires students to use
content learned in the classroom to apply skills of critical thinking and problem solving with peers to solve global/ real world issues. Students
participate in 21st century critical thinking during Junior Achievement Global Marketplace curriculum, which is real world material, and are
provided opportunities for collaboration, creativity, problem-solving and communication skills through Geography Alive! Supranational
Cooperation, China & Population, and Climbing Mount Everest lessons.7th Grade Social Studies students are provided opportunities to
practice 21st century critical thinking through engagement in group collaboration and creativity (Hammurabi Court Skit presentation, Judaism
scroll creation activity). Students use critical thinking, problem solving and communication skills to make connections to real world
experiences (Hammurabi Court Skits, Pharaoh Facebook projects, and LDC Argumentative Essay for Athens and Sparta). 8th grade
students are provided regular opportunities to practice critical thinking, collaboration, problem-solving, and communication skills through real
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world role-plays and group projects. Examples…Colonial Survival Planning, debates, Colonial Advertising, Readers Theater, History
Investigation: Boston Massacre, analyzing primary sources and Colonial Un-Rest O'Meter.
PLCS: Business Education/Computer Technology - 7th grade Business Marketing classes participate in a 6 week Junior Achievement
Program titled "Financial Literacy". They have continuous opportunities to demonstrate new learning in real world situations by working on
personal budgets, live stock market game, check writing, banking, and consumerism. They develop a journal after every lesson that applies
what they learned to a real life situation they have or might experience. 8th grade Career Exploration classes participate in a 6 week Junior
Achievement Program titled "It's My Business". Students are given multiple opportunities to demonstrate new learning in authentic situations.
Health Education - All students in physical education classes collaborate to problem solve, communicate, and show creativity and teamwork
in the cooperative group activity involving limited equipment and a big challenge. Life Skills - 8th grade students participate in food labs
where students work as a team (communication, collaboration, and problem solving skills) and follow step by step cooking instructions
(critical thinking, problem solving, applying prior knowledge and skills) to complete a lab mutually agreed on by the group (communication
skills, collaboration). Pre-Engineering/Robotics - Students are asked to write a professional piece for their writing folders. Students research
and perform an oral presentation to the class based off of a rubric. Technology Education - In Technology Education classes students
complete 3 written assessment sheets covering content in that class on 3 of their 7 days of activities in a module. They work cooperatively
with their partner to complete both the activity and the assessment sheet after completing the activity. Rubrics are posted for the
assessments in the modules. The actual assessment questions are displayed on the computer at the start of the activity for a preview of what
is being assessed and then again at the end when completion of the sheet actually takes place. In Technology Education classes daily
learning goals are posted on the computer for each lesson and students are required to copy these goals on a journal sheet kept in their
portfolio. The journal sheet is graded at the end of each module when portfolios are collected. The portfolio is an integral part of the
assessment process because it contains records and any papers turned in for assessing. Accuracy in record keeping is stressed and part of
the class grade. In Technology Education classes students have a variety of bell ringer questions that they complete with their partner.
These questions link technology with careers, math, and science. Four questions are done in each module that involves assessing the ability
to research answers from books in each module library. Four questions assess student ability to interpret data contained in a chart/graph for
the question. Four questions assess student ability to complete mathematical calculations to answer a question. Questions are graded as
completed on the computer
In math classes students solve real-world problems and communicate their answers verbally or written across grade levels. For instance, in
7th grade, students use mathematical concepts taught in class and apply them to projects such as a scale project. Students research
through technology and present their findings through writing or designing models to be presented in class. All students, through the use of
Formative Assessment Lessons (FAL's), are encouraged to apply learned skills to real life problems. Working in small groups with peers,
students communicate mathematical findings both orally and in writing. Questioning within the FAL's are open ended and prompt higher
level thinking.
Science teachers regularly provide opportunities for students to practice 21st century thinking skills including critical thinking, and problem
solving through inquiry based activities. Students are encouraged to communicate in multiple modalities. All sixth grade students are
required to make a model for the rock cycle. Students must critically think about their information to create models that communicate the
content, plus the limitations of the model (what is correct and what is incorrect) plus students must incorporate real world connections in their
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models. In the astronomy unit, students picked a claim from the video, designed an experiment to test other explanations of the claim, and
documented the process with a movie. The matter unit and astronomy unit are designed with "Project based learning" which incorporates
critical thinking with sub-driving questions, and collaboration with other students and creatively designing experiments and presentations.
7th Grade - Students have the opportunity to be involved in critical thinking activities and collaborative projects throughout the year. All 7th
grade students were involved in the creation and implementation of their own experiment involving thermal energy transfer. Students had to
think about what they wanted to know. They then designed their own experiment and collaborate with others to perform the experiment with
their group. Once completed, students had to communicate what they had learned from their experiment to the rest of the class.
8th Grade: Students have the opportunity to be involved in critical thinking and collaborative projects throughout the year: Natural Disaster
Unit--students, collaboratively, select and create a pamphlet over a real-world natural disaster. Ecosystems Unit: Students, collaboratively,
select (from a choice of 6) and build a real-world ecosystem. Lost World Unit: Students, collaboratively, select a period of geologic time and
become the expert on it. They present their findings to the class in powerpoint, pamphlet, song, etc.
Visual Arts: The Visual Arts curriculum provides opportunities for students to practice 21st century critical thinking, collaboration, creativity,
problem-solving and communication skills. Students work collaboratively to create art exhibits that reflect real world and cross-curricular
connections. Students communicate through their artist statements, through art critiques and evaluations as well as learn the art of
communicating through their visual arts piece. Students have opportunities to demonstrate their Learning Skills, Literacy Skills and Life Skills
in Visual Art Class. Students demonstrate Learning Skills through critical thinking when problem-solving during the art process, creative
thinking in the planning and art-making process, collaborating on exhibitions and critiques and communicating through their artworks and
writings. Students demonstrate Literacy through accessing information and the responsible and ethical handling of copyright and sharing
images in their digital portfolios. Students have the opportunity to practice Life Skills such as flexibility, initiative, social skills, productivity and
leadership.
While preparing for Solo and Ensemble festival, music students are often rehearsing without a coach and therefore have to lead themselves
and others in critical thinking. They are instructed on how to run a rehearsal before thrust into the situation and then find it quite engaging to
be in charge of choosing the rehearsal spots, listening critically to address inaccuracies, and having to use interpersonal skills to relate to and
communicate with group partners. Chorus students split up into instrumental exploratory groups once a week and run small rehearsals on a
multitude of instruments. The teacher rotates around providing guidance when needed, but most of rehearsal is student-led. Art students will
be working collaboratively while creating murals in the style of Diego Rivera. These murals will depict issues the students are currently
experiencing (e.g. bullying) just as Diego Rivera used his murals to depict the struggles of his people as it connects to real world
experiences. Through their research in World Language classes, students investigate real world topics and situations to present to the class.
Passage-based On-Demand prompts present World Language students with information about real world issues. Students use this
information to communicate their point of view on the issue.
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The rationale explains how the identified evidence supports the school's reported level of program implementation for the
demonstrator.
By providing a curriculum that is aligned vertically and horizontally to the Kentucky Core Academic Standards for Language Arts, students at
our school are provided multiple opportunities to practice reading, writing, speaking and listening skills. Students are provided with instruction
that includes the practice of 21st century critical thinking skills which is accomplished through the use of initiatives such as the Learning
Design Collaborative. As a result of the inclusion of LDC writing in content classes, students are exposed to the writing process, research
opportunities, and the integration of technology for the purpose of research and final product presentation. Social studies, science and all
technical subjects have been provided with the ELA standards that apply within their discipline. Along with training of how to incorporate them
into their classes. The writing Plan and Policy have been updated through the curriculum and Instruction committee, including a
representative of all disciplines. The Policy and Plan went through a vetting process including all teachers in the school. Once SBDM
approved, the Policy and Plan were addressed at a staff development meeting where disciplines were divided out to talk about specific ways
to integrate information. Teachers have made adjustments to their lesson plans to increase the instructional of literacy within their content.
All teachers in the building have students read, write, speak and listen as deemed appropriate for their discipline. In addition students
examples of writing are shared with peers, read by authentic audiences, displayed throughout the building, and kept in their communication
portfolios to allow for student reflection on progress, as well as areas that continue to need improvement.
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Curriculum and Instruction: Instructional Strategies
All teachers implement instructional strategies that provide quality experiences, variety of activities and access for all students.
Overall Rating: 2.33
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
Statement or Question
To what extent do teachers, students, and
others provide literacy instructional strategies
and models that assist in achieving specific
learning objectives?
Response
Rating
Teachers, students, and others provide
Distinguished
instruction, models and demonstrations that
address specific literacy learning objectives and
provide time for students to apply this learning
for further inquiry, design and interactive
collaborative settings.
Statement or Question
To what extent do students research
information to seek a new or deeper
understanding around a topic and demonstrate
new understanding through products?
Response
Rating
Students research information to seek a new or Distinguished
deeper understanding based on inquiry around
a topic and demonstrate new understanding
through products that may be used by others
for further understanding of the topic.
Statement or Question
To what extent do students demonstrate media
literacy through regular use of technological
tools, resources and applications in reading,
writing, speaking, listening and language use to
meet specific communication goals?
Response
Students demonstrate media literacy through
regular use of technological tools, resources
and applications in reading, writing, speaking,
listening and language use to meet specific
communication goals.
Rating
Proficient
Statement or Question
To what extent do students integrate what is
learned when using technology with what they
learn offline to develop understanding and
communication?
Response
Students integrate what is learned when using
technology with what they learn offline to
develop understanding and communication.
Rating
Proficient
Statement or Question
To what extent do students use varying
strategies and demonstrate an understanding of
communicating to audiences in different forms
for various purposes?
Response
Students use varying strategies and
demonstrate an understanding of
communicating to audiences in different forms
and for various purposes.
Rating
Proficient
Statement or Question
To what extent do students engage in
discussion with teachers and peers to inform
the writing process and publish/share their
work?
Response
Rating
Students engage in discussion with teachers
Proficient
and peers to inform the writing process and are
provided with a means to publish/share work.
Evidence is identified to support the school's analysis for each of the demonstrators. Program review evidence may be specific for
an area (Writing, Arts & Humanities, Practical Living/Career Studies, K-3, and Global Competency/World Languages) or may be
common across other reviews. Review teams will likely find they need to search out additional evidence during the program review
process in order to make judgments or to support judgments.
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Demonstrator 3 characteristic a
Teachers and students at our school provide literacy instructional strategies and models that assist in achieving specific learning objectives.
Throughout our school students and teachers are participating in the Learning Cooperative Design in which teachers ask an essential
question and time is then provided for students to investigate. Specific literacy learning objectives and instructional mini lessons are built into
the design to allow teachers the opportunity to incorporate instructional strategies to assist in learning; such as, providing models for
students, providing small group instruction, graphic organizers, the opportunities for students to work together, and using students examples
as models.
In addition, 6th and 7th grade students create independent reading projects that include Edmodo computer assignments, creating and
explaining detailed timelines, creating comparison character charts, artistic scrapbooks, creating book talks for presentation, etc. Students
generate the amount of work and the quality of work they want to do. They follow a rubric that is different for every project based on their
effort. It is all student generated.
Student samples become models as the year progresses. In sixth and seventh grade language arts, teachers model the "Good Reader"
strategies from which students set a personal goal and practice throughout the year.
Another example from 8th grade is the differentiated instruction and modeling teachers provided while students were reading Flowers for
Algernon. Teachers provided direct instruction, leveled texts, graphic organizers, vocabulary instruction, guided reading models, think-pairshare, literature circles, and a student model of an ACTIVE write-up using a previously read story. Past examples of student projects were
also shown to help assist students in achieving the specific learning objectives.
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Instructional strategies are also being provided to address specific literacy learning objectives in the area of vocabulary instruction. In sixth
and seventh grades vocabulary instruction such as GIST and "Vocabulary Pig" are being taught to help students determine the meaning of
unknown words and specialized content vocabulary found in literature or informative reading. In "Vocabulary Pig" students work
collaboratively to determine the definition of a word, an older meaning of the word, synonyms and antonyms, and then use the word in a
sentence. Finally, students present the word to the entire class to clarify understanding with peers. Students also provide constructive
feedback to peers using a peer response sheet.
7th grade language arts students use ACT/SAT vocabtoons (remembering vocabulary based on definition, quote, link and picture associated
with a vocabulary word. We also use the examples in this unique vocabulary technique to teach types of sentences to students so that they
are making the connections all across the board.
A specific example of an instructional strategy that our 8th grade Language Arts teachers have been using and that all other grades began
using this year is ACTIVE. This strategy impacts student learning by helping students use context clues to understand vocabulary and aid in
comprehension, while allowing them to making connections to the text. The strategy was first introduced to students by using a teacher
model, students then practiced the strategy working collaboratively on a familiar piece that had been read in class; eventually, as students
became proficient in the use of the strategy, they began using it on their own to aid in comprehension of new text being read. By providing a
variety of strategies throughout the building aiding students in vocabulary instruction, students are acquiring skills which allow them to
comprehend and connect to the texts they are reading.
Social studies teachers provide models of instructional strategies prior to student generated responses. Teachers provide feedback on the
strategies for students to acquire the skill prior to summative assessments. Students who need additional supports are provided individual
feedback to master the strategies. 6th grade social studies teachers provide the GIST Template instructional strategy for summarizing
informational articles. They also provide Kagan instructional strategies for cooperative learning, exit slips, comprehension checks. 7th grade
Social studies teachers and students utilize Kagan strategies, visual learning strategies, Smart Board activities, think/pair/share,
heterogeneous grouping, bell ringers, exit slips, carousel note taking, Round Robin strategies, in order to address specific literacy learning
objectives and provide time for students to apply this learning for further inquiry, design and interactive collaborative settings through projects
such as Hammurabi group skits, Judaism scroll activity, India See What You Can Dig Up web quest activity, Literacy Design Collaborative
Argumentative Essay for Athens & Sparta, and Ancient Greece Projects. All Social Studies students are provided teacher, student, and
published models of specific products prior to creating their own. Examples…LDC Papers. 8th grade social studies teachers utilize
differentiation strategies for instruction. For example, graphic organizers, leveled texts, illustrated vocabulary, think-pair-share, stop and
summarize activities, and guided reading models which enhances student learning in some of the following examples; Columbus Hero/Villain
poster, oral debates, professional published articles.
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PLCS: 6th and 8th grade Core teachers instruct students in On Demand Writing strategy and students apply that strategy when answering an
On -Demand prompt in the Exploratory classes. 8th grade PE classes practiced an On-Demand piece in the form of a letter to support
funding for PE programs. In 6th, 7th, and 8th grade Life Skills classes students receive explicit instruction and practice in identifying
Information Text and text features that can aid them in identifying important information, comprehending what they read, and locating
information within a text. - Student work samples, lesson plans. 6th grade Life Skills classes incorporate extensive vocabulary practice using
a visual vocabulary game. Students are provided the definition of a word previously introduced in discussion or reading. Students attempt to
identify the word and what part of speech it is classified under. Students draw a picture and write a sentence to demonstrate understanding
and personal connection. - Student work samples, lesson plans. Students in all 3 grade levels are instructed in online and personal safety
throughout the Life Skills course. Students learn to create user names and passwords that are secure, the risks of sharing this information
with others, and what to share and avoid sharing online. All students in all 3 grades create Edmodo accounts and learn to navigate the
website, locate information, and complete online activities to enhance digital literacy skills while meeting content standards. 8th grade
students enrolled in Life Skills learn the importance of safeguarding personal financial information (social security number, bank account info,
credit card numbers and statements) and the risks associated with shopping online. - Class discussion, chapter reading, online activities and
accounts. 7th grade Life Skills students in the 3rd 9 weeks are completing online modules in the Everfi Vault program and participating in the
Stock Market Game. While students are meeting content specific objectives they are also applying and practicing digital literacy skills such
as navigating websites, locating information, communicating online with the teacher and classmates. - student accounts, lesson plans
Math teachers provide models in all instructional activities after pre-assessment takes place. For instance, once students provide preassessment data to teachers for the FAL's, they are broken into groups with like mistakes to encourage and foster support to enable growth
toward a target standard. During the final portion, students share exemplars of standards.
Science teachers provide literacy instructional strategies and models to assist achieving learning objectives. In 6th grade, a strong emphasis
is placed on breaking down the roots of words rather than focusing on memorization. Common examples are roots like, "hydro", "ab", "bio",
and "geo". In addition when using lengthy reading assignments, students are instructed on skimming and practice the skill with the teacher.
Sixth grade students also complete "Vocab Tuesday" on their weekly bellringer, which often asks word origins and meanings.
In 7th grade, we put emphasis on using content vocabulary as often as possible. This is evident in our use of Frayer models for vocab study
each week. We also emphasize the use of vocabulary in answering ERQ and Short Answer questions. In our article of the week practice,
there is often emphasis placed on using context clues to discover the meaning of new words.
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Science, and Social Studies teachers and students also participated in the Literacy Design Collaborative. Through this research driven
project, students are asked to develop a thesis, organize, research, and produce a written piece that addresses a content-based topic.
Through the writing process of organization, pre-writing, drafting, self and peer editing, and publishing, students are pushed to new heights to
deliver a piece that is exemplary. Students were provided guidance by teachers along with graphic organizers and outlines to help with
organization of information.
Visual Arts: Specific learning objectives are achieved with the assistance of exemplar models and literacy instructional strategies. Examples
include open response, 4-square art critique, On Demand Writing, Essential Questions, anticipatory sets, graphic organizers, reading articles
about Unit, Artist Research Pages, Jigsaw and Puzzle Pieces. Specific Learning Objectives within the Visual Arts curriculum include
explaining, reflection, compare/contrast, analyze and evaluate, writing an artist statement, Writing On Demand prompts, compare and
explain, assess, explain and provide evidence, identify and interpret.
Band students collaborate on developing rhythmic patterns using note and rest values currently being studied. This "hands on" experience
aids in their decoding from printed sheet music. Orchestra students model as a class and also with their stand partner to either count and
clap, count and rocket bow, or count and bow an open string on new and increasingly challenging rhythms. Students are given new rhythms
and then think time followed by work time with their stand partner to translate the notes into physical movements.
Dem 3 characteristic b
Due to our schools participation in the Literacy Design Collaborative, our students are researching information to seek new and deeper
understandings of a topic based on inquiry, and are demonstrating understanding through products that may be used by others for future
understanding. With legend research. In 7th grade and during the pirate research in 6th grade students follow specific criteria to choose,
research and create a legend topic for informational purposes. This is a process that teaches them how to construct a thesis statement, lead
construction, citing MLA instruction, transition instruction, and focus in body paragraph information.
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The inquiry project in sixth and seventh grade language arts also provided students with the opportunity to research a topic of their choice
based on an inquiry question they develop from their interests or needs. They present their findings to the class, which could be a product
used by peers to further their own understanding of each other's topics.
Social Studies teachers allow students to research topics for deeper understanding, providing a series of supports for students in the
research stage. Students regularly share their newly acquired knowledge with their peers through oral presentations. Peers in the audience
regularly take notes on presentations to further increase their knowledge of subject material. 6th grade social studies students seek a new or
deeper understanding based on inquiry through the Europe and Africa Tic Tac Toe projects and demonstrate their new understanding
through their products. To deepen their understanding about a topic, 7th grade Social Studies students research information about Ancient
Greek life and culture and demonstrate new understanding through the creation and presentation of these projects to their classmates who,
in turn, write notes and ask questions to deepen their understanding about various aspects of Ancient Greek culture. 8th grade students
regularly use the internet, various teacher selected media, and student selected media to deepen their understanding of previously
introduced topics. Examples…web quest, interactive history video games, Bill of Rights virtual town, "Future Fright".
PLCS: Health Education - 7th grade students in health class research a disease and share findings.
Life Skills - Students in all 3 grade levels are involved in career exploration activities through the online ILP. Students are provided with
multiple opportunities to complete informal career investigations as they identify interests and explore new ideas. Students are provided
multiple access points within the ILP website for investigating a wide variety of career options. Students who have previously completed the
required ILP activities are assigned more formal career investigation activities that include comparing similarities and differences between 2
careers, or closer examination of a preferred career. - Lesson plans, student work product. In 6th grade Life Skills classes students read
about advertising tactics, watch a video illustrating advertising tricks and tactics with real world examples, and then complete an inquiry
project using the PBS kids Don't Buy It website. The final product asks students to reflect on what they learned throughout the online
modules and asks them to explore one of the additional resources listed on the site. - Student work product, lesson plans. The 7th grade Life
Skills class is participating in the online Stock Market Game which requires students to make connections between products they use and
like, the companies that manufacture them, and their stock offerings. Students conduct exploratory research on a company and its stock,
they present their findings to their team and garner support for the purchase of the stock. - Student work product, lesson plans. PreEngineering/Robotics - Students are given the opportunity to select more advanced programming challenges and opportunities to extend
learning. Technology Education - Students are offered a variety of extra credit opportunities to extend learning through research at the end of
each module.
Math Students are encouraged to use internet based resources and provided with suggestions and links to enhance understanding:
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Learnzillion, Khan Academy, Compass Learning, bigideasmath.com, Manga High.
Science teachers utilize inquiry and discovery for students to gain deeper understandings around topics. 6th grade: In our unit on Earth's
history, students were given an opportunity to select what they wanted to study further. Students worked in groups to research topics of their
choice. Students created a presentation of their findings and then created a mini-lesson to teach their peers about their research findings. .
In the astronomy unit, students picked a claim from the video, designed an experiment to test other explanations of the claim, and
documented the process with a movie. The matter unit and astronomy unit are designed with "Project based learning" which incorporates
critical thinking with sub-driving questions, and collaboration with other students and creatively designing experiments and presentations.
7th Grade: Students do research on their selected LDC topic--with a minimum of 5 sources found and used in their LDC. Students are taught
how to look for "quality and reliable" sources. Students are also taught how to research articles that are at their level of understanding.
Dem 3 characteristic c
Students at our school demonstrate media literacy through regular use of technological tools, resources and applications in reading, writing,
speaking, listening and language use to meet specific communication goals. We do so by allowing students the use of their own personal
devices, providing technology tools in the form of computer labs, iPads, laptops and interactive whiteboards; and providing activities through
the use of QR codes, Web quests, Prezi, movie maker, power points, KVL , magazine articles, films, plays and other resources to allow
students opportunities to meet specific communication goals.
To support and enhance the Holocaust unit for 8th grade language arts, students were able to use their own devices to obtain information
through the use of a QR code activity. Teachers also provided supplemental historical articles, documentaries, bibliographies, and websites
as resources for students to obtain information. To help meet specific communication goals, students read plays aloud, listened to and read
poetry, and watched documentaries on the topic. By providing students with multiple media exposure and opportunities to speaking, listening
and writing students were able to use critical thinking skills to synthesize the information they had gathered into a final product on an
informative writing piece.
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Another example from eighth grade Language Arts is through the use of the Michael Oher audio "I Beat the Odds". As part of motivational
instructional strategy, students listen to the audio throughout the year and practice specific reading, vocabulary, comprehension, listening
and speaking strategies. Teachers will first model a strategy, such as the ACTIVE strategy, used to enhance reading comprehension.
Students may also be asked to summarize in writing what they heard, identifying the main topics of the section, or to identify literary
elements, such as; conflict, resolutions, symbolism, and irony. After listening to a segment of the audio students will write and discuss the
segment. Student learning is impacted by providing students with a high interest prompt through the subject matter and providing them
multiple opportunities to receive practice in all the communication skills.
To enhance our tolerance unit, 7th grade language arts students use differentiated methods of looking at our essential question of "Who are
you?" The students use multiple sources to obtain information on the Civil Rights Movement, such as differentiated articles on essential
people and events in the CRM, KYVL research on current tolerance events in our society, reading a five act play the is written in free verse
poetry outside of class, assessing the video I Have a Dream speech, and looking at their own devices if necessary to identify the most critical
events and people of a tolerance movement. The students will determine their own position on what tolerance really means based on all of
these resources. 7th grade also does a movie maker project based on a Kentucky Bluegrass Award Video of their own choice that they script
out and turn onto a book trailer to promote to their classes.
Socials Studies teachers regularly use technological tools and media literacy to enhance the social studies curriculum through inquiry and
presentation modes. 6th grade social studies students demonstrate media literacy through regular use of technological tools such as
Newsela and Flocabulary, resources such as Junior Scholastic, and applications such as QR Code activities to meet specific communication
goals. 7th grade Social Studies students demonstrate media literacy through regular use of various technological tools, resources, &
applications (Internet, laptops, iPads, Smart Board, SMART Notebooks, Movie Maker, Publisher, Power Point) in reading (primary &
secondary sources) & writing (guided notes, 3 part journaling, Literacy Design Collaborative Argumentative essay for Athens & Sparta),
speaking, listening and language use (oral presentations for Hammurabi Court, Pharaoh Facebook project, Judaism scroll project, Ancient
Greece project) to evaluate or communicate using critical thinking skills. 8th grade social studies students use technology to demonstrate
reading, writing, speaking, listening, and language usage skills (ELA standards) when creating social studies products. Examples…LDC,
student led debate, student created historical plays, Mission US interactive simulation, Humanities Council speaker, peer review of oral
presentations.
PLCS: All students in all 3 grades create Edmodo accounts and learn to navigate the website, locate information, and complete online
activities to enhance digital literacy skills while meeting content standards. Additionally students in all 3 grades completed the required ILP
activities which involve reading and analyzing information and self-reflective writing activities to complete an online education plan that can
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be shared with teachers and parents. - ILP accounts, lesson plans. In 6th grade Life Skills classes students read about advertising tactics,
watch a video illustrating advertising tricks and tactics with real world examples, and then complete an inquiry project using the PBS kids
Don't Buy It website. Students practice and demonstrate digital media literacy by navigating the modules in the website, reading and
analyzing information, and watching and listening to video examples. The final product asks students to reflect on what they learned
throughout the online modules and asks them to explore one of the additional resources listed on the site. - Student work product, lesson
plans. The 7th grade Life Skills class is participating in the online Stock Market Game which requires students to make connections between
products they use and like, the companies that manufacture them, and their stock offerings. Students conduct exploratory research on a
company and its stock using online resources within the Stock Market Game website, they present their findings to their team and garner
support for the purchase of the stock. Students develop and apply digital literacy skills as they navigate through the websites resources and
learn how to conduct an online stock trade. Students also complete online financial literacy and decision making modules in the Everfi Vault
online financial program. Students read information, listen to narration, and make choices and complete activities throughout the modules.
Students use digital literacy skills to make sense of what they see and hear, navigate through the site, and make decisions within the
modules. - Student work product, lesson plans. Pre-Engineering/Robotics - Students complete a research project and presentation on
energy. They utilize the internet to conduct research on the topic and communicate the results of this research to their classmates by giving
a presentation. Students utilize and interact through classroom computers by providing a reflection on each of the modules.
Science teachers allow students the opportunity to use media literacy through use of technology throughout their units. . In the astronomy
unit, students picked a claim from the video, designed an experiment to test other explanations of the claim, and documented the process
with a movie. The matter unit and astronomy unit are designed with "Project based learning" which incorporates critical thinking with subdriving questions, and collaboration with other students and creatively designing experiments and presentations.
7th Grade: After data disaggregation based upon scores from and KPREP, MAP Reading, and MAP Math, and Stanford 10, teachers group
students according to the activity. Sometimes groups are by Math scores, sometimes by reading scores, sometimes groups with similar
scores, and sometimes mixed ability groups. Students have access to research tools such as online search engines, Edutopia, Kentucky
virtual library, through use of laptops and iPads. Students read and write and use data to explore a virtual lab through the Explore Learning
website on computers or the Gizmo App on iPads. Students used iPads to take qualitative data i.e. thermal images for a lab. Students use
temperature probes and Vernier handheld computers to take temperature readings for labs. Students use personal devices as calculators,
research tools, and data gathering tools
8th Grade: Students have had numerous opportunities to use technology on a consistent basis to demonstrate media literacy. Students
completed a tic-tac-toe project where they were able to pick three projects that they needed to complete and present to the class. The
majority of these projects involved some sort of technology that was necessary for both research and presentation purposes. Students have
the opportunity to make presentations numerous times during the year. Students have access to numerous laptop carts, a document camera,
a SMART projector and their own personal electronic devices.
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Dem 3 characteristic d
At our school, students demonstrate their media literacy by integrating what is learned when using technology with what they learn offline to
understanding and communication. This is often done through our participation in the Literacy Design Collaborative, but also takes place in
projects designed by teachers to enhance student learning of a specific instructional goal.
Eighth grade Language Arts students' integrated information learned from the Holocaust unit through small group and class discussions to
produce an informative article. Eighth grade students also used technology and media to produce final projects for their summer reading
project where students read differentiated novels from the Kentucky Bluegrass Award Winners and then produced projects which they
presented to their classmates. Students were given the choice of several projects; an example would be writing a newspaper article about a
major event in the novel, but writing it from first the perspective of the protagonist and then the antagonist. By providing students in our
building multiple exposure to media and technology, they are able to integrate what is learned through the use of technology and combine
this information with what has been learned offline to develop learning and communication
Seventh grade language arts students use Movie Maker technology to create book trailer videos based on the Kentucky Bluegrass Award
books from the summer reading list. Trailers are presented to the classes and our school participates in the state-wide voting for the
awarded book each year. Before beginning this lesson in the language arts classrooms, students participate in an activity with our media
center specialist about the Movie Maker program. Students write a script for their book trailer and access images and audio online to embed,
along with typing text or doing a voice-over to give the plot information.
Sixth grade language arts students use technology during research and presentations with Titanic and pirates. They also use programs to
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assist with creating a brochure based on the Titanic research.
Lastly, students in sixth and seventh grade have the opportunity to use a variety of technology resources when completing their independent
reading and research projects.
Social Studies teachers utilize on-line learning to enhance classroom core content standards for students to discover media resources on the
topics using compelling questions to guide students' research. For example, 6th grade social studies students integrate what is learned
during the Africa Tic Tac Toe online Water Usage research project to develop understanding of how water is used in Africa and then
communicate their own water usage. 7th grade Social Studies students integrate what they learn about ancient civilizations through regular
use of various technological tools, resources, & applications (Internet, laptops, iPads, Smart Board, SMART Notebooks, Movie Maker,
Publisher, Power Point) to develop understand and communication with what they learn offline (primary and secondary sources. 8th grade
students integrate knowledge gained online with knowledge learned off-line through lessons specifically designed to facilitate connections
(Bill of Rights virtual town, Mission US, interactive history videos).
PLCS: n Business education, Life Skills, and Technology education students use technology to complete the online ILP activities. Students
are challenged to take their ideas regarding career options and compare them with factual information, personal analysis, and self-reflection
to make choices about their future education and career. The ILP tool allows students to focus on specific aspects of education and career
planning, to create an organized yet changeable plan, and share this information with teachers, counselors, and parents. ILP parent nights
are offered by school and district personnel to educate parents about the online ILP and their students' education and career plans. - ILP
activities, lesson plans. The 7th grade Life Skills class is participating in the online Stock Market Game which requires students to make
connections between products they use and like, the companies that manufacture them, and their stock offerings. Students conduct
exploratory research on a company and its stock using online resources within the Stock Market Game website, they present their findings to
their team and garner support for the purchase of the stock - student work product, lesson plans.
Science teachers provide time for students to research content on-line to support classroom discussions. 6th Grade: When students were
studying landforms, students used the internet to discover causes of features of Earth such as mountains, volcanoes and deep sea floor.
Students then made presentations to the class with their findings allowing students to connect what they had learned on the internet to real
things in their lives. In addition, many students picked land features that they had experiences allowing them to share further.
During the matter unit, students listened to other presentations to "put the pieces of the puzzle" together to understand the initial experiment
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and the science concepts covered.
7th Grade: After data disaggregation based upon scores from and KPREP, MAP Reading, and MAP Math, and Stanford 10, teachers group
students according to the activity. Sometimes groups are by Math scores, sometimes by reading scores, sometimes groups with similar
scores, and sometimes mixed ability groups. Students have access to research tools such as online search engines, Edutopia, Kentucky
virtual library, through use of laptops and iPads. Students read and write and use data to explore a virtual lab through the Explore Learning
website on computers or the Gizmo App on iPads. Students used iPads to take qualitative data ie thermal images for a lab. Students use
temperature probes and Vernier handheld computers to take temperature readings for labs. Students use personal devices as calculators,
research tools, and data gathering tools
8th Grade: When students were studying natural hazards and disasters, students used the internet to do research on a specific natural
hazard. They were required to then take their research and create a magazine page with specific guidelines. Students were required to
work with their peers and share their researched information to create a cohesive classroom magazine that covered the majority of the more
well known natural hazards.
Band students visually process and verbally count rhythms of graduated complexity using the online RhythmRulz. This, combined with their
written Bell Ringers that focus on rhythm, helps them develop their skill in quickly processing rhythms to communicate musical ideas.
Dem 3 characteristic e
Students are provided the use of varying strategies and demonstrate an understanding of communicating to audiences in different forms and
for various purposes. Examples would include novel projects completed in Language Arts and RTI classes, along with the differentiated
journal activities which accompany the novels. As a part of our school participation in the Literacy Design Collaborative, students are writing
in the content areas and producing informative and argument papers on the topics they research. Students prewrite, draft, revise, and finalize
published piece with teacher and peer feedback.
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In seventh grade language arts students completed personal interest and background inventories using George Ella Lyon's, "Where I'm
From" poetry activities. They then compiled their information and used it to develop their own, "Where I'm From" poems. These poems are
located in their writing folders. 6th and 7th grade students also complete independent reading projects in which they have to choose a book
of their interest on grade level or above and they can use several different options to display their knowledge of that book. The projects
encompass all learning styles and enable the students to show their strengths whether it be artistic, technology based, creativity, etc. They
are graded based on the project that they create. It is all about their choices. 7th grade students also get to choose their own legend
research/informational paper topics to present to the class. They base their choice on the five characteristics of what makes something a
legend. They use several avenues to turn this into an informational paper, video and presentation.
Social studies teachers use multiple strategies to communicate to audiences for varied purposes. Audiences include performing and sharing
projects at Literacy night held in the spring, beginning 2014 and correspondence with students in other countries through a pen-pal program.
6th grade social studies students use various strategies such as Venn diagrams, pro/con charts, brochures, post cards, PowerPoints,
journals (Europe & Africa Tic Tac Toe projects) for communicating information to a variety of audiences for a variety of purposes. 7th grade
Social Studies students use various strategies to demonstrate an understanding of communicating to audiences in different form and for
various purposes, such as Ancient Greece projects (student choice of topics), web quests, 3 part journaling, 3 charts, Hammurabi skit
performances, vocabulary rap performances, and clay cuneiform tablets. 8th grade students use various differentiated strategies to
communicate to different audiences for various purposes (inform, argue, narrate, persuade, demonstrate) in a variety of modes (skits, letters,
postcards, posters, LDC research papers, poetry, brochures, ERQ's). For example, Columbus Advertisement, Columbian Exchange visual,
Triangular Trade image, Colonial Letter, and Literacy Design Collaborative writing pieces
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PLCS: In all 6th and 8th grade PLCS Exploratory classes' students are required to complete an On-Demand writing prompt requiring
students to demonstrate and apply knowledge of the On Demand writing strategy and how to tailor writing for a specific audience and
purpose as identified in the prompt. Student responses are selected as exemplars and shared with the class.- student communication folder,
teacher records, lesson plans
Students in Business Education, Life Skills, and Technology education classes complete self-reflective writing activities as they complete the
ILP activities. Students read and analyze career information, goals, achievements, interests, and aptitudes to reflect on career and education
options. The ILP serves as a record of students' education and career exploration across the middle school years. - ILP, lesson plans.
Students in Business Education, Health, Life Skills, Technology education classes complete short answer and extended response questions
as a part of regular classroom instruction. Students demonstrate the ability to summarize information to address short answer prompts and
the need for more detailed and elaborate answers to address extended response questions. Students are prompted to apply pre-writing
strategies and use content area vocabulary to demonstrate depth of knowledge. - Student work product, lesson plans. Students in Business
education classes receive explicit instruction in business writing and communication. Students complete activities and projects such as
creating business cards and company logos, developing business plans, and writing business letters. - Student work product, lesson plans.
All Math students, through the use of Formative Assessment Lessons (FAL's), are encouraged to apply learned skills to real life problems.
Working in small groups with peers, students communicate mathematical findings both orally and in writing. Questioning within the FAL's are
open ended and prompt higher level thinking. They present their projects and communicate their mathematical reasoning to the class.
Science teachers provide students with multiple ways of communicating to various audiences and for various purposes. 6th grade: Students
wrote a 5 paragraph essay about the effects of abiotic factors on the Kentucky River ecosystem. The audience for the paper was teachers.
Students also completed a rock cycle model, in which some students wrote stories, some wrote love letters, while others made videos
interviewing types of rocks or professionals to discuss the information. Students worked on a plate tectonics project based on their own
interest, and later presented their findings to the class. The students were responsible for teaching their peers and were reminded to use an
appropriate vocabulary for their audience. They also created activities to teach their classmates. Many students created games for the class
to play, quizzes, or crossword puzzles to assess whether their classmates had understood the material.
7th grade - All students will participate in the creation of a research paper about ecosystems and the effects of imbalance in which they must
model life history situations like Minimata Bay Mercury disaster. They will also have to cite evidence that supports their claim.
8th Grade: Audience-the Once-ler: a 5 paragraph letter was written to convey concerns on the human impact of his actions and feasible
solutions to the problems created: Audience-The principal; a 5 paragraph letter was written to explain how the carbon cycle, oxygen cycle
and nitrogen cycle work and why each is important for the existence of life. Audience-a government official- a LDC formal letter was written,
to government official of choice, to discuss the human impact of coal-mining or agricultural on the environment and offer current and future
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solutions to the problems being created. Audience-9th grade student--students write a 5 paragraph letter to discuss the role of DNA and
genetic mutations--past, present and future
Music students understand how the style or genre of music can dictate the appropriate setting or purpose of performance music (ceremonial,
recreational, or artistic expression). For example, students would not expect to perform pop music during our assessment performance on
the Singletary stage. However, when pop music is performed, this communicates to the audience a different purpose and therefore even
affects the attire selected for the performance (t-shirt and jeans).
Dem 3 characteristic f
Once again, through our school participation in the Literacy Design Collaborative, we are able to provide our students to engage in
discussion with teachers and peers to participate in the writing process and are provided with a means to publish\share work. Examples of
student work can be seen posted in the hallways of our school, on bulletin boards in teacher's rooms, and in student communication folders.
In eighth grade social studies, language arts and science classes, students engage in discussion with teachers and peers during the writing
process to enhance their writing pieces. For example, brainstorming/webbing topics, outlining, generating thesis, and drafting, peer editing,
revising and publishing. Final products of argument and informative papers can be found in student communication folders. Teachers
collaborated to produce outlines, graphic organizers, peer editing sheets and checklists for revisions to assist students in the writing process.
The impact on student learning is that instruction was modified as their writing progressed throughout the year to help them produce a final
product to publish and share.
Three pieces are completed in language arts. Social studies and Science complete an LDC piece as well. We take our students through the
entire writing process of prewriting with outlines, brainstorming and journaling. We then take them through drafting (thesis, leads, body
paragraph construction, conclusion, transition) Each stage is looked at and given feedback by students and peers. One example of this is
writing two leads for each paper. The leads are then looked at by peers and not only is the most effective lead chosen, but students help
each other figure out where the other lead can be used in a paper. The students then attain parent revisions, teacher revisions and selfrevisions to create editing and publishing. Student writing is kept in their writing folders that are stored centrally in our building at the end of
the year.
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Aside from LDC, in sixth and seventh grade, students' literacy creations from the independent reading projects are used as models from one
quarter to the next and are displayed for all students to view.
Student participation in the school literary magazine and literacy night event also provide students with opportunities to publish/share their
work after sustained engagement and collaboration with teachers and peers. Students develop their own contributions to magazine, whether
it be written or artistic expression. Students collaborate during meetings with teachers and peers to revise and edit their writing as necessary
before publication. Students can post their work on the group Edmodo account also for viewing. During the literacy night event, community
sponsors operate booths in addition to teachers and students. Some students assist in booths with literacy related activities such as social
studies skit performances, while other booths are operated by students completely such as the booth to promote the school magazine.
Social Studies teachers regularly engage students in discussion throughout the process of communication projects. Communication is
taught at an individual level by providing customized feedback on an individual basis. Teachers utilize a system of leveled supports with
feedback at the student's level of performance and goal setting is achieved through personal conferencing. Students are modeled peer
conferencing techniques to encourage application of critical thinking skills. 6th grade social studies students engage in discussion both with
teachers and peers through the editing process of the Monotheistic Religion LDC project and then share their writing with their classmates.
7th grade Social Studies students take part in sustained engagement and collaboration with their teachers and peers to inform the writing
process through the Literacy Design Collaborative Argumentative essay unit. Students peer conference, share and edit research essays with
their peers and collaborate with their teachers throughout every step of the writing process. 8th grade Social Studies students regularly
engage in discussion with teachers and peers to develop pre-writing strategies, drafting, and editing to refine literacy products such as their
LDC research papers.
PLCS: Students in Business education classes receive explicit instruction in business writing and communication. Students complete
activities and projects such as creating business cards and company logos, developing business plans, and writing business letters. The
teacher regularly displays student work product within the school setting.- student work product, lesson plans
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Science teachers participate in LDC. They follow the writing process and allow students to peer edit, teacher conferencing is individualized
and sharing of work allows students to see same-age peers examples. 6th grade: Some students initiated a peer edit and review of their 5
paragraph essays in Science class. Students gave valuable feedback to one another and made revisions before sharing their final drafts.
Science teachers also conferenced with individual students on an as-needed basis to help guide students and offer suggestions for
improvement.
7th Grade - Students engaged in peer review when editing their LDC pieces as well as when creating a roller coaster during one of our first
labs. Once they had built their coaster, students were asked to go around and review the other coasters. Students had to communicate their
ideas or edits to the other students in the group.
8th Grade: Students peer edited their LDC pieces, following a provided rubric. Students took suggestions from their peer review and
incorporated these suggestions into their final LDC piece. Students also provided a peer review of presentations given in class on the letters
written to the Oncl-ler.
Orchestra students complete a composition project at the end of the year and present their original work to the class. Students must perform
the piece and turn in a finalized manuscript after 2 rough drafts are critiqued and reviewed in class by the teacher. Students also have the
opportunity to have a trial run of their piece for their stand partner or friends in class to receive informal peer feedback. Chorus students also
complete a composition project at the end of the year. Students set a poem to rhythm and then create a melody. The pieces are presented to
the class and a final manuscript is turned in.
The rationale explains how the identified evidence supports the school's reported level of program implementation for the
demonstrator.
Teachers at our school are implementing instructional strategies that provide students with quality experiences by using a variety of activities
to access all students. Through the Literacy Design Collaborative, students are participating in the writing process in content classes at all
grade levels. Teacher and student models are provided, as well as feedback from peers and teachers throughout the writing process.
Teachers are working collaboratively to continually improve instruction as each piece is being developed. Along with our school participation
in the LDC, we are also focusing on differentiation in our instruction as part of our school improvement plan. Teachers are differentiating
instruction through the use of leveled text and student product. We are also working to have novel based units in Language Arts classes,
where students are provided with choices in reading selections based upon their reading abilities and interests. Social studies and science
teacher are also collaborating with language arts teachers to provide consistent quality writing instruction. The use of technology is
integrated into the instruction through such devices as movie maker, videotaping, and creating of products which are then displayed
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throughout the building.
Through a school-wide effort of integrating reading, writing, speaking, and listening into all classrooms, out elective teachers have spent
some time in PLC's to learn and develop samples of on-demand writing; including understanding the structure of an on-demand writing piece.
ERQ's and short answer question guidelines were reviewed with all teachers in the Fall. There has been some global outreach by a few
teachers in the building. The language arts department continues to field questions on integration of writing across the school, making
adjustments to demands and providing support to all disciplines. The curriculum and instruction committee along with the language arts
department have been working on a rubric that will be easily used within the classes for paragraph construction.
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Curriculum and Instruction: Student Performance
All students have access to an aligned and rigorous curriculum, where instructional strategies are of high quality and inclusive, resulting in
student performance at a consistently high level.
Overall Rating: 2.0
a)
b)
c)
d)
Statement or Question
To what extent do students craft
communications distinctive to specific
disciplines and purposes?
Response
Students craft communications distinctive to
specific disciplines and purposes.
Rating
Proficient
Statement or Question
To what extent do students demonstrate
through the strands of literacy (speaking,
listening, writing, language use and reading) a
respect for cultural differences and work
effectively with people from a range of social
and cultural backgrounds (face-to-face or
virtually) to build on and articulate their own
ideas?
Response
Students respect cultural differences and work
effectively with people from a range of social
and cultural backgrounds (face-to-face or
virtually) to build on and articulate their own
ideas through the strands of literacy.
Rating
Proficient
Statement or Question
To what extent do students learn and work
together with teachers, peers and others, either
face to face or virtually, to problem-solve and
generate products/outcomes tied to curriculum
and learning goals?
Response
Rating
Students learn and work together with teachers, Proficient
peers and others either face-to-face or virtually
to problem-solve and generate
products/outcomes tied to curriculum and
learning goals.
Statement or Question
Response
To what extent do students refer to works of
Students refer to works of quality and
quality and substance as models to inform their substance as models to inform their work.
work?
Rating
Proficient
Evidence is identified to support the school's analysis for each of the demonstrators. Program review evidence may be specific for
an area (Writing, Arts & Humanities, Practical Living/Career Studies, K-3, and Global Competency/World Languages) or may be
common across other reviews. Review teams will likely find they need to search out additional evidence during the program review
process in order to make judgments or to support judgments.
Dem 4 characteristic a
Students at our school have access to an aligned and rigorous curriculum, where instructional strategies are of high quality and inclusive,
resulting in student performance at a consistently high level. This is achieved through our participation in the Literacy Design Collaborative
and through our teachers all being trained in differentiated methods of instruction as written in our school improvement plan.
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In eighth Language Arts, students crafted hard news articles and feature stories based on their expert knowledge after reading differentiated
novels and researching the disabilities associated with the main character(s) in these novels. They also expanded upon their learning of the
Holocaust to exploring little known topics, such as Escapees from Auschwitz, to incorporate that information into their informative paper.
Students in eighth grade social studies also craft communication on a weekly basis by debating and writing pieces for specific purposes.
Some 7th Grade language arts students participated in a professional theater company workshop. This workshop included the development
of a specific monologue and performance of that monologue for each student in preparation for a theater performance of "Dracula" given by
the Actors Theater of Louisville. The students wrote as content experts by crafting a communications structure distinctive to a specific
discipline and purpose. During this workshop, the students also became familiar with performing a skit from the play Dracula in front of their
peers. During this skit performance, the kids used various instruments and objects to create their own sound.
Social Studies teachers allow students to research topics with an inquiry approach, much like true historians. Compelling questions are
provided and research is directed so students can locate information, primary and secondary sources, to answer their question based on the
evidence that is found. 6th grade social studies students craft summaries of informational articles (Newsela and Junior Scholastic), prepare
RAPS to share research (Noteworthy North Americans project), read informational text and then write to either make a claim or defend a
position (Enduring Skill practice - Using Evidence To Support A Claim and Russia & Ukraine LDC). 7th grade Social Studies students go
beyond mastery of skills and/or curriculum to explore and expand their own learning and opportunities to gain expertise and write as content
experts applying that knowledge to the kinds of questions and problems in that field tackle. For examples, students craft an LDC
Argumentative Essay which answers the question: Which city state is more desirable for someone living in that time period and culture? In
addition, students craft projects about Ancient Greek culture to further their knowledge of Ancient Greece. Students are using various
research strategies to answer their questions about Ancient Greek civilization. In seventh grade social studies students perform the Ides of
March play in which they use distinctive wording and communications relevant to the Ancient Grecian area. Student must use diction and
inflection that would be used as if they were performing the play in public. 8th grade students participate in History Investigation: Boston
Massacre to determine who is truly at fault for the incident. Like real historical experts, they examine multiple primary sources to determine
credibility and plausible historical explanations. Based on their research they craft an evidence based explanation/five paragraph essay
providing compelling textual support for their findings.
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All PLCS teachers administer On- Demand writing prompts to 6th and 8th grade classes at least once per semester. The prompts require
students to tailor writing to a variety of specific audiences and for a variety of purposes, directly tied to the courses specific content (health letter in support of funding PE programs, etc…). Additionally, PLCS teachers regularly employ short answer questions and extended
response questions as a part of classroom instruction and assessment. Students at all 3 grade levels enrolled in Business Education, Life
Skills, and Technology Education complete the required online ILP activities that require self-reflective journaling and record keeping to
develop self-awareness. Students also respond to prompts and reflect on what they've learned as they compare and contrast careers.
Business Education - Students in all 3 grades develop the knowledge and ability to produce a variety of business communications including
business cards, logos and letterhead, business letters, résumés, and business plans. Technology Education - Performance assessments are
conducted on 3 days of each module. The assessments require written responses to a minimum of 4 prompts that relate to the classroom
activities for that day.
Science teachers have realigned their content based upon the next gen standards and adjusted their communications based upon their
discipline. One enduring skill is to ask questions to design an investigation. (matter unit and astronomy unit)
7th Grade: Physical science unit was aligned with New Generation Science Standards and connected to student experience and real
occupations around design and engineering. Students followed written and drawn design to construct a rollercoaster, and used the
rollercoaster to investigate a scientific phenomenon (energy transfer, potential and kinetic energy, law of conservation of energy.) This lab
and analysis was scored using Stanford Science Inquiry Rubric. Students then took the knowledge from the lab to the next level. The
students took on the role of a scientist and wrote an informational article based on experience gleaned from the lab as well as from
independent research. This piece was scored using the Literacy Design Collaborative rubric for informational writing. In a final connected
piece, students took what they learned from a scripted lab and independent research and used it to design and build a rollercoaster. Students
designed, constructed, presented their design to another group, peer evaluated, performed analysis and calculations, and provided feedback.
This was graded with a rubric which included robustness of design, use of constraints, evidence of design enhancement, and data analysis.
For the unit on energy conservation, students analyzed thermal images of real homes. Students then used a set of instructions to construct a
single family home with given supplies. The home was set upon a heat source, and students used iPads and Vernier handheld computers to
take qualitative data in the form of pictures and quantitative data in the form of temperature readings in places where heat normally escapes
homes. Students then continued to investigate by insulating the home with different materials and taking second series of data. Students
compared data before and after the insulation and related that to real life experience in lab analysis and reflection. In this lab students took
the role of engineer/architect, scientist, home owner, and more. In the end students found reasons to conserve energy that range from
directly relating to them (saving money for their families) to a worldwide impact (conserving fossil fuels and resources, minimize pollution.)
All eighth grade Science students have completed their LDC project. This project involved students doing both group and individual research
on how either coal or agriculture affects the environment. During this project students were required to complete a prewriting activity before
researching at least five credible sources. Students were taught in class how to look for clues to determine a credible source. All 8th grade
students were then required to look through their research and find common themes in their facts. From those facts students were then
required to write a five paragraph persuasive letter to a government official of their choice. All eighth grade students then had to either
brainstorm a way to lessen the impact of coal or agriculture on the environment or research a solution that could replace our need to rely so
heavily on coal.
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Visual Arts: Students craft communications distinctive to creating, presenting, responding and connecting purposes. Students demonstrate
their ability to explain, reflect, analyze and evaluate, and interpret. Anchor Standards include Cr2.2.6, Cr3.1.678, Pr4.1.67, Pr6.1.678,
Pr7.1.678, Re7.2.678, Re8.1.678, Re9.1.78, Cn11.1.67.
In Chorus, students write about their chorus concert in an On-Demand writing assignment which asks them to think about the music they
have been working on for this past concert and their experience at the concert. The prompt is to write a letter to a relative who lives out of
town who missed the concert and explain to this person striking elements about each piece of music they performed, evaluate their own
individual performance, and explain their concert experience including all groups' performances.
Dem 4 characteristic b
Character development is emphasized at our school. Students are nominated by teachers all across the building for displaying qualities of
strong character skills such as patience, empathy, confidence, tolerance, etc.… This theme of character development is also displayed
throughout the curriculum that is taught at our school. Students receive instruction on respecting cultural differences and working effectively
with people from different social and cultural backgrounds. We have students from a variety of cultural and social backgrounds. Students
work together cooperatively throughout the year in small groups, collaborating to articulate their ideas. Inclusion of our ESL and special
education students into all classes provides students the opportunities to work together effectively with people from a range of social and
cultural backgrounds.
In eighth grade language arts, students begin the year with a unit called "What does Home Mean to You?" They read novels differentiated by
reading level; such as , They Cage the Animals at Nigh and The Lost Boy, learning about people who come from different social
backgrounds. They continue to gain knowledge of other cultural backgrounds through the reading of memoirs such as; All But My Life, about
Holocaust Survivor Gerda Weissman, listening to the autobiography of NFL player Michael Oher, who grew up in the projects and survived
homelessness, reading novels and short stories based on characters with physical or mental disabilities They also analyze the results of not
considering other perspectives through reading and discussing such novels as Fahrenheit 451
Social studies teachers provide opportunities for students to work collaboratively with each other to build a community of learners who are
culturally aware, including differences in religion, economics and government types and acceptance of these differences. 6th grade social
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studies students work effectively with community volunteers of various social and cultural backgrounds (through the Junior Achievement
Global Marketplace curriculum for the purpose of building economics understanding and articulating their ideas) and (through public
speakers on POWER Day events with a range of topics from overcoming adversity, embracing differences, becoming your best self, and
using words to edify others). 7th grade Social Studies students respect cultural differences and work effectively with people from a range of
social and cultural backgrounds (face-to-face) to build on and articulate their own ideas through using the Standards for Cooperative
Interaction Guide from the History Alive curriculum for each History Alive lesson (Hammurabi, Judaism Scrolls, Athens vs. Sparta city-state,
Feudalism Activity, 3 Ways of Thought (China). 8th grade students are regularly grouped and regrouped to form socially and culturally
diverse cooperative learning communities within the classroom. Social Studies curriculum is specially designed to enhance student
understanding/sensitivity/value social and cultural differences. All students in social studies classes work with their peers who come from a
range of social and cultural backgrounds. Guest speakers from diverse backgrounds are brought in to supplement what is being learned in
the curriculum. An example is in eighth grade social studies where an African American actor is brought in to retell an account of a civil war
battle from the viewpoint of a soldier in an African American regiment. Showing portions of Roots throughout the year is also an example of
how students study and learn about cultural backgrounds. In both instances, students build on and articulate their own ideas concerning the
treatment of African Americans and other minority groups in our history.
PLCS: Life Skills - Students in 8th grade Life Skills class are broken into small groups ranging in size from 4-7 during the foods lab portion of
classroom instruction. Students submit requests for whom they want to work with and the teacher keeps these suggestions in mind when
composing the lab groups (student groups represent a mix of students including students of different ethnicity, cultural background, special
needs, and socio-economic background). Students work together to suggest and select recipes based on teacher suggestions and personal
experiences. Finally, students work together, utilizing the experience and strengths of individual members, to follow step by step recipe
instructions and create an edible food product. Physical Education - Students work together in pairs, small groups, and teams to win games
and overcome challenges and obstacles. Students groups develop and apply a variety of strategies and techniques to best utilize the
strengths, talents, and knowledge of the group members. Pre-Engineering/Robotics - In the Green City Challenge students work together to
solve a real world problem by applying knowledge of engineering and robotics principles. Students brainstorm ideas and build attachments
for a machine designed to solve a specific problem or for a specific purpose. Students present their findings and ideas, exploring what ideas
and experiments they conducted and what worked and didn't work. Students reflect on their experience and what they learned by writing in a
journal.Technology Education - Students in all grades are randomly assigned module partners on 3 separate occasions during the 9 week
course. Students work in partners, collaboratively to accomplish the module activities and tasks. Teamwork and cooperation are vital to the
successful completion of each module for the individual student and the team.
Across grade levels, Math students work groups are constantly changing based on differentiated activities and a variety of other factors.
Science students work face to face with students from other cultures and backgrounds on a daily basis. Whether groups are mixed ability or
similar ability or based on seating proximity, groups are always mixed culturally. Some cultures represented are Mexican, Columbian,
Venezuelan, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Ukrainian, African, African American, and many more. Many students are bi lingual or tri lingual,
and are able to use that to connect with the vocabulary. They share vocabulary strategies with others in groups. In addition, as students
complete engineering and other skills based challenges, they have the opportunity to communicate using words (written and spoken),
diagrams, actions, and more. Students are mixed culturally by groups, proximity based on seating, similar ability, similar interest on projects,
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etc.
Furthermore, all students have monthly opportunities to participate in community presentations designed to promote positive academic skills
and behavior through school-wide "power days."
Dem 4 characteristic c
By participating in the Literacy Design Collaborative and being trained in a variety of differentiated instruction methods, teachers are able to
provide students with multiple opportunities to work together with teachers and peers to problem solve and generate ideas. A specific
example of student working with others took place in seventh grade Language Arts classes where students participated in a professional
theater company workshop. In this workshop, students worked face to face with members from the workshop in the development of a specific
monologue and performance of that monologue for each student in preparation for a theater performance of "Dracula" given by the Actors
Theater of Louisville. This year, students in 7th grade language arts participated in a donation drive for Ronald McDonald House as part of
their culminating performance for their "How Can We Help?" unit. The students came face to face with the problems that we face as a
community and how they, as students, could help erase the problems that are in our own community. Several ideas were discussed, along
with solutions and ways that our students could help. 7th grade language arts students, as part of their tolerance unit and as an introduction
to Warriors Don't Cry, take a virtual tour of Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. The students go to each location and we discuss the
type of cultural injustices that occurred in parts of this high school, and the student reactions to these occurrences as part of the integration of
schools. They also analyze the I Have a Dream speech and do a video unit with journaling topics for the movie Freedom Writers. It is a huge
sounding board for discussions and journaling on tolerance and acceptance in our society.
In eighth grade Language Arts, science and social studies classes, students worked together to generate products for informative and
argument writing. The impact on student learning is that by working with peers and teachers to problem solve the most important topics, find
examples needed for support, and select quotes they were able to enhance the writing product of their papers as stated in the curriculum
guide. This occurred twice in each content area. Additionally, students regularly collaborate with teachers and peers to problem solve and
generate products. For example, in social studies students worked together to produce group political cartoons in the Civil War Unit, Colonial
Unrest O Meter, and History Alive: Journey Through the Colonies, and the History Alive: Envisioning Native American Cultures.
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All sixth grade language arts students engaged in instructional strategy via virtual tour of Titanic wreckage using internet and netbooks.
Students worked to find five new pieces of information or facts found during the tour. These facts were composed into an on-demand piece
informing readers as to the cause of the Titanic's sinking. Students then worked together with peers and teachers to complete the writing
process. The basic five paragraph essay using 6.1 Traits of writing were employed with written expression.
Social Studies teachers generate problem-solving opportunities through use of projects in which students work collaboratively to produce
products. 6th grade social studies students work with teachers, peers, and others face-to-face to create products such as the Noteworthy
North American RAP, to defend a point of view (Geography Alive! Land Use Conflict in the Amazon role play activity), and to problem-solve
(Geography Alive! Mount Everest: Climbing the World's Tallest Physical Feature). 7th grade Social Studies students learn and work together
with teachers, peers, and others face-to-face to problem-solve and generate products/outcomes tied to curriculum and learning goals through
the creation of projects such as Pharaoh Facebook pages, Israel Judaism Scrolls, Hammurabi Court Cases, and Ancient Greece projects.
8th grade students work in cooperative learning communities to problem-solve and create high quality products, i.e.…Historical Investigation,
Colonial Survivor.
PLCS: Life Skills - Students in 8th grade Life Skills class are broken into small groups ranging in size from 4-7 during the foods lab portion of
classroom instruction. Students submit requests for whom they want to work with and the teacher keeps these suggestions in mind when
composing the lab groups (student groups represent a mix of students including students of different ethnicity, cultural background, special
needs, and socio-economic background). Students work together to suggest and select recipes based on teacher suggestions and personal
experiences. Finally, students work together, utilizing the experience and strengths of individual members, to follow step by step recipe
instructions and create an edible food product. Students demonstrate cooperation and teamwork by working together to solve problems
(what do I do next? how do I do it?) they encounter working in the kitchen. 7th grade students in the 3rd 9 weeks are working in groups of 3
to compete in the Stock Market Game. Students will work together to analyze and make decisions to buy and sell stocks and mutual funds
with the goal of winning the in-class competition as well as the statewide competition. Students will research stocks of personal interest,
decide when to buy and sell stock holdings, and conduct online trades in a virtual environment. Physical Education - Students work together
in pairs, small groups, and teams to win games and overcome challenges and obstacles. Students groups develop and apply a variety of
strategies and techniques to best utilize the strengths, talents, and knowledge of the group members. Teachers provide guidance and model
techniques and strategies to improve student skill and competency. Pre-Engineering/Robotics - In the Green City Challenge students work
together to solve a real world problem by applying knowledge of engineering and robotics principles. Students brainstorm ideas and build
attachments for a machine designed to solve a specific problem or for a specific purpose. Students present their findings and ideas,
exploring what ideas and experiments they conducted and what worked and didn't work. Students reflect on their experience and what they
learned by writing in a journal. Technology Education - Students in all grades are randomly assigned module partners on 3 separate
occasions during the 9 week course. Students work in partners, collaboratively to accomplish the module activities and tasks. Teamwork
and cooperation are vital to the successful completion of each module for the individual student and the team. Teacher consultation and
guidance are always available and are initiated on an as needed basis.
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In all Math classes' student work groups/partners regularly change and are differentiated based on a variety of factors
Science students are regularly grouped for activities to problem-solve with teacher support.
6th grade students as part of their LDC, ecosystems unit had to problem solve possible solutions to pollution in the Kentucky River
Ecosystem. Students wrote about their solutions in the closing paragraph. In the astronomy unit, students redesigned their experiments if
their initial designed did not get results.
in 7th Grade: Students work together to accomplish engineering tasks (roller coaster, heat loss house), design tasks (rollercoaster design
challenge, heat loss house insulation scheme, design a lab to investigate thermal energy), problem solving tasks (thermal energy probes,
design challenges), presentation and communication tasks (all design tasks have a presentation component, thermal energy probes), peer
evaluations (rollercoaster design, informational article for LDC) and presentations with a global purpose (energy conservation benefits
presentations from heat loss house design challenge analysis regarding use of fossil fuels and conservation of resources.)
8th Grade: Students work together on a variety of projects, lab experiments, presentations, etc throughout the year, to include: design tasks:
building an ecosystem; building a model of DNA; designing a geological time chart, problem solving tasks: building a richter scale model,
building a tsunami model, building a sink hole, presentation/communication tasks: Once-ler letter presentations, peer evaluations,
presentations critiques, secretary-boss exercises, geological time presentations.
Visual Arts: Art students are instructed to first ask each other when a question arises to encourage communication directly related to the
curriculum. Students also provide specific feedback to each other during the mid-critique through a plus/delta feedback form. Anchor
Standards include Cr1.1.6, Cr1.2.8, Cr3.1.678, Pr5.1.68, Cn10.1.678,
Band students break into like-instrument groups to work with instrumental specialists weekly. This gives them the opportunity to learn and
practice using instrument-specific vocabulary as well as general music vocabulary. Students are encouraged to solve problems from rhythm
to intonation within their section to perfect their part. They collaborate to create a musical product, their part of the piece, which is then
combined with the other sections of the band and is consequently presented at the quarterly concert. The literature chosen is directly tied to
the curriculum map and learning goals appropriate for the group.
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Dem 4 characteristic d
In order to help students produce quality products, teachers provide students with opportunities to reference works of quality and substance
as models to inform their work. Quality student work is displayed in the classroom and analyzed as a group in an effort to assist other
students in self-evaluation and quality improvement. Many teachers practice "dirty 4's" where a quality piece of student work is used to
analyze an exemplary piece. Students are provided the chance to make notes on their writing, and change their writing piece to achieve a
higher score.
In Language Arts, teacher models and previous, and current student models are used for: thesis statement, student projects, leads,
conclusions, differentiated journal entries, informative writing, essays, narratives, etc. Evidence would include the theme paper teachers
wrote and provided as a model for student use, models of previous student projects to use before beginning their own work on their novel
projects, and articles\literary pieces for students to read and analyze before writing their own pieces. Students also analyzed with teachers,
released exemplary examples of student writing from the Kentucky Department of Education before writing their own pieces. By using these
models and analyzing the work of others, students were provided the opportunity to reference work of others in order to create works of
quality and substance of their own.
Social studies teachers provide students with exemplars of work to provide students with examples of quality work and expectations of final
product. Exemplars include teacher created and past/current student- created work. 6th grade social studies students refer to teacherprovided works, (Teacher created and exemplars from past students work) of quality and substance as models to inform their work (Europe &
Africa Tic Tac Toe projects and Fabergé Egg project). 7th grade students create works of quality and substance that are used as models to
inform others' work. For examples, students create projects about aspects of Ancient Greek culture, present them to classmates, and in turn,
their classmates present what they have learned about their own Greek project. 8th grade students are provided quality examples and
models before preparing any product. Examples: LDC pieces, Colonial Postcards, Colonial Brochure, Columbus Hero/Villain poster,
vocabulary cards.
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PLCS: Health - Student created exemplars are used to inform instruction in the On -Demand writing task administered to 6th and 8th grade
students. After completing the prompt, the instructor reviews student submissions and selects exemplars to display and discuss with the
class. Students are able to compare their answer and performance to their peers and use this information to improve their own writing and
understanding. Life Skills - Student and teacher generated exemplars are used to inform instruction on short answer and extended response
questions. Students complete the prompts and receive written feedback and scores from the instructor. When time permits or analysis of
response data indicates a need, the class reviews the prompt. The teacher shares both teacher and student generated exemplars so
students may compare their work to that of their peers. Students identify personal strengths and weaknesses and use this knowledge to
improve their performance and learning.
Science students are provided with examplars and are provided support in attaining goals.
6th grade students follow an opener schedule every week. Monday's are Model Mondays where students either write about what the model
is showing us or the limitations (what correct and incorrect in the model. Tuesday's are vocab day, where students are presented with a new
vocab word and using clues or prior knowledge, they figure out what the word means. Wednesday is "Wednesdata" which is when students
disaggregate data information and write their findings (SERP). Thursday is "real-world" day and they write about how what we are studying
as real world connections. Finally, Friday is draw day where students draw the content in some way.
7th grade Students use bellringers each week to inform their work. Analyze This Monday, Frayer Model Vocabulary Tuesday, What if
Wednesday, Real Life Thursday, and Wild Card Friday; Using these themed days provides multiple opportunities to observe, analyze, and
discuss proper form in data collection, organization, and graphical display, career options and news events that relate to our standards and
units of study, practice inquiry, gain in-depth knowledge of content vocabulary, see videos, TED Talks with real scientists, analyze a model,
and observe products that aid their understanding of the units of study and NGSStandards. Students also read a weekly article from a quality
source for the purpose of integration of literacy, deepening understanding of scientific topics, practicing comprehension and other literacy
skills, and informing students about current events. High quality student work is displayed in the classroom and analyzed on the projector in
an effort to assist other students in self-evaluation and quality improvement.
8th Grade: Students use labs and hands-on activities to model and inform their work. Students create model and demonstrations as means
to model and inform others. Classes from the eighth grade created magazines to model and inform natural disasters to their peers.
Visual Arts: Specific to the Art unit, students view and discuss exemplar models and analyze idea development specific to identifying,
describing, and interpreting the use of elements and principles. Students also use the exemplar model to build criteria for their own artworks
(student-created criteria and rubrics).
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Band students listen to recorded examples of concert pieces to inform their concept of quality/characteristic ensemble sound as well as
characteristic sounds of specific instruments. They also listen to recordings of their own performances to collaboratively self-assess.
The rationale explains how the identified evidence supports the school's reported level of program implementation for the
demonstrator.
Students at our school have access to an aligned and rigorous curriculum, where instructional strategies are of high quality and inclusive due
to our teacher participation in the Literacy Design Collaborative and the ongoing instruction teachers are receiving in the area of differentiated
instruction. Teachers have been implementing the strategies from these trainings throughout the year into their lessons, providing students
with a rigorous yet differentiated curriculum. As a result, students are provided with models of quality and substance to reference, along with
multiple opportunities to work with peers and teachers to enhance learning. We also have a strong emphasis on character education, a
program that has been in our school for several years; teaching students to respect cultural differences and to work effectively with people
from different social and cultural backgrounds.
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Formative and Summative Assessment: Assessments
Teachers use multiple formative and summative assessment processes to inform, guide, develop and revise instructional strategies and
curriculum to enhance student learning and achievement.
Overall Rating: 2.5
a)
b)
c)
d)
Statement or Question
To what extent do teachers engage regularly in
a collaborative approach to develop and/or
align writing and communication assessments
across grade levels and content areas?
Response
Rating
Teachers engage in a systemic school-wide
Distinguished
collaborative approach to develop and/or align
writing and communication assessments across
grade levels and content areas, and monitor the
impact on student learning over time.
Statement or Question
To what extent do teachers develop and
implement a plan to monitor student progress in
writing and communication skills consistent with
grade-level writing standards and formative
assessments?
Response
Rating
Teachers consistently implement plan to
Distinguished
monitor student progress in writing and
communication skills consistent with grade-level
writing standards, formative assessments, and
respond to evidence through revised
instruction.
Statement or Question
To what extent do teachers, peers and others
provide regular feedback on students' writing
and communication products as part of a
constructive feedback process that is
subsequently applied by students to improve
their communications?
Response
Teachers, peers, and others provide regular
feedback on students' writing and
communication products as part of a
constructive feedback process that is
subsequently applied by students to improve
their communications.
Rating
Proficient
Statement or Question
To what extent do teachers provide regular
opportunities for students to revise and apply
new learning before summative products are
assessed?
Response
Teachers provide regular opportunities for
students to revise and apply new learning
before summative products are assessed.
Rating
Proficient
Evidence is identified to support the school's analysis for each of the demonstrators. Program review evidence may be specific for
an area (Writing, Arts & Humanities, Practical Living/Career Studies, K-3, and Global Competency/World Languages) or may be
common across other reviews. Review teams will likely find they need to search out additional evidence during the program review
process in order to make judgments or to support judgments.
Characteristic A
Teachers are able to regularly engage in a collaborative approach to develop and align writing and communication assessments through the
use of weekly collegial planning and team planning, provided to all content teachers in our school. At each grade, students use common
assessments that are collaboratively created and aligned with our common core assessment by grade levels and content areas. Elective
teachers share a common plan time twice monthly and contents that share similar goals plan and align core content standards to create
assessments. Student's growth is monitored towards meeting content standard goals. Student Growth Goals have been created in all content
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areas. Social Studies, and Science, use the ELA enduring standards to monitor growth across time. Math, Technology, Orchestra, and Art
also monitor growth by written assessments. Evidence in CIITS and TPGES notebooks. Teachers analyze past MAP scores, along with
FAST And CERT data to monitor growth and use the data to drive future instructional decisions. Teachers all meet to disaggregate KPREP
data to inform their instructional practices. Reading and Math teachers have combined growth scores assigned to them based upon previous
year's student growth on KPREP. Analysis of the meaning and impact have begun to make instructional adjustments. Math and language
arts teachers monitor Compass Learning student folders for completion. The program assigns individualized learning paths to students
based upon their Spring 15 MAP score. Since the district decided to use a new universal screener, teachers have made the adjustment to
align learning paths based on grade level norms and intentional standard based learning paths that are available to them. Many teachers
monitor the assignments and intentionally hold the students accountable to the strands that show the weakest skill acquisition.
Weekly collegial planning opportunities allow for a collaborative approach for developing writing and communication assessments for
students at all grade levels in language arts. Furthermore, monthly department meetings allow for vertical alignment in writing and
communication assessments between all grade levels. Discussion is held to ensure scaffolding through the narrative, informative, and
argumentative writing types. The Literacy Design Collaborative allows for collaboration between language arts teachers and science and/or
social studies teachers to develop and align writing assessments at each grade level.
Posters to support literacy across all grade levels and content areas are displayed in all classrooms, therefore engaging teachers in a
systemic school-wide collaborative approach to assessing writing and communication. Posters include "The 3 Cs of Writing" (complete,
correct, clear), "How to A.C.E. an ERQ" (answer, connect, extend), "On-Demand Hand" (introduction, 3 body paragraphs, and conclusion),
and "S.P.A.M" for on-demand writing (situation, purpose, audience, mode).
Analytical rubrics are used for all writing and communication assessments for language arts, social studies, and science at all grade levels.
Feedback is provided on the rubrics by specific performance levels being marked for specific criteria, as well as by teacher comments. Any
student may revise an assignment at any time by using the rubric; however, students not performing at grade level may be required to revise
an assignment. Teachers monitor the impact of their collaborative approach on student learning throughout the year by using common
criteria, as much as possible, on rubrics. For instance, there are seven "scoring elements" that appear on writing rubrics across the types of
narrative, informative, and argumentative.
A Tier 2 Vocabulary program; Serpmedia, has begun to gain strength. An 8th grade team piloted the program two years ago and amazing
results were collected. The 6th and 7th grades began using the program after the holidays 2015. In Fall 2015 all grade levels began using
Serpmedia Word Generation at the beginning of the school year. The Reading Specialist communicates the words for the week to the
elective teachers and also sends out Quia games created with the vocabulary words each week so all elective teachers have a vehicle in
which to practice the words throughout their classes. As soon as our news program was up and running after the renovation process was
finalized, a word per grade level are being integrated into the morning news program daily. Plans for the remainder of the year include
incentives for students to catch an adult using the words throughout the week, bulletin boards throughout the building are utilized to keep the
words in the students view at all times. Elective teachers have reported they use the words as often as they can and appreciate the words
being sent to them so they can post them and intentionally embed them into their daily routine.
Department chairpersons collaborated in the design of a school-wide writing policy and plan that is reviewed annually and approved by the
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Site-Based Decision Making council as evidenced in SBDM minutes. A variety of writing requirements are included for all content areas and
grade levels, with intentional vertical alignment within each content area. KPREP rubrics are used in scoring ERQ's and Short answer
responses as well as on-demand writing in all classrooms. Feedback is provided on the rubrics by specific performance levels being marked
for specific criteria, as well as by teacher comments.
In eighth grade language arts teachers collaborate to deconstruct standards, in order to determine specific learning objectives that align to
writing and communication instruction and assessments. In order to formatively assess students' writing processes and products, teachers
allow their students to reflect on their content learning, by embedding formal and informal written communication through various writing
strategies, such as, ACTIVE and journal entries on the novels students selected. These novels have a focus of people with physical or
mental disabilities, which coincide with the short story "Flowers for Algernon", which students read and discussed prior to their novel
selection and ACTIVE writings in October. See collegial lesson plans and student sample work with department chair.
In science, seventh grade teachers participate in collegial planning and development of units of study. These units of study include formative
and summative assessments that revolve around writing and science standards. One such example is the Literacy Design Collaborative
Project. Through these trainings, teachers developed a writing project on Ecology that will be used as a unit assessment in April. All 7th
grade students created an informational pieceto explain how pollutants are dispersed through the food chain in an ecosystem. Growth will be
monitored at steps throughout the writing process and students will be given time to reflect upon the feedback and grow as a writer before
the final submission. Evidence can be found in the LDC paper students will write and teacher lesson plans. Another example is in sixth grade
science, where teachers collaborate and design short answer and extended response questions for all unit tests. Evidence can be found on
the W drive. Additionally, eighth grade science teachers participated in multiple LDC training sessions throughout the past few school years
to create standard-based writing assignments for multiple units. Using Infinite Campus we are easily able to track student growth and
compare their abilities to other students and classes.
Social Studies Teachers engage regularly in collaborative discussions and collegially plan, vertically and horizontally, to develop and align
writing and communication assessments weekly and monthly during common plan time, and during department meetings. Discussions also
include cross-content for support on literacy within the classroom and standardization of graphic organizers. Teachers intentionally use the
same graphic organizers to enable students to generalize skills from one content to another. Student Growth Goals have been taken from
ELA enduring skills and used as baseline data to focus on skill weaknesses to drive instruction. Monitoring of goals is on-going and shared
with students to empower students in their learning process. Teachers conference with individual students on the data collected which helps
students set goals. Literacy Design Collaborative (LDC) provided rubrics are used as a school wide approach to align writing and
communication assessments across grade levels and content areas, this allows teachers to monitor the impact on student learning, over time
and content areas. Examples of writing assignments, formative or summative within the social studies department: (LDC, Argument
Strategies as part of the vocabulary program; Serpmedia, ERQ's, writing to learn activities, bell ringers, and exit slips) Use of On-Demand
Organization Strategies; On-demand Hand, SPAM. ACE, and the 3 C's are school-wide writing strategies utilized within all social studies
classes.
Math
In math classes a variety of writing can be found to assess students. Math leadership has had a focus on writing in the content area in the
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recent years. A school-wide math organizer has been implemented: Show and Tell, which requires students to show their work and also tell
how they came about the answer using written language including using vocabulary words. This organizer is expected to be used for all
Extended response questions as well as any formative and summative assessments. Other examples of writing in the math classes include
the following: Sixth grade math students are given a baseline assessment to judge their writing using a rubric then assessed 3 more times
throughout the year with the same rubric to monitor the improvements in their writing. Seventh grade students are being monitored using the
enduring skills of the Math Practice Standards and their accompanying county rubrics at regular intervals. Evidence of this can be found in
each teacher's student growth goal documentation on CIITS. Eighth grade Math teacher's use the Fayette County Mathematical Practice # 6Attend to Precision rubric to assess students ability to communicate mathematical ideas using content vocabulary.
Most PLCS staff members follow the school writing policy and procedures including using graphic organizers and writing strategies that have
been adopted school wide. PLCS Teachers have limited opportunities to collaborate and develop or align writing and communication
assessments across grade levels and content areas as there is little/no overlap between the PLCS content areas. Where 2 staff members
teach the same class/content some development and alignment take place when possible (Vocational education). Teachers in PLCS content
areas do not have daily common planning time to collaborate with team members during the school day, but informal discussions regarding
the development and alignment of writing and communication take place. On-demand writing, ERQ's and short answer questions are part of
PLCS assessment practices to ensure that students are writing in all content areas. Rubrics are used to provide guidance and feedback.
Students and teachers utilize the rubrics for monitoring skill acquisition. Evidence - Teacher Lesson plans, classroom activities, student
work products.
In Fine Arts classes, students use rubrics on On-Demand writing prompts which are available to them to access and shape growth on
extended response questions in all classes and On-Demand writing in yearlong electives. Rubrics are stored in writing folders where
students review teacher feedback and comments to make adjustments in future on-demand prompts. In year-long electives Students review
teacher comments on initial prompt prior to completing their 2nd required on-demand assignment. On-Demand Hand and SPAM writing
tools are displayed school-wide, including in Fine Arts classrooms for students to reference during all writing assignments. Student Growth
Goals are monitored by Fine arts teachers utilizing literacy standards such as writing in Technology, art and orchestra classes as evidenced
in CIITS and TPGES evaluation forms.
Characteristic B
Throughout the year teachers at our school work collaboratively to develop and implement a plan to monitor student progress in writing and
communication skills consistent with grade levels and content areas. This is accomplished through weekly collegial planning, monthly
department meetings, team grade level meetings, and specially designed monthly planning meetings for the elective teachers. Teachers in
content classes in all grade levels also collaborate to form common assessments to monitor student progress.
An Academic Standards checklist based on the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts has been provided to every
teacher in the building. Language arts teacher at each grade level use this checklist consistently, along with the Writing Pathways:
Performance Assessments and Learning Progressions by Lucy Calkins and colleagues, to ensure that all standards are covered throughout
the year's formative and summative assessments, as well as to develop rubrics and provide feedback. Weekly collegial planning
opportunities allow teachers to consistently monitor student progress in writing and communication skills. Common areas of concern are
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addressed through the development of revised lesson plans and/or assessments. The school-wide lesson planning document includes a
section for teacher reflection. Reflection comments are made daily or weekly and are used to revise instruction. For instance, in sixth grade
language arts during a writing and communication skills activity based on the summer reading project presentations, many students struggled
with the layout for the written assessment to accompany the presentation. Teachers noted this in their lesson plans and revised the written
assessment for next year's students. Furthermore, future assessments during the current school year that may present students with similar
struggles will be reconsidered and revised if necessary. Elective classes related to language arts are also consistently monitoring student
progress and revising instruction. The Response to Intervention/Multi-Tiered Support System classes used Jamestown results to determine
that summaries lacked supporting details and students struggled to identify main ideas. Therefore, students are now using weekly
summarizing journals to strengthen student performance in those target areas.
The Teacher Professional Growth and Effectiveness System ensures that all teachers monitor student progress and respond through revised
instruction. All social studies, and language arts teachers selected Writing Enduring Skills for their Student Growth Goals based on
reflections from their students' needs assessments.
Other examples in language arts classes include the following: In seventh grade language arts, students are assessed throughout the year
with cold reads (Pumpkinville Mystery, Duffy's Jacket, Ruby Bridges, and The Hunt) that are created based on the writing and communication
standards covered in each unit.
Sixth grade Language Arts teachers develop, implement, and monitor student progress with regard to formative assessments used
throughout the writing process, as well as effective communication skills when presenting information verbally in class. Teachers develop and
implement a plan to engage students in the development of scoring rubrics within the writing process according to writing standards. Eighth
grade language arts teachers collaborated to formally assess students' writing processes, as well as final products. Teachers use that
information to inform coaching and instructional decisions. Students wrote explanatory and informative essays, using the writing process.
During the prewriting stage, students conducted research, which enabled them to determine the topics of their informative essay. Upon
completion of the papers, student/teacher conferences took place, providing students opportunities to reflect upon their strengths and
weaknesses. Teachers then used this information to enhance instruction for their next writing unit; argument writing with a passage. These
pieces are stored in the 8th grade writing folders.
All eighth grade science teachers worked together to create the "Writer's Notebook" for the Human Impacts LDC piece (October). The
"Writer's Notebook" was designed to facilitate and monitor the students' writing process while completing the LDC writing piece. Using
formative assessment techniques such as bellringers and informal quizzes we are able to implement plan to monitor student progress in
writing and communication skills consistent with grade-level writing standards.
Further examples of how student writing is being monitored in the content areas can be seen in seventh grade science classes. Seventh
grade teachers developed a common assessment on Potential and KineticEnergy transfer. All seventh grade students completed an ERQ
on Potential and KineticEnergy transfer. Prior to the test, teachers previewed the standards set forth by the Common Core for Assessment in
Writing. Students were made aware of expectations in execution and completion of the assessment question. Students were assessed
based on their knowledge of Potential and KineticEnergy transfer as well as standards for writing. Students were also given the opportunity
to assess their work compared to a common list of vocabulary and ideas to see if their piece met the standards set forth prior to the
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assessment. Teachers then used the results of this assessment to monitor student progress in content and in the areas of writing and
communication skills. This type of ongoing monitoring continues throughout the year.
An example of monitoring student progress in math classes is when 6th grade math students are given quizzes they are assessed on their
communication of writing complete sentences for answers to word problems. All math students are taught and expected to use content
vocabulary in their written communication. This is an on-going process in which vocabulary throughout the year builds and is monitored to
assess skill acquisition and accuracy of use within their written communication. Math ERQ's are also monitored for growth in written
communication of concepts learned. Instructional practices are adjusted based upon the review of assessments.
Social studies teachers consistently monitor student growth through various formative assessments. Teachers use bell ringers and exit slips
to monitor students' progress on objectives. Student Growth Goals have been initiated to measure growth on specific enduring skills. All
social Studies enduring skills are ELA common core. Article of the Week reviews are used to measure students' progress in writing and
communication skills consistent with grade-level writing standards. Instructional practices are revised based upon formative assessment and
the progress monitoring that takes place within the classroom. Upon completion of LDC papers, student/teacher conferences take place,
providing students opportunities to reflect upon their strengths and weaknesses. Teachers then use this information to enhance instruction
for their next writing unit.
PLCS Teachers develop and implement a plan, based on the school's writing policy, to monitor student progress in writing and
communication by planning writing activities that address grade level standards, including ELA, CCS and KCAS, and include formative
assessments in all PLCS classes including: bellringers, exit slips, short answer questions, and extended response questions. The Academic
Standards checklist is utilized to guide the development of writing assessments and to provide feedback. Robotics/Pre-Engineering and
Spanish classes regularly include journaling activities at all grade levels and in Business Education classes students are engaged in
business writing that includes writing résumés, cover letters, and other business correspondence. Writing samples are monitored for
progress and information gained is used to inform future instruction. Evidence - lesson plans, student work samples
In Fine Arts classes teachers reflect on their teaching on the lesson plan. These reflections are used to improve teaching and shaping
students' writing. Fine Arts teachers will use the Academic Standard checklist when providing feedback on extended response and OnDemand writing. Student responses will be monitored for growth and adjustments will be made to enhance instructional delivery.
Characteristic C
All teachers are considered to be reading and writing teachers. Teachers throughout the building regularly provide opportunities for students
to improve their writing and communications by providing specific feedback from multiple sources; teachers, peers, and parents, prior to final
submission.
As part of the Learning Design Collaborative project that our school is a participant, Science, and Social Studies teachers design units of
study which allow for feedback to be presented by teachers, peers and others on students' writing and communication products as part of a
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constructive feedback process used by students to improve their communication skills. Evidence of all these pieces, including teacher
comments, peer reviews and changes to final drafts can be found in student communication folders.
Writing to Publish occurs at every grade level for language arts classes. Teachers, peers, and family members provide feedback on
students' writing that allows for improvements during the revision and editing processes. Teachers give peers and family members a specific
checklist to assist with the feedback process, while teachers use district-approved rubrics to provide specific feedback. Peer conferencing
and teacher-student conferencing occurs at least once throughout the writing process for each published piece, and all feedback and drafts
are archived in the student communication folder, which may be reviewed during and/or after the writing process. Additionally, students are
given direct instruction and modeling that can initiate their own responses to revision and editing
processes without feedback from teachers, peers, or family members. Furthermore, eighth grade language arts teacher use technology
through class Edmodo websites to provide feedback on student writing and communication skills.
A literary magazine will be published during the second semester which initiates student-directed learning, as students are responsible for all
content in the magazine. The teacher will facilitate and provide support as needed, and students will also rely on feedback from their peers
in the group before content is ready to be published. Students meet after-school twice each month to develop, revise, edit, and make
publication decisions.
Student-directed learning is also initiated through Independent Reading Projects in sixth and seventh grade language arts and career
research in eighth grade language arts. Student choice in projects and writing focus is a component at each grade level. Furthermore, in
seventh grade language arts, students read two novels simultaneously during an informational unit - one as a whole class and one as a selfdirected independent lesson that is discussed weekly as a whole class - and are offered choice between published projects for units relating
to philanthropy and legends.
Eighth grade teachers create various writing prompts for students to respond to, in order to demonstrate their learning in the form of bell
ringers, exit slips, journal entries, and notes, which can be found in students' journals for class. The students conducted research
(independently and in group settings), which allowed them to collaborate and offer peer feedback. Teachers were also able to provide
constructive feedback during the research, which could guide students in the right direction for their research paper. When beginning the
writing process for the paper, students wrote rough drafts, completed peer editing, and conferenced with peers and teachers in order to
improve upon their pieces before completing final drafts. Evidence of these pieces can be found in student communication folders.
A similar process takes place in seventh grade language arts classes. After researching the essential question, students complete drafts for
the writing prompt. They then have their products edited by peers, parents, and teacher throughout their construction receiving feedback in
order to improve upon their pieces before completing final drafts. This process is also conducted in the sixth grade. After producing a piece of
writing, sixth grade Language Arts students peer edit, receiving feedback from a minimum of three students with regard to content,
mechanics, organization, and process. Teachers meet individually to conference with students based on need, providing positive constructive
feedback relevant to the individual piece. Students then use this feedback to improve upon their writing pieces in the form of a final draft.
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Science teachers throughout the building are using similar strategies to provide student feedback. Seventh grade students in science
classes completed a self-editing sheet during the completion of the Literacy Design Collaborative project. Students were asked to note
grammatical errors, errors in science content, misconceptions, and writing flaws. Eighth grade students in science classes participated in
peer editing to provide feedback for LDC pieces. In both grade levels, students used the feedback they received to make improvements to
their final pieces. Evidence of these pieces can be found in student communication folders. In 7th Grade science classes, when students
write their Ecology Informational LDC paper, the teacher will conference between rough draft and final draft highlighting and commenting
digitally to help students reflect and edit. Students were given the opportunity to self-evaluate and revise peer work during the completion of
the LDC informational piece. During the creation of the piece, students have a rubric to use to self-evaluate and guide their writing. As we
continue through the writing process, students are asked to self-evaluate after the peer editing session and revise based on peer ideas.
During the completion of the LDC 7th grade science informational piece, students use rubrics to self-correct. This also occurred during the
lab portion of the unit on roller coasters when students were using a rubric to self-correct their answers to the scientific inquiry based
questions. In 6th grade science, teachers used time during the school day to schedule conferences with students in need of more assistance
to provide feedback before submitting a final paper. In 6th grade science, the students were able to read feedback from each part of their
writing process to use in their final draft of the Kentucky River LDC Paper. In all sixth grade science classes, students use peer reviews to
assess other students' writing and give feedback during the LDC. In addition, students often "spot check" each other's work and give
feedback during class work, such as working on the water cycle project. In all 8th grade science classes, students will self-evaluate their
LDC piece using the rubric provided. After self-evaluating, each student's piece will be peer reviewed. Revisions will be made based on their
self-review, peer review and teacher recommendations.
Social studies teachers provide regular constructive feedback during the creation of all writing and communication products. Writing products
go through a process of self-monitoring, peer edits, peer conferencing and request for home involvement prior to teacher feedback. Students
are then provided the chance to make revisions to improve their communication prior to the summative grade. Writing pieces include LDC,
ERQ's and short answers Article of the Weeks, and stop and reflect. Students utilize student created rubrics as well as teacher created
rubrics. Conferencing is structured with questioning that directs students towards self-discovery on ways that they can improve their
communications. Self-monitoring checklists allow students to monitor their progress on their writing prior to submission for peer review.
Math teachers provide regular feedback on writing products to allow students to improve their products and facilitate learning some examples
include sixth grade math students work on their ERQ first on their own and then compare theirs with a partner, then get feedback from the
teacher. Eighth grade math students use rubrics and feedback to self-correct before submitting work.
PLCS Teachers provide constructive feedback on student writing and communication in all PLCS classes by reading and discussing student
written work. Feedback may be provided informally through whole group discussions and comparing models of written work or in more
formal ways such as written teacher comments, notes, and questions. The regular use of bellringers (daily), exit slips (weekly), and short
answer questions (weekly), in accordance with school writing policy, allows teachers to provide weekly feedback to students on the quality
and content of their written work. Teacher created rubrics and scoring guides may be used to assess and communicate feedback on formal
writing activities and projects. In 7th grade Business Marketing classes and in 8th grade Career Exploration classes students engage in peer
reviewing a variety of written products using provided rubrics.
7th grade Health - Throughout the nine-weeks students write SMART goals on the topics we cover in class. Students are consistently given
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verbal and written feedback on how to improve their SMART goals. Students are then given a post-assessment at the end of the nine weeks
to assess their mastery of the content.
Fine Arts classes, students use rubrics and prior writing assignments to self-correct their writing. Students use feedback from prior writing
assignments to improve their new writing assignments. For example, these rubrics and writing assignments will be kept in their chorus
notebooks located in the classroom. Students use peer reviews to evaluate pieces on their performances. Through the use of self-reflection
and peer review, students are able to evaluate pieces and apply improvements before final pieces are completed.
Characteristic D
Throughout the building, teachers provide students ongoing opportunities to reflect, revise and apply new learning before summative
products are assessed. Evidence of this instruction can be seen in the use of the LDC papers students are writing. In each content area
students are provided the opportunity to reflect on the feedback that has been provided. This greatly impacts student learning by allowing
them the opportunity to improve upon their writing before being assessed on their final drafts. Evidence of these pieces, including teacher
comments, peer reviews and changes to final drafts can be found in student communication folders.
In language arts classes at all grade levels, the writing process provides students with ongoing opportunities for feedback and revisions
before the published piece is summatively assessed. Furthermore, students have opportunities to submit other classwork and/or projects
early for feedback and revisions prior to the final assessment. For example, in sixth grade language arts students complete a quarterly
independent reading project that can be submitted at any time during the nine-week period in order to determine any areas of weakness that
need improvement before receiving the final score.
During Extended-Response and/or Short-Answer practices in language arts classes, teachers use "live scoring" in order to provide instant
and specific feedback that allows students to reflect and revise before submitting their final answers. Furthermore, these revisions are used
as a learning tool for students and teachers. Students are able to apply new learning in an immediate situation and teachers gain insight on
how to modify instruction. Other related examples of "live scoring" occur during sixth and seventh grade language arts teachers' use of
GradeCam weekly flashback assessments. Ten multiple choice questions that cover the previous week's skills are provided to students and
are scored instantly upon completion. Students have the opportunity to make corrections accompanied by thoughtful analysis/explanations.
The teacher analyzes the results and focuses instruction on the weakest skills during the following week. Those skills are reassessed in
addition to new skills added. This ongoing process allows students to repeatedly reflect, revise, and apply new learning on a weekly basis
prior to any summative assessments of the unit content.
Other examples of students being offered opportunities to reflect and make revisions occurs in the sixth grade where students engage in
regular opportunities to revise and apply new learning before summative products are assessed through editing in small groups and
individually using feedback provided by peers and teachers.
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In Science classes students receive feedback on all writing samples for the opportunity to reflect upon the feedback, by peers, home and
teacher, prior to submitting their final papers. For example all sixth grade science students received continual feedback on the Kentucky
River Report (LDC). This feedback was given during each part of the paper, including the introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion.
Students were asked to revise and redo their work after receiving feedback before submitting a first draft of the paper. Students received
further feedback from teacher and a classmate to further revise and redo their work before a final submission for assessment. In the seventh
grade Science classes, students conducted a roller coaster design culminating activity which included writing. Students completed a peer
review and offered advice to other students in order to provide constructive feedback for revision, prior to
submitting for teacher feedback. Then students were given the opportunity to reflect, revise and apply the learning based upon feedback
prior to submitting the final paper. All science classes use rubrics combined with teacher and peer feedback to reevaluate work and resubmit
for mastery. In addition, 7th Grade science uses tic-tac-toe assessments that are student choice projects. Many choices include writing
options with mini rubrics depending on the product. Teachers give feedback throughout the creation process to ensure that students are
following format for specific types of writing while providing evidence of knowledge in details of the work. For eighth grade students they were
required to submit their paper either electronically or in physical paper form. 8th grade science teachers then edited their papers and passed
them back for an opportunity to revise and resubmit them.
Social Studies teachers provide ongoing opportunities for students to reflect, revise and apply new learning before summative products are
assessed through the Learning Design Collaborative Module. Teacher's scaffold and reteach, peer editing and feedback techniques are used
to allow students to reflect, revise and redo products as evidenced by revisions to products during the summative assessment. Live-scoring
is used for ERQ's and short answers in order to provide instant and specific feedback that allows students to reflect and revise before
submitting their final answers.
Math teachers regularly provide opportunities for students to make corrections to ERQ's and short answers after the teacher has given
feedback. This allows students to reflect on their work and revise their answers prior to final submission. Other examples in the Math classes
include re-submitting formative assessments on the math work after feedback for evaluation leading up to their summative assessments and
students peer editing and revising exit slips prior to submitting to be sure they are meeting the criteria of the Mathematical Practice Standard
#6.
Students in PLCS classes have multiple opportunities to revise and apply new learning to summative written work products. The daily use of
bellringers, weekly use of exit slips and short answer questions, daily assignments, and journal activities and teacher feedback help students
apply new learning prior to completing summative assessments. Students apply the feedback and what they've learned to summative writing
activities. For example, students may complete short answer questions as a formative assessment in class and then may answer a similar
short answer question or extended response question as part of a summative assessment. Students may also be allowed to make
corrections on summative writing assessments to reach proficiency based on teacher feedback and models. Students would be expected to
incorporate new knowledge and address teacher feedback when completing the summative writing activities. In Business Education classes
and Robotics/Pre-engineering classes students complete summative written pieces and projects and are provided with teacher feedback
prior to turning in the final written project. In 6th grade Health education classes students practice writing answers to Extended Response
Questions. Student answers are peer reviewed and feedback is provided. Students then make improvements to the writing product
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reflecting the feedback provided. Evidence - student work samples with feedback, teacher plans, student journals
Fine Arts students are given the opportunity to correct pieces after instructor input so that new learning may be applied and revisions may be
made. Students are provided multiple opportunities to reflect, revise and apply new learning before summative products are assessed.
Students use peer reviews to evaluate written responses, small group and class discussion, models of exemplary work completed by peers,
exit slips and bell ringers to help them reflect upon their work and apply new learning before summative products are assessed.
The rationale explains how the identified evidence supports the school's reported level of program implementation for the
demonstrator.
For the past few years our staff members have been participating in LDC training in order to continue the integration of writing in the core
content areas. As a result, teachers have collaborated by department and grade level, vertically and horizontally and across contents, to
develop strategies to provide students with feedback during the writing process, and to allow students the opportunity to revise and apply
new learning before summative products are assessed. Teachers collaborate in weekly collegial planning sessions, as well as team
meetings, to discuss and monitor student progress. Teachers communicate strategies that have been successful and areas which need
improvement with their department team members systemically across the whole school. An example would be that upon completion of the
first LDC module, 8th grade teachers realized there was an issue with students writing in the first person format, and use of slang words. As
a result, students were presented with a list of "dead beat words" which they were to remove from their future writing, and were also given a
list of replacement words. Teachers also used the same rubric to score writing pieces, allowing for consistency from one year to the next.
There has been more emphasis on writing throughout the school. All teachers have been provided ELA Academic standard checklists to lead
and guide them in incorporating the standards into their classes. A school-wide approach to writing can be seen hanging in every classroom
with teachers referring to it while guiding students in the ERQ's, short answers and on-demand writing products. Students have on-going
opportunities to review, reflect and apply new learning based upon feedback prior to final assessment of products. Opportunities for feedback
are provided by teachers, peers, parents, and self-reflection on part of the student. The new writing policy and plan have been implemented,
with each year a new phase has been embedded. The 15-16 school year has seen the integration of Serpmedia Word Generation program
across the school. Along with On-demand writing supported and embedded across the school in an attempt to increase writing scores.
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Formative and Summative Assessment: Expectations for Student Learning
Teachers communicate consistently high expectations and use common standards for student learning in writing.
Overall Rating: 2.0
a)
b)
c)
d)
Statement or Question
To what extent do students know and
understand expectations for their work and
receive/provide feedback using standards
specific language?
Response
Rating
Students know and understand expectations for Proficient
their work and receive/provide feedback using
standards specific language.
Statement or Question
To what extent do teachers and students
collaborate to set writing and communication
goals that are standards-based and informed by
feedback and assessments?
Response
Rating
Teachers and students collaborate to set writing Proficient
and communication goals that are standardsbased and informed by feedback and
assessments.
Statement or Question
To what extent do teachers and students
engage in self-assessments to monitor
progress toward meeting writing and
communication goals?
Response
Teachers and students engage in selfassessment to monitor progress toward
meeting writing and communication goals.
Rating
Proficient
Statement or Question
To what extent do teachers and students use
models as exemplars and to co-develop scoring
guides and rubrics to assess writing and
communication?
Response
Teachers and students use models as
exemplars and to co-develop scoring guides
and rubrics to assess writing and
communication.
Rating
Proficient
Evidence is identified to support the school's analysis for each of the demonstrators. Program review evidence may be specific for
an area (Writing, Arts & Humanities, Practical Living/Career Studies, K-3, and Global Competency/World Languages) or may be
common across other reviews. Review teams will likely find they need to search out additional evidence during the program review
process in order to make judgments or to support judgments.
Characteristic A
Each day teachers write an agenda on the board, as well as posting the learning outcome using standard specific language so students
know and understand expectations for their work. As previously mentioned, through our participation in the Learning Cooperative Design,
students are also receiving feedback on their work, specifically on their LDC papers, using standard specific language. Rubrics are utilized
for students to understand that their learning takes place from moving themselves along the continuum of the rubric towards proficiency in all
areas of their writing. Goal-setting takes place when students reflect on past work prior to the beginning of the next product.
In all language arts classes, students are provided teacher and/or district created rubrics that use standard specific language prior to the
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assessment of written/communication products. Students know the expectations for their work, and those rubrics are used to provide
feedback that allows students to improve any areas of weakness.
Students are provided with daily objectives that use standards specific language in all content areas at all grade levels. Teachers discuss the
objective prior to beginning the lesson to ensure that students know and understand the expectations for their work that day. Writing to learn
activities occur on a regular basis in all content areas at all grade levels per the school writing plan.
Teachers post the daily agenda and daily objective on the board so that students know and understand their expectations for the day.
Teachers thoroughly review expectations for assignments. Teachers also use tiered questioning with students, to ensure their level of
understanding. Before students begin writing tasks, they are first presented with a rubric and models so they know and understand
expectations for their work. Upon completion of a task, students will receive feedback from the teacher using standard specific language.
Examples would be in the form of constructed response writing, on-demand writing, and Essay papers which can be found in student
communication folders. In seventh grade Language Arts students were introduced to a prompt and created an idea-list as well as looked at
the scoring rubric that they were to follow. After completing the writing process, including peer editing and teacher\student conferences,
students were presented opportunities to improve upon their final product. Teachers then assessed the final product providing feedback
using standards specific language. Rubrics become the students' individual goal-setting plan enabling them to progress toward proficiency on
the rubric.
Similar examples can be seen again in sixth grade Language Arts classes, the learning target in KCAS language are posted daily. Scoring
guides created and provided to students prior to assignment using standards specific language. Peer and teacher led conferences provide
feedback throughout the writing process.
All science classes use learning outcomes and standards specific language. Students are provided with rubrics for all written projects that
allow students to reflect on their weaknesses and strengths and use past rubrics for goal-setting in attempting to reach proficiency.
Feedback provided by peers, parents and teacher lead students in reflecting on their work and making necessary changes for their future
products. In sixth grade science (astronomy unit), students were given a worksheet (guiding rubric) to help with their research and video
project for the "Moon hoax" assignment. Students also wrote scripts for these videos and were presented to the class. Each "section" was
reviewed by the teacher, then initialed after the teacher conferences with the students. (student example included)
In 7th grade science, The rubric used for the Ecology LDC includes scoring elements for evidence, citations, focus, development, controlling
idea, conventions, and as well as language and tone appropriate for the audience. All of these strands are common across the national use
of LDC. In 6th grade science, the rubric used to score the Kentucky River report (LDC) uses the following scoring elements: evidence,
citations, focus, development, controlling idea, conventions, as well as language and appropriate tone for the audience. Students can set
personal goals based upon where they score on the rubrics for future writings. In the 8th grade, students engage in a discussion of
expectations and are given copies of the rubric for their LDC paper to make sure that they have a strong understanding of the assignment.
All social studies students receive rubrics, modeling, demonstration, and exemplars of proficient student work prior to beginning written
assignments. Standard specific language is demonstrated by teachers and encouraged of students when providing feedback. Social Studies
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teachers post learning outcomes using ELA standard specific language, i.e. argument, informative, narrative, narration, style, tone, purpose,
evidence. Students use data/feedback from the rubrics to develop their personalized learning plan. Teachers provide models of exemplary
work generated by students, past and present to guide students along with demonstrating by using metacognition techniques of thinking
aloud while working through the writing process.
All Math classes include learning outcomes that are posted and reviewed daily. Students are provided with rubrics that shows them what
expectations are expected along with the continuum of the learning progression. Students are provided feedback on the rubrics so they can
self-evaluate where they are currently performing and reflect on how they can progress towards proficiency. Examples can be seen in sixth
grade where the rubric has clear language aligns with the writing standards. It uses math enduring skills that we are using for the student
growth goals. Learning outcomes are posted in the front of the room daily using student friendly language. Eighth grade math teachers use
rubrics to show students how to give evidence in their explanations of their thought processes in mathematics.
In PLCS classes, students know and understand expectations for their work because PLCS teachers inform students of high expectations
and provide written directions, models, rubrics, scoring guides, and examples to make sure that performance expectations are clear.
Students receive feedback informally and formally that reference writing standards (using content vocabulary, language usage, writing
conventions, etc.) regularly throughout the 9 weeks. Evidence - student work samples with written feedback
Fine Arts teachers use rubrics for students to know the expectations for the writing assignment. Rubrics will be passed out and reviewed
before students begin writing and can access it while writing. Fine Arts teachers will use writing standard language in their feedback such as
topic, style, tone, and purpose, and will post learning outcomes using standard specific language. Utilizing the same Rubrics allows students
to reflect on their personal strengths and weaknesses and allows students to set goals for their personal learning.
Characteristic B
Throughout the year, it is important that teachers and students take time to collaborate, discussing student progress and setting future
communication goals. Three times a year 6th and 7th grade students take part in FAST testing in the areas of reading and math and 8th
grade students take CERT twice a year in reading and math. Teacher's conference with students, setting individual goals for each testing
session and use the data obtained from the tests to determine future instruction. Data from the tests are shared in team meetings and parent
conferences to help guide decisions in future instruction. Similar conferences are also taking place throughout the building. ESL students
also discuss with their teacher assessment scores, setting target improvement goals in writing and communication skills. In social studies,
teachers collaborate and conference with students to create standard based communication and writing goals.
Language arts teachers used student goal-setting sheets for the tri-annual FAST assessment, which assesses reading at 6th and 7th grade
levels. 8th grade teachers analyzed data from CERT, the biannual assessment that took the place of MAP testing and EXPLORE. Students
review their past results and discuss with the teacher about the normative results that are expected. After each testing sessions, current
results are shared and discussed with students and new goals are set. Targeted instruction is provided through class activities and the
Compass Learning program to aid in self-reflection and improvement.
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During the writing process at all grade levels, Teachers collaborate with students on how to use writing assessment results from the first
semester to set goals for the same types of writing during the second semester. This allows students to reflect on their prior feedback in
order to determine their new goal.
Students set weekly goals in the Response to Intervention/Multi-Tiered Support System elective classes based on prior assessments and
teacher feedback.
Another specific example can be seen in eighth grade language arts teachers collaborated to formally assess students' writing processes, as
well as final products. Teachers use that information to inform coaching and instructional decisions. Students wrote LDC explanatory and
informative essays, using the writing process. During the prewriting stage, students conducted research, which enabled them to determine
the topics of their informative essay. Upon completion of the papers, student/teacher conferences took place, providing students
opportunities to reflect upon their strengths and weaknesses, and set future goals. Teachers then used this information to enhance
instruction for their next writing unit.
Other examples taking place in the building are "cold read" assessments done at each grade level in all content areas. A specific example is
in seventh grade language arts, where students are assessed throughout the year with cold reads (Pumpkinville Mystery, Duffy's Jacket,
Ruby Bridges, and The Hunt) that are created based on the writing and communication standards covered in each unit. Upon completion of
these assessments, students and teachers review the assessments providing students with opportunities to make corrections and reflect on
their work. Rubrics are shared with students and model student examples are also shared. Students are able to make revisions to their work,
referred to as a "Dirty 4" and set goals for future improvements.
Along with the "cold read" assessments and "Dirty 4" revisions, teachers are also using the writing process to conference with students,
allowing them to reflect upon their strengths and weaknesses and set future writing goals. Specific examples can be seen in the sixth grade
where Language Arts teachers develop and implement a plan to engage students in the development of scoring rubrics within the writing
process according to writing standards. Teachers also develop, implement, and monitor student progress with regard to formative
assessments used throughout the writing process, as well as effective communication skills when presenting information verbally in class.
Teachers then use this information to enhance instruction for their next writing unit.
Another example is in seventh science, where students completed extended response questions about various topics in science. All 7th
grade students completed an ERQ on Potential and KineticEnergy transfer. Prior to the test teachers previewed the standards set forth by
the Common Core for Assessment in Writing. Students were made aware of expectations in execution and completion of the assessment
question. Students were assessed based on their knowledge as well as standards for writing. Students were also given the opportunity to
assess their work compared to a common list of vocabulary and ideas to see if their piece met the standards set forth prior to the
assessment. All sixth grade science teachers help students to evaluate themselves based on previous performance and set goals for
themselves at least once each nine weeks. In 8th grade during the LDC, teacher and students worked together to create a common mistakes
list so that could self-assess their own piece based on their work and that of their grade level peers.
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Social Studies teachers have students set standards based writing and communication goals. This is achieved through teacher and student
created rubrics, teacher and peer conferencing which help the student to see where they stand at their present level. Teachers allow and
encourage students to participate in designing rubrics that utilize the language of both our content and ELA standards to establish goals.
Teachers and students collaborate to set writing goals (Student Growth Goals) on KCAS Enduring Literacy Skills. Students are monitored for
growth in writing by feedback and assessments.
Math students are given rubrics that show what writing and communication expectations are. Teachers inform students of the expectations of
complete sentences and the use of content vocabulary. They collaborate on what their personal goals should be based on their current
levels. Students set goals based upon feedback, reflection and expectations.
PLCS Teachers set writing and communication goals for students based on standards. Grading criteria and expectations are regularly
communicated to students. Students complete activities and projects that require students to use technology and collaborate with others
(Robotics/Pre-Engineering), create coherent business writing and forms to create cover letters and business correspondence (Business
Education), and to work as part of a team to complete specific performance tasks and record keeping activities in Technology Education
classes.
8th grade Health Education students collaborate with one another to create a meal plan for one day (breakfast, lunch and dinner). During the
previous week students gather food labels from their homes to use for this nutrition activity. For this group activity students are given a
worksheet with examples of how to fill in calorie charts and students are also given goup jobs so that every group member is held
accountable.
Fine Arts teachers set writing and communication goals based on standards using the ELA Academic standards checklist. Fine Arts students
set goals to be able to direct class on their own focusing on communicating clearly and speaking using content terminology. Students focus
on incorporating new vocabulary terms (e.g. 6th grade: staccato, legato; 7th grade: marcato, syncopation; 8th grade finger patterns, proper
shifting positions.
Characteristic C
Throughout the Learning Design Collaborative opportunities are provided for students to use self-assessment and monitor their progress in
meeting writing and communication goals. After producing a piece of writing, students peer edit, receiving feedback with regard to content,
mechanics, organization, and process. Teachers conference with students based on need, providing positive constructive feedback relevant
to the individual piece and monitor student progress. Students are then provided opportunities to revise and strengthen their final piece. Upon
completion, students use the rubrics to score their own writing and self-assess their progress. By involving students in the scoring process,
they begin to take ownership of their writing and are engaged in meeting the goals they set for themselves. Examples of this can be seen
throughout our school in the content areas where students completed LDC papers. Examples of these pieces can be found in student
communication folders. Teachers regularly self-reflect upon lessons, what is working, what is not working, and make adjustments to their
instruction based upon the reflection and on the evidence of formative assessments. Self-assessment is automatic among teachers, making
adjustments from class to class as the day unfolds. The school has a subscription to Grade-cam and many teachers use the results of these
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formative assessments to reflect and self-assess their instruction to make adjustments. Collegial planning, which occurs at least once
weekly, serves as a way in which teachers reflect on current practices and share instructional practices that show progress or are producing
challenges. Problem-solving amongst the teachers drive adjustments within the classrooms amongst individual students to ensure content is
available to all students at their level of learning. Upon completion of units teachers self-assess what worked well, and what didn't, and place
these reflections on their lesson plans for future planning.
Student Growth Goals are being monitored by teachers and students in all classrooms. All teachers are progress-monitoring these goals as
set up by TPGES. Mid-year data points and conferencing is on-going. Students in language arts and math classes keep track of their
grades, scores in class, and activities completed in Compass Learning; a computer program that assigns individual learning paths to
students based upon their MAP score three times yearly. Students record this information in a data journal that teachers keep and
conference with students upon. Teachers use the information in the data journals to self-assess their instructional practices. If all students
have mastered goals then review is utilized to ensure accuracy and weaknesses are isolated, assessing whether whole-group or small group
instruction needs to take place. All math classes and language arts classes are scheduled once weekly for students to work within these
differentiated activities.
The district changed the universal screener to FAST after our purchase of Compass Learning for the 2015-16 school year. This has provided
a challenge for our teachers this year. We continued to use Compass Learning through the first semester, based upon the Spring MAP
scores from last year with full knowledge that this would be obsolete.With nonew learning activities being assigned to students for the second
semester, teachers began looking for a substitute for this automatic program. With the second semesters arrival, math teachers have
changed to utilizing a program, Mangahigh, which is an adaptive math program.Mobymax is being piloted as a replacement for
individualization of basic skills. Teachers assign activities based upon past and present lessons in the classroom. Mobymax includes writing
assessment and lessons. This is a program that not only will allow for teachers to continue goal-setting with students based upon their
activity on the web-based program like we have done in the past with Compass Learning, but it has a component that includes intrinsic
motivation for the students by goal-setting within the program itself by attaining "game time" when students achieve established criterion and
levels.
Weekly grade checks at all grade levels allow students to self-evaluate and, in conjunction with teacher discussions, allow students to
determine how to proceed for revisions. Teachers also determine needs for re-teaching and/or reassessment based upon their progressmonitoring. Administration is progress-monitoring failing student data, creating opportunities for students to make adjustments.
Opportunities for students making up coursework show a continued adjustment, including a change in the way ESS is operated by adding
additional support for reading comprehension with an ESS class and a Saturday opportunity school, manned by a math teacher to enable
teaching to occur if deficit skills are an issue. Teachers' progress-monitor weekly to fill ESS roles and Saturday school. Teacher's progress
monitor bi-monthly to assign students to work sessions twice monthly or reward students for progress towards goals.
Students in sixth grade language arts are given the opportunity to demonstrate learning through different learning styles with their quarterly
independent reading projects. Assessment options vary from technologically-based to artistic to inter- and intra- personal. Each assessment
option is accompanied by its own content-specific rubric that allows students to self-assess prior to submission of the project.
Students at our school engage in live scoring of extended response and short answer items in content classes. Upon completion of an
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assessment, students will be shown an exemplary response to use as a model. Using the rubric, teachers and students will discuss the
strengths exhibited in the model. Students will then use what they have learned to engage in scoring their own piece, reflection upon their
strengths and weaknesses. Students may also complete a "Dirty 4" where they remove weak evidence and replacing it with more relevant
support, adding examples, explanations, etc… to their answers. By engaging in this process, students are monitoring their own progress and
become actively involved in their learning. Examples of these pieces can be found in student communication folders.
Additionally, daily examples of teachers providing students opportunities to engage in self-reflection can be seen throughout the school. In
science classes, all eighth grade students received a "Writer's Notebook" for their LDC paper in order to self-monitor the writing process
while researching information. In RTI reading classes students are given feedback on journal responses to their sustained silent reading
responses journals. In Arts and Humanities classes Students use peer review to evaluate pieces before a performance. Students use selfreflection and peer review to evaluate pieces before completing a final draft.
In science, students use rubrics combined with teacher and peer feedback to reevaluate work and resubmit for mastery. Teachers also use
time during the school day to schedule conferences with students in need of more assistance to provide feedback before submitting a final
paper. Students in 8th grade science use a rubric to develop, evaluate and peer review a letter written to the once-ler (human impacts)
Students received additional feedback from the teacher. Students also used a rubric to develop, research, evaluate and peer review their
LDC piece. This feedback was given during each part of the paper, including introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion. Students were
given the opportunity to revise/re-do indicated problem areas. Students received additional constructive criticism from their teacher and
classmates, allowing them to make final revisions before submitting their paper. In 7th Grade science classes students complete a task
analysis at the beginning of the each LDC writing piece. Students are aware of expectations and this is evidenced with highlighting on
proficient column for each Scoring Element. Students then revisit rubric to self-evaluate prior to submitting final draft and have a last effort to
bring their informational writing pieces up to the level of proficiency or advance beyond. All science teachers use the following instructional
strategies with their students: completing a "Dirty 4", using rubrics to score own writing, modeling of using a rubric by teacher and students,
live scoring, use of a "writer's notebook", peer review to evaluate pieces. In 8th grade, students are given the opportunity for choice in their
writing prompt to accommodate their individual interests and learning styles.
Social Studies teachers' conference with student through written feedback on assessed formative and summative assignments. A variety of
methods (constructive responses, performances, and projects,) are used to reach students of different learning styles (Garner's Multiple
Intelligence Survey at the beginning of the school year) to monitor their progress with goals that they have with writing and communication.
Social Studies Students use rubrics- such as Article of the Week checklist to make sure they have provided the correct content and
annotations to the Article Review. Live-scoring rubrics and peer review are utilized. Students are regularly provided opportunities to express
themselves by choosing final products based upon their learning styles and desires. Some examples include Tic Tac Toe, speeches, oral
reports, written responses, plays, oral presentations, projects.
In math students use a rubric to complete their ERQ's. The use of live scoring is used to practice reaching proficiency in writing ERQ's.
Rubrics are also used in math classes to show students how to give evidence in their explanations of their thought processes.
PLCS Staff members and Students are engaged in self-assessment activities which monitor progress and development of their writing and
communication goals. Staff members regularly communicate expectations for assignments, projects and written work and incorporate KCAS
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standards to design and implement activities that enhance student literacy skills. Staff evaluates the effectiveness of instruction and the
quality of students work to monitor progress. Students are encouraged to informally evaluate their writing skills by comparing work to models
and exemplars, and feedback from staff to assess their own writing skills. The 9 week time frame for many elective classes limits the time to
effectively implement all parts of the writing process (taking work through all steps in the writing process) and more formal monitoring and
self-assessment activities. Evidence - student work samples, rubrics, assignment and project criteria, lesson plans
Students in Fine Arts use the Kentucky Writing Scoring Rubric to allow students to self-evaluate extended response and On-Demand writing.
Characteristic D
Throughout our school, teachers are using exemplar models to provide quality instruction to our students. In seventh grade, students use
teacher and student created models to assess writing skills and to modify the scoring guide to correlate with argumentative and informative
writing, co-developing a scoring guide to assess student writing.
For certain assessments, student-constructed rubrics are used. Models of student writing (high and low) are used in all language arts
classes during instruction. Discussion of what makes a sample exemplary, as well as what improvements can be made on weaker samples,
allows students to recognize and/or apply the same techniques in their own writing. Student samples are used with "writing to demonstrate
learning" and "writing to publish" types. Furthermore, annotated student samples from released testing items and teacher feedback items are
used to assist students in the annotations of their own and peers' writing.
In eighth grade Language Arts teachers thoroughly reviewed the rubric and scoring guides with students prior to beginning the writing
process. The rubric addressed all components of the essays. When providing writing instruction for constructed response questions,
teachers discussed the constructed response questions with students and together devised a rubric for scoring the question. Students write
the rubric on their answer sheets before creating their response. By co-developing the rubric, students have a clear understanding of the
requirements and become more engaged in their learning.
All seventh grade science students have participated in common ERQ assessments, RAFT assessments, and LDC prompts. During
instruction, students were provided rubrics and shown exemplars, teacher created and student created from past years, in each category.
After viewing the exemplars, students were allowed to either go back and correct their writing or identify areas for extended instruction.
These assessments are ongoing throughout the year. Specific assessments include LDC prompt, Tic Tac Toe student choice assessment
on Waves. In all 6th grade science classes, students use rubrics to evaluate themselves. Examples of rubrics used are, Kentucky River LDC,
Rock Cycle Model and Water Cycle Model. Students used rubrics to self-evaluate before turning in a project and self-corrected themselves
after project for resubmission. Students also use rubrics to self-correct during the editing portion of the LDC writing pieces. There was a
rubric for informational writing as well as one for scientific inquiry and design. In all 8th grade science classes, students used rubrics to
compose and evaluate a letter written to the Once-ler (human impacts), to construct and evaluate their LDC literary piece (informational
letter) and to evaluate their enduring skill growth goal (one class). In 8th grade, the rubric was adjusted to account for students' previous
mistakes, common grammatical errors and misspellings.
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Social Studies teachers use models of exemplary student work with various examples and non-examples. In addition, students are given
opportunities throughout the year to create their own rubrics to assess writing and communication. Student models from previous years are
used as exemplars as well.
Math teachers use student models as exemplars of student writing pieces to instruct and critique student responses.
PLCS Staff and students use scoring guides and rubrics to assess writing and communication. Teachers have examples of rubrics, scoring
guides, and detailed assignment criteria that are used to evaluate student work in a variety of classes and for a variety of activities. Teachers
have sample rubrics used to assess student work on file.
In 8th grade Health Education classes students write a three paragraph essay on the harmful effects of alcohol use. In the essay students
are to describe alcohol and it's short and long term effects on the human body. Students also discuss alcoholism, drinking and driving, and
the harmful effects that can occur if a mother drinks while she is pregnant. Students are graded using a rubric that has been developed
through the guidelines of the writing assignment.
In Fine Arts classes student models are used to provide examples and non-examples for writing. For example, anonymous orchestra
students' writing from previous ERQs are reviewed and read aloud for reference. Fine Arts teachers use student models of previous years or
classes as exemplars of On-Demand writing. The KPREP on-demand scoring rubric will be utilized within the classroom to ensure students
have practice using the state-developed rubric.
All teachers have been provided job-embedded professional development on students created rubrics and are beginning to make the
adjustments to students and teachers co-developing rubrics. While rubrics are common occurrences in all literacy communication practices,
so are student developed models of exemplars within all the classrooms.
The rationale explains how the identified evidence supports the school's reported level of program implementation for the
demonstrator.
In each classroom at our school, teachers post an agenda and learning goal from the core content that they review daily with students in
order that students know and understand the expectations for the day. An exit slip is also posted which allows teachers to evaluate formative
or summative student learning for that day. Three times a year 6th and 7th grade students take part in FAST testing in the areas of reading,
and math. In 8th grade teachers analyze the CERT data from the area of reading and math. Teacher's conference with students, setting
individual goals for each testing session and use the data obtained from the tests to determine future instruction. Data from the tests are
shared in team meetings and parent conferences to help with decisions in future instruction. Another example of students and teachers
collaborating to set goals that are based upon feedback and assessments is after the completion of the first LDC paper. Student teacher
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conferences took place, providing students opportunities to reflect upon their strengths and weaknesses. Teachers then used this information
to enhance instruction for their next writing unit. Rubrics are used on all writing assignments and students are provided the opportunity to
create rubrics on their own writing assignments. Exemplars are used to show students what examples and non-examples of proficiency look
like. Exemplars are taken from past student work. Students are provided the chance to monitor their progress toward writing goals by using
common rubrics and conferencing. LDC projects have been integrated throughout 6th, 7th and 8th grade science and social studies classes.
Math teachers and elective teachers have begun to put much more emphasis on writing within their content areas.
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Professional Learning: Opportunity
Professional learning opportunities are planned with teacher learning needs in mind and in response to data available about teacher practice
and student learning.
Overall Rating: 2.75
a)
b)
c)
d)
Statement or Question
To what extent do teachers develop, implement
and assess relevant and purposeful
professional growth plans (PGPs) in response
to the teacher self-reflection about current
practice and student learning?
Response
Ongoing assessment of the implementation of
the PGP results in necessary adjustments that
result in increased teacher effectiveness and
student learning.
Rating
Distinguished
Statement or Question
To what extent does the school support
teachers' pursuits of professional learning
opportunities focused on research/evidencebased best practices and based on teacher
Professional Growth Plans, school and student
data?
Response
Rating
Professional learning supports individual
Distinguished
learning focus (PGP) fosters team collaboration
for school improvement and benefits from
alignment and coordination with school, district,
regional, and state improvement goals for more
systemic professional learning experiences.
Statement or Question
To what extent does the school ensure that job
embedded professional learning opportunities
(teacher learning that is grounded in day-to-day
teaching practice and is designed to enhance
teachers' content-specific instructional practices
with the intent of improving student learning; is
school or classroom based and integrated in
the workday) are available?
Response
The school offers job embedded professional
learning opportunities that are integrated in the
work day to all teachers.
Rating
Proficient
Statement or Question
Response
Rating
To what extent does the school allocate time for The school provides a variety of opportunities
Distinguished
teachers to collaborate and exchange ideas?
and allocates time for teachers to collaborate
and exchange ideas, especially during the
school day, in professional learning
communities and through professional learning
opportunities.
Evidence is identified to support the school's analysis for each of the demonstrators. Program review evidence may be specific for
an area (Writing, Arts & Humanities, Practical Living/Career Studies, K-3, and Global Competency/World Languages) or may be
common across other reviews. Review teams will likely find they need to search out additional evidence during the program review
process in order to make judgments or to support judgments.
14-15 Student Voice Survey Results - Characteristic A15-16 CSIP - Characteristic A15-16 JCMS PD Tracker - Characteristics A, B15-16 PD
Plan - Characteristics A, B15-16 Staff PGPs (by Component) - Characteristics A, B
15-16 Staff PGPs - Characteristics A, B
15-16 Student Voice Survey Results - Characteristic A
15-16 Ropes & Mental Health PDs - Characteristic B
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Arts Integration Folder - Characteristics B, D
GCWL Integration Folder - Characteristics B, D
PLCS Integration Folder - Characteristics B, D
Writing Integration Folder - Characteristics B, D
15-16 JCMS Collegial Planning Schedule - Characteristics C, D
6th Grade Level Data Disaggregation Meeting - Characteristic C
7th Grade Level Data Disaggregation Meeting - Characteristic C
8th Grade Level Data Disaggregation Meeting - Characteristic C
Data Disaggregation Cut scores - Characteristic CCIITS Data Disaggregation directions - Characteristic C
Data Disaggregation 15-16 - Characteristic C
Data Disaggregation Reflections 15-16 - Characteristic C
Data Disaggregation Triangle Inverted - Characteristic C
Culturegrams - Characteristic C
RTI Meetings - Characteristic C
SS PD - Characteristic C
Tech Snack - Characteristic C
JCMS Collegial Plan Template - Characteristic D
JCMS Daily Schedule - Characteristic D
JCMS Team Day Schedule - Characteristic D
Team days-Power Days - Characteristic D
The rationale explains how the identified evidence supports the school's reported level of program implementation for the
demonstrator.
Characteristic A
The school modifies and adjusts the Comprehensive School Improvement Plan (CSIP) several times each year based upon data from
multiple sources including KPREP, projected completion dates, implementation status, and adjustments based upon new knowledge,
professional development or resources available. The schools Professional Development Plan is based upon the most current CSIP to
provide guidance to the staff when creating the school-wide professional development plan. The CSIP is provided and used to guide
individual teachers in the development of their own Professional Growth Plan. Teachers are required to correlate the CSIP with their
professional development for intentional creation of authentic professional experiences that will create growth for them professionally and in
their classroom environment.
Our Professional Development Action plan is linked to the CSIP; (Goal 3 objective 1, strategy 1, objective 2, strategy 1). It supports grade
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level appropriate instruction in Literacy and is revisited throughout the year for assessment and adjustments to enhance the literacy
instruction within our school. Literacy professional development is assigned as a school-wide experience that all teachers are accountable to
attend. Break-out groups are utilized during professional development to allow for discipline specific training. The Writing plan holds each
department accountable for literacy instruction within the classrooms.
The PD plan is linked to the CSIP and supports quality instruction in all disciplines. A committee is established by the administration, which
consists of all department heads. This committee uses an informal needs assessment to gather feedback from teachers regarding
professional development needs for the next year. The committee meets and develops a school-wide plan. 18 hours of the 24 hour PD plan
were strategically planned as school-wide PD activities that reflect feedback from the informal needs assessment of teachers and the
school's CSIP. 6 hours were planned at Asbury University's Challenge & Ropes Course. The expected impact was to develop greater
leadership, communication, trust, and initiative for the teachers and teams in our building. 4 hours of training were planned for the
continuous implementation of the Teacher Professional Growth and Effectiveness System (TPGES). The expected impact was to have
every student taught by an effective teacher. 2 hours of PD were planned to allow teachers to receive training on the Administrative Code
and Inclusions. The expected impact was that all teachers would follow the required regulations. 3 hours of PD were planned to provide
teachers with Mental Health training, as the number of students with mental health needs continues to increase at our school. The expected
impact was that teachers would have enhanced knowledge of de-escalation techniques and strategies for teaching students with mental
health issues. 3 hours of PD were planned to provide teachers with effective strategies to integrate arts and humanities, practical living,
consumer sciences, writing, and global competency across all content areas. The expected impact was to ensure that all teachers continue
to integrate arts and humanities, practical living, consumer sciences, writing, and global competency into their core academic class
curriculum. The remaining 6 hours of the required 24 hour PD plan allow teachers to participate in departmentalized professional
development in identified areas of growth related to improved instruction. All activities are to be tied to the teacher's individual professional
growth plan and/or results from their Student Voice Survey. The expected impact of individualized PD is to provide teachers with 21st
Century techniques and teaching strategies that can be implemented across the curriculum in all content areas for enhance instruction and
learning.
After attending a two-day workshop focused on writing strategies, the language arts department chairperson will provide a professional
development[TS1] training for the faculty regarding writing across the curriculum. The presentation will focus on the following topics: policy,
timing, rubrics, structure, and examples. All teachers will be reminded of the school-wide writing policy and the types of pieces that are
expected from all students in all classes throughout the year. Rubric categories will be discussed and an emphasis will be given to "Audience
and Purpose" and "Idea Development" because those categories provide the most opportunity for teachers to teach and assess their content
through writing. An outline and discussion of the basic structure of an informative or argumentative piece of writing will be included in the
presentation, followed by focused examples of "The 3.8 Paragraph" method. These types of paragraphs can be used in all content areas for
short-answer and extended-response practice; but furthermore, content-specific writing practices can incorporate "The 3.8 Paragraph"
method. For instance, in math, Formative Assessment for Learning (FAL) responses require students to explain their thought process when
analyzing and answering questions. Students in science and social studies write lengthier essays for the Literacy Design Collaborative (LDC)
which can incorporate "The 3.8 Paragraph" method into the body paragraphs of the essay. On-Demand Writing (ODW) occurs during
language arts and all other elective classes, in which idea development through "The 3.8 Paragraph" is necessary. Overall, these types of
paragraphs are beneficial in providing a consistent format that will allow all teachers to assist students in writing across the curriculum.
Support and accountability are built into the calendar for teachers to revisit the writing plan and allow the opportunity for additional questions.
The English Language Arts department chairperson assists non-ELA content teachers in preparing writing prompts and/or evaluating student
writing as needed. Student work samples are filed in their communication folders throughout the year for all classes. Fidelity of the program
is monitored by public display of prompts, and feedback of writing samples. All teachers are encouraged to share with colleagues prior to
submission. During the cycle of writing program review we revisit the writing plan and policy to ensure the policy and plan are still rigorous
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and relevant. The Writing policy and plan went through extensive revisions in the Fall of 2014 to make adjustments based upon reflection of
current educational processes within our school environment. All stakeholders had input through the process of revision which went through
the curriculum and instruction committee prior to the faculty and SBDM. The C&I committee has representatives from all departments.
Final
reading for the new policy and plan passed SBDM in November 2014. Training and implementation began in September.
The school requires a certain amount of hours each year for teachers to gain professional growth within their content area. Principals review
professional growth plans and provide guidance to individuals, based upon formal and informal observations. Goal number 5 on the CSIP is
increased proficiency in the Program Reviews. This has impacted our school this year by creating a shared atmosphere of learning about the
integration of arts and humanities, practical living, consumer sciences, writing, and global competency across all disciplines. Teachers also
participate in PD activities that address their individual professional needs. Many teachers also attend professional organization meetings
and conferences specific to their content areas.
The school purchased (Academic Standards Checklists) by ASCD to provide a documentation resource to all teachers for integration of the
KASC standards into their disciplines. The checklists are handed out every year in job-embedded professional development, discussed and
expected to be used by teachers. A lesson plan template has been created with all stakeholders input with a space for recording program
review implementation/standards for accountability. Teachers upload lesson plans into CIITS for accountability, administration checks for
fidelity as part of the TPGES process.
[TS1]
Characteristic B
Teachers at our school are encouraged to grow in their profession and are given a multitude of professional development opportunities to
support this growth. One way this occurs in our building is professional development is planned with the understanding that all teachers are
at different levels of understanding. With this in mind, PD opportunities are differentiated so that our teachers at various levels, various
disciplines can attain a supported level of instruction that will be most beneficial for them in the instructional delivery of their students. Along
with differentiating our professional development at the instructor level, we place an emphasis of instructional delivery being within every
student's grasp. Differentiation is a common language shared amongst the teachers in our building. Past professional developments and
resources are reviewed annually. New teachers are provided with a binder of helpful resources and beliefs of our school. Resources are
provided on the W drive and a live-binder is linked on the teacher resource page.
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Teachers collaborate with their departments to complete a program analysis of their curriculum and provide documentation for the program
review. Departments discuss the strengths and weaknesses of their current programs and curriculum, which provide teachers with the
opportunity to target areas of weakness when developing professional growth plans and selecting professional development activities.
In addition, all teachers complete a self-reflection for TPGES. They use this reflection to identify areas of weakness or "focus areas" to aid in
the creation of their Professional Growth Plans. In addition, teachers also identified areas of weakness or "focus areas" from the analysis of
their 2014-15 Student Voice Survey results to aid in the development of their PGPs. Teachers select PD activities based on individual needs
through the use of their self-reflection, PGP, administrator feedback, and the school's CSIP. Teachers participate in 6 hours or more of
individual and/or job-imbedded PD in identified areas of growth aligned to their PGPs. Teachers provide documentation and evidence of jobembedded activities to the school's PD chairperson. Individual PGPs and professional development documentation are available for
individual teachers and school administrators.
Writing Professional development can be seen through the commitment our school gives to participation in the Literacy Design Collaborative
and the Math Design Collaborative. All social studies, science and language arts teachers participate in the Literacy Design Collaborative
(LDC). They receive writing training which is research based, and focused on best practice. Teachers have been actively participating in this
training over the course of several years and incorporate practices into their classrooms. As content standards have changed in Science and
Social Studies, there is a need for this type of writing, as it is based upon 21st century skills. As teachers grow in their knowledgebase of
LDC, they bring back information and share with their departments for continuous growth.
Math teachers participate in Math Design Collaborative (MDC) which includes the use of FAL's (Formative Assessment Lessons). Materials
and resources are provided from a website that has been developed in classrooms across the US, using a research-based design and
development method that the MARS Shell Center team has advanced over the last three decades. These lessons are preparing students
across the nation with the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in college and careers. Teachers who participate in these professional
development opportunities bring the information, materials, and resources back to the rest of the department to ensure systemic change
throughout the department.
As a school, we have integrated Academic vocabulary into instruction, through the use of SERP Media Word Generation Academic
Vocabulary word lists. This program has an emphasis on the skill set targeted by the Common Core State Standards, including academic
language, argumentation, analytic reasoning, and expository writing. The program utilizes the same words through each content area as the
week progresses, including speaking and listening activities for different content areas. Phase one began in Spring 2014, with a pilot of the
SERP Media Word Generation Academic vocabulary word list and lessons through an 8th grade team. Phase 2 of SERP began during the
2014-15 school year, which focused on implementation at all three grade levels. 8th grade began the program across all teams at the
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beginning of the year. In Fall 2014, 8th grade teachers provided job-embedded professional development to the 6th grade teachers, to
ensure integration of SERP into their classes prior to Winter Break. After Winter break, 8th grade teachers provided job-embedded
professional development to the 7th grade teachers, to ensure integration of SERP into their classes. During the 2015-16 school year,
Phase 3 of SERP has been integrated to elective classes, so that weekly vocabulary can be reinforced in every class that is offered at our
school.
Characteristic C
Teachers at our school are encouraged to grow in their profession and are offered job-embedded professional development opportunities to
support this growth. Job-embedded PD opportunities are available to all teachers (See PD Guidelines). All teachers participated in jobembedded professional development to analyze KPREP results. Teachers analyzed scores, then looked at the make-up of their classrooms
to intentionally identify the strengths and/or weaknesses of their students. This intentionality led to discussions of barriers to education,
identification of GAP students, and evidence-based instructional strategies that are successful with GAP and low growth students. High-yield
instructional strategies were revisited and encouraged to be embedded across disciplines.
Professional development at our school provides teachers with focused, research-based best practices. PDs are planned based upon
evidence of present levels of performance in reading, writing, listening and speaking as well as accessing KPREP, EXPLORE and MAP data
results. PGES has influenced the professional development plan at this school. Teachers create their professional growth plans based upon
evidence of evaluative data. The PGES coach suggests individual professional developments that would benefit teachers individually.
Writing PDs are part of our Professional Development plan to provide continuous support to all teachers with literacy integration within their
classes. Our school's writing plan and policy were updated during the 2014-15 school year, to reflect current 21st century skills. Due to the
relevance of writing across content areas, On-demand writing was placed into elective classes, as the form and structure of writing is a
natural and significant component of each elective class. Writing support is continually supported by the ELA department chair and
instructional coach.
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Writing PD can be seen through the commitment our school gives to participation in the Literacy Design Collaborative and the Math Design
Collaborative. Both of these initiatives have become voluntary, with limited support, for schools in the district. We have shown the
commitment to LDC by requiring our ELA, Social Studies and Science departments to generate at least one LDC writing piece per year. All
social studies, Science and ELA teachers participated in professional development about the LDC for the past several years. Teachers
collaborate with other teachers in the district in creating written pieces that are driven by the curriculum and current writing standards.
Teachers work at various times during the year to come back together as a team and discuss the celebrations and reflect upon the obstacles.
Teachers work weekly within the building during collegial planning to refine and adjust curriculum plans based upon data and reflection.
Many of our teachers have received additional training from national representatives to help calibrate rubrics and jury modules to create a
bank of common assignments for collaboration across the nation.
Our school has volunteered to send almost all of the teachers in the math department to the Math Design Collaborative each year, since its
inception in our district. Since the 2014-15 school year, the math department made a requirement for all math teachers to produce two FALs
(Formative Assessment for Learning) per school year, to support this district initiative and to fulfill the literacy component of our school's
Writing Plan. With FALs, students are required to communicate their mathematical reasoning in a variety of ways with their peers and/or
instructor. During collegial planning, math teachers discuss the FALs that will be used in their classrooms, create a timeline for
implementation of the FALs, analyze results of each FAL's pre-assessment, determine appropriate grouping during the FALs, and on-going
self-reflection to make necessary revisions.
Social Studies teachers have participated in continuous professional development, job-embedded and department focused PD's upon
integration of ELA into the social studies standards, C3 Framework and the draft Social Studies standards. Evidence logged in Department
notes. Teachers evidence binders.
As a school, we have integrated Academic vocabulary into instruction, through the use of SERP Media Word Generation Academic
Vocabulary word lists. This program has an emphasis on the skill set targeted by the Common Core State Standards, including academic
language, argumentation, analytic reasoning, and expository writing. The program utilizes the same words through each content area as the
week progresses, including speaking and listening activities for different content areas. Phase one began in Spring 2014, with a pilot of the
SERP Media Word Generation Academic vocabulary word list and lessons through an 8th grade team. Phase 2 of SERP began during the
2014-15 school year, which focused on implementation at all three grade levels. 8th grade began the program across all teams at the
beginning of the year. In Fall 2014, 8th grade teachers provided job-embedded professional development to the 6th grade teachers, to
ensure integration of SERP into their classes prior to Winter Break. After Winter break, 8th grade teachers provided job-embedded
professional development to the 7th grade teachers, to ensure integration of SERP into their classes. During the 2015-16 school year,
Phase 3 of SERP has been integrated to elective classes, so that weekly vocabulary can be reinforced in every class that is offered at our
school.
Our school has had a subscription to Grade-cam the past three years. Grade-cam is a way in which teachers can get instant results and
data analysis of formative assessments, which allows them to make necessary adjustments to instructional delivery in an efficient manner.
Bell-ringers, exit slips, and other modes of formative assessments can be observed throughout the building, as teachers base their
instruction and instructional delivery upon multiple points of data.
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In addition, Core content teachers collaborate weekly (by grade level and content area) and EXEL teachers collaborate twice a month, to
reflect on recent instructional practices, plan future instruction, create common assessments, analyze student data, and share strategies that
have been obtained from PDs.
Characteristic D
At our school, the schedule allows for teachers to collaborate by grade level and department to exchange ideas about literacy best practices.
Social Studies, language arts and science teachers regularly collaborate on Literacy Design Collaborative between content areas for the
seamless integration of writing, reading, listening and speaking throughout their classrooms. The collaboration includes developing and
creating graphic organizers and a common language of reading, writing, listening, speaking and researching to allow a commonality between
and among the disciplines for greater acquisition and generalization of skills throughout the content areas. This collaboration takes place
during collegial and team planning. Our teachers also participate in LDC at the district level and beyond. Teachers collaborate with other
teachers in the district in creating written pieces that are driven by the curriculum and current writing standards. Teachers work at various
times during the year to come back together as a team and discuss the celebrations and reflect upon the obstacles. Teachers work weekly
within the building during collegial planning to refine and adjust curriculum plans based upon data and reflection. Many of our teachers have
received additional training from national representatives to help calibrate rubrics and jury modules to create a bank of common assignments
for collaboration across the nation.
Furthermore, all teachers in the social studies and ELA departments collaborated to develop Family Literacy Night ideas. Teachers,
students, and community partners run booths to promote a wide variety of literacy concepts in an after-school event opening to students and
their families.
The administration has taken steps to encourage and facilitate collaboration between EXEL and academic core teachers. EXEL and Core
teachers collaborate and exchange ideas regarding curriculum, special programs and school wide events, and student achievement. EXEL
and academic core teachers discuss curriculum standards and share ideas for cross-curricular connections. Our PD Plan includes two
trainings that are mandatory for all teachers and hosted by Arts & Humanities, Practical Living, Consumer Sciences, Writing, and Global
Competency teachers. The trainings are used to develop strategies for incorporating exploratory/elective content into core academic class
curriculum. Core academic teachers worked with exploratory/elective teachers to identify areas where content standards overlap and
developed ideas for lessons that integrate Arts & Humanities, Practical Living, Consumer Sciences, Writing, and Global Competency content
into core academic areas.
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After attending a two-day workshop focused on writing strategies, the language arts department chairperson will provide a professional
development[TS1] training for the faculty regarding writing across the curriculum. The presentation will focus on the following topics: policy,
timing, rubrics, structure, and examples. All teachers will be reminded of the school-wide writing policy and the types of pieces that are
expected from all students in all classes throughout the year. Rubric categories will be discussed and an emphasis will be given to "Audience
and Purpose" and "Idea Development" because those categories provide the most opportunity for teachers to teach and assess their content
through writing. An outline and discussion of the basic structure of an informative or argumentative piece of writing will be included in the
presentation, followed by focused examples of "The 3.8 Paragraph" method. These types of paragraphs can be used in all content areas for
short-answer and extended-response practice; but furthermore, content-specific writing practices can incorporate "The 3.8 Paragraph"
method. For instance, in math, Formative Assessment for Learning (FAL) responses require students to explain their thought process when
analyzing and answering questions. Students in science and social studies write lengthier essays for the Literacy Design Collaborative (LDC)
which can incorporate "The 3.8 Paragraph" method into the body paragraphs of the essay. On-Demand Writing (ODW) occurs during
language arts and all other elective classes, in which idea development through "The 3.8 Paragraph" is necessary. Overall, these types of
paragraphs are beneficial in providing a consistent format that will allow all teachers to assist students in writing across the curriculum.
To enable cross-discipline exchange of ideas and increase literacy instruction within all classrooms, faculty meetings are used to share
instructional strategies that focus on the integration of Arts & Humanities, Practical Living, Consumer Sciences, Writing, and Global
Competency into core academic areas. The administration has modified the school schedule to allow for more intentional planning to take
place within and among all teachers in the building as well as integrate more 21st century skill activities to take place. Power days and Team
days have been created twice monthly to fulfill many different ideals. These days are utilized to encourage students to increase and monitor
their work habits. The days also allow for cross-discipline exchange between and amongst EXEL teachers, the rewarding of positive student
behavior, integration of motivational speakers, Operation Preparation, and College and Career Readiness preparation for our students.
Department chairs are expected to attend District wide department meetings to allow for vertical and horizontal alignment of ideas and
sharing. It is expected that department chairs bring back information from the district level and share with their department and entire school.
We also have teachers attending specific trainings in best practices, who then collaborate and share these strategies with our staff.
Teachers meet with members of their department at least once a month. During this time, they exchange ideas about collaboration, literacy
and writing practices. Discussions take place on how to incorporate these strategies into the curriculum.
Another example of collaboration between EXEL and academic core teachers is the creation of cross disciplinary committees with
representatives from all content areas and grade levels. Teachers and administration collaborate on these committees in many ways, for
example: the Staff & Student Recognition committee plans ways to recognize students for academic, athletic, and other personal
achievements (Team day/Power Day); the Budget and Technology committees work to identify needs and allocate resources fairly
throughout the school and its programs; the Health & Wellness committee works to create a schedule to involve all teachers in World Fit and
emphasize physical activity throughout the school; the Equity committee collaborates to plan school wide activities that expose students to
the issues and challenges of people with special needs; and the PBIS committee meets to ensure that positive behavioral interventions and
supports are used throughout the school.
Many members of the school staff work together to arrange for guest speakers from the community. Additionally, the administration, 8th
grade core teachers, the YSC coordinator, and PLCS teachers collaborated to implement the Operation Preparation event for 8th grade
students. Guest speakers from the community provide career guidance to all eighth grade students.
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Professional Learning: Participation
Teachers participate in writing specific professional learning designed to meet their needs. All teachers participate in professional learning
focused on 21st century skills.
Overall Rating: 2.0
Statement or Question
To what extent do teachers participate and
implement content-specific professional
learning based on school, student and teacher
data?
Response
Rating
Implementation of content-specific professional Proficient
learning based on school, student and teacher
data results in change in current practice and
supports appropriate instruction.
Statement or Question
To what extent do teachers participate in
professional learning communities addressing
issues related to instructional practices, data
analysis and increased student learning?
Response
Rating
Teachers are members of professional learning Proficient
communities within the school/district and
participate actively to address issues related to
instructional practices, data analysis and
increased student learning.
c)
Statement or Question
To what extent are teachers participating
members of professional organizations?
Response
Teachers are members of professional
organizations and actively participate in them.
Rating
Proficient
d)
Statement or Question
To what extent do teachers have contact and
collaborate with community, business and
postsecondary partners?
Response
Teachers have contact and collaborate with
external partners (community, business and
postsecondary) through advisory committees,
work exchange programs and/or community
groups.
Rating
Proficient
a)
b)
Evidence is identified to support the school's analysis for each of the demonstrators. Program review evidence may be specific for
an area (Writing, Arts & Humanities, Practical Living/Career Studies, K-3, and Global Competency/World Languages) or may be
common across other reviews. Review teams will likely find they need to search out additional evidence during the program review
process in order to make judgments or to support judgments.
14-15 Student Voice Survey Results - Characteristic A
15-16 JCMS PD Tracker - Characteristics A, B
15-16 PD Plan - Characteristics A, B
15-16 Staff PGPs (by Component) - Characteristics A, B
15-16 Staff PGPs - Characteristics A, B
15-16 Student Voice Survey Results - Characteristic A
15-16 JCMS Collegial Planning Schedule - Characteristics B
JCMS Collegial Plan Template - Characteristic B
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RTI Meetings - Characteristic B
Arts Integration Folder - Characteristic B
GCWL Integration Folder - Characteristic B
PLCS Integration Folder - Characteristic B
Writing Integration Folder - Characteristic B
15-16 JCMS Committees - Characteristic C
15-16 JCMS Department Chairs - Characteristic C
15-16 JCMS Leadership - Characteristic C
Google Classroom PD - Characteristic C
Google PD - Characteristic C
JCMS Google Classroom Training - Characteristic C
Moorhead & Aurelius - Characteristic C
Tighe1- Characteristic C
Tighe2 - Characteristic C
Carin's Crew Student info sheet 15-16 - Characteristic D
Beta Club 1 - Characteristic D
Beta Club 2 - Characteristic D
Beta Club 3- Characteristic D
Beta Club 4 - Characteristic D
Beta Club 5 - Characteristic D
Beta Club 6 - Characteristic D
Beta Club 7 - Characteristic D
The rationale explains how the identified evidence supports the school's reported level of program implementation for the
demonstrator.
Characteristic A
The administration encourages all teachers to attend cross-curricular Professional Development activities to address areas of need identified
in Program Review analysis, as well through teachers' self-reflections/PGPs/results of Student Voice Surveys/other PGES evaluation data.
The expected impact is that all teachers will implement 21st century techniques and teaching strategies to improve instruction and enhance
learning for all students. PD is chosen not only through availability, but also specified skill acquisition. While completing data triangles on
current students, teachers' attention was focused on the learning needs of the students and therefore the skill needs of the teacher.
Teachers participate in content-specific PD, as well as PD activities that address technology, student achievement, and teacher
effectiveness, as evidenced by the PD plan and their individual PD certificates.
Characteristic B
Teachers actively participate in professional learning communities (in our school, district, and beyond) that allow them to actively address
issues related to instructional practices, data analysis, and increased student learning.
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At the school level, all teachers are part of a functioning PLC that meets during the school day. Core teachers meet with their grade level
department colleagues one a week. The EXEL department (A&H, PLCS, and Global Competency departments) functions as a PLC with
dedicated meetings during the school day, twice a month. During this time, the PLCs meet in an in-service/planning type setting. Part of the
time is led by the instructional coach, who guides the departments in data analysis and high quality instructional strategies. The remainder of
the time is dedicated for the teachers to implement the discussed strategies into their instructional planning. Many faculty meetings focus on
instructional strategies; therefore, teachers are asked to sit by department so they may actively discuss content, student needs, and
strategies to bridge the gap.
All teachers analyze student data and determine areas of strengths and weaknesses for the students they teach. From this analysis,
teachers are able to select PD trainings that are specific to their needs. Teachers then apply the research-based instructional practices they
receive from content-specific trainings (offered by recognized experts and district leaders), to develop and utilize 21st century skills to
enhance classroom instruction and learning. All teachers are also trained on the most effective, research-based, 21st Century skills for
integration of Arts & Humanities, Practical Living, Consumer Sciences, Writing, and Global Competency into core academic curriculum.
Teachers at our school also participate in collegial and cross-discipline communities, where they discuss adjustments to instructional
practices and utilize data from Compass, CERT, and K-prep to guide them on improving instructional delivery to meet the needs of students
within their classes. Teachers work together across disciplines to provide a systemic procedure of utilizing similar graphic organizers and
instructional delivery methods to enable a generalization of skills across contents, vertically and horizontally.
Teachers throughout our school are actively participating in writing professional learning communities (PLC) and address issues related to
instructional practices, involving student achievement. Updating the writing policy and writing plan was brought through the Curriculum and
Instruction PLC and then shared with the school to garner feedback and community support. This led to a school-wide professional
development on literacy instruction that broke into discipline areas which was followed up the with the ELA department chair continuing to
support the elective staff in PLC's with on-demand writing within their classrooms. Providing them with additional resources, materials and a
time in which questions and answers could be asked for solidification of knowledge learned.
After attending a two-day workshop focused on writing strategies, the language arts department chairperson will provide a professional
development[TS1] training for the faculty regarding writing across the curriculum. The presentation will focus on the following topics: policy,
timing, rubrics, structure, and examples. All teachers will be reminded of the school-wide writing policy and the types of pieces that are
expected from all students in all classes throughout the year. Rubric categories will be discussed and an emphasis will be given to "Audience
and Purpose" and "Idea Development" because those categories provide the most opportunity for teachers to teach and assess their content
through writing. An outline and discussion of the basic structure of an informative or argumentative piece of writing will be included in the
presentation, followed by focused examples of "The 3.8 Paragraph" method. These types of paragraphs can be used in all content areas for
short-answer and extended-response practice; but furthermore, content-specific writing practices can incorporate "The 3.8 Paragraph"
method. For instance, in math, Formative Assessment for Learning (FAL) responses require students to explain their thought process when
analyzing and answering questions. Students in science and social studies write lengthier essays for the Literacy Design Collaborative (LDC)
which can incorporate "The 3.8 Paragraph" method into the body paragraphs of the essay. On-Demand Writing (ODW) occurs during
language arts and all other elective classes, in which idea development through "The 3.8 Paragraph" is necessary. Overall, these types of
paragraphs are beneficial in providing a consistent format that will allow all teachers to assist students in writing across the curriculum.
Social Studies, Language Arts and Science teachers regularly collaborate with their respective content-area PLCs on the Literacy Design
Collaborative (LDC). The professional learning communities are content-specific, providing the opportunity to discuss issues related to
effective instructional practices and improving student achievement. Math teachers lead the literacy component through their participation in
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the Math Design Collaborative (MDC). Elective teachers share monthly ideas and instructional practices that have worked within their
classrooms with literacy integration. LDC and MDC teachers collaborate in the analysis of student work to ensure instructional adjustments
are shared across grade levels. Evidence is reflective in lesson plans and with the integration of differentiated instructional strategies to meet
the needs of varied levels of student's present level of performance.
Furthermore, all teachers in the Social Studies and ELA departments collaborated to develop Family Literacy Night ideas. Teachers,
students, and community partners run booths to promote a wide variety of literacy concepts in an after-school event opening to students and
their families.
RTI Grade level PLCs include all core content teachers, instructional coach, counseling staff, and an administrator. Together, this PLC
discusses data on individual students to make decisions based on current data and teacher recommendations on initial placement,
continuing placement, and/or withdrawal (with supports) of individual students for the RTI programs (reading and math) for the second
semester and for the first semester of the following school year. These meetings are based upon progress monitoring data collected on
current students in the RTI program, as well as historical assessment data that shows insufficient skills in the areas of reading and/or math.
RTI teachers communicate to core teachers throughout the year about instructional strategies that show success with individual students
within their RTI classrooms.
Many members of the school staff work together to arrange for guest speakers from the community. Additionally, the administration, 8th
grade core teachers, the YSC coordinator, and PLCS teachers collaborated to implement the Operation Preparation event for 8th grade
students. A variety of guest speakers from the community provide career guidance to 8th grade students on an annual basis.
Characteristic C
There are multiple opportunities for teachers to become leaders within our school. Our school follows the middle school "team" approach,
which consists of 3 - 7 core teachers that teach a group of students at a specific grade level. Each team has a one teacher that belongs to
our school's Leadership team. The Leadership team meets at least two times each month to discuss the current status of the school and
determine next steps for continuous school improvement. Each team leader is obligated to disseminate the information from the Leadership
meeting to all members of their team, as well as to complete any necessary tasks.
Department chairs meet at the district level each month and bring back that information to communicate and lead their departments
pertaining to curriculum, analysis of assessment data, and instructional strategies for the classroom. They are also part of the curriculum and
instruction committee that meets monthly to discuss ideals, resources, and materials across discipline levels to aide in the dissemination of
information and lead our school with district initiatives.
We have two teachers that spearheaded the use of paperless classrooms, which allowed all of their students to receive old laptops that were
no longer used at the district-level. Through the use of these laptops, these teachers have been able to use Google Classroom to instruct
their students, which has led to a variety of project-based learning opportunities. One of these teachers is one of six classroom teachers
from FCPS that was selected to attend the International Society for Technology in Education's (ISTE) Premier Education Technology
Conference in Denver, CO this summer. In addition, this teacher has been selected to serve as our district's technology teacher
representative, which will generate a set of Chromebook laptops for her classroom. We have teachers that have presented Professional
Development opportunities on the district-level. We also have two teachers that presented their project, "Two Middle School Teachers'
Experiences in Adapting and Implementing an Integrated Mathematics-Science Curriculum" at 'The real REAL Curriculum National Science
Conference' in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Teachers at our school are writing leaders and communicators in the school and professional organizations. All Language Arts, Science and
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Social Studies teachers regularly attend district level Literacy Design Collaborative (LDC) meetings to collaborate on tasks specific to
Literacy. Several teachers have attended additional district level trainings on refinement of, and advanced- level trainings on module creation
and rubric calibration to facilitate consistency across the school and disciplines on creation and scoring Literacy Design Collaborative tasks.
These teachers who received the advanced training were called upon to help train other teachers in the district. These teachers were
selected to work in the region and one teacher worked on a national level for collaboration of a common LDC task. The Library Media
Specialist voluntarily attended an LDC training to fully understand, support and help facilitate LDC concepts throughout her discipline. Math
teachers regularly attend district level Math Design Collaborative (MDC) meetings to collaborate on Formative Assessment Lessons. All
teachers who participate in LDC and MDC become members of a national sharing website for support and idea sharing.
The Family Literacy Night event has teachers collaborating with community partners such as the Carnegie Center, the Lexington Public
Library, and Joseph-Beth Booksellers. Local authors (Karen Leet, Kristin Simmons, Alecia Whitaker) also participate in school events such
as Family Literacy Night and class, grade level and school presentations.
Furthermore, seventh grade language arts teachers have reached out to philanthropic organizations for pamphlets having to do with the
purpose, background and mission of the charity. This helps our students to be active in their research (including writing) of their own local
charity. Additionally, the seventh grade has collaborated with Actor's Theatre of Louisville on doing a theatre workshop with the kids that
includes a writing component of creating a monologue.
Students are able to join a club for learning sign language. Many students have shown up and learned sign language. They have integrated
signing the Pledge of Allegiance on the morning news each day. This is an outreach program that she plans on continuing to broaden into
the community for exposure of communication by way of hands.
Characteristic D
Jessie Clark Middle School's goal is to have teachers to contact and collaborate with external partners (community, business, and
postsecondary) that are able to support our school motto 'Value Self, Value Others, Value Learning: Every Student, Every Day'. Teachers
regularly collaborate with community, business and postsecondary partners through advisory committees, work exchange programs and
community groups with a focus on writing. Teachers participating in Learning Design Collaborative have met multiple times throughout the
year (over the past few years) with postsecondary colleagues, to focus on writing.
Teachers collaborate with community partners such as the Carnegie Center, the Lexington Public Library, and Joseph-Beth Booksellers for
The Family Literacy Night event. Local authors (Karen Leet, Kristin Simmons, Alecia Whitaker) also participate in Family Literacy Night and
class presentations. The past few years, we have worked with the Carnegie Center to bring Alecia Whitaker to our school to talk about her
book and explain her job experience as an author, focusing on the writing process, inclusion of illustrations, publishing, and the marketing of
her book.
Furthermore, 7th grade Language Arts teachers have reached out to philanthropic organizations for pamphlets having to do with the purpose,
background and mission of their charities. This helps our students to be active in their research (including writing) of their own local charity.
Additionally, the 7th grade has collaborated with Actor's Theatre of Louisville on doing a theatre workshop with the kids that includes a writing
component of creating a monologue.
Students in our school are also participating in a summer reading program which incorporates multiple writing opportunities. Parents are
notified through Infinite Campus; reading lists are sent home with students; and additional copies are provided to local libraries and
bookstores in the community. Parent communication is a primary focus for our teachers and is done in a variety of ways, including: Infinite
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Campus messaging, phone calls and texting service, and our school's website. The JCMS website is updated on a weekly basis and used
as a communication platform to the community. PTSA prints and attaches a parent newsletter to report cards every 9-weeks. SBDM and
PTSA meetings are held monthly and open to the public.
ELA Teachers are offered the opportunity of incorporating a free summer literacy program offered through Scholastic.
Special education teachers are all enrolled to attend a summer professional development on Literacy Strategies for special education
teachers.
Writing has been a school-wide focus at JCMS since the ELA Common Core standards were released. Every year, teachers are reminded
that ALL teachers are reading and writing teachers. There is an expectation that all teachers are responsible for literacy within the building.
When the Common Core was introduced to the ELA department it was established there was a need to provide additional support to the
entire school since the standards reached into all disciplines. The writing policy and writing plan were developed under the leadership of
district personnel and explained to the faculty at the same time. ELA teachers created a notebook full of definitions and examples of Writing
to Learn, Writing to Demonstrate Learning and Writing to Publish, which were provided to every teacher. Each year, administration provides
a copy of this binder and job-embedded PD to all teachers that are newly hired at JCMS. The binder is reviewed with all staff at the beginning
of the year and kept up to date with current examples. The ELA department chair and instructional coach meet privately with teachers to
provide support in the creation of writing prompts, and the writing process, as necessary.
A Lesson Plan template was developed with input from all stakeholder groups and is based on Mike Schmoker's Highly Effective Teaching
Behaviors. The template includes a space for recording program review implementation/standards for accountability. Teachers are expected
to complete lesson plans and upload them into CIITS. Administration monitors lesson plan submission for fidelity as part of the TPGES
evaluation process.
The Curriculum and Instruction Committee functions as an advisory committee to inform staff of writing instruction. The membership of this
committee spans all disciplines, including a parent representative, administration, and all department chairpersons. The ELA department
chairperson has regular meetings with the District ELA resource person to ensure literacy instruction is kept current and aligned with district
and state standards. The ELA chair comes back into the school and advises the Curriculum and Instruction committee of all information that
has an emphasis on literacy instructional delivery. This committee has had a significant impact on the development of literacy in our school
and can be evidenced by the widespread awareness of writing throughout all content areas. Teachers have reported that they, as well as the
students have a better grasp on what is required of on-demand writing. Evidence shows continuous growth from samples of student writing.
This evidence can be found in the student's communication folders. Teachers have shown growth based upon reflection of instruction as
well.
Social Studies classes participate in Jr. Achievement on a regular basis and the 'Books As Bridges' pen pal program. This allows students to
participate and expand their knowledge of the world around them and also provides a vehicle by which students can communicate on a
global level. In 6th grade social studies letters were written to a political candidate after the candidate made a guest appearance and spoke
about issues that were relevant to the election. 6th grade also participates in the Books as Bridges pen pal correspondence program. A
Social Studies teacher leads a group of young people in KYA, Kentucky Youth Assembly, in which the students utilize all literacy skills to
learn about how a bill is written, and goes through the process of becoming law. A teacher also leads a group of students through the Stock
Market Game. Two students from our school were just won the East Region. By participating in these communities sponsored activities
students have authentic audiences for their writing and become more engaged in learning.
Science 6th grade science teachers collaborate with University of Kentucky professors in implementing REAL, the astronomy program that
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includes writing in journals. JCMS Students work with college students in a mentoring environment for journal writing within the content area
like real scientists.
Jessie Clark Middle School is a Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) school. The PBIS philosophy supports the promotion of
teaching expectations, providing intervention(s) when an expectation is not met, re-teaching behavior, and rewarding/celebrating successes.
PBIS addresses the school-wide system as a whole, and is a part of the Multi-Tiered Support Systems (MTSS, RTI). Thus, we have built in
times to celebrate successes twice a month. The second Friday of the month is a "Team Day", so activities are individual to the teams.
Team Days include an hour at the end of the day for 'team time'. Each quarter, the fourth Friday of the month is a "Power Day", which has a
school-wide focus. Power Days span over three class periods, alternating between mornings and afternoons. All students are allowed to
attend the "Power" segment of the Power Day, which is an hour of time that is dedicated to presentations by community partners. We have
been fortunate to have teachers to coordinate amazing speakers and philanthropic events for our students.
-Devine Carama presented "The Power of Words" to our students, in which he uses poetry and hip-hop to focus on how the
words we use have power, so it is up to us to choose whether we use that power in a good way or a bad way.
-Kelly Gunning is a community psychologist and co-director of the Lexington branch of National Alliance on Mental Illness
(NAMI) and Director of Advocacy and Public Policy. She had a group to present on personal empowerment and health,
integrating mental health, physical health, substance abuse, peer pressure and anti-bullying through a choreographed
performance using acceptable, positive, and popular songs. One presenter talked about her struggle with bi-polar disorder
and how it impacted her friendships; another presenter shared his personal battle with addiction and gangs; while another
presenter aimed to empower the students.
-For Operation Preparation, health services professionals presented to almost 80 of our 8th grade students, as their Individual
Learning Plans indicated that they plan to focus on a career in health services. The health services professionals that
presented to these students included physicians, physical therapists, mental health therapists, nurses, and veterinarians.
-Every year, Jessie Clark Middle School participates hosts a Relay for Life. On November 6, 2015, we had our 6th Annual
"Carin's Crew Relay for Life". The purpose of the relay is to use philanthropy to honor Carin Brown Addams and her battle
with breast cancer. Carin is a nurse and mother to her young son, but she is also the daughter of a former Science teacher at
Jessie Clark (Cheryl Brown). Through our six annual events, JCMS has raised over $20,000 that has been donated to a variety
of charities. We also collaborated with Kona Ice, who sold their sweet treats during the relay. Kona Ice joined in our efforts
by donating a portion of their sales to our cause. This year, our Eagle Elite students selected the Visually Impaired Preschool
(located on Burt Road in Lexington, KY) as the recipient of all proceeds from Carin's Crew.
-20 8th grade students will be taking a field trip to Locust Trace school. These students were selected because their Individual
Learning Plans indicated potential career interests in equine studies, agricultural studies, zoology, veterinary studies, and/or
animal training.
-ILP Parent Night was March 22. Ten parents came to learn about the results of their child's Individual Learning Plan.
- Multiple teachers promote a philanthropic mindset for our students. Students participate in a variety of service projects
throughout the community each year, due to contact and collaboration that sponsors make with members of the
community. Our BETA Club sponsored a Toy Drive in November/December and delivered the items to the Catholic Action
Center in December. Our Eagle ELITE sponsored a Food Drive in the fall. All food that was collected was donated to God's
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Pantry in Lexington. Students participate in Math-a-Thon and proceeds go to St. Jude's Hospital.
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Administrative/Leadership Support and Monitoring: Policies and Monitoring
School leadership provides adequate resources, facilities, space and instructional time to support high quality writing instructional programs.
Overall Rating: 2.0
a)
b)
c)
d)
Statement or Question
To what extent does the school
council/leadership ensure that writing concepts
are taught throughout the school and across the
curriculum as established in policy?
Response
School council/leadership ensures that writing
concepts are taught throughout the school and
across the curriculum as established in policy.
Rating
Proficient
Statement or Question
To what extent does the school
council/leadership and teachers participate in
the planning of the annual school budget with
clear consideration and allocation of resources
for writing?
Response
School council/leadership and teachers
participate in the planning of the annual school
budget with clear consideration of allocation of
resources for writing.
Rating
Proficient
Statement or Question
To what extent does the school
council/leadership allocate equitable time and
resources to implement the writing program?
Response
School council/leadership allocates equitable
time and resources to implement the writing
program.
Rating
Proficient
Statement or Question
To what extent are decisions related to staff
assignment based on the established policies
that include student literacy needs and teacher
certification?
Response
Rating
Decisions related to staff assignment are based Proficient
on the established policies that include student
literacy needs and teacher certification.
Evidence is identified to support the school's analysis for each of the demonstrators. Program review evidence may be specific for
an area (Writing, Arts & Humanities, Practical Living/Career Studies, K-3, and Global Competency/World Languages) or may be
common across other reviews. Review teams will likely find they need to search out additional evidence during the program review
process in order to make judgments or to support judgments.
D1
A
ABC vocabulary worksheet
Accountability title page for students writing samples for communication folder
Collegial lesson plan document
Literacy PowerPoint
On-demand worksheet for elective teachers specific training led by ELA dept chair
Power verbs: school-wide implemented vocabulary
Standards supporting document
Writing plan
Writing policy
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Writing to learn strategies
B
Content Budget proposal
Budget committee members (cross-content rep)
KY academic standards purchased for all school members
Team Days Power days
Writing policy
Greer's Writing PD Documents
Purchase orders for ELA materials
*Committee sign-up*
C
JCMS collegial planning schedule
Data disaggregation meetings 6,7,8
Data disaggregation cut scores
RTI meetings
Team days power days
Writing plan
Writing policy
D
Policy 3.5
Highly qualified teachers
The rationale explains how the identified evidence supports the school's reported level of program implementation for the
demonstrator.
Characteristic A
Leadership in our school ensures that writing concepts are taught throughout the school and across the system, as established in the policy.
The Writing Policy establishes that writing will take place through all classes. Writing to learn and to demonstrate learning are present in all
classes. Writing to Publish takes place in all classes that are 18 weeks or longer. Communication folders are kept on all students and so all
teachers have access and can provide the documentation of writing within their classes in the student folders.
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The importance of writing in our building can be seen in our participation in the Literacy Design Collaborative training that content teachers
throughout our building have been attending for the past few years. At this training, teachers receive research based, best practice strategies
in literacy and writing, which can be used in content-area writing. Teachers regularly collaborate on Literacy Design Collaborative between
content areas for the seamless integration of writing, reading, listening, and speaking throughout their classrooms. The collaboration includes
developing and creating graphic organizers and a common language of reading, writing, and researching to allow commonality between and
among the disciplines for greater acquisition and generalization of skills throughout the content areas. Elective teachers are represented on
the Curriculum and Instruction committee where discussion of the Writing program Review takes place. The discussions include writing
support for all content areas, including creating standardized resources for generalization and a common language amongst all teachers in
the building.
Our school's lesson plan template contains an area for documentation of literacy connections within every teachers' lesson plans. This area
allows teachers to intentionally emphasize the literacy connections within their curriculum. All teachers are required to submit their lesson
plans into CIITS. These lesson plans contain documentation of literacy integration within teachers' instruction.
The principal has created time in the school schedule to include time for A&H and PLCS teachers to have a common planning twice once a
month and has created a three-hour block of time every quarter. These days have been created for data analysis and collegial conversations
to increase integration of all program reviews across all content areas.
Characteristic B
** At the beginning of each year all teachers are provided the opportunity to join any committee that they would like to be part of. There is a
requirement that every teacher be part of at least one committee but they may be part of as many as they would like. The principal takes the
committee sign-up list and balances committees by providing representation from as many disciplines as possible. If a committee does not
have a balance of representation the principal seeks out representatives of the unrepresented departments and asks for membership from
someone to have equitable balance and support. He then sends a list of all committee members to the whole school so everyone knows
who is represented on each committee. If a teacher is needing, the request is made to a committee member and at the monthly budget
committee meetings, discussion and reflection take place. The committee is provided with KPREP data each Fall along with program review
next steps so that they may be aware of needs based upon data. Allocations of funds to departments is distributed as fairly as possible
based upon needs such as new state standards, rotation of year for textbook money etc.
In Spring 2014, technology monies were set aside to purchase a chromebook laptop cart for use by the Language arts and math teachers.
Spring 2015, two additional Chromebook lap-top carts were purchased for Compass Learning as well. All ELA teachers are scheduled for
one day a week to use the chrome books to work on individually assigned lessons based upon reading score. Teachers have been
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assigning lessons in grammar based upon formative assessment to increase students' knowledge of grammar rules to increase the written
communication of students.
The ELA department chair attended a two day Professional development on on-demand writing that was paid from JCMS professional
development funds. (550.00) She created a new school-wide organizer and feedback process for paragraph construction that the Curriculum
and instruction committee requested for standardization of feedback. We also placed into our PD plan for 2016-17 school year a review of
school-wide writing strategies at the beginning of the year, along with job-embedded PD for school-wide scoring of on-demand writing.
The budget committee approved 500.00 to be spent on Literacy Night 2016.
ASCD (Academic Standards Checklists) materials were purchased to provide a documentation resource to all teachers, for integration of the
KASC standards into their disciplines. This checklist contains all the ELA standards divided into sections: Math, History, Science and
technical studies. It includes the ELA standards that other contents areas are responsible for teaching. This enables everyone to know what
reading, writing, listening, and speaking standards they need to cover in their classrooms and provides them a checklist for ease of ensuring
they are covering the standards.
Characteristic C
Equitable allocation for time across the school: School leaders review the writing plan and policy at the beginning of every year and explain
the expectations for all teachers at the school. The writing plan takes into consideration the length of classes, 9 week, 18 week or year-long.
With these times, a standard expectation of amount of writing pieces and type of writing is stated. i.e. writing to learn, writing to demonstrate
learning and writing to publish.
For instance, 9 week classes have a monthly minimum for writing /communicating to learn; 2 times quarterly for writing/communicating to
demonstrate learning, and a semester minimum for on-demand writing. Whereas Year-long courses have a weekly minimum for
writing/communicating to learn, monthly minimum for writing/communicating to demonstrate learning and a semester minimum for ondemand writing. Social studies and Science classes have an additional writing to publish requirement of an annual minimum with a
requirement for a type of writing to be taught at different levels. ELA of course has the most intense plan for writing. The plan was created
with equitable time for all classes taken into consideration.
Administration created a schedule of team days (13) and Power days(4) spread over the course of a year for elective teachers to collegially
plan, and be supported with resources and materials for integration of writing within their classes.
Characteristic D
Decisions related to staff assignments are based on the policies that include student literacy needs and teacher certification. Teacher
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Credentials are used to assign teachers' placements in our school. 100 percent of our teaching staff are highly qualified within the disciplines
they teach. School Policy 3.5 states that staff assignments be based upon certification. All teachers placed in ELA classrooms are highly
qualified in ELA. In designing the teams for 2015-16 school year there was a need to have two teachers who had both math and ELA
degrees to service students in two grades. Instead of having the teachers split between the two disciplines, which is much harder for
teachers to do we had the teachers teach one discipline at two grade levels. This has the added benefit of aligning curriculum between grade
levels. Other considerations for staff assignments are the developmental needs of the students. Students whose literacy needs are more
intense based upon data collected, are placed within an environment with a collaborative, co-teaching approach. Data will be utilized by
FAST twice yearly to determine tier 2 and tier 3 students who need a highly structured approach for literacy instruction. Tier 2 and Tier 3 data
will be collected to insure there is sufficient documentation for placement into a more restrictive, intense literacy instruction with a specialist.
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Administrative/Leadership Support and Monitoring: Principal Leadership
Principals are the primary leaders of all program efforts and support teacher leadership through shared and distributed leadership strategies
and actions.
Overall Rating: 2.0
Statement or Question
To what extent does the principal enlist teacher
leaders to collaborate, evaluate and reflect on
the impact of the writing instructional practices
on overall student achievement in the school?
Response
The principal and staff collaboratively evaluate
and reflect on the impact of the writing
instructional practices on overall student
achievement.
Rating
Distinguished
b)
Statement or Question
To what extent does the principal initiate and
participate in professional learning related to
the school's writing program?
Response
The principal initiates and participates in
professional learning related to the school's
writing program.
Rating
Proficient
c)
Statement or Question
Response
Rating
To what extent does the principal communicate The principal communicates with parents about Needs
with parents and the community about the
the writing program.
Improvement
writing program?
a)
Evidence is identified to support the school's analysis for each of the demonstrators. Program review evidence may be specific for
an area (Writing, Arts & Humanities, Practical Living/Career Studies, K-3, and Global Competency/World Languages) or may be
common across other reviews. Review teams will likely find they need to search out additional evidence during the program review
process in order to make judgments or to support judgments.
D2
A
3.8 paragraph standard schoolwide
Data analysis triangle
Data disaggregation
Data discussions electives 6,7,8 combined
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K-prep cut scores
PD Plan
Strategies for Gap students
Visible learning strategies effect size
B
Data Analysis folder which includes:
CIITS data disaggregation directions
Common evidence based strategies
Several of the above mentioned data related
New teacher orientation folder
3 C's of writing
Accountability sheet
Collegial lesson plan 12 13
Power verbs
Reading ERQ
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SPAM and on-demand hand
W drive directions
Writing plan, policy
Writing to learn strategies
Writing PD handout
PD Plan 15-16
C
ASSIST next steps 14-15
KPREP scores parent e-mail
Lit and stem night email
Lit night parent email
Lit night 2 parent e-mail
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Marquee
twitter
The rationale explains how the identified evidence supports the school's reported level of program implementation for the
demonstrator.
A
School leadership enlists teacher to collaborate, evaluate, and reflect on the impact of writing instruction at our school. Our school's
Curriculum & Instruction committee is comprised of department chairs from each content-area. Each month, department chairs from each
content area meet with our instructional coach to review instructional strategies and programs in our school. Writing & literacy integration has
been a large part of this reflection. As teachers evaluate student progress in writing & literacy at these meetings, suggestions are made and
discussed for areas of improvement. As a result, the principal and staff collaboratively evaluate and reflect on the impact of the writing &
literacy instructional practices of the school, to inform the professional development action plan.
The Principal also communicates with the staff via e-mail and during PLCs & staff meetings. As soon as KPREP scores are released in the
Fall, the principal analyzes the school data, leads the rest of the leadership team in analysis and reflection then sets up data meetings with all
teachers in the building in small PLC's, content or grade level driven. These PLC's are round-table discussions led by the principal into
analyzing, reflecting and problem-solving issues that the data presents. The principal listens and makes adjustment to materials/resources
that may be needed to be provided to teachers. The principal ensures that all teachers are held accountable for the analysis and their plan of
adjustment to fit the needs of our students. The data that is analyzed initiates professional development for the staff with their input into what
they feel their needs are.
B
The principal looks at KPREP data, listens to the teachers in PLC's on data analysis, and creates Professional development that is relevant
to the faculty based upon data and feedback from the faculty. The principal initiates and participates in all the professional development at
the school-level.
Data analysis, documentation of literacy integration, and academic standards checklists,
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Documentation of literacy integration, and academic standards can be found on all teachers lesson plans, which are submitted into CIITS.
The PGE Coach has shared all of CIITS' web-based resources, There has been an emphasis on providing all content-area teachers with
resources and materials that include literacy integration for their specific disciplines.
New teacher orientation is held at the beginning of each school year to go over expectations of new teachers to the building. Review of the
current writing policy and writing plan along with literacy expectations is held on the first day of school for teachers in the Fall.
ELA Department chair was provided with the opportunity to attend a three day conference on writing. Inclusion of 3.8 paragraph as a strategy
to place into the school-wide strategy list to enable generalization of the skill throughout the school community.
C
Parent communication is a priority at our school. The principal communicates to parents about the writing program through PTSA meetings,
SBDM, and through Infinite Campus' Parent Portal messaging to announce upcoming events. The school website, and the school marquee
are also used as a vehicle of communication. During renovation, a renovation update was updated frequently on the school website to
communicate with parents on the progress of the renovation. The principal also utilizes a Twitter account to communicate.
Important information is sent home with report cards. For instance a brochure was created and sent home to the parents explaining KPREP,
including reminding the students families of the importance of doing their best on their writing portions of the test by utilizing strategies
adopted at JCMS. E-mail communication, Infinite Campus Messenger, with community groups also takes place to facilitate student
participation in community-sponsored writing events. For instance, The Reflections Contest, which includes a writing portion. The principal
has recruited parent volunteers to help with writing communication folders. Parents are invited to attend SBDM meetings that are posted on
the school webpage along with posted in the front lobby. SBDM representatives are sent an agenda prior to the SBDM meetings. 2014-15
school year SBDM had open discussions about revisions to the writing plan and policy with public input. The first SBDM meeting of the year
the needs improvement areas of all Program Reviews were discussed and public input was recorded and placed into action. Literacy Night
was announced to the community through the IC messenger. A message reminding parents of KPREP, the schedule, the importance of it,
including the writing components will be composed sent. A message about the summer reading program along with lists of activities and
required readings will be posted on our website as well as sent through IC messenger yearly.
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Report Summary
Scores By Section
Section Score
1
2
Curriculum and Instruction: Student Access
3
4
2
Curriculum and Instruction: Aligned and
Rigorous Curriculum
2.2
Curriculum and Instruction: Instructional
Strategies
2.33
Curriculum and Instruction: Student
Performance
2
Formative and Summative Assessment:
Assessments
2.5
Formative and Summative Assessment:
Expectations for Student Learning
2
Professional Learning: Opportunity
2.75
Professional Learning: Participation
2
Administrative/Leadership Support and
Monitoring: Policies and Monitoring
2
Administrative/Leadership Support and
Monitoring: Principal Leadership
2
Sections
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Program Review: Next Step Diagnostic
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Introduction
The program reviews are intended to guide schools to systematically analyze their comprehensive school programs in the areas of Arts and
Humanities, Practical Living/Career Studies, Writing, and the K-3.
This final step is to analyze the findings from each program review to determine how the school will make recommendations to improve and
sustain each program.
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In-Depth Review
Statement or Question:Identify the programs given an in-depth review during the current school year. You may select more than one.
Response:
•Arts and Humanities
•Practical Living/Career Studies
•Writing
•Global Competency/World Languages
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Arts and Humanities Program Review
List the standards and characteristics that have been identified as strengths in the Arts and Humanities Program. Explain why
each of these is a strength in your school's Arts and Humanities Program. What is your plan to sustain these strengths in the area
of Arts and Humanities?
Cross curricular integration: Our core teachers are dedicated to incorporating arts into their lessons and arts teachers are committed to
providing support to ensure the lessons' integrity.
Models and Exemplars: Arts teachers will continue to find high quality clinicians to come in and share their craft as well as pinpointing the
talented students within our ranks to serve as models for the future.
PGP use: PGPs will continue to be thoughtfully prepared with concern to not only our growth as teachers, but the growth of our students.
Collaboration: The school plans on keeping the collaborative planning time allotted to the elective teams. I think our shift to Google Drive will
also help elective teachers collaborate even when they are unable to meet face to face due to class conflicts.
Teacher's participation and leadership in professional learning communities focused on instructional practices, data analysis, and student
learning: Our arts teachers are committed to furthering our field and will continue their membership and leadership in professional
communities.
Identify the standards and characteristics that have been identified as needing improvement or focus in the Arts and Humanities
Program. Explain why each of these needs improvement.
Even though we are proficient or distinguished in all demonstrators, our next goals are to move our scores for rubrics and feedback to
distinguished. These have been areas noticed by the review panel.
What are the steps your school plans to take to improve the identified areas of your Arts and Humanities Program?
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Through continued commitment to collaboration, the scores for rubrics and feedback will be elevated to distinguished. Teachers whose
practices are honed in these areas will be approached to share across the Fine Arts department during our monthly common planning time.
We will also be more practiced in effectively collecting evidence to support our scores.
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Practical Living/Career Studies Program Review
List the standards and characteristics that have been identified as strengths in the Practical Living/Career Studies Program.
Explain why each of these is a strength in your school's PLCS Program. What is your plan to sustain these strengths in the area of
Practical Living/Career Studies?
Standard 1 Dem 1 Char. A, B, C, D, E
Dem 2 Char. A, B, C, D, E
Dem 3 Char. A, B, C, D, E, F, G
Dem 4 Char. A, B, D, E, F, G, H
Dem 5 Char. A, C, D
Standard 2Dem 1 Char. A, B, C, D
Dem 2 Char. A, B
Standard 3Dem 1 Char. A, B, C, D
Dem 2 Char. A, B, C, D
Standard 4Dem 1 Char. B, C, D, E, F, G, H
Dem 2 Char. A, B, C
Standard 1 Dem 1 Char. A is distinguished because the HECAT was used to develop a comprehensive health education program. JCMS is
using Health Smart from ETR.org. The health education teacher has received training on its use. Instructional time is regularly planned and
the use of Health Smart and supplemental resources will continue.
Standard 1 Dem 1 Char. B is distinguished because the health education curriculum continues to provide school and community wide
opportunities to become health literate. Examples include using good decision making skills when selecting breakfast and lunch, choosing to
be physically active and choosing to be involved in the community with God's Pantry and the Humane Society, etc. More opportunities
should become available in the future with support from the Carol M. White PEP Grant.
Standard 1 Dem 4 Char. G is distinguished because all students are enrolled in elective classes that integrate technology in the career
curriculum. All students also use the interactive online ILP to create education and career plans. The future plan is to continue enrolling all
students and keeping current with latest technology.
Standard 1 Dem 5 Char. A is distinguished because yearly trainings are offered and provided for parents and teachers. All students update
their goals and evaluate their progress yearly. This will continue in the future.
Standard 3 Dem 1 Char. A is distinguished because the administration supports teachers in the implementation of PGP and provides
feedback to improve teacher effectiveness. This practice will continue.
Standard 3 Dem 1 Char. B is distinguished because a multitude of professional opportunities at all levels are offered and will continue.
Standard 3 Dem 1 Char. D is distinguished because teachers from different disciplines share ideas during PDs, faculty meetings, sporting
events, music events, and during supervision times. This practice will continue.
Standard 3 Dem 2 Char. C is distinguished because some teachers are leaders in their professional learning organizations. Administration
will support teachers to become even more involved in their PLCs in the future.
Standard 4 Dem 1 Char. C is distinguished because all staff have the opportunity to be on the budget committee and this will continue.
Standard 4 Dem 1 Char. D is distinguished because all teachers are given equitable loads based on course and size of classroom/facility.
This will continue.
Standard 4 Dem 1. Char. H is distinguished because the school Health and Wellness Committee meets throughout the school year. The
Committee reviews the SBDM approved Wellness Plan at the first meeting and sends the plan out to all staff. This will continue.
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List the standards and characteristics that have been identified as needing improvement or focus in the Practical Living/Career
Studies Program. Explain why each of these needs improvement.
Standard 1 Dem 5 Char. B - teachers and students do not consistently use summative and K-PREP data to construct and update the ILP.
Standard 4 Dem 1 Char. A - SBDM and leadership does not monitor or evaluate the teaching of PLCS concepts throughout the school and
across the curriculum.
Standard 4 Dem 1 Char. I - There is no assessment tool to measure the implementation of the School Wellness Policy.
What are the steps your school plans to take to improve the identified areas of your Practical Living/Career Studies Program?
For Standard 1 Dem 5 Char. B - 1.5 hours of PD is required for all teachers during the 2016-2017 school year to receive strategies to use
assessment results in students' ILPs.
For Standard 4 Dem 1 Char. A - SBDM will give one or two of the school committees the charge to develop an evaluation tool to monitor the
teaching of PLCS concepts throughout the school and across the curriculum.
For Standard 4 Dem 1 Char. I - SBDM will charge the School Wellness Committee to develop an assessment tool to measure the
implementation of the school wellness policy.
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Writing Program Review
List the standards and characteristics that have been identified as strengths in the Writing Program. Explain why each of these is
a strength in your school's Writing Program. What is your plan to sustain these strengths in the area of Writing?
Standard 1
Demonstrator 2
The school's curriculum provides opportunities for students to use technology as a tool to access, manage, integrate and create information.
Why strength? The vision of technology integration and acquiring as much technology as we could was a vision 20 years ago for JCMS. We
are fortunate to have had several administrators who not only agree with this vision but also assist in maintaining it.
Plan? We continue to be a leader in our school district for technology. Our plan for 2016-17 year is to have a laptop cart in every team area
(divided among 4 teachers) Our teachers are beginning to make a transition over to google docs for teaching, managing, integrating and
accessing information. We are also currently beginning to be able to surplus our oldest computers into a school to home computing program.
Demonstrator 3
Teachers, students, and others provide literacy instructional strategies and models that assist in achieving specific learning objectives.
Why strength? This was something that our ELA department was always strong with, we simply integrated this into a school-wide initiative
that all teachers began using and we began standardizing instructional strategies so students could more easily generalize skills from one
classroom to another.
Plan? Continue assessing, reflecting, and modifying
Students research information to seek a new or deeper understanding based on inquiry around a topic of personal choice and demonstrate
new understanding through products that may be used by others for further understanding of the topic.
Why strength? We became an LDC school several years ago. This was the impetus for research in the core classes. On-demand writing
in the elective courses has created a whole school environment of student centered engagement within our classes.
Plan? Continue assessing, reflecting, and modifying
Standard 2
Demonstrator 1
Teachers engage in a systemic school-wide collaborative approach to develop and/or align writing and communication assessments across
grade levels and content areas, and monitor the impact on student learning over time.
Why strength? This has been a concerted effort within our building to get all teachers on board the writing train!
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Plan? Continue assessing, reflecting, modifying, training, and smiling.
Teachers consistently implement a plan to monitor student progress in writing and communication skills consistent with grade-level writing
standards, formative assessments, and respond to evidence through revised instruction.
Why strength? This is accomplished through weekly collegial planning, monthly department meetings, team grade level meetings, and
specially designed monthly planning meetings for the elective teachers. Teachers in content classes in all grade levels also collaborate to
form common assessments to monitor student progress.
Plan? Continue assessing, reflecting, and modifying
Standard 3
Demonstrator 1
Ongoing assessment of the implementation of the PGP results in necessary adjustments that result in increased teacher effectiveness and
student learning.
Why strength? We utilize all available resources to make informed decisions.
Plan? Continue assessing, reflecting, and modifying
Professional learning supports individual learning focus (PGP) fosters team collaboration for school improvement and benefits from
alignment and coordination with school, district, regional, and state improvement goals for more systemic professional learning experiences.
Why strength? We utilize all available resources to make informed decisions.
Plan? Continue assessing, reflecting, and modifying
D The school provides a variety of opportunities and allocates time for teachers to collaborate and
exchange ideas, especially during the school day, in professional learning communities and through
professional learning opportunities.
Why strength? Collaboration is what we are so good at. No one feels that they know everything and everyone feels comfortable to say, I'm
not sure how to do that in my class, can you help me? Then everyone helps everyone!
Plan? Continue assessing, reflecting, and modifying
Standard 4
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Demonstrator 2
The principal and staff collaboratively evaluate and reflect on the impact of the writing instructional practices on overall student achievement.
Why strength? Continue assessing, reflecting, and modifying
Plan? Continue assessing, reflecting, and modifying
List the standards and characteristics that have been identified as needing improvement or focus in the Writing Program. Explain
why each of these needs improvement.
Standard 4
Demonstrator 2
c
The principal communicates with parents about the writing program.
Explain why each of these needs improvement.
Although our principal communicates with the community in a variety of ways, because we did not keep any specific message with writing
specifically mentioned then we can get no higher on this characteristic. Although we have communication for Literacy night for two
years….that is not enough.
What are the steps your school plans to take to improve the identified areas of your Writing Program?
We must be more specific on communications to our school community. For all Writing, PLCS, A&H and GC/WL
Next year we will be providing training for scoring paragraphs and on-demand writing for all elective teachers and any other teacher who
would like the training. We will use a new school-wide instructional strategy of paragraph construction: 3.8. We will provide training, then
have the teachers bring student work samples to the next meeting. ELA teachers will be assigned to small groups to facilitate a training in
which there will be double scoring to calibrate the scoring throughout the building.
ALL ELA teachers will provide student generated goal setting data with all teachers in the building so teachers across contents may be able
to support students in the area of writing development the child has set as a goal.
ELA department will work on updating the ELA binder that includes writing to learn, writing to demonstrate learning and writing to publish
examples and school-wide strategies. These binders will be created over the summer and provided to teachers in Fall 2016.
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K-3 Program Review
List the standards and characteristics that have been identified as strengths in the K-3 Program. Explain why each of these is a
strength in your school's K-3 Program. What is your plan to sustain these strengths in the area of K-3?
Middle school ...not required
List the standards and characteristics that have been identified as needing improvement or focus in the K-3 Program. Explain why
each of these needs improvement.
Middle school ...not required
What are the steps your school plans to take to improve the identified areas of your K-3 Program?
Middle school ...not required
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Global Competency/World Languages Program Review
List the standards and characteristics that have been identified as strengths in the GC/WL Program. Explain why each of these is a
strength in your school's GC/WL Program. What is your plan to sustain these strengths in the area of GC/WL?
We have an excellent world languages program that meets the needs of a diverse group of students. We have a romance language and a
character based language. Both languages have many uses in the Central Kentucky area for possible careers and cultural exchanges here
and abroad. We are part of the feeder pattern of Japanese that extends from elementary school to high school.
We have approximately 75% of our students enrolled in a language class at some point in the year. Our offerings range from 9 week elective
classes to explore the language and culture to full year courses that bring students to beginner level of proficiency and beyond. Our students
who continue on at the high school level are very successful in continuing their language study. We are working to improve our language
program by allowing for more student choice for next school year.
Due to an enthusiastic and supportive staff, we have Global Competency integrated into all content areas (core and elective) across all three
grade levels. After a school wide professional development, each content area developed a lesson or adapt/expanded on an existing
incorporation of cultures. Through these efforts, a 7th grade math lesson turned into a fundraising drive to purchase animals for a village in a
Third World country.
All of our World Language teachers are Highly Qualified and dedicated teachers who continually seek out opportunities to grow and learn.
That might be through collegial relationships, professional development or personal research.
While there is a focus on students being able to communicate in interpersonal, personal and presentational, we do teach grammar through a
blend of implicit and explicit instruction. Student will frequently communicate with classmates or present for the class and/or teacher. Our
biggest weakness in this area is the opportunities to communicate in authentic cultural contexts.
We are consistently working towards communicative proficiency. With expanding our language instruction to more than just in 8th grade, we
will be able to work to a higher level of communicative proficiency. With scaffolding, sentence frames, word walls, etc. students are able to
communicate even while they are at a beginning level. Currently we use implicit and explicit language and grammar instruction. As we have
more time with our students, we will be able to move to a more implicit model of language learning. Our lessons are aligned to state and
national standards. We have a very high success rate of students scoring at a level on the STAMP test that allows them to earn high school
credit for Level 1 of the language.
Rubrics and scoring guides that are aligned with ACTFL standards are consistently used to assess language proficiency.
These scoring guides are used to assess their language abilities in a variety of modalities. As their language proficiency progresses, the
scoring guides
Our strength is in the area of assessing their language proficiency according to sound design principles that align to ACTFL/state standards
using rubrics and scoring guides that also align to national and state standards. Our introduction of our self-designed red language portfolio
will be a real asset to students and teachers as way to document and see growth over the 1-3 years that students are enrolled in a language
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at our school.
Teachers at our school are encouraged to grow in their profession and are given a multitude of professional development opportunities to
support this growth. One way this occurs in our building is professional development is planned with the understanding that all teachers are
at different levels of understanding. With this in mind, PD opportunities are differentiated so that our teachers at various levels, various
disciplines can attain a supported level of instruction that will be most beneficial for them in the instructional delivery of their students
Teachers collaborate with their departments to complete a program analysis of their curriculum and provide documentation for the program
review. Departments discuss the strengths and weaknesses of their current programs and curriculum, which provide teachers with the
opportunity to target areas of weakness when developing professional growth plans and selecting professional development activities.
The remaining 6 hours of the required 24 hour PD plan allow teachers to participate in departmentalized professional development in
identified areas of growth related to improved instruction. All activities are to be tied to the teacher's individual professional growth plan
and/or results from their Student Voice Survey. The expected impact of individualized PD is to provide teachers with 21st Century
techniques and teaching strategies that can be implemented across the curriculum in all content areas for enhance instruction and learning.
Teachers participate in PD activities that address their individual professional needs. Many teachers also attend professional organization
meetings and conferences specific to their content areas.
We are fortunate to have school leadership that supports our World Languages program. Our program is in its second year of expansion.
When Spanish teachers went to the SBDM in 2014, they were favorable to expanding the program to reach more students. Last year, we
began offering a semester long Spanish class in 7th grade in order to reach a higher level of proficiency by the end of 8th grade. This
expansion also allows time for more cross curricular content and global competency/culture activities. The current classes of 8th grade
Spanish for this school year are moving at a faster pace and are already showing a higher level of proficiency. We also have district support
since some of our World Languages staffing is a district allocation. Jessie Clark has used some of it general allocation to supplement the
district portion to allow us to offer 2 languages with a staff of 2.5 World Language teachers. In addition to our year long and semester long
courses, the school leadership has supported offering 9 week courses to in order to promote language learning, global competence and
cultural understanding. Approximately ¾ of our students are enrolled in a language. Some students are even learning both languages that
we offer.
World Language teachers are involved in the scheduling process. We communicate with the counseling office regarding class offerings and
class size. The World Language teachers play a vital role in determining the class size in order to support a strong program that is open to
all and encourages language and cultural learning.
List the standards and characteristics that have been identified as needing improvement or focus in the GC/WL Program. Explain
why each of these needs improvement.
As we work through this program review, it is apparent that we need to be more intentional in our inclusion of culture and assessing their
knowledge and intercultural competence. While we have incorporated culture and cultural understanding, it has not typically been an area
that was assessed. As the state moves in this direction, we will see it become a part of national tests like the STAMP test.
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Students are encouraged to encounter and use language outside the classroom setting. We are piloting a system to record the ways
students use language and culture on their own through a series of suggested activities. The students are required to earn a set number of
points each nine weeks. Their language learning is formally recognized by receiving points towards their grade. In addition, students going to
some area high schools are able to earn high school credit by showing their proficiency on the Avant STAMP test in the spring. Their credit
and letter grade of an A is recorded on their high school transcript.
Geography and other social studies content is included into lessons. Student learn about the land, climate and history of Spanish speaking
countries and Japan. In addition, a variety of reading strategies are incorporated into the world language classes. Students complete graphic
organizers and other reading strategies while reading about the coutry. Music, dance and art are also included in the study of cultures from
different countries through the world languages classes. We need to be more intentional about document and collecting evidence to show all
the ways that we incorporate other content areas into World Language classes.
We have talented teachers who strive to use the target language while delivering instruction. This is a difficult area to document, but we
need to find ways to document our percentage of time in the target language. We also need to find out from our fellow WL teachers and
IAKSS staff, how that it is to be calculated.
In regards to the qualifier of "all" assessments, that is sometimes difficult to attain. The reality of time constraints and middle school students,
we sometimes need to give time efficient assessments and interim assessments to keep students accountable. We need to cover a great
deal of material to achieve proficiency in a small amount of time. Most students are not intrinsically motivated and assessments that keep
them working towards a target is needed.
With continued budget cuts, outside opportunities and travel are not supported at this time. Even if a teacher were able to pay for such
travel, if it occurred during the school year, there is not enough available funds to cover the expenses of substitute teachers. Travel during
the summer is still costly and there are not funds at the school or district level to financial help teachers make this possible.
What are the steps your school plans to take to improve the identified areas of your GC/WL Program?
Our students need more opportunities to interact with native speakers through the use of technology and community resources. This is an
area that needs improvement. While we do give them opportunities to hear a variety of accents (through the textbook materials and other
online videos), it is not an interaction. We also need to build a larger repertoire of realia and culturally authentic materials for reading, writing,
speaking and listening at each stage of language acquisition.
We need to revise assessments to include a global competence portion and also, adjust scoring guides to include a cultural component.
We need to include intercultural goals as part of their red language folder.
We need to be more intentional of having objectives that address culture as a part of our instruction.
Currently, the 21st century skills are only partially addressed. We are strongest in addressing the Global Awareness goals. However, we
need to become more knowledgeable about 21st century skills and how to incorporate them into our instruction.
Now that we have established our language proficiency folder, we need to have stronger implementation of this. We need to hold the
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students accountable for documenting their language use and revisiting the folder periodically throughout the year to continually self-assess
and reflect on their progress.
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Program Review: Global Competency/World
Language
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Introduction
This report contains Program Review results for Global Competency/World Language . This program review is required as part of Kentucky's
new assessment and accountability model. A Program Review is a systematic method of analyzing components of an instructional program,
including instructional practices, aligned and enacted curriculum, student work samples, formative and summative assessments, professional
development and support services, and administrative support and monitoring. (KRS 158.6453(l)(i))
Diagnostic tools to capture and report the results from these program reviews are contained in the AdvancED's Adaptive System of School
Improvement Support Tools (ASSIST). ASSIST allows schools and institutions to gain better understanding of past successes and
opportunities, and confidently build a solid, research-based improvement plan for the future.
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Curriculum and Instruction: Student Access
All students should have equitable access to high quality curriculum and instruction.
Overall Rating: 1.33
a)
b)
c)
Statement or Question
To what extent does the school provide
opportunities for students (including English
Language Learners - ELL) to learn and build
global competency skills, through instruction
and experiences focused on a range of global
cultures across different content area, including
benchmarked proficiency skills in a World
Language (e.g. scheduling time for instruction,
monitoring and providing resources in both
Global Competency and World Languages
areas)?
Response
The school provides opportunities for most
students to learn and build global competency
skills (e.g., instruction and experiences in a
range of global cultures in multiple content
areas) and benchmarked proficiency skills in
one world language.
Rating
Proficient
Statement or Question
To what extent does the school provide
opportunities for students to learn and build
global competency skills in various content
areas (including world languages) and
benchmarked proficiency skills in a world
language by interacting (virtually or face to
face) with native or near native speakers (in
addition to the World Languages teacher), and
accessing authentic cultural materials.
Response
The school does not provide opportunities for
students to interact with native or near native
speakers, or access to authentic cultural
materials.
Rating
No Implementation
Statement or Question
To what extent does the school promote,
encourage and recognize students to find
opportunities outside of school to learn and
build global competency skills in the various
content areas (including World Languages) and
benchmarked proficiency skills in a world
language, recognizing the achievement of these
skills?
Response
Rating
The school promotes and encourages students Proficient
to find opportunities outside of school to learn
and build on global competency skills in
multiple content areas, and benchmarked
proficiency skills in one world language,
formally recognizing the achievement of these
skills in different ways (e.g., performance-based
credit).
Evidence is identified to support the school's analysis for each of the demonstrators. Program review evidence may be specific for
an area (Writing, Arts & Humanities,Practical Living/Career Studies, K-3, and Global Competency/World Languages) or may be
common across other reviews. Review teams will likely find they need to search out additional evidence during the program review
process in order to make judgments or to support judgments.
Student schedule cards
Letters to parents
Speaking at 6th grade orientation
Emails to guidance
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Choose your own assignment page
Lesson plans
Lessons from other content areas
The rationale explains how the identified evidence supports the school's reported level of program implementation for the
demonstrator.
Student Access - Our school is continually working to expand the world languages program.. We have taken steps to promote the languages
for increased interest for the school year of 2016-2017. That will allow all interested students to sign up. We have communicated these
opportunities to students and families. However, we need to do a more thorough job of ensuring that all students are informed about their
ability to request a language class. Especially our rising 6th graders who are coming from a variety of feeder schools. The world language
department is working with the guidance office and leadership to ensure that this information is shared with all prospective students as we
have revised the schedule choice cards together.
Currently, we have 2 languages offered, Spanish and Japanese. We have these as electives for students who have an interest in learning
more about another culture and some basic vocabulary in that language. We also have semester long and year long classes for students
who want to pursue language proficiency as a long goal and are willing to commit to language study. We currently have close to 2/3 of our
students enrolled in a language class. We have approximately 440 students enrolled in Spanish and about 160 students enrolled in
Japanese. Some of those students are current ELL students or exited ELL students learning an additional language beyond their first
language and English.
All students will have the opportunity to become more proficient in their global competencies. Global competencies are addressed in all core
content areas (Math, English Language Arts, Science and Social Studies) and in the area of Practical Living/Vocational Studies and the Arts
and Humanities and in our RTI reading class. The lessons and activities to improve their Global Awareness and Knowledge are in all three
grade levels.
Our students need more opportunities to interact with native speakers through the use of technology and community resources. This is an
area that needs improvement. While we do give them opportunities to hear a variety of accents (through the textbook materials and other
online videos), it is not an interaction. We also need to build a larger repertoire of realia and culturally authentic materials for reading, writing,
speaking and listening at each stage of language acquisition.
Students are encouraged to encounter and use language outside the classroom setting. We are piloting a system to record the ways
students use language and culture on their own through a series of suggested activities. The students are required to earn a set number of
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points each nine weeks. Their language learning is formally recognized by receiving points towards their grade. In addition, students going to
some area high schools are able to earn high school credit by showing their proficiency on the Avant STAMP test in the spring. Their credit
and letter grade of an A is recorded on their high school transcript.
We share information about cultural events that occur in the community, such as the Latino Festival, Dia de los Muertos at the Living Arts
and Science Center and the Japanese Summer Festival. The entire 6th grade attended the Dia de los Muertos ballet.
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Curriculum and Instruction: Aligned and Rigorous Curriculum
An aligned and rigorous curriculum provides access to a common academic core for all students as defined by state standards.
Overall Rating: 1.33
a)
b)
c)
Statement or Question
To what extent does the Global
Competency/World Languages curriculum
focus on communicative proficiency and
alignment to the ACTFL World-Readiness
Standards for Learning Languages (national)
and the Kentucky Standard for World
Languages Proficiency (state)?
Response
The Global Competency/World Languages
curriculum focuses on communicative
proficiency and is aligned to the national and
state standards.
Rating
Proficient
Statement or Question
To what extent are the Global
Competency/World Languages curriculum
designed to learn and build on 21st century
skills, integrating the P21's Framework for 21st
Century Learning and provide opportunities for
students to learn and practice those skills?
Response
Rating
The Global Competency/World Languages
Needs
curriculum includes some 21st century skills,
Improvement
but without integrating the P21's Framework for
21st Century Learning.
Statement or Question
To what extent does the Global
Competency/World Languages curriculum
integrate content from other disciplines and
align to the Global Competence Matrix/ContentArea Matrices, facilitate natural connections
across content areas and build cognitive and
literacy skills, language proficiency and
interculturality?
Response
The Global Competency/World Languages
curriculum rarely integrates content from other
disciplines.
Rating
Needs
Improvement
Evidence is identified to support the school's analysis for each of the demonstrators. Program review evidence may be specific for
an area (Writing, Arts & Humanities,Practical Living/Career Studies, K-3, and Global Competency/World Languages) or may be
common across other reviews. Review teams will likely find they need to search out additional evidence during the program review
process in order to make judgments or to support judgments.
Weekly lesson plans with standards included
Geography work samples
Latin america geography
Culture sections of assessments Reading comprehension worksheet
Video or photo of dance lesson (will be added later in the year)
Lessons from Japanese on Karate Kid
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The rationale explains how the identified evidence supports the school's reported level of program implementation for the
demonstrator.
We are consistently working towards communicative proficiency. With expanding our language instruction to more than just in 8th grade, we
will be able to work to a higher level of communicative proficiency. With scaffolding, sentence frames, word walls, etc. students are able to
communicate even while they are at a beginning level. Currently we use implicit and explicit language and grammar instruction. As we have
more time with our students, we will be able to move to a more implicit model of language learning. Our lessons are aligned to state and
national standards. We have a very high success rate of students scoring at a level on the STAMP test that allows them to earn high school
credit for Level 1 of the language.
Currently, the 21st century skills are only partially addressed. We are strongest in addressing the Global Awareness goals. We do have
lessons in other content areas that address Financial Literacy through Junior Achievement, Reality Store, finance discussions and budgeting.
Science classes address Environmental Literacy when they have activities that look at natural disasters and energy use and house
construction.
Geography and other social studies content is included into lessons. Student learn about the land, climate and history of Spanish speaking
countries and Japan. In addition, a variety of reading strategies are incorporated into the world language classes. Students complete graphic
organizers and other reading strategies while reading about the coutnry. Music, dance and art are also included in the study of cultures from
different countries through the world languages classes
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Curriculum and Instruction: Instructional Strategies
All teachers implement instructional strategies that provide quality experiences, a variety of activities and access for all students.
Overall Rating: 1.0
a)
b)
c)
d)
Statement or Question
To what extent is the target language used as
the language of instruction in the World
Languages class and to what extent is this
language comprehended?
Response
English is the primary language of instruction.
Rating
No Implementation
Statement or Question
To what extent are students in the World
Languages class provided with instruction in the
three modes of communication for language
learning (interpretive, interpersonal and
presentational); and opportunities to
communicate in the target language with other
individuals (virtually or face to face) in authentic
cultural contexts?
Response
Students in the World Languages class are
provided with instruction that focuses more on
grammar than communication; and limited
opportunities to communicate in the target
language with other individuals in authentic
cultural contexts.
Rating
Needs
Improvement
Statement or Question
To what extent do students have the
opportunity to learn and build on cultural and
intercultural competencies through
engagement, inquiry and reflection during
Global Competency and World Languages
instruction?
Response
Students have some opportunities to learn
cultural and intercultural competencies during
Global Competency and World Languages
instruction.
Rating
Needs
Improvement
Statement or Question
To what extent are students engaged in ageand proficiency level- appropriate activities
designed to learn and build Global Competency
and World Languages skills?
Response
Age- and proficiency level- appropriate
activities engage students in learning and
building Global Competency and World
Languages skills.
Rating
Proficient
Evidence is identified to support the school's analysis for each of the demonstrators. Program review evidence may be specific for
an area (Writing, Arts & Humanities,Practical Living/Career Studies, K-3, and Global Competency/World Languages) or may be
common across other reviews. Review teams will likely find they need to search out additional evidence during the program review
process in order to make judgments or to support judgments.
Teacher observations with notes from observer
Voice samples
Rules in target language
Sentence frames/dialogues
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Lots of visuals
Short engaging clips of videos
The rationale explains how the identified evidence supports the school's reported level of program implementation for the
demonstrator.
In the beginning levels of language classes, English is the primary language of instruction. The percentage of instruction in the target
language increases as the students language level increases. The most amount of English is heard at the 6th grade level with the highest
percentage of the target language being at the 8th grade level. We incorporate the target language in as many ways as possible. The
bellringer activities set the tone for the beginning of class to get the students thinking in the target language and using it to describe the world
around them (date, weather, day of the week, etc.). The walls of the classroom contain useful vocabulary and classroom rules and
procedures in the target language.
While there is a focus on students being able to communicate in interpersonal, personal and presentational, we do teach grammar through a
blend of implicit and explicit instruction. Student will frequently communicate with classmates or present for the class and/or teacher. Our
biggest weakness in this area is the opportunities to communicate in authentic cultural contexts.
Cultural information and understanding is incorporated at all levels of language instruction. Students learn about the culture of many
different countries. It is also embedded into vocabulary topics, such as the importance of extended family while learning family vocabulary.
Or a typical Japanese school schedule when learning about time and school vocabulary. We also incorporate holidays, festivals, typical food
and drink so that students can experience the culture in a hands on way.
Language activities are leveled to be age and proficiency level appropriate. When planning lessons, we understand that the needs of 6th
graders are different from the abilities and interests of 8th graders. Video clips that are entertaining to 6th graders, would not be welcomed
by 8th graders. 8th graders higher level of maturity allows them to be more independent than 6th or 7th graders. The level of difficulty and
expectations rises with each grade level and amount of time studying the target language and culture. We also want to keep students
engaged and they like working with partners, like in the battleship game.
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Curriculum and Instruction: Student Performance
All students have access to an aligned and rigorous curriculum, where instructional strategies are of high quality and inclusive, resulting in
student performance at a consistently high level.
Overall Rating: 0.67
a)
b)
c)
Statement or Question
To what extent and how do students
demonstrate growth in the achievement of
proficiency in the three modes of
communication for language learning:
interpretive (reading and listening),
interpersonal (communication) and
presentational (speaking and writing)? (This
growth must be demonstrated through
assessments that are aligned to the ACTFL
World-Readiness Standards for Learning
Languages and the Kentucky Standard for
World Languages Proficiency).
Response
Rating
Students demonstrate slow and/or inconsistent Needs
growth in the achievement of proficiency in only Improvement
one or two modes of communication for
language learning.
Statement or Question
To what extent and how do students
demonstrate benchmarked growth in their
World Languages intercultural competencies
(abilities to interact and negotiate language
usage in an authentic cultural setting) based on
the ACTFL World-Readiness Standards for
Learning Languages and the Kentucky
Standard for World Languages Proficiency; and
Global Competency skills (the knowledge,
skills, and dispositions to understand and act
creatively and innovatively on issues of global
significance) based on the Global Competency
Matrix?
Response
Students demonstrate no growth in meeting
benchmarks for World Languages intercultural
competencies or Global Competency skills.
Rating
No Implementation
Statement or Question
To what extent do students use the target
language both inside and outside of the World
Languages class?
Response
Students rarely use the target language inside
or outside of the World Languages class.
Rating
Needs
Improvement
Evidence is identified to support the school's analysis for each of the demonstrators. Program review evidence may be specific for
an area (Writing, Arts & Humanities,Practical Living/Career Studies, K-3, and Global Competency/World Languages) or may be
common across other reviews. Review teams will likely find they need to search out additional evidence during the program review
process in order to make judgments or to support judgments.
8th grade test that measure writing proficiency
photo of students playing battleship
The rationale explains how the identified evidence supports the school's reported level of program implementation for the
demonstrator.
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In the 8th grade, we use different types of ways to evaluate proficiency with the final assessment being the STAMP test. Through the
continued use of our red Language Folder we will be able to track a student's progress in language through the middle school years.
Their increasing proficiency is continually assessed formally and informally through unit/chapter tests, daily activities, oral production, etc.
Students use the language in a variety of ways outside the classroom. This could be to interact with a native speaker at a restaurant or to
read signs or directions written in the target language.
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Formative and Summative Assessment: Variety of Assessment
Teachers use multiple assessment processes to inform, guide, develop and revise instructional strategies and curriculum to enhance student
learning and achievement.
Overall Rating: 1.0
a)
Statement or Question
To what extent are formative and summative
assessments aligned to the state and national
standards/expectations for Global
Competency/World Languages proficiency and
demonstrate sound assessment design
principles?
Response
Some Global Competency/World Languages
formative and summative assessments are
aligned to state and national
standards/expectations, including Kentucky
Standard for World Languages Proficiency,
ACTFL World-Readiness Standards for
Learning Languages and Global Competency
Matrices.
Rating
Needs
Improvement
Evidence is identified to support the school's analysis for each of the demonstrators. Program review evidence may be specific for
an area (Writing, Arts & Humanities,Practical Living/Career Studies, K-3, and Global Competency/World Languages) or may be
common across other reviews. Review teams will likely find they need to search out additional evidence during the program review
process in order to make judgments or to support judgments.
Use the space below to document the evidence that supports and justifies the levels of performance determined by the team to support this
demonstrator.
student work products (daily assignments, tests, quizzes, entrance and exit slips)
Teacher lesson plan books
Collegial Plans documents/Long range plans
language files for speaking assessments
video files for speaking and global competency
Red language folders
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Photos in w:drive
The rationale explains how the identified evidence supports the school's reported level of program implementation for the
demonstrator.
Assessments (formative and summative) are aligned to state and national standards for language proficiency. Assessments vary from
subjective assessments to objective assessments that are open ended and contain a prompt. They may be formal or informal, assess a
single objective or several objectives as the students demonstrate the ability to integrate vocabulary and grammar to communicate a thought.
Assessments demonstrate sound assessment design principles that will assess all modalities. Listening, speaking, reading and writing are
assessed. Open ended written and speaking prompts often reflect the design of nationally accepted language proficiency exams (The Avant
STAMP (STAndards-based Measurement of Proficiency).
While we have done an excellent job in developing assessment that will guide our students to language proficiency, we need to do the same
with assessments for global competency. Intercultural competency is embedded into language lessons, but is not always formally assessed
according to state and national standards. We do have some examples where we are assessing students on their cultural understanding.
After viewing and comparing popular American morning TV shows, students watch segments from Despierta America to observe the cultural
differences. Students work in groups to write the script and perform their segment with aspects of the culture intertwined into their
performance. Their language proficiency is assessed along with their demonstrated knowledge of culture.
Cross curricular work that addresses global competency needs to incorporate global competency as a part of their assessment and scoring
guides. Currently, the assessments are designed to assess the content of that subject area even though global competency has been
incorporated.
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Students will track their progress and self- assess their language proficiency in their red language folders. These folders are similar to
Linguafolios, but have been adapted to our school's needs.
Students demonstrate their speaking level by responding to a prompt and being recorded on a digital voice recorder of google voice.
Students are assessed using a scoring guide that aligns with ACTFL standards. Feedback is included on the scoring guide so students can
work to achieve at a higher level.
In their red language folder, students retain writing samples from different stages of language learning to show their progress in the target
language as they move to higher levels.
After a salsa/merengue dance lesson by a university professor (native speaker), students demonstrate their knowledge of the cultural
importance and inclusion of dancing at social functions.
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Formative and Summative Assessment: Expectations for Student Learning
Teachers communicate consistently high expectations for student learning in World Language and Global Competency.
Overall Rating: 1.0
a)
b)
Statement or Question
To what extent do Global Competency/World
Languages teachers use and share with their
students learning targets and objectives aligned
to the state and national standards/expectations
for Global Competency/World Languages
proficiency?
Response
Rating
Global Competency/World Languages teachers Needs
occasionally use (i.e., planning instruction and Improvement
assessment, providing feedback to students
and parents) or share with their students
learning targets and/or objectives that are
aligned to state and national
standards/expectations, including Kentucky
Standard for World Languages Proficiency,
ACTFL World-Readiness Standards for
Learning Languages and Global Competency
Matrices.
Statement or Question
To what extent do Global Competency/World
Languages teachers use rubrics/scoring guides
to communicate and clarify performance
expectations to students?
Response
Global Competency/World Languages
teachers occasionally use rubrics/scoring
guides based on state and national
standards/expectations, including Kentucky
Standard for World Languages Proficiency,
ACTFL World-Readiness Standards for
Learning Languages and Global Competency
Matrices to communicate and clarify
performance expectations to students.
Rating
Needs
Improvement
Evidence is identified to support the school's analysis for each of the demonstrators. Program review evidence may be specific for
an area (Writing, Arts & Humanities,Practical Living/Career Studies, K-3, and Global Competency/World Languages) or may be
common across other reviews. Review teams will likely find they need to search out additional evidence during the program review
process in order to make judgments or to support judgments.
student work products (daily assignments, projects, assessments, tests, quizzes, entrance and exit slips)
Teacher lesson plan books(share objectives/goals and give feedback on performance)
SMART goals in TPGES
language files for speaking assessments(pre-test and later tests)
video files for speaking and global competency
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Collegial Plans documents/Long range plans
video files for speaking and global competency
Photos in w:drive
Students have red language folders with serve a variety of purposes. It contains background information on their prior language
experiences. See bulletted list below in red.
-Self-assessment lists of tasks that the student can perform in the target language
-Portfolio of work products to show growth. (hard copies and electronic copies)
-Descriptors of language levels so students can see where they currently are and what they need to do to improve to move to a higher
proficiency level.
-Records of outside/community use of language and cultural experiences.
The rationale explains how the identified evidence supports the school's reported level of program implementation for the
demonstrator.
Rubrics and scoring guides that are aligned with ACTFL standards are consistently used to assess language proficiency.
These scoring guides are used to assess their language abilities in a variety of modalities. As their language proficiency progresses, the
scoring guides are expanded to reflect their broader abilities.
Only a few assessments use scoring guides to assess the students' cultural competence. This is an area that needs to be improved on.
Prompts that are modeled after national exams need to be revised in order to include a cultural component.
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Formative and Summative Assessment: Assessment Of/For Learning
Multiple formative assessment processes and summative assessments are used to inform, guide, develop and revise instructional strategies
and curriculum to enhance student learning and achievement.
Overall Rating: 0.67
a)
b)
c)
Statement or Question
To what extent are students provided with
meaningful, relevant and timely feedback that
advances their learning of identified
targets/objectives?
Response
Students are provided with feedback so they
may improve their performance in Global
Competency and World Languages skills.
Rating
Needs
Improvement
Statement or Question
To what extent do students self-assess, reflect
and evaluate evidence of their performance in
order to grow in their Global Competency and
World Languages skills?
Response
Rating
Students self-assess but do not reflect and
Needs
evaluate evidence of their performance in order Improvement
to grow in their Global Competency and World
Languages skills.
Statement or Question
Response
Rating
To what extent does the school document and
Student growth in the Global Competency and No Implementation
report student growth based on performance in World Languages areas is not documented or
the Global Competency and World Languages reported.
areas?
Evidence is identified to support the school's analysis for each of the demonstrators. Program review evidence may be specific for
an area (Writing, Arts & Humanities,Practical Living/Career Studies, K-3, and Global Competency/World Languages) or may be
common across other reviews. Review teams will likely find they need to search out additional evidence during the program review
process in order to make judgments or to support judgments.
Red language folder/portfolio
The rationale explains how the identified evidence supports the school's reported level of program implementation for the
demonstrator.
Students are provided feedback on how to improve their language performance on assessments. Feedback takes the form of guidance on
improving language control and enhancing the depth of language demonstrated in order to score higher.
Students will self-assess their language proficiency growth at different points of the year through the use of their red language folders.
However, they do not reflect on or evaluate their performances. In addition, they do not self-assess their level of global competency or their
progress in global competency.
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Student growth in their language proficiency is documented and reported on a limited basis. The student red language folders document
growth in their red language proficiency. But the students do not chart their growth in global competency. The students language proficiency
scores from the STAMP test are shared with the administration and faculty of the school. However, not all of the students take the national
test since it costs $20 and is administered after school.
Next steps - we need to involve others in evaluating student progress. This can be through other WL educators, native speakers, community
resources, UK faculty.
Students need to reflect on their growth in Global Competency. We already have the portfolio in place for reflection and documentation of
progress for language acquisition.
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Professional Learning: Opportunity
Professional learning opportunities are planned according to the Standards for Professional Learning, with teacher learning needs in mind,
and in response to data available about current teacher practice and student learning.
Overall Rating: 2.5
a)
b)
c)
d)
Statement or Question
To what extent do teachers develop, implement
and assess relevant and purposeful
professional growth plans (PGPs) in response
to the teacher self-reflection about current
practice and student learning?
Response
Ongoing assessment of the implementation of
the PGP results in necessary adjustments that
result in increased teacher effectiveness and
student learning.
Rating
Distinguished
Statement or Question
To what extent does the school support
teachers' pursuit of professional learning
opportunities focused on research/evidence
based best practices and based on teacher
Professional Growth Plans, school and student
data?
Response
Rating
Professional learning opportunities incorporate Proficient
the Standards for Professional Learning, focus
on research/evidence based practices are
planned, implemented and evaluated based on
teacher Professional Growth Plans (PGPs) and
school and student data.
Statement or Question
To what extent does the school ensure that job
embedded professional learning opportunities
(teacher learning that is grounded in day-to-day
teaching practice and is designed to enhance
teachers' content-specific instructional practices
with the intent of improving student learning; is
school or classroom based and integrated in
the workday) are available?
Response
The school offers job embedded professional
learning opportunities that are integrated in the
work day to all teachers.
Statement or Question
To what extent does the school provide
opportunities and allocate time for teachers to
collaborate and exchange ideas?
Response
Rating
The school provides a variety of opportunities
Distinguished
and allocates time for teachers to collaborate
and exchange ideas, especially during the
school day, in professional learning
communities and through professional learning
opportunities.
Rating
Proficient
Evidence is identified to support the school's analysis for each of the demonstrators. Program review evidence may be specific for
an area (Writing, Arts & Humanities,Practical Living/Career Studies, K-3, and Global Competency/World Languages) or may be
common across other reviews. Review teams will likely find they need to search out additional evidence during the program review
process in order to make judgments or to support judgments.
14-15 Student Voice Survey Results - Characteristic A
15-16 CSIP - Characteristic A
15-16 JCMS PD Tracker - Characteristics A, B
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15-16 PD Plan - Characteristics A, B
15-16 Staff PGPs (by Component) - Characteristics A, B
15-16 Staff PGPs - Characteristics A, B
15-16 Student Voice Survey Results - Characteristic A
15-16 Ropes & Mental Health PDs - Characteristic B
Culturegrams - Characteristics B, C
Arts Integration Folder - Characteristics B, D
GCWL Integration Folder - Characteristics B, D
PLCS Integration Folder - Characteristics B, D
Writing Integration Folder - Characteristics B, D
15-16 JCMS Collegial Planning Schedule - Characteristics C, D
6th Grade Level Data Disaggregation Meeting - Characteristic C
7th Grade Level Data Disaggregation Meeting - Characteristic C
8th Grade Level Data Disaggregation Meeting - Characteristic C
Data Disaggregation Cut scores - Characteristic C
CIITS Data Disaggregation directions - Characteristic C
Data Disaggregation 15-16 - Characteristic C
Data Disaggregation Reflections 15-16 - Characteristic C
Data Disaggregation Triangle Inverted - Characteristic C
RTI Meetings - Characteristic C
SS PD - Characteristic C
Tech Snack - Characteristic C
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JCMS Collegial Plan Template - Characteristic D
JCMS Daily Schedule - Characteristic D
JCMS Team Day Schedule - Characteristic D
Team days-Power Days - Characteristic D
Formation of the WL department
Allowing us to have our own pd (email from Tonya?) or the previous emails (agenda?)
Emails from mari and me about observation
Me being assigned as mentor email
Copies of pgps
The rationale explains how the identified evidence supports the school's reported level of program implementation for the
demonstrator.
Characteristic A
The school modifies and adjusts the Comprehensive School Improvement Plan (CSIP) several times each year based upon data from
multiple sources including KPREP, projected completion dates, implementation status, and adjustments based upon new knowledge,
professional development or resources available. The schools Professional Development Plan is based upon the most current CSIP to
provide guidance to the staff when creating the school-wide professional development plan. The CSIP is provided and used to guide
individual teachers in the development of their own Professional Growth Plan. Teachers are required to correlate the CSIP with their
professional development for intentional creation of authentic professional experiences that will create growth for them professionally and in
their classroom environment. The school requires a certain amount of hours each year for teachers to gain professional growth within their
content area. Principals review professional growth plans and provide guidance to individuals, based upon formal and informal observations.
Goal number 5 on the CSIP is increased proficiency in the Program Reviews. This has impacted our school this year by creating a shared
atmosphere of learning about the integration of arts and humanities, practical living, consumer sciences, writing, and global competency
across all disciplines.
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The PD plan is linked to the CSIP and supports quality instruction in all disciplines. A committee is established by the administration, which
consists of all department heads. This committee uses an informal needs assessment to gather feedback from teachers regarding
professional development needs for the next year. The committee meets and develops a school-wide plan. 18 hours of the 24 hour PD plan
were strategically planned as school-wide PD activities that reflect feedback from the informal needs assessment of teachers and the
school's CSIP. 6 hours were planned at Asbury University's Challenge & Ropes Course. The expected impact was to develop greater
leadership, communication, trust, and initiative for the teachers and teams in our building. 4 hours of training were planned for the
continuous implementation of the Teacher Professional Growth and Effectiveness System (TPGES). The expected impact was to have
every student taught by an effective teacher. 2 hours of PD were planned to allow teachers to receive training on the Administrative Code
and Inclusions. The expected impact was that all teachers would follow the required regulations. 3 hours of PD were planned to provide
teachers with Mental Health training, as the number of students with mental health needs continues to increase at our school. The expected
impact was that teachers would have enhanced knowledge of de-escalation techniques and strategies for teaching students with mental
health issues. 3 hours of PD were planned to provide teachers with effective strategies to integrate arts and humanities, practical living,
consumer sciences, writing, and global competency across all content areas. The expected impact was to ensure that all teachers continue
to integrate arts and humanities, practical living, consumer sciences, writing, and global competency into their core academic class
curriculum. The remaining 6 hours of the required 24 hour PD plan allow teachers to participate in departmentalized professional
development in identified areas of growth related to improved instruction. All activities are to be tied to the teacher's individual professional
growth plan and/or results from their Student Voice Survey. The expected impact of individualized PD is to provide teachers with 21st
Century techniques and teaching strategies that can be implemented across the curriculum in all content areas for enhance instruction and
learning.
Teachers participate in PD activities that address their individual professional needs. Many teachers also attend professional organization
meetings and conferences specific to their content areas.
Characteristic B
Teachers at our school are encouraged to grow in their profession and are given a multitude of professional development opportunities to
support this growth. One way this occurs in our building is professional development is planned with the understanding that all teachers are
at different levels of understanding. With this in mind, PD opportunities are differentiated so that our teachers at various levels, various
disciplines can attain a supported level of instruction that will be most beneficial for them in the instructional delivery of their students. Along
with differentiating our professional development at the instructor level, we place an emphasis of instructional delivery being within every
student's grasp. Differentiation is a common language shared amongst the teachers in our building. Past professional developments and
resources are reviewed annually. New teachers are provided with a binder of helpful resources and beliefs of our school. Resources are
provided on the W drive and a live-binder is linked on the teacher resource page.
Teachers collaborate with their departments to complete a program analysis of their curriculum and provide documentation for the program
review. Departments discuss the strengths and weaknesses of their current programs and curriculum, which provide teachers with the
opportunity to target areas of weakness when developing professional growth plans and selecting professional development activities.
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In addition, all teachers complete a self-reflection for TPGES. They use this reflection to identify areas of weakness or "focus areas" to aid in
the creation of their Professional Growth Plans. In addition, teachers also identified areas of weakness or "focus areas" from the analysis of
their 2014-15 Student Voice Survey results to aid in the development of their PGPs. Teachers select PD activities based on individual needs
through the use of their self-reflection, PGP, administrator feedback, and the school's CSIP. Teachers participate in 6 hours or more of
individual and/or job-imbedded PD in identified areas of growth aligned to their PGPs. Teachers provide documentation and evidence of jobembedded activities to the school's PD chairperson. Individual PGPs and professional development documentation are available for
individual teachers and school administrators.
Characteristic C
Teachers at our school are encouraged to grow in their profession and are offered job-embedded professional development opportunities to
support this growth. Job-embedded PD opportunities are available to all teachers (See PD Guidelines). All teachers participated in jobembedded professional development to analyze KPREP results. Teachers analyzed scores, then looked at the make-up of their classrooms
to intentionally identify the strengths and/or weaknesses of their students. This intentionality led to discussions of barriers to education,
identification of GAP students, and evidence-based instructional strategies that are successful with GAP and low growth students. High-yield
instructional strategies were revisited and encouraged to be embedded across disciplines.
Our school has had a subscription to Grade-cam the past three years. Grade-cam is a way in which teachers can get instant results and
data analysis of formative assessments, which allows them to make necessary adjustments to instructional delivery in an efficient manner.
Bell-ringers, exit slips, and other modes of formative assessments can be observed throughout the building, as teachers base their
instruction and instructional delivery upon multiple points of data.
In addition, Core content teachers collaborate weekly (by grade level and content area) and EXEL teachers collaborate twice a month, to
reflect on recent instructional practices, plan future instruction, create common assessments, analyze student data, and share strategies that
have been obtained from PDs.
The remaining 6 hours of the required 24 hour PD plan allow teachers to participate in departmentalized professional development in
identified areas of growth related to improved instruction. All activities are to be tied to the teacher's individual professional growth plan
and/or results from their Student Voice Survey. The expected impact of individualized PD is to provide teachers with 21st Century
techniques and teaching strategies that can be implemented across the curriculum in all content areas for enhance instruction and learning.
Teachers participate in PD activities that address their individual professional needs. Many teachers also attend professional organization
meetings and conferences specific to their content areas.
Characteristic D
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The administration has taken steps to encourage and facilitate collaboration between EXEL and academic core teachers. EXEL and Core
teachers collaborate and exchange ideas regarding curriculum, special programs and school wide events, and student achievement. EXEL
and academic core teachers discuss curriculum standards and share ideas for cross-curricular connections. Our PD Plan includes two
trainings that are mandatory for all teachers and hosted by Arts & Humanities, Practical Living, Consumer Sciences, Writing, and Global
Competency teachers. The trainings are used to develop strategies for incorporating exploratory/elective content into core academic class
curriculum. Core academic teachers worked with exploratory/elective teachers to identify areas where content standards overlap and
developed ideas for lessons that integrate Arts & Humanities, Practical Living, Consumer Sciences, Writing, and Global Competency content
into core academic areas.
After attending a two-day workshop focused on writing strategies, the language arts department chairperson will provide a professional
development training for the faculty regarding writing across the curriculum. The presentation will focus on the following topics: policy, timing,
rubrics, structure, and examples. All teachers will be reminded of the school-wide writing policy and the types of pieces that are expected
from all students in all classes throughout the year. Rubric categories will be discussed and an emphasis will be given to "Audience and
Purpose" and "Idea Development" because those categories provide the most opportunity for teachers to teach and assess their content
through writing. An outline and discussion of the basic structure of an informative or argumentative piece of writing will be included in the
presentation, followed by focused examples of "The 3.8 Paragraph" method. These types of paragraphs can be used in all content areas for
short-answer and extended-response practice; but furthermore, content-specific writing practices can incorporate "The 3.8 Paragraph"
method. For instance, in math, Formative Assessment for Learning (FAL) responses require students to explain their thought process when
analyzing and answering questions. Students in science and social studies write lengthier essays for the Literacy Design Collaborative
(LDC) which can incorporate "The 3.8 Paragraph" method into the body paragraphs of the essay. On-Demand Writing (ODW) occurs during
language arts and all other elective classes, in which idea development through "The 3.8 Paragraph" is necessary. Overall, these types of
paragraphs are beneficial in providing a consistent format that will allow all teachers to assist students in writing across the curriculum.
To enable cross-discipline exchange of ideas and increase literacy instruction within all classrooms, faculty meetings are used to share
instructional strategies that focus on the integration of Arts & Humanities, Practical Living, Consumer Sciences, Writing, and Global
Competency into core academic areas. The administration has modified the school schedule to allow for more intentional planning to take
place within and among all teachers in the building as well as integrate more 21st century skill activities to take place. Power days and Team
days have been created twice monthly to fulfill many different ideals. These days are utilized to encourage students to increase and monitor
their work habits. The days also allow for cross-discipline exchange between and amongst EXEL teachers, the rewarding of positive student
behavior, integration of motivational speakers, Operation Preparation, and College and Career Readiness preparation for our students.
Department chairs are expected to attend District wide department meetings to allow for vertical and horizontal alignment of ideas and
sharing. It is expected that department chairs bring back information from the district level and share with their department and entire school.
We also have teachers attending specific trainings in best practices, who then collaborate and share these strategies with our staff.
Teachers meet with members of their department at least once a month. During this time, they exchange ideas about collaboration, literacy
and writing practices. Discussions take place on how to incorporate these strategies into the curriculum.
Another example of collaboration between EXEL and academic core teachers is the creation of cross disciplinary committees with
representatives from all content areas and grade levels. Teachers and administration collaborate on these committees in many ways, for
example: the Staff & Student Recognition committee plans ways to recognize students for academic, athletic, and other personal
achievements (Team day/Power Day); the Budget and Technology committees work to identify needs and allocate resources fairly
throughout the school and its programs; the Health & Wellness committee works to create a schedule to involve all teachers in World Fit and
emphasize physical activity throughout the school; the Equity committee collaborates to plan school wide activities that expose students to
the issues and challenges of people with special needs; and the PBIS committee meets to ensure that positive behavioral interventions and
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supports are used throughout the school.
Many members of the school staff work together to arrange for guest speakers from the community. Additionally, the administration, 8th
grade core teachers, the YSC coordinator, and PLCS teachers collaborated to implement the Operation Preparation event for 8th grade
students. Guest speakers from the community provide career guidance to all eighth grade students.
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Professional Learning: Participation
Teachers participate in program-specific professional learning designed to meet their needs. The program area teachers participate in
professional development focused on 21st Century Skills.
Overall Rating: 2.0
Statement or Question
To what extent do teachers participate in
content-specific professional learning
opportunities based on analysis of school and
student data; and to what extent is there
evidence of implementation?
Response
Rating
Implementation of content-specific professional Proficient
learning based on school, student and teacher
data results in change in current practice and
supports appropriate instruction.
Statement or Question
To what extent do teachers participate in
professional learning communities addressing
issues related to instructional practices, data
analysis and increased student learning?
Response
Rating
Teachers are members of professional learning Proficient
communities within the school/district and
participate actively to address issues related to
instructional practices, data analysis and
increased student learning.
c)
Statement or Question
To what extent are teachers participating
members of professional organizations?
Response
Teachers are members of professional
organizations and actively participate in them.
Rating
Proficient
d)
Statement or Question
To what extent do teachers have contact and
collaborate with community, business and
postsecondary partners?
Response
Teachers have contact and collaborate with
external partners (community, business and
postsecondary) through advisory committees,
work exchange programs and/or community
groups.
Rating
Proficient
a)
b)
Evidence is identified to support the school's analysis for each of the demonstrators. Program review evidence may be specific for
an area (Writing, Arts & Humanities,Practical Living/Career Studies, K-3, and Global Competency/World Languages) or may be
common across other reviews. Review teams will likely find they need to search out additional evidence during the program review
process in order to make judgments or to support judgments.
14-15 Student Voice Survey Results - Characteristic A
15-16 JCMS PD Tracker - Characteristics A, B
15-16 PD Plan - Characteristics A, B
15-16 Staff PGPs (by Component) - Characteristics A, B
15-16 Staff PGPs - Characteristics A, B
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15-16 Student Voice Survey Results - Characteristic A
15-16 JCMS Collegial Planning Schedule - Characteristics B
JCMS Collegial Plan Template - Characteristic B
RTI Meetings - Characteristic B
Culturegrams - Characteristic B
Arts Integration Folder - Characteristic B
GCWL Integration Folder - Characteristic B
PLCS Integration Folder - Characteristic B
Writing Integration Folder - Characteristic B
15-16 JCMS Committees - Characteristic C
15-16 JCMS Department Chairs - Characteristic C
15-16 JCMS Leadership - Characteristic C
Google Classroom PD - Characteristic C
Google PD - Characteristic C
JCMS Google Classroom Training - Characteristic C
Moorhead & Aurelius - Characteristic C
Tighe1- Characteristic C
Tighe2 - Characteristic C
Carin's Crew Student info sheet 15-16 - Characteristic D
Beta Club 1 - Characteristic D
Beta Club 2 - Characteristic D
Beta Club 3- Characteristic D
Beta Club 4 - Characteristic D
Beta Club 5 - Characteristic D
Beta Club 6 - Characteristic D
Beta Club 7 - Characteristic D
The rationale explains how the identified evidence supports the school's reported level of program implementation for the
demonstrator.
Characteristic A
The administration encourages all teachers to attend cross-curricular Professional Development activities to address areas of need identified
in Program Review analysis, as well through teachers' self-reflections/PGPs/results of Student Voice Surveys/other PGES evaluation data.
The expected impact is that all teachers will implement 21st century techniques and teaching strategies to improve instruction and enhance
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learning for all students. PD is chosen not only through availability, but also specified skill acquisition. While completing data triangles on
current students, teachers' attention was focused on the learning needs of the students and therefore the skill needs of the teacher.
Teachers participate in content-specific PD, as well as PD activities that address technology, student achievement, and teacher
effectiveness, as evidenced by the PD plan and their individual PD certificates.
Characteristic B
Teachers actively participate in professional learning communities (in our school, district, and beyond) that allow them to actively address
issues related to instructional practices, data analysis, and increased student learning.
At the school level, all teachers are part of a functioning PLC, that meets during the school day. Core teachers meet with their grade level
department colleagues one a week. The EXEL department (A&H, PLCS, and Global Competency departments) functions as a PLC with
dedicated meetings during the school day, twice a month. During this time, the PLCs meet in an in-service/planning type setting. Part of the
time is led by the instructional coach, who guides the departments in data analysis and high quality instructional strategies. The remainder of
the time is dedicated for the teachers to implement the discussed strategies into their instructional planning. Many faculty meetings focus on
instructional strategies; therefore, teachers are asked to sit by department so they may actively discuss content, student needs, and
strategies to bridge the gap.
All teachers analyze student data and determine areas of strengths and weaknesses for the students they teach. From this analysis,
teachers are able to select PD trainings that are specific to their needs. Teachers then apply the research-based instructional practices they
receive from content-specific trainings (offered by recognized experts and district leaders), to develop and utilize 21st century skills to
enhance classroom instruction and learning. All teachers are also trained on the most effective, research-based, 21st Century skills for
integration of Arts & Humanities, Practical Living, Consumer Sciences, Writing, and Global Competency into core academic curriculum.
Teachers at our school also participate in collegial and cross-discipline communities, where they discuss adjustments to instructional
practices and utilize data from Compass, CERT, and K-prep to guide them on improving instructional delivery to meet the needs of students
within their classes. Teachers work together across disciplines to provide a systemic procedure of utilizing similar graphic organizers and
instructional delivery methods to enable a generalization of skills across contents, vertically and horizontally.
After attending a two-day workshop focused on writing strategies, the language arts department chairperson will provide a professional
development training for the faculty regarding writing across the curriculum. The presentation will focus on the following topics: policy, timing,
rubrics, structure, and examples. All teachers will be reminded of the school-wide writing policy and the types of pieces that are expected
from all students in all classes throughout the year. Rubric categories will be discussed and an emphasis will be given to "Audience and
Purpose" and "Idea Development" because those categories provide the most opportunity for teachers to teach and assess their content
through writing. An outline and discussion of the basic structure of an informative or argumentative piece of writing will be included in the
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presentation, followed by focused examples of "The 3.8 Paragraph" method. These types of paragraphs can be used in all content areas for
short-answer and extended-response practice; but furthermore, content-specific writing practices can incorporate "The 3.8 Paragraph"
method. For instance, in math, Formative Assessment for Learning (FAL) responses require students to explain their thought process when
analyzing and answering questions. Students in science and social studies write lengthier essays for the Literacy Design Collaborative
(LDC) which can incorporate "The 3.8 Paragraph" method into the body paragraphs of the essay. On-Demand Writing (ODW) occurs during
language arts and all other elective classes, in which idea development through "The 3.8 Paragraph" is necessary. Overall, these types of
paragraphs are beneficial in providing a consistent format that will allow all teachers to assist students in writing across the curriculum.
RTI Grade level PLCs include all core content teachers, instructional coach, counseling staff, and an administrator. Together, this PLC
discusses data on individual students to make decisions based on current data and teacher recommendations on initial placement,
continuing placement, and/or withdrawal (with supports) of individual students for the RTI programs (reading and math) for the second
semester and for the first semester of the following school year. These meetings are based upon progress monitoring data collected on
current students in the RTI program, as well as historical assessment data that shows insufficient skills in the areas of reading and/or math.
RTI teachers communicate to core teachers throughout the year about instructional strategies that show success with individual students
within their RTI classrooms.
Many members of the school staff work together to arrange for guest speakers from the community. Additionally, the administration, 8th
grade core teachers, the YSC coordinator, and PLCS teachers collaborated to implement the Operation Preparation event for 8th grade
students. A variety of guest speakers from the community provide career guidance to 8th grade students on an annual basis.
Characteristic C
There are multiple opportunities for teachers to become leaders within our school. Our school follows the middle school "team" approach,
which consists of 3 - 7 core teachers that teach a group of students at a specific grade level. Each team has a one teacher that belongs to
our school's Leadership team. The Leadership team meets at least two times each month to discuss the current status of the school and
determine next steps for continuous school improvement. Each team leader is obligated to disseminate the information from the Leadership
meeting to all members of their team, as well as to complete any necessary tasks.
Department chairs meet at the district level each month and bring back that information to communicate and lead their departments
pertaining to curriculum, analysis of assessment data, and instructional strategies for the classroom. They are also part of the curriculum and
instruction committee that meets monthly to discuss ideals, resources, and materials across discipline levels to aide in the dissemination of
information and lead our school with district initiatives.
We have two teachers that spearheaded the use of paperless classrooms, which allowed all of their students to receive old laptops that were
no longer used at the district-level. Through the use of these laptops, these teachers have been able to use Google Classroom to instruct
their students, which has led to a variety of project-based learning opportunities. One of these teachers is one of six classroom teachers
from FCPS that was selected to attend the International Society for Technology in Education's (ISTE) Premier Education Technology
Conference in Denver, CO this summer. In addition, this teacher has been selected to serve as our district's technology teacher
representative, which will generate a set of Chromebook laptops for her classroom. We have teachers that have presented Professional
Development opportunities on the district-level. We also have two teachers that presented their project, "Two Middle School Teachers'
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Experiences in Adapting and Implementing an Integrated Mathematics-Science Curriculum" at 'The real REAL Curriculum National Science
Conference' in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Characteristic D
Jessie Clark Middle School's goal is to have teachers to contact and collaborate with external partners (community, business, and
postsecondary) that are able to support our school motto 'Value Self, Value Others, Value Learning: Every Student, Every Day'. Our
Japanese program has built relationships with the following community, university, and international groups: Consulate-General of Japan,
Nashville; Central Kentucky Japanese School; Central Kentucky Kendo Club; UK Japanese Studies Program; Georgetown College Japanese
Program; Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky; Local Asian Markets, including in the school's neighborhood market; Lexington's Sister City
Program with Shinhidaka, Japan; and Georgetown's Sister City Program, with Tahara City, Japan. Lexington's Japanese community is stable
because of the automobile manufacturing business in this area. Due to a close relationship with the Japanese teacher, the Japanese
families are willing to volunteer for our school.
A relationship has been established between the Spanish World Language classes and the Spanish Honor Society of Sigma Delta Pi at the
University of Kentucky. One of the Spanish teachers met with the officers of the Honor Society in December to establish a series of
presentations given by the faculty adviser and other graduate students. The involvement of the Honor Society brings native speakers into the
classroom to share their expertise and culture. The presentations allow our students to experience the culture of other countries, hear native
accents from a variety of regions, see minority community leaders in action, learn about the arts and travel experiences. In turn, the university
students have the opportunity to see the American school system and have a chance to teach a different age level of students opening up
possible career paths that they had not yet discovered. In addition to the relationship with Sigma Delta Pi, one of our Spanish teachers has
practicum students whose aim is to work with ELL students, most recently a student working on a master's degree at Asbury. Collaboration
within our school community includes concerts, school orientation, and school open house.
Jessie Clark Middle School is a Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) school. The PBIS philosophy supports the promotion of
teaching expectations, providing intervention(s) when an expectation is not met, re-teaching behavior, and rewarding/celebrating successes.
PBIS addresses the school-wide system as a whole, and is a part of the Multi-Tiered Support Systems (MTSS, RTI). Thus, we have built in
times to celebrate successes twice a month. The second Friday of the month is a "Team Day", so activities are individual to the teams.
Team Days include an hour at the end of the day for 'team time'. Each quarter, the fourth Friday of the month is a "Power Day", which has a
school-wide focus. Power Days span over three class periods, alternating between mornings and afternoons. All students are allowed to
attend the "Power" segment of the Power Day, which is an hour of time that is dedicated to presentations by community partners. We have
been fortunate to have teachers to coordinate amazing speakers and philanthropic events for our students.
-Devine Carama presented "The Power of Words" to our students, in which he uses poetry and hip-hop to focus on
how the words we use
have power, so it is up to us to choose whether we use that power in a good way or a bad way.
-Kelly Gunning is a community psychologist and co-director of the Lexington branch of National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) and
Director of Advocacy and Public Policy. She had a group to present on personal empowerment and health, integrating mental health,
physical health, substance abuse, peer pressure and anti-bullying through a choreographed performance using acceptable, positive, and
popular songs. One presenter talked about her struggle with bi-polar disorder and how it impacted her friendships; another presenter shared
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his personal battle with addiction and gangs; while another presenter aimed to empower the students.
-For Operation Preparation, health services professionals presented to almost 80 of our 8th grade students, as their Individual Learning
Plans indicated that they plan to focus on a career in health services. The health services professionals that presented to these students
included physicians, physical therapists, mental health therapists, nurses, and veterinarians.
-Every year, Jessie Clark Middle School participates hosts a Relay for Life. On November 6, 2015, we had our 6th Annual "Carin's Crew
Relay for Life". The purpose of the relay is to use philanthropy to honor Carin Brown Addams and her battle with breast cancer. Carin is a
nurse and mother to her young son, but she is also the daughter of a former Science teacher at Jessie Clark (Cheryl Brown). Through our
six annual events, JCMS has raised over $20,000 that has been donated to a variety of charities. We also collaborated with Kona Ice, who
sold their sweet treats during the relay. Kona Ice joined in our efforts by donating a portion of their sales to our cause. This year, our Eagle
Elite students selected the Visually Impaired Preschool (located on Burt Road in Lexington, KY) as the recipient of all proceeds from Carin's
Crew.
-20 8th grade students will be taking a field trip to Locust Trace school. These students were selected because their Individual Learning
Plans indicated potential career interests in equine studies, agricultural studies, zoology, veterinary studies, and/or animal training.
-ILP Parent Night was March 22. Ten parents came to learn about the results of their child's Individual Learning Plan.
-Multiple teachers promote a philanthropic mindset for our students. Students participate in a variety of service projects throughout the
community each year, due to contact and collaboration that sponsors make with members of the community. Our BETA Club sponsored a
Toy Drive in November/December and delivered the items to the Catholic Action Center in December. Our Eagle ELITE sponsored a Food
Drive in the fall. All food that was collected was donated to God's Pantry in Lexington. Students participate in Math-a-Thon and proceeds go
to St. Jude's Hospital.
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School Leadership: Policies and Monitoring
School leadership establishes and monitors implementation of policies, provides adequate resources and facilitates space and instructional
time to support highly effective world language and global competency instructional programs.
Overall Rating: 1.78
Statement or Question
To what extent does district and school
councils/leadership implement established
policies to ensure that Global Competency and
World Languages are taught throughout the
school and across the curriculum?
Response
District and school councils/leadership
implements established policies to ensure that
Global Competency and World Languages are
taught throughout the school and across the
curriculum.
Rating
Proficient
Statement or Question
To what extent is time allocated and protected
in the school schedule so that all students can
receive instruction in Global Competency and
World Languages?
Response
Time in the school schedule is allocated and
protected so that all students can receive
instruction in Global Competency and World
Languages.
Rating
Proficient
c)
Statement or Question
To what extent does the annual school budget
(approved by SBDM councils) support Global
Competency/World Languages programs?
Response
Rating
The annual school budget (approved by SBDM Distinguished
councils) supports a systemic and intentional
school wide Global Competency/World
Languages program.
d)
Statement or Question
To what extent does school leadership ensure
that World Languages teachers are assigned
class loads based on programmatic goals?
Response
World Languages teachers are assigned
manageable class loads based on
programmatic goals.
Rating
Proficient
Statement or Question
To what extent does school leadership ensure
that World Languages teachers receive
planning time that is equitable with other
content areas?
Response
World Languages teachers receive planning
time that is equitable with other content areas.
Rating
Proficient
Statement or Question
To what extent does school leadership allocate
equitable time (including travel time between
buildings), appropriate facilities and resources
to implement the Global Competency/World
Languages program?
Response
School leadership allocates equitable time,
appropriate facilities and resources to
implement the Global Competency/World
Languages program.
Rating
Proficient
Statement or Question
To what extent does district and school
leadership hire World Languages teachers and
establish a hiring policy for them (e.g.,
international teachers and language and culture
assistants, Fulbright teachers)?
Response
District and school leadership may hire World
Languages teachers but does not have a
specific hiring policy related to World
Languages.
Rating
Needs
Improvement
a)
b)
e)
f)
g)
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h)
i)
Statement or Question
To what extent does district and school
leadership establish policies to support
student/teacher international travel/exchange,
field trips and community service?
Response
Rating
District and/or school leadership does not have No Implementation
policies that support outside learning
opportunities and/or travel.
Statement or Question
Not applicable to Elementary School - To what
extent does district and school leadership
establish and implement a policy that assures
performance/proficiency based credit for
acquiring Global Competency/World Languages
skills outside or inside the classroom? - Not
Applicable to Elementary School
Response
Rating
District and/or school policy for
Proficient
performance/proficiency based credit exists and
includes specific guidelines related to the
acquisition of Global Competency/World
Languages skills outside or inside the
classroom.
Evidence is identified to support the school's analysis for each of the demonstrators. Program review evidence may be specific for
an area (Writing, Arts & Humanities,Practical Living/Career Studies, K-3, and Global Competency/World Languages) or may be
common across other reviews. Review teams will likely find they need to search out additional evidence during the program review
process in order to make judgments or to support judgments.
Pd on Global Competency from the district - email
email discussing school level pd on Global Competency
Power point from school level pd on Global Competency
School pd plan including hours for WL/GC
Email from Principal to follow up on submitting lessons after the Global Competency pd
Schedule cards
Discussion items and email from spring meeting with Mr. Combs to discuss the WL program and needs
Master schedule
Schedule card choices
Global Competency groupings for the pd showing all content areas
Schedule card discussion
Committee listings
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Email to the print shop regarding the printing of our version of a language portfolio
Cecil's email about funding teachers
daily schedule
WL teacher schedules
Team/Power days for collegial planning of World Lang. Teachers
School map
Email inviting WL teacher to WL hiring interview
Email regarding STAMP test order
testing information from Teacher Messenger
The rationale explains how the identified evidence supports the school's reported level of program implementation for the
demonstrator.
Demonstrator 1
District and school councils/leadership monitors and evaluates the implementation of the established policies that ensures that Global
Competency and World Languages are taught throughout the school and across the curriculum.
We are fortunate to have school leadership that supports our World Languages program. Our program is in its second year of expansion.
When Spanish teachers went to the SBDM in 2014, they were favorable to expanding the program to reach more students. Last year, we
began offering a semester long Spanish class in 7th grade in order to reach a higher level of proficiency by the end of 8th grade. This
expansion also allows time for more cross curricular content and global competency/culture activities. The current classes of 8th grade
Spanish for this school year are moving at a faster pace and are already showing a higher level of proficiency. We also have district support
since some of our World Languages staffing is a district allocation. Jessie Clark has used some of it general allocation to supplement the
district portion to allow us to offer 2 languages with a staff of 2.5 World Language teachers. In addition to our year long and semester long
courses, the school leadership has supported offering 9 week courses to in order to promote language learning, global competence and
cultural understanding. Approximately ¾ of our students are enrolled in a language. Some students are even learning both languages that
we offer.
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In addition, our school leadership and district leadership have provided professional development offerings and time to increase the level of
global competency across the school. PD in January of 2016 topic: How to implement GC/WL into your classroom. Examples of how to
incorporate GC/WL concepts into each discipline were provided to teachers, as well as the time to create a lesson to incorporate concepts
into their classes.
Our principal has followed up to make sure that each core content area had submitted lessons to address global competency. In the spring,
World Languages teachers meet with administration to share the meeting of proficiency targets as demonstrated on the STAMP test as well
as an update/evaluation of the language program's progress and needs.
Time in the school schedule is allocated, protected and it extends beyond usual implementation, demonstrating a strong school
commitment to the needs of students in the Global Competency and World Languages areas.
With a variety of language options, all students have the opportunity to study another language. We have students enrolled in our language
courses who have IEP's, 504's and PSP's as ELL students. We are committed to offering a variety of options to meet the needs of the
students. We have about ¾ of our students enrolled in a World Language class. All students receive instruction in Global Competency since
it is taught in all core content classes in all grade levels. We also have Global Competency lessons in Arts and Humanities and Practical
Living and Vocational Studies.
The annual school budget (approved by SBDM councils) supports a systemic and intentional school wide Global Competency/World
Languages program.
The district supplies 1.0 position for World Languages instruction and the school supplies an additional 1.5 teachers for World Languages. In
addition, the school budgets for instructional needs for the language program. The school also provided additional funding this year to
implement a language portfolio program. The entire printing costs and supply costs were provided by the school in addition to the normal
allocation for instructional resources. A world language teacher serves on the Budget Committee, which allows active WL participation and
input towards the planning of the school budget. The WL representative receives input from all WL teachers for consideration of budgetary
items. The World Language department is also consulted in financial decisions such as the use of textbook funds.
In addition, professional development time was built into the pd plan to expand global competency understanding and lessons.
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World Languages teachers are assigned manageable class loads based on programmatic goals.
World Language teachers are involved in the scheduling process. We communicate with the counseling office regarding class offerings and
class size. The World Language teachers play a vital role in determining the class size in order to support a strong program that is open to
all and encourages language and cultural learning.
World Languages teachers receive planning time that is equitable with other content areas
Planning time for World Language teachers is comparable and equitable to other content areas. Core Content teachers receive 106 minutes
of planning per day. Elective teachers receive 114 minutes of planning per day. The difference in these times is the Core Content teachers
receive two 53-minute planning periods. The 53 minutes includes a 5-minute passing period that most Core Content teachers supervise 2
times per day. One of the planning periods for core teachers is available for 504, IEP, grade-level meetings, parent conferences, and
collegial planning time. The elective teachers receive one 53-minute planning period while the other 61 minutes are broken into four 14minute and one 5-minute planning period between classes. The planning periods includes a 5-minute passing period that each elective
teacher supervises at an assigned location 5 times per day. Core teachers are also held accountable to attend hall duty at the beginning of
both of their planning periods. Elective teachers do not attend 504, IEP, grade-level meetings, nor do they participate in parent conferences.
Elective classes are 53 minutes in length, while Core classes are 67 minutes. Core Teachers teach 4 classes, while elective teachers teach 5
classes. This enables our students to have more course offerings in which they can have some choice.
Twice a month the schedule is altered for the core classes to allow elective teachers (including World Language teachers) the opportunity for
collegial planning within subject areas and across content.
School leadership allocates equitable time, appropriate facilities and resources to implement the Global Competency/World Languages
program.
World Language teachers are no longer teaching from a cart!! Each World Language teacher has their own classroom. The classrooms are
comparable in size and location to other content areas. In addition, each WL teacher receives instructional materials allocation that is
comparable to other content areas. The school leadership has reinforced the need to include Global Competency across all disciplines by
arranging for professional development dedicated to developing lessons and following up with communication of its importance.
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District and school leadership hires World Languages teachers according to their established hiring policy
We had two openings this year. Each opening was filled with teachers that are experienced, knowledgeable and certified in their field. World
Language teachers were invited to be a part of the hiring and interview process. In addition, district staff (Michael Dailey) was part of the
interview and hiring of our new Spanish teacher. SBDM was represented and another school administrator also participated in the interview.
District and/or school leadership does not have policies that support outside learning opportunities and/or travel.
With continued budget cuts, outside opportunities and travel are not supported at this time. Even if a teacher were able to pay for such
travel, if it occurred during the school year, there is not enough available funds to cover the expenses of substitute teachers. Travel during
the summer is still costly and there are not funds at the school or district level to financial help teachers make this possible.
District and/or school policy for performance/proficiency based credit exists and includes specific guidelines related to the acquisition of
Global Competency/World Languages skills outside or inside the classroom.
Currently, two high schools accept STAMP (language assessment from Avant) scores for high school credit. The majority of Jessie Clark
students attend Lafayette High School. While Henry Clay and Lafayette both offer opportunities for students to take the STAMP test, a few
years ago Jessie Clark WL teachers began to offer STAMP testing at Jessie Clark over several days. This makes it easier for students to
schedule a testing session. In addition, they are more comfortable testing at their home school. District staff have been helpful in providing
the needed headphones with microphones so that we can test many students at a time. Students are not required to be enrolled in language
classes in order to take the test. Over the years, several students have been encouraged to take the test in order to earn credit for their
language proficiency that was obtained outside of the classroom.
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School Leadership: Principal Leadership
Principals are the primary leaders of all world language and global competency efforts and support teacher leadership through shared and
distributed leadership strategies and actions.
Overall Rating: 0.5
a)
b)
c)
d)
Statement or Question
To what extent does the principal evaluate and
reflect on the impact of the Global
Competency/World Languages program on
overall student achievement?
Response
Rating
The principal does not evaluate or reflect on the No Implementation
impact of the Global Competency/World
Languages program.
Statement or Question
To what extent does the principal initiate and
participate in professional learning regarding
the Global Competency/World Languages
program?
Response
The principal initiates professional learning in
the school’s Global Competency/World
Languages program.
Statement or Question
To what extent does the principal communicate
and involve the school, parents and community
in making decisions related to the Global
Competency/World Languages program?
Response
Rating
The principal rarely shares information with
Needs
school, parents and community regarding the
Improvement
Global Competency/World Languages program.
Statement or Question
To what extent does the principal(s) advocate
for the Global Competency/World Languages
program?
Response
The principal(s) does not support Global
Competency/World Languages as an integral
part of student learning.
Rating
Needs
Improvement
Rating
No Implementation
Evidence is identified to support the school's analysis for each of the demonstrators. Program review evidence may be specific for
an area (Writing, Arts & Humanities,Practical Living/Career Studies, K-3, and Global Competency/World Languages) or may be
common across other reviews. Review teams will likely find they need to search out additional evidence during the program review
process in order to make judgments or to support judgments.
Orientation agenda/email for 6th grade orientation
Teacher messenger
Notice on stamp testing/letter
The rationale explains how the identified evidence supports the school's reported level of program implementation for the
demonstrator.
Demonstrator 2
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a.
The principal does not evaluate or reflect on the impact of the Global Competency/World Languages program.
At this point in time, we do not disaggregate the data based on students who participate in a World Language class. We also do not look at
how the program impacts other test scores. Other than opinion, it would be difficult to gauge the impact on the overall achievement.
b.
The principal initiates and participates in professional learning based on data related to teaching and learning in the school's Global
Competency/World Languages program.
In addition, our school leadership and district leadership have provided professional development offerings and time to increase the level of
global competency across the school. PD in January of 2016 topic: How to implement GC/WL into your classroom. Examples of how to
incorporate GC/WL concepts into each discipline were provided to teachers, as well as the time to create a lesson to incorporate concepts
into their classes.
c.
The principal rarely shares information with school, parents and community regarding the Global Competency/World Languages
program.
The principal shares information with parents/families to encourage students to participate in the World Language offerings. He has utilized
teacher messenger, notices to parents and orientation nights to advocate for participation in the program. In his messages, he has
highlighted the positive benefits of language study.
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Report Summary
Scores By Section
Section Score
1
2
Curriculum and Instruction: Student Access
1.33
Curriculum and Instruction: Aligned and
Rigorous Curriculum
1.33
Curriculum and Instruction: Instructional
Strategies
4
1
Curriculum and Instruction: Student
Performance
0.67
Formative and Summative Assessment:
Variety of Assessment
1
Formative and Summative Assessment:
Expectations for Student Learning
1
Formative and Summative Assessment:
Assessment Of/For Learning
0.67
Professional Learning: Opportunity
2.5
Professional Learning: Participation
2
School Leadership: Policies and Monitoring
School Leadership: Principal Leadership
3
1.78
0.5
Sections
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