.

GOALS

Also Available in .pdf Format

CURRENT INITIATIVES - District-Wide/Central Office 

Name/Title             -               Evaluation Process Review

Description             -              The Evaluation Process Study Committee has reconvened to continue a comprehensive analysis of our current teacher evaluation model with the goal of strengthening the evaluation process and ensuring that the model we are utilizing is up to date reflecting the most current “best practices.”

Assessment            -              Final contractual changes.

Name/Title             -               Demographic Study Committee

Description             -              We will reconvene the Demographic Study Committee to explore the issue of the Elementary Gray Area Boundaries.

Assessment            -              Report by the Study Committee to the School Committee.

Name/Title             -               Understanding by Design (UBD)

Description             -              We will continue our initiative of providing UBD training to all SAC members and other professional teaching staff to ensure the skills of all teachers in assessing students’ understanding and using data to improve instruction using UBD.

Assessment            -              Measure the decrease of services provided to students outside the classroom, the increase in a student’s ability to maintain academic progress, and reduction in behaviors that are disruptive due to lack of academic success.

Name/Title             -               Long Range Financial Planning Process

Description             -              Continue to develop a long range financial planning process which will provide projections of expenditures and capital project expense for the next 2 to 3 fiscal years.

Assessment            -              Evaluation of projections at end of three years.

Name/Title             -               Early Childhood Center Study Committee

Description             -              Establish a Study Committee to explore the possibility of establishing an Early Childhood Education Center within the community with the goal of freeing up classroom space which could be used to accommodate future elementary growth.

Assessment            -              Report by the Study Committee to the School Committee.

CURRENT INITIATIVES - Elementary Schools

Name/Title             -               Use Assessment Tools to Better Inform Instruction

 Description             -              Now that many standardized and common assessments are in place across key subject areas and are being tracked more deliberately, the next goal is for teachers/teacher teams to use this data to better inform their everyday planning and instruction. Mainly this comes through providing time for teachers to look at individual, whole class, and whole grade scores comparatively, the ultimate goal being the development of a professional learning community keyed into the continuous improvement of students in the academic areas.

Assessment            -              Records of discussions between and among teachers regarding student assessment and how it can inform their instruction.

Name/Title             -               Strengthen Writing Curriculum

 Description             -              As reflected in our School Improvement Plans, refinement of our writing philosophy, scope and sequence, instructional strategies and assessment is a top priority. This critical language arts component needs clarity beyond our existing professional agreements in an effort to bring consistency and explicit expectations to our curriculum.

Assessment            -              Updated professional agreements, identified scope and sequence addressing process, composition, genre and mechanics.

Name/Title             -               Support Subject Area Curriculum Goals

Description             -              A robust curricula is the lifeblood of learning. Subject Area Committees are the conduit by which curriculum recommendations and adjustments are made. Each year, SACs create focused curricular goals. With limited resources, it becomes more important than ever to support these curricular improvement efforts.

Assessment            -              Surveys, feedback from teachers, discussions of each SAC’s goals, implementation of changes.

Name/Title             -               Maintain Recommended Class Sizes

Description             -              Over the past two years we’ve seen a steady increase in class sizes. As highlighted by full day Kindergarten classes at 25 students or more, the need for adequate space and staff has become critical. Resources must be allocated to keep class size in line with recommended levels.

Assessment            -              The creation of space for additional classrooms and an increase in related budget lines to hire staff.

CURRENT INITIATIVES - Ipswich Middle School

Name/Title             -               On-Line Grading Initiative

Description             -              In an effort to provide stronger parent and school communication and partnerships, we are instituting an online grading program. This is a purchased feature of our MMS software package. Parents will be able to login with a secure password and view the current assessment and grades for all subject areas. We will “go live” in second quarter. This is a grade 6-12 initiative and will become a combined building protocol. It is our goal to provide parents with accurate and up to date information and also eliminate the need for progress reports, excess paper use, and related expenses.

Assessment            -              Online grading will be evaluated by survey and feedback from parents, teachers and the School Council.

Name/Title             -               Grade 8 Co-Taught and Placement Model

Description             -              We will pilot this year, in grade 8 only, a co-taught instructional and placement model. This decision was made with a renewed focus data driven decision making and educational research highlighting the importance of student-teacher relationships. Our schedule now allows for common planning time every day to support teacher collaborations and data analysis. Classrooms have been moved to help facilitate subject pair partners to plan and teach together in a more collaborative setting. We expect to see more effective teamwork, produce measureable goals and focus on shared data. Students have been placed with a primary and secondary teacher in each content area and will not make the “Cluster Switch” in January. All curricula will be taught in a year long syllabus with common assessments.

Assessment            -              Teachers, parents, students and the School Council will evaluate effectiveness in mid spring and make a recommendation for grade 6 and 7 for 2010-2011 school year.

Name/Title             -               School Wide Assessment Practices & Common Curriculum

Description             -              We have been working together as a full faculty to function as Professional Learning Communities with shared planning and data driven student planning. As a result of a very successful Ipswich University summer course on assessment, we have designed a plan for the entire school year with a robust schedule of department and full faculty meetings as we build common / year long curriculum in all three grades. This is a formidable task and needs structure and support. Faculty members have stepped forward to guide us through this process. We will be meeting frequently in subject area pairs who will use Frameworks to establish year long learning goals and units accompanied by common assessments. This will all be in UbD format. A final product will be curriculum mapping with a standardized template.

Assessment            -              The full faculty will assess the success of this industrious endeavor and a sub committee will make recommendations for the next step.

Name/Title             -               Student Development Fair & Bullying Component

Description             -              A major goal of the IMS Council last year was to organize and host a Student Development Fair in the spring. This was extremely well received by parents, students and faculty. Students will once again choose modules to attend which will deal with healthy choices (social as well as nutritional), drugs, bullying, peer relationships, and “tween” pressures. The IMS Council will plan and produce this entire event. We will also host a speaker’s series for parents and students. One of these events will be done in conjunction with the Ipswich High School and the Hamilton-Wenham School District. Chosen topics will address cyber bullying issues and other socially dangerous behaviors.

Assessment            -              Feedback from the students, parents and teachers in the evaluation form.

CURRENT INITIATIVES - Ipswich High School

Name/Title             -               On-line Grading

Description              -              Provide access to parents and students through a web portal and password system to teachers’ electronic grade books. Identify e-mail contacts for all parents, provide 24-hour, 7-day-a-week access to student grades and progress. Develop protocols with the faculty to define turn-around time for the correction of individual assignments, providing guidelines for teachers and parents.

Assessment            -              Conduct a parent and student survey near the end of the 09-10 school year to review the benefits of the On-Line Grading Access and evaluate any areas of improvement.

Name/Title             -               Common Assessment

Description             -              Utilize significant amounts of Thursday release time for professional development to devise a common final exam for any course taught by multiple teachers. Have teachers work together to identify major elements of their commonly taught courses, create a bank of assessment questions and agree to target areas for the final exams. Once this is completed, final examinations in January will use these commonly developed assessment instruments.

Assessment            -              Discuss with teachers the impact that planning for common assessment has had on instruction and curriculum. Analyze the results of the final exams to ensure that all students benefit equally from the curriculum in commonly taught courses.

Name/Title             -               Understanding by Design

Description             -              Each academic department or curriculum area will select two courses to be reviewed and modified based on the philosophy of Backward Design, and then re-write the particular curriculum using an Understanding By Design template. This will be the beginning of a long-term project to keep curriculum up-to-date using the contractually provided professional development time on Thursdays. We have identified seven particular days for this project to be the focal point of curriculum improvement. Academic Departments will divide into teams so that two courses can have this process at a time.

Assessment            -              Meet with Department Chairpersons and the faculty to monitor progress on this project, review curriculum changes and devise a long term renewable strategy.

Name/Title             -               Advisor-Advisee Program

Description             -              Utilizing the newest NEASC standards geared to implementation in 2013, review our current advisor-advisee program as to its merits. Determine a course of action which could include eliminating the project, modifying the project or expanding it. Work with faculty, students and the School Council to develop a sound, working strategy regarding the advisor-advisee project.

Assessment            -              Analyze student, parent and faculty feedback. Meet the expectations of the NEASC in this particular area. Develop a survey for faculty on students using a web-based survey instrument to help identify long-term benefits from this and other programs. Include survey questions to help determine a long range direction for high school programs and planning.

.

October 13, 2009

.

.