ADMINISTRATIVE+ACTION+PLAN

== = = =ACHIEVEMENT PREPARATORY SCHOOL ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION PLAN = = =


Achievement Preparatory School (APS) is a learning community that provides supportive, enriching, and challenging learning opportunities to help all learners achieve in order to be prepared for high school, college, and life.

**DATA ANALYSIS SUMMARY:**
Achievement Preparatory School (APS) is not meeting Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) for students with disabilities in the areas of reading and math; this has been a trend since 2003. Additionally, although other subgroups met AYP during the last administration of the MSA, APS has not meet AYP for African American students and students who are part of the Free/Reduced Meal program on and off in reading or math for several preceding years, and there is a gap in performance between both of these groups and non-minority students. Data shows the greatest need in the area of mathematics, with general reading processes as a relative weakness for the school. While there is steady upward movement in the data for all subgroups in all test areas, the rate of that improvement is not rapid enough to meet AYP. There are no benchmark assessments given to help determine attainment of standards.

Reading and mathematics intervention programs are in place, although data beyond the MSA scores is not available to help the school determine the efficacy of the interventions. Several intervention programs are being used in place of the regular curriculum. For instance, Read 180 is being used in co-taught classes in leui of the Integrated Language Arts curriculum, and Ramp Up to Algebra is being taught inthe 8th grade in place of the General Math curriculum.

Fifty of the one hundred three members of the instructional staff at APS have fewer than five years experience. Of that fifty, forty-three are non-tenured teachers. Of that forty-three, nineteen are first year teachers. A little over half of the instructional staff holds a Standard Professional Certificate from MSDE. Approximately two-thirds of the teaching staff moved to Maryland to procure a job in the field of education, having recieved their training at out-of-state colleges. There are 7 career changers; all but one has completed the required coursework and PRAXIS. On average, the school hires twenty new teachers each year; the greatest amount of turn over occurs among teachers completing their third year of teaching at the school, which is the soonest teachers are able to request transfers.

Four of the eight members of the Instructional Leadership Team (ILT) are new to the school; the principal is new to the county and the state, having been identified as part of Maryland State Department of Education's Alternative Governance requirement for schools who are in the Restructuring Planning phase of School Improvement. The most senior members of the ILT have sixteen years of experience in the county. The greatest amount of classroom experience is possessed by a non-evaluative member of the team. 

**GOAL:**
 All students will achieve a minimum of 75% on benchmark assessments measuring progress toward achievement of VSC standards in order to achieve proficiency on the reading, mathematics, and science MSA.


 In order to insure that //all// teachers have a working knowledge of the alignment of the written, taught, and tested curriculum, teachers will administer common benchmark assessments aligned with the VSC, thereby gathering and analyzing authentic data to inform instructional decisions. Professional development will support teachers as members of Professional Learning Communities (PLC) that promote the analysis of student work and student data, plan lessons in response to identified student learning needs, and reflect on the efficacy of the lessons, while providing professional learning experiences targeted at effectively utilizing teacher productivity tools that track student attainment of standards, and help teachers identify, implement, and reflect upon instructional methods that are researched-based best practices. 

RESOURCE ALLOCATION:
In order to achieve our previously stated goal, we will be implementing interventions based around data-driven instruction. This will be done through various professional development opportunities throughout the school year. The current schedule and calendar do not need to be altered. Professional development days are built into the calendar at the start of the school year, as well as 2 days each quarter. PLCs have common planning time daily and will use that time to work together to to make data driven decisions. Any other professional development or team planning needed beyond those times can be offered after school hours. This intervention will cost us approximately $32,000, with the majority of that being salary for teachers to participate in professional learning and planning opportunities. The money will come from three main sources: the School Improvement grant, The Teacher Induction grant, and the professional development line of the general school budget or Intervention grant. The Scantron Achievement Series software will be a strong focus of our intervention, helping teachers to better understand the VSC standards, how to use them to create assessments, and how to analyze the results in order to drive instruction. This software has already been purchased for the school, and a teacher has already been trained and designated as the school’s Scan Rep, therefore the money we will need to spend on materials to implement that will be minimal. The intervention will be implemented by all staff, with a focus on the PLCs. Professional development that will be offered to staff include the following: understanding the VSC and how it drives instruction, development of standards-based formative assessments using the Scantron Achievement Series software, understanding data-based decision making, including best practices in analyzing and responding to data at the classroom level, understanding and applying best practices in flexible grouping. Any professional development needed can be provided by teacher leaders, administrators, department chairs, or other county level employees, rather than hiring outside consultants. The designated Scan Rep can provide training and ongoing support throughout the year. If PLCs ask her to attend planning meetings that are during her scheduled class times to help them use and/or troubleshoot the software we will provide coverage by hiring subs to cover classes. Administrators will monitor the effectiveness of the intervention as well as the professional development through the observation and evaluation process.

PARTNERSHIPS:
At APS, we recognize that the connections between our families, our school personnel, and the community as a whole are critical in helping each student reach his/her highest potential. Parents are a child's first teachers, and they possess the most knowledge about their children; they also serve as a critical link as students move from one grade to the next. There is wisdom in the proverb, "It takes a village to raise a child," and APL embraces the diversity of its community and encourages all members of the community to play an active role in the "village" school. To create a welcoming environment that creates and nurtures partnerships with the families of our children and community businesses, organizations, churches, and neighborhoods, we will engage in the following annual activities:
 * Host an annual kick-off event to welcome returning volunteers, and recruit new volunteers.
 * Host an appreciation event each semester featuring student work, providing awards and recognitions, and having faculty and staff serve dinner to our volunteers.
 * Display pictures of parents and community members working with students.
 * Frequently submit pictures and stories to the local news and Public Relations Department.
 * Add small lockers to the faculty lounge, providing a place for visitors to stow personal belongings safely, and inviting them to interact with the professionals in the building.
 * APS will provide child care at each event by partnering with the high school, using certified high school babysitter who have expressed interest in Early Childhood Education.
 * Utilize several Spanish speaking employees and community members to reach out to and provide translation for parents of this ever growing part of our community.

In considering how we could meet national standards related to parental involvement, we identified a plethora of meaningful and worthy opportunities; each of those ideas will serve to improve the culture and climate of APS, but the following are //MOST// likely to help us reach our goal:


 * Types of Involvement || Involvement in Support of Our Goal ||
 * Parenting || The PTSA and several community partners will provide parents with donated materials so that children have the tools they need at home to do homework. Each family entering the school will receive a Welcome Packet that includes essential tools, tips, and a CD with essential school documents in English and in Spanish. This packet will include information about creating ideal homework zones, but also about organization for school success and study methods.

Teachers will engage in on-going professional learning about generational poverty and discipline, including, but not limited to the works of Ruby Payne and Alan Mendler & Richard Curwin. ||
 * Communicating || The principal will continue to write a weekly newsletter, which the lead secretary will distribute in paper and electronic form; the lead secretary will also place electronic versions of all school communication on the website. ALL communication will be sent home on a specified day, and we will alert parents with an e-mail and //Alert Now// call, prompting them to look for important school news. We will record all //Alert Now// messages in English and Spanish.

Each team will design at least one event per semester to communicate and celebrate student learning; attention will be given to communicating the learning outcomes for the showcased work, and students will share their portfolios with their parents. ||
 * Volunteering || The School Improvement Team will work with teachers to create a list of volunteer opportunities, including things that can be done regularly, periodically, and from home. This will allow parents to volunteer in a variety of ways that are comfortable for them, and meet their needs. Examples include such activities as shelving books, making copies, and organizing events. We will host daytime, evening, and weekend events to accommodate different schedules. Students will help gather this information by interviewing their parnets and/or neighbors as a first-week-of-school home assignment. ||
 * Learning at Home || The PTSA will meet as a whole group on a monthly basis, with smaller focus groups or committees within the PTSA meeting as needed to carry out their work. PTSA meetings will always feature a segment about how parents can best support education. Topics that may be helpful to parents in supporting learning are study skills and questioning to support higher order thinking; additionally, sessions may focus on the needs of the middle school child to support social and emotional development, and tips advocating. These learning sessions will be video recorded and posted to //Edline//, but also available for check-out from the school Media Center; ideally, we may be able to keep a copy at the community library as well. ||
 * Decision Making || At the 6th grade orientation and/or the kick off event, parents will be asked to complete a brief survey to identify possible topics of study for the year. This would define learning at PTSA meetings. As needed, team and school-wide surveys will be implemented to gather input and feedback. We will post survey links and send paper surveys home to gather stakeholder involvement throughout the year. Be sure to communicate appreciation, results, and the impact their involvement had on the decision making process. ||
 * Collaborating with the Community || Utilize employees at businesses as mentors and volunteers, beginning with the employers of parents; work with community partners and businesses to provide release time to employees for volunteerism, to provide material resources, and/or sponsor specific events throughout the year. We will provide incentives for the businesses, including opportunities to advertise as preferred business partners. ||

= **TECHNOLOGY PLAN**=
 * **Describe the Technology Initiative** || The technology initiative that is supporting our intervention is use of Scantron's [|Achievement Series] and [|Performance Series] in every classroom, by every teacher, and with/for every student. This teacher productivity tool will promote alignment of standards and assessments, and provide a user-friendly and efficient method for collecting and analyzing real-time benchmark data. This data may be exported to other data-based decisions making tools currently used by the teachers at our school, including INFORM and Excel. The purpose of data-based decision making is to help teachers make instructional decisions. Using this technology, teachers can create assessments that align with state and national standards, check student mastery of standards, and track progress. The following flow chart captures the process associated with the Achievement Series:

|| At this time, our intervention is focusing on use of the Achievement Series, although the county has provided the Performance Series for Math and Reading. The latter is being used for benchmarks at specific times in the year and are somehwhat more standardized benchmarks that will provide information for progress toward our goal; the former allows for teacher created tests aligned with standards which will not only provide benchmark data needed, but will increase teacher's familiarity with standards, as well as their capacity to better align the writte, taught, and tested curriculum. ||  =EQUITY AND FAIRNESS=
 * **Identify Responsible Stakeholders** || All instructional staff and school instructional leadership are responsible for learning how to use the technology to promote data-based decision making. Additionally, we have identified a Scan Rep to help co-plan and implement professional development, trouble-shoot technological issues, and serve as a liaison with Central Office personnel. ||
 * **Specify How It Connects to Instruction** || Teachers should be using the Maryland Voluntary State Curriculum to determine the goals and objectives their lessons should be based on. Teachers at APS are not very familiar with or comfortable with the VSC standards and how to implement them accordingly to help their students be successful and perform on state tests on a comparable level to peers in the county and state. The Scantron Acheivement Series software will help teachers become more comfortable with learning and using the VSC standards and basisng their assessments around them. In turn, through data analysis of the assessments, teachers will then be able to identify which standard students continue to struggle with and therefore can plan future lessons using data based decisions. ||
 * **Identify Technology Support Needs** || A Scan Rep has been identified, and this position is critical to the use of the technology to support this intervention. This individual is paid at the county level, and attends monthly informational meetings; the substitute coverage for this is provided from county funds. This individual serves not only as a liaison between Central Office and School, but as a primary support person for the teachers as they learn how to use the software and hardware. The person in this position is a full time teacher in the school; the Scan Rep position is beyond the normal contract. Additionally, we may need to access personnel in The Office of Technology and Information Services as well as personnel in The Office of Accountability as we learn how to Scantron, INFORM, and Excel can be used together to create functional, fluid reporting systems. As needed, we may need to access the school based IT Specialist, whom we share with the neighboring high school. This individual has administrative access to installing software on the network and troubleshooting. ||
 * **Identify Professional Development Required** || Teachers will need to be trained on how to use the software to create assessments, how to administer tests online if they choose to do that, how to retrieve and organize the data generated from the assessments, and how to use the data to plan future lessons. ||
 * **Budgetary Considerations** || For this technology to work, the school has been provided with a [|scanner], web-based access to the software utilized, and a stipend for a Scan Rep. Additional costs include use of paper and copiers for pen/paper tests, and/or desktop or laptop computers for on-line assessments. Since teachers would use these materials for assessment anyway, this is not an additional cost; the purpose of the technology is to help teachers assess more efficiently and effectively. Although the software, hardware, contracts, and positions related to the technology for our intervention are paid at the county level, we should keep the per-student cost in mind, especially if we find this to be highly effective at the school level in the long term; it's not uncommon for programs to begin as county expenses during pilots, and then be absorbed by the school budget. As technology goes, this is a fairly inexpensive tool  This is a general breakdown of the cost for Achievement Series & Performance Series:
 * $10.20 per student - Achievement Series & 2 subjects of Performance Series (Math and Reading)
 * $8.00 per student - Achievement Series & 1 subject of Performance Series
 * <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">$4.00 per student - Achievement Series only
 * <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">$4.00 per student - Performance Series Reading or Math Only
 * <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">$1.00 per student - Performance Series Lexile (for Reading)
 * **Methods for Evaluation of Efficacy** || 1) Technology survey: Do teachers have the the technical skills and ongoing support needed to effectively use the Scantron Achievement Series to design assessments? 2) Walkthroughs, 3) the clinical supervision process, and 4) students' increasing achievement scores! ||
 * **Methods for Community Involvement** || Share with parents and community members Scantron Achievement Series (when presenting on the intervention). Include parents in celebrations of students who are making significant progress on standards-based assessments, utilize parent volunteers to run scantron machine and make copies of assessments. We will ensure that students and parents receive updates on progress toward standards by providing computer generated reports to accompany report cards. ||

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The multiplicity of backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives within our community reflect the larger world. As an inclusive school, Achievement Preparatory School's mission is to prepare our students to be tolerant citizens in school and beyond by building partnerships with our community to deepen our knowledge and appreciation of diversity. We strive to help our students understand the historical and current implications of diversity, power and privilege by having a committed and thoughtful approach to addressing diversity throughout our curriculum and our school. <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">APS is a very diverse school in regards to cultural backgrounds, socio-economic status, and academic ability. Therefore we are conscious of, and understand the importance of, the need to foster a school culture of inclusion where everyone feels welcomed, valued, and appreciated. <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The student population of APS is currently comprised African Americans, Caucasions, Hispanics, Asians, American Indians, English Language Learners, students receiving free or reduced meals, low, middle, and high class socio economic statuses. <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Because the student population is also representative of the community at large, we feel it is important to include a wide variety of stakeholders on a diversity committee which will be committed to fostering a culture of inclusion. This committee will include members of the Leadership Team, teacher representatives, parent representatives, and community members. It’s important for the members to have a commitment to diversity and therefore members should not be appointed, and instead should be invited, ensuring that all members who accept have a personal stake in the committee and the responsibilities of it. APS currently has partnerships with various local businesses and organizations. Invitations should be sent out to those organizations, as well as a handful of others in the local community which represent our diverse population, explaining the premise of, and responsibilities of, the diversity committee, and inviting them to be a part of it. Community members who show interest but cannot commit to serving on the committee will be asked to be guest speakers at various times during the year in classes and at PTSA meetings to address different cultural/diversity/community related subjects in order to bring more awareness and open the lines of communication. <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">APS’s mission, vision, and diversity statement should be made clear to all members of the diversity committee at the start and should drive all decisions made by the committee. Members of the Administrative Leadership Team and School Improvement Team who also serve on the Diversity Committee can ensure the school’s vision is at the forefront of discussions. <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The diversity statement will be prominently posted on the school’s website, along with the school’s mission and vision. It will be printed in student and parent handbooks and included in school newsletters. To bring attention to the diversity within our own community, APS will hold a kick off Diversity Day which will include activities and events that take place during the school day as well as in the evening in order to accommodate and encourage families and community members to attend. Activities could include a poetry slam, guest speakers, families who contribute food, dances, and music that represent their culture. Throughout the school year our we will use materials from Southern Poverity Law Center/Teaching Tolerance and GLSEN .We will encourage students to participate in nationwide art and literature contests focused around diversity and display their work around the school. <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> || //**<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Fostering a positive school culture that celebrates diversity and managing the school culture through discipline policies, behavior interventions, interactions with students, communicating with staff, students, and families **//<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> || <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">In addition to these various celebrations that promote pride and awareness, we also want to engage in daily practices that embrace diversity, tolerate differences, promote similarities, and adapt to meet the intellectual, emotional, and physical needs of all of our learners. APS will implement a character education program that will instill the above values into students on a daily basis. The values will be incorporated into daily lessons and the overall climate of the school. The PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support) Program will be consistently implemented, helping to change and manage overall behavior in the school. The discipline policy will be clear, consistent, fair, equitable, and followed regularly and outlined in the student and parent handbooks. Students will be empowered to use the skills and strategies they are learning by participating in a peer mediation program to help students resolve problems with little adult intervention. Designated staff will facilitate peer mediations and to communicate with parents. <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The current Code of Conduct (RAMS are Respectful, Able, Motivated, and Safe) will be displayed around the school and referenced daily on announcements. Expectations for behavior, diversity and tolerance will be poster throughout the school, including the hallways, dining hall, and classrooms. Being safe, respectful, tolerant, fair, and accepting are all values that we hope will be instilled in our students through these practices. <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">In order to create a culture where all students and staff are respected, staff will be encouraged to get to know all students by name. When passing in the hallways, staff and students will be encouraged to acknowledge one another in order to build trust and respect. The principal, and other members of the Administrative Leadership Team should be present in the hallways and in classrooms throughout the day, interacting with staff and students. <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> || <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">To ensure family and community involvement, we will create a community service/service learning program for staff and students that partners with community. We will continue and foster any current partnerships we have with local organizations and encourage new partnerships. Members of the community will be invited to part of our Diversity Committee and to participate in school wide events as well as to be guest speakers in classes and at parent meetings. <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> || <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">APS will train teachers in a schoolwide discipline program for consistency along with sensitivity training seminars and workshops on how to incorporate diversity into the classroom and make lessons more multicultural and sensitive to various differences. The school Improvement Team and PBIS team will oraganize and implement the professional development needed, including learning about best practices, and visiting other schools to get ideas. Part of APS’s professional development will include working with staff to develop a common language when working with students and parents around the issue of diversity and tolerance. <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> || <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">In regards to technology, APS will train teachers in and implement Universal Design for Learning to ensure equal access. As needed, technology and assistive technology can be purchased, utilizing the services of our Assistive Technology Coordinator if needed. To help families that cannot procure technology for home use, the TechnoRAMS-- our school based tech team-- could be asked to investigate partnerships and grants that will provide technology to children. Our school computer labs will be kept open after school hours for students to use to complete work and we will ensure that parents are aware of this as well as the resource of the computers at the public library for both student and family usage. <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> || <span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">
 * //__<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Diversity Statement __//**<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">
 * //__<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Fostering a culture of inclusion __//**
 * //<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Communicating the diversity statement //** ||
 * //<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Communicating the diversity statement //** ||
 * //<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Family and Community Involvement //** ||
 * //<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Family and Community Involvement //** ||
 * //<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Professional Development //** ||
 * //<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Professional Development //** ||
 * //<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Accessing technology and promoting digital equality //**<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> ||
 * //<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Accessing technology and promoting digital equality //**<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> ||

<span style="font-size: 80%; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Page Co-Created by Team B