Rick Patrick: Greene Publishing, Inc.
This is the second in a series of weekly articles about the challenges facing our school district, and the measures proposed to meet those challenges.
Each year the Florida Department of Education (FDOE) issues grades for all public schools. These grades are based on a complicated point system based on improvement over previous years, scores on standardized tests, and other factors. Based on these grades, schools may become eligible for a School Improvement Grant (SIG) from the FDOE. Each year, the FDOE publishes a list of schools that are in need of improvement. These schools are eligible to apply for an SIG. SIGs are originally good for three years. After that initial three year period, the grant is on a year-to-year basis. In Madison County, Madison County Central School (MCCS) is currently in a “turn-around program.” Madison County High School is in a “transformation” classification, meaning the school is being watched by the FDOE for improvement. Greenville Elementary School (GES) is classified as a “priority” school.
GES improved their school grade from an “F” to a “B” earlier in the school year. An application for an SIG has been made for GES in the hopes that the funding can be used in order to ensure progress continues at GES. It could be March or April before a decision is known on the GES application.
MCCS is currently undergoing a turn-around program. This means the Madison School District has coordinated with the FDOE in order to establish a Corrective Action Plan to improve the school. One component of the plan is to improve family engagement. To meet this goal, the District has partnered with WestEd, a “non-profit research, development, and service agency that works with educators and communities to promote excellence, achieve equity, and improve learning for children, youth, and adults.” WestEd is helping the District to develop Academic Parent – Teacher Teams (APTT). According to information provided by WestEd, “APTT is grounded in the notion that schools can thrive when families and teachers work together, as genuine partners, to maximize student learning inside and outside the school.” One way this is accomplished is through a series of three 75-minute team meetings during the school year in which all families are invited to participate and one 30 minute individual session with the student, the teacher, and the student's family (parents). During these APTT meetings, teachers share actionable student data, review grade – level foundational skills, and demonstrate activities families can do at home to help master needed skills. The families practice activities with other families in the class, and each family sets 60 – day academic goals for their student. It is hoped that when families leave the APTT meetings, they go home feeling informed, clear about their role, and committed to improving their child's learning outcomes. It is believed that through this teacher coaching and mentoring, families will be able to “improve their ability to be genuine partners for academic success.” According to Shirley Joseph, Coordinator of Assessment, Accountability, and Accreditation for the Madison County School District, the number of people participating in the APTT program has increased since the beginning of the school year when it was implemented.
Another way the school is improving parental communication channels is by publishing a periodic newsletter for the parents of MCCS students. This newsletter is being sent to parents with information about the school and school activities. This includes everything from student literary submissions, to the school calendar, and sports team rosters.
The District has also entered into a memorandum of understanding agreement with the Madison County Education Association to make certain changes in the current collective bargaining agreement. Those changes only affect the instructional employees at MCCS. This agreement increases the instructional staff's work day at MCCS to 8.25 hours per day for four days per week. Teachers will be compensated for this extra time at their hourly rate. Teachers will also participate in intervention strategies that will be implemented weekly and followed up with an assessment of their effectiveness to be submitted to the school administration on a two-week basis. Teachers will also establish effective Professional Learning Communities to “provide an infrastructure where teachers can engage in constructive dialogue, reflect on and improve instruction, and learn how to become more effective in the classroom to improve student learning. Teachers will also participate in a book study on the general aspects of poverty and its effects on our school population.”
It is hoped these measures will pay big dividends for the students at MCCS. As with anything, it will take the cooperation of teachers, students, parents, and the community-at-large in order to achieve success.