How My School is Achieving in Instructional and Literacy Program

Professional Development: You should improve and increase the capabilities of being professional and help staff and colleagues to do so as well.

For this assignment, I completed a survey to assess my school’s literacy program by using a survey that was adapted from by Patty, Maschoff, & Ransom (1996) to analyze the instructional program and the school’s infrastructure. To be able to answer my survey, I needed to go colleagues of mine in the English Department and to my administration to help with these questions. Being a math teacher, we hardly ever discuss the literacy and the students’ acquisition of it in our department meeting during staff development days. Since I am not truly current with literacy acquisition in education, I am hoping to understand more from this process so I can help all my students. I want them to be able to read texts related to math and find

The data gathered from our needs assessment indicates the following strategies: First, applying more training will help address assessment needs and develop additional competencies. Training is a good approach that promotes professional development

In the past, much of the blame for adolescents’ literacy problems has been placed on elementary teachers, but recent research suggests that secondary teachers must share in the responsibility for teaching literacy.” This statement was astonishing to me. It’s odd to me that even high school students struggle with literacy. On the other hand, after learning about social promotions in my other classes, it doesn’t seem that uncommon. I feel that elementary teachers have all of the pressure to make sure students have literacy skills, so it was interesting that this article states that secondary teachers must share that responsibility. It really makes me wonder how these students have come so far without improving in literacy. This article also made it apparent to me that the Common Core State Standards view literacy as a shared initiative, and that all teachers at every grade and subject are responsible for literacy achievement (Wendt, 2013). I wouldn’t have thought that a science or math teacher would be responsible for literacy skills, but after thinking about it, it only makes sense. Students need literacy for all subjects, so it shouldn’t just be on the shoulder of the reading teachers. Another valid point is made when the article states, “Therefore, the current method of focusing on academic learning is not effective when students are unable to comprehend and apply new knowledge due to lack of reading and literacy skills.” (Wendt, 2013) How can students be expected to learn new subject area skills if they aren’t even proficient in reading? That’s the issue; they can’t. In the article Selecting Texts and Tasks for Content Area Reading and Learning,

The data collection will be based upon an observation process about the students reading and writing skills in a qualitative method. Teachers should observe students reading and writing assignments to ensure that students are learning proficient skills. The purpose of my literacy project is to motivate students and help them engage in reading and writing projects. The kinds of activities that students will engage in are:

These positive observations by teachers and parents along with high-quality developed instruction, resulted in the following measurable increases with literacy development. Pre/Post camp data yielded high results for our students in meeting their instructional goals. Of the 49 students attending the full camp, 93.8% increased by 10%

The purpose for this paper is to evaluate the 2014-2015 professional development survey conducted by the Montgomery County Intermediate Unit (MCIU). Furthermore, suggestions for improving the yearly practice will be made to increase participant responses and the quality data collected. Finally, a professional development

This team should assist with data analysis to help determine academic strengths and weaknesses of the students. Then, they will work within an instructional framework to develop effective instructional strategies and interventions that are evaluated with common formative assessments. This allows for transparency of the teaching and learning to take place without it being the new principal’s idea. The data does not

The Article, “The Impact of a School’s Literacy Program on a Primary Classroom”, by David Ambrose Roy Costello examines his school’s literacy program impact on on his teaching style and student learning. The author begins his article with his article wit

1. Why is it important that we observe agency guidelines when we are examining issues of professional development?

An email letter was presented to each principal and teacher (see Appendix F). This letter served as an introduction to the beginning of the survey and included instructions for completion of the survey. The email also contained assurances regarding the confidentiality of participation. The researcher’s contact information was provided with the email in the event clarification would be needed from any participants.

Context: In looking at this area, the problem was that the sheer number of tools granted to our program for use outnumbered the resources we had to implement them on such a scale. The need for a professional development plan program rollout was of primary importance. In this context phase, asking other staff questions around what they think are the primary needs to address as well as identifying their most important needs is essential (which also gives this a participatory feel).

Based on the data that the auditor collected and analyzed there are three processes and/or programs that could be improved upon. The first item that can be developed further is instruction. Based on the Curriculum Survey and anecdotal data there seems to be difficulties in how teachers are teaching the curriculum. Overall the lowest scores for the question "To what extent do we engage in this behavior or address this issue (Marzano, 2003)" where under the criteria of Instruction. The auditor has also attended Focus Walks where the literacy curriculum has been the target and observed the lack of implementation of research based strategies. Teachers are also constantly utilizing their Instructional Data Team time to

Assessment tools take on many forms within the school as well as individual classrooms. Assessments must be administered informal as well as formal in order to determine student needs, differentiate instruction, personalize learning and gauge the effectiveness of instruction. They can vary from a simple teacher observation to a standardized test that is given on a yearly basis (Vacca & Vacca, 2008). “Assessment goes hand in hand with teaching. It is an ongoing process that informs and guides instruction” (Tompkins, 2006). Assessment tools are an imperative part of reading instruction as it is used to determine if the goals of literacy instruction are being met for students. As a classroom teacher, I have the knowledge to choosing appropriate assessments and then administering them. As a result, I feel that I have successfully mastered IRA Standard 3.1 (637.1, 637.2, 637.4, and 644.1). The significance of appropriate assessment and use of the latest research based practices cannot be overstated in value to a school’s success with its literacy program. I have a working knowledge of assessment and its importance in differentiated instruction as well as a solid grasp of educational research and best practices. This is imperative to meet the diverse needs of all students. This ability demonstrates that I have successfully mastered IRA Standard 2.2 (643.1, 643.3, 636.2, and 64.1). When a teacher is able to integrate and manage both types formal and informal assessment tools, the

“To maximize student academic and social success and to encourage lifelong learning and citizenship.” is the mission statement for Van Buren Elementary School. In order to maximize student achievement teacher leaders and administration must work in unison to identify goals for improvement. By analyzing data teacher leaders, administrators, and teachers can work together to derive a goal in the area of literacy instruction pertinent to our school. According to Taylor and Francis, “By design or default, teachers also are leaders of change, whether they promote it, support it, resist it, or ignore it.” (Taylor & Francis, 2014, 102-103) Henceforth, teacher leadership will be essential to achieve our literacy instruction goals.