Raising Standards:

High Expectations for All Ms. Debbie Downer

Chief Academic Officer

Consider the

following scenario:

(From Teaching Adolescent Writers by

Kelly Gallagher, 2006, pg. 1-2)

What should you do?

Survival experts recommend only one of the following actions: A. Lie down and curl up, covering your head with your arms;

B. Run directly at the bulls, screaming wildly and flailing your arms in an attempt to scare them in another direction;

C. Turn and run like heck in the same direction the bulls are running (even though you know you can’t outrun them);

D. Stand completely still; they will see you and run around you;

E. Scream bad words at your spouse for insisting on a back-to-nature vacation

C. Turn and run like heck in the same direction the bulls are running (even though you know you can’t outrun them).

Facts Concerning the

Current Literacy

Stampede

More information was produced in the last 30 years than in the

previous 5,000 years COMBINED.

A weekday edition of The New York Times contains more information

than the average person was likely to come across in a lifetime in 17th

century England.

Information is doubling

every 4 years!

The blogosphere is now doubling in size every 6

months. It is 60 times larger than it was 3 years ago.

The Internet is the fastest

growing communications media in world

history.

➢It took radio 38 years to reach 50 million users.

➢It took personal computers 16 years.

➢It took television 13 years.

➢It took the Web 4 years to reach 50 million

users.

Meanwhile….

Getting into college is more

competitive than ever!

College Admissions Officers look at 4 criteria:

Grade point average

Involvement on the high school campus

Involvement in the community

Writing ability

Last year, UCLA turned down over 7,000

students who had a 4.0 GPS or higher

(College Board 2006).

The New Gateway

The new SAT has eliminated the analogy

section and has replaced it with close readings

and on-demand writing. Getting into good

colleges now requires a higher level of reading

and writing than ever before.

Nationally…

➢Only 31% of 8th graders and 24% of 12th graders performed at or above the proficient level of writing (NAEP)

➢Put another way: more than 2/3 of middle school students and ¾ of high school students lack proficient writing skills

➢At the proficient level, students can write at grade level, can apply their knowledge to real-world situations and can demonstrate analytical thinking.

In Georgia…

✓Only 25% scored at proficient on the NAEP writing

assessment for 8th grade.

✓However, on the new Georgia Writing Assessment, 82%

of 8th graders across the state scored at meets/exceeds.

In Rome City…

✓88% of 8th graders in RMS scored at meets/exceeds.

“The typical high school graduate doesn’t read on a

Lexile level that will enable him/her to read a military

manual.“

Barbara Neslin, Reading Consultant

At the same time…

The job market is rapidly

changing.

➢Unskilled jobs are disappearing.

➢80% or more companies and

corporations assess writing during

hiring.

➢½ of all companies take writing into

account when making promotion

decisions.

➢“You can’t move up without the

writing skills.”

✓ The skills and knowledge

required in the workplace are no

longer very different from those

needed for success in college.

(Achieve, Inc., 2004)

✓ Only 32% of students who enter

9th grade and graduate four

years later have mastered basic

literacy skills and have

completed the coursework

necessary to succeed in a four-

year college.

(ACT, 2004)

Now, consider this

scenario. (From Teaching Adolescent Writers by Kelly Gallagher,

2006, pg. 3)

What should you do? A. Go home, curl up on the sofa, watch a lot of

HGTV, and hope the demands of the literacy stampede go away.

B. Stare the Information Age in the face, screaming wildly and flailing your arms in an attempt to make it go away.

C. Stand completely still. Pray that the Information Age will avoid your classroom.

D. Scream bad words at your principal for expecting you to teach students in the shadow of a literacy stampede.

E. Elevate your students’ reading and writing abilities to the point that they can run with the literacy stampede.

E. Elevate your students’ reading and writing

abilities to the point that they can run with

the literacy stampede.

“Under-developed literacy skills are the number

one reason why students are retained,

assigned to special education, given long-

term remedial services and why they fail to

graduate from high school.”

Vincent Ferrandino and Gerald Tirozzi, the respective presidents of

the National Association for Elementary/Secondary Principals

GSE for Literacy in 6-12

Social Studies, Science,

and Technical Subjects

• The new Georgia Standards of Excellence (GSE) include content standards for reading and writing which need to be a part of Grades 6-12 social studies, science, and technical subjects.

• Professional Learning will be provided for all 6-12 teachers of these subjects. The training will focus on using literacy strategies in order to help students successfully master the content of these subjects.

Running with the

Literacy Stampede

All students will

graduate from Rome

High School prepared

for college or work.

TEACHERS MATTER!

Research shows that the classroom teacher is the single greatest factor to impact student achievement.

Academic Literacy Coaches LITERACY Mrs. Kay Scherich

Anna K. Davie Elementary

Mrs. Merideth Lawson

East Central Elementary

Mrs. Jackie Weed

Elm Street Elementary

Mrs. LaSaunda Mullinax

Main Elementary

Mrs. Haley Ferguson

North Heights Elementary

Mrs. Jennifer Uldrick

West Central Elementary

Mrs. Tiffany Abbott-Fuller

West End Elementary

Ms. Cindy Smith

Rome Middle School

Dr. Ellen Brewer

Rome High School

Academic Math Coaches MATH Mrs. Samantha Lindsey

Anna K. Davie Elementary

Ms. Patty Acree East Central Elementary

Mrs. Beth Williams

Elm Street Elementary

Mrs. Jessi Pressley Main Elementary

Mrs. Natalie Hall

North Heights Elementary

Mrs. Stephanie Meadows West Central Elementary

Mrs. Kinga Rowell

West End Elementary

Mrs. Jennifer Vaughn Rome Middle School

Mrs. Miranda Styles

Rome High School

Office of Curriculum, Instruction,

and Professional Learning Ms. Debbie Downer, Chief Academic Officer

ddowner@rcs.rome.ga.us

Mrs. Cassie Parson, Literacy Coordinator cparson@rcs.rome.ga.us

Mrs. Dana Smith, Math Coordinator dhsmith@rcs.rome.ga.us

Mrs. Holly Amerman, Gifted/STEM Coordinator hamerman@rcs.rome.ga.us

Mr. Jeff Hargett, Instructional Technology Coordinator jhargett@rcs.rome.ga.us

Mrs. Terrie Ponder, Instructional Technology Specialist tponder@rcs.rome.ga.us

Mrs. Kerri Chatman, Secretary kchatman@rcs.rome.ga.us

Striving Reader

Comprehensive

Literacy Grant

3.4 Million Dollars

Striving Reader Grant Goals

• Goal One: Increase student outcomes so that students

are college and career ready upon graduation.

• Goal Two: Use data-driven, data-based decision

processes to drive instruction.

• Goal Three: Adopt and implement

a formal system-wide literacy plan

from birth through grade 12, based

on Georgia’s state literacy plan.

Grant Objectives:

Instructional Resources

• Provide literacy resources for teachers and students

to assure access to materials and technology for

research projects and interdisciplinary literacy

instruction to support reading, writing, listening,

speaking and viewing skills required for the

implementation of Common Core GPS/now GSE.

• Provide students access to leveled texts that match

Lexile reading scores.

Grant Objectives:

Assessment

• Acquire and use a variety of formative assessment tools

that teachers will use to adjust and inform instruction.

• Assessments include:

- Scholastic Reading Inventory (SRI)

- Scantron Achieve Series (High School)

- DIBELS Next (K-5)

• Pre-K Assessments:

- PALS (Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening)

-PPVT (Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test)

Grant Objectives:

Technology and Training

• Increase student motivation and knowledge of

technology by providing Tier 1 access to hand-held

technology and eBooks.

• Providing training/monitoring that

will ensure all teachers are

consistently and appropriately

providing technology rich

applications in the classroom.

Grant Objectives:

Professional Learning

• Deepen Reading/Writing/English teachers’ knowledge

and skills in teaching reading/writing to meet the

demands of GSE.

• Deepen Science/Social Studies/CTAE teachers’

knowledge and skills in teaching content literacy to meet

the demands of GSE.

• Train math teachers on integrating writing strategies into

mathematical practice.

• Train literacy coaches and media specialists on the

technical aspects of iPad usage.

• Train teachers, principals and literacy coaches on the

instructional aspects of iPad usage.

How Full Is Your Bucket?

By Tom Rath and Donald O. Clifton

By Tom Rath and Mary Reckmeyer

A study, conducted by Dr. Elizabeth Hurlock

in 1925, was designed to explore what would

happen when fourth- and sixth-grade students in a

math class received different types of feedback on

their work. Hurlock wanted to find out if it was

more effective to praise, criticize, or ignore

students. The outcome was to be determined by

how many math problems each student had solved

2, 3, 4, and 5 days later.

How Full Is Your Bucket?

…The students who were praised

experienced a major improvement after Day 2 that

was sustained through the end of the study. By

the fifth day of this experiment, the group that

received praise showed unequivocally stronger

performance than the other study groups. The

overall improvement by group was:

– Praised 71%

– Criticized – 19%

– Ignored – 5%.

How Full Is Your Bucket?

• We experience approximately 20,000

individual moments per day.

• The Magic Ratio: 5 positive

interactions for every 1 negative

interaction.

Rome City Schools New Teacher Orientation

2015-2016 Cassie Parson, Dana Smith, and Holly

Amerman

Rome City Schools,

Curriculum Coordinators

Breakout

Sessions

- High School Teachers- E11

- Holly Amerman

- Middle School Teachers- E12

- Dana Smith

- Elementary School Teachers- E1

- Cassie Parson

Topics…

– Expectations of RCS Employees

– Effective Classroom Management

– Rigor, Relevance and Relationships

– Effective Lesson Planning

– The Standards Based Classroom &

Best Practices

– Professionalism, Motivation and a

Teacher’s Influence

EXPECTATIONS OF

ROME CITY SCHOOLS

EMPLOYEES

Module 1

Our Mission

All students will graduate

from

Rome High School prepared for college or

work.

BE

ROME

We Are Rome! -Our enrollment reached 6000 students last

year. -We are a majority minority system with 72% of our students identify themselves as non-white. -We are a Title I system with 70% of our students qualifying for free/reduced lunch. -10% of our students are ELL students. -6% of our students are designated homeless. -8% of our students attend on tuition.

Rome Proud

In 2012, Rome Middle School earned one of the highest scores possible on the CCRPI. -In 2015, RHS’ four-year cohort graduation rate was OVER 90%. -In 2013, our SAT scores were the 4th highest in Georgia. -In 2015, for the 5th time in seven years, Rome High School was named one of our nation’s best high schools by US News and World Report. -In 2015, 74 RCS students were named AP Scholars.

Why Rome?

Rome Home

Expectations of new Rome City Schools

Employees

The three R’s – Rigor, Relevance, and Relationships

➢Students and their families first

➢Maintain a positive and professional demeanor

➢Cultivate and possess an attitude of excellence

➢Emphasize quality standards-based curriculum in a learner-

focused environment

➢Ask questions and seek help

Rome City Schools, A Step Above the Rest

➢ Outstanding Teachers

➢ High Expectations for all students

➢ Clear Procedures and Routines

➢ Supportive Administration, Academic

Coaches, Team Leaders, and

Colleagues

Tell us a little about

yourself...

● Name

● School

● Subject area/grade level OR what

you will be doing at your school

● Years in education and/or where

you went to college

● One thing you don’t mind the group

knowing about you

RCS’ 20/20

Vision

• Read individually and make notes as

you read: • In what ways do you think your instruction will

support these strategic objectives?

• Is there anything included that is new to you?

• Record other thoughts/questions.

EFFECTIVE CLASSROOM

MANAGEMENT

Module 2

Positive Reinforcement

PBIS • System-wide focus for 2015

• Discuss with those at your table examples of

positive reinforcement – what you do or what

you have observed someone else doing.

• Positive Reinforcement vs. Discipline

– Difference

– Benefits of each

• Examples:

– Wolf Bucks

– Star on the Board

– Positive Redirection

– Moving Clips

Compare/Contrast

Positive Behavior Support

vs.

Discipline

School and Teacher Effectiveness

Impact on Learning

Entering School at 50th Percentile

Type of School and

Type of Teacher

Percentile After 2 Years

Ineffective school and

Ineffective teacher

3rd

Effective school and

Ineffective teacher

37th

Average school and

Average teacher

50th

Ineffective school and

Effective teacher

63rd

Effective school and

Average teacher

78th

Effective school and

Effective teacher

96th

RIGOR, RELEVANCE AND

RELATIONSHIPS

Module 3

“Leadership for

Engaged Learning: Rigor, Relevance, and Meaning for Students and Their Teachers” … John Antonetti …

The BEST Lesson

Write down the BEST lesson

you have ever taught…

- OR -

…the BEST lesson

you have ever been taught.

Share with those near you.

Ponder these…

• What was the role of the teacher?

• How many of you described the best lecture the teacher ever gave?

• What was the role of the students?

• How many of you had movement?

• How many of you were challenged in your thinking?

• How many of you had the students involved in the lesson?

The last activity was an example of an…

Anticipatory Set

Advanced Organizer

Activating Strategy

(This should be done PRIOR to the

standard being stated. It provides the hook or the fly paper for the new learning or

the new memory to stick to…)

Here comes another example…

On the next slide, look at the three pictures and make a list of all of the words that come

to mind that these photos have in common.

1. With your group, discuss what you have written down. Notice what you have that is similar. Are there any in your group that are really different?

2. What did your group have in common?

3. Write 5 words to describe the size of all of these.

4. The word I need you to know is massive: Give me 5 words that massive means.

5. Next write a word that would come in the blank: The massive ________________.

Who was doing the thinking in this activity?

Rigor

This is defined as curriculum that challenges all learners to demonstrate depth of understanding.

…that which causes students

to think,

to reason,

to analyze,

to prove

What about Relationships?

• The number 1 thing students said that causes them

to be engaged is: The teacher likes me.

• The number 2 thing is: The teacher loves what she does.

• Think about this…When a student feels

embarrassed, wrong, or wronged, they can not learn for 20 minutes.

• For someone else in the room, not directly

affected, that student’s brain will shut down for 8-10 minutes.

What I want for my children?

Take a moment a write down three things that you want for your children.

In each of the activities today, who was doing the thinking?

John Antonetti says there is a difference between students being

“on task” and students being “engaged in the learning.”

Unless students are thinking, they

are not truly engaged.

Customer Service in the Classroom Disney Style

Disney Classroom

Safety Safety

Courtesy Relationships

Show Learning

Efficiency Efficiency

Every Life Has a Story

THE STANDARDS BASED

CLASSROOM

AND

BEST PRACTICES

Module IV

Parts to a Standards-based Classroom

Standards-based Assessment

Standards-based Instruction

Standards-based Structures

Practices and Procedures

Standards-Based

Instruction feels like?

“Kids enjoy classes like shop, gym, and band because there’s a premium placed on doing the activity rather than talking about it. Workshop embraces that same premise.”

--Ralph Fletcher, Writing Workshop: The Essential Guide,

p.2

Predictable Classroom

Structures “It is significant to realize the most

creative environments in our society are

not the ever-changing ones. The artist’s

studio, the researcher’s laboratory, the

scholar’s library are each deliberately

kept simple so as to support the

complexities of the works-in-progress.

They are kept predictable so that the

unpredictable can happen.”

Lucy Calkins, Lessons From a

Child, 1983

Standards-based

Practices and Procedures “PREDICTABLE” Classrooms

What does the research tell us?

Many students’ lives are not predictable. Some aren’t sure who will be at home….if someone will be at home. There is no routine for doing homework or getting help. Life might be chaotic. As educators we cannot control these environments. We CAN control the environment of our classroom. When students know what happens and when it happens every single day in our classrooms, those very procedures can provide a sense of security in students’ lives….if only for an hour or two.

What routines do you

plan to establish during

the first two weeks of

school?

Write down your thoughts…

Teaching students to interact in

civil and polite ways…

Think about:

•How do we/ When do we: Get in line, Take turns, Raise our hand, Share materials, Help one another • Levels of Voices: Class voices, Hallway voices, Conference voices, Discussion voices, Presentation voices • Building a Community of Learners •Civil words - Excuse me, May I, Thanks, Please, Could you help me? I think I heard you say, I’m not sure I agree with that statement.

Civil actions - Show compassion for others at all times…. Look at people when they are talking, Raise hand to speak, Ask for help or to borrow items, Stay in your space, Accept differences in other people Accountability: Students hold each other responsible for the practices in this room

Materials (suggestions only)

• How does the room arrangement support the learning?

• Writing & Reading Notebooks for each student • Paper, Pencils, Pencil sharpener – How does one

get things done? • Tissues- How and when may I blow my nose or

throw away trash? • Classroom library – When may I peruse the

library? • Writing Folders - Two writing folders per student:

• Works-in-Progress Folder • Finished Work Folder • How and when do I get my folder?

What does an effective teacher’s

classroom look like?

• There is little or no down time • Procedures and routines are evident and consistent • The teacher's rapport with students is evident • The classroom is well organized • The teacher is well prepared for each lesson • The lessons relate to real life and are student oriented • Transitions are smooth • The teacher moves around the room frequently • Incorrect responses from students are dignified by the

teacher • The teacher models skills for students • The students are actively involved in all lessons • The atmosphere is comfortable and pleasant with lots

of smiles and encouragement

Effective Teaching Practices (Look at the words below. Think of a teacher

you have seen exemplify one of the following

or a practice you have, share your thoughts

with those at your table.)

• Expectations

• Model

• Consistent

• Variety

• Positive Reinforcement

• Planning

The Workshop Model

Work

Time

Closing

Opening

Opening Lesson

The opening lesson is a focused lesson regarding the

standard. The lesson focuses on either a process, a skill,

or a procedure for rituals and routines.

Work Time

Students are using the strategy/skill they learned

in the opening lesson. Students also reference

the artifacts/charts in the room when they have a

question. Students become more independent

learners in the workshop.

Conferencing

Teachers and students are involved in

conferences. Students may also participate

in peer conferences during the work time.

Conferencing:

Teacher Responsibilities

➢Listen to what the student says.

➢Look at the student as you speak.

➢Ask questions that help the student

think about his/her work.

➢Take notes.

➢Guide the student in setting specific

goals.

Conferencing:

Student Responsibilities

➢Come with the things you need.

➢Be prepared to discuss your work with the teacher.

➢Look at the teacher as she speaks.

➢Listen to what the teacher says.

➢Think!

➢Ask questions.

➢Walk away with a specific goal.

➢Come back for another conference if you need one.

Small Group Instruction

The work

time is also a

time to meet

with a small

group for

guided

instruction.

Closing

Students share their work and receive

meaningful feedback from their peers.

Writers and Readers Need Regular

Chunks of Time:

Author’s Chair (10 min.) • Students Share • Read Around • Tie to Lesson

Mini-Lessons (10–15 min.) • Instruction - Skills - Strategies - Craft - Procedures

Work Time (40 min.) Writing Independent Reading

Planning Guided leveled reading • Drafting Words Their Way • Revising Road to the Code • Editing Road to Reading • Publishing Quick Reads

• Genre Studies • Writing/Reading Conferences • Response Group Social Studies and Science Non-fiction texts

Time to Teach

Time to Work

Time to Share

Opening (10 minutes)

•Presentation of task

•Students asking questions to clarify task

instructions

Work Time (30 minutes)

•Students actively engaged in task either solo, with a partner, or in a group

•Focused math groups

•Teacher making notes of common errors and/or different strategies

Closing

(15 - 20 minutes)

•Students share solutions and strategies

•Clarification of any confusion or errors

•Connections between different strategies and content areas

•Emphasis on accountable talk

Mathematicians Need Regular Chunks of Time:

Scientists and Historians need

Regular Chunks of Time:

Author’s Chair (10 min.) • Students Share • Tie to Lesson

Opening (10–15 min.) • Instruction - Anticipatory Set •Close Reading •Discussion •Directions for task or experiment Work Time

(40 min.)

• Performance Task/Experiment •Group work •Teacher will be conferencing with students • Response Groups •Writing to sources •Research • Social Studies and Science Non-fiction texts

Time to Teach

Time to Work

Time to Share

Artifacts – the tangible supports that assist in student learning

• Posting the standards • Focused lessons tied to the standards • Specific studies around topics or genres • Anchor charts produced by you and your students together (not pre-made) • Room arrangement conducive to learning • Classroom Library • Word Wall • Student Work displayed • Useable print – What in the room can students use to help themselves? • Large 3-ring binder for your conference documentation

Reading Anchor Chart

Science Opening Lesson

with Anchor Chart

Reading Opening Lesson

with Anchor Chart

Writing Anchor Chart

Artifacts from Math

Workshop

Word Wall

The 5 Principles of Teaching

❑ The teacher matters.

❑ Focused teaching promotes accelerated

learning.

❑ Clear expectations and continuous

feedback activate learning.

❑ Good teaching builds on students’

strengths and respects individuals’

differences.

❑ Good teaching involves modeling what

students should learn.

Powerful Knowledge

Standards tell us:

1.What a student should know

2.What a student should be able to

do

3. The level of performance that is

expected and “How do I know if my

work is Good Enough?”

A “Thinking Curriculum”

Students should be able to talk about, write about and draw about what they know. Not only should they be able to tell how they arrived at their thinking, but why they arrived at that thinking.

Standards-based teaching requires

a Learner-focused mentality

Rather than emphasizing what the

teacher taught, the emphasis is on

WHAT THE STUDENT LEARNED.

– What do we want each student to

learn?

– How will we know when each

student has learned it?

– How will we respond when a student

experiences difficulty in learning?

→ RTI and the Pyramid of Interventions

HOW DO YOU

LEARN AND

REMEMBER BEST?

Teaching Methods and

Retention Rate (Kay Burke)

Average Retention Rate after 24 hours

Teach Others/Immediate Use of Learning

Practice by Doing

Discussion Group

Demonstration

Audio-Visual

Reading

Lecture

90%

75%

50%

30%

20%

10%

5%

How to make this work in your classroom

https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/teaching-declaration-of-independence

WHAT SPECIFIC THINGS CAN I DO IN MY

CLASSROOM TO MAKE IT MORE

STANDARDS-BASED SO THAT ALL CHILDREN CAN BE SUCCESSFUL?

READ, WRITE, TALK One specific strategy that you can

use in your Standards-Based Classroom that will raise standards and enhance all students’ comprehension of content. This thinking strategy will also help students meet the high expectations on standardized tests like the Georgia Milestones.

Annotated

Reading

Strategy

“Those who do the talking,

do the learning.”

Students should be richly engaged in activities where they can talk about what they are learning.

Ticket out the Door

• List one thing you learned

today.

• List one thing you were

reminded of today.

• List one thing you want to know

more about.

Any questions?? (Feel free to talk with me after the session

or to write your name on your paper.)