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Contact Bob Raines, Superintendent/Principal bobraines@earthlink.net 707.765.4399 Demographics Summary Wilmar Union Elementary School District is progressing toward standards-based instruction with accountability for implementation. Content standards are posted in classrooms and appear on the report card. Teachers have received professional development on curriculum mapping (aligning materials, instruction, and assessment to standards). The principal conducts individual conferences with teachers twice a year to formally evaluate their instruction on content standards. Student data are analyzed to provide evidence of impact. Full Description Wilmar Union Elementary School District, a K-6 one-school district, is progressing toward standards-based instruction with accountability for implementation. Content standards appear on the report card. About half of the teachers began posting standards in their classrooms and gradually the practice became schoolwide. The principal conducts individual conferences with teachers twice a year to formally discuss how they are teaching the standards. Data-Driven Implementation The leadership style of the superintendent/principal is to introduce an initiative by first encouraging the practice among responsive teachers. The principal compares data for the group of teachers who implemented the initiative with those who did not. If there is a difference on student achievement data, the principal mandates it for all teachers. Wilmar has been developing specific benchmarks to indicate performance levels (exceeding, meeting, approaching, below standard) on its assessments. This work will tie assessments to performance standards and decisions about students and instructional practices. Multiple measures are used to evaluate relative effectiveness of an initiative:
Building Capacity Building capacity for teaching the standards has been an ongoing process of professional development sessions and staff meetings. The principal said it has taken a great deal of time for teachers to discuss and digest the standards. They reviewed state-approved textbooks and selected materials that were teacher-friendly and most aligned with the state standards. Initially, staff spent about five sessions of two-hour time blocks for language arts and mathematics content standards to establish understanding and align curriculum. Two two-hour sessions were devoted to science and social science standards. Teachers developed standards-based, schoolwide assessments for language arts in several two-hour sessions, and then repeated the process for mathematics and science. About four hours were spent on designing a report card for language arts and mathematics content standards. This is considered a work-in-progress. Teachers spent 20-25 hours of professional development time to work on curriculum mapping (inspired by California School Leadership Academy workshops). About 10 of those hours involved monitoring and adjusting implementation the first year, and about five hours the second year. Two or three two-hour sessions focused on evaluating progress ("how are we doing" sessions). Time will likely increase in the future as new textbook adoptions are considered and implemented. Accountability Teachers are encouraged to design standards-based lessons but the principal does not ask to see their lesson plans. Accountability evidence of teachers' implementation tends to be informal -- the principal gathers evidence from comments made during staff meetings and his observation of classroom lessons. The primary tool that the principal uses for teacher accountability is his semi-annual meeting with each teacher to review his or her assessment data for each student in terms of their progress toward the standards. The principal uses cognitive coaching strategies in the meetings which helps teachers reflect and explore alternatives: (Garmston, http://www.ascd.org/readingroom/edlead/9310/garmston.html). The principal sets goals and provides additional learning opportunities for individual teachers who are not implementing as quickly or as smoothly as expected. This process has helped develop a sense of personal and collective accountability from teachers. Standards-Based Report Card Wilmar Elementary School District uses a standards-based report card that shows performance levels for content standards at each grade level. This makes it very clear to teachers, parents and/or legal guardians, and students about what is expected, taught, and assessed. In the primary grades, more specific information than performance levels is provided for reading, such as running record levels. Each trimester, the performance levels on the report card indicate status compared to year-end expectations. The explanation on the report card is that a typical student is expected to be a '2' (Approaching) at the end of the first trimester and progress to a '3' (Meeting Standard) by the end of the third trimester for standards taught throughout the year such as in reading. This grading approach maintains alignment with standards-based assessments administered throughout the year. For example, running record levels are expected to progress from one point to another during the year, mirrored by the performance levels on the report card. Grade 2 Report Card Back to District Practices Table |