Improving Students Learning

Dear Principal,
As you know, our school is a Title I school with a diverse population. Just over 20% of our students receive special education services. Another 7% of our student population are English learners or report that their first language is not English. We teach full inclusion, non-tracked classes (with the exception of Math), which requires our teachers to plan and instruct for a diverse range of learners.
Description and rationale for priority academic area
To develop a plan for improving student learning in a priority academic area, I worked with the English Learner (EL) Program Coordinator, Director of Special Education, Director of Curriculum and Instruction, and core subject Instructional Coaches to analyze student performance data and data about the culture and context of the school. We examined ELA MCAS data from 2017 to 2019, across three grade levels, and disaggregated for various target student groups. During the process, we narrowed our data search and analysis to two groups: Hispanic students and students with disabilities. Through this process, we discovered a need to prioritize academic improvement in English Language Arts (ELA) with a particular focus on students who identify as Hispanic, which accounts for 30% of the student body, many of whom are English learners. Our rationale for selecting this target student population:
• 30% of our 2019–20 student body identifies as Hispanic, compared to 20.2% students with disabilities.
• Hispanic student performance on the MCAS is comparable to the performance of students with disabilities, a student group that is actively receiving intervention and support services.
• Only 3% of our Hispanic student body qualify for EL services, while our Humanities Instructional Coach stated that many more Hispanic students need support in vocabulary acquisition.
Analysis of Responsive Data
ELA MCAS data from 2017 to 2019 demonstrate a clear trend of Hispanic students “meeting or exceeding expectations” on the ELA MCAS at significantly lower rates than their white counterparts. In 2017, 6th grade white students meeting or exceeding expectations on the ELA MCAS was 55% compared to 36% for Hispanic students. This trend continued for 7th grade students, with 55% of white students and 40% of Hispanic students in the meeting or exceeding categories. The largest gap was seen in the 8th grade, where 57% of white students and 23% of Hispanic students reached meeting or exceeding. In 2018, the gap persisted. In the 6th grade, 59% of white students reached meeting or exceeding on the ELA MCAS compared to 27% for the Hispanic target group. This is a 32-point gap. For 7th grade Hispanic students, the gap was 22 points, and for 8th grade Hispanic students the gap was 21 points. In 2019, the trend in ELA MCAS gap data continued. Sixth grade white students meeting or exceeding on the ELA MCAS was 60% compared to 19% for Hispanic students. For 7th grade students, 45% of white students and 15% of Hispanic students reached meeting or exceeding. In the 8th grade 53% of white students and 44% of Hispanic students reached those categories.
Hispanic students performed below the average of the whole grade on 13 out of 16 released ELA MCAS questions. They underperformed most significantly on question 8 and question 16, essay questions based on readings. However, two out of the three questions Hispanic students outperformed the average score on were questions 11 and 12. Both of these questions were Main Idea questions based on an excerpt by Latino author Gary Soto, which referenced Hispanic culture and contained a handful of words in Spanish. When reviewing these data with the EL Coordinator and the Humanities Instructional Coach, they both made reference to the lack of diversity within the Humanities curriculum and stated that efforts were not yet underway to develop a more culturally diverse curriculum that better represents all our students. We then analyzed school climate survey data and found that 41% of students said that they did not see themselves and their families represented within the curriculum.
In addition to reviewing the MCAS data, I analyzed student enrollment trends and found there was a decline in Hispanic continued enrollment from 2017 to 2019. In 2017, 36 Hispanic students entered the school as 6th graders. By 2019, the 8th grade class had only 25 Hispanic students, a 30% drop compared to a decrease of only 8% for the rest of the grade. This raises questions as to why Hispanic enrollment is dropping and what can be done about it.
After analyzing these data, I developed a working hypothesis: If our school adds targeted supports for our Hispanic students and expands our curriculum to better represent our Hispanic population, we will see an improvement in school culture through increased representation of students’ identities, as well as an improvement in academic performance. To investigate this hypothesis, I interviewed Hispanic students, our faculty, and the EL Program Director.
Of 18 Hispanic students I surveyed, 100% of them speak a language other than English at home. They described the effects of having parents who speak little or no English when seeking support for their schoolwork. Overall, these students feel generally accepted for their cultural identities by both adults and other students in the building. However, they would like the curriculum to be more responsive to their own backgrounds and cultures. They would like to see their culture reflected and celebrated within the school.
In a survey last year regarding anti-racism professional development work, faculty reported both school and personal progress. However, 78% of faculty report a score of 3 or below out of 5 for our current goal: “To make sure scholars and faculty of all races and backgrounds feel like they are a part of the school community by making more languages and cultures visible in our school and our curriculum.”
I conducted interviews of two Humanities teachers and asked how we could best support our Hispanic student population. They both pointed to vocabulary as a barrier to success. The teachers expressed a need for professional development in teaching vocabulary, and new instructional strategies and materials to make learning more authentic and relatable.
In an interview with the EL Director, she explained that data pointed to vocabulary acquisition as a major issue in the supports EL students receive. During instructional rounds, she sees a lack of specific instructional supports to help all students develop content vocabulary.
Having completed an analysis of all data, I have adjusted my hypothesis and plan to focus on two issues: (1) vocabulary acquisition and (2) creating a culturally responsive curriculum. If our school can increase our instruction to focus on content-specific vocabulary as well as expand our curriculum to more substantially represent the identities and cultures of all students but especially our Hispanic population, then our teachers will be better prepared to meet the needs of all students and our students will thrive. As a result, we should see both a qualitative improvement in school culture as well as quantitatively measured improvement in standardized testing scores and classroom-based assessment grades. This vision aligns well with the existing 2018–2023 School and District Strategic Plan, which emphasizes cultivating a community that is welcoming to all, engagement with learning experiences that are personally meaningful and responsive to the local community, and commitment to professional collaboration and advocacy.
School and Community Context and Culture Factors
One element of school culture that influences Hispanic student achievement is having a majority English-speaking staff. In focus groups, multilingual students report feeling more comfortable having faculty around them who understand their language.
Culturally, there are opportunity gaps for students of color and multilingual students who are taught by a majority white, English-speaking staff. For the past three years in my role leading anti-racist work, we have been addressing our internal biases as educators to examine how they could subconsciously affect the way we teach and the curriculum we chose to instruct.
Gaps and Limitations of Existing Services and Program
One significant gap in our academic program is the lack of deliberate instruction of vocabulary techniques. All teachers in our school are required to become SEI certified; however, we do not spend a lot of time reviewing and actively implementing these strategies into our lessons. A review of observational notes and walkthrough data found little direct vocabulary instruction takes place in non-EL classrooms, and teachers report being overwhelmed trying to support their EL students. Our only full-time ESL teacher has a full schedule but only sporadically visits classrooms in a co-teaching model to offer small-group instruction. Teachers have requested additional support in the form of instructional aids, but budgetary issues have not allowed us to reinstate those positions. The school does offer tutoring services both before school and after school in Math and Humanities. However, few students take advantage of this opportunity.
Another major gap in our academic program is the lack of a culturally responsive Humanities curriculum. Both the EL Coordinator and the Humanities Instructional Coach cite data from a recent Humanities curriculum audit that found there was a significant lack of diversity in the cultural backgrounds of the authors and books included in the curriculum. Climate survey data confirms this gap with over 40% of students reporting that they do not see themselves reflected in the literature selected for the Humanities curriculum. They also point out a general lack of acknowledgement and celebration of diverse cultures throughout the school.
One of our strengths is the commitment of our faculty and administration to the work of professional learning communities. We have made great strides to create a more inclusive school culture over the last several years through anti-racism training, but teachers and students still report that our curriculum needs to better reflect the cultural diversity of our school population.
Input throughout the planning process
Throughout this process, I conducted face-to-face meetings with multiple stakeholders in order to solicit their input and learn from their expertise and years of experience. Our Math Instructional Coach provided data analysis guidance. My principal, the EL program coordinator, and the Director of Special Education all helped me to narrow my selection of the target student group. Our EL coordinator provided me input regarding the lack of content-specific vocabulary instruction and how to address this. Input from the Humanities Faculty highlighted a need for professional development in strategies to support EL students. Survey data from students showed a desire to see curriculum that reflected the diversity within the school.
Rationale
Artifact 1 – Priority Area and Its Context
The candidate presented a comprehensive analysis of both quantitative and qualitative data elements across multiple years to identify the priority academic area (improved ELA performance) and the target student group (Hispanic students). The candidate investigated two student groups before making this selection. Quantitative data analyzed included three years of MCAS ELA data disaggregated by target student groups, specific MCAS question-type data, school demographic data, student retention data, as well as faculty retention rates. Most significantly, the candidate developed a working hypothesis regarding the academic performance of the target student group and used this hypothesis to gather additional qualitative data from significant stakeholders, including students and teachers, that helped to identify possible strategies to support learning. Data were also gathered and analyzed regarding strengths and weaknesses in existing policies, practices, and programs within the school related to the priority area and the target student group. This information provided context and was vital to developing a defensible hypothesis about how to improve student performance in the priority area that aligned closely with existing school and district goals.