Moving Students to Proficiency
District Improvement PlanningA. District Improvement Steering Committee
A joint Association-School Department District Improvement Steering Committee (DISC) will develop and implement policies and guidelines and generally oversee the implementation and operation of school-centered decision-making teams and school improvement plan and all other joint committees established under this Agreement.
This DISC shall be composed of the Superintendent and the Association President, who shall serve as co-chairs, assisted by up to five additional members each, who shall be representative of elementary and secondary schools and the racial/ethnic diversity of the district. Decisions of the DISC shall require the mutual agreement of the Superintendent and the Association President.
The DISC may appoint subcommittees, designate alternate members for tasks involving special expertise, and otherwise adopt whatever procedures to further its smooth, effective, and efficient operation. It shall endeavor to operate by consensus as a role model for school-based shared decision-making groups.
The Association and the Committee recognize that the provisions of this agreement reflect a tentative consensus on a direction to move in improving the Springfield public schools. Both sides recognize that comprehensive school-based management represents a new way of doing business with which they have limited experience. Success is likely to require much flexibility and continued learning from experience. Therefore the Committee and the Association agree to work together during the period of this Agreement to assess and improve the structures established here for district improvement planning, school-centered decision-making, and school improvement planning in light of experience.
B. District Improvement Steering Committee Charge
1. The DISC is responsible for developing the three-year District
Improvement Plan (The Plan) - which shall be approved by the
Committee - that incorporates the five mandates of Chapter 69,
Section 1I:
a. An analysis of student and subgroup achievement gaps in English
language arts; mathematics; science, technology & engineering;
history and social studies; health, foreign languages and the arts
as outlined in the learning standards of the Massachusetts
Curriculum Frameworks. This analysis must be based on multiple
measures that might include:
Teacher evaluation of student work including grades running records, checklists, portfolios, etc;
District developed assessments such as writing samples, math assessments, criterion-referenced assessments, and
assessments linked to instructional materials, etc;
Standardized tests such as publisher's norm-referenced assessments and other formal assessments.
b. Identification of no more than three specific district-wide
improvement objectives directly related to 1) above.
c. A description of the strategic initiatives the district will
undertake to achieve each of the improvement objective
identified in 2) above.
d. Performance benchmarks and processes for evaluating the
effect of district improvement initiatives using program
evaluation criteria and practices.
e. The professional development learning programs that will
support each district improvement objective and the new
teacher orientation, induction, and mentoring professional
learning. This work will be planned by a Professional
Development Committee appointed by the DISC that will work
collaboratively with the Kasparian Professional Development
Center staff [see Professional Development proposal].
Preparing the annual Action Plan Program (The Program) which shall enumerate the specific activities and programs, the persons responsible, and timelines for action to be taken as part of the professional learning outlined in The Plan.
Developing the District Improvement Budget (The Budget) and identifying the specific use of all district, state, federal and grant funding available to the district.
Overseeing the implementation and evaluation of The Program as a means of informing future plans, programs, and budgets.
C. Timelines
1. The three-year District Improvement Plan shall be submitted for
School Committee approval no later than June 1 of the year prior to its
implementation.
2. The annual Action Plan Program shall be completed and shall be
disseminated to all schools no later than June 15 of the academic
year prior to its implementation. The Program shall also be forwarded
to the Massachusetts Department of Education no later than
September 1 of the academic year in which in takes effect.
3. The Budget shall be approved as part of the overall district budget.
However, the Superintendent shall provide the DISC with all possible
funding information no later than February 1 of the year prior to the
Action Plan Program's implementation. Said funding information shall
include the resources available from district, state, federal and grant
funding.
4. The Program Evaluation procedures must be developed no later than
the end of the first year of this agreement. Said program evaluation
methods and practices shall be outlined to all school staff prior to their
implementation.
D. Training
1. To succeed in developing effective and collaborative working
relationships, members of the DISC must receive training to acquire
the new roles and relationships this Agreement envisions. Skills are
needed in consensus building, teamwork, conflict resolution, effective
meeting skills, active listening, new models of learning, teaching, and
so on.
2. The parties agree that one component of the district improvement
plan shall address the training of SCDM and DISC team members.
The intent of this training is to provide decision-makers with the
knowledge and skill required to achieve its educational goals.
E. Leadership
To achieve the goals of this Agreement, strong, sustained, and visionary leadership is required. The parties need to help each other educate their constituents and the community at large about the need for a new kind of relationship and what it entails operationally. The Association agrees to make a special effort to communicate the need for this kind of change to its Building Representatives and to monitor and maintain steady encouragement of progress. The Superintendent agrees to do the same with building administrators and central office administrators.
F. Time and compensation
To do the work required, members of the DISC team must have time outside of the school day. The SEA is opposed to removing teachers from instructional assignments, thereby denying their students high quality instruction.
a. DISC team members should be compensated at an hourly rate if
meetings are held after the school day has ended.
DISC team members should be at their per diem rate if meetings are held outside the normal school year, e.g. vacation weeks, summer hiatus.
Professional DevelopmentA. Governing Philosophy
One crucial factor in creating and maintaining an excellent public school system is the professional development of teachers, administrators, and paraprofessionals. Professional development is the process by which teachers, individually and jointly, increase, enhance, improve, and update their existing knowledge base and skills.
Professional development should be a collegial experience embedded in or related to the educator's work, with multiple meetings over an extended time, with chances to practice new learning, with time to reflect upon that practice, and with support from colleagues and instructors.
Teachers are protective of their time and seek on-going, high-quality, job-embedded professional development that addresses their own need to improve knowledge and skills in order to best serve their students.
The Association and Committee agree that individual schools by a vote of 66-2/3% of the teaching staff, existing time within the teacher's work day may be reconfigured to allow for its more effective use. This may include whole school professional learning, teacher study groups, development of standards-based units of instruction, critical friends groups, looking at student work to guide instructional practice, etc. Any such change in the workday must be sent to the DISC for final approval.
While the major responsibility for defining an individual professional development plan lies with the individual educator, the Association and the Committee agree both district and school improvement must focus professional development on the knowledge and skills educators must attain in order for improvement objectives to be realized.
B. Professional Development Committee
A broad-based Professional Development Committee (PDC) shall be appointed by the DISC to over see the development, implementation, and evaluation of the actual PD Plan in collaboration with the staff from the Kasparian Professional Development Center (PD Center).
The PDC shall include teachers from different instructional levels and content areas, administrators, paraprofessionals, parents/caregivers, and central office staff.
The PDC shall have clerical support provided by the PD Center support staff.
C. Professional Development Content
The range of possibilities for the content of such professional development opportunities might include:
1. Data-driven decision-making that informs curricular and instructional
decisions.
2. Standards-based curriculum, instruction, and assessment.
3. Differentiated instruction by process and product based on student
interest, readiness, learning style.
4. Language acquisition instructional practices for second language
learners.
5. Strategies for improving caregiver engagement with the school and
involvement in their children's education.
6. Dealing with children who are acting out, taking the behavior as a
symptom of underlying problems and addressing both.
7. Professional learning designed and tailored to respond to the ever
changing educational needs of the population of children being
served by the Springfield Public Schools.
8. Professional learning designed to update classroom teachers with
new data, research, and topics that are being explored in their field of
teaching.
D. Kasparian Professional Development Center
The Springfield Public Schools and the Springfield Education Association are committed to focusing the work of the Kasparian Professional Development Center (PD Center) on instructional leadership and school management development opportunities to teachers, paraprofessionals, and administrators. The PDC will be a service-based operation designed to integrate and facilitate the coordination of training programs for parents, teachers, and staff in the SPS. It will be the institution primarily responsible for facilitating and coordinating the support and training necessary for implementation of school reform in Springfield.
1. Professional Development for the Entire School Community
The PDC will be the coordinating body for all educator-related professional development and will provide the following services to teachers, administrators, paraprofessionals and parents:
a. District Professional Development: The PDC will provide the professional development required as a result of district reform initiatives. The DISC will provide to the PDC with a description of the professional learning required to successfully attain its improvement objectives. The PDC will be responsible for planning this professional development and providing specific information to the DISC for the annual Action Plan Program.
b. School-Based Professional Development: Each SCDM Team will provide the PDC with a description of the professional learning required to successfully attain its improvement objectives. The PDC will be responsible for planning this professional development and providing specific information to the DISC for the annual Action Plan Program.
c. Individual Professional Development: Individual teachers will be able to use the PDC to develop their own professional development plans. The PDC shall conduct an annual survey of teachers to assess what courses, workshops, and seminars they need in specific content areas to enable them to attain the next licensure level or to relicense or to be identified as “highly qualified. The PDC will be responsible for planning this professional development and providing specific information to the DISC for the annual Action Plan Program. The SEA/MTA will work with the Superintendent to develop an online survey; MTA will host the survey on its website
2. Forms of Professional Development
The PDC in planning the forms of professional development provided to educators may include a variety of formats based on the needs of the district as a whole, different school communities, and individual educators. It is understood that all professional learning will be on-going and sustained over time; none will be stand-alone programs. These may include:
Courses and seminarsWhole school modelsEducator study groupsAction researchCritical Friends groupsContent coaching3. Mandatory Professional Development
The Association and the Committee agree that state law and/or regulation mandates that certain forms of professional development must be provided. These include:
New educator orientationNew teacher inductionMentor trainingSchool-centered Decision-making team trainingRestraint training4. Professional Development Points
a. All SPS educators will be provided with guidance in the completion of
their Individual Professional Development Plans.
b. All SPS educators will be awarded Professional Development Points
for professional development provided to them by the PDC and the
SPS.
c. All SPS educators will be provided with documentation of all
professional development in which they engaged during the length of
this Agreement.
Standards-based Curriculum and InstructionThe Committee and the Association agree to jointly create a plan for the development and implementation of a system-wide Standards-Based Curriculum that addresses all of the learning standards in the seven Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks.
School Based Achievement
1. The Committee and the Association agree to jointly develop specific
criteria to be used in measuring the academic progress of all students on
a school-wide basis.
2. Academic achievement must include learning standards from all seven
Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks.
3. If a school increases the overall level of academic achievement or
maintains an acceptable level of achievement, then each teacher shall
receive an incentive of $1,000.
4. This provision shall be implemented effective July 1, 2006.
5. The 2006-2007 academic year will be the first for which achievement will
be measured for this provision.
Textbooks, Instructional Materials, and Supplies
1. All textbooks and supporting instructional materials must be aligned with
the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks.
2. The Committee agrees to develop a textbook and instructional materials
purchasing schedule that will increase by 20% the number of students
having appropriate textbooks.
3. Each school shall have an adequate supply budget to successfully
implement the curriculum.
Class Size
The following class sizes will be the maximum number of students allowed.
Grades
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2005-2006
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2006-2007
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2007-2008
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Kindergarten
|
19
|
18
|
17
|
Grade 1
|
22
|
21
|
20
|
Grades 2-5
|
25
|
24
|
23
|
Grades 6-12
|
25
|
25
|
25
|
Vocational, Laboratory, and Home & Career Classes
|
17
|
17
|
17
|
Inclusion Classes
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Ratio of 2 regular education to 1 special education class. Inclusion classes that exceed this ratio shall have a paraprofessional assigned.
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Test Coordinator 1. The Test Coordinator shall have a range of duties associated with
preparing and delivering test documents, arranging logistics for school
wide and grade-level testing, communicating with central office
administrators regarding testing, and communicating internally with school
staff.
2. The Test Coordinator is not an interpreter of test data.
3. Each Test Coordinator receives a $1,500 annual stipend and a release
period each day.
4. This shall be a posted position.