Application of Baldrige Framework

EDL 272: Organizational System Behavior

Elizabeth Kesterson
Spring 2021

Organizational Profile:
P.1: What are your key organizational characteristics?
The goal of this organization is to serve students as a whole (developmentally, socially,
emotionally and academically). We engage students in this learning process through the explicit
instruction, independent application time and interventions/support of Reading Workshop, Math
Workshop, Writing Workshop, and Phonics (K-2) Workshop. We teach this through Lucy Calkins
Units of Study, Jan Richardson Guided Reading, San Francisco Math Curriculum, as well as a
variety of other intervention program supports. We also implement RULER! - a social/emotional
curriculum, and Picture Perfect Science for science. Instruction is delivered through general
education classroom teachers, interventionists, special education teachers, specialists from
AEA, as well as counselors and other “specials” teachers (art, library, technology, physical
education).
Our mission statement is “The mission of the Saydel Community School District is to
serve the unique learning needs of each and every student”. Our team of educators work
collaboratively to meet the needs of each student using the resources listed above. Our
workforce consists of the following: general education teachers K-4 (three to four teachers at
each grade level), associates to support students in need of additional general education
support (around 15), a team of intervention teachers (four total), special education teachers (five
total), AEA specialists (speech, special education, behavior), english language learner teachers
(two) and translators (2), social workers (2), counselors (2), a school-based therapist, specials
teachers (art, music, librarian, technology, physical education), master teachers (2), mentor
teachers (4), an assistant principal and a building principal. We also have receptionists (2),
nurses (2), custodians (4), nutrition (coordinate, make and serve breakfast, snack and lunch)
and substitute teachers. Teachers and support staff have the choice to be in the union, and are
represented by ISEA (Iowa Schools Education Association). We have regular access to
maintenance workers, a technology specialist, and others from the district office that support the
work happening in the building.
We have one elementary school building, and we are a 1:1 school (each student has an
iPad or Chromebook). Each room is equipped with a charging cart for the technology devices,
as well as a projector system to use for instruction. We are currently renovating our building and
the furniture in each classroom. We have a variety of meeting/conference rooms to
accommodate to the schedule of the workforce in the building. In our building, we have a variety
of different regulations in place to help our day to day run smoothly, including a building master
schedule. Each classroom runs off of their respective grade level schedule. There are clear
expectations and curriculum for each part of the day. There are procedures in place for times
outside of the classroom, as well as in case of an emergency, such as arrival/dismissal
expectations, transition expectations, bathroom expectations, recess expectations, lunchroom
expectations, and fire, tornado, and lockdown procedures. These expectations and procedures
involve our workforce and customers. Our workforce and customers take place in training and
practicing these routines to help our building operate on a daily basis. Our building has different
paperwork and online systems that our workforce uses to place orders, request different
services for their students and themselves (for example, requesting teacher quality funds,
requesting evaluation for students, requesting assistance from our student assistance team for
support with a student/family), and online programs for substitute teachers (submitting days off,
tracking sick days/personal days), and tracking student attendance/data (FastBridge,
Panorama, PowerSchool).
Within our organization, we have a system of leadership and support. We have a new
teacher mentor program, a team of mentor teachers, as well as a team leadership committee.
These positions are for directly supporting and evaluating teachers in the classroom. We have a
team of master teachers for support of implementing curriculum and MTSS into the classroom,
a leader of each department (intervention, social worker, special education in each grade level,
and AEA) where you can go directly to the source to solve a problem or ask for support. We
have a building Assistant Principal and Principal available for other help as needed. Other
committees and teams (student assistance team, climate team, PBIS team, Teacher Quality
funds team, etc.) help the building run smoothly. Together we work to serve our workforce as
well as our customers (students, families, community members, PTO). Our customers and
stakeholders expect us to carry out our mission statement, and to provide their learners with an
education that will prepare them for life after school.

P.2: What is your organization’s strategic situation?

Our organization serves over 400 students in the Des Moines area community of Saylor
Township. We have one elementary school housing three pre-kindergarten classrooms, five
kindergarten classrooms, five first grade classrooms, four second grade classrooms, four third
grade classrooms, and four fourth grade classrooms. Class size ranges from 15-25 students in
a classroom. Our enrollment rates are gradually growing each year as more and more students
move or open enroll into the district. We respond to this growth by adding sections to each
grade level. If students leave the district, it is typically due to a move/change in career or needs
within the home. Specific to this year, some students have moved out of district schooling to find
an organization offering five day a week in person learning (COVID). We are constantly
challenging ourselves to improve the education we are providing to our students, and the
support we are able to give our stakeholders. We work closely with experts in areas we need to
improve in to better our teaching practices based on our data and workforce needs at each
grade level. This is done through different professional development opportunities as well as
work we do in cluster (PLC). For example, we have had training in Trauma Informed Teaching
to better meet the needs of our students, and we work with representatives from Lucy Calkins to
teach us to better implement the reading, writing and phonics curriculum into our classrooms.
Our growing community and increased class sizes are challenging us to work efficiently and to
respond to the needs of our building. Funding, leadership, scheduling, resources and population
challenge us both on a day to day basis and the large goals of our building as far as our daily
operations and meeting the needs of our students. An advantage we have over our competitors
is our cluster (PLC) cycle and collaboration. We are able to work with grade levels above and
below us to collaboratively plan and align our instruction. Each week in Cluster we are able to
look closely into areas of improvement in our classrooms and in our building. We are able to
identify the need and address how to better our teaching practice to meet the needs of our
students in alignment with other grade levels. We use the TAP (Teacher Advancement
Program) system to monitor and improve our teaching practices, and help guide what our
cluster cycle will be about. We use this system to ensure we are providing our students high
quality instruction, for teacher evaluations and improvements. These different components work
together to make the organization work together to meet the needs of our workforce, customers
and stakeholders.

1: Leadership
1.1: Senior Leadership: How do your senior leaders lead the organization?
Administrators in our building encourage students to “Live the Eagle Way”, by being
Safe, Open-Minded, Accountable and Respectful. They encourage our Stakeholders to support
students in this behavior, and the use of this common language throughout the building
encourages students to do their best to meet the workforce in carrying out our district’s mission.
Administrators emphasize to the workforce the importance of reading data and meeting our
building goal for student proficiency in state testing. While we spend time working to reach this
goal, we are working to meet the unique learning needs of each student. Our Mission statement
is displayed on the monitors throughout the building. Senior leaders in our building almost
always personally demonstrate a positive attitude and model a positive building culture and
climate. Administrators are knowledgeable about legal and ethical behavior required within our
organization. As legislation changes and decisions are made at the district level, administrators
are informed about the application of these expectations into the building, and then host a
meeting with the workforce to set expectations in the classroom. Senior leaders communicate
and check in with staff to contribute to a positive building environment through rounding,
participation in meetings and through the other support provided to staff. Communication is
open to students, their families and the community through email and phone call. Email is the
primary means of communication, and is typically how questions, concerns, or different
information is shared. Administrators communicate with the workforce through those same
methods, as well as face to face meetings in the building. Meetings are organized through
Google Calendar, and attendees are determined by the need for collaboration and information
from different departments within the building. Our building is very data driven, with a large
emphasis on student growth. This work is emphasized through our Master Teachers and the
work we do in Cluster (collaborative planning time). Leaders participate in each cluster session
to contribute and learn more about the plan for growth in the classrooms. Building leaders are
available to students, stakeholders, and workers in the building to provide support to the best of
their ability, and are able to gather different resources to help further if needed. Together, we
work to meet the individual needs of each student.

1.2: Governance and Societal Contributions: How do you govern our organization and make
societal contributions?
Our organization collaborates with Senior Leaders in our building, our Superintendent,
our School Board members, and other stakeholders to review and make decisions for our
organization. There are different committees (for example: the calendar committee, in charge of
making our district calendar for the year) that contribute to the success of our building. This
system works together to hold leaders accountable for making decisions in the best interest of
the organization. Often, surveys will be sent to students and families regarding preferences in
building decisions (for example, offering different models of learning during Coronavirus).
Involving families in the decision making process allows for their opinions and concerns to be
heard, and allows administration to work as a team with stakeholders to make the best
decisions for students. Board meetings are held once a month routinely, and can be scheduled
more frequently to talk through and make decisions on necessary items. This is also an
opportunity for community members and other stakeholders to voice their opinions and
concerns about different topics. Different committees meet as needed to help senior leaders
make decisions. For example, we have a Teacher Quality Committee, that holds the
responsibility of working with administration to approve or deny applications for requests to use
Teacher Quality Funding. We now have an assistant principal in addition to our head principal,
who helps as needed carrying out administrative duties and provides support throughout the
building as needed. Our superintendent guides the work done by our building administrators,
and ensures that it aligns with other parts of the district. Together, these different groups work to
hold administration accountable for building leadership, as well as ensuring we are in
compliance with law.

Strength: Assistant Principal Position: Our building has been positively impacted due to the
addition of our assistant principal. The division of their roles and responsibilities has allowed
situations that arise within the organization to be thoroughly addressed and followed up, and for
staff and students to feel supported more consistently. Administration and district leaders were
able to identify this need, and add this position to make genuine improvement to our
organization.
OFI: Mirroring the Mission Statement into the building: Staff and leaders are focused on meeting
the building goal set to move students to the proficient level prior to moving to the next grade.
While our building goal is important to the success of our students and ties to our mission
statement, a clear connection should be made back to our mission statement “The mission of
the Saydel Community School District is to serve the unique learning needs of each and every
student”.

2: Strategy
2.1: Strategy Development: How do you develop your strategy?
When developing strategy, leaders examine a variety of factors to make decisions to
best meet the needs of our students. We look closely into the needs of our students to what our
workforce is capable of carrying out, and build from there. If needed, we are able to check
funding to add or alter positions to best serve our students. For example, we noticed an
increase in emergent bilingual students in our district, so we have worked to grow our bilingual
program in the district. We have a Team Leadership Team that meets on a regular basis with
master teachers and administration to examine the needs of our students within the classroom
setting, and collaboratively work to problem solve any areas in need of improvement. Within our
building, we also have Tier 1 and Tier 2 teams that meet to develop plans for individual students
in need of additional support. Together, TLT and Tier 1 and 2 teams work to develop strategies
that will be effective for our student population when implemented into their education. We
examine different resources available to those within our building, as well as our stakeholders,
and think about how we can use these resources to help our students be successful. Our
curriculum in each department (general education classrooms, intervention groups, special
education services, behavior, emergent bilingual, etc.) are a large part of the strategy we use
when working to meet the individual learning needs of each student. Across the building, we use
Lucy Calkins Units of Study, Picture Perfect Science, and San Francisco Math Curriculum. The
curriculum we implement is aligned to state standards, and is put into students’ education by the
workforce. The workforce is supported in their teaching practice through our work done in
Cluster, mentor/master teacher support, and other professional development opportunities
provided by administration. We use data from previous years and in the current year to drive the
work we’re doing in the building. Our strategy is developed with the short term goal of meeting
our yearly proficiency building goal, and to work towards our larger mission statement of
meeting the individual learning needs of each student. We believe that if individual learning
needs are being met, teachers are effectively teaching in the classroom, scores on testing will
increase.

2.2: Strategy Implementation: How do you implement your strategy?

Short term action plans are in the form of the work we do each week in Cluster, as well
as in the teacher's IGP (Individual Growth Plan) that they work with. This is done by data
collection, a cycle of Cluster, and reflection. For example, our building goal is that our students
reach a given level of proficiency before year end (students move to green or blue on state
testing, and others move from red to yellow). Through TLT meetings, mentor and master
teachers might decide that a crucial piece to this is that students know what specific skill they
are working on improving during independent learning time. Mentor and master teachers will
collect data on this for one week, walking through classrooms during independent learning time,
and converse with students about what they are working on during independent work time. They
are able to track if it aligns with the learning goal for that day, or if students are working without
aim. After this data is collected, we work in Cluster (collaborative planning time across grade
levels) to work towards improving the method for which we deliver the learning aim for each
day. Aligned with our TAP rubric, we work on the “Standards and Objectives” indicator, looking
at what we can improve to fall into the “5” score category. Teachers will do this work in Cluster,
and then begin applying it into their classrooms. Master and mentor teachers will walk through
classrooms again, collecting data in the same way, and look for improvements in the scores in
each category. Teachers will reflect on if they felt this work improved student learning or time on
task in the classroom. Teacher’s each have an IGP (Individual Growth Plan). This plan is
specific to students that each teacher believes they can move to be proficient during the school
year. Teachers will spend time in Cluster researching an area of their teaching practice that
needs improvement, or learn more about how to help their students with a specific learning
need. Teachers build a plan for implementing this into the classroom, track student progress,
and reflect throughout the year, making changes as needed to reach their year-end goal. This
work is oversighted by mentor and master teachers. The implementation of our curriculum is
another aspect of our strategy that is closely monitored. We have had many cluster cycles,
professional development sessions, and training (sending teachers to the Units of Study
workshops in NYC with Teacher Quality funding), to ensure our curriculum is being taught the
way it was intended to be. We utilize flood groups within each grade level to individualize small
group time for students. This is a time where they join a guided reading or fluency group based
on their needs with other students that have similar needs. A grade level teacher or
interventionist will work with each group and track their progress.
As needed, we will use professional development to learn more about areas of growth.
During this time, we can use funding to bring in external resources or speakers to help the
implementation of our strategy. We also use professional development time for our own staff
members to share their learning from different curriculum workshops or conferences. Overall,
the implementation of our strategy is collecting data, researching and implementing practice into
our classrooms using different resources and collaboration, and reflecting on student growth.

Strength: Collaboratively working to serve students and develop as a staff: The organization has
a variety of committees and teams that work together to create, implement, and follow up on
strategy. Cluster/PLC time is done with teachers across grade levels, benefiting both teachers
and students. Teachers are also supported by teacher quality funds and other resources to
partake in different conferences and learning opportunities to improve teacher effectiveness in
implementing the curriculum (strategy).
OFI: Reflections on IGPs throughout the school year instead of once a year. Teachers are
required to reflect on their progress towards helping students grow towards proficiency once a
year, after winter testing. Encouraging teachers to reflect more frequently would allow teachers
to adjust their teaching methods and be more responsive to the needs of students throughout
the year instead of only after testing performance.

3: Customers
3.1: Customer Expectations: How do you listen to your students and other customers, and
design programs and services to meet their needs?
Our organization places students at the center of the work we do on a daily basis. We
seek their input and value their ideas in our building. As a workforce, we strive to be responsive
to our students’ needs both in and out of the classroom. We are able to respond to their social,
emotional and academic needs with the different support and resources we have in the building.
We collect information and data from our customers through surveys, state testing,
assessments in the classroom and collaboration with different teams of educators. We examine
students’ feelings about climate and culture at each level in the building through a google
survey, twice a year. The results of this survey are collected and shared at the following board
meeting. Students complete Iowa State testing three times a year, as well as a variety of
assessments within their classrooms. The results of these tests are used to accommodate the
student’s academic needs (intervention groups, small groups, special education evaluation,
etc.). Different teams of teachers work together to build plans for students to meet their needs
both in and out of the classroom. We are able to work with our school counselors and therapist
for emotional/social needs. Our special education team, emergent bilingual team, different AEA
specialists (behavior, speech), classroom teachers, master teachers, reading recovery teachers,
and interventionists work together to make plans for students in need of additional support. If
students need support outside of the building, we connect their family to our social worker to
provide them services at home.

3.2: Customer Engagement: How do you build relationships with students and other customers
and determine satisfaction and engagement?
In our building, we use a Responsive Classroom approach. We have things in place
throughout our day to engage and interact with students on a personal level. For example, each
day we start our day with a Morning Meeting. Students greet one another and the teacher, we
read a message together (written by the teacher), do an activity together and share something.
We also work to have teachers learn at least 10, non academic things about students, in order
to build stronger, more personal relationships with students. In Guidance, students and the
classroom teacher work together to create a classroom charter, a list of agreements on how
each part wants to feel in the classroom (for example, safe, calm, welcome, happy, loved, and
proud). Students determine different ways they can help one another feel those positive feelings
in the classroom. Students are asked to take a climate and culture survey twice a year, where
students respond to questions about how they feel at school and how other students and adults
in the building make them feel. Results from this survey are shared at a board meeting after the
data is collected. Relationships with the families of our students is another important part of the
classroom. The classroom teacher handles all communication with families at the classroom
level, and is typically asked to forward on emails sent from administration, giving more access
for parents to call and ask questions if an administrator is unavailable. Email and phone calls
are our primary means of communication with families. A monthly newsletter is sent out to
families with updates across the building.

Strength: Being responsive to the academic needs of students: This organization is centered
around student success with data in the classroom. Workforce members are collaborating and
regrouping students to best meet their learning needs. Together they are working to meet the
aim of the organization, helping students reach proficiency in each area on academic testing.
OFI: Sharing results from surveys to staff members: Twice a year students are given a climate
and culture survey to complete. The questions are asking students about how they feel in their
classroom, in the building, about their classmates and about other adults they work with in the
building. This survey is valuable to adults in the building, but because the information is not
shared with teachers or staff directly, it is hard to adjust or reflect upon the results. Sharing the
results with classroom teachers would allow them to be more responsive, and to make
improvements in relationships as needed. The results of this survey are shared at the board
meeting, and is only given to students in grades 2-4. There would also be a way to create this
survey for younger grade levels, involving all students in this work.

4: Measurement, Analysis, and Knowledge Management

4.1: Measurement, Analysis and Improvement of Organizational Performance: How do you
measure, analyze, and then improve organizational performance?
Data is collected in a variety of ways on a daily basis, and is evaluated by necessary
groups to implement change in the building. Classroom teachers, special education teachers,
support teachers, and interventionists/specialists are collecting data about students’ academic
and behavioral growth in the classroom. Mentor and master teachers as well as building leaders
collect data on teacher effectiveness in the classroom. The data collected is evaluated, shared,
and used to inform instruction and improvement in the building. Classroom teachers collect data
through state testing, student performance towards the Iowa Core Standards (informal and
formal assessments), benchmarking students, and any necessary behavioral data collection
necessary. Special Education teachers collect, analyze and track data in their special education
students' growth through their IEP, and associates help with this work in the classroom.
Interventionists collect data from the students in their intervention group. Mentor and master
teachers collect data during live teaching sessions, both formally and informally, to better
understand what classrooms look like on a daily basis. Building leaders collect data on teacher
effectiveness through observations and evaluations using the TAP Rubric System. This
information, as well as that collected by classroom teachers, interventionists, and mentor/master
teachers is analyzed and applied to our teaching cycles in Cluster (PLC). In Cluster, we are able
to collaboratively improve different areas of instruction and student learning. Student data is
compared to state testing proficiency levels, as well as what our curriculum deems as “on grade
level”. If students are not performing at grade level, they will filter into MTSS meetings to
determine a plan to better support their learning needs. Future performance is predicted by our
building goal, and through the work done in intervention groups. Each grade level predicts the
percent of students that they can move towards proficiency, and as we work towards the end of
the year the goal is closely monitored.

4.2: Information and Knowledge Management: How do you manage your information and your
organizational knowledge assets?
Throughout our organization, data is collected through FastBridge, our state testing
system. Testing occurs at the beginning of the year, in the middle of the year, and towards the
end of the year. We have different systems in place to track different areas of performance. For
our students, we use our building data sheet and Panorama to track performance. Our building
data sheet is where we track student performance through each grade level. For example, in the
3rd grade tab, each student has a row with their state testing scores, their previous
intervention/special education support, and their reading level growth. This data is used in
addition to other student tracking systems to help teachers and administration meet the learning
needs of each individual student. We use Panorama to more specifically track the current time
of student performance. Panorama collects data from FastBridge (state testing/progress
monitoring), PowerSchool (attendance), as well as intervention plans. Every eight weeks, we
schedule an MTSS meeting to debrief the growth students are (or are not) making, and make
adjustments as needed. We spend this time tracking and analyzing student performance
because we believe that has direct correlation to teacher effectiveness. Teachers are evaluated
through the TAP (System for Teacher and Student Advancement) rubric by a variety of different
administrators, master teachers and mentor teachers throughout the school year. As a building,
we track the scores/performance of our teachers in relation to our student performance. We use
this performance data to choose areas of improvement from the rubric, and incorporate it into
our cluster (PLC) cycle.
Our cluster cycle is centered around our building goal. Each year, we look at each grade
level’s state testing scores and set goals within each grade level as well as a building-wide
proficiency goal. We try to work to have between 75-80% of students proficient, and work
towards this goal in our teaching practices. We have a Teacher Leadership Team, that is made
of one mentor teacher from each grade level. This team of teachers works more closely with
administration and master teachers and with the team of grade level teachers to implement
teaching practices into the classroom aligned with our building goals. Then, administration,
master teachers and mentor teachers drop into the classrooms during instructional time to
collect data on the implementation of these teaching strategies. We follow back up in Cluster
with the collected data and either continue to improve in the same area or move on to a different
area of improvement. We can also allow for more development during professional development
sessions, where we are able to bring in different experts to collaboratively work with our staff to
grow their teaching effectiveness (for example, a Curriculum Developer from the Lucy Calkins
Units of Study Institute).

Strength: Awareness/”Buy In” to the building learning goal: In our building, each teacher is
deeply involved in the creation of our building proficiency goal, and each teacher is responsible
for applying cluster learning into their classroom, to work towards this proficiency goal. For a
building to be successful at reaching a goal, it is essential that all staff members are supportive
of the aim in the building, and are working collaboratively to reach that aim.
OFI: Tracking student progress in the classroom: more opportunities for students to show
growth than on state testing. Involving students in this process will inspire them to be
intrinsically motivated to grow towards learning goals in the classroom, and give teachers a
more informed look at what students are truly capable of in the application of learning.

5: Workforce
5.1: Workforce Environment: How do you build an effective and supportive workforce
environment?
As an organization, we work to build an effective and supportive workforce environment
to provide the best environment and education for our students to learn in and our workforce to
teach in. Administration works to foster a positive learning and working culture and climate
throughout the building. Administration engages in different processes for ensuring the
workforce in the building works to achieve this aim. The need for staffing throughout the building
is determined by administration to best meet the needs of the organization. Workforce members
are hired through the online application system Teach Iowa. Jobs are determined and posted by
administration to replace staff that have left, or to build our workforce to best meet the needs of
our consumers (for example, adding a section of Kindergarten due to an increase in enrollment
numbers). Once hired, new employees complete our new staff orientation days through the
district office, and join the mentor program. Each new teacher gets a mentor teacher to check in
with and use for support throughout their first few years of employment. Our workforce engages
in different professional development throughout the school year to work towards our school
goals. Each team builds a “charter”, creating norms and expectations for the climate and culture
within each team, and our workforce creates and updates one for the entire building for the
same purpose. Administrators make rounds through each classroom throughout the month to
check in with teachers and students. Meetings are held as needed to address any situations
that need to be collaboratively solved.
5.2: Workforce Engagement: How do you engage your workforce to achieve a high-
performance work environment?
The workforce of this organization partake in a variety of different opportunities to grow
as educators. The organization works to engage staff in professional development, training,
observation cycles with collaborative meetings, as well as a year end review. Professional
development varies between team building and professional learning. For example, we did a
book study on The Power of a Positive Team by: Jon Gordon as a whole teaching staff, but
worked more intensely with our grade level teams. For professional learning, we brought in an
expert on Trauma Informed Teaching and teachers learned more about teaching to better meet
the needs of the students we serve in our community. All workforce members are required to
complete certain training each year (dependent on their role in the building) online through
Heartland AEA (abuse identification, bloodborne pathogens, etc.). The workforce is also trained
on different systems within the building, referring students to different programs/resources, and
different processes in the organization. This is done during new staff orientation/work days prior
to the start of the year, where new staff members learn about our PBIS program, different
protocols for things such as referring students to counseling groups, taking data on students for
intervention groups, etc. Teachers are required to take continuing education credits to keep up
with their Iowa Teaching Licensure.
In our building, all certified teaching staff members are on an observation cycle. This is
in correspondence with the state for teaching licenses' as well. We use the TAP rubric (The
system for teacher and student advancement) to evaluate student engagement and teacher
effectiveness. Teachers are evaluated by master teachers, mentor teachers and administration.
We use this rubric to define a reinforcement (area of strength) and a refinement (an opportunity
for improvement). Teachers work on their refinement prior to the next observation cycle.
Teachers also work to create an IGP (Individual Growth Plan). Teachers use this to choose a
group of students they want to make a plan for in order to ensure growth on state testing scores.
This allows teachers to look more closely at specific students and use resources in the building
to create a plan to help best meet their learning needs. Both teacher effectiveness and student
engagement, as well as IGP work take place in Cluster, our weekly meets with a group of
teachers in the building, led by master teachers (PLC: K-2 meets together, 3-4 meets together).
At the end of the year, administration meets with each teacher to discuss the year. This is an
opportunity for teachers to give feedback to administration as well as for administration to give
feedback on the teacher’s overall performance.

Strength: Development with Curriculum: Teachers are given opportunities to develop their
teaching effectiveness with our Reading, Writing and Phonics curriculum. Many teachers have
traveled to NYC, or attended a conference virtually. Different professional development
sessions have been offered where teachers come back to share their learning experiences from
the conferences. This work is supported in Cluster cycle, where teachers apply our curriculum to
our TAP rubric (system for teacher effectiveness and student engagement), to measure student
growth in the classroom.
OFI: Personal mastery in a building would be allowing staff to explore different areas they would
like to professionally develop in, and supporting the work they are doing. Encouraging staff to
strive for personal mastery would bring new knowledge into the building, and intrinsically
motivate teachers to improve their teaching practice. Staff professional development as of now,
is just inclusive of classroom teachers, interventionists/specialists, and special education
teachers. ALL parts of the workforce should be included in this development, or be provided
their own professional development opportunities.

6: Operations
6.1: Work Processes: How do you design, manage, and improve your key educational
programs and services and your work processes?
Educational services and work process requirements are decided by administration with
the support of different teams and committees. Requirements are also determined by
state/government regulations, the programs we follow, or come from the district level. Our
building is dependent on different work processes, different moving pieces, to align and work
together to meet the needs of students in our building and to support the workforce in the work
they do to provide for students. All academic services work closely with master teachers,
Teacher Leadership Team (mentor teachers) and refer to the curriculum programs/specialists
as well as state standards when considering the operation of academics in the building. Special
education services work with the district Special Education Coordinator to ensure the special
education program is working to meet the needs of each student, assessing potential special
education students, and is in compliance with laws and regulations. Associates in the building
work under the special education department, overseen by special education teachers
(scheduling, training, managing). Custodians meet with building leaders as needed, and food
service employees are overseen by the district Director of Food and Nutrition. Outside of the
building, we work primarily with AEA and supply companies. Our building receptionists work to
place orders and handle deliveries, and our special education program coordinators as well as
administration work to staff and work with AEA. The finances in our building are handled in
different segments. Each grade level has a fund each year that they are able to use for anything
needed. We have Teacher Quality funds that are accessible to teachers and master teachers to
spend on opportunities or work done to better their teaching practice. We are a 100% free and
reduced lunch school, making that our “funding” for our food program. Each work process is
designed and supported with the intention of ensuring our building runs effectively and efficiently
on a daily basis. As needed, each service area will meet and make adjustments to their daily
and long term operations to better serve the students and staff in the building.

6.2: Operational Effectiveness: How do you ensure effective management of your operations?
Work processes are managed depending on the need within the building. As problems
arise within each system, the issue is evaluated and adjustments are made. Physical data in the
building is held in the classroom as well as in the vault in the office. Electronically, student
information is held on PowerSchool and on Panorama. Each teacher and administrator has a
username and password to these online systems, and student information is confidential, only
shared with necessary parties in the building. Each building in our district shares a Director of
Technology as well as an IT Director. These positions help all technology and electronic
systems run smoothly in the building. If something is down (example: a printer is not working), a
help ticket will be submitted and either position will come to the building and work to resolve the
problem. If there is an issue that will impact a building or the district for a longer period of time,
an email will be sent to the district employees notifying them of the problem and the plan to
solve it. If there is a problem as severe as a security breach, the problem will be investigated
and handled as needed by the technology department, and affected parties will be notified. The
message will be displayed on the District Website as well. Within the building, there are
necessary safety routines in place for students in staff in case of an emergency. Staff members
partake in training each year (bloodborne pathogens, abuse signs), and staff in students
practice fire drills, tornado drills, and lockdown drills in the building in accordance with law
requirements. Each classroom has a map for each situation, as well as a safety plan manual
with directions in detail for each. In the event of an emergency or traumatic event at school,
stakeholders are notified.

Strength: Overall, throughout the building there are daily routines, protocols and expectations
that are well known by students and staff. Each year, teachers and support staff renew
necessary training, and all members of the organization practice emergency drills. The school
has a routine master schedule that is accessible to all, with each grade level’s daily routine. This
helps daily operations run smoothly throughout the building.
OFI: Allowing different teams of teachers (specific to a student) to have intentional planning time
about the implementation and results of that student’s plan in the classroom. For example, a
special education teacher, classroom teacher, and school counselor would have an intentional
10 minutes of time to talk about the strengths and areas for improvement they are noticing in a
child in the special education setting, the classroom setting, and in terms of the work the student
is doing in small group with the counselor. Allowing this time would improve the operations of
student learning for students in need of additional support in the building.
 Improvement Plan
Strategy (2) - Reflections on IGPs throughout the school year
Action Steps Responsibilities Timeline Assessment Resources Communication
Processes Needed Plan
All teachers in Classroom Teachers will
the building teachers, special reflect on The main Teachers will Individual Growth
(classroom education their student point of need small Plans will be
teachers, teachers, progress assessment group and written and
special interventionists, every 4 will be intervention maintained by the
education and specialists weeks in student plans for teacher, and
teachers, will choose their their IGP progress students, and overseen by
interventionists below grade level form, and monitoring possibly the mentor and
/specialists) students that they meet with a reports. The support of an master teachers
will reflect believe will move mentor or teacher can interventionist. as well as building
upon and to the next color master use other Each grade leaders. Mentor
adjust their band on state teacher on assessment level will and master
Individual FAST testing. the 5th week tools in the depend on teachers will work
Growth Plan Teachers will to review classroom to their team of to support
(IGP) to be create their that progress track student teachers to teachers in
responsive to support plan for or adjust learning support reaching their
the needs of these students, their (benchmark individual goal, and will be
their students and use progress approach to level, volume learning needs responsible for
throughout the monitoring scores student of during Flood: signing or
school year. to track student learning. independent guided reading approving each
Teachers will growth towards Teachers will reading, and fluency teacher’s plan for
track student their learning share in phonics groups. student learning.
growth on goal, as well as Cluster what assessment Teachers will The mentor and
progress the grade level’s is going well, scores), but research master teachers
monitoring, growth towards and share progress teaching will share the
and use their our building goal. teaching monitoring methods to responsibility with
reflections to methods to reports will be best meet the teachers to follow
adjust or other directly needs of up on reflection of
increase the teachers in related to our struggling teacher
support they the building. building goal learners. effectiveness and
are giving to and the Mentor and student
students. scores master engagement and
expected to teachers will to promote
rise on be available for responsive
testing. support in this adjustments to
work. instruction.