Holland Public Schools

Program Changes for 2014-15

Scheduling Principles

All students will receive core instruction in Reading, Math, Science and Social Studies in grades K-7

Students who need additional support will receive support outside of core instruction

Intervention will be planned and based on student need

Common planning time will be the goal whenever possible

Prepare students for online assessment environment

Guaranteed curriculum for all students….All means all

Program Changes for 2014-15

Idea Lab 6/7 Schedule Changes Technology Basic Skills K-5 TWBI Reproductive Health Read 180

IDEA Lab

Students will remain in their core classes

Students will be grouped in clusters based on Discovery Assessment scores

Teachers will receive training and support so they can provide projects to help students continue to increase their skills

There will not be a pull out IDEA Lab

K-5 Specials

In order to achieve our goal of a guaranteed and viable curriculum for all students, we need to adjust offerings for students

Need to reprioritize specialist classes (Art, Music, P.E..) in order to meet the needs of students

All specials are deemed important

Limited amount of time

Limited amount of resources

Technology Class

K-5 students will receive a 1x per week technology class

Taught by a certified teacher

Technology will replace elementary Spanish (TWBI will continue)

Rationale: In order to prepare for online assessment and become 21st Century learners it is critical that our students master technology skills

TWBI

TWBI continues to be a growing program

We will have classrooms in Two Way Bilingual Immersion in Kindergarten through Fifth grade at West (for all HPS students)

We will add an additional Kindergarten section within TWBI

Initial data shows TWBI students are achieving near or above their non TWBI counterparts

P.E.

K-6 will remain in current form

7th grade students will receive Reproductive Health instruction during P.E. time

Rational: Continuation of having reproductive health during Science limits the amount of core content; P.E. and Health are often taught together in other districts

Art and Music

Art and Music will remain in same format

Interventions for 6th and 7th Grade Students

Currently we do not have a set intervention time

Students miss core classes resulting in greater achievement gaps

i.e. Some students do not receive core ELA and Writing class for 2 years

Interventions will be taken from Art/Spanish

We will need to plan for students starting 8th grade at a basic level in Spanish (students receiving interventions during 6th and 7th may not be able to begin Spanish instruction till the 8th grade))

Read 180

Read 180 was brought back to the 6/7th grade levels this year at Jefferson, East and West

Student achievement data from the MS Read 180 programs shows substantial growth. More comprehensive reading program

In addition to ELA and Writing

We will have some Read 180 courses at each K-7 building

“There are only three ways to improve student learning at scale: You can raise the level of content that students are taught. You can increase the skill and knowledge that teachers bring to the teaching of the content. And you can increase the level of students' active learning of the content" (Elmore, 2009, p. 24)