Julie Chavez-BaylesPrincipal

2012-2015 Instructional Focus

Kimbark Elementary School San Bernardino City Unified School District

San Bernardino, California

At Kimbark Elementary, we believe that student success rests on a combination of academic excellence and global awareness. Thus, our central aim is to nurture confident, empowered, well-rounded, and socially responsible citizens. As a Magnet Environmental Science and Technology School, we are committed to developing and sustaining effective collaboration and ongoing partnership with families and community, because nurturing successful students is a shared responsibility among home, school, and community.

This Instructional Focus lays out a concrete roadmap for reaching the goal. It is a statement of our commitment to continuous improvement of teaching practices, leadership practices, and organizational practices. “Four Pillars” frame the Instructional Focus.

• Pillar One – Equitable Access to Rigorous High-Level Programs – ensures that all students are held to high academic expectations and are provided multiple opportunities for successful learning.

• Pillar Two – Data-Driven Professional Learning and Collaboration – focuses on continuous professional

development for our teachers, leaders and staff. It also emphasizes the use of data to monitor and adjust instruction and professional practices.

• Pillar Three – High Expectations for All – emphasizes a shared belief that all students can achieve at high levels, and promotes high academic and behavioral expectations as the shared responsibility of the entire school community.

• Pillar Four – Safe Climate & Strong Relationships with Families and Community – recognizes that schools can’t do it alone! It promotes trust and open communication among home, school and community to sustain shared responsibility for safe schools and student success.

This plan is a declaration of our aspiration for all students. Through consistent implementation of this Instructional Focus, the Kimbark Elementary School community will achieve our ultimate Goal: Academic Excellence + Global Awareness = Successful Students!

Nurturing Academically Competent, Globally Aware Students!

January 2013

2Facilitated, compiled and designed by Performance Fact, Inc.

STUDENT LEARNING

Our goal is clear:

Vital signs of student progress

Academic Excellence + Global Awareness = Success!

Socio-Emotional Resiliency

Continuous Academic Growth

Academic Tenacity

• Proficiency in Core Subjects

• Successful transitions from grade-to-grade, leading to productive citizens

• Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving

• Self- Responsibility, Self-Discipline, and Initiative

• Acquisition of Positive Life-Skills

• Goal-Orientation, Optimistic Outlook, and Confidence

We, the Kimbark Elementary School community, promote academic excellence and global awareness

to ensure responsible citizens of the community and the world.

3Facilitated, compiled and designed by Performance Fact, Inc.

PROFESSIONAL PRACTICESAs practitioners, we are committed to continuous improvement of our Teaching Practices, Leadership Practices, and Organizational Practices because they are the preconditions for higher levels of student achievement. Our Four Pillars are the building blocks of our professional practices; they frame what we must do well in every classroom to ensure success for all students, without exception.

Teaching Practices Leadership Practices Organizational Practices

T1: Teachers will raise expectations and levels of rigor for all students regardless of current level of achievement, to ensure their continuous growth and development.

T2: Teachers will engage students in planning, setting learning goals, monitoring progress and articulating successes and challenges.

L1: Principal and Instructional Leaders will communicate high expectations for student performance and let students know that all are invested in their success.

L2: Principal will provide time for teachers to share their experiences with differentiated strategies and develop new ones.

O1: All leaders, teachers and staff will proactively monitor their own beliefs and behavior to ensure that high expectations are communicated to all students, regardless of their background or circumstances.

O2: School staff will use data to identify strengths, challenges and adjustments to delivery of standards aligned curriculum, instruction and assessment practices.

T3: Teachers will use multiple assessment methods (e.g., performance assessments; portfolios) to extend their understanding of students’ progress and learning challenges to improve instruction and intervention practices.

T4: Teachers will use common planning time to address curriculum scope & sequence, student needs, and reflect on instructional practices, share ideas and strategies that work with each other.

L3: Principal and Leadership Team will lead staff in data analysis to identify school successes and challenges, and take corrective action based on the evidence through aligning professional development opportunities.

L4: Principal will provide teacher teams scheduled, uninterrupted time to examine student assessment data.

O3: All School personnel will implement agreed upon practices about curriculum, assessment and instruction.

O4: Administration will provide time for data informed collegial collaboration about strategies for improving student achievement.

T5: Teachers will provide lessons that require higher-level thinking and allow for open-ended responses.

T6: Teachers will hold students accountable by providing specific and timely feedback, rubrics, and other meta-cognitive and reflective activities.

T7: Teachers will work collegially to develop and enforce school practices that promote a high-achieving, caring, supportive environment.

T8: Teachers will communicatestudent expectations for academicand behavioral standards to parents and seek their involvement.

L5: Instructional leaders/ facilitators will convene grade level meetings to assess student learning and assure all students are equally challenged toward meeting standards for learning.

L6: Principal/ Administrative team will routinely support and monitor the implementation of agreed upon professional practices, and the vital signs of student learning.

L7: Administrators/School culture committee will identify ways to improve the effectiveness and utility of established routines and procedures.

L8: Principals/Administrative team will provide information regarding how parents can foster learning at home, give appropriate assistance, monitor homework, and give feedback to teachers.

O5: School/District will ensure that parents are aware of the school’s vision and expectations for learning.

O6: The School/District will establish common grading criteria for student work across classroom, grade-levels and subjects.

O7: The School/District and community will develop a shared vision and plan for promoting, enhancing, and sustaining a high achieving, positive school climate.

O8: The District will establish policies that support and respect family responsibilities, recognizing the variety of parenting traditions and practices within the community’s cultural and religious diversity.

High Expectations for All

Safe Climate & Strong Relationships with Families and Community

Equitable Access to Rigorous, High-Level Instruction

Professional Learning & Data-Driven Collaboration

We will ensure that all students have access to

challenging, differentiated, standards-based instruction

in all core content areas.

We will ensure that all staff uses data to engage in meaningful collaboration and professional learning

to monitor and adjust instructional practices.

We will inspire high academic and behavioral

expectations as the shared responsibility of the entire

school community.

We will build trust and open communication

among home, school and community to sustain

shared responsibility for safe schools and student

success.

Pillar #1

Pillar #2

Pillar #3

Pillar #4

4Facilitated, compiled and designed by Performance Fact, Inc.

In the medical profession, vital signs define the body’s most basic functions and are used to detect and monitor patient health. In a professional learning community, a series of vital signs can be used to track organizational health and monitor progress toward the goal.

By paying consistent attention to the Vital Signs of Student Learning and Professional Practices, we will be able to monitor and communicate progress, continuously improve practices, ensure accountability, and celebrate our successes.

What gets measured and reinforced gets done!

Vital signs & look-fors

Student Learning

TeachingPractices

LeadershipPractices

OrganizationalPractices

Cognitively engaged in work

• Students use and articulate thinking, questioning, negotiating and problem-solving strategies.

• Students take a position and justify it with evidence.

Self-efficacy

• Students exhibit initiative in seeking resources to support own academic and behavioral growth.

• Students set and monitor achievable goals for themselves and celebrate progress.

Attendance

• Decrease percentage of students with attendance rate lower than 95%.

• Decrease percentage of students missing more than 3 days of school per marking period.

Rigorous learning activities

• Teacher uses effective strategies for all learners (e.g., scaffolding, sentence stems, emphasizing key vocabulary).

• Teacher includes instructional tasks with high levels of rigor.

Checking for understanding

• Teacher asks students to summarize and reflect on key concepts using multiple strategies.

• Teacher gives feedback that is explicitly related to the standards.

Monitor student growth

• Teacher holds data conferences with students to progress relative to learning goals.

• Teacher-team analyzes student assessment results and make modifications to instruction.

PD aligned to site priorities

• Professional development for teachers includes self-assessment relative to the school’s Instructional Focus and vital signs of student learning and professional practices.

• Teachers facilitate grade-level meetings and professional development workshops.

Team Collaboration

• Grade level teams analyze data to facilitate increased student learning and instruction.

• Grade level teams meet at least once per month for 45 minutes to reflect on instructional practices and student learning.

Home school relationships

• Percentage of parents who “agree that parents understand the required academic standards and expectations for learning.”

• Principal and teachers use a variety of communication tools on a regular basis to reach parents.

Resources aligned to priorities

• Increase proportion of categorical funds by site allocated to improvement of teacher and leadership effectiveness.

• “Sacred time” is set aside to collaborate, monitor and reflect on professional practices.

Culture of achievement

• Whole-school “rituals” to celebrate and motivate achievement and contributions of students, teachers, staff, and community members.

• Incentives for students for effort and results in academic and non-academic areas of growth.

Aligned instructional supports

• Before-school and after-school programs are directly aligned to school-day curriculum.

• Clear consistent schedules for “push in/pull out” support are published and maintained.