EVALUATION RUBRIC: END-OF-CYCLE SELF-ASSESSMENT Evaluation Rubric Standards, Indicators and Elements for Administrative Leadership End-of-Cycle Self-Assessment EVALUATION RUBRIC: END-OF-CYCLE SELF-ASSESSMENT STANDARD I:INSTRUCTIONAL LEADERSHIP The education leader promotes the learning and growth of all students and the success of all staff by cultivating a shared vision that makes powerful teaching and learning the central focus of schooling. Self-Assessment for Overall Standard I Instructional Leadership: UnsatisfactoryNeeds ImprovementProficientExemplary X Indicator IA:CurriculumEnsures that all instructional staff design effective and rigorous standards-based units of instruction consisting of well-structured lessons with measurable outcomes. I-A. ElementsUnsatisfactoryNeeds ImprovementProficientExemplary I-A-1. Standards-Based Unit Design Does not set the expectation that administrators use effective strategies for ensuring development of well-designed standards-based units, provide adequate resources or support for this activity, and/or monitor or assess progress. Provides limited training and/or support to administrators to employ effective strategies for ensuring well-designed standards-based units. May sometimes monitor and assess progress and provide feedback. Provides support and assistance for administrators to learn and employ effective strategies for ensuring that educators and educator teams design standards-based units with measurable outcomes and challenging tasks requiring higher-order thinking. Frequently monitors and assesses progress, providing feedback as necessary. Empowers administrators to employ strategies that empower staff to create rigorous standards-based units of instruction that are aligned across grade levels and content areas. Continually monitors and assesses progress, provides feedback, and connects administrators to additional supports as needed. Is able to model this element. I-A-2. Lesson Development Support Does not state expectations for administrators that they establish effective strategies to ensure development of well-structured lessons, does not provide training or support, and/or does not discriminate between strong and weak strategies for ensuring effective lesson-planning practices. Provides limited training to administrators on how to establish effective strategies for ensuring that educators develop well-structured lessons and/or does not consistently identify and/or address patterns when there is evidence of a weak strategy being employed. Supports administrators to learn and establish effective strategies for ensuring that educators develop well-structured lessons with challenging, measurable objectives and appropriate student engagement strategies, pacing, sequence, activities, materials, technologies, and grouping. Supports administrators to collaborate on developing strategies that enable educators to consistently develop series of interconnected, well-structured lessons with challenging objectives and appropriate student engagement strategies, pacing, sequence, materials, and grouping and identifies specific exemplars and resources in each area. Is able to model this element. EVALUATION RUBRIC: END-OF-CYCLE SELF-ASSESSMENT SELF-ASSESSMENT RATING FOR INDICATOR IA CURRICULUM: UnsatisfactoryNeeds ImprovementProficientExemplary X Indicator IB:Curriculum [SCHOOL COMMITTEE PRIORITY INDICATOR] Ensures that practices in all settings reflect high expectations regarding content and quality of effort and work, engage all students, and are personalized to accommodate diverse learning styles, needs, interests and levels of readiness. I-B. ElementsUnsatisfactoryNeeds ImprovementProficientExemplary I-B-1. Instructional Practices Does not look for evidence of and/or cannot accurately identify ways that principals identify effective teaching strategies when the principals observe practice and review unit plans.. While the superintendent may observe principal practice and artifacts, s/he only occasionally looks for evidence that principals are identifying effective teaching strategies and practices when they observe practice and review unit plans. While observing principal practice and artifacts, ensures that principals identify a variety of effective teaching strategies and practices when they observe practice and review unit plans. While observing principal practice and artifacts, ensures that principals know and employ effective strategies and practices for helping educators improve instructional practice.Is able to model this element. I-B-2. Quality of Effort and Work Does not set high expectations for the quality of content, student effort, and/or student work district-wide, or expectations are inappropriate. May set high expectations for the quality of content, student effort, and student work district-wide, but allows expectations to be inconsistently applied across the district. Sets and models high expectations for the quality of content, student effort, and student work district-wide and supports administrators to uphold these expectations consistently. Sets and models high expectations for the quality of content, student effort, and student work district-wide and empowers administrators, educators and students to uphold these expectations consistently. Is able to model this element. I-B-3. Diverse Learners Needs [SC PRIORITY ELEMENT] Does not look for evidence of and/or cannot accurately identify ways that principals identify effective teaching strategies and practices that are appropriate for diverse learners. While the superintendent may observe principal practice, s/he only occasionally looks for evidence that principals are identifying effective teaching strategies and practices that are appropriate for diverse learners when they observe practices and review unit plans. While observing principal practice, ensures that principals look for and identify a variety of teaching strategies and practices that are effective with diverse learners when they observe practices and review unit plans. Employs strategies that ensure that principals know and consistently identify teaching strategies and practices that are meeting the needs of diverse learners while teaching their content. Is able to model this element. SELF-ASSESSMENT RATING FOR INDICATOR IB CURRICULUM: UnsatisfactoryNeeds ImprovementProficientExemplary X EVALUATION RUBRIC: END-OF-CYCLE SELF-ASSESSMENT Indicator IC:Assessment Ensures that all principals and administrators facilitate practices that propel personnel to use a variety of formal and informal methods and assessments to measure student learning, growth and understanding and make necessary adjustments to their practice when students are not learning. I-C. ElementsUnsatisfactoryNeeds ImprovementProficientExemplary I-C-1. Variety of Assessments Does not communicate or monitor a strategy for assessments, leaving it up to administrators to design and implement their own strategies. Provides administrators with some formal assessment options and suggests that they coordinate their assessment practices within their teams and include a variety of assessments but does not monitor this practice. Supports administrator teams to use a variety of formal and informal methods and assessments, including common interim assessments that are aligned across grade levels and subject areas.Leads administrator teams to develop and implement a comprehensive assessment strategy that includes ongoing informal assessment and common interim assessments that are aligned across grade levels and subject areas. Is able to model this element. I-C-2. Adjustment to Practice Does not encourage or facilitate administrator teams to review assessment data. Suggests that administrator teams meet to review data and plan for adjustments and interventions but inconsistently monitors this practice. Provides the resources for planning time and effective support for administrator teams to review assessment data and identify appropriate interventions and adjustments to practice. Monitors administrators efforts and successes in this area. Leads, plans, facilitates, and supports administrator team review meetings after each round of assessments. Monitors teams plans, adjustments to instruction, and outcomes and shares lessons learned with others. Is able to model this element. SELF-ASSESSMENT RATING FOR INDICATOR IC ASSESSMENT: UnsatisfactoryNeeds ImprovementProficientExemplary X Indicator ID:Evaluation Provides effective and timely supervision and evaluation of all staff in alignment with state regulations and contract provisions. I-D. ElementsUnsatisfactoryNeeds ImprovementProficientExemplary I-D-1. Educator Goals Does not support administrators to develop professional practice, student learning and/or district/school improvement goals, review the goals for quality, and/or Supports administrators and administrator teams to develop professional practice, student learning and, where appropriate, district/school improvement goals but does not Supports administrators and administrator teams to develop and attain meaningful, actionable, and measurable professional practice, student learning, and where Supports administrators and administrator teams to develop and attain meaningful, actionable, and measurable professional practice, student learning and district/school EVALUATION RUBRIC: END-OF-CYCLE SELF-ASSESSMENT support administrators in attaining goals. consistently review them for quality and/or monitor progress. appropriate, district/school improvement goals. improvement goals and models this process through the superintendents own evaluation process and goals. Is able to model this element. I-D-2. Observations and Feedback Rarely conducts visits to observe principal practice and/or does not provide honest feedback to administrators who are not performing proficiently. Makes infrequent unannounced visits to schools to observe principal practice, rarely provides feedback that is specific and constructive for administrators, and/or critiques struggling administrators without providing support to improve their performance. Typically makes at least three unannounced visits to each school to observe principal practice every year and provides targeted constructive feedback to all administrators. Acknowledges effective practice and provides redirection and support for those whose practice is less than Proficient. Makes unannounced visits to schools throughout the year to observe administrator practice and provides targeted constructive feedback to all administrators. Engages with all in conversations with all administrators about improvement, celebrates effective practice, and provides targeted support to administrators whose practice is less than Proficient. Is able to model this element. I-D-3. RatingsAssigns ratings for performance, goal attainment, and impact on student learning without collecting and analyzing sufficient and/or appropriate data or does not assign ratings for some administrators. Assigns ratings for performance, goal attainment, and impact on student learning in a way that is not consistently transparent to administrators. Exercises sound and reliable judgment in assigning ratings for performance, goal attainment, and impact on student learning and ensures that administrators understand why they received their ratings. Exercises sound and reliable judgment in assigning ratings for performance, goal attainment, and impact on student learning. Ensures that administrators understand in detail why they received their ratings and provides effective support around this practice Is able to model this element. I-D-4. Alignment Review Does not review alignment between judgment about practice and data about student learning when evaluating and rating administrators. Occasionally reviews alignment between judgment about practice and student learning data. Consistently reviews alignment between judgment about practice and student learning data and provides guidance to administrators to make informed decisions about educator support and evaluation based upon this review. Studies alignment between judgment about practice and data about student learning when evaluating and rating administrators and provides effective support around this practice. Is able to model this element. EVALUATION RUBRIC: END-OF-CYCLE SELF-ASSESSMENT SELF-ASSESSMENT RATING FOR INDICATOR ID ASSESSMENT: UnsatisfactoryNeeds ImprovementProficientExemplary X Indicator IE:Data-Informed Decision Making [SCHOOL COMMITTEE PRIORITY INDICATOR] Uses multiple sources of evidence related to student learning, including state, district and school assessment results and growth data, to inform school and district goals and improve organizational performance, educator effectiveness and student learning. I-E. ElementsUnsatisfactoryNeeds ImprovementProficientExemplary I-E-1. Knowledge and Use of Data Relies on too few data sources to represent the full picture of school or district performance, and/or does not analyze the data accurately. May work with administrators to identify multiple sources of student learning data, but these data do not provide multiple perspectives on performance, and/or analysis of the data is sometimes inaccurate. Guides administrators and supports them in identifying a range of appropriate data sources and effectively analyze the data for decision-making purposes. Leads administrator teams to identify a range of appropriate data sources, including non-traditional information that offers a unique perspective on school and district performance, and models effective data analysis for staff. Is able to model this element. I-E-2. School and District Goals [SC PRIORITY ELEMENT] Gathers limited information on school and district strengths and weaknesses and/or does not use these data to inform district plans or actions. Assesses school and district strengths and weaknesses using data that are not carefully analyzed and/or writes an unfocused strategic plan. Uses data to accurately assess school and district strengths and areas for improvement to inform the creation of focused, measurable district goals. Provides support to principals in their efforts to create focused, measurable school goals. Involves stakeholders in a comprehensive diagnosis of school and district strengths and weaknesses using appropriate data, and leads a collaborative process to develop a focused, results-oriented strategic plan with annual goals. Is able to model this element. I-E-3. Improvement of Performance, Effectiveness, and Learning Does not share assessment data with administrators or provide them with resources and support to use data to make adjustments to school or district plans, and/or model appropriate data analysis strategies. Shares limited data with administrators to identify student and/or educator subgroups that need support; provides limited assistance to administrator teams in using data to improve performance.Uses multiple data sources to evaluate administrator and district performance. Provides administrators and administrator teams with the resources and support to disaggregate assessment data and assists them in identifying students who need additional support. Uses multiple data sources to evaluate administrator and district performance. Provides administrators and administrator teams with the resources and support to disaggregate assessment data and assists them in identifying students who need additional support. Empowers educators to use a range of data sources to pinpoint areas for their own and schoolwide improvement. Is able to model this element. EVALUATION RUBRIC: END-OF-CYCLE SELF-ASSESSMENT SELF-ASSESSMENT RATING FOR INDICATOR IE DATA-INFORMED DECISION MAKING: UnsatisfactoryNeeds ImprovementProficientExemplary X SELF-ASSESSMENT NARRATIVE FOR STANDARD I- INDICATORS IA-IE The Office of Teaching and Learning, our principals, our elementary instructional coaches, our curriculum leaders K-8, and our Department Heads have made substantial progress in moving our curricular and instructional work forward. The focus of our District and School Improvement Plans are solidly focused on improving the instructional core--the relationship between the student and teacher in the presence of content. The district and school improvement plans have become much more aligned over the past five years focusing heavily on curricular alignment and instructional improvement toward the goal of having a coherent program which provides a model of instruction that meets the needs of a highly diverse group of learners. Curricular work was strong at all levels this year. The first year of Arts Integration at our elementary schools was highly successful. Faculty and staff worked together and with various community partners to create engaging experiences for our students so that the curriculum was brought to life. The elementary K-5 staff decided to work on one social studies unit per grade in the upcoming year, which will be integrated with the arts. Arts integration will also be expanded to the middle school level in 2015-2016. A decision was finalized this year regarding the math curriculum sequence for ARHS. Interactive Mathematics Program was selected and an implementation plan is underway. Implementation of early reading curriculum is in place for kindergarten and grade one using Superkids. Student growth from fall to winter has been outstanding. Our students average scores rose at well above the average rate and more students are in the above average range and fewer students were in the below average range. The mean growth was well above average. A similar trend was seen in the growth in reading from winter to spring.We will begin strengthening reading programming for grade two in the coming year. A standards-based report card was used to share student progress and areas for improvement with families for grade 6 mathematics. In terms of curricular mapping, Middle School mapping is well underway in areas such as mathematics, social studies, health, physical education, science, chorus, and drama. Elementary units such as the kindergarten life cycle unit are being mapped using Understanding By Design/Atlas Rubicon. Performance tasks are important components of each unit. Design of the new 9th grade World Civilization is well underway using Understanding By Design/Atlas Rubicon. Instructional improvement was a strong focus of our work this year. The creation of structures to improve what happens in classrooms included utilizing instructional coaches, expanding teacher leadership, implementing equity walks,using instructional rounds, and means of providing embedded professional development. The creation of elementary curriculum leaders this year was instrumental in planning and using well the early release days established this school year.Instructional coaches and reading specialists/intervention teachers provided embedded professional development for faculty and staff regarding both planning, content knowledge, and instructional practice. Smaller peer observations in mathematics were conduct ed and created a basis for Learning Labs being planned for elementary math in 2015-2016. These will focus on cognitive demand for all children. The elementary coaches worked with the entire faculty of each school regarding the importance of cognitive demand during the grade level team meetings. This work is helping teachers EVALUATION RUBRIC: END-OF-CYCLE SELF-ASSESSMENT analyze their assignments and develop the ability to boost the level of cognitive demand for students. The use of instructional coaches to model and provide embedded professional development and support will move into the middle (2.0 Instructional Coaches) and high schools (.3 instructional coaches in mathematics) in 2015-2016. Instructional rounds were conducted this year at ARMS with a focus on gathering data regarding the level of higher order thinking skills noted in the task, the teaching, and in the student conversation. Beginning early in the school year, in September, along with several additional workshop times, all special education staff have participated in professional development sessions to develop our practice in writing meaningful IEPs.We worked with an outside consultant, Carol Kosnitsky,on this process and our Education Team Leaders and other special education staff are implementing practices to enhance our skills in this area.We are working with our Special Education Parent Advisory Council to elicit ongoing feedback in this area.Through SEPAC several workshops, including a Basic Rights Workshop and an IEP Clinic, have been offered for families so that our work and goals in this area are aligned. We created a Professional Development model this year in collaboration with the APEA, our teachers association, to establish a process for generating professional development opportunities from faculty and staff, often lead by faculty and staff. ARPS-U and PLCs were created as such a mechanism, offered free of charge for our staff. ARPS-U provides credit which can then be applied to salary lane changes and PLCs provided Professional Development Points toward state relicensure. 203 staff members participated in a PLC or an ARPS-U course in this first year. The courses offered were:1.Promoting Equity in the Classroom via Complex Instruction 2.Orton Gillingham- Creating Life-Long Learners 3.ARPS-U Google Apps 4.Deeping our Practice: How contemplative inquiry and meditation can offer clarity and insight to our teaching lives. 5.Equity Work with Recommended Readings 6.Working Memory and Its Impact on Learning 7.Everything Google: Google Apps for Education 8.Mimio Users Group 9.Teacher Reflection and Contemplative Practices: How cultivating awareness and mindfulness can infuse our teaching with insight and enthusiasm. In addition, we created opportunity to grow our own faculty and staff. We created a special education in-district cohort program which allows for faculty and staff to meet the competencies for state licensure in special education. We had 22-24 people enroll in these learning modules and had the opportunity to hire two of these staff in a special education role this coming year. We offered a Board Certification for Behavior Analysts course, along with a supervised practicum experience, through Elms College in which five staff participated this year. Clearly indicated in our offerings is our focus on instructional improvement and meeting the needs of a diverse student body. In addition to the ARPS-U and PLCs, we provided substantial professional development regarding co-teaching, restorative practices, and our school based series on equity directly connected to our practice. Finally, we have purchased Chromebooks for all schools, specifically to support the students/teachers in co-teaching classrooms. We will offer a Chromebook professional development opportunity this summer in which we will explore how Universal Design for Learning and having access to Accessible EVALUATION RUBRIC: END-OF-CYCLE SELF-ASSESSMENT Educational Materials (AEM) can change the classroom environment. Teachers will be introduced to how Chromebooks, with specific extensions and apps, can support a wide range of students in the classroom who struggle with reading and writing. Specific strategies will be reviewed using the technology to support teacher collaboration and planning. We continued focusing on observation and providing meaningful feedback as required in the Massachusetts Evaluation Model during our District Instructional Leadership meetings. We were acknowledged by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education as one of four districts who demonstrated a strong implementation of this model. We hosted members from the School Improvement Network and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) who filmed interviews with administrators, teachers, classroom instructors, and the District Instructional Leadership Team. These videos will be shown nationwide. In terms of use of data, we have become more expert in the use of data to inform instruction and to monitor the progress of our students. As required, we are engaged in state required assessment. This year we opted out of the Kindergarten grant funding, with support from theAmherst and Pelham School Committees, due to the significant amount of assessment required. We are more comfortable with internal measures connected to the curriculum, and, most importantly, with formative assessment of student learning within the classroom to inform instruction. We would like to focus more of our efforts on having teachers utilize a broader range of tools to access real time data in the classroom to inform instruction. We use a variety of data to create our district and school improvement plans such as: standardized assessments; internal measures; survey data from staff, students and families; state audit data; focus groups, and external consultant review. We implemented equity walks this year to inform our professional development at the school level, and we continue to use Instructional Rounds to gather data for district/school improvement. In addition, we implemented a school-family engagement review of each school that included focus groups, walk throughs, document collection, surveys and photographic evidence. This data will be compiled and brought back to the focus groups, so that they can support the principal in developing action plans to inform the school and district work. In the coming year, we will utilize an assessment of our schools 5Essentials from UChicago Impact which will provide us multi-year improvement data. SUPPORTING ARTIFACTS(NOTE:Numerous additional artifacts are available in the shared folder on the Google drive.) AIMSWEB Progress Report ARMS Instructional Rounds, April 1, 2015 PLC and ARPS-U Feedback Summaries Arts Integration Presentation ARHS Math Curriculum Review Presentation Co-Teaching Workshop PD UChicago Impact EVALUATION RUBRIC: END-OF-CYCLE SELF-ASSESSMENT STANDARD II:MANAGEMENT AND OPERATIONS Promotes the learning and growth of all students and the success of all staff by ensuring a safe, efficient and effective learning environment using resources to implement appropriate curriculum, staffing and scheduling. Self-Assessment for Overall Standard II Management and Operations: UnsatisfactoryNeeds ImprovementProficientExemplary X Indicator IIA:Environment Develops and executes effective plans, procedures, routines and operational systems to address a full range of safety, health and emotional and social needs. II-A. ElementsUnsatisfactoryNeeds ImprovementProficientExemplary II-A-1. Plans, Procedures, and Routines Does not organize the district effectively for orderly and efficient movement of students. May establish plans, procedures, and routines to guide administrators, but student entry, dismissal, meals, class transitions, assemblies, and recess are not consistently orderly and/or efficient. Develops systems, plans, procedures, and routines for administrators to implement that generally ensure orderly and efficient student entry, dismissal, meals, class transitions, assemblies, and recess. Establishes systems, plans, procedures, and routines that empower administrators, students and staff to implement orderly and efficient student entry, dismissal, meals, class transitions, assemblies, and recess. Is able to model this element. II-A-2. Operational Systems Fails to establish systems and procedures to support custodial and/or other staff, so that the campus is not generally clean, attractive, welcoming, and/or safe.Develops systems and procedures that result in inconsistent supervision and/or support of custodial and other staff, resulting in a campus that is not consistently clean, attractive, welcoming, or safe.Develops systems and procedures for the effective supervision and support of custodial, clerical, food services, and other staff effectively so that the campus is clean, attractive, welcoming, and safe. Creates and maintains a district environment in which custodial and other staff take personal responsibility for keeping the campus clean, attractive, welcoming, and safe. Is able to model this element. II-A-3. Student Safety, Health, and Social and Emotional Needs Does not develop consistent procedures for student discipline; district disciplinary practice varies from school to school; often tolerates discipline violations and/or enforces district policies or proceduresinconsistently. May urge administrators to demand good student behavior but allows varying standards to exist in different schools. Supervises and supports administrators in addressing student discipline and bullying matters on a case-by-case basis in the absence of a Supports administrator teams in developing systems and procedures for positive student behavior; models high expectations for student behavior and provides appropriate training for administrators to uphold these expectations. Establishes Guides administrators and teams to develop practices that consistently showcase high expectations for student behavior and invest staff and students in upholding these expectations. Successfully implements district-wide routines and consequences such that EVALUATION RUBRIC: END-OF-CYCLE SELF-ASSESSMENT system of procedures and consequences. district-wide routines and consequences, including policies and systems to prevent and address bullying and other behaviors that threaten students social and emotional well-being.students take ownership over addressing bullying and other behaviors that threaten students social and emotional well-being. Is able to model this element. SELF-ASSESSMENT RATING FOR INDICATOR IIA ENVIRONMENT: UnsatisfactoryNeeds ImprovementProficientExemplary X Indicator IIB:Human Resources Management and Development Implements a cohesive approach to recruitment, hiring, induction, development and career growth that promotes high-quality and effective practice. II-B. ElementsUnsatisfactoryNeeds ImprovementProficientExemplary II-B-1. Recruitment and Hiring Strategies Does not successfully lead the recruitment and hiring process.Leads the recruitment and hiring process but does not consistently identify effective administrators and educators.Leads the districts recruitment and hiring process and, through it, consistently identifies effective administrators and educators who share the districts mission.Consistently identifies effective administrators and educators who share the districts mission. Empowers administrators and faculty members to share in a structured, consistent interview process. Is able to model this element. II-B-2. Induction, Professional Development, and Career Growth Strategies Does not support new administrators, provide guidance to them to support educators, organize high-quality job-embedded professional development, and/or support the career growth of effective educators. Develops only a limited district-wide induction program for new administrators and teachers and/or inconsistently implements the districts induction strategy; organizes job-embedded professional development that is not consistently high quality or aligned with goals; and/or does not consistently support effective administrators and educators career growth. Does not establish criteria for Develops district-wide induction support for new administrators and teachers and/or faithfully implements the districts induction strategy; organizes high-quality job-embedded professional development aligned with district goals; and supports the career growth of effective professional personnel by distributing leadership tasks, developing criteria for the awarding Facilitates the administrator-led design and implementation of induction support, job-embedded professional development, and career growth support all of which are aligned with district goals; are consistently viewed by professional personnel as effective and helpful, and provide multiple opportunities for administrator and educator growth and learning. Leads the administrator team in developing EVALUATION RUBRIC: END-OF-CYCLE SELF-ASSESSMENT the awarding of professional status.of professional status,and monitoring progress and development. district criteria for the awarding of professional status. Is able to model this element. SELF-ASSESSMENT RATING FOR INDICATOR IIB HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT: UnsatisfactoryNeeds ImprovementProficientExemplary X Indicator IIC:Scheduling and Management Information Systems Uses systems to ensure optimal use of data and time for teaching, learning, and collaboration, minimizing disruptions and distractions for school-level staff. II-C. ElementsUnsatisfactoryNeeds ImprovementProficientExemplary II-C-1. Time for Teaching and Learning Does little to minimize disruptions to instructional time and minimize disruptions and distractions for school-level staff, including principals.Generally acts to minimize disruptions to instructional time and minimize disruptions and distractions for school-level staff, including principals. Creates schedules, procedures andrelated systems thatmaximize instructional time and minimize school day disruptions and distractions for school-level staff, including principals; and consistently monitors the extent to which these systems are effectiveEmpowers administrators and teams to contribute to the design and monitoring of district systems that maximize instructional time and minimize disruptions and distractions for all school-level staff.Is able to model this element. II-C-2. Time for Collaboration Sets unrealistic expectations for administrator team meetings if at all and/or does not create a schedule that provides adequate meeting time for teams. Does not work to prevent or deflect time-wasting activities. Does not establish norms for the administrator team meetings. Sets inconsistent expectations for administrator team meetings and/or creates a schedule that only provides adequate meeting time for some team meetings. Works to prevent or deflect activities with limited success. Norms for team behavior are unclear and/or not consistently practiced. Sets expectations for administrator team meetings and creates a schedule that provides sufficient meeting time for all team meetings. Prevents or deflects activities that interfere with administrators ability to focus on the agenda during team time. Establishes norms for effective team behavior. Is transparent and forthcoming about expectations for all administrator team meetings; creates and implements a schedule that maximizes meeting time for all team members. Collaborates with team members to develop team norms. Is able to model this element. SELF-ASSESSMENT RATING FOR INDICATOR IIC SCHEDULING AND MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS: UnsatisfactoryNeeds ImprovementProficientExemplary X EVALUATION RUBRIC: END-OF-CYCLE SELF-ASSESSMENT Indicator IID:Laws, Ethics and Policies Understands and complies with state and federal laws and mandates, school committee policies, collective bargaining agreement s and ethical guidelines. II-D. ElementsUnsatisfactoryNeeds ImprovementProficientExemplary II-D-1. Laws and Policies Demonstrates lack of awareness or consistent non-compliance with some or all state and federal laws and mandates, school committee policies, or collective bargaining agreements. May know state and federal laws and mandates, school committee policies, and collective bargaining agreements, but inconsistently complies with some laws or policies. Understands and complies with state and federal laws and mandates, school committee policies, and collective bargaining agreements. Provides the resources and support to ensure district-wide compliance. Provides the resources and support for all school personnel to understand and comply with state and federal laws and mandates, school committee policies, and collective bargaining agreements. Is able to model this element. II-D-2. Ethical Behavior Demonstrates lack of sound judgment reflecting integrity and fairness and/or does not adequately protect administrator, student, family, and/or staff confidentiality. Generally demonstrates sound judgment reflecting integrity and fairness with occasional lapses in judgment and/or does not always protect administrator, student, family, and staff confidentiality appropriately. Reliably demonstrates sound judgment reflecting integrity and fairness; protects administrator, student, family, and staff confidentiality appropriately; and expects all district personnel to reflect this practice. Reliably demonstrates sound judgment reflecting integrity and fairness; protects administrator, student, family, and staff confidentiality appropriately. Effectively supports all staff to do both as well. Is able to model this element. SELF-ASSESSMENT RATING FOR INDICATOR IID LAWS, ETHICS AND POLICIES: UnsatisfactoryNeeds ImprovementProficientExemplary X Indicator IIE:Fiscal SystemsDevelops a budget that supports the districts vision, mission and goals; allocates and manages expenditures consistent with district- and school-level goals and available resources. II-E. ElementsUnsatisfactoryNeeds ImprovementProficientExemplary II-E-1. Fiscal Systems Builds a budget that does not align with the districts goals or mismanages available resources. Develops a budget that loosely aligns with the districts vision, mission, and goals or inconsistently manages expenditures and available resources. Develops a budget that aligns with the districts vision, mission, and goals. Allocates and manages expenditures consistent with district/school-level goals and Leads the administrator team to develop a district budget that aligns with the districts vision, mission, and goals with supporting rationale; uses budget limitations to create new opportunities for improvement, when EVALUATION RUBRIC: END-OF-CYCLE SELF-ASSESSMENT available resources.possible; allocates and manages expenditures consistent with district/school-level goals; and seeks alternate funding sources as needed. Is able to model this element. SELF-ASSESSMENT RATING FOR INDICATOR IIE FISCAL SYSTEMS: UnsatisfactoryNeeds ImprovementProficientExemplary X SELF-ASSESSMENT NARRATIVE The emotional and physical safety of our students and staff is a priority. Our safety planning and crisis response plan is established and solidly in place. We collaborate with the Amherst and Pelham Police Departments, the Amherst College and UMASS Police Departments, Amherst Fire Department, Amherst Health Services, Amherst Town Officials, and state agencies in our prevention and response plans. At the start of each school year, we conduct safety walk-throughs of all facilities that include building and central office administrators and Amherst Fire and/or Police Department Officers. In addition, we have a safety flip chart located in all classrooms and offices in our schools. These flip charts are routinely reviewed and adjusted as necessary. As you may recall, last year we moved the reception areas of Wildwood and Fort River to ensure clear views of the entries toensure appropriate entry protocols. This year, we added cameras to ARMS and ARHS non-instructional areas and exteriors to provide additional safety measures within our walls; a project which is 85% complete. As part of the process of adding cameras, we have negotiated memorandums of understanding with our faculty and staffregarding the purpose of the cameras and the process for accessing the footage captured by the cameras. In addition, we have signed a new bus contract which includes placing cameras in all buses. Our Facilities Department does an exceptional job maintaining our buildings, which can be a challenge due to the age of the facilities. We have built internal capacity by hiring an electrician, a plumber, and staff who are skilled builders and mechanics. This has greatly increased our ability to be responsive to the needs of our schools. In addition, we have systems in place which gives the Facilities Director the ability to monitor the conditions of the buildings remotely to support energy efficiency and temperature of the buildings. A capital plan was established three years ago for our Regional Schools to support the ongoing maintenance of our facilities. This process includes working collaboratively with our four towns to determine the financial viability of maintaining the buildings within a multi-year perspective. In addition to connecting with each of the Towns Finance Committees regarding current needs, at least two Four Town Meetings are facilitated annually to discuss the Regional Assessment and Capital needs and how these costs impact our four member towns. This year we completed the ARHS boiler room renovation which was operational prior to the heating season, leading to significant energy saving; installed cameras at ARMS/ARHS; and are currently engaged in repairs on the ARMS swimming pool. We work collaboratively with the towns of EVALUATION RUBRIC: END-OF-CYCLE SELF-ASSESSMENT Amherst and Pelham to address the capital needs of our elementary schools through the Amherst Joint Capital Planning Committee and through collaboration with the Finance Committee and Select Board of Pelham. This year we worked through Amherst to install bus cameras, and we worked with Pelham to address technology needs and lighting around the building. We are actively engaged in a process to address the facility needs at the elementary level in Amherst to provide more functional and accessible schools to support the education of our elementary students. This process will take a long view regarding the sustainability of our elementary schools and our districts as a whole. Last year we submitted a Statement of Interest to the MSBA for state funds for further upgrades to Fort River and Wildwood. We were invited into the process for Wildwood Elementary School. We have completed the MSBA steps to date and received approval from the Town of Amherst to engage in a feasibility student of up to one million dollars. The study includes looking at multiple potential scenarios, including renovating Wildwood as a K-6 school; building a new K-6 Wildwood; and reconfiguring our elementary schools and building a grade 2-6 school for students, which would include closing Wildwood and Fort River Schools. We have a very functional and representative building committee, which has been meet ing regularly throughout the course of this project, and has focused well on keeping the community and the School Committee up-to-date with information. The process of hiring an Owners Project Manager has been completed, with the hiring of Joselyn Lessor. We are in the process of interviewing four designer firm finalists, which will occur on July 2, 2015. Once this part of the process has been completed, a substantial community engagement process will be implemented. The feasibility study will be completed and a recommended step will be brought to the Amherst School Committee in January 2016. The Pelham School Committee and the Pelham Town Officials are actively engaged in conversation regarding the future of Pelham Elementary School given the enrollment projections and the fiscal constraints experienced by the Town as a whole. At the secondary level, we are in the process of exploring the use of our facilities given the decline in enrollment and the reality of an ongoing structural deficit. Kuhn Riddle Architects reviewed our high school to update us on the capacity of the building to ensure we could educate all students 7-12 in this facility. It was confirmed that the building has the capacity to serve approximately 1700 students, and we anticipate our districts 7-12 enrollment being 1400 within two years. Currently teams are working on two components of the feasibility study related to facilities, both examining the opportunities and challenges of a possible merge: 1) Review of special education space and programming requirements and 2) library collections and the need for any modification of the ARHS library space. Substantial steps were taken this year to improve the physical and emotional safety of our students. In terms of students physical health, we maintain exceptional nurses in all of our schools and a Nurse Leader who works to align our guidelines and practices with state and federal regulations. We are currently reviewing our nursing staffing given the number of students with health needs and the need to have nurses present on specific field trips and for afterschool and summer programming. A Wellness Committee was established last year under the direction of the Director of Student Services to address multiple issue related to student wellness. A policy recommendation was made to the Policy Subcommittee and a revised Wellness Policy has been EVALUATION RUBRIC: END-OF-CYCLE SELF-ASSESSMENT approved by the Regional School Committee. In addition, the Wellness Committee completed a grant with Whole Foods to install a salad barat ARMS.There is also ongoing discussion about exploring more Farm-to-Table opportunities in our schools. Next year, the Wellness Committee will focus on physical activity. In terms of mental health and behavioral supports, our schools continue to make substantial progress in implementing a positive behavioral framework of tiered supports and interventions, including social emotional learning opportunities. The Director of Student Services has reconfigured the staffing and roles/responsibilities of our school psychologists, guidance counselors and school adjustment counselors to provide a more coherent system of support and intervention for our students. Substantial adjustments were made this past year at ARHS in terms of roles/responsibilities, and further clarification is underway for this upcoming school year. We successfully implemented the BYRT (Bridge for Resilient Youth in Transition) program this year at ARHS to support students who experience more chronic mental health needs, who are transitioning from or to hospitalization, and or who have medical needs such as concussion. In our first year of the BRYT program, we have quickly seen the need and positive response from our review of the year.In 2014-15 we served 19 nineteen students in BRYT.Families were actively engaged in the BRYT referral and transition program.Familymeetings and regular communication with families and outside treatment providers are part of the program.BRYT offers intensive therapeutic and academic supports to help students who are experiencing challenges remain engaged in school and transition back into their school program. Professional development was provided for staff regarding threat assessment, using the Guidelines for Responding to Student Threats of Violence by Dewey Cornell and Peter Sheras.This opportunity included our law enforcement partners, the District Attorney, and members of our neighboring communities. We sent three staff to be trained on Lifelines through the District Attorneys Office which is for suicide intervention, prevention and postvention. These staffmembers are working this summer to develop a plan and protocol for all schools. Our Anti-Bullying protocols were updated this year and staff were provided training regarding the law and the requirement to report potential incidents of bullying. Relevant faculty and administration were provided legal training regarding the appropriate process to follow in terms of investigating potential incidents of bullying. In addition, a link was placed on all school pages so that people have easy access to reporting a suspected incident of bullying. The state of Massachusetts has recently amended the law that governs school disciplinary practices. The law--referred to as Chapter 222--is consistent with our belief that schools need to stop over-relying on suspension as a response to students inappropriate behavior and, instead, focus on prevention, support and intervention and education. The goal is to support students so that they are able to be in classrooms learning.These changes build on the foundational work we have been engaged in over the past few years regarding implementation of a positive behavioral framework, a tiered model of intervention/supports and education, and the focus on improvement of school and classroom climate. Our Code of Conducts were significantly revised this year for all of our schools, consistent with these goals. In addition, our attorney provided a training on these requirements to administrators and those in the role of discipline/intervention this all. Given that these adjustments ask our faculty, staff, and administrators to learn new skills and respond differently, we EVALUATION RUBRIC: END-OF-CYCLE SELF-ASSESSMENT have provided substantial professional development in Restorative Practices. We had 45 faculty and stafftrained by International Institute of Restorative Practices through attending Introduction to Restorative Practices and Using Circles Effectively, and we had 12people trained as trainers. In addition to faculty and staff, an executive board member from our Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC) participated in the Restorative Practices training and is also now a certified Restorative Practices trainer.This will allow us the capacity to train all of our faculty and staff in this work so that we can take a more problem solving, educational, and restorative approach within our schools. Our core group of trainers is working on a multi-year implementation plan this summer. In addition, we have created the After Action Review Structure which provides a consistent expectation and means of reviewing behavioral data from Educators Handbook in a format that allows for analysis of disparities evident in low level behaviors and provides a structure to review suspension. The elementary schools and ARMS has been engaged in the process of data review this school year, and we oriented ARHS to useof this data as well to support individual students and to inform school-wide action plans.Now that we have a routine established, we will implement an additional level of feedback to building principals as outcomes of the analysis at the district level. The goal is to raise questions that will support the principals in providing support and feedback to faculty and staff regarding data trends so to implement school and/or classroom adjustments.

Our Human Resource Department leads the districts recruitment, hiring, and retention process consistent with the mission of our districts. The Assistant Director of Human Resources sits on the Racial Imbalance Advisory Council, appointed by the Commissioner of Education. In addition she has been a member of the Superintendents Climate Advisory working with faculty and a consultant focusing on recruitment, hiring and retention of faculty/staff of color. In terms of recruitment, we advertise widely for open positions, including through outlets geared to recruitment of staff of color such as Nemnet (the National Employment Minority Network), Minority Reporter and Teacher of Color Magazine. A recommendation came from the Superintendents Climate Advisory Group to send openings to all staff so that they may send it by word of mouth to friends and connections. This recommendation has been implemented. In addition, we are advertising now on the Town Website as well. We have revised our process for interviewing and practical assessments based on the feedback from the Superintendents Climate Advisory Group as well. Diversity Ambassadors will be in place beginning in the 2015-2016 school year to play a role in supporting candidate recruitment and retention by supporting candidates of color through promoting a sense of welcoming, providing information about our schools and community, and answering the diversity questions the candidates may have about our district and community. We have a strong induction and mentoring program for all of our faculty for the first two years of employment. These include monthly professional development requirements and ongoing support from a mentor. The first-year series is focused on Family Engagement and Communication,Growth Mindset,Collaborative Work, Evaluation System, and Instructional Strategies. The second-year series is focused onGrowth Mindset, Cultural Proficiency, Social Justice Framework, Poverty and the Impact on Student Learning, and Family Engagement. This is our first year implementing an ALANA affinity group, led by Monica Hall, Director of Diversity and Equity, and Marta Guevara, Director of Achievement and Accountability. This group met during the school day with attendance ranging from 15-40 staff members per meeting. The group developed a mission and vision for their ongoing work. EVALUATION RUBRIC: END-OF-CYCLE SELF-ASSESSMENT In terms of scheduling and management, the use of time has been a major topic of conversation and action at all levels. We adjusted our schedules at all levels to implement early release days, which allow for cohesive professional development horizontally and vertically. With the expansion of co-teaching, we are reviewing elementary and secondary schedules to ensure collaboration time is included so that co-teachers have some schedule time to plan together should they choose to do so. We continue the before school program in Amherst and Pelham and continue after school programs and/or clubs/sports at all levels. We have implemented our first year of the 21st Century Grant at ARMS. We are in the process of reviewing and strengthening the advisory programs at ARMS and ARHS. The goals of the ARMS schedule change were to increase the amount of core academic instructional time; to preserve our rich offerings of specials and expand access; to strengthen the instructional model: student centered, differentiated, rigorous; to ensure sufficient time for teacher collaboration and co-teaching; and to strengthen advisory. While the implementation process was consistent with the negotiated contract, it proved to be very challenging and not as smooth as we would have liked. The outcome of the schedule change process met the priorities and will be implemented in September 2015. Please see the ARMS schedule presentation powerpoint presented to the School Committee in January and the update to the School Committee on June 9. The ARHS schedule presentation was developed, informed by critical feedback regarding the ARMS process/presentations. The information was presented to students, faculty/staff, and community. Feedback loop was implemented and a decision was made consistent with priorities. The ARHS schedule change will be implemented in September 2016. Our comprehensive spending plan is extremely strong by all standards. Our Director of Finance is highly skilled and has added a new executive summary to these documents to forecast our finances looking forward. In addition, thoughtful planning is in place in terms of use of our E & D (reser ves), and the use of School Choice to maintain our fiscal health moving forward. We work collaboratively with our four partner towns, and very closely with the Town of Pelham and the Town of Amherst. During the FY16 budget development process, we hosted and presented at two Four Town Meetings of the Select Boards, Finance Committees and School Committees of our Regional Communities. In addition, we presented at the Pelham Finance Committee, Amherst Finance Committee and Amherst Select Board. We have worked to minimize the financial impact on our four communities by paying close attention to the budget increases. For FY16, there is a 1.4% increase to our Regional Budget, 1.8 % increase for our Amherst Budget ($100,000 under target), and 2.1 % increase for the Pelham Budget. As part of the districts fiscal policies, the Regional School Committee approved a Food Service Collections Policy, an Investment Policy, and an OPEB policy in 2014-2015. SUPPORTING ARTIFACTS(NOTE:Numerous additional artifacts are available in the shared folder on the Google drive.) ADF: Wellness Policy Human Resources Report to the School Committees link Wildwood Building Project link Regional Revisioning link ARMS Schedule Information link ARHS Schedule Information link ARMS/ARHS Schedule Update to the School Committee link Chapter 222 Law link EVALUATION RUBRIC: END-OF-CYCLE SELF-ASSESSMENT Discipline Presentation to the Regional School Committee linkBullying Incident Report linkFY16 Budget Process Documents link End-of-Year District Department Goals Update Community Survey Summary Results Staff Feedback Survey Results Self-Reflection on Community and Staff Feedback EVALUATION RUBRIC: END-OF-CYCLE SELF-ASSESSMENT STANDARD III:FAMILY AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT Promotes the learning and growth of all students and the success of all staff through effective partnerships with families, community organizations and other stakeholders that support the mission of the school and district. Self-Assessment for Overall Standard III: Family and Community Engagement UnsatisfactoryNeeds ImprovementProficientExemplary X Indicator IIIA:Engagement Actively ensures that all families are welcome members of the classroom and school community and can contribute to the effect iveness of the classroom, school, district and community. III-A. ElementsUnsatisfactoryNeeds ImprovementProficientExemplary III-A-1. Family Engagement Does little to welcome families as members of the district, classroom or school community or tolerates an environment that is unwelcoming to some families. May provide some resources and support and make some attempts to welcome families as members of the district, classroom and school community but does not consistently use culturally sensitive practices and/or work to identify and remove barriers to family involvement. Provides resources and support for all personnel to use culturally sensitive practices to ensure that all families are welcome and can contribute to the district, classroom, school and communitys effectiveness. Works with administrators to identify and remove barriers to families involvement, including families whose home language is not English. Provides resources and support for all personnel to use culturally sensitive practices and successfully engages most families, ensuring that all families are welcome and can contribute to district, classroom, school, and community effectiveness. Works with administrators, families, and organizations to identify and remove barriers to family involvement, including families whose home language is not English. Is able to model this element. III-A-2. Community and Business Engagement Limits work to the immediate context of the schools. Does not make efforts to reach out to community organizations, community members, or businesses that could otherwise contribute to district effectiveness. Engages some community organizations, community members, and/or businesses in annual district events but does not make efforts to increase their involvement to maximize community contributions for district effectiveness. Establishes ongoing relationships with community organizations, community members, and businesses. Engages them to increase their involvement to maximize community contributions for district effectiveness. Establishes strategic partnerships with community organizations, community members, and businesses that improve district effectiveness. Works to increase the types and number of organizations with whom the district partners in order to deepen relationships and increase partner contribution. Is able to model this element. EVALUATION RUBRIC: END-OF-CYCLE SELF-ASSESSMENT SELF-ASSESSMENT RATING IIIA ENGAGEMENT: UnsatisfactoryNeeds ImprovementProficientExemplary X Indicator IIIB:Sharing Responsibility Continuously collaborates with families and community stakeholders to support student learning and development at home, school and in the community. III-B. ElementsUnsatisfactoryNeeds ImprovementProficientExemplary III-B-1. Student Support Does not work with administrators to support educators to identify student needs, does not work with administrators to support families to address student needs, and/or does not draw upon internal or external resources. Asks administrators to identify students struggling academically or behaviorally and/or work with a limited number of families to address student needs, utilizing a limited set of resources. Provides resources and support to enable administrators and educators to identify each students academic, social, emotional, and behavioral needs, including students with disabilities and English learners. Collaborates with administrators to support families to address student needs, utilizing resources within and outside of the district.Provides resources and support to enable administrators and educators to identify each students academic, social, emotional, and behavioral needs, including students with disabilities and English learners. Collaborates with administrators to support families to effectively address student needs and prevent further challenges, connecting students with a network of resources within and outside the district. Is able to model this element. III-B-2. Family Collaboration Does not set clear expectations or provide support for administrators to regularly communicate with families on ways to support their childrens learning at home and at school.Sets general expectations and provides occasional support for administrators to engage families in supporting their childrens learning at school and at home and/or supporting their children with disabilities or limited English proficiency.Sets clear expectations for and supports administrators to regularly engage families in supporting learning at school and home, including appropriate adaptation for students with disabilities or limited English proficiency.Sets clear expectations and provides differentiated resources to support administrators to consistently andregularly engage all families in supporting their childrens learning at school and home, including families and children with limited English proficiency and/or children with disabilities. Is able to model this element. EVALUATION RUBRIC: END-OF-CYCLE SELF-ASSESSMENT SELF-ASSESSMENT RATING FOR INDICATOR IIIB SHARING RESPONSIBILITY: UnsatisfactoryNeeds ImprovementProficientExemplary X Indicator IIIC:Communication Engages in regular two-way, culturally proficient communication with families and community stakeholders about student learning and performance. III-C. ElementsUnsatisfactoryNeeds ImprovementProficientExemplary III-C-1. Two-Way Communication Does not set clear expectations for or provide support to administrators to communicate with families. District communication regarding student learning and performance primarily occurs through school report cards. May set expectations for and provide limited support to administrators to communicate with families but does not stress the importance of two-way communication channels. District communication regarding student learning and performance primarily occurs through school newsletters and other one-way media. Sets clear expectations for and provides support to administrators to communicate regularly with families using two-way communication channels, including careful and prompt response to communications from families. Supports administrators to maximize the number of face-to-face family/teacher interactions. Sets clear expectations for and provides differentiated support to ensure that all administrators design and implement frequent personalized communications, respond carefully and promptly to communications from families, and solicit feedback from families that informs improvement to communication plans. Is able to model this element. III-C-2. Culturally Proficient Communication Does not set clear expectations for or provide support to administrators regarding culturally sensitive communication and/or allows inappropriate disrespectful communication with families that ignores different family cultural norms. May set expectations for administrators regarding culturally sensitive communication but does not provide support to them; and/or occasionally communicates in ways that are culturally insensitive to some families home language, culture, and values. Sets clear expectations for and provides support to administrators regarding culturally sensitive communication. Ensures that district-wide communication with families is always respectful and demonstrates understanding of and sensitivity to different families home language, culture, and values.Sets clear expectations for, models, and provides differentiated support regarding culturally sensitive communication. Ensures that district-wide communication with families is always respectful and demonstrates understanding and appreciation of different families home language, culture, and values. Is able to model this element. EVALUATION RUBRIC: END-OF-CYCLE SELF-ASSESSMENT SELF-ASSESSMENT RATING FOR INDICATOR IIIC COMMUNICATION: UnsatisfactoryNeeds ImprovementProficientExemplary X Indicator IIID:Family Concerns Addresses family and community concerns in an equitable, effective and efficient manner. III-D. Elements UnsatisfactoryNeeds ImprovementProficientExemplary III-D-1. Family Concerns Fails to provide systems and support for personnel to consistently reach out to families in response to concerns, and agreed-upon solutions are often not in the best interest of students. May systems and support to address concerns with families as they arise, but agreed-upon solutions are not always in the best interest of students. Provides systems, and support for administrators to reach out to families as concerns arise and works to reach equitable solutions in the best interest of students. Provides system and support for all school personnel to reach out to families proactively, as soon as concerns arise. Effectively reaches equitable solutions that satisfy families, faculty, and staff and are in the best interest of students. Is able to model this element. SELF-ASSESSMENT RATING FOR INDICATOR IIID FAMILY CONCERNS: UnsatisfactoryNeeds ImprovementProficientExemplary X SELF-ASSESSMENT NARRATIVE We have made substantial progress toward creating a systemic strength-based approach to family engagement. We have created broader opportunities for families, community members, and partners to be involved in our schools. We are in our second year of our Family Center, which has served over 700 families this year and will continue to serve families during the summer. A Parent/Guardian Advisory Board has been created for the Family Center and is meeting routinely with the Director to provide input and feedback into programming, services, and supports for all of our families. Family Outreach of Amherst continues to partner with our staff to provide extensive support to families. A Family Outreach worker has an officespace within our Family Center so that we can provide seamless support.The Family Center provided a Family Center Lecture Series this year for all families and community members about several topics of interest, including: Bullying Prevention, Math Pathways, Navigating the ARPS Powerschool Database, Learning EVALUATION RUBRIC: END-OF-CYCLE SELF-ASSESSMENT Developmental Milestones, MakerSpace, Promoting Early Literacy, and Homework Made Simple. In addition, the Family Center held Juntos We Play events at Village Park (9/27/2014)Butternut (2/26/2015),Olympia Oaks (3/26/2015), North Village 4/18/2015 and the Middle School (6/20/2015). Steps to Success is a comprehensive achievement program for at-promise low income students and their families attending district schools.Steps to Success provides academic support and enrichment, on-going academic advisement, college awareness and readiness, work connections and internship opportunities for students, summer camp opportunities, family education and the support services families need to support the academic achievement of their children.Building upon the many strengths families have, Steps to Success advisors focus on school success and college completion as the main goals for their students.As with all Family Center and district programming, we pursue educational equity and an end to generational poverty for all of our students and their families. Currently, our advisors support 70 families and 125 students as part of this tier three intervention program. Family University, the parent/guardian curricular component of our Family Center, was offered again this year.The main goals of this program are to help families understand schooling in our community, learn about their rights, learn about community resources and learn strategies to support their childrens academic growth. The Family University meetings focus on what children are learning in school, advocacy, parental leadership and effective parenting skills in the 21st Century. This past year, meetings were held monthly on Wednesday mornings, the time most convenient for the parents/guardians who enrolled in the program. We created and implemented a Parent/guardian conference framework this year. The framework consists of questions that should be answered by the end of the conference. The framework was delivered to principals in October to be shared with staff. The Family Center used this as a guide for parent meetings. We will distribute this again at the start of the school year for families and staff and gather feedback regarding any potential changes/improvements.With our partners from the UMASS School Psychology Department, a Family Engagement Review Process was conducted at each school which includes teacher and parent focus groups, walk throughs, document collection, surveys and photographic evidence. This information will be compiled this summer and will be brought back to focus groups who will determine actionable recommendations for the school. We are in the process of starting a Parent Teacher Home Visit Project. District leaders went to Boston in March to see the program implementation. They also met with the leaders of the PTHVP organization from Sacramento, CA. We are partnering with the APEA to facilitate implementation of a modest program for this school year. The initial training for elementary and secondary personnel was held on June 15, and we plan to offer the PTHVP to all Kindergarten families in the Fall and in the Spring this coming year. EVALUATION RUBRIC: END-OF-CYCLE SELF-ASSESSMENT To strengthen student leadership that started in the summer of 2014, a Youth Culture Initiative (YCI) was created through our Family Center and in partnership with Hampshire Youth Connect at Hampshire College. A safe space was created for this diverse group of students to: Dialogue and critically explore racial complexities, and the intersection with personal identities; Explore institutionalized structures which promote and sustain economic and academic inequities; and Express their responses to events affecting their academic journey. These students provided professional development for new teachers and facilitated dialogue with adults and students in school and at community events. The Special Education Parent Advisory Committee has become a strong and connected partner in the work of our schools. The officers meet with the Director of Student Service routinely to represent our families and students as well as to advise the district. I met with the officers twice this year and will continue meeting routinely in the coming school year. The Director of Student Services, A School Committee member and I attended a three day workshop with the SEPAC officers this spring where we created an action plan which is being implemented and will lead our collaborative work this coming school year.In addition, the SEPAC and District partner together to present workshops for families, such as the Co-teaching Workshop. Last, A SEPAC officer joined our professional development series on Restorative Practices and is now a trainer and part of the core group creating and implementing the roll-out of this work. District staff host and facilitate a monthly district meeting with the Parent Guardian Associations from each of our schoolsto support, facilitate and coordinate this critically important work. In terms of addressing conflict and concerns, we implemented an Ombudsperson position in 2011-2012 which provides families with a mechanism for conflict resolution, mediation, and an impartial sounding board when they feel at an impasse with school staff. This position will continue with a new ombudsperson in the upcoming school year since Barry Brooks has decided to retire from the position.We are happy to welcome Paul Wiley to the role. In addition, we placed a bullying incident link on the web page of each school so that people have easy access to sharing their concerns.Forty five staff were trained in restorative practices this summer to strengthen our ability to hear and work toward resolve on issues withinour schools and within the broader community. The core group of trainers are creating the roll-out plan for the schools in order to increase the capacity of all of our school faculty and staff. Finally, we have increased the leadership team members ability to conduct investigations through professional development last fall regarding the implementation of chapter 222. In addition to our many workshops and offerings for families, we continue to host and support community events such as Latino Student Achievement Night, African American Achievement Night, Cambodian New Year Celebration and First Day Celebration on the Common. We also cont inue to provide computers, reduced-fee internet access, backpack and schools supplies, and car seats/booster seats annually in collaboration with our community partners. EVALUATION RUBRIC: END-OF-CYCLE SELF-ASSESSMENT The district continues to demonstrate growth in our creation of partnerships and have developed meaningful, collaborative relationships with community partners such as institutions of higher learning, agencies, and community members that leverage resources and bring technical expertise into the schools. The Superintendents Five College Advisory meets monthly to discuss, create and expand partnerships between the public schools, higher education, and community organizations. Please see the attached list of partnerships. The Superintendents Climate Advisory includes community members and members of higher education which partner on initiatives to improve classroom and school climate. A new partnership with Greenfield Community College to leverage dual enrollment programming, technical/vocational certificate programs, and courses for our community/families/students is well underway with a three year rollout plan. A partnership with UChicago Impact is currently being created so that ARPS will be able to access and benefit from the research and technical support they can provide regarding school improvement. In addition to efforts through our family center, we use multiple venues to share information about our schools with our families and community. We continue using our blog and twitter. We conduct family surveys at each school to inform District and School Improvement Plans. We partner with Amherst Media to provide Public Service Announcements and our ongoing segment Voices from our Schools, which included twenty episodes this year. In addition, this year we had six informational articles published on Masslive and in the Daily Hampshire Gazette: The Benefits of a Continuous District Improvement Plan, by Maria Geryk; Rigorous Instruction and Student Engagement, by Michael Morris; Standards-Based Curricula: How Districts Enhance Learning for All Students, by Rhonda Cohen; Ensuring Positive Classroom and School-wide Climate for All, by Faye Brady; Equity at ARPS, by Monica Hall; Response to Intervention, by Bobbie Finocchio; and School Climate by Marisa Mendonsa.Another new communication tool this year is a weekly email and Update from the Superintendent newsletter for families and staff and a weekly email update to the School Committees. In addition, our leadership team members are in attendance and/or make presentations at numerous town and community events. We have members representing our schools atthe Amherst Budget Coordinating Group, the Amherst Joint Capital Planning Committee, the United Way, Amherst Know Your Neighbor Coalition, Amherst Human Service Network, Coming Together Events, And Amherst Community Health Planning Committ ee. We held two Four-Town meetings to discuss the financial picture of our schools and attended a Shutesbury Select Board meeting to present the recommendation of the Regional Assessment Working Group. We presented to the Amherst Finance Committee, the Amherst Select Board, the Pelham Finance Committee, the Amherst Town Meeting, the Shutesbury Town Meeting, and the School Equity Task Force. We were in attendance at the Pelhamand Leverett Town Meetings. The League of Women Voters invited us to present on the state of our schools and to engage in question and answers..SUPPORTING ARTIFACTS(NOTE:Numerous additional artifacts are available in the shared folder on the Google drive.) 2014-2015 ARPS Family Engagement and Diversity and Equity PlanCo-Teaching Presentation for Families EVALUATION RUBRIC: END-OF-CYCLE SELF-ASSESSMENT Community Partnerships, Events and Projects Voices from our Schools2014-2015 (season 5) oAug 13Amherst Together: Maria, Carol Ross& John Musante oSep 10 Know Your Neighbor: Betsy McGinnis & Cynthia Brubaker oSep 24 RTI at Crocker Farm: Shari Conklin & Jennifer Smith oOct 8 ARHS Dance program: Tracy Vernon & Xavia Perkins oOct 22 Fort River Leadership: Bobbie Finocchio & Diane Chamberlain oDec 3Teaching & Learning: Rhonda Cohen & Ian Stith oDec 17ARMS Leadership: Marisa Mendonsa & Talib Sadiq oJan 21 ARHS Student Advisory Council: Myles Olmstead & Gabriel Fontes oJan 28 Mindfulness & Reflective Study Group: Nick Yaffe oFeb 4AC/ARPS Equity Project: Noreen Swan & Athri Subragnathan oFeb 18Amherst College Lego Mindstorm Robotics: Chris Kingston & Henry Laney oMar 4 ARHS Vocational Program: Crystal Cartwright & Laurel Peltier oMar 18 Amherst College Education Summit: Robert Siudzinski, Megan Lyster, Dennis Quinn oApr 1 Latinos Unidos: ARHS students Sebastian Stiles-Sierwaki & Jocelyne Cruz oApr 15ARHS Pakistan Delegation: Samantha Camera, Tom Fricke & Geoff Friedman oJune3GSA: Joe Koneizcy& Kim Kretzer oJun 8Wildwood Building Project: Morris, Musante, Appy, Bohonowicz oJun 17 Summer Reading: Monica Cage & Brendon Stephen oJun 24United Way: Jim Ayres oJul(upcoming) Regional Revisioning & GCC: Maria Geryk, Kathy Mazur, Mark Jackson, Robert Pura, Sher Hruska, Leo Hwang, Ellen Story oJul (upcoming) Reader to Reader Family Engagement & Literacy: Dennis Quinn & AC interns EVALUATION RUBRIC: END-OF-CYCLE SELF-ASSESSMENT STANDARD IV:PROFESSIONAL CULTURE Promotes success for all students and by nurturing and sustaining a school culture of reflective practice, high expectations and continuous learning for staff. Self-Assessment for Overall Standard IV: Professional Culture UnsatisfactoryNeeds ImprovementProficientExemplary X Indicator IVA:Commitment to High Standards Fosters a shared commitment to high standards of service, teaching and learning with high expectations for achievement for all. IV-A. ElementsUnsatisfactoryNeeds ImprovementProficientExemplary IV-A-1. Commitment to High Standards Does not encourage high standards of teaching and learning or high expectations for achievement with the administrator team, and/or may demonstrate low expectations for faculty and staff. May ask administrators for commitment to high standards of teaching and learning with high expectations for achievement for all but does not support and/or model it. Fosters a shared commitment to high standards of teaching and learning, for all administrators, with high expectations for achievement for all. Leads administrators in developing a shared commitment to high standards of teaching and learning with high expectations for achievement for all. Revisits and renews commitment with administrator team regularly. Is able to model this element. IV-A-2. Mission and Core Values Does not develop core values and mission statements for the school. May develop core values and mission statements but rarely uses them to guide decision making. Develops, promotes, and models commitment to core values that guide the development of a succinct, results-oriented mission statement and ongoing decision making. Leads administrators to develop core values and mission statements, share these statements with families and the school district community, and use them to guide decision making. Is able to model this element. IV-A-3. Meetings Leads administrator meetings that lack clear purpose and/or are primarily used for one-way informational updates. May lead administrator meetings that include both one-way informational updates and participatory activities focused on matters of consequence, but does not clearly establish norms. Plans and leads well-run and engaging administrator meetings that have clear purpose, focus on matters of consequence, and engage participants in a thoughtful and productive series of conversations and Plans and facilitates engaging administrator team meetings in which small groups of administrators learn together and create solutions to instructional leadership issues. Team has established norms for behavior and EVALUATION RUBRIC: END-OF-CYCLE SELF-ASSESSMENT deliberations. Establishes clear norms for administrator team behavior. consistently adheres to them. Consistently evaluates the effectiveness of the administrator team meetings. Is able to model this element. SELF-ASSESSMENT RATING FOR INDICATOR IVA COMMITMENT TO HIGH STANDARDS: UnsatisfactoryNeeds ImprovementProficientExemplary X Indicator IVB:Cultural Proficiency Ensures that policies and practices enable staff members and students to interact effectively in a culturally diverse environment in which students backgrounds, identities, strengths and challenges are respected. IV-B. Elements UnsatisfactoryNeeds ImprovementProficientExemplary IV-B-1. Policies and Practices Develops and implements culturally insensitive or inappropriate policies, does not support administrators and staff in building cultural proficiency, and/or creates a culture that minimizes the importance of individual differences. Takes pride in having a diverse administration, faculty and/or student body, but some policies are not culturally sensitive; and/or provides limited resources for administrators to support the development of cultural proficiency. Develops and implements culturally sensitive policies that acknowledge the diverse backgrounds, identities, strengths, and challenges of administrators, students and staff. Provides administrators with relevant resources to support them in building cultural proficiency and promotes a culture that affirms individual differences. Leads stakeholders to develop and implement culturally sensitive policies that acknowledge the diverse backgrounds, identities, strengths, and challenges of administrators, students and staff. Empowers administrators with time, resources, and support to build cultural proficiency and collaborates with community members to create a culture that affirms individual differences. Is able to model this element. SELF-ASSESSMENT RATING FOR INDICATOR IVB CULTURAL PROFICIENCY: UnsatisfactoryNeeds ImprovementProficientExemplary X EVALUATION RUBRIC: END-OF-CYCLE SELF-ASSESSMENT Indicator IVC:Communications Demonstrates strong interpersonal, written and verbal communication skills IV-C. ElementsUnsatisfactoryNeeds ImprovementProficientExemplary IV-C-1. Communication Skills Demonstrates ineffectual interpersonal, written, or verbal communication skills at times. May demonstrate adequate interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills but sometimes makes grammatical errors or has difficulty expressing ideas to stakeholders. Demonstrates strong interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills. Demonstrates strong context- and audience-specific interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills. Is able to model this element. SELF-ASSESSMENT RATING: UnsatisfactoryNeeds ImprovementProficientExemplary X Indicator IVD:Continuous Learning Develops and nurtures a culture in which staff members are reflective about their practice and use student data, current research, best practices and theory to continuously adapt practice and achieve improved results. IV-D. ElementsUnsatisfactoryNeeds ImprovementProficientExemplary IV-D-1. Continuous Learning of StaffAccepts the practice of administrators working largely in isolation, without consideration of data and best practices, and/or discourages reflection among administrators, faculty and staff.May encourage administratorsto reflect on the effectiveness of interactions with faculty and students and to use data and best practices to adapt practice but does not support administrators in these practices. Leads all administrators and teams to reflect on the effectiveness of interactions with faculty and students. Ensures that administrators use data, research, and best practices to adapt practice to achieve improved results. Models for administrators how to reflect on the effectiveness of interactions with faculty and students and uses data, research, and best practices to adapt practice to achieve improved results. Supports all educators to work in teams as often as is feasible and appropriate. Is able to model this element. IV-D-2. Continuous Learning Does not reflect on personal practice or demonstrate new ways of thinking about Occasionally reflects on personal practice, sets meaningful goals, and/or researches ways to improve Reflects on and improves personal practice, sets meaningful goals, and develops Demonstrates openness and commitment to learning; reflects on personal practice; and relies on EVALUATION RUBRIC: END-OF-CYCLE SELF-ASSESSMENT of Administrator administration and leadership.efficiency and practice. new approaches in order to improve efficiency and practice.student data, current research, and best practice to improve own leadership. Is able to model this element. SELF-ASSESSMENT RATING FOR INDICATOR IVD CONTINUOUS LEARNING: UnsatisfactoryNeeds ImprovementProficientExemplary X Indicator IVE:Shared Vision Continuously engages all stakeholders in the creation of a shared educational vision in which every student is prepared to succeed in postsecondary education and become a responsible citizen and global contributor. IV-E. ElementsUnsatisfactoryNeeds ImprovementProficientExemplary IV-E-1. Shared Vision Development Does little to engage stakeholders in the creation of a shared educational vision, or the vision is disconnected from college and career readiness, civic engagement, and/or community contributions.Engages administrators, staff, students, families, and community members in developing a vision focused on some aspects of student preparation for college and career readiness, civic engagement, and community contributions. At all grade levels, continuously engages administrators, staff, students, families, and community members in developing a vision focused on student preparation for college and career readiness, civic engagement, and community contributions. Leads administrators, staff, students of all ages, families, and community members to develop and internalize a shared educational vision around preparation for college and careers and responsible citizenship. Is able to model this element. SELF-ASSESSMENT RATING FOR INDICATOR IVE SHARED VISION: UnsatisfactoryNeeds ImprovementProficientExemplary X Indicator IVF:Managing Conflict Employs strategies for responding to disagreement and dissent, constructively resolving conflict and building consensus throughout a district or school community. EVALUATION RUBRIC: END-OF-CYCLE SELF-ASSESSMENT IV-F. ElementsUnsatisfactoryNeeds ImprovementProficientExemplary IV-F-1. Response to Disagreement Does not respond to disagreement or dissent and/or does not use appropriate, respectful, non-confrontational approaches. May respond respectfully to disagreement and dissent, but responds inconsistently and does not always employ a non-confrontational approach Employs a non-confrontational approach for responding respectfully and appropriately to disagreement and dissent, using both as opportunities for learning. Models this practice for the administrator team. Models a variety of strategies for responding respectfully and effectively to disagreement and dissent, using both as opportunities for learning. Provides professional development for the administrator team to build these conflict resolution strategies. Is able to model this element. IV-F-2. Conflict Resolution Does not address conflicts in a solution-oriented and/or respectful manner. May attempt to respectfully resolve conflicts as they arise, but employs only a limited range of strategies.Consistently employs a variety of strategies to resolve conflicts in a constructive and respectful manner. Models this behavior for the administrator team. Consistently employs a variety of strategies to resolve conflicts in a constructive and respectful manner and empowers and supports administrators to use these approaches. Is able to model this element. IV-F-3. Consensus Building Does not attempt