Wilder Elementary School
Wilder, Idaho
Community
• Rural farming community 40 miles west of Boise• Agricultural: potatoes, dairy, onions, hops, seed corn• Population: 1500• Hispanic: 79% (mainly ELL)• 100% FRL• 7 principals in 13 years• Most Caucasian farmers sent children to
schools in outlying communities
THEN
• Teaching in Isolation• Lack of Shared Vision• Lack of Trust
• Instructional Minutes Lost
• Constant Interruptions• Falsification of Data
Bottom 2% In The State
Curriculum
• “How do you expect me to teach without a book?” 5th grade teacher
• Basal reading material removed• District crafted curriculum
– 3 pages per grade level
Instruction
• Non-engaging instruction - resulted in minimal learning.
• Classroom management was out of control
• Baby sitting videos on a daily basis• 1 hour of total recess time a day.• Etc…
Assessment
– Student passing all district assessment s – Below Basic on the ISAT
– If students are “passing” the assessments there was no need to change instruction
– Data could not be used to drive instruction
Professional Development
• Typical PD – A few days a year.• Empower your staff through high quality
PD by building their capacity to be great instructors!
• Create a Professional Development Environment
• Non-negotiables – What all teachers do for all
the students all the time.
Professional Development
• Developed a school wide plan for systemic and sustainable change
• Partnerships– Boise State University Literacy Professors.
• Weekly PD (2 hours)• Inspect what you expect
Priority 1 – Instruction
• The will to teach well is not as important as the will to prepare to teach well.
• Differentiated Instruction• Modeled Instructional
expectation• Weekly observations
– Immediate Feedback
Priority 2 – Curriculum
• Unit Driven Instructional Episodes– Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol– Integrated Literacy Techniques
• Here is what it looks like• Here is how you improve it
• 4th Grade– Idaho History Unit
• Unpacking the ICS
Priority 3 – Assessment
• Once we fixed the Instruction/Curriculum• PD on authentic assessments
– Formative/Summative• THEN – Data Driven Weekly Professional
Development Meetings
Thoughts…
• Rigor, Relevance, And Relationships• Teachers teach kids, programs don’t • Build Capacity in Teachers not the Idaho
Core Standards• Our teachers don’t turn the pages in
a textbook to teach, they turn the pages in the minds of their students as they teach.
Year One
Year Two Year Two
Year Three Year Three
NOW
References Bear, D. R., Invernizzi, M., Templeton, S., & Johnston, F. (2008). Words Their Way (4 ed.). Upper Saddle River : Pearson Education.
Blankstein, A. M. (2006). Failure Is Not An Option. Corwin.
Blankstein, A. M. (2011). The Answer Is In The Room. Corwin.
Breaux, A., & Whitaker, T. (2006). Seven Simple Secrets, What Teachers Know and Do. Eye on Education
Dahlgren, R. (2001). Time to Teach!. Atlanta: The Center For Teacher Effectiveness.
Foresman, S. (2008). Investigations. Glenview: Pearson Education.
http://readinga-z.com
Maxwell, J. (1999). The Power Partnerships in the Church. Countrymen.
Maxwell, J. (1999). The 21 dispensable qualities of a leader. Thomas Nelson.
Thematic Integrated Literacy Techniques TILT (Dr. Maryanne Cayhill & Dr. Ann Gregory
Whitaker, T. (2003). What Great Principals Do Differently. Eye On Education.
Willam, G. (1990). The Quality School, Managing Students Without Coercion. Harper Perennial.
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