2022-23 Highland School Improvement Plan
Goal #1
Statement of Goal
Highland School will improve student’s word recognition skills by implementing instructional strategies designed to enhance phonemic awareness and student’s decoding skills with all students during the 2022-2023 school year in all grade levels.
Rationale for Goal
The Highland School Instructional Leadership Team met several times to review data and assess areas of strength and areas for potential growth within our school. A common trend across all grade levels was a need to improve student’s word recognition skills. This need was most prevalent in K-3 student’s phonological awareness and 4-6 grade student’s decoding abilities. By implementing practices that align with the science of reading, we will be able to better support student’s foundational skills.
Implementation and Support of Goal
School based professional development will be provided for all staff on October 21 School Improvement Day. This professional development will focus on identifying groups of students needs and identifying the proper word recognition resource to support these needs. Resources include the book, Equipped for Reading Success by David A. Kilpatrick, and Words Their Way. Additional training on these resources will be provided to staff as needed. With the guidance of the Instuctional Leadership Team (ILT) staff will use dedicated professional learning and collaboration time to monitor the success of these resources and make necessary changes.
Plans and Timelines to Measure Effectiveness
The success of this goal will be measured by students' increased knowledge and performance in the area of word recognition. This goal will be measured using quantitative measures including the assessment tools accompanied by the Words Their Way program, as well as the Phonological Awareness Screening Test (PAST). Additionally, the success of this goal will be measured by kindergarten and first grade students' performance on the foundational skills portion of the Spring Reading MAP assessment. In addition, this goal will be measured qualitatively by teachers' increased knowledge of the Science of Reading.
Goal #2
Statement of Goal
Highland School will implement the Zones of Regulation emotion regulation and control curriculum with all students during the 2022-2023 school year, in all grade levels.
Rationale for Goal
During the Spring of the 2021-2022 school year, a group of Highland staff participated in a book study in an effort to better support student’s social and emotional needs. Upon completing this book study, the group moved to implement the Zones of Regulation curriculum at a Tier 1 level during the 2022-2023 school year. The Zones of Regulation curriculum is designed to help the students recognize when they are in the different Zones as well as learn how to use strategies to change or stay in the Zone they are in. In addition to addressing self-regulation, the students will gain an increased vocabulary of emotional terms, skills in reading other people’s facial expressions, perspective about how others see and react to their behavior, insight into events that trigger their behavior, calming and alerting strategies, and problem-solving skills.
Implementation and Support of Goal
Highland staff received The Zones of Regulation resources in the Spring of 2022 and a pacing guide was developed and reviewed by building administration in the Fall of 2022. Parent communication and resources have been developed and communicated with parents and can be found on the building website. Highlands 2022-2023 professional development plan includes dedicated time for staff collaboration and reflection around the implementation of The Zones of Regulation. Zones of Regulation materials, including visuals, will be featured throughout the school, with tools to help understand and cope with each zone featured at monthly all-school meetings.
Plans and Timelines to Measure Effectiveness
The effectiveness of this goal will be measured by the presence of Zones of Regulation instruction. This instructional presence will be verified using a combination of observational and feedback tools, including but not limited to the use of the Zones of Regulation Implementation and Fidelity Checklist, student artifacts and outcomes, grade level collaboration and conversations. The implementation of the Zones of Regulation curriculum will contribute to a positive school climate and increased student ability to identify and regulate their emotions.
Goal #3
Statement of Goal
Highland school will establish and encourage a culture and climate that is rooted in positive psychology, using the work of Shawn Achor’s The Happiness Advantage as our guiding principles.
Rationale for Goal
Focusing on the good isn’t just about overcoming our inner grump to see the glass half full. It’s about opening our minds to the ideas and opportunities that will help us be more productive, effective, and successful at work and in life.” - Shawn Achor, The Happiness Advantage
Last school year, District 58 participated in initial training through the Orange Frog/Happiness Advantage workshops. In what was an incredibly trying year for everyone in education, our deliberate efforts to focus on the principles of the Happiness Advantage did have a tangible impact on our school district. We renew those efforts this year; members of each building’s staff went through a two-day training this summer and began identifying building-level implementation strategies to promote a positive culture and climate. We intend to build upon last year’s successes and reflect upon last year’s experiences at the district and building levels, continuing to take deliberate steps that are rooted in positive psychology.
Implementation and Support of Goal
At the district level, we will continue to promote choosing positivity through district level celebrations and recognition of individual and group efforts of success, as well as through allocating time at district level meetings for activities that enhance a positive culture and climate. We will also ensure that district staff model our positive approach, from the front district office through the central office administrators. We continue to encourage all district staff to wear orange each Monday as a visual reminder of our commitment to choosing happiness.
At the building level, the focus of the Highland Culture Team (HCT) continues to be to improve the climate and culture at Highland, using the principles from The Happiness Advantage as a guide. The HCT will identify areas of the Highland culture that can be improved, and develop action steps to address these areas of need.
Plans and Timelines to Measure Effectiveness
The effectiveness of this goal will be measured by the presence of deliberate efforts aligned with the philosophy of the Happiness Advantage as well as the overall educational and collegial climate in District 58. The evidence of activities and the allocation of time and resources will be apparent in meeting agendas, communications at the building level, and student activities that are scheduled. The evidence of celebrations of our accomplishments will be shown through venues like Twitter, newsletters and even at Board meetings. The HCT will review measure the school environment formally through surveys like the 5Essentials, and regularly collect feedback regarding professional learning experiences, meetings, and other district employee experiences. Similarly, HCT will survey students and families regarding their perceptions of the school environment. These quantifiable measurements will hopefully be complimented both by the intangible “feel” we have when we enter school buildings or attend district events. In the end, the implementation of this goal will be reviewed and analyzed by HCT each school year, but continues to be part of a multi-year process that continues district-wide. HCT will meet at least eight times during the 2022-23 school year to accomplish this goal and help support its implementation. In addition, those trained in the principles of the Happiness Advantage will help develop activities for staff and students to engage in building a positive school climate and culture.