Sunset Park Presentation

1
Deborah Evans Parker IIO Interim Principal
Guilford County Schools Greensboro, NC
2
Sunset Park Elem. School Wilmington, NC

• Demographics (1997-2001)
• 75 - African American
• 20 - Caucasian
• 5 - Other
• 85 - Free and Reduced Lunch Prices

3
Sunset Park Elementary

• At the close of the 1997 school year
• __________________________________
• 29 - proficient in writing
• 41 - overall proficiency
• (reading/math)
• Low Performing School
• What do you expect from ____ _____?

4
Research

• 1st element common to student achievement is the
  belief that all students can be successful
  learners, and the communication of this belief to
  students (Kenneth Zeichner, 1992)
• Current ceiling for students is actually closer
  to where the floor should be (Asa Hillard III.
  1991)
• Teacher expectations of students greatly
  influence their achievement in class and
  ultimately their lives
• (Harry Wong, 1991)
• When teachers believe that students are capable
  or slow in learning, such expectations tend to
  become self-fulfilling prophecies (Danielson,
  1996)

5
End of Grade Test Proficiency Scores
6
4th Grade Writing Test
7
Volunteer Hours
8
PTA Members
9
Four Major Up The Ante Focus Areas

1. Student Achievement
2. Safe, Positive and Orderly School Environment
3. Parent/Community Involvement
4. Principal as Instructional Leader

10
1) Up The Ante Student
Achievement

1. Lengthened the school day
2. Focused on literacy (90 mins, BOB)
3. After-school remediation
4. After-school enrichment
5. Used data to make decisions
6. Interviewed very carefully

11
Up the AnteStudent Achievement

• 7. Established professional library (staff)
• 8. Implemented writing plan
• 9. Opened media center on Saturdays
• 10. Provided 2 common planning times
• 11. Used Parker Power to motivate
• 12. Played classical music daily
• 13. Increased services of AG teacher

12
Up the AnteStudent Achievement

• 14. Trained volunteers to tutor
• 15. Expected all staff to tutor
• 16. Provided suggestions to support staff
• on how to integrate reading
• 17. Identified Targeted Students
• 18. Established Reading Resource Room

13
2) Safe, Positive, Orderly Environment

1. Discipline - disciple
2. Teach, practice, re-teach
3. Heavy emphasis on character ed.
4. Consistently model desired behaviors
5. Classical music
6. Peer Mediation Training

14
Safe, Positive, Orderly School Environment

• 7. Staff members trained to de-escalate (CPI
  training)
• 8. WEBB Room
• 9. Parents In - Rather Than Students Out
• 10. Power Conferences

15
Safe, Positive, Orderly School Environment

• 11. Changed duty schedule
• 12. Positive attribute for each weekday
• 13. Inviting Atmosphere
• 14. Raised expectations for students and
• staff members appearance
• 15. Beautified the school campus

16
Mrs. Jennings, I asked you here so we could
discuss Arnolds aggressive behavior.
17
3) Parent/Community Volunteerism

• True Open Door Policy
• Parent Workshops
• Parenting Classes (GED)
• Media center open on Saturdays
• Hired a Home/School Coordinator
• School Business Partnerships

18
Parent/Community Volunteerism

• PDS site with local university
• Students adopted a senior citizen home
• Students participated in service projects,
  benefits to help others
• Students entered a variety of community oriented
  contests
• Parents signed contracts to help
• Positive media publicity

19
4) Principal as Instructional
Leader

• Principals set the tone and should model
  expectations
• Principals should attend staff development with
  teachers (amap)
• Principals MUST monitor instruction and give and
  receive feedback to ensure that no teacher is
  left behind

20
The 5 by 7 Plan

• 60-80 of the day monitoring instruction??????????
  
• 35 minutes a day monitoring instruction
• Each day, visit 5 classrooms for 7 minutes each
• Carry 5 by 7 index cards

21
When In The Room

• Talk to students
• Ask them questions
• Take note of bulletin boards, student work, read
  lesson plans
• Note similarities, differences in same
  subject/grade levels
• Walk the entire room or sit in an empty seat

22
When The Principal Returns To The Office

• Ask your secretary to make a copy of the card for
  the teacher. Keep a record of classroom visits.
• Be sure to write on the card specifics that you
  observed (was there a goal?)
• Make note of the positives as well as areas of
  concern

23
Primary Benefits

• Teacher development
• Fewer discipline problems
• Students view principal more favorably
• Teachers appreciate the feedback-mott
• Principals get to know students
• Feedback offers collaborative, reflective
  benefits
• Formal observations become less stressful
• Principal becomes more knowledgeable of CI

24
Fourteen Practical Ways to Increase Student
Achievement and Close the Achievement Gap
1. Develop a Vision Statement for your
classroom/school/district. This is not to be
confused with the schools Mission Statement.
2. Talk to your students about the achievement
gap. Be honest, yet encouraging at the same
time. Explain your expectations and plans. Ask
them what they think can be done to help close
the gap.
3. Guard instructional time passionately. Use
every available minute for teaching/learning.
Send the message that learning is the top
priority.
4. Build a sense of community in your
classroom/school rather than a spirit of
competitiveness.
5. Teach, re-teach and model good character
traits.
25
6. Emphasize reading regardless of what
discipline you teach. Art teachers,
physical education teachers, music teachers, etc.
should integrate reading into their
curriculum. Elementary classroom teachers should
devote a minimum of 90 minutes a day reading and
writing instruction have a designated time to
teach reading each day adhere to it tenaciously.
(Only if the building is on fire should a
teacher deviate from reading instruction
time). ?Middle and high school teachers should
stress literacy in all content areas.
7. Make sure that students (staff members) speak
in complete sentences and use correct grammar.
8.Teach students the vocabulary words that appear
on standardized tests such as select, compare,
contrast, infer, analyze, list, predict, all of
the above, and summarize.
9.When testing students throughout the year, use
the same format and type of questions as the
standardized test. Use out-dated copies of
previously released tests for practice, if
permissible.
26
10. Use a different approach when re-teaching
material. If students did not understand the
material the first time, teaching it again the
same way is futile.
11. Reflect racial diversity and multiculturalism
in the classroom/school. Posters and pictures in
textbooks and other classroom materials should
illustrate all races as well as students with
physical challenges. The curriculum should be
rich in diversity. Projects assigned should
allow students opportunities to express their
culture.
12.Treat average and lower level students as
though they are academically gifted by assigning
them higher level work at times. Routinely ask
them HOTS questions (Higher Order Thinking
Skills).
13. Never miss an opportunity to tell your
students that they are the best and the
brightest.
14. Be willing to take some risks and be
creative. Remember the teacher sets the tone for
the classroom. The principal sets the tone for
the school and the superintendent sets the tone
for the district.
27
(No Transcript)
28
THANK YOU !
29

• Deborah Evans Parker
• Guilford County Public Schools
• parkerd_at_guilford.k12.nc.us
• 336 370-8290