Texas State Literacy Plan (TSLP) Online Course – Implementation Module Lesson 1 Transcript Narrator: This is the campus-­‐based leadership team for ABC Elementary School. Let’s meet the team members. We have Ms. Jackson, the principal, and Ms. Crimson, the assistant principal. Here is the literacy coach, Mr. Green. And there are two teachers on the team: Mr. Winters, the first-­‐grade teacher, and Ms. Montero, from third grade. They each have their materials ready: • A copy of their Implementation Map
• Their Data-­‐informed Plan
• A copy of the 6-­‐Step Process for Working on an Action Step
• Planning template
Mr. Green To get a sense of where we are as a campus, let’s look at our Implementation Map. Ms. Crimson Okay, we know that we will be working on the Effective Instructional Framework component, so let’s all look at that first. Ms. Montero The first thing I notice is that there are two Action Steps that we rated our campus at level “A,” the level of “Planning implementation.” Ms. Jackson Yes, E1 and E6. To see what those Action Steps are all about, let’s look at the implementation guide for E. Narrator The team knows they do not necessarily have to work on an Action Step at their lowest level, but it is a good starting place. The team reads through the implementation guides, including the Action Step and the Indicators for E1 as well as the Action Step and Indicators for E6. They agree that E1 is foundational for the other Actions Steps and decide that E1 is a higher need right now than E6. Mr. Winters Yes, I can see how E1 would be very important for us, but I also think that E2 is critical since it focuses on Tier 1 instruction. © 2014 Texas Education Agency/The University of Texas Systems 1 Texas State Literacy Plan (TSLP) Online Course – Process Module Lesson 1 Transcript Ms. Crimson I agree. We need strong, comprehensive Tier 1 instruction in place in every classroom. Mr. Winters That is the foundation for everything else in this component and our other goals as a campus. Ms. Montero I see what you mean. But focusing on E1 first will put needed support in place for improving Tier I instruction, don’t you think? Mr. Green That’s a good point. And we want to make sure we narrow our focus. Narrator The team continues to look at these two Action Steps, referring specifically to the Indicators. After some good discussion, the literacy coach, Mr. Green, refers back to the 6-­‐step process and the guide questions there. Mr. Green Which Action Step will act as the greatest lever for improving support for our students? Ms. Jackson Let’s think about this for a bit. Mr. Winters, what are your thoughts on this? Mr. Winters Well, I was thinking about what Mr. Green talked about in our last meeting. He’s right: The challenge we are having is translating data analysis into the classroom. Ms. Montero Yes, there is a gap there. Mr. Winters We do a lot of analysis, but we don’t get to the part where we connect that with planning. Mr. Green Some teachers do that on their own, but it is not widespread practice. Narrator They agree that focusing on setting up a system for using data to inform instruction is the best place to start right now and that doing this will be a good foundation for their work on implementing the Response to Intervention framework that is targeted in other Action Steps of the “E” component. Ms. Jackson Okay, Ms. Montero, please record our decision on the template. Our focus will be on E1. © 2014 Texas Education Agency/The University of Texas Systems 2 Texas State Literacy Plan (TSLP) Online Course – Process Module Lesson 1 Transcript Mr. Green Now let’s look at the Indicators. We still need to narrow our focus to one or two. Mr. Winters: Well, we have a schedule for data analysis meetings, as mentioned in the first Indicator. Ms. Jackson: Yes, and I think we need to follow up with clarifying the expectations for those meetings and emphasize the “collaborate to make instructional decisions” part. Ms. Montero I agree. It would be helpful to know exactly what that looks like. Mr. Green It would be useful for us to provide a model or a protocol. Ms. Crimson In the Sample Evidence section, they list “Data analysis meeting procedures/protocols.” Ms. Jackson It sounds like we need to find or develop these procedures and introduce them as part of the “expectations” mentioned in that first Indicator. Narrator The team decides that the first Indicator will be part of their focus. Even though they have part of the Indicator in place (“schedule … for data analysis meetings”), they recognize that they need to work on the rest of it (“set expectations”) in order for those meetings to impact student learning. Ms. Crimson Is there another Indicator that would be manageable and support the goal of that first Indicator? Mr. Green Well, let’s look at the other Indicators again with that question in mind. Narrator The team reviews the other Indicators and discusses each one. They recognize that one is already in place: “Identify universal screening and progress monitoring assessments for reading at each grade level.” Ms. Montero These other Indicators are not regular practice on our campus; we need work on all of them. Mr. Winters Yes, but we can’t do everything at once. Ms. Montero You’re right. Okay, what about the last one? © 2014 Texas Education Agency/The University of Texas Systems 3 Texas State Literacy Plan (TSLP) Online Course – Process Module Lesson 1 Transcript Mr. Green That’s a good idea. We will want to support the data meeting expectations with professional development, so it makes sense to assess the needs of our staff in this area. Ms. Jackson And we have hired many new teachers since that district RtI training. Mr. Winters I think we could all use some updating and enrichment on data analysis and instructional planning. Mr. Green And how to use data analysis within the whole framework, not just for students receiving Tier III services. Ms. Jackson It sounds like we all sense the need for additional professional development, so by focusing on this Indicator, we will have evidence of that need. Ms. Crimson Yes, and base our plan for professional development on that data. Ms. Montero Just like you want us to do with our lesson planning! Narrator The team decides they will focus on these two Indicators this semester. In their next meeting, the team will be examining resources and defining their expected outcomes to begin planning for implementation. © 2014 Texas Education Agency/The University of Texas Systems 4