SLV Race to the Top Round 3
Consortium
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Promote the implementation of new state
standards
Promote implementation of SB 191
Promote STEM initiatives
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Each San Luis Valley School is allocated
dollars based on their Title I funding formula.
Some districts are receiving tens of
thousands of dollars, some are receiving
fewer than $2,000 dollars.
CDE is encouraging the creation of
geographical cooperatives to leverage dollars.
If all San Luis Valley districts pool their dollars
we would roughly $210,000 to work with.
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Many of us are in need of the same staff
development and support. Providing support to
multiple districts would allow us to get a bigger
bang for our buck.
In recent years several districts in the Valley have
had access to school and district improvement
dollars that schools who are performing at a
higher level do not qualify for. Pooling our
dollars would be an excellent way to share school
improvement lessons learned and knowledge
resources with districts that have not yet
qualified for these funds.
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Investing these dollars in well-researched,
fundamental, teacher and leader reform
efforts would help us to spread greater
academic success all around the San Luis
Valley.
A Blueprint
for
Improving
Rural School Districts
Curriculum:
Every Teacher in every subject area needs to have clear
guidance on what they are to teach and when they should
teach it.
This curriculum should…
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Be clear, user friendly, and aligned to current Colorado
standards.
Be in calendar form with key learning concepts
highlighted.
Include clear sample objectives and daily formative
assessments.
Trust Teachers to think, adjust, and monitor when they
use it.
Every Teacher needs to be good at planning for lessons
that are aligned to the curriculum and engage all
students.
Teachers should be able to…
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Plan effective lesson objectives aligned to the
curriculum on a daily basis.
Plan effective demonstrations of learning that are
aligned to the class objective on a daily basis.
Apply a basic instruction model such as the “I Do, We
Do, You Do” format.
Instruct their class in a way that engages all students
in learning.
Effectively use data to drive instructional decisions.
Every Teacher should be good at measuring the learning of
students and adjusting their instruction based on learning
results.
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Teachers should be able to…
Measure student learning of the daily objective through the
administration of a demonstration of learning.
Use daily formative assessment results to guide future planning
and instruction.
Summatively measure student achievement of curriculum
standards periodically and use results to guide future
instruction.
Use norm referenced tests such as DIBELS, DRA and NWEA to
drive instructional decisions.
Use state assessment results such as TCAP and ACT to drive
future instructional decisions.
Every Building Administrator should ensure
every Teacher has access to a quality
curriculum aligned to Colorado standards and
that they are teaching it in a way that
continually measures student learning and
engages all students.
The Building Administrator should know how
to…
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Establish and guide collaborative leadership efforts in
their building.
Communicate building improvement priorities on a
continual basis.
Prioritize tasks and focus their efforts on the right
work.
Support improved instruction by knowing what to
look for when conducting classroom visits.
Provide constructive feedback to teachers in a way
that leads to improved performance.
Evaluate teachers based on their ability to effectively
teach the curriculum and produce positive learning
results.
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Review lesson plans and provide feedback to
ensure teachers are planning to teach the
curriculum through the use of quality
objectives aligned to the curriculum and clear
demonstrations of learning aligned to
objectives.
Visit classrooms to ensure teachers are
teaching the curriculum.
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Visit classrooms on a periodic basis and
provide feedback to ensure teachers are
teaching to objectives that are aligned
to the curriculum, engaging all students
in learning, and measuring student
achievement of objectives through a
quality demonstration of learning.
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Visit classrooms and provide feedback
to ensure teachers are measuring
student achievement of curriculum
objectives through quality daily
demonstrations of learning.
Guide staff members in the review of
summative achievement data for the
purpose of guiding future budget,
instruction, and staff development
decisions.
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Every Superintendent should ensure every
Teacher has access to a quality curriculum
aligned to Colorado standards, that they are
teaching it in a way that continually measures
student learning and engages all children,
and that they are guided by a Building
Administrator who supports their
professional growth and improvement.
The Superintendent should know how to effectively…
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Establish and operate a district level collaborative
leadership system to guide academic improvement
processes.
Establish, promote, and teach a district-wide set of
core beliefs.
Support Building Administrators in their efforts to
lead improvement processes through the provision
of quality leadership staff development and the
conduct of effective administrator evaluation
processes.
Communicate the district’s core beliefs and
improvement processes to the entire education
community.
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Assess district achievement and
readiness in each area of the blueprint
and provide training as needed:
(ie…do you require teachers to turn in
lesson plans, what technology do you
have, do you have a curriculum, etc)
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Establishing a valley-wide collaborative to
create a Valley curriculum aligned to State of
Colorado Standards and set up processes to
continually refine this.
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Provide teacher training in how to write effective
plans for aligned lessons through the creation of
quality objectives and daily measurements of
learning.
Provide teacher training in fundamentals of
effective lesson design such as the “I DO, We Do,
You Do” method.
Provide teacher training in how and when to utilize
multiple student engagement strategies.
Provide teacher training in how to assess data and
use it for the purpose of driving future instructional
decisions
Provide teacher training SB 191 implementation
processes.
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Provide building administrator training in how to
establish a collective building leadership process.
Provide building administrator training in how to review
lesson plans for quality alignment of objectives and daily
formative assessments.
Provide building administrator training in what to look for
in a classroom when conducting a visit, and how to
effectively communicate change suggestions to teachers.
Provide building administrator training in how to
continually communicate core beliefs and academic
improvement processes to building staff.
Provide building administrator training in how support
teachers in assessing data and using it for the purpose of
driving future instructional decisions.
Provide building leadership training in how to implement
the provisions of SB 191.
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Provide Superintendent training in how to establish
and operate a district level collaborative leadership
system to guide academic improvement processes.
Provide Superintendent training in how to establish
and communicate a district wide set of core beliefs.
Provide Superintendent training in how to effectively
evaluate administrators for the purpose of supporting
their leadership of building improvement processes
(SB 191).
Provide Superintendent training in how to
communicate the district’s core beliefs and
improvement processes to the entire education
community.