Roxan Marks
PS 30-Wilton School
510 East 141Street
Bronx, NY 10454
“How can the principal assist teachers to identify specific needs, tools and
instructional resources to ensure the mastery of English Language Arts
standards?”



I hope to support teachers to monitor progress and differentiate instruction based
on assessments and other formative data in the classrooms.
This project will improve student outcomes by providing teachers with the skills
and tools necessary to address reading needs of students.
Provide professional development to analyze reading records and understand
reading cue systems, conferencing, reading behaviors, questioning and guided
reading so that teachers gain expertise in diagnosing and teaching reading.
Process
 Communicate my goals to the entire school community. I shared my PPR
goals with the staff:
o Teachers will use data to identify specific needs in order to monitor
progress and differentiate instruction in ELA.
 Develop capacity within the staff.
o The cabinet purchased “Making Meaning” by Developmental Learning
Center, a program that combines the latest research in reading
comprehension with support for students’ social and ethical development.
We worked with the Aussie consultant to develop scope and sequence for
“Making Meaning”, focusing on comprehension skills, strategies for
reading and produced weekly skills for teachers to use as a guide for
instruction.
o Copies of “The Continuum of Literacy Learning (grades K-8) Behaviors
and Understandings to Notice, Teach, and Support” written by Fountas
and Pinnell was purchased for the Inquiry and instructional teams. This
resource will assist teachers in setting goals for student learning and help
in planning lessons.
o Each teacher in kindergarten through fifth grade received a “Benchmark
Assessment” kit, including a copy of The Continuum of Literacy Learning
book.
o All teachers received a copy of “New York Teacher Desk Reference and
Critical Thinking Guide” which has grade level standards in all curriculum
areas. This resource also includes Blooms Taxonomy, state standards and
questioning prompts for the teacher to use during instruction.
o Professional resources on topics relating to teaching reading to struggling
students, second language learners and vocabulary development were
purchased.
 Professional development sessions were organized around examining student
work, standards, rubrics, coding reading records, reading behaviors, monitoring
independent reading, questioning texts, guided reading and conferencing.
2

o Lessons were developed that focused on increasing reading rate, fluency,
vocabulary, main idea, strategies for clarifying meaning, retelling and self
checking while reading.
Implementing Instructional Strategies. Lessons were conducted on questioning
while reading, determining word meaning and summarizing from text to help
students use meaning strategies during reading. Target students received small
group instruction before and during the school day.
o The curriculum development team created pacing calendars for our word
study components and developed spelling words at different levels for
each grade that were aligned with the word study lessons.
o Parent and student surveys provided important information to allow
teachers to tap into the interests that students have and use this knowledge
to motivate and guide planning. Personal perceptions, attitudes and
interest surveys are valuable tools used to gain insights into students’
beliefs and thinking.
Funding
 Title 1 and Tax Levy Student Fair funding was used to support curriculum,
professional development and extended time activities with students.
 Since our school is identified as a school in need of improvement (SINI), we were
entitled to additional funding from the federal government by completing a grant.
Title I Correct 91 funding was used to purchase the Fountas and Pinnell
Benchmarking System.
Collecting Data
 Various data sources were reviewed including, ECLAS-2, reading level miscue
analysis, New York state English Language Arts test scores, Acuity ELA
predictive and diagnostic assessments and spelling inventories.
 Baseline data was gathered for fourth grade students, ARIS data, reading level,
and miscue analysis, writing response and an analysis of a student interest survey
and parent survey was completed for target students.
 The cabinet, instructional leaders, coach and members of the Inquiry Team
reviewed student assessments, interest surveys, conducted personal interviews
with students and observed students in classrooms to learn more about the
teaching and learning cycle
Observations from the Classroom
 Teachers were not successful in getting to meet with their small groups as
required. The literacy coaches and AUSSIE consultant worked with teachers in
managing learning and behavior of students during small group work. In order for
small group reading to be successful the rest of the class must be engaged in
meaningful activities.
 Students were not getting enough time for independent reading and
practicing strategies taught during guided reading. A next step project in 2008-9
is to create and pilot a reading response journal tailored towards students’
independent reading level. These will be a major source in helping students and
teachers keep track of independent reading.
3


Teachers used various techniques to code the reading record. There was a need
to implement a school wide system for coding these records.The cabinet and
Inquiry Team purchased a Fountas and Pinnell Benchmarking System to
implement school-wide.
Students had difficulty with vowel patterns, inflected endings and syllables as
evidenced by reading records. Word study, vocabulary development and spelling
instruction was delivered using Words Their Way, but there was a need to provide
additional resources for students who needed supplementary instruction to
demonstrate mastery of Language Arts content.
Obstacles
 Teachers required more support in planning and differentiating lessons for
struggling students than anticipated. Some teachers needed support with forming
appropriate groups based on data and using fluid grouping in the classroom.
 Finding time to work with teachers without taking time away from their
preparation and planning time; hiring substitutes enabled us to have time with
teachers.
 Many of our parents are Spanish speaking and due to the language barrier many
are not able to assist students with homework. The long term underachievement
of students in reading was challenging and required addressing many areas of
literacy. Professional knowledge of teachers to support struggling readers was
needed in order to improve the quality of instruction.
Outcomes
 Preliminary New York State ELA test data show an approximately 10% increase
in the reading scores; this represents the largest gain for our school since 2004.
 Most of the target students demonstrated growth on the state ELA test.
 Teachers are using various sources of data including conference notes, reading
records, reading logs, writing prompts, focus questioning and observations to
monitor student progress and to plan for reading instruction.
 Review of assessment binders from teachers demonstrates a variety of
assessments are used to gather information on students’ reading abilities.
 Through a review of the literature I learned that monitoring progress requires an
array of assessments and evaluation strategies. Teachers must continually use
keen observation of student growth and development to inform instruction.
Next Steps
 Next school year we are implementing a restructuring plan and the creation of an
academy facilitator position will provide coaching and support for teachers in
reading.
 The Aussie consultant will continue to work with teachers on setting goals for
students, collecting baseline data on reading behaviors, attitudes and
comprehension strategies, monitoring reading, guided reading and vocabulary
development.
 The administrators will continue to support teachers in creating developmental
checklists, rubrics, reading behavior charts, securing resources and setting goals
for students.
4