- Sign in as you arrive
- Complete the Do
Now
-Complete at least 1
“praise post-it”
Ranson Middle, an
International
Baccalaureate
World School
The Blueprint:
2013-2014
Do Now- Gallery Walk
Visit the posters around the
room. Reflect on their
meaning. React to the quote
by writing on the poster. What
does it mean? How does it
apply to school turnaround?
How does it apply to the work
we are doing at Ranson IB?
Agenda
Welcome
& Norms
Reflecting on our Race
Blueprint for Success in 2013-2014
Aligned Staff
Teaching & Learning
Culture
System & Operations
Closure & Vision Setting
Desired Outcomes
 By
the end of today’s retreat, the Ranson IB staff
will:
 Celebrate our work from the 2012-2013 school
year
 Reflect on our work from the 2012-2013 school
year
 Introduce new staff members and 2013-2014
staffing roster
 Understand key initiatives that are on the
blueprint for the 2013-2014 school year
 Understand non-negotiables related to those
key initiatives
 Present goals for the 2013-2014 school year
Working Agreements
Become
and remain open to new
ideas
Be fully engaged and present
Honor time agreements
Speak your truth respectfully
Share responsibility for the success of
our work together
Silence/vibrate all technology
9:35
Reflecting
on our
Race
Reflecting on our Race
Grows &
Glows: A
Socratic
Seminar
P
u
r
p
o
s
e
Our objective for this activity is to…
Analyze our academic and school culture
grows and glows for Ranson IB Middle School
during the 2012-2013 school year!
Seating Arrangements:
Sit with your current grade level
6th
7th
8th
* Elective and Support Staff will be spread
amongst grade levels
Materials…
1.
Group: Large Sticky Poster
2.
Individual: Sticky Notes (Post-it Notes)
Prompt:
Reflect on this past school year
1. Write on 4 different sticky notes …
 Glows
 2 for school culture
 2 for academic culture
 Grows
 2 of the most urgent growth areas for our school
culture
 2 of the most urgent growth areas for academic
culture
2. Place your sticky note(s) on your respective
grade level poster
3. Form group chairs into a circle around poster
Facilitators
Role includes…
 Asking
teachers within their circle what topics
they want to discuss first
 Keeping discussion going or move on if the topic
is dead
 Keeping side conversations at a minimum
 Choosing a topic that many teachers seem to
be interested in or have questions about
(possibly group similar stickies)
Discussion Rules
(Friendly reminder for participants):
Take
turns: don’t talk over each
other
Everyone participates
If you disagree, do it politely and
respectfully
Speak to fellow teachers; not to
facilitators
Discussion Opener…
What are our top glows and grows this
year?
Think on multiple levels:
Whole school
Grade level
Team(s)
Certain groups of scholars
Particular scholar
Individual
Conversational Scaffolding
Follow-up
Clarifying
questions for teachers to ask
of each other
Are you saying that…?
Can you further explain with some
examples?
Allow for reasonable amounts of silence
 Even
if it makes everyone nervous
 Eventually someone will remember something
he/she wants to discuss
Defining School Culture
School culture can be defined as:
• the beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors which characterize a school”
(Phillips, 1996, p. 1).
• School culture is the shared experiences both in school and out of
school (traditions and celebrations) that create a sense of
community, family, and team membership. People in any healthy
organization must have agreement on how to do things and what is
worth doing. Staff stability and common goals permeate the school.
Time is set aside for school-wide recognition of all school
stakeholders. Common agreement on curricular and instructional
components, as well as order and discipline, are established through
consensus. Open and honest communication is encouraged and
there is an abundance of humor and trust. Tangible support from
leaders at the school and district levels is also present.
Taking it to a new level:
Core Values




Respect: Choosing to be considerate of your speech,
your actions, and your interactions.
Responsibility: Choosing to take ownership of your
choices and attitude, understanding how these impact
your learning, and your community.
Perseverance: Choosing to keep a determined and
optimistic spirit to accomplish a goal, even when it is
really difficult.
Citizenship: Choosing to be a positive contributor to
my community, understanding that we are all
interconnected and it is our collective responsibility to
improve our school and our world.
Culture Cadre Focus:
Norming
school-wide expectations
Creating a sustainable incentive
system to reward scholars consistently
and fairly
Increasing student involvement
Building a true Ranson team among
all adults in the building
But before we get there…
 How
can we take the pockets of success
we’ve had this year and expand those
experiences to become school wide
victories?
 Our heart and soul goal is to give our
scholars a real shot at success—both
academically AND socially.
Let’s be honest…
Who hasn’t thought:
 “UGH—that’s the other teacher’s class.
She needs to get it together.”
 “I can only control what happens in my
classroom. The rest is what it is!”
 “Ranson’s all about these new initiatives.
That doesn’t work here. Why create
more for us to do?”
The good news!
 We
complain because we care. 
 The cadre’s goal is to offer solutions to
the things that have driven us crazy this
year!
 We want to work in an “I’ve got your
back” kind of building amongst all adults
– support staff, secretaries, administration
& teachers
 We want to build a TEAM—not a new
club.
We need YOU!
 Please
feel free to offer feedback
through your reflection on your sticky
notes!
 In August I’ll be sending out a Google
Form that you can send us at any time
to help shape how things look and feel
at Ranson.
 Come to a Cadre meeting
 Email any person on the Cadre!
Reflect…
Based on the conversations you had...
Create Two New Stickies…
1. One for a “Grow” for school culture—
how can we build a “I’ve got your
back” team?
2. A Second for a “Glow”—let’s celebrate
the little and not-so-little victories 
3. Add them to your original poster or
nearby
Gallery Crawl
Take time as the music plays to
circulate and read the other grade
levels’ posters.
When the music stops, please return to
your base group.
10:15
2012-2013 Ranson IB Goals
 By
June 2013:
 70% of our scholars will be proficient as
measured by End-of-Grade tests and
Summative Assessments
 60% of our scholars will show positive growth
on Common Interim Assessments
 average OSS days per scholar will decrease
from 2.47 to 2
 average unexcused absences per scholar will
decrease from 5.8 to 4.5
 average absences per teacher will decrease
from 9.7 to 6
Goal: By June 2013, average
absences per teacher will
decrease from 9.7 to 6
Goal: By June 2013, average absences per
teacher will decrease from 9.7 to 6
10
9.7
9.1
9
Please note:
Absences do
not include
Annual Leave
of Workshops
8.2
8.2
3rd qtr
2012-2013
7.1
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
2011-2012
1st qtr
2nd qtr
Goal: By June 2013, average unexcused
absences per scholar will decrease from
5.8 to 4.5
Gd
6th
7th
8th
#
15
24
17
%
3.9%
6.9%
4.5%
Goal: By June 2013, average unexcused
absences per scholar will decrease from
5.8 to 4.5
7
6
5.84
5.39
5.36
5.14
2nd qtr
3rd qtr
2012-2013
5
4
3.6
3
2
1
0
2011-2012
1st qtr
Goal: By June 2013, average OSS days per
scholar will decrease from 2.47 to 2
 This
year, we started the year with a “hot list” of
scholars who had 90% of the OSS days. There were
36 seventh & eight grade scholars on that list. (9 of
the original group no longer attend Ranson IB)
 Results



The average OSS days for this group decreased from
16 to 9 days.
22/27 (81%) scholars decreased their OSS days. The
most drastic was Anniyah Ball-Ward, who had 27 OSS
days in 11-12 and had 0 days this school year!
7 scholars did not receive a single day of OSS!!!!
Goal: By June 2013, average OSS days per
scholar will decrease from 2.47 to 2
Criteria
# of Suspensions
# of OSS days
# of 6th gd scholars
# of 7th gd scholars
# of 8th gd scholars
# of SWD
# of 504
2011-2012
405 (37%)
3120
144 (44%)
137 (36.7%)
124 (31.7%)
60 (44%)
23 (59%)
2012-2013
368 (33%)
2298
132 ( 34%)
101 (29%)
135 (35.7%)
58 (40.3%)
15 (50%)
Goal: By June 2013, average OSS days
per scholar will decrease from 2.47 to 2
3
2.5
2.47
2
1.77
2.06
1.33
1.5
1
0.61
0.5
0
2011-2012
1st qtr
2nd qtr
3rd qtr
2012-2013
10:25
Academic Goals
70%
of our scholars will be proficient
as measured by End-of-Grade tests
and Summative Assessments
60% of our scholars will show positive
growth on Common Interim
Assessments
I-Ready Pre & Post Data
666 of 745 6th and 7th grade ELA
scholars were assessed.
Overall Math Proficiency Data from
CIAs to Mock
Grade
Level
6th
Grade
7th
Grade
8th
Grade
CIA #1
CIA#2
CIA#3
CIA#4
Mock
61.5%
68.1%
68.9%
61.2%
41.2%
58.1%
56%
54.3%
57.2%
37.7%
48.6%
49.9%
60.9%
49.3%
39.9%
Discovery Ed Math Data
6th grade
Benchmark Avg.
7th grade
8th grade
#2
scale
score
1515
%
Avg.
correct scale
score
34.9% 1550
%
Avg. %
correct scale correct
score
29.4% 1611 40.9%
#3
1549
40.5%
1553
27%
1616 39.1%
#4
1593
44.5%
1560
32%
1612 42%
Growth
from #2
to #4
+78
+9.6
+10
+2.6
+1
+1.1
Overall ELA Proficiency Data from
CIAs to Mock
Grade
Level
6th
Grade
7th
Grade
8th
Grade
CIA #1
CIA#2
CIA#3
CIA#4
Mock
61.65
59.04
58.45
66.93
60.33
68.05
49.19
68.73
51.55
58.28
68.18
60.86
57.26
48.24
55.71
Discovery Ed ELA Data
Benchmark
6th grade
Avg.
scale
score
7th grade
8th grade
%
Avg.
%
Avg.
%
correct scale correct scale correct
score
score
#1
1602
60.9
#2
1561
44.8
1547
43
1589
51.6
#3
1537
44.9
1525
41.9
1593
49.7
#4
1596
50.3
1550
38.2
1641
61.3
+5.5
+3
-4.8
+39
+.4
Growth from +35
#1/#2 to #4
10:35
The Blueprint: 2013-2014
Blueprint
for
Success:
Aligned
Staff
Leadership Innovation
Our greatest fear is that we are
great beyond measure…
Staff Rosters
Priorities in making Staff
Assignments
1.
Based on needs of scholars and providing
their best chance at success and to reach
our mission.
1.
2.
2.
3.
4.
Teacher student achievement data
Successes from this year (& previous years if
we have it)
Building strong PLCs
Building strong interdisciplinary teams
Minimizing the number of new teachers on
a PLC/ team (new to Ranson IB and new
to teaching)
Teacher Team Structures to drive
Instructional Improvement
Each
grade level will have
Grade Level Chair(s) who will
work collaboratively with the
School Culture Cadre’ & GLAs
to lead cultural initiatives and
improvements for systems &
operations
Professional Learning Structures to
drive Instructional Improvement
 Instructional
Coaching Caseloads will
begin in August to provide 100% of
teachers with weekly feedback and
observations
 Emerging Leaders (current & alum) will
be utilized to provide coaching through
the coaching caseload model
 We will utilize technology such as
Google Docs to stay inter-connected
with the work
 Process for identifying PLC leads
Welcome to Ranson IB!
 Veronica
Talton, Chorus
 Ensley Gilchrist, EC ELA Resource
 Vera Woolard, Title I Coach
Emerging Leaders
 Allison
Muriithi, PE/Health Teacher
 Tara Anderson, Math 6 & Blended Learning Teacher
 Colleen Rogers, EC 7 Teacher
 Bobby Miles, Science 7
 Molly Whelan, Math 7 & Blended Learning Teacher
 Chastity Goodwin, EC 8 Teacher
 Marcus Harrell, ELA 8 Teacher
 Elizabeth Cox, Math 8 Teacher
This brings us to 16 ELP Alum and participants at Ranson IB!
-11-12 Bertrand, Howard, Thomas, Virella (4)
-12-13 Iyonmahan, A. Jackson, Osborne, Palmer,
Robinson (4)
- 13-14 8
13-14 Instructional Leadership Team
 Vera

Woolard, Title I Coach (SS, ELA, Humanities)
vera.woolard@cms.k12.nc.us
 Thomas

Kirkley, Title I Coach (Math 8, Sci, CTE)
thomas.kirkley@cms.k12.nc.us
 Romain
Bertrand, Multi-Classroom Leader Math 6 & 7
 Shanniska Howard, Literacy Facilitator (SS, ELA)
 Monica Palmer, EC Facilitator (EC, cross-content)
 TBD, 6th GLA(cross-content)
 Erica Jordan-Thomas, 7th GLA (cross-content)
 TBD, 8th GLA (cross-content)
 Alison Harris, Principal (cross-content)
Grade Level Structure
Class of
2020
Class of
2019
Class of
2018
GLA
Ms. JT
GLA
Mrs.
Myers
Ms.
Fluid
Mrs.
Frazier
Mr.
Harris
Mr.
Rouse
Mr.
Ward
10:55
THANK
YOU, OAK
GROVE
UMC!
Directions for Lunch
Move
to your 2013-2014 PLCs
At your tables, use the “table
talk” questions to guide
discussions
Working Lunch
TABLE TALK DISCUSSIONS
•A Teacher is...
• The greatest satisfaction I get from my job is . . .
• If I could make one change in my work
environment, it would be . . .
• The most important factor affecting morale is ….
• Testimonial Writing- Write a short testimony about
the success of your year or a colleague.
11:15
Blueprint
for
Success:
Teaching
& Learning
L.I.F.T. Way
Our
mission and vision is bigger
than us as our work with Project
L.I.F.T. seeks to close the
achievement gap for students
across the west corridor
We will align our work so that we
are growing and building toward
the the L.I.F.T. Way!
Vision for Instructional Planning
 Last
year we took 1 ½ days to attempt to
do some really hard work. This did not set
us up for the best possible success.
 Feedback showed that planning was a
huge stressor for most staff
 This affected our ability to be most
effective and increase student
achievement
 Instructional planning is a skill and we
want to support time in having time to
develop this skill
Begin with the end in mind
 By
the time we return in August 2013, all
content area PLCs will have  Long-Term
Plans and Assessments
 A group of staff are going to YES Prep
PD
 A group of staff have been hired to
work over the summer to create initial
drafts of planning documents
 Curriculum Planning Days have been
scheduled to revise/ finalize planning
documents
Data-Driven Instruction

Four keys to quality DDI
Analysis
Assessment
Action
Culture
Assessment Tools
MAP Benchmark
Discovery Ed
Benchmark (Math,
ELA, Sci 8)
Common Interim
Assessments (Sci 6-7,
SS)
•Adaptive
Assessment - given at
grade level
•Informs Instructional
Levels w/ RIT (Ready
for Instruction Today)
• Shows What scholars
are ready to learn in
the following
categories
§ Review/Re-teach
§ Middle (where they
are at)
§ Rigor (adjusting
assessment rigorously)
•DEA is a standardsbased, Common Core
aligned formative
assessment platform
that provides
benchmark
assessments.
•It is a benchmark
(some taught
standards/ some
predictive)
•On-Line Instant
Reporting
•Detailed data reports
•Created by teachers
using Discovery Ed
Tech Book and other
sources
•Open-Ended
Constructed Response
Questions are
provided by DEA
•Reports are
generated instantly if
scholars take the
assessment online
School-wide Instructional Expectations
 Data-Driven
Instruction
 Mini-Lessons (15- 18 mins)


Interactive modeling of application of skill
Integrated word study/ academic vocabulary
 Small/


Guided Groups
Developed based on data
Integrated word study/ academic vocabulary
 Conferring


Intertwined throughout lesson
Anecdotal record keeping
 Daily
Exit Tickets
School-wide Instructional Expectations
 Mini
Lessonhttp://m.youtube.com/watch?v=oBTUql9S5C0
 Conferringhttp://m.youtube.com/watch?v=LSTu3ZN6rhk
Hallmark Instructional Models
Opportunity
Culture- Blended
Learning Model is a framework for
extending the impact of great
teachers and meeting the
targeted needs of scholars
through a time-technology swap.
Romain Bertrand, MCL 2
Tara Anderson, Math 6 BLT
Molly Whelan, Math 7 BLT
Hallmark Instructional Models
 Balanced
Literacy is a comprehensive
methodology that contains all of the
components necessary to teach scholars to
master written and oral communication. The
components include a focus on reading,
writing, speaking, listening and viewing. It is
important to note that Balanced Literacy
is not a program. It cannot be purchased and
it is not going away. It is a mindset shift in how
we all become reading teachers first and
then teach our content. School-wide efforts
11:50
Blueprint
for
Success:
School
Culture
Advisory
Ranson IB Advisory 2012-2013
Academic Year
Did we fulfill our purpose?
The purpose of the Advisory Program at
Ranson IB Middle School is to build
deep and meaningful relationships
between scholars, teachers and
parents enhance school culture, and
provide academic and behavioral
coaching and progress monitoring to
all scholars.
2012-2013 Advisory Goals

100% of advisors will communicate with
parents/families at least 3 times a year.
Met_____ Not Met __ X___ Exceeded_____

80% of scholars will rate advisory as beneficial to their
academic success
Met_____ Not Met _____ Exceeded__X__

Advisory Leadership Cadre will offer 2 mini PDs and
create a handbook/wiki
Met__X___ Not Met _____ Exceeded____

80% of advisories will score a “Silver” proficient on the
advisory rubric
Met_____ Not Met _____ Exceeded__X__
Teacher Survey Results
 80%
of teachers believe that the purpose of
Advisory was clear and achievable
 100% of teachers believe that Advisory
created an environment that
allowedthemto build authentic relationships
with their scholars beyond academics.
 70% of teachers believe that advisory was
planned and organized effectively.
 80% of teachers would rate advisory at 3 or
higher on a scale of 1 to 5.
At least one thing that I would change
about the structure of advisory is .....






On testing weeks i.e. Discovery Ed or EOG we do not
need to hold advisory scholars who test on these days
do not receive the full amount of time.
iii. Not our first block classes, longer, at the end of the
day.
iv. Give students more leadership.
v. the maximum amount of students in one advisory, it
becomes less personal and looses purpose as it grows.
Also, Wednesdays are always crazy after advisory.
vi. ALL STAFF members with a group
vii. This part of the Advisory purpose was not
implemented/ addressed in a meaningful way"provide academic and behavioral coaching and
progress monitoring to all scholars." Teachers need PD
and tools to do this well.
What will the Advisory Program
look like next year?
1.
More Advisory Cadre members
2. Possible change of day
3. Long term curriculum available
at the start of the year
4. Student interest clubs/auxiliary
groups
5. Advisory VLOG
Teacher Input
1.
If we changed the day of
advisory, I would change it to…
2. If we have student interest
clubs, I am interested in advising
_______ club. (If you are not
interested in holding student clubs
during advisory, please state this
as well.)
12:05
Blueprint
for
Success:
Systems &
Operations
Calendaring Expectations
 By
the start of the school year:
 Staff will have an Assessment calendar and clear
schedule for cycle of observation and coaching
 Routine activities will be scheduled on the
calendar around curriculum, instruction, and
assessment:
 Quarterly celebrations (Honor Roll/
Attendance)
 Quarterly incentives (Academic/ Behavior)
 Student interventions (Academic/ Behavior)
 Field Trips
Renovation Impacts
 FLEXIBILITY
 Anything
that can happen, can and will happen!
 Currently, I am being told that August 23rd will be
our move in date!


We will prioritize safety, order, and a comfortable
place to learn for the start of the year
I’ve already blocked off my schedule to open the
building August 24- 25th
I
will be recruiting volunteers to come in and help that
weekend, and hope that you’ll recruit others as well!

I will be adjusting the workdays to work with our
unique situation
12:15
Closure
2013-2014 Ranson IB Goals
 By
June 2014:
 70% of our scholars will be proficient as
measured by End-of-Grade tests and
Summative Assessments
 70% of our scholars will show positive growth
on Common Interim Assessments
 average OSS days per scholar will decrease
from 2.06 to 1.5
 average unexcused absences per scholar will
decrease from 5.14 to 4
 average absences per teacher will decrease
from 8.2 to 6.5
Poll Everywhere
As we enter the 2013-2014 school year, we find
ourselves continuing on our journey to ensure
that all scholars are successful. The road to
success is always under construction. Today,
you learned about the blueprint for our success
for next school year. What excites you about
next year? What is making your
nervous/anxious?
Take 2 minutes to discuss with your PLC and make
sure that your PLC responds. This means we should
have at least 16 responses.
Final Table Talk
 Whose
on your PLC & Interdisciplinary
Team?
 Share your personality shape.
 Rectangle,
 What’s
Square, Circle, Triangle, Squiggle
one word that you’d like to describe
your future PLC?
 How will we communicate throughout the
summer?
 What is an area that each of us can focus
on over the summer and bring back to the
PLC?
Keeping In Touch over the Summer
 Ms.
Harris, Ms. JT, Ms. Palmer, Mrs. Woolard &
Mrs. Howard will be working at Statesville Road
throughout the entire summer
 Mr. Bertrand will be available from July 25th on
 Share contact information with your PLC &
Interdisciplinary Team members
 Plan to attend Content Curriculum Planning
Days
 7/10-7/11: Social Studies/ ELA/ Humanities
(Foreign Language, AVID, REACH)/ Arts
(Visual, Dance, Choral)
 8/5-8/6: Math/ Science/ PE-Health/ CTE/ EC