Greenwich Public Schools
SCHOOL: Greenwich High School
Greenwich, Connecticut
DATE:
October 1, 2009
Strategic Improvement Team Action Plan: Science & Technology Department
1. GPS STRATEGIC DIRECTION AND GOAL
Which GPS Strategic Direction is addressed?
School Improvement Team Goal #1: Academic Goal
Goal: Each student will achieve mastery of a core body of
knowledge and skills that reflects significant academic growth.
Statement of SMART Goal:
Improve our science students’ analytical, conceptual and
communication skills as measured by improvements in CAPT science (Adult Action Indicators from the GDDT)
scores.
I. Design and implement common benchmark assessments.
II. Build capacity within the school system to collaborate around
The following three year improvements (on CAPT Science scores)
student data and student needs through instructional data
represent our departmental goals:
teams.
III.
Create and implement curricula that are vertically and
 The percentage of students scoring at the advanced level will
horizontally aligned to State standards and the vision of the
increase from 34% to 43%.
Graduate.
 The percentage of students scoring at the goal level will
increase from 62% to 75%.*
 The percentage of students scoring at the proficient level will
increase from 92% to 98%.
 The gap between F/R lunch students and full price students
scoring at the goal level will decrease from 43 percentage
points to 21 percentage points.
* exceeds district target
Instructional Strategy/Strategies to achieve the SMART Goals and
Objectives:

Teachers will continue to differentiate instruction by increasing
the frequency of lesson-specific formative assessments (i.e.:
checking for understanding). Teachers will use assessments to
modify instruction accordingly. This will be assessed through the
number of formative assessments observed during formal and
informal observation. Number will be compared to 2009 data.

Teachers will work collaboratively to develop labs and activities
that emphasize inquiry and literacy. Teachers will provide
students with increased opportunities to read, communicate, and
analyze science related information. Using the data team model,
teachers will be able to measure effectiveness of their
incorporation of inquiry and literacy using shared assessments.

Teachers will continue to provide students with CAPT-specific
assessments to increase exposure to CAPT-like questions and to
review strategies to improve students’ ability to answer these
questions.
Increase in 2010 CAPT Science scores:
•
Proficient: from 92% to 95%
•
Goal: from 62% to 68%
•
Advanced: from 34% to 37%
2. STANDARDS AND OBJECTIVES
What national, state or local standards will be applied to measure
goal?

CT CAPT Science

Departmentalized midterm and final exams

Freshman CAPT practice exams

Freshman and sophomore benchmark assessments
What SMART objectives are anticipated?

Increased administrator coaching and peer coaching time in
classrooms by 30%

Increased time by 10% in classrooms spent on inquiry, literacy
and numeracy

Improved scores on CAPT science
3. COMMUNICATION PLAN
How and when will the SIT Action Plan and progress toward goal be communicated to key stakeholders?
Strategic Improvement Team Action Plan and progress toward goal must be communicated to key stakeholders throughout the
course of the year. Members of the team are responsible for having the plan posted on the school’s web site, and the SIT plan and
process should be shared with the school and parent community at meetings and through bulletins, newsletters, and/or the school
website.
 To students
o Curricula, aligned to State Standards for Science, distributed to students


o Embedded tasks shared with students
To parents
o Information will be shared at Back To School night
o Information on website
To staff
o Program administrator will communicate and monitor progress with staff through regularly scheduled program
meetings, collaboration blocks and individual teacher conferences and coaching feedback
4. TIMELINE, ACTIONS PLANS, RESOURCES, AND OUTCOMES
TIMELINE
ACTION PLANS
On-going
Action:
Responsible Person:
Instructional  Increase # of informal class visits DeLuca
Strategies
to observe differentiation
strategies in class (specifically
looking for ‘checking for
understanding’).




Use learning from professional
development last year to increase
student ability to read science text.
Strategies include annotation
strategies, think out loud, and other
strategies from Beyond the
Blueprint.
Use data collected from
benchmark assessments and other
local assessments to inform
teaching.
Use collaborative time through
instructional data teams to identify
and share best teaching practices.
Teachers will collect embedded
tasks from students after review.
Embedded tasks will be stored in
All teachers
All teachers
All bio/chemistry
RESOURCES
OUTCOMES
Increased time
provided by
coaching blocks
Status:
 Accomplished
 Partially accomplished
 Not accomplished
 Modified
Reading materials
Status:
 Accomplished
 Partially accomplished
 Not accomplished
 Modified
Benchmark
assessments,
Collaborative time
Benchmark
assessments,
Collaborative time
Folders, Students
Status:
 Accomplished
 Partially accomplished
 Not accomplished
 Modified
Status:
 Accomplished
 Partially accomplished
 Not accomplished
 Modified
Status:
 Accomplished
 Partially accomplished
 Not accomplished
 Modified
Embedded Tasks Folders.



teachers
Embedded Tasks
Carlson, and Ludwig,
Alander, Ferland
New curriculum.
National science
standards
All teachers
Sub money
Review of new marine biology
curriculum.
Allow science teachers to observe
the teaching of other science
teachers in an informal but
schedule way.
Development of curriculum for
physical/integrated science course
to be piloted 2010-11 school year.
All teachers
National, State
standards, other
schools curricula,
David Moss
Assessment:
Phase 1
Action:
Summer and Fall 2009
 Create Benchmark assessments
that stress inquiry and reading in
science for all biology and
chemistry students.

Administer benchmark
assessments and review baseline
data by mid-September.

Marine biology teachers
redeveloped the marine biology
and honors marine biology
objectives to be reviewed during
the 2009-10 school year during the
summer.

Develop a “skeleton” of a
Status:
 Accomplished
 Partially accomplished
 Not accomplished
 Modified
Status:
 Accomplished
 Partially accomplished
 Not accomplished
 Modified
Status:
 Accomplished
 Partially accomplished
 Not accomplished
 Modified
Results:
Responsible Person:
Select biology/
chemistry staff;
DeLuca
All Chemistry/Biology
teachers
Carlson, Ferland
DeLuca
139 $, CT
Standards
Benchmark
Assessments
139 $, National
science standards
Status:
 Accomplished
 Partially accomplished
 Not accomplished
 Modified
Status:
 Accomplished
 Partially accomplished
 Not accomplished
 Modified
Status:
 Accomplished
 Partially accomplished
 Not accomplished
 Modified
Status:
curriculum for the proposed
physical/integrated science course
to be piloted 2010-11.


Create teacher instructional data
teams. Turnkey Data Teams
model for teachers. Establish roles
and norms, and usable
assessments.


139 $, Online
materials from
State, other
school’s curricula
DeLuca, Goldstein,
Vellardito
Train teachers in the following
technological areas:


Goldstein
Biology: DNA Technology
(Gel Electrophoresis and
PCR) as developed through
CT Labs on Wheels

Chemistry: Graphing
energy data (Embedded
Task) using excel

Physics: Update on CBL
labs
Lead a ½ day workshop on
incorporating inquiry into teaching
Meet w/ teachers to review
specific students CAPT scores
from previous year. Discuss
strategies to improve results and
goals for this school year.
Student pre-tests
O’Connor, Vellardito,
Castladi, Goldin
Accomplished
Partially accomplished
Not accomplished
Modified
Status:
 Accomplished
 Partially accomplished
 Not accomplished
 Modified
Status:
 Accomplished
 Partially accomplished
 Not accomplished
 Modified
Materials released
through CT Labs
on Wheels
Karasick or Kompar?
Data from State
Schlosser
CBL Equipment
DeLuca, Civale, Moss
Moss,
Text: Inquiry and
the National
Science Education
Standards
Lead a ½ day workshop on what
physical/integrated science class
should look like. Frame the work
for the upcoming months.




Biology & Chemistry
Teachers
Data from 2009
Science CAPT
Status:
 Accomplished
 Partially accomplished
 Not accomplished
 Modified
Status:
 Accomplished
 Partially accomplished
 Not accomplished
 Modified
Status:
 Accomplished
 Partially accomplished
 Not accomplished
 Modified
All staff
National, State
standards, other
schools curricula,
David Moss
Assessment:
Phase 2
Action: Winter 2010
 Continue to provide training to
teachers on how to use
SmartBoards and provide specific
science strategies.





Results:
Responsible Person:
Goldstein, Stevens,
Gusho
Staff, 139 $
DeLuca
Materials
provided by
Marie Shimchik
Provide staff training on how to
utilize GIS software and/or
GoogleEarth into the classroom.
Moccio
GIS software,
Google Earth
Software
Continue to administer and learn
from data collected from common
benchmark assessments.
All teachers
Benchmark
Assessments
All chemistry
teachers
CAPT Specific
test
DeLuca; All teachers
National, State
standards, other
schools curricula,
Provide staff training on how to
annotate reading in science and
other reading strategies specific to
science. This is a repeat of the
optional training provided to
teachers in 2008-09.
Administer CAPT-Specific test to
all sophomores, to highlight areas
of weakness to teachers in the
weeks leading into CAPT test.
Utilize some (if not all)
Wednesday afternoons to continue
to develop physical/integrated
Status: (ALL ACTIONS IN THIS
SECTION ARE):
 Accomplished
 Partially accomplished
 Not accomplished
 Modified
Civale, David
Moss
science curriculum.
Assessment:
Phase 3
Action: Spring 2009
 Make final revisions of
physical/integrated science
curriculum in anticipation of
course being offered 2010-11 as
pilot.

Schedule teacher and place students
into piloted course.

Visit other school districts similar
to ours (DRB B) to review their
CAPT strategies
Assessment:
Results:
Responsible Person:
DeLuca; All teachers
DeLuca
National, State
standards, other
schools curricula,
Civale David
Moss
Status:
 Accomplished
 Partially accomplished
 Not accomplished
 Modified
Sub money
Results: