To help regional stakeholders prepare for implementation of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), Education Northwest and the Northwest Regional Comprehensive Center will host a symposium February 8–9, 2011, in Portland, Oregon. Participants will hear from national leaders of the effort to institute the CCSS and design aligned assessments. They will also have the opportunity to discuss specific implementation challenges and potential solutions with others from their state. Read more...
Also in this issue:
- Research Studies Focus on School Improvement and Teacher Preparation
- Guidebooks Build Elementary Teachers' Math Content Knowledge
- Magazine Proves Northwest Dropout Prevention Efforts
- Idaho Schools Sought for ELL Study
- Register for School Turnaround Webinar
Event Paves Way for Common Core Standards
To help regional stakeholders prepare for implementation of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), Education Northwest and the Northwest Regional Comprehensive Center will host a symposium February 8–9, 2011, in Portland, Oregon. Participants will hear from national leaders of the effort to institute the CCSS and design aligned assessments. They will also have the opportunity to discuss specific implementation challenges and potential solutions with others from their state.
“We’re excited that we’ve been able to recruit presenters from the Council of Chief State School Officers, Achieve, and the SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium to share the latest information and resources from their organizations to assist stakeholders in the Northwest with effective implementation of the CCSS,” says Kit Peixotto, who is leading the CCSS initiative at Education Northwest.
The CCSS represent what K–12 students should progressively know and be able to do in order to graduate ready for college and careers. Since the national content standards in mathematics and English language arts were unveiled in June 2010, more than 40 states have formally adopted them—including the states of Oregon and Wyoming in our service area.
The two-day event will take place at the Embassy Suites in downtown Portland at 319 SW Pine Street. The $100 registration fee includes all sessions, as well as a light breakfast and lunch both days. Registration will close January 25 or when conference capacity is met. Visit the event page to learn more and register.
Research Studies Focus on School Improvement and Teacher Preparation
The Institute of Education Sciences (IES) has just released two research studies by REL Northwest: one focuses on school support teams in four states in our service area (Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming) and the other discusses preparation and support for new teachers in the Northwest.
The study, What Are the Characteristics, Qualifications, Roles, and Functions of School Support Teams? An Examination of Survey Data for Four Northwest Region States, found that the basic role of these teams is comparable across states, but titles, qualifications, and functions vary. The researchers—Deborah Davis, Basha Krasnoff, Ann Ishimaru, and Nicole Sage—used existing survey data from the Northwest Regional Comprehensive Center to analyze the characteristics, qualifications, roles, and functions of 91 school support team members in four states in 2008/09. According to the study, school support team members work primarily in schools, directly with school principals and leadership teams. The two most common functions were meeting with administrators about school improvement planning and implementation, and communicating with stakeholders.
The second study, How Well Prepared and Supported Are New Teachers? Results for the Northwest Region From the 2003/04 Schools and Staffing Survey, summarizes the responses of public school teachers in the Northwest, and compares them to national averages. Author Art Burke found that 56 percent of Northwest teachers had completed five or more methods courses compared to 46 percent of all teachers in the United States. Also, the number of Northwest teachers who reported receiving support (e.g., reduced teaching schedules, common planning time, supportive communication) was 2 to 14 percentage points lower than the national average, depending on the type of support.
These “Issues & Answers” reports are part of a series that addresses important local, state, and regional issues that are identified through our outreach and through requests from our Northwest stakeholders.
Guidebooks Build Elementary Teachers' Math Content Knowledge
A new set of guidebooks written by Education Northwest staff members helps teacher teams build the specialized understanding of mathematics and pedagogy necessary to support effective instruction. Teaching by Design in Elementary Mathematics is available in three volumes—for grades K–1, 2–3, and 4–5—that focus on grade-appropriate topics within number and operations.
The books, published jointly by Corwin Press and Education Northwest, each contain 14 carefully sequenced sessions that include opportunities for teachers to work on mathematics problems, analyze sample lessons, discuss research findings, and investigate student work that they collect in their classrooms. The process culminates in a prototype lesson collaboratively designed by the team. After teaching this prototype lesson in one or more classrooms, the team examines its impact on student learning. The cycle of investigating, planning, teaching, observing, debriefing, and revising a lesson together contributes to a climate of continuous professional learning.
"We originally developed the guidebooks to help lesson study teams build their content knowledge for teaching mathematics," says Jennifer Stepanek, one of the authors of Teaching by Design. "We were seeing some examples of schools that attempted to conduct lesson study but did not have the necessary support to ensure meaningful learning for the teachers. As we worked on the project, we realized that the materials could be useful in other professional development models as well."
Copies can be ordered online or by calling 1.888.827.7241.
Magazine Probes Northwest Dropout Prevention Efforts
Despite advances in education, student drop out continues to be an intractable problem. Depending on how the statistics are computed, reports show that more than a half-million young people in the United States drop out of high school each year—a rate that has remained relatively constant for the last 30 years. The Northwest region reflects national trends, with a 74.7 percent graduation rate that’s slightly higher than the nation as a whole.
However, there are some reasons for optimism. The fall/winter issue of Education Northwest Magazine highlights how some Northwest schools are having success at retaining students—whether through more personal smaller learning communities, intensive support for high school freshmen, or dual credit programs that encourage students to stay in school by earning high school diplomas and college credits at the same time.
Many of these programs offer a lifeline to students who were considered lost causes by more traditional high schools. One example is Paulina, a 20-year-old former dropout who is now enrolled in Lake Washington Technical College’s Gateway to College program. She observes, “I’m here, and from here my future is going to be great. I have help from people who can guide me to the right path. They’re not going to let me down, and I’m not going to let them down, either, because I know this is for my future.”
Idaho Schools Sought for ELL Study
Education Northwest is recruiting more than two dozen Idaho elementary and intermediate schools to participate in a three-year experimental study of Project GLAD (Guided Language Acquisition Design) in summer 2011. Although GLAD has been used by more than 48,000 teachers in 13 states to help English language learner (ELL) students in mainstream classes develop academic English, the model has not yet undergone a rigorous evaluation.
The study will examine Project GLAD’s effectiveness through a randomized controlled trial involving fifth-grade teachers and students in Idaho. Schools are eligible to participate if they have a minimum of eight ELL fifth-grade students; that number may include fifth-graders who exited the ELL program within the past two years. Teachers in treatment classrooms will receive Project GLAD professional development for two years (in the 2011/12 and 2012/13 school years), while teachers in control classrooms will undergo training and coaching the following year (2013/14). The study will pay for the professional development as well as substitutes to cover teachers’ time out of their classrooms; in addition, there are incentives for participating in data collection activities.
Schools in Parma, Emmett, Caldwell, Mountain Home, Wendell, Buhl, Paul, and American Falls have signed on to the study, which is funded by the Institute of Education Sciences. However, more participants are needed. The deadline to join the study is March 2011. For more information about participating, contact Theresa Deussen at 503-275-9631.
Register for School Turnaround Webinar
A free webinar on February 24 will focus on how education service agencies can help turn around chronically low-performing schools. The event, co-sponsored by the Association of Education Service Agencies and the Regional Educational Laboratory Program, features Sam Redding, director of the Center on Innovation and Improvement. Redding is one of the co-authors of a practice guide that offers four evidenced-based recommendations for turning around schools.
The guide, published by the Institute of Education Sciences, recommends:
- Signal the need for dramatic change with strong leadership
- Maintain a consistent focus on improving instruction
- Provide visible improvements early
- Build a committed staff
Categories
